2013年职称英语考试理工类冲刺试卷及答案(7)

　　第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)

　　下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。

　　第一篇

　　Small But Wise

　　On December 14, NASA blasted a small but mighty telescope into space. The telescope is called WISE and is about as wide around as a trashcan. Don’t let its small size fool you: WISE has a powerful digital camera, and it will be taking pictures of some the wildest objects in the known universe,including asteroids, faint stars, blazing galaxies and giant clouds of dust where planets and stars are born.

　　“I’m very excited because we’re going to be seeing parts of the universe that we haven’t seen before,” said Ned Wright, a scientist who directs the WISE project.

　　Since arriving in space, the WISE telescope has been circling the Earth, held by gravity in a polar orbit (this means it crosses close to the north and south poles with each lap). Its camera is pointed outward, away from the Earth, and WISE will snap a picture of a different part of the sky every 11 minutes. After six months it will have taken pictures across the entire sky.

　　The pictures taken by WISE won’t be like everyday digital photographs, however. WISE stands for “Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.” As its name suggests, the WISE camera takes pictures of features that give off infrared radiation.

　　Radiation is energy that travels as a wave. Visible light, including the familiar spectrum of light that becomes visible in a rainbow,is an example of radiation. When an ordinary digital camera takes a picture of a tree, for example, it receives the waves of visible light that are reflected off the tree. When these waves enter the camera through the lens, they’re processed by the camera, which then puts the image together.

　　Waves of infrared radiation are longer than waves of visible light, so ordinary digital cameras don’t see them, and neither do the eyes of human beings. Although invisible to the eye, longer infrared radiation can be detected as warmth by the skin.

　　That’s a key idea to why WISE will be able to see things other telescopes can’t. Not everything in the universe shows up in visible light. Asteroids, for example, are giant rocks that float through space－but they absorb most of the light that reaches them. They don’t reflect light, so they’re difficult to see. But they do give off infrared radiation, so an infrared telescope like WISE will be able to produce images of them. During its mission WISE will take pictures of hundreds of thousands of asteroids.

　　Brown dwarfs are another kind of deep-space object that will show up in WISE’s pictures. These objects are “failed” stars－which means they are not massive enough to jump start the same kind of reactions that power stars such as the sun. Instead,brown dwarfs simply shrink and cool down. They’re so dim that they’re almost impossible to see with visible light, but in the infrared spectrum they glow.

　　31 .What is so special about WISE?

　　A. It is small in size but carries a large camera.

　　B. It is as small as a trashcan.

　　C. Its digital camera can help astronomers to see the unknown space.

　　D. Never before has a telescope carried a digital camera in space.

　　32. Which is NOT the synonym for the word "snap" in the third paragraph?

　　A. make.

　　B. shoot.

　　C. take

　　D. photograph.

　　33. The camera on WISE _____

　　A. is no different from an ordinary camera.

　　B. does not see infrared radiation while the ordinary camera does.

　　C. catches the infrared radiation while the ordinary camera does not.

　　D. reflects light that human eyes can see.

　　34. Which of the following is NOT correct about “asteroids” according to paragraph 7?

　　A. Asteroids float through space giving off visible light.

　　B. Asteroids do not reflect light that reaches them.

　　C. It is difficult to take asteroids’ pictures by ordinary cameras.

　　D. The WISE telescope can take pictures of asteroids

　　35.What is implied in the last paragraph?

　　A. Brown dwarfs give off visible light.

　　B. Brown dwarfs give off infrared radiation.

　　C. Brown dwarfs are power stars like the sun.

　　D. Brown dwarfs are impossible to see with the WISE telescope.

　　第二篇

　　“Hidden” Species May Be Surprisingly Common

　　Cryptic species－animals that appear identical but are genetically quite distant — may be much more widespread than previously thought. The findings could have major implications in areas ranging from biodiversity estimates and wildlife management, to our understanding of infectious diseases and evolution.

　　Reports of cryptic species have increased dramatically over the past two decades with the advent of relatively inexpensive DNA sequencing technology. Markus Pfenninger and Klaus Schwenk, of the Goethe-Universitat in Frankfurt, Germany, analyzed all known data on cryptic animal species and discovered that they are found in equal proportions throughout all major branches of the animal kingdom and occur in equal numbers in all biogeographical regions.

　　Scientists had previously speculated that cryptic species were predominantly found in insects and reptiles, and were more likely to occur in tropical rather than temperate regions. “Species that are seemingly widespread and abundant could in reality be many different Cryptic species that have low populations and are highly endangered," says Pfenninger. Until the genetic information of all species in at least one taxon is thoroughly studied, no one will know just how many cryptic species exist, "It could be as high as 30%, Pfenninger says.

　　“I’m extremely surprised by their results,” says Alex Smith of the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. “ It’s a call to arms to keep doing the broad kind of genetic studies that we are doing. ”

　　Sampling as many individuals as possible, scientists hope to complete work on all fish and birds in another 5 to 10 years. Once either of these taxonomic groups is completed, Pfenninger says researchers will be able to decide how many cryptic species exist throughout the animal kingdom.

　　Examples of cryptic species include the African elephant. A 2001 study found the elephants were actually two genetically distinct, non-interbreeding species, the African bush elephant and the African elephant. The species are currently listed as vulnerable and threatened, respectively, by the World Conservation Union（WCU）.

　　The reclassifications are more than an academic exercise. They define populations that have evolved independently of each other and whose genetic differences can have significant consequences.

　　In the early 1900s misidentification of mosquito species based on morphology confused: attempts to control malaria in Europe. Ultimately, what was thought to be a single species was actually made up of six sibling species, only three of which transmitted the disease. "The basic unit in biology is always the species, and you have to know what you are dealing with," Pfenninger says. Much previous research is now no longer used, he Says, because it is not clear what species was being studied.

　　36. Which of the following about the significance of the research on cryptic species is NOT true?

　　A. The results of the research can help the development of many other research areas.

　　B. The results of the research can help the development of biodiversity estimates.

　　C. The results of the research can help our understanding of infectious disease evolution.

　　D. The results of the research can help our understanding of “survival of the fittest. ”

　　37. What was scientists’ understanding of cryptic species?

　　A. They occurred in equal numbers in all biogeographical regions.

　　B. They were mostly found in insects and reptiles.

　　C. They were likely to be in tropical rather than temperate regions.

　　D. Both Band C.

　　38. Do scientists know how many cryptic species exist?

　　A. Not yet.

　　B. Yes, they do.

　　C. They will know the answer in another one or two-years.

　　D. They will never know the answer.

　　39. Which of the following about the African bush elephant and the African elephant is true?

　　A. The WCU are interbreeding those elephants.

　　B. They are interbreeding species.

　　C. They are two genetically distant species.

　　D. They depend on each other for survival.

　　40. People were confused in their attempts to control malaria in Europe in the early 1900s. because scientists _____

　　A. identified only one mosquito species instead of six species.

　　B. thought only three mosquito species transmitted disease.

　　C. thought there was only one mosquito species.

　　D. did not know what species was being studied.

　　第三篇

　　Too Little for Global Warming

　　Oil and gas will run out too fast for doomsday global warming scenarios to materialize, according to a controversial new analysis presented this week at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. The authors warn that all the fuel will be burnt before there is enough carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to realize predictions of melting ice caps and searing temperatures. Defending their predictions, scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say they considered a range of estimates of oil and gas reserves, and point out that coal-burning could easily make up the shortfall. But all agree that burning coal would be even worse for the planet.

　　The IPCC’s predictions of global meltdown pushed forward the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an agreement obliging signatory nations to cut CO2 emissions. The IPCC considered a range of future scenarios, from unlimited burning of fossil-fuels to a fast transition towards greener energy sources. But geologists Anders Sivertsson, Kjell Aleklett and Colin Campbell of Uppsala University say there is not enough oil and gas left even the most conservative of the 40 IPCC scenarios to come to pass.

　　Although estimates of oil and gas reserves vary widely, the researchers are part of a growing group of experts who believe that oil supplies will peak as soon as 2012, and gas soon after. Their analysis suggests that oil and gas reserves combined about to the equivalent of about 3,500 billion barrels of oil considerably less than the 5, 000 billion barrels estimated in the most optimistic model envisaged by the IPCC. Even the average forecast of about 8,000 billion barrels is more than twice the Swedish estimate of the world’s remaining reserves.

　　Nebojsa Nakicenovic, an energy economist at the University of Vienna, Austria who headed the 80-strong IPCC team that produced the forecasts, says the panel’s work still stands. He says they factored in a much broader and internationally accepted range of oil and gas estimates than the “conservative” Swedes.

　　Even if oil and gas run out, “there’s a huge amount of coal underground that could be exploited”, he says that burning coal could make the IPCC scenarios come true, but points out that such a switch would be disastrous. Coal is dirtier than oil and gas and produces more CO2 for each unit of energy, as well as releasing large amounts of particulates. He says the latest analysis is a “shot across the bows” for policy makers.

　　41. What problem does the new analysis presented at the University of Uppsala imply?

　　A. The burning of coal will accelerate the arrival of Earth’s doomsday.

　　B. The oil reserves are big enough to materialize the doomsday scenarios.

　　C. Melting ice caps and searing temperatures exist only in science fiction.

　　D. Oil and gas will run out so fast that Earth’s doomsday will never materialize.

　　42. According to IPCC,what can make up the shortfall of the oil and gas reserves?

　　A. Fossil fuels.

　　B. Green fuels.

　　C. The coal-burning.

　　D. Nothing.

　　43. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in order to

　　A. pay attention to global meltdown.

　　B. cut CO2 emissions.

　　C. use more green energy.

　　D. stop using fossil fuels.

　　44. What are the estimates of the world’s oil and gas reserves?

　　A. 4, 000 billion barrels by the average forecast.

　　B. 8, 000 billion barrels estimated by the Swedes.

　　C. 3, 500 billion barrels envisaged by IPCC.

　　D. 3, 500 billion barrels by a growing number of scientists.

　　45. Which of the following about Nebojsa Nakicenovic is true?

　　A. He thinks fossil fuels are as dirty as oil and gas.

　　B. He thinks green fuels will replace oil and gas eventually.

　　C. He thinks IPCC’s view on the world’s reserves is too optimistic.

　　D. He thinks that IPCC’s estimates are more optimistic than the Swedes.