新东方大学英语六级讲义与笔记:阅读(二)

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In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act, designed to protect species' living areas, and policies that preserve land and forests compete with economic interests. In the 1990's, for example, the woodcutters in the Western United States were challenged legally in their attempt to cut trees for timber in the Cascade Mountains. The challenge was mounted to protect the endangered spotted owl(猫头鹰), whose remaining population occupies these forests and requires the intact, ancient forest for survival. The problematic situation set the interests of environmentalists against those of corporations and of individuals who stood to lose jobs. After months of debate and legal battles, the fate of the woodcutters-and the owls-was still undecided in mid-1992.
注：1. controversial的意思是受争议的，同“sharply political issue”，contro表示“反”

2. for example前句子是重点

3. problematic悬而未决的 

Similar tensions exist between the developed and the developing nations. Many people in industrialized nations, for example, believe that developing nations in tropical regions should do more to protect their rain forests and other natural areas. But the developing countries may be impoverished (使穷困), with populations growing so rapidly that using the land is a means to temporarily avoid worsening poverty and starvation.
注：1. tension张力，冲突

2. 看到similar就说明第二段说的和第一段一样。

3. But转折是重点 

Many of the changes to Earth that concern scientists have the potential to rob the planet of its biological richness. The destruction of Earth's ozone layer (臭氧层), for example, could contribute to the general process of impoverishment by allowing ultra-violet rays to harm plants and animals. And global warming could wipe out species unable to quickly adapt to changing climates. Clearly, protecting will come only through coordinated international efforts to control human population, stabilize the composition of the atmosphere, and preserve intact Earth's complex web life.

36.Why does the author say that the protection of endangered species is a highly controversial
issue?
A) Because people can't agree as to what species to protect.
B) Because it is difficult to find an effective way to protect such species.
C) Because it affects the interests of certain groups of people.
D) Because it is a major problem involving a series of legal procedures.
注：细节题。第一段economic interests

●表示绝对的词出现在文章中，是非常重要的出题点；如果出现在选项中，很可能是不对的。

全无：non-nothing-never-seldom-absolutely-hardly-little-few-prevent-exclude-neither...nor

全有：all-every-full-either…

唯一：only-exactly- best-most

 

37.According to the passage, the preservation of rain forests ________.
A) may hamper a developing country in its fight against poverty.
B) benefits developed countries rather than developing countries.
C) should take priority over the control of human population.
D) will help improve the living conditions in developing countries.
注：细节题，对应文章第二段。举例前那句话更重要，只要表达出“和经济利益冲突”就对了。

 

38.According to the passage, cutting tress to grow more food _______.
A) will widen the gap between the developed and the developing countries.
B) is but a short-term relief to the food problem.
C) can hardly alleviate the shortage of food.
D) proves to be an effective way out for impoverished nations.
注：对应文章第二段。Short-term对应temporarily，relief对应avoid。

 

39.Among“humanity's current problems” (Line 6, Para. 3), the chief concern of the scientists
is _______.
A) the impoverishment of developing countries.
B) the explosion of the human population.
C) the reduction of biological diversity.
D) the effect of global warming.
注：第三段。C选项中reduction对应rob，diversity对应richness。

 

40.The author's purpose in writing this passage is ________.
A) to describe the difficulties in solving humanity's current problems.
B) to present the different views on humanity's current problems.
C) to analyze the contradiction between countries in dealing with humanity's current
problems.
D) to point out that humanity's current problems can only be solved through the cooperation of nations.

注：看最后一句话，cooperation of nations 对应coordinated international efforts。