視聽說教程（第三版）4 quiz 6
Reading Comprehension
Section A
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.
Lead deposits, which accumulated in soil and snow during the 1960s and 1970s, were primarily the result of leaded gasoline emissions originating in the United States. In the twenty years that the Clean Air Act has mandated unleaded gas use in the United States, the lead accumulation world-wide has decreased significantly.
A study published recently in the journal Nature shows that air-borne leaded gas emissions from the United States were the leading contributor to the high concentration of lead in the snow in Greenland. The new study is a result of the continued research led by Dr. Charles Boutron, an expert on the impact of heavy metals on the environment at the National Center for Scientific Research in France. A study by Dr. Boutron published in 1991 showed that lead levels in Arctic (北極的) snow were declining.
In his new study, Dr. Boutron found the ratios of the different forms of lead in the leaded gasoline used in the United States were different from the ratios of European, Asian and Canadian gasolines and thus enabled scientists to differentiate (區分) the lead sources. The dominant lead ratio found in Greenland snow matched that found in gasoline from the United States.
In a study published in the journal Ambio, scientists found that lead levels in soil in the north-eastern United States had decreased markedly since the introduction of unleaded gasoline.
Many scientists had believed that the lead would stay in soil and snow for a longer period.
The authors of the Ambio study examined samples of the upper layers of soil taken from the same sites of 30 forest floors in New England, New York and Pennsylvania in 1980 and in 1990. The forest environment processed and redistributed the lead faster than the scientists had expected.
Scientists say both studies demonstrate that certain parts of the ecosystem (生態系統) respond rapidly to reductions in atmospheric pollution, but that these findings should not be used as a license to pollute.
- The study published in the journal Nature indicates that _______.
A) lead deposits in Arctic snow are on the increase
B) lead will stay in soil and snow longer than expected
C) the Clean Air Act has not produced the desired results
D) the US is the major source of lead pollution in Arctic snow - Lead accumulation worldwide decreased significantly after the use of unleaded gas in the US _______.
A) was prohibited by law
B) was discouraged
C) was enforced by law
D) was introduced - How did scientists discover the source of lead pollution in Greenland?
A) By studying the chemical elements of soil and snow in Northeastern America.
B) By analyzing the data published in journals like “Nature” and “Ambio”.
C) By observing the lead accumulations in different parts of the arctic area.
D) By comparing the chemical compositions of leaded gasoline used in various countries. - The authors of the Ambio study have found that _______.
A) lead accumulations in forests are more difficult to deal with
B) forests get rid of lead pollution faster than expected
C) lead deposits are widely distributed in the forests of the US
D) the upper layers of soil in forests are easily polluted by lead emissions - It can be inferred from the last paragraph that scientists _______.
A) feel relieved by the use of unleaded gasoline
B) are puzzled by the mystery of forest pollution
C) still consider lead pollution a problem
D) lack sufficient means to combat lead pollution
Passage Two
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.
When astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon for the first time, on July 20, 1969, it represented one of the most inspiring achievements in man’s history to millions of people throughout the world. But to a small organization called the International Flat Earth Research Society, it was nothing more than a piece of cleverly stage-managed science-fiction trickery.
Armstrong’s historic words when stepping down from the Eagle module (宇宙飛船船艙) onto the dusty lunar surface about 240,000 miles from Earth — “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” — was a phrase that could have come only from the pen of a scriptwriter.
As for the pictures reputedly (一般被認爲) taken in space showing the Earth to be a rotating sphere, well, they were just too ludicrous (可笑的) for words. “The sun”, say the Flat Earthers, “circuits the Earth instead of the Earth revolving around the sun — a notion that most people take for granted.”
The society, whose membership is currently estimated to be about 1,400, dismisses much of accepted modern thinking about the shape of the Earth as sheer nonsense and is convinced that the entire human race is being subjected to the greatest hoax (騙局) in history.
From its headquarters in Lancaster, California, the society wages a war of words through newsletters and pamphlets against the evils of science.
The society was founded in about 1800 in Great Britain and the United States and, says its American president Charles Johnson, was descended from the Zetetic society, which took its name from an ancient Greek philosophical school of skeptics. It survived under this name until 1956, when its general secretary, Samuel Shenton, of Kent, England, changed the name to the present title.
The society’s belief is this: the Earth is flat, with the land masses grouped around the central point of the North Pole.
The Antarctic region is not the compact island mass it is commonly believed to be but an impenetrable ice-cold girdle (環形物) around the Earth. The Flat Earthers argue that the trans-antarctic expeditions have never happened. Explorers, misled by instrument faults, merely traveled an icy arc within the girdle.
- To the International Flat Earth Research Society, man’s first landing on the moon was ______.
A) one of the most inspiring events in man’s history
B) just a smartly-performed trick
C) only a well-conducted experiment
D) a science-fiction piece produced by a certain scriptwriter - Which of the following is NOT true about the society?
A) After its foundation in 1800, it was called the Zetetic Society.
B) Its headquarters are in both Great Britain and the United States.
C) It now has about 1,400 members.
D) In 1956, Samuel Shenton changed its name to the present title. - According to the society’s belief, ___________.
A) some explores had made successful trans-antarctic expeditions
B) the Earth is flat and the Arctic is an impenetrable ice-cold girdle around the Earth
C) the Antarctic region is a compact island mass
D) much of the accepted modern thinking about the shape of the Earth is sheer nonsense - Which of the following is an appropriate title for the passage?
A) The Zetetic Society
B) The International Flat Earth Research Society
C) Man’s First Landing on the Moon
D) The Evils of Science - The piece is written _________.
A) with a touch of irony
B) in a sarcastic tone
C) in a matter-of-fact way
D) as a joke
Section B
A) ambition【追求的目標；志向】
B) permanent【永久的】
C) maximum【adj. 最大的；最高的；最多的 n. 最大限度 adv. 至多】
D) short cut【捷徑】
E) poll【n. 投票；記票；投票數；選民名冊；納稅人名冊；民意調查 npl. 投票地點 vt. 獲得；調查；截掉⋯的角尖；查詢 vi. 獲得選票】
F) preoccupation【n. 全神貫注；長久思考的事】
G) incidence【發生、發生率】
H) radical【adj. 激進的；根本的；基本的；徹底的；根治的 n. 激進分子；基；偏旁】
I) Statistics【npl. 統計；統計學；統計數據】
J) terror
- He decided to take _______measures to overpower【征服】 his opponents.
- His______with sports contributes to his gold medal in competition.
- The ______range of the new missile【導彈】 reaches over 10,000 kilometers.
- It is reported that there is a high ______of earthquakes in that area.
- The light _______of the president indicates that people have less interest in politics.
- There are five ______member countries in the Security Council of United Nations【聯合國安全理事會】.
- It is self-evident that there is no ______to succeeding in your academic research【學術研究】.
- His______is to become a minister【部長；外交使節；牧師】 after graduation from the college.
- ________of income tells us that the living standard of the city has been improving.
- Two thieves had to run away in _______when policemen appeared suddenly.
HFCGE BDAIJ
Vocabulary and Structure
Section A
- The __________ of personal debt and personal income of that province attracted the attention of the central government.
A) relation
B) rattle【乒乓響】
C) ratio【比例】
D) rarity【稀有物，珍品】 - They’re traveling across Europe by train and are planning to _____________ in Moscow.
A) end off
B) end on
C) end with
D) end up - As we know, hard working and perseverance are regarded to __________ the chances of success.
A) multiple
B) multitude
C) mumble
D) multiply - The fact that human beings __________ food means that we should attach great importance to agriculture.
A) feed on【以……爲食,靠……爲生】
B) feed up
C) feed in
D) feed off - It was reported that the inflation in 1930s __________ many people in the cities __________ poverty.
A) decreased / to
B) reduced / to
C) decreased / on
D) reduced / on - Scientists have discovered__________ to strong sunlight for a long time will do harm to a man’s skin.
A) explosion【爆發、激增】
B) exploration【探索】
C) exposure【揭發；暴露；受寒】
D) extension【延長擴大】 - We have __________ him of the latest development of the Museum of History in that city.
A) reformed【修改、訂正】
B) informed【有見識的；有依據的】
C) inherited【 遺傳的；繼承的】
D) injured - He will be sent to the remote town to ____________ the company.
A) assign【 分配；指派；把⋯歸於；確定】
B) assemble【 召集；收集；裝配】
C) assert【斷言；主張】
D) assess【 估算；覈定⋯的金額；評價】 - It is said that the judge is clearly ____________ to the poor man in court.
A) partial【部分的；偏袒的；鍾愛】
B) partly【在一定程度上；部分地】
C) particular
D) parted【部分；部件；部；集；等份；職責；角色；音部；聲部；方面；地區；分縫， 部分地】 - The earthquake that took place last week was a ____________ to the local people.
A) discharge【vt. 允許⋯出院；允許⋯退伍；解僱；釋放；解散；排放；流出；清償；履行；卸下；讓⋯下來；擊發；使用；發射 vi. 流出；流膿；放電 n. 出院；解僱；退伍；排放；排放物；】
B) relic【 文物；遺蹟；遺俗】
C) disaster
D) ruin