剑4 TEST 1 Reading 精讲版

剑

4 TEST 1 Reading

READING PASSAGE 1

You

should

spend

about

20

minutes

on

Questions

1-14

which

are

based

on

Reading

Passage

1

below.

一

Adults and children are frequently confronted with statements about the alarming rate of

loss of tropical rainforests. For example, one graphic illustration to which children might readily

relate

is

the

estimate

that

rainforests

are

being

destroyed

at

a

rate

equivalent

to

one

thousand

football fields every forty minutes - about the duration of a normal classroom period.

In the face of

the frequent and often vivid

media

coverage

第一题

, it is likely

that children will

have formed

ideas about rainforests -what and where they are, why they are important, what endangers them -

independent of any formal tuition. It is also possible that some of these ideas will be mistaken.

二

Many stu

dies have shown that children harbour misconceptions about ‘

pure

’

, curriculum

science.

第三题

These

misconceptions

do

not

remain

isolated

but

become

incorporated

into

a

multifaceted, but organised, conceptual

framework

, making it and the component ideas, some of

which are erroneous, more robust but also

accessible to

容易受影响

modification.

第四题

These

ideas

may

be

developed

by

children

absorbing

ideas

through

the

popular

media.

第二题

Sometimes

this

information

may

be

erroneous.

It

seems

schools

may

not

be

providing

an

opportunity for children to re-express their ideas and so have them tested and refined by teachers

and their peers.

三

Despite the extensive coverage in the popular media of the destruction of rainforests, little

formal information is available about children

’

s ideas in this area. The aim of the present study is

to start to provide such information, to help teachers design their educational strategies to build

upon

correct

ideas

and

to

displace

misconceptions

and

to

plan

programmes

in

environmental

studies in their schools.

四

The study surveys children

’

s scientific knowledge and attitudes to rainforests.

Secondary

school children were asked to complete a questionnaire containing

five open-form questions

简答

题

.

第五题

The

most

frequent

responses

to

the

first

question

were

descriptions

which

are

self-

evident from the term ‘rainforest’

. Some children described them as damp, wet or hot. The

second

question

concerned

the

geographical

location

of

rainforests.

The

commonest

responses

were continents or countries: Africa (given by 43% of

children),

第九题

South America (30%),

Brazil (25%). Some children also gave more general locations, such as being near the Equator.

五

Responses to question three concerned the importance of rainforests.

The dominant idea,

raised

by

64%

of

the

pupils,

was

that

rainforests

provide

animals

with

habitats.

Fewer

students

responded

that

rainforests

provide

plant

habitats,

and

even

fewer

mentioned

the

indigenous

populations of rainforests.

第十题

More

girls

(70%) than boys (60%) raised the idea of rainforest

as

animal

habitats.

第六题

这两句话都拿男生女生做了比较但所比较的事物却不是对热带雨

林毁坏的 错误观点

六

Similarly,

but

at

a

lower

level,

more

girls

(13%)

than

boys

(5%)

said

that

rainforests

provided human habitats.

第六题

These observations are generally consistent with our

previous

studies

of pupils

’

views about the use and conservation of rainforests, in which girls were shown

to be more sympathetic to animals and expressed views which seem to place an intrinsic value on

non-human animal life.

第七题

七

The

fourth

question

concerned

the

causes

of

the

destruction

of

rainforests.

Perhaps

encouragingly,

more than half of the pupils (59%) identified that it is human activities which are

destroying rainforests,

第十一题

some personalising the responsibility by the use of terms such as

‘we are’

. About 18% of the pupils referred specifically to logging activity.

八

One misconception, expressed by some 10% of the pupils, was that acid rain is responsible

for rainforest destruction; a similar proportion said that pollution is destroying rainforests. Here,

children

are

confusing

rainforest

destruction

with

damage

to

the

forests

of

Western

Europe

by

these factors. While two fifths of the students provided the information that the rainforests provide

oxygen, in some cases this response also embraced the misconception that rainforest destruction

would reduce atmospheric oxygen, making the atmosphere incompatible with human life on Earth.

九

In

answer

to

the

final

question

about

the

importance

of

rainforest

conservation,

the

majority of children simply said that we need rainforests to survive.

第十二题

Only a few of the

pupils

(6%)

mentioned

that

rainforest

destruction

may

contribute

to

global

warming.

This

is

surprising considering the high level of

media coverage on this issue.

第十三题

Some children

expressed the idea that the conservation of rainforests is not important.

十

The results of this study suggest that certain ideas predominate in the thinking of children

about rainforests. Pupils

’

responses indicate some misconceptions in basic scientific knowledge of

rainforests

’

ecosystems

such

as

their

ideas

about

rainforests

as

habitats

for

animals,

plants

and

humans and the relationship between climatic change and destruction of rainforests.

十一

Pupils

did

not

volunteer

ideas

that

suggested

that

they

appreciated

the

complexity

of

causes

of

rainforest

destruction.

In

other

words,

they

gave

no

indication

of

an

appreciation

of

either the range of ways in which rainforests are important or the complex social, economic and

political

factors

which

drive

the

activities

which

are

destroying

the

rainforests.

One

encouragement is that the results of similar studies about other environmental issues suggest that

older

children

seem

to

acquire

the

ability

to

appreciate,

value

and

evaluate

conflicting

views.

Environmental education offers an arena in which these skills can be developed, which is essential

for these children as future decision-makers.

Questions 1-8

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?In boxes

1-8 on your answer sheet write

TRUE

if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE

if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN

if there is no information on this

1

The plight of the rainforests has largely been ignored by the media.

FALSE

2

Children

only

accept

opinions

on

rainforests

that

they

encounter

in

their

classrooms.

FALSE

3

It has been suggested

that children hold mistaken views about the ‘pure’

science that they

study at school.

TRUE

4

The

fact

that

children

’

s

ideas

about

science

form

part

of

a

larger

framework

of

ideas

means that it is easier to change them.

TRUE

5

The study involved aski

ng children a number of yes/no questions such as ‘Are there any

rainforests in Africa?

’

FALSE

6

Girls are more likely than boys to hold mistaken views about the rainforests

’

destruction.

NOT GIVEN

7

The study reported here follows on from a series of studies that have looked at children

’

s

understanding of rainforests.

TRUE

8

A second study has been planned to investigate primary school children

’

s ideas about rain

forests.

NOT GIVEN

直到最后都只字未提

Questions 9-13

The box below gives a list of responses A-P to the questionnaire discussed in Reading

Passage 1.

Answer the following questions by choosing the correct responses A-P. Write your answers in

boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.

M

9

What

was

the

children

’

s

most

frequent

response

when

asked

where

the

rainforests

were?

E

10

What was the most common response to the question about the importance of the rain

forests?

G

11

What did most children give as the reason for the loss of the rainforests?

P

12

Why did most children think it important for the rainforests to be protected?

J

13

Which of the responses is cited as unexpectedly uncommon, given the amount of time

spent on the issue by the newspapers and television?

A

There is a complicated combination of reasons for the loss of the rain forests.

B

The rainforests are being destroyed by the same things that are destroying the forests of

Western Europe.

C

Rainforests are located near the Equator.

D

Brazil is home to the rainforests.

E

Without rainforests some animals would have nowhere to live.

F

Rainforests are important habitats for a lot of plants.

G

People are responsible for the loss of the rainforests.

H

The rainforests are a source of oxygen.

I

Rainforests are of consequence for a number of different reasons.

J

As the rainforests are destroyed, the world gets warmer.

K

Without rainforests there would not be enough oxygen in the air.

L

There are people for whom the rainforests are home.

M

Rainforests are found in Africa.

N

Rainforests are not really important to human life.

O

The destruction of the rainforests is the direct result of logging activity.

P

Humans depend on the rainforests for their continuing existence.

Question 14

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, D or E.

Write your answer in box 14 on your answer sheet.

Which of the following is the most suitable title for Reading Passage 1?

A

The development of a programme in environmental studies within a science curriculum

B

Children

’

s ideas about the rainforests and the implications for course design

C

The extent to which children have been misled by the media concerning the rainforests

D

How to collect, collate and describe the ideas of secondary school children

E

The importance of the rainforests and the reasons for their destruction

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-26 which are based on Reading Passage

2 below.

What Do Whales Feel?

An examination of the functioning of the senses in cetaceans

鲸

, the group of mammals

哺乳

动物

comprising

包括

whales, dolphins and porpoises

海豚

一

Some

of

the

senses

that

we

and

other

terrestrial

陆生的

mammals

take

for

granted

are

either reduced

减弱的

or absent

缺席的

不存在的

in cetaceans or fail to function well in water.

For

example,

it

appears

from

their

brain

structure

that

toothed

有牙齿的

species

are

unable

to

smell. Baleen species,

鲸须

on the other hand, appear to have some related brain structures but it

is not known whether these are functional.

有功能的

起作用的

It has been speculated

推测

猜

测

that, as the blowholes

气孔

evolved

进化

and migrated

移动

to the top of the head, the neural

神经系统的

pathways

神经链

serving

sense

of

smell

may

have

been

nearly

all

sacrificed.

牺牲

Similarly,

although

at

least some

cetaceans

have

taste

buds

味蕾

,

the

nerves

serving

these

have

degenerated

退化

or are rudimentary

.

未完全发育的

第

15

题

二

The sense of touch has sometimes been described as weak too, but this view is probably

mistaken. Trainers of captive

人工饲养

dolphins and small whales often remark on

评论

评价

their

animals

’

responsiveness

敏感度

to

being

touched

or

rubbed

摩擦

,

and

both

captive

and

free- ranging

自由放养的

cetacean individuals of all species (particularly adults and calves,

幼崽

or members of the same subgroup

副族

) appear to make frequent contact

接触

碰触

.

This contact

may help to maintain

维持

order

秩序

within a group, and stroking

抚摸

or touching are part of

the courtship

求偶

ritual

仪式

in most species.

第

22

题

The area around the blowhole

喷水孔

is

also

particularly

sensitive

敏感的

and

captive

animals

often

object

不喜欢

strongly

to

being

touched there.

三

The sense of vision is developed to different degrees in different species. Baleen species

studied at close quarters

区域

underwater - specifically a grey whale calf in captivity

囚禁

for a

year, and free-ranging right whales

露脊鲸

and humpback whales

座头鲸

studied and filmed

拍

成电影

off Argentina and Hawaii - have obviously tracked

追踪

objects with vision underwater,

and they can apparently see moderately

一般的

有限的

well both in water and in air.

However,

the position of the eyes so restricts

约束

the field of vision in baleen whales that they probably do

not have stereoscopic

立体的

v ision.

第

16

题

四

On the other hand, the position of the eyes in most dolphins and porpoises suggests that

they have stereoscopic vision forward and downward.

第

17

题

Eye position in freshwater

淡水

dolphins, which often swim on their side or

upside

down

颠倒

while feeding, suggests that what

vision they have is stereoscopic forward and upward.

第

18

题第

23

题

By comparison,

相比之下

the

bottlenose

dolphin

宽吻海豚

has

extremely

keen

明锐的

vision

in

water.

Judging

from

the

way it watches and tracks airborne

在飞行的

flying fish

飞鱼

, it can apparently see fairly

相当

well through the air-water interface

界面

as well.

第

19

题第

24

题

And although preliminary

初

步的

ex perimental

实验的

evidence suggests that their in-air vision is poor, the accuracy

精确度

with which dolphins leap

跳跃

high to take small fish out of a trainer

’

s hand provides anecdotal

趣闻

evidence to the contrary

相反地

.

五

Such variation

变化变异

can no doubt be explained with reference to

关于

就。

。

。而论

the habitats

栖息地

in which individual species have developed

. For example, vision is obviously

more

useful

to

species

inhabiting

栖息

clear

open

waters

than

to

those

living

in

turbid

浑浊的

rivers and flooded plains

平原

.

第

25

题

The South American boutu

亚马逊海豚

and Chinese beiji,

for instance, appear to have very limited vision, and the Indian susus are blind, their eyes reduced

to slits

裂缝

that probably allow them to sense only the direction and intensity of light

光强

.

六

Although

the

senses

of

taste

and

smell

appear

to

have

deteriorated

恶化

,

and

vision

in

water

appears

to

be

uncertain,

such

weaknesses

are

more

than

compensated

弥补

for

by

cetaceans

’

well- developed

发达的

acoustic

听觉的