雅思模拟试卷-阅读

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on

Questions 1-13,

which are based on Reading Passage 1 on

pages 3 and 4.

Questions 1-6

Reading Passage 1 has six paragraphs, A-F.

Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number,

i-ix, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

ⅰ

The appearance and location of different seaweeds

ⅱ

The nutritional value of seaweeds

ⅲ

How seaweeds reproduce and grow

ⅳ

How to make agar from seaweeds

ⅴ

The under-use of native seaweeds

ⅵ

Seaweed species at risk of extinction

ⅶ

Recipes for how to cook seaweeds

ⅷ

The range of seaweed products

ⅸ

Why seaweeds don’t sink or dry out

1

2

3

4

5

6

Paragraph A

Paragraph B

Paragraph C

Paragraph D

Paragraph E

Paragraph F

3

Seaweeds of New Zealand

A

Seaweed is a particularly wholesome food, which absorbs and concentrates traces of a wide

variety

of

minerals

necessary

to

the

body’s

health.

Many

elements

may

occur

in

seaweed- aluminum, barium, calcium, chlorine, copper, iodine and iron, to name but a few-traces

normally

produced

by

erosion

and

carried

to

the

seaweed

beds

by

river

and

sea

currents.

Seaweeds

are

also

rich

in

vitamins;

indeed,

Inuits

obtain

a

high

proportion

of

their

bodily

requirements of vitamin C from the seaweeds they eat. The health benefits of seaweed have long

been recognized. For instance, there is a remarkably low incidence of goiter among the Japanese,

and also among New Zealand’s indigenous Maori people, who have always eaten seaweeds, and

this may well be attributed to the high iodine content of this food. Research into historical Maori

eating customs shows that jellies were made using seaweeds, nuts, fuchsia and tutu berries, cape

gooseberries,

and

many

other

fruits

both

native

to

New

Zealand

and

sown

there

from

seeds

brought by settlers and explores. As with any plant life, some seaweeds are more palatable than

others,

but

in

a

survival

situation,

most

seaweeds

could

be

chewed

to

provide

a

certain

sustenance.

B

New Zealand lays claim to approximately 700 species of seaweed, some of which have no

representation outside that country. Of several species grown worldwide, New Zealand also has a

particularly large share. For example, it is estimated that New Zealand has some 30 species of

Gigartina,

a

close

relative

of

carrageen

of

Irish

moss.

These

are

often

referred

to

as

the

New

Zealand carrageens. The substance called agar which can be extracted from these species gives

them great commercial application in the production of seameal, from which seameal custard (a

food product) is made, and in the canning, paint and leather industries. Agar is also used in the

manufacture of cough mixtures, cosmetics, confectionery and toothpastes. In fact, during World

War II, New Zealand Gigartina were sent to Australia to be used in toothpaste.

C

New

Zealand

has

many

of

the

commercially

profitable

red

seaweeds,

several

species

of

which

are

a

source

of

agar

(

Pterocladia,

Gelidium,

Chondrus,

Gigartina).

Despite

this,

these

seaweeds

were

not

much

utilized

until

several

decades

ago.

Although

distribution

of

the

Gigartina is confined to certain areas according to species. And even then, the east coast, and the

area around Hokianga, have a considerable supply of the two species of Pterocladia from which

agar is also made. New Zealand used to import the Northern Hemisphere Irish moss ( Chondrus

crispus) from England and ready-made agar from Japan.

D

Seaweeds

are

divided

into

three

classes

determined

by

colour-red,

brown

and

green-and

each tends to live in a specific position. However, expect for the unmistakable sea lettuce (Ulva),

few are totally one colour; and especially when dry, some species can change color significantly-a

brown one may turn quite black, or a red one appear black, brown, pink or purple. Identification

is

nevertheless

facilitated

by

the

fact

that

the

factors

which

determine

where

a

seaweed

will

grow

are

quite

precise,

and

they

tend

therefore

to

occur

in

very

well-defined

zones.

Although

there are exceptions, the green seaweeds are mainly shallow- water algae; the browns belong to

the medium depths; and the reds are plants of the deeper water, furthest from the shore. Those

shallow-water species able to resist long periods of exposure to sun and air are usually found on

the upper shore, while those less able to withstand such exposure occur nearer to, of below, the

low-water mark. Radiation from the sun, the temperature level, and the length of time immersed

also play a part in the zoning of seaweeds. Flat rock surfaces near mid-level tides are the most

usual

habitat

of

sea-

bombs,

Venus’

necklace,

and

most

brown

seaweeds.

This

is

also

reddish-purple

lettuce.

Deep-water

rocks

on

open

coasts,

exposed

only

at

very

low

tide,

are

usually the site of bull-kelp, strapweeds and similar tough specimens. Kelp, or bladder kelp,

has stems that rise to the surface from massive bases or holdfasts, the leafy branches and long

ribbons of leaves surging with the swells beyond the line of shallow coastal breakers or covering

vast areas of calmer coastal water.

E

Propagation of seaweeds occurs by seed- like spores, or by fertilization of egg cells. None

have roots in the usual sense; few have leaves; and none have flowers, fruits or seeds. The plants

absorb their nourishment through their leafy fronds when they are surrounded by water; the

holdfast of seaweeds is purely an attaching organ not an absorbing one.

F

Some of the large seaweeds stay on the surface of the water by means of air-filled floats;

others, such as bull-kelp, have large cells filled with air, often reduce dehydration either by having

swollen stems that contain water, or they may (like Venus’ necklace) have swollen nodules, or

they may have a distinctive shape like a sea-bomb. Others, like the sea cactus, are filled with a

slimy fluid or have a coating of mucilage on the surface. In some of the larger kelps, this coating is

not only to keep the plant moist, but also to protect it from the violent action of waves.

5

Questions 7-10

Complete the flow-chart below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes7-10 on your answer sheet.

Gigartina seaweed

(other name

：

7

)

↓

Produces

↓

8

Is used to make

is used to make

9

--medicines, such

As 10

Is used to make

---cosmetics

A type of custard

----sweets

-----toothpastes

Questions 11-13

Classify the following characteristics as belong to

A

brown seaweed

B

green seaweed

C

red seaweed

Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.

11

can survive the heat and dryness at the high-water mark

12

grow far out in the open sea

13

share their site with karengo seaweed

6

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2

on pages 6 and 7.

TWO WINGS AND A TOOLKIT

A research team at Oxford University discover the remarkable toolmaking skills of New

Caledonian crowns

Betty and her mate Abel are captive crows in the care of Alex Kacelnik, an expert in animal

behavior at Oxford University. They belong to a forest- dwelling species of bird (

Corvus

moneduloides)

confined to two islands in the South Pacific. New Caledonian crows are tenacious

predators, and the only birds that habitually use a wide selection of self-made tools to find food.

One of the wild crows’ cleverest tools in the crochet hook, made by detaching a side twig from a

larger one, leaving enough of the larger twig to shape into a hook. Equally cunning is a tool

crafted from the barbed vine-leaf, which consists of a central rib with paired leaflets each with a

rose- like thorn at the top, which remains as a ready- made hook to prise out insects from

awkward cracks.

The crows also make an ingenious tool called a padanus probe from padanus tree leaves. The

tool has a broad base, sharp tip, a row of tiny hooks along one edge, and a tapered shape

created by the crow nipping and tearing to form a progression of three or four steps along the

other edge of the leaf. What makes this tool special is that they manufacture it to a standard

design, as if following a set of instructions. Although it is rare to catch a crow in the act of

clipping out a padanus probe, we do have ample proof of their workmanship: the discarded

leaves from which the tools are cut. The remarkable thing that these ‘counterpart’ leaves tell us

is that crows consistently produce the same design every time. With no in-between or trail

versions. It’s left the researchers wondering whether, like people, they envisage the tool before

they start and perform the actions they know are needed to make it. Research has revealed that

genetics plays a part in the less sophisticated toolmaking skills of finches in the Galapagos

islands. No one knows if that’s also the case for New Caledonian crows, but it’s highly unlikely

that their toolmaking skills are hardwired into the brain. “The picture so far points to a

combination of cultural transmission-from parent birds to their young-and individual

resourcefulness”, says Kacelnik.

In a test at Oxford, Kacelnik’s team offered Betty and Abel an original challenge

-food in a bucket

at the bottom of a ‘well’. The only way to get the food was to hook t

he bucket out by its handle.

Given a choice of tools- a straight length of wire and one with a hooked end- the birds

immediately picked the hook, showing that they did indeed understand the functional

properties of the tool.

7

But do they also have the foresight and creativity to plan the construction of their tools?

It appears they do. In one bucket-in-the-well test. Abel carried off the hook, leaving Betty with

nothing but the straight wire. ‘What happened next was absolutely amazing’, says Kacelnik. Sh

e

wedged the tip of the wire into a crack in a plastic dish and pulled the other end to fashion her

own hook. Wild crows don’t have access to pliable, bendable material that retains its shape, and

Betty’s only similar experience was a brief encounter with

some pipe cleaners a year earlier. In

nine out of ten further tests, she again made hooks and retrieved the bucket.

The question of what’s going on in a crow’s mind will take time and a lot more experiments to

answer,

but

there

could

be

a

lesson

in

it

for

understanding

our

own

evolution.

Maybe

our

ancestors, who suddenly began to create symmetrical tools with carefully worked edges some

1.5 million years ago, didn’t actually have the sophisticated mental abilities with which we credit

them. Close scrutiny of the brains of New Caledonian crows might provide a few pointers to the

special attributes they would have needed. ‘If we’re lucky we may find specific developments in

the brain that set these animals apart,’ says Kacelnik.

One

of

these

might

be

a very

strong

degree

of

laterality-the

specialization

of

one

side

of

the

brain to perform specific tasks. In people, the left side of the brain controls the processing of

complex

sequential

tasks,

and

also

language

and

speech.

One

of

the

consequences

of

this

is

thought to be right-handedness. Interestingly, biologists have noticed that most padanus proves

are cut from the left side of the leaf, meaning that the handedness. The team thinks this reflects

the fact that the left side of the crow’s brain is specialized

to handle the sequential processing

required to make complex tools.

Under what conditions might this extraordinary talent have emerged in these two species? They

are both social creatures, and wide-ranging in their feeding habits. These factors were probably

important but, ironically, it may have been their shortcomings that

triggered the evolution of

toolmaking. Maybe the ancestors of crows and humans found themselves in a position of where

they couldn’t make the physical adaptations required for surviva

l

–

so they had to change their

behavior

instead.

The

stage

was

then

set

for

the

evolution

of

those

rare

cognitive

skills

that

produce sophisticated tools. New Caledonian crows may tell us what those crucial skills are.