2009年职称英语教材阅读理解新增部分(综合类)

　　2. How did Wignall calculate the killing power of those older volcanic eruptions?

　　A) By estimating how long they lasted.

　　B) By counting the dinosaurs they killed.

　　C) By studying the chemical composition of lava.

　　D) By comparing the proportion of life wiped out with the volume of lava produced.

　　3. When did dinosaurs become extinct?

　　A) 300 million years ago.

　　B) 250 million years ago.

　　C) 60 million years ago.

　　D) 65 million years ago.

　　4. What can be inferred from paragraph 3 concerning dinosaurs?

　　A) They were killed off by an asteroid.

　　B) They died of drastic climate change.

　　C) They were wiped off by a volcanic eruption.

　　D) The cause of their extinction has remained a controversial issue.

　　5. What is the main thesis of the article?

　　A) Volcanic eruptions are not always deadly.

　　B) Older volcanic eruptions were more destructive.

　　C) Carbon dioxide emissions often give rise to global warming.

　　D) It is not easy to calculate the killing power of a volcanic eruption.

　　答案与题解：

　　1.A 问题问的是：为什么远古的火山爆发比近期的火山爆发破坏性更大?第一段是这么说的：古代的火山更具破坏力，不是因为它们更大，而是因为它们释放出的二氧化碳更能容易地毁灭生命。

　　2.D 问题问的是：Wignall是如何计算出远古火上爆发的杀伤力的?答案在第二段。第二段有这样一句话：He calculated the "killing efficiency" for these volcanoes by comparing the proportion of life they killed off with the volume of lava that they produced.他通过比较火山释放出的熔岩的体积与杀死生命的比例计算这些火山的杀伤效力。

　　3.C 问题问的是：恐龙是什么时候灭绝的?答案在第三段。其中有这么一句话：He ignored the extinction which wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, because many scientists believe it was primarily caused by the impact of an asteroid.他没有提及6千5百万年前恐龙的灭绝是因为许多科学家相信恐龙的灭绝是受一颗小行星的影响。

　　4.D 问题问的是：第三段还可以推导出有关恐龙的什么样的信息?在讨论第三题的答案时，我们已经注意到了，Wignall没有提6千5百万年前恐龙的灭绝是否跟火山爆发有关是因为许多科学家相信恐龙的灭绝是受一颗小行星的影响。这就说明，关于恐龙灭绝的原因在科学家之间是有分歧的。

　　5.B 问题问的是：文章的主要论点是什么?答案在文章的第一句：Volcanoes were more destructive in ancient history, ...(古代火山更具破坏力)。