TXET 1 ：2013年在职工程硕士英语阅读理解练习及答案
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There are some earth phenomena you can count on, but the magnetic field, some say, is not one of them. It fluctuates in strength, drifts from its axis, and every few 100,000, years undergoes a dramatic polarity reversal—a period when north pole becomes south pole and south pole becomes north pole. But how is the field generated, and why is it so unstable?
Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery. Using 80 metres of deep sea sediment (沉淀物) core, they have obtained measurements of magnetic-field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years. The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well-defined rhythm. Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short terra, there seems to be an inevitable long-term decline preceding each polarity reversal. When the poles flip—a process that takes several hundred thousand years—the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and the cycle is repeated.
The results have caused a stir among geophysicists. The magnetic field is thought to originate from molten (熔化的) iron in the outer core, 3,000 kilometers beneath the earth's surface. By studying mineral grains found in material ranging from rocks to clay articles, previous researchers have already been able to identify reversals dating back 170 million years, including the most recent switch 730,000 years ago. How and why they occur, however, has been widely debated. Several theories link polarity flips to external disasters such as meteor (陨星) impacts. But Peter Olson, a geophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says this is unlikely if the French researchers are right. In fact, Olson says intensity that predictably declines from one reversal to the next contradicts 90 percent of the models currently under study. If the results prove to be valid, geophysicists will have a new theory to guide them in their quest to understand the earth's inner physics. It certainly points the direction for future research.
1.Which of the following titles is most appropriate to the passage?
A.Polarity Reversal: A Fantastic Phenomenon of Nature.
B.Measurement of the Earth's Magnetic-Field Intensity.
C.Formation of the Two Poles of the Earth.
D.A New Approach to the Study of Geophysics.
2.The word "flip" (Line6, Para, 2) most probably means "___".
A. decline
B. intensify
C. fluctuate
D. reverse
3.What have the two French geophysicists discovered in their research?
A.Some regularity in the changes of the earth's magnetic field.
B.Some causes of the fluctuation of the earth's magnetic field.
C.The origin of the earth's magnetic field.
D.The frequency of polarity reversals.
4.The French geophysicists' study is different from currently prevailing theories in____.
A.its identification of the origin of the earth's magnetic field
B.the way the earth's magnetic intensity is measured
C.its explanation of the shift in the earth's polarity
D.the way the earth's fluctuation rhythm is defined
5.In Peter Olson's opinion, the French experiment_____.
A.is likely to direct further research in the inner physics of the earth
B.has successfully solved the mystery of polarity reversals
C.is certain to help predict external disasters
D.has caused great confusion among the world's geophysicists
参考答案：A D A C A
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When they advise your kids to "get an education" if you want to raise your income, they tell you only half the truth. What they really mean is to get just enough education to provide man power for your society, but not too much that you prove an embarrassment to your society.
Get a high school diploma, at least. Without that, you are occupationally dead, unless your name happens to be George Bernard Shaw or Thomas Alva Edison and you can successfully drop out in grade school.
Get a college degree, if possible. With a B. A., you are on the launching pad (发射台). But now you have to start to put on the brakes. If you go for a master's degree, make sure it is an M. B. A. , and only from a first-rate university. Beyond this, the famous law of diminishing returns (报酬递减率) begins to take effect.
Do you know, for instance, that long-haul truck drivers earn more a year than full professors?Yes, the average 1977 salary for those truckers was $24, 000, while the full professors managed to average just $23,930.
A Ph. D. is the highest degree you can get, but except in a few specialized fields such as physics or chemistry, where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial purposes, you are facing a dim future. There are more Ph. D.s unemployed or underemployed in this country than in any other part of the world by far.
If you become a doctor of philosophy in English or history or anthropology or political science Or languages or-worst of all-in philosophy, you run the risk of becoming overeducated for our national demands. Not for our needs, mind you, but for our demands.
Thousands of Ph.D.s are selling shoes, driving cabs, waiting on tables and filling out fruitless applications month after month. And then maybe taking a job in some high school or backwater college that pays much less than the janitor earns.
You can equate the level of income with the level of education only so far. Far enough, that is, to make you useful to the gross national product, but not so far that nobody can turn much of a profit on you.
1. According to the writer, what the society expects of education is to turn out people who _____.
A. will not be a shame to the society
B. will become loyal citizens
C. can take care of themselves
D. can meet the demands as a source of manpower
2. Many Ph.D. s are out of job because____.
A. they are wrongly educated
B. they are of little commercial value to the society
C. there are fewer jobs in high schools
D. they prefer easy jobs with more money
3. The nation is only interested in people ____.
A. with diplomas
B. specialized in physics and chemistry
C. valuable to the gross national product
D. both A and C
4. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Bernard Shaw didn't finish high school, nor did Edison.
B. One must think carefully before going for a master's degree.
C. The higher your educational level, the more money you will earn.
D. If you are too well educated, you'll make things difficult for the society.
参考答案：D B D C
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Many Americans harbor a grossly distorted and exaggerated view of most of the risks surrounding food. Fergus Clydesdale, head of the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, says bluntly that if the dangers from bacterially contaminated chicken were as great as some people believe, "the streets would be littered with people lying here and there."
Though the public increasingly demands no-risk food, there is no such thing. Bruce Ames, chairman of the bio-chemistry department at the University of California, Berkeley, points out that up to 10% of a plant's weight is made up of natural pesticides (杀虫剂). Says he: "Since plants do not have jaws or teeth to protect themselves, they employ chemical warfare." And many naturally produced chemicals, though occurring in tiny amounts, prove in laboratory tests to be strong carcinogens—a substance which can cause cancer. Mushrooms (蘑菇) might be banned if they were judged by the same standards that apply to food additives (添加剂).Declares Christina Stark, a nutritionist at Cornell University: "We'Ve got far worse natural chemicals in the food supply than anything man-made."
Yet the issues are not that simple. While Americ. ans have no reason to be terrified to sit down at the dinner table, they have every reason to demand significant improvements in food and water safety. They unconsciously and unwillingly take in too much of too many dangerous chemicals. If food already contains natural carcinogens, it does not make much sense to add dozens of new man-made ones. Though most people will withstand the small mounts of contaminants generally found in food and water, at least a few individuals will probably get cancer one day because of what they eat and drink.
To make good food and water supplies even better, the Government needs to tighten its regulatory standards, stiffen its inspection program and strengthen its enforcement policies. The food industry should modify some long-accepted practices or turn to less hazardous alternatives. Perhaps most important, consumers will have to do a better job of learning how to handle and cook food properly. The problems that need to be tackled exist all along the food-supply chain, from fields to processing plants to kitchens.
1. What does the author think of the Americans' view of their food?
A. They overstate the government's interference with the food industry.
B. They are overoptimistic about the safety of their food.
C. They overestimate the hazards of their food.
D. They overlook the risks of the food they eat.
2. The author considers it impossible to obtain no-risk food because____.
A. no food is free from pollution in the environment
B. pesticides are widely used in agriculture
C. many vegetables contain dangerous natural chemicals
D. almost all foods have additives
3. By saying "they employ chemical warfare" (Line 4, Para. 2), Bruce Ames means____.
A. plants produce certain chemicals to combat pests and diseases
B. plants absorb useful chemicals to promote their growth
C. farmers use man-made chemicals to dissolve the natural chemicals in plants
D. farmers use chemicals to protect plants against pests and diseases
4. The reduction of the possible hazards in food ultimately depends on_____.
A. the government
C. the processor
B. the consumer
D. the grower
5. What is the message the author wants to convey in the passage?
A. Eating and drinking have become more hazardous than before.
B. Immediate measures must be taken to improve food production and processing.
C. Health food is not a dream in modem society.
D. There is reason for caution but no cause for alarm with regard to food consumption.
参考答案：C A A B D
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In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act, designed to protect species' living areas, and policies that preserve land and forests compete with economic interests. In the 1990's, for example, the woodcutters in the Western United States were challenged legally in their attempt to cut trees for timber in the Cascade Mountains. The challenge was mounted to protect the endangered spotted owl (猫头鹰) , whose remaining population occupies these forests and requires the intact, ancient forest for survival. The problematic situation set the interests of environmentalists against those of corporations and of individuals who stood to lose jobs. After months of debate and legal battles, the fate of the woodcutters—and the owls—was still undecided in mid-1992.
Similar tensions exist between the developed and the developing nations. Many people in industrialized nations, for example, believe that developing nations in tropical regions should do more to protect their rain forests and other natural areas. But the developing countries may be impoverished ( 使穷困 ), with populations growing so rapidly that using the land is a means to temporarily avoid worsening poverty and starvation.
Many of the changes to Earth that concern scientists have the potential to rob the planet of its biological richness. The destruction of Earth's ozone layer( 臭氧层), for example, could contribute to the general process of impoverishment by allowing ultra-violet rays to harm plants and animals. And global warming could wipe out species unable to quickly adapt to changing climates. Clearly, protecting will come only through coordinated international efforts to control human population, stabilize the composition of the atmosphere, and preserve intact Earth's complex web of life.
1. Why does the author say that the protection of endangered species is a highly controversial issue?
A. Because people can't agree as to what species to protect.
B. Because it is difficult to find an effective way to protect such species.
C. Because it affects the interests of certain groups of people.
D. Because it is a major problem involving a series of legal procedures.
2. According to the passage, the preservation of rain forests _____.
A. may hamper developing country in its fight against poverty
B. benefits developed countries rather than developing countries
C. should take priority over the control of human population
D. will help improve the living conditions in developing countries
3. According to the passage, cutting trees to grow more food _____.
A. will widen the gap between the developed and the developing countries
B. is but a short-term relief to the food problem
C. can hardly alleviate the shortage of food
D. proves to be an effective way out for impoverished nations
4. Among "humanity's current problems" (Line6, Para. 3 ), the chief concern of the scientists is _____.
A. the impoverishment of developing countries
B. the explosion of the human population
C. the reduction of biological diversity
D. the effect of global wamfing
5. The author's purpose in writing this passage is _____.
A. to describe the difficulties in solving humanity's current problems
B. to present the different views on humanity's current problems
C. to analyse the contradiction between countries in dealing with humanity's current problems
D. to point out that humanity's current problems can only be solved through the cooperation of nations
参考答案：C A B C D