三、英语阅读理解题 阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。 Imagine waking up and finding the value of your assets has been halved. No, you're not an investor in one of those hedge funds that failed completely. With the dollar slumping to a 26-year low against the pound, already-expensive London has become quite unafford able. A coffee at Starbucks, just as unavoidable in England as it is in the United States, runs about ¥8. The once all-powerful dollar isn't doing a Titanic against just the pound. It is sitting at a record low against the euro and at a 30-year low against the Canadian dollar. Even the Argentine peso and Brazilian real are thriving against the dollar. The weak dollar is a source of humiliation, for a nation's self-esteem rests in part on the strength of its currency. It's also a potential economic problem, since a declining dollar makes imported food more expensive and exerts upward pressure on interest rates. And yet there are substantial sectors of the vast U.S. economy from giant companies like Coca-Cola to morn-and-pop restaurant operators in Miami for which the weak dollar is most excellent news. Many Europeans may view the U.S. as an arrogant superpower that has become hostile to foreigners. But nothing makes people think more warmly of the U.S. than a weak dollar. Through April, the totalnumber of visitors from abroad was up 6.8 percent from last year. Should the trend continue, the numberof tourists this year will finally top the 2000 peak? Many Europeans now apparently view the U.S. the waymany Americans view Mexico as a cheap place to vacation, shop and party, all while ignoring the factthat the poorer locals can't afford to join the merrymaking. The money tourists spend helps decrease our chronic trade deficit. So do exports, which thanks in part to the weak dollar, soared 11 percent between May 2006 and May 2007. For first five months of 2007, the trade deficit actually fell 7 percent from 2006. If you own shares in large American corporations, you're a winner in the weak-dollar gamble. Last week Coca-Cola's stick bubbled to a five-year high after it reported a fantastic quarter. Foreign sales accounted for 65 percent of Coke's beverage business. Other American companies profiting from this trend include McDonald's and IBM. American tourists, however, shouldn't expect any relief soon. The dollar lost strength the way many marriages break up slowly, and then all at once. And currencies don't turn on a dime. So if you want to avoid the pain inflicted by the increasingly pathetic dollar, cancel that summer vacation to England and look to New England. There, the dollar is still treated with a little respect.
1. Why do Americans feel humiliated?
A.Their economy is plunging.
B.They can't afford trips to Europe.
C.Their currency has slumped.
D.They have lost half of their assets.
A B C D
C
[解析] 问题为“为什么美国人感觉屈辱”。根据第三段“The weak dollar is a source of humiliation, for a nation's self-esteem rests in part on the strength of its currency.”可知美元的贬值是屈辱的来源,因为一个国家的自尊部分来自于货币的强势。换言之,美国人感觉屈辱是因为货币兑换过程中美元优势已大不如前。故选C。
2. How does the weak dollar affect the life of ordinary Americans?
A.They have to cancel their vacations in New England.
B.They find it unaffordable to dine in mom-and-pop restaurants.
C.They have to spend more money when buying imported goods.
D.They might lose their jobs due to potential economic problems.
3. How do many Europeans feel about the U.S with the devalued dollar?
A.They think of it as a good tourist destination.
B.They feel contemptuous of it.
C.They regard it as a superpower on the decline.
D.They are sympathetic with it.
A B C D
A
[解析] 根据第四段中的数据及“Many Europeans now apparently view the U.S. the way many Americans view Mexico as a cheap place to vacation,shop and party...”可知欧洲人认为美国是度假、购物、开派对的好地方。故选A。
4. According to the last paragraph, what is the author's advice to Americans?
A.They treat the dollar with a little respect.
B.They try to win in the weak-dollar gamble.
C.They treasure their marriages all the more.
D.They vacation at home rather than abroad.
A B C D
D
[解析] 根据最后一段“So if you want to avoid the pain inflicted by the increasingly pathetic dollar, cancel that summer vacation to England and look to New England. There, the dollar is still treated with a little respect.”可知D项正确。
5. In the author's opinion, the weak dollar leads to the following consequences EXCEPT that ______.
A.The dallar has little respect in New England.
B.Europeans begin to think more warmly of the U.S..
C.Imported food is more expensive to the Americans.
D.Some large American corporations make more profits.
A B C D
A
[解析] 根据原文最后一段可知,在新英格兰地区,美元还是被人们尊重的。A项意思与此相反,故选A。
Desertification, drought, and despair-that's what global warming has in store for much of Africa. Or so we hear. Emerging evidence is painting a very different scenario, one in which rising temperatures could benefit millions of Africans in the driest parts of the continent. Scientists are now seeing signals that the Sahara desert and surrounding regions are greening due to increasing rainfall. If sustained, these rains could revitalize drought-ravaged regions, reclaiming them for farming communities. This desert-shrinking trend is supported by climate models, which predict a return to conditions that turned the Sahara into a lush savanna some 12,000 years ago. The green shoots of recovery are showing up on satellite images of regions including the Sahel, a semi-desert zone bordering the Sahara to the south that stretches some 2,400 miles. Images taken between 1982 and 2002 revealed extensive regreening throughout the Sahel, according to a new study in the journal Biogeosciences. The study suggests huge increases in vegetation in areas including central Chad and western Sudan. The transition may be occurring because hotter air has more capacity to hold moisture, which in turn creates more rain, said Martin Claussen of the Max Planek Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, who was not involved in the new study. "The water-holding capacity of the air is the main driving force," Claussen said. While satellite images can't distinguish temporary plants like grasses that come and go with the rains, ground surveys suggest recent vegetation change is firmly rooted. In the eastern Sahara area of southwestern Egypt and northern Sudan, new trees--such as acacias--are flourishing, according to Stefan Kr? pelin, a climate scientist at the University of Cologne's Africa Research Unit in Germany. "Before, there was not a single scorpion, not a single blade of grass," saidKr?pelin, who has studied the region for two decades."Now you have people grazing their camels in areas which may not have been used for hundreds or even thousands of years. You see birds, ostriches, gazelles coming back, even sorts of amphibians coming back," he said." The trend has continued for more than 20 years. It is indisputable." An explosion in plant growth has been predicted by some climate models. For instance, in 2005 a team led by Reindert Haarsma of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute in De Bilt, the Netherlands, forecast significantly more future rainfall in the Sahel. The study in Geophysical Research Letters predicted that rainfall in the July to September wet season would rise by up to two millimeters a day by 2080. Satellite data shows "that indeed during the last decade, the Sahel is becoming more green," Haarsma said.Even so, climate scientists don't agree on how future climate change will affect the Sahel: Somestudies simulate a decrease in rainfall "This issue is still rather uncertain," Haarsma said. Max Planck's Claussen said North Africa is the area of greatest disagreement among climate change modelers. Forecasting how global warming will affect the region is complicated by its vast size and the unpredictable influence of high-altitude winds that disperse monsoon rains, Claussen added."Half the models follow a wetter trend, and half a drier trend."
6. According to the first paragraph, global warming is supposed to have the following impacts on Africa EXCEPT ______.
A.water deficiency
B.distress
C.desertifications
D.more grasses and lakes
A B C D
D
[解析] 根据第一段第一句话“Desertification, drought, and despair--that's what global warming has in store for much of Africa.”可知,desertification, drought, and despair”是全球变暖给非洲带来的影响。A项和B项中的“water deficiency”和“distress”分别是文中“drought”和“despair”的同义表达,C项中的desertifications在文中有直接提及,只有D项在第一段中没有提及,故选D。
7. According to Martin Claussen, what is the main cause of the increased vegetation in deserted areas?
A.The climate models are more changeable.
B.Hot air would be more capable to hold humidity.
C.Many trees have been planted recently.
D.The grasses are temporarily appeared with the rains.
A B C D
B
[解析] 根据第四段第三句“The transition may be occurring because hotter air has more capacity to hold moisture, which in turn creates more rain, said Martin Claussen...”可知,沙漠地区植被的增加的原因是“hotter air has more capacity to hold moisture”,即热空气有较强的持水能力,B选项即为原文的同义表述,故选B。
8. What is the role of the sixth paragraph in the development of the topic?
A.To make a transition to a new topic.
B.To work as a book to the following paragraphs.
C.To provide a contrast to the preceding paragraphs.
D.To offer supporting evidence to the preceding paragraphs.
A B C D
D
[解析] 根据第六段第二、三句“Now you have people grazing their camels in areas which may not have been used for hundreds or even thousands of years. You see birds,ostriches,gazelles coming back,even sorts of amphibians coming back...”可知,现在曾经寸草不生之地,现如今已恢复生机,骆驼、鸟类等都再次回归。通过第六段所描绘的情景可知,作者是借助第六段的内容来支撑上文所述的观点,即沙漠化情况逐渐好转。故选D。
9. The underlined sentence "... North Africa is the area of greatest disagreement among climate change modelers" in the last paragraph suggests that ______.
A.half of the area will follow a wetter trend, while half a drier trend
B.the scientists in North Afrca hold different opinions in climate models
C.it is not easy to predict how the climate change influences the district
D.there are different climate models to be built in North Africa
10. What are the climate scientists" attitudes towards the influence of climate change on the deserted areas?
A.Definite
B.Dubious
C.Serious
D.Negative
A B C D
B
[解析] 文章倒数第二段提到“Even so, climate scientists don't agree on how future climate change will affect the Sahel: Some studies simulate a decrease in rainfall. 'This issue is still rather uncertain,' Haarsma said.”可知,气象学家在气候变化对沙漠地区的影响方面所持的观点是不确定的,犹豫不决的,故选B。