学位英语

Natural Resources

1 Natural resources are materials found in nature. Some, such as sunlight, are found almost everywhere. Others, like oil, are found only in certain areas. Some places have many natural resources, while others have only a few.

2 The different kinds of natural resources are air, water, soil, sunlight, minerals, fossil fuels, and animal life. Some of these -- air, water, soil, and sunlight -- are needed for life to exist. For this reason, they are sometimes viewed as the most important resources. Other kinds of resources are still important. One of these is minerals, or nonliving substances found beneath Earth’s surface. All through history, people have used such minerals as iron, copper, tin, and gold to make tools, weapons, jewelry, and money. Fossil fuel, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, provide the energy to heat homes and power machines.

3 Natural resources become valuable only when people learn how to use them. For example, Marco Polo, who once made a journey to China, returned to his native city of Venice. A few years later, he wrote about his travels and described many wonderful things he had seen. One of these was a black rock, now known as coal, which the Chinese dug out of the ground and burned to keep warm. The Venetians did not believe him. To them, coal was not a natural resource. People later change their minds when they found out that it could be used as a fuel to power steam engines and to process steel.

4 Some resources can be replaced by nature as they are used up. These are renewable resources. For example, American farmers who lived in the Dust Bowl were able to get back their once-rich soil by using better ways of farming and by planting trees to keep the soil from being worn away. Other natural resources cannot be replaced once they are used up. These are nonrenewable resources. Once Earth’s coal, soil, and natural gas are used up, they will be gone forever.

5 In recent years, people become more and more interested in making better use of the world’s natural resources. Some countries have passed laws to slow down the pollution of the air, water, and soil. Also, scientists are trying to develop new sources of energy.6 Natural resources affected the location and growth of settlements all through history. Rich soil and plenty of water made farming possible and led to the rise of cities. Asians and Europeans came into contact with one another partly because Europeans wanted the silk and spices of Asia. Modern industry started in those countries that had large amounts of coal and iron ore for making steel. During the 1800s, the discovery of gold in California, South Africa, Australia, and Alaska caused hundreds of thousands of people to move to those areas.

23 Paragraph

24 Paragraph

25 Paragraph

26 Paragraph

A.Renewable and nonrenewable resources

B. Importance of natural resources

C. Protection of global environment

D. Description about various natural resources

E. Influence of the natural sources

F. Measures to utilize the natural resources

27 Natural resources can be defined as

28 Natural resources are useless unless

29 The reason for Asians and Europeans to get into contact with one another lies in the fact that

30 The record of history has shown that the location and growth of settlements are closely related with

A.materials found in natural world

B. materials found under ground

C. Asian silk and spices were what Europeans wanted

D. people change their minds

E. natural resources

F. people know how to use them

正确答案:DAFE AFCE

编辑推荐：

2015年职称英语考试理工类B级概括大意模拟练习题汇总三

2015年职称英语考试理工类B级阅读判断模拟练习题汇总三

2015年职称英语考试理工类A级词汇选项模拟练习题汇总三

2014年职称英语考试合格证书领取时间汇总

2015年职称英语考试网络辅导热招中……

更多关注：职称英语教材 职称英语考后真题点评 职称英语零基础通关

（责任编辑：vstara）

共2页,当前第1页  第一页  前一页  下一页