英語四級閱讀材料必備1
When global warming finally came, it stuck with avengeance(異乎尋常地) some regions, temperatures rose several degrees in less than acentury. Sea levels shot up nearly 400 feet. floodingcoastal settlements and forcing people to migrateinland. Deserts spread throughout the world asvegetation shifted drastically in North America. Europe and Asia. After driving many of theanimals around them to near extinction, people were forced to abandon their old way of lifefor a radically new survival strategy that resulted in widespread starvation and disease. The adaptation was farming: the global-warming crisis that gave rise to it happened morethan 10,000 years ago.
As environmentalists convene in Rio de Janeiro this week to ponder the global climate of thefuture, earth scientists are in the midst of a revolution in understanding how climate haschanged in the past-and how those changes have transformed human existence. Researchershave begun to piece together an illuminating picture of the powerful geological andastronomical forces that have combined to change the planet's environment from hot tocold, wet to dry and back again over a time period stretching back hundreds of millions ofyears.
Most important. scientists are beginning to realize that the climatic changes have bad a majorimpact on the evolution of the human species. New research now suggests that climateshifts have played a key role in nearly every significant turning point in human evolution: fromthe dawn of primates(靈長目動物) some 65 million years ago to human ancestors rising up towalk on two legs. from the huge expansion of the human brain to the rise of agriculture. Indeed, the human history has not been merely touched by global climate change, somescientists argue, it has in some instances been driven by it.
The new research has profound implications for the environment summit in Rio. Amongother things, the findings demonstrate that dramatic climate change is nothing new forplanet Earth. The benign(宜人的) global environment that has existed over the past 10,000 years-during which agriculture. writing, cities and most other features of civilization appeared-isa mere bright spot in a much larger pattern of widely varying climate over the ages. In fact, the pattern of climate change in the past reveals that Earth's climate will almost certainly gothrough dramatic changes in the future-even without the influence of human activity.
ing emerged as a survival strategybecause man had been obliged__________.
A) to give up his former way of life
B) to leave the coastal areas
C) to follow the ever-shifting vegetation
D) to abandon his original settlement
2. Earth scientists have come to understand that climate____________.
A)is going through a fundamental change
B)has been getting warmer for 10,000 years
C) will eventually change from hot to cold
D) has gone through periodical changes
ntists believe that human evolution________.
A) has seldom been accompanied by climatic changes
B) has exerted little influence on climatic changes
C) has largely been affected by climatic changes
D) has had a major impact on climatic changes
ence of past climatic changes indicates that__________.
A) human activities have accelerated changes of Earth's environment
B) Earth’s environment will remain mild despite human interference
C) Earth's climate is bound to change significantly in the future
D) Earth's climate is unlikely to undergo substantial changes in the future
message the author wishes to convey in the passage is that______________.
A) human civilization remains glorious though it is affected by climatic changes
B) mankind is virtually helpless in the face of the dramatic changes of climate
C) man bas to limit his activities to slow down the global warming process
D) human civilization will continue io develop in spite of the changes of nature
1.務農成了餬口策略，因為人們已經被___________。
A)放棄原來的生活方式
B)離開海岸地區
C)跟隨總在變化的植被情況
D)放棄原來的居住地
[A]文章第1段提到“人類在將其周圍的許多種動物逼向瀕臨滅絕的境地之後，也被迫放棄他們已導致饑荒、疾病的舊有生活方式而選擇全新的求生策略。這種策略就是農業”。A與文章的意思相符合。
2.地球科學家已經瞭解到，氣候___________________。
A)正在經歷重大的變化
B)已經在過去的l萬年當中變得越來越熱
C)終將從熱變冷
D)已經經歷了階段性的變化
[D]文章第2段提到“研究者已經開始綜合出一幅有關強大的地質和天文力量發生作用的說明性的圖片，在過去的幾百萬年中，這兩種力量結合在一起改變著地球的環境：從炎熱到寒冷，從潮溼到乾燥，如此反覆，迴圈不止”，D與文章的意思一致。因而正確。
3.科學家認為人類的進化__________________。
A)極少伴隨著氣候變化
B)對氣候變化的影響很小
C)深受氣候變化的影響
D)對氣候變化有重大影響
[C]文章第3段提到“最重要的是，科學家已經開始意識到氣候的變化對人種的進化有著主要的影響。現在新的研究表明幾乎在人類進化的每一個重大的轉折時期天氣變化都起著關鍵的作用”，所以人類進化受到氣候變化的影響。因此，C正確。
4.過去氣候變化的證據表明了__________________。
A)人類的活動已經加速了地球環境的變化
B)儘管受到了人類的干預，地球環境會保持溼和不變
C)地球的氣候在未來會有重大的改變
D)地球的氣候在未來不大可能發生實質性的改變
[C]文章最後一段提到“事實上，過去氣候變化的模式表明地球的氣候在將來肯定會經歷重大的變化——即使是沒有人類活動的影響”，因此，C與文章所表達的意思一致。
5.作者想通過文章傳達出的資訊是__________________。
A)雖然人類文明受到了氣候變化的影響，但仍然絢爛無比
B)面對氣候的劇烈變化，人類基本上束手無榮
C)人類應該限制自己的活動來減緩全球暖化的程序
D)儘管自然在發生變化，但人類文明仍會繼續發展
[B]全文圍繞氣候變化給人類帶來的影響展開，而文章最後一句“地球氣候幾乎註定要在將來發生巨大的變化——甚至無須人類的干預”，說明人類無力改變自然，B為正確答案。
英語四級閱讀材料必備2
By 1970, according to a World Wildlife Fund report, only about 4,500 tigers survived throughout the world-half of them in India. Mr. Foresters, who followed and counted tiger footprints, estimated that in May 1972 only about 1,800 tigers existed in India. Project Tiger Supported by W.W.F. was immediately launched. Nine tiger reserves(保留地) were created, with armed guards protecting them.
The project provided opportunities for researchers from India and abroad to study tigers in the reserves and gather previously unavailable information about their habits. Studies show that a male tiger may control a hunting territory of between 10 and 20 square kilometers, depending on its age, size and strength. Theterritory of male includes the smaller territories(領地) of three or four tigresses. A tiger marks the boundaries of its territories by spraying urine and other bodily liquids on bushes. But it tries to avoid territorial fights, being guided by the distinctive body smell of other tigers. Tigers fight to death only when a tigress is defending her young, or when a tiger is guarding a tigress from the attentions of other males.
The popular image of the tiger is that of a merciless and unconquerable hunter. But studies show that it catches only one of 20 victims it tries to attack.
Fears have recently developed that Project Tiger has been too successful. It has enabled the tiger population to double (by mid-80 S), but India"s human population has also grown out of control. Currently it is 750 million and likely to be 900 million by the end of the century. Land problem is becoming serious and many rural people feel bitter about the fact that some rich forests are reserved for tigers. A growing number of attacks by tigers on man has added to the hostility .
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
ultimate aim of Project Tiger is to _____.
y the growth rate of tigers
ect tigers from being killed
ote the breeding of young tigers
yze the behavioral patterns of tigers
ies have shown that ______.
A.a tigress never attacks until attacked
tigress is not as fierce as the tigers
C.a tiger usually fights another tiger to defend its own territory
tiger is not an efficient hunter as is commonly described
rding to the passage, a tiger"s territory _____.
ins unchanged
often defended by tigresses
nds as the tiger grows up
the cause of most fights
people are afraid that Project Tiger _____.
been carried too far
not received enough attention
failed to achieve its goal
not worth the money spent on it
author seems _____.
be enthusiastic about Project Tiger
have a matter-of-fact attitude towards Project Tiger
have a hostile attitude towards Project Tiger
be satisfied with Project Tiger
1.[D] 根據文章第1段，老虎被捕殺是其數量劇減的根本原因，因此使老虎免於被殺是野生動物保護基金會的最終目的，故選D。
2.[B] 第3段第2句說，但研究表明老虎捕捉獵物的成功率僅為1/20，B與之相符。第2段說到老虎一般會避免領土之爭，C與之不符，故排除;A、D在原文中並未提及均可排除。
3.[A] 第2段第2句提到，研究表明，一頭雄老虎依年齡、體型及力量可以控制10至20公里的狩獵領地，隨著老虎的長大，其體型及力量都在增大，其佔領的.狩獵領地的面積自然也就增大，故A正確。
4.[C] 文章第4段首句說,許多人近來開始擔心老虎專案過於成功，C項是該句的同義替換，故為答案。
5.[B] 縱觀全文，作者對於老虎保護專案沒有加入個人的主觀色彩，他持的是一種客觀的態度，故選B。
英語四級閱讀材料必備3
On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more that they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞). Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spendan average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log hall that time. All in all, however, children’sleisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%
“Children are affected by the same time crunch (危機) that affects their parents,” says Sandra Hofferth,who headed the recent study of children’s timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and “male breadwinner” householdsspent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.)
All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids. “Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself,” says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships withtheir peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.
The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time” watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they’re spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren’t replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Let’s face it, who’s got the time?
練習題：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1. By mentioning “the same time crunch” (Line 1, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means ________.
A. children have little time to play with their parents
B. children are not taken good care of by their working parents
C. both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time
D. both parents and children have trouble managing their time
2. According to the author, the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch is ________.
A. quite convincing
B. partially true
C. totally groundless
D. rather confusing
3. According to the author a child develops better if ________.
A. he has plenty of time reading and studying
B. he is left to play with his peers in his own way
C. he has more time participating in school activities
D. he is free to interact with his working parents
4. The author is concerned about the fact that American kids ________.
A. are engaged in more and more structured activities
B. are increasingly neglected by their working mothers
C. are spending more and more time watching TV
D. are involved less and less in household work
5. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. extracurricular activities promote children’s intelligence
B. most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched off
C. efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful
D. most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children
1.[C] 語義理解題。該短語所在句子的上文(第1段最後一句)表明“孩子的課餘時間比以前少了”,而本句指出父母和孩子都受time crunch的影響，可見the same time crunch是指空閒時間不夠用，故C正確。
2.[B] 觀點態度題。第2段第2句中括號裡的內容表明瞭作者的觀點。轉折詞Nevertheless說明作者的觀點跟上文Sandra Hofferth的看法不完全一致，而作者在下文舉例中提到，單身母親因為要上班，與孩子在起的時間只有9個小時，確實少了很多，這與Hofferth所述一致，因此選B。
3.[B] 事實細節題。第3段最後一句表明孩子自由玩樂能促使他們獨立思考，並使他們學會處理與同齡關係，其中unstructured play 相當於B中的play in his own way，故B正確。
4.[A] 觀點態度題。文章一開頭作者就說孩子們比1981年時上學的時間每週多8小時，他們還做更多的家務,參加更多的有組織性的活動等等,而這些均是造成孩子們空閒時間越來越少的原因，而孩子們空閒時間少也正是作者憂慮的問題，故可推知本題選A。B是作者在第2段括號裡反駁過的觀點;C錯在more and more time，而且作者對孩子看電視也不完全反對;孩子們事實上要做更多家務，故D錯。
5.[D] 推理判斷題。文章最後一段倒數第2句說“儘管父母費盡心思培養孩子的讀書興趣，可孩子們一週也只不過花一個多小時讀書”。由此可見,父母認為讀書對孩子有好處，即D。A中的extracurricular activities包含 structured and unstructured activities，文中只說unstructured activities有助於培養孩子獨立思考以及與同齡人交往的能力，沒有說structured activities對intelligence有什麼幫助;B與文章的倒數第3句不符;C與倒數第2句不符。
