2016年职称英语理工类C级阅读理解历年真题及解析

　　2015年真题

 

　　第一篇

　　Why Buy Shade-Grown Coffee?

　　When people argue about whether coffee is good for health, they're usually thinking of the health of the coffee drinker. Is it food for your heart? Does it increase blood pressure? Does it help you concentrate? However, coffee affects the health of the human population in other ways, too.

　　Traditionally, coffee bushes were planted under the canopy ( 树冠 ) of taller indigenous (土生土长的) trees. However, more and more farmers in Latin America are deforesting the land to grow full-sun coffees. At first, this increases production because more coffee bushes can be planted if there aren't any trees. With increased production come increased profits.

　　Unfortunately, deforesting for coffee production immediately decreases local-wildlife habitat.

　　Native birds nest and hide from predators (捕食者) in the tall trees and migrating birds rest there.

　　Furthermore, in the long term, the full-sun method also damages the ecosystem because more chemical fertilizers and pesticides are needed to grow the coffee. The fertilizers and pesticides kill insects that eat coffee plant, but then the birds eat the poisoned insects and also die. The chemicals kill or sicken other animals as well, and can even enter the water that people will eventually drink.

　　Fortunately, farmers in Central and South America are beginning to grow more coffee bushes in the shade. We can support these farmers by buying coffee with such labels as "shade grown" and"bird friendly". Sure, these varieties might cost a little more. But we're paying for the health of the birds, the land, ourselves, and the planet. I think it's worth it.

　　31. What is the main idea of this passage?

　　A. Farmers are changing the way they grow coffee.

　　B. Coffee is becoming more expensive to produce.

　　C. Shade-grown coffee is more expensive than sun-grown coffee.

　　D. People should buy shade-grown coffee.

　　32. The function of the word "Traditionally" in Paragraph 2 is to show __________.

　　A. the positive effects of coffee

　　B. a change of coffee growth

　　C. something that is the most important

　　D. how coffee production used to be

　　33. What does increased production of full-sun coffee bring about?

　　A. more insects

　　B. better quality coffee

　　C. larger farms

　　D. higher profits

　　34. How do farmers find more land for growing full-sun coffee?

　　A. They buy more land from other farmers.

　　B. They cut down trees.

　　C. They move to another country.

　　D. They turn grassland into farmland.

　　35. The full-sun method may affect the following EXCEPT __________.

　　A. insects

　　B. air

　　C. birds

　　D. humans

　　第二篇

　　Soot (煤烟灰) and Snow: a Hot Combination

　　New research from NASA scientists suggests emissions of black soot alter the way sunlight reflects off snow. According to a computer simulation, black soot may be responsible for 25 percent of observed global warming over the past century.

　　Soot in the higher latitudes (纬度) of the Earth, where ice is more common, absorbs more of the sun's energy and warmth than an icy, white background. Dark-colored black carbon, or soot,absorbs sunlight, while lighter colored ice reflects sunlight.

　　Soot in areas with snow and ice may play an important role in climate change. Also, if snow and ice covered areas begin melting, the warming effect increases, as the soot becomes more concentrated on the snow surface. "This provides a positive feedback, as glaciers and ice sheets melt, they tend to get even dirtier," said Dr. James Hansen, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York.

　　Hansen found soot's effect on snow albedo (反照率), which may be contributing to trends toward early springs in the Northern Hemisphere, such as thinning Arctic sea ice and melting glaciers permafi:ost. Soot also is believed to play a role in changes in the atmosphere above the oceans and land.

　　"Black carbon reduces the amount of energy reflected by snow back into space, thus heating the snow surface more than if there were no black carbon," Hansen said. Soot's increased absorption of solar energy is especially effective in warming the world's climate. "This forcing is unusually effective, causing twice as much global warming as a carbon-dioxide forcing of the same magnitude," Hansen noted.

　　Hansen cautioned, although the role of soot in altering global climate is substantial, it does not alter the fact that greenhouse gases are the primary cause of climate warming during the past century. Such gases are expected to be the largest climate forcing for the rest of the century.

　　The researchers found that observed warming in the Northern Hemisphere was large in the winter and spring at middle and high latitudes. These observations were coherent with the researchers' climate model situations, which showed some of the largest warming effects occurred when there were heavy snow cover and sufficient sunlight.

　　36. Which of the following statements of soot is NOT true?

　　A. It absorbs sun's heat.

　　B. It is responsible for climate change.

　　C. It reflects sunlight.

　　D. It may account for a quarter of global warming over the past century.

　　37. Which of the following areas shows a greater warming effect?

　　A. Ice sea areas.

　　B. Areas with black carbon.

　　C. Areas covered with white snow.

　　D. Melting glaciers.

　　38. "This forcing" in Paragraph 5 refers to __________.

　　A. sun's heating on snow surface

　　B. soot's increased absorption of solar energy

　　C. carbon-dioxide's warming effect

　　D. snow's increased reflection of sunlight

　　39. What is the main cause of climate warming during the past century?

　　A. Soot.

　　B. Snow.

　　C. Greenhouse gases.

　　D. Wind.

　　40. The largest warming effects happened in the Northern Hemisphere with __________.

　　A. thinning sea ice and insufficient sunlight

　　B. light snow cover and sufficient sunlight

　　C. heavy snow cover and sufficient sunlight

　　D. thick sea ice and insufficient sunlight

　　第三篇

　　A Record-Breaking Rover

　　NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before-- at least in terms of distance. Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles,more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world. On July 27, after years of moving about on Martian ground, the golf-cart:sized Opportunity had driven more than 24 miles, beating the previous record holder--a Soviet rover sent to the moon in 1973.

　　"This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance," says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager.

　　He works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "But what is really important is not how many miles the rover has racked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance."

　　Opportunity

　　The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars I0 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more about the planet and to search for signs of life, such as the possible presence of water.

　　Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks.

　　During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187,000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. It has also provided scientists with data on the planet's atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain.

　　Marathon Rover The rover doesn't seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26.2 miles. Scientists call this site Marathon Valley, because when the rover reaches the area, it will have traveled the same distance as the length of a marathon since its arrival on Mars.

　　Researchers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars's ancient environment. Opportunity's continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.

　　41. Opportunity is a record-breaking rover in the sense of __________.

　　A. how long it has stayed in space

　　B. how far it has traveled

　　C. how much investment it has involved

　　D. how many facilities it has been equipped with

　　42. What does John Callas say about Opportunity's long distance travel?

　　A. It hasn't met scientists' expectation yet.

　　B. It hasn't been appreciated appropriately.

　　C. It is secondary to what has been discovered.

　　D. It is what scientists have been aiming at.

　　43. One of the objectives of sending Opportunity and Spirit to Mars is to__________.

　　A. collect soil and send back to Earth

　　B. develop multinational space experiments

　　C. test how well solar-powered rovers work in solar space

　　D. look for the possible presence of life

　　44. Which of the following statements is TRUE of Opportunity?

　　A. It will come back to Earth soon.

　　B. Another rover will be sent to replace it.

　　C. It is traveling to another important star.

　　D. It will work with other rovers exploring Mars.

　　45. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that __________.

　　A. experts know how far Opportunity will walk on Mars

　　B. researchers are working on sending many rovers to Mars

　　C. Mars' ancient environment might be explored with the help of Opportunity

　　D. Opportunity is supposed to collect clay minerals from Marathon Valley