2019年上半年学位英语考试练习及答案（十）

　　Part I Reading Comprehension (30%)

　　Directions: There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.

　　Passage 1

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

　　When Christopher Columbus "discovered" the New World in 1492, he thought he had reached the continent of Asia and had landed in India. He called the people he found in this new land "Indians"—the ancestors of the American.

　　Indians had come from Asia thousands of years before Columbus saw them.

　　Thousands of years ago, the Earth was in an ice age. (76)People who lived in northeastern Asia found their homeland growing colder. Huge sheets of ice were spreading over the land, and animals people hunted for food were being forced away. The people also had to move, to stay near the animals. Some groups of people crossed Bering Strait from Asia to North Pacific Ocean, which separates northeastern Asia from Alaska. (77)These people slowly traveled east and south, searching for areas where hunting was good. Their children and all those who came after them continued to spread throughout the New World.

　　The Indians do not have yellowish skin that many Asian people have. Their skin is reddish brown. But like the people of Japan and other countries of Asia, Indians usually have high cheekbones and straight black hair.

　　1. In 1492, Christopher Columbus __

　　A. found American Indians in Asia B. thought he had reached India

　　C. landed in India D. reached the continent of Asia

　　2. Thousands of years ago people were forced to leave their homeland because __

　　A. the earth was in an ice age

　　B. they found their homeland getting colder

　　C. huge sheets of ice were spreading over the land

　　D. they had to stay near the animals they hunted for food

　　3. Bering Strait is __

　　A. part of the largest ocean in the world

　　B. in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean

　　C. a river which separates Asia and North America

　　D. a river which separates northeastern Asia and Alaska

　　4. According to the writer, the New World means __

　　A. Asia B. Alaska

　　C. North America D. the land on the both sides of the Bering Strait

　　5. Which of the following statements is not correct?

　　A. The Indians have yellowish skin B. The Indians have straight black hair

　　C. People of Japan have high cheekbones D. The Indians have reddish brown skin

　　Passage 2

　　Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.

　　What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old question and the answers to them are still not clear.

　　We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental (done with the mind) exercise is particularly important for young children. (78)Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. (79)The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.

　　Parents should also be careful what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive (helpful) things to their children, such as "That was a very clever thing you did." or "You are such a smart child."

　　6. The words "intelligent" and "brilliant" in the first paragraph probably mean __ while "dull" in the second paragraph means __

　　A. bright and splendid.., slow in thinking and understanding

　　B. pretty and handsome.., ordinary-looking

　　C. great and important.., common

　　D. hopeful and helpful.., careless

　　7. According to the context we can guess that a genius is __ while an idiot is___.

　　A. a normal person.., a funny person

　　B. a strong person.., a weak person

　　C. a highly intelligent person.., a foolish or weak-minded person

　　D. a famous person.., an ordinary person

　　8. A person __ is more likely to become a genius.

　　A. whose parents are clever

　　B. often thinking about difficult problem

　　C. often helped by his parents and teachers

　　D. born with a good brain and putting it to active use

　　9. It is better for parents_____________

　　A. to praise and encourage their children more often

　　B. to be hard on their children

　　C. to leave their children alone with nothing to do

　　D. to give their children as much help as possible

　　10. Which of the following is not true according to the article?

　　A. Parents play an important part in their children's growth.

　　B. The less you use your mind the duller you may become.

　　C. Intelligence is obviously the result of where and how you live.

　　ID. Parents should always encourage their children.

　　Passage 3

　　Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:

　　Scientists were embroiled(使…卷入) last week in an international row over genetically modified cotton (GM cotton).

　　A study in China suggested for the first time that the crop was permanently damaging the environment and that insects were building up resistance to it.

　　The study, by the Nanjing institute of Environmental Science, combined the laboratory and field work from four Chinese scientific institutes. The study was done over a several-year period.

　　GM cotton had a gene resistance to the cotton bollworm棉铃虫) and isolated from the bacterium (细菌) named Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), but the study found that it harms the natural parasitic (寄生的) enemies of the cotton bollworm.

　　It also indicated that populations of pests besides the bollworm had increased in Bt cotton fields and some had replaced the bollworm as the primary pest.

　　However, the leading GM company, the US's Monsanto, which controls more than 80 per cent of the Bt cotton grown worldwide, dismissed the research.

　　It said that the industry has always cited GM cotton as its biggest success, because it can increase yields by up to 60 per cent and reduce the need for pesticides(杀虫剂) by 80 per cent.

　　But, unfortunately for the industry, (80) the scientists also found that the resistance of Bt cotton to bollworm decreased significantly over time.

　　11. Why scientists say no to GM cotton?

　　A. Because the cotton was genetically modified.

　　B. Because the cotton was found to damage the environment.

　　C. Because the cotton harms the bollworm.

　　D. Because Monsanto dismissed the research.

　　12. The underlined word "yields" means________

　　A. plants B. giving up

　　C. establishment D. productions

　　13. In Bt cotton fields, some pests replaced the bollworm as the primary pest because __

　　A. their favorite food is Bt cotton

　　B. the bollworms were killed out by the Bt cotton

　　C. both their enemies and the bollworm were all killed by Bt cotton

　　D. people used the pesticides

　　14. Which of the following is NOT the difference between Bt cotton and common cotton?

　　A. Bt cotton is stronger than common cotton.

　　B. Bt cotton yields more than common cotton.

　　C. Bt cotton needs less pesticides than common cotton.

　　D. Bt cotton is harm to cotton bollworms.

　　15. The author imply that __

　　A. The US's Monsanto agreed with the results of Chinese scientists' study

　　13. GM cotton is an ideal crop

　　C. The US's Monsanto dismissed the research for its own profit

　　D. Cotton bollworm has no resistance to Bt cotton over time