Passage One The concept of "environment" is certainly difficult and may even be misunderstood; but we have no handy substitute. It seems simple enough to distinguish between the organism and the surrounding environment and to separate forces acting on an organism into those that are internal and biological and those that are external and environmental. But in actual practice this system breaks down in many ways, because the organism and the environment are constantly interacting so that the environment is modified by the organism and vice versa. In the case of man, the difficulties with the environmental concept are even more complicated because we have to deal with man as an animal and with man as a bearer (持有者) of culture. If we look at man as an animal and try to analyze the environmental forces that are acting on the organism, we find that we have to deal with things like climate, soil, plants, and such-like factors common to all biological situations; but we also find, always, very important environmental influences that we can only class as "cultural", which modify the physical and biological factors. But man, as we know him, is always a bearer of culture; and if we study human culture, we find that it, in turn, is modified by the environmental factors of climate and geography. We thus easily get into great difficulties from the necessity of viewing culture, at one moment, as a part of the man and, at another moment, as a part of the environment.
1. Which of the following words can best describe the popular understanding of "environment" as the author sees it?
Passage Two A computer is a machine designed to perform work mathematically and to store and select information that has been fed into it. It is run by either mechanical or electronic means. These machines can do a great deal of complicated work in a very short time. A large computer, for example, can add or subtract nine thousand times a second, multiply a thousand times a second, or divide five hundred times a second. Its percentage of error is about one in a billion digits. It has been estimated that human beings making calculations average about one mistake per two hundred digits. The heart of an electronic computer lies in its vacuum tubes, or transistors. Its electronic circuits work a thousand times faster than the nerve ceils in the human brain. A problem that might take a human being two years to solve can be solved by a computer in one minute, but in order to work properly, a computer must be given instructions—it must be programmed. Computers can be designed for many specialized purposes, they can be used to prepare payrolls, guide airplane flights, direct traffic, even to play chess. Computers play an essential role in modern automation in many plants and factories throughout the world.
1. Computers are valuable to industry because they ______.
Passage Three Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there's a big difference between "being a writer" and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter. "You've got to want to write," I say to them, "not want to be a writer. " The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20-year career in the US Coast Guard to become a freelance writer (自由撰稿者), I had no prospects at all; What I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. It didn't even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used manual typewriter and felt like a genuine writer. After a year or so, however, I still hadn't gotten a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that barely made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn't going to be one of those people who die wondering, what if? I would keep putting my dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
1. The passage is meant to ______.
A.warn young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to experience
B.advise young people to give up their idea of becoming a professional writer
C.show young people it's unrealistic for a writer to pursue wealth and fame
D.encourage young people to pursue a writing career
5. "Shadowland" in the last sentence refers to ______.
A.the wonderland one often dreams about
B.the bright future that one is looking forward to
C.the state of uncertainty before one's final goal is reached
D.a world that exists only in one's imagination
A B C D
C
本题是一道词语含义类问题。利用查阅式阅读法,我们可以在文章的最后一句话中找到测试的词汇。根据所考词汇的上下文,我们可以推断出带有所考词汇句子中的this指的是前一句自even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure(……即使这种生活意味着前途未卜和生活在失败的恐惧中)。因此本题的正确答案应是C“指在实现目标之前的那种前途未卜的境况”。
Passage Four In an average winter, highway departments spread some ten million tons of salt to keep roads safe. The corrosive effects are well known, but for years they've been dismissed with the argument that at around $25 a ton, salt is far cheaper than any alternative. Lately, economists have added up the actual costs. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that salt-induced road damage and vehicle corrosion cost $3 billion a year. That does not include damage to underground cables, which adds hundreds of millions to utility bills. Nor does it reflect the cost or salty water leaking into roadbeds, which kills evergreens and poisons streams. The various costs probably add another $2 billion to the national salt bill. Scientists estimate the full economic, or "life cycle", cost for a ton of salt at $500, or 20 times the $25 purchase price. That begins to make the switch to calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), perhaps the most promising alternative, look practical. CMA costs $600 a ton and has minimal side effect. Some researchers believe the cost can be halved by making CMA from waste cheese whey (乳浆). While CMA and other alternatives are being researched, many cities and states are cutting back on their use of salt.
1. In the second sentence of Para. 1, the word "they" refers to ______.
Passage Five The food we eat seems to have profound effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely, to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures. That food is related to illnesses is not a new discovery. In 1945, about 35 years ago, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cows. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue.
1. What is the best possible title of the passage?