2019年PETS四级阅读理解练习题2篇
第一篇
Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the sole measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.
To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so .medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a predominantly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today. It had minimal effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. In terms of energy use and the nutrients captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.
Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution. Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. Throughout this period food became cheaper, safe and more reliable. However, these changes have also led to habitat(栖息地)loss and to diminishing biodiversity.
What’s more, demand for animal products in developing countries is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050.yet the growth of cities and industry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.
All this means that agriculture in the 21stcentury will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th.thiswill require radical thinking. For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are inevitably more sustainable than new ones. We also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be “zero impact”. The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.
Instead we need a more dynamic interpretation, one that looks at the pros and cons(正反两方面)of all the various way land is used. There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.
What is crucial is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.
1. How do people often measure progress in agriculture?
A) By its productivity C) By its impact on the environment
B) By its sustainability D) By its contribution to economic growth
2. Specialisation and the effort to increase yields have resulted in________.
A) Localised pollution C) competition from overseas
B) the shrinking of farmland D) the decrease of biodiversity
3. What does the author think of traditional farming practices?
A) They have remained the same over the centuries B) They have not kept pace with population growth
C) They are not necessarily sustainable D) They are environmentally friendly
4. What will agriculture be like in the 21st century
A) It will go through radical changes B) It will supply more animal products
C) It will abandon traditional farming practices D) It will cause zero damage to the environment
5 What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A) To remind people of the need of sustainable development
B) To suggest ways of ensuring sustainable food production
C) To advance new criteria for measuring farming progress
D) To urge people to rethink what sustainable agriculture is
参考答案BDCAD
第二篇
Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind’s long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn’t help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt’s leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey’s bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.
But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left — all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed.
Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the costs and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don’t need a dam to be saved.
1. The third sentence of paragraph 1 implies that ____.
A. people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality
B. the blind could be happier than the sighted
C. over-excited people tend to neglect vital things
D. fascination makes people lose their eyesight
2. In paragraph 5, “the powerless” probably refers to ____.
A. areas short of electricity B. dams without power stations
C. poor countries around India D. common people in the Narmada Dam area
3. What is the myth concerning giant dams?
A. They bring in more fertile soil. B. They help defend the country.
C. They strengthen international ties. D. They have universal control of the waters.
4. What the author tries to suggest may best be interpreted as ____.
A. “It’s no use crying over spilt milk” B. “More haste, less speed”
C. “Look before you leap” D. “He who laughs last laughs best”
参考答案：CDDC
