学位英语

第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。

第一篇 Energy and Public Lands

The United States boasts substantial energy resources. Federal lands provide a good deal of U.S. energy production; the U.S. Department of the Interior manages federal energy leasing(租赁), both on land and on the offshore Outer Continental Shelf. Production from these sources amounts to nearly 30 percent of total annual U.S. energy production.

n 2000, 32 percent of U.S. oil, 35 percent of natural gas, and 37 percent of coal were produced from federal lands, representing 20,000 producing oil and gas leases and 135 producing coal leases. Federal lands are also estimated to contain approximately 68 percent of all undiscovered U.S. oil reserves and 74 percent of undiscovered natural gas.

Revenues from federal oil, gas, and coal leasing provide significant returns to U.S. taxpayers as well as State governments. In 1999, for example, $553 million in oil and gas revenues were paid to the U.S. Treasury, and non-Indian coal leases accounted for over $304 million in revenues, of which 50 percent were paid to State governments. Public lands also play a critical role in energy delivery. Each year, federal land managers authorize(许可) rights of way for transmission lines, rail systems, pipelines, and other facilities related to energy production and use.

Alternative energy production from federal lands lags behind conventional energy production, though the amount is still significant. For example, federal geothermal(地热) resources produce about 7.5 billion kilowatt-hours(千瓦时) of electricity per year, 47 percent of all electricity generated from U.S. geothermal energy. There are 2,960 wind turbines on public lands in California alone, producing electricity for about 300,000 people. Federal hydropower(水电) facilities produce about 17 percent of all hydropower produced in the United States.

Because of the growing U.S. thirst for energy and increasing public unease with dependence on foreign oil sources, pressure on the public lands to meet U.S. energy demands is intensifying. Public lands are available for energy development only after they have been evaluated through the land use planning process. If development of energy resources conflicts with management or use of other resources, development restrictions or impact mitigation measures may be imposed, or mineral production may be banned altogether.

31. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Public lands are one of the main sources of revenues.

B. Public lands should be developed to ease energy shortage.

C. Public lands play an important role in energy production.

D. Public lands store huge energy resources for further development..

32. Which of the following statements is true of public lands in the U.S.?

A. Half of U.S. energy is produced there.

B. Most of coal was produced from there in 2000.

C. Most energy resources are reserved there.

D. The majority of undiscovered natural gas is stored there.

33. Geothermal resources, wind turbines, and hydropower facilities in Paragraph 4 are cited as examples to illustrate that

A. alternative energy production is no less than conventional energy production.

B. they are the most typical conventional energy resources from public lands.

C. geothermal resources are more important than the other two.

D. the amount of alternative energy production from public lands is huge.

34. There is a mounting pressure on public lands to satisfy US energy demands because

A. many Americans are unhappy with energy development in foreign countries.

B. the US is demanding more and more energy.

C. quite a few public lands are banned for energy development.

D. many Americans think public lands are being abused.

35. Public lands can be used for energy development when

A. they go through the land use planning process.

B. energy development restrictions are effective.

C. federal land managers grant permissions.

D. there is enough federal budget.

参考答案：CDDBA

第二篇 When Our Eyes Serve Our Stomach

Our senses aren’t just delivering a strict view of what’s going on in the world; they’re affected by what’s going on in our heads. A new study finds that hungry people see food-related words more clearly than people who’ve just eaten.

Psychologists have known for decades that what’s going on inside our head affects our senses. For example, poorer children think coins are larger than they are, and hungry people think pictures of food are brighter. Remi Radel of University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France, wanted to investigate how this happens. Does it happen right away as the brain receives signals from the eyes or a little later as the brain’s high-level thinking processes get involved.

Radel recruited 42 students with a normal body mass(质量) index. On the day of his or her test, each student was told to arrive at the lab at noon after three or four hours of not eating. Then they were told there was a delay. Some were told to come back in 10 minutes; others were given an hour to get lunch first. So half the students were hungry when they did the experiment and the other half had just eaten.

For the experiment, the participant looked at a computer screen. One by one, 80 words flashed on the screen for about l/300th of a second each. They flashed at so small a size that the students could only consciously perceive. A quarter of the words were food-related. After each word, each person was asked how bright the word was and asked to choose which of two words they’d seen — a food-related word like cake or a neutral(中性的) word like boat. Each word appeared too briefly for the participant to really read it.

Hungry people saw the food-related words as brighter and were better at identifying food-related words. Because the word appeared too quickly for them to be reliably seen, this means that the difference is in perception, not in thinking processes, Radel says.

“This is something great to me. Humans can really perceive what they need or what they strive(奋斗) for. From the experiment, I know that our brain can really be at the disposal(处理) of our motives(动机) and needs,” Radel says.

36. "Poorer children" and "hungry people" are mentioned in Paragraph 2 to show

A. humans' senses are influenced by what's going on in their heads.

B. they have sharper senses than others.

C. they lose their senses because of poverty and hunger.

D. humans' senses are affected by what they see with their eyes.

37. There was a delay in Radel's experiment because

A. he needed more students to join.

B. he didn't prepare enough food for the 42 students.

C. he wanted two groups of participants, hungry and non-hungry.

D. he didn't want to have the experiment at noon.

38. Why did the 80 words flash so fast and at so small a size on the screen?

A. To ensure the participant was unable to perceive anything.

B. To guarantee each word came out at the same speed and size.

C. To shorten the time of the experiment.

D. To make sure the participant had no time to think consciously.

39. Radel's experiment discovered that hungry people

A. were more sensitive to food-related words than stomach-full people.

B. were better at identifying neutral words.

C. were always thinking of food-related words.

D. saw every word more clearly than stomach-full people.

40. It can be learnt from what Radel says that

A. humans' thinking processes are independent of their senses.

B. an experiment with hungry and non-hungry participants is not reliable.

C. humans can perceive what they need without deep thinking processes.

D. 42 participants are too small a number for a serious investigation.

参考答案：ACDAC

第三篇 The Development of Ballet

Ballet is a dance form that has a long history. The fact that it survives to this day shows that it has adjusted as times have changed.

Ballet began in the royal courts during the Renaissance. At that time it became common for kings and queens, as well as other nobility(贵族), to participate in pageants that included music, poetry, and dance. As these entertainments moved from the Italian courts to the French ones, court ladies began participating in them. Though their long dresses prevented much movement, they were able to perform elaborate(复杂的) walking patterns. It was not until the 1600s that women dancers shortened their skirts, changed to flat shoes, and began doing some of the leaps and turns performed by men.

It was also in the 1600s that professional ballet began. King Louis XIV of France, himself a devoted dancer, founded the Royal Academy of Dance. The five basic feet positions from which all ballet steps begin were finalized. In the late 1700s another important change occurred. Ballet began to tell a story on its own. It was no longer simply dance to be performed between acts of plays. Elaborate wigs(假发) and costumes were eliminated. By the early 1800s dancers to rise on their toes to make it appear that were floating.

Classical ballet as we know it today was influenced primarily by Russian dancing. The Russians remained interested in ballet when it declined in other European countries in the mid-1800s. One of the most influential figures of the early 20th century was Sergei Diaghilev. His dance company, the Ballets Russes, brought a new energy and excitement to ballet. One of his chief assistants, George Balanchine, went on to found the New York City Ballet in 1948 and to influence new generations of dancers.

41. This passage deals mainly with

A. famous names in ballet.

B. how ballet has developed.

C. Russian ballet.

D. why ballet is no longer popular.

42. The word "pageants" in Paragraph 2 means

A. big shows.

B. dances.

C. instructions.

D. royal courts.

43. Professional ballet was first performed in

A. France.

B. Italy.

C. Russia.

D. America.

44. Who had an important influence on early ballet?

A. Balanchine.

B. Antoinette.

C. Diaghilev.

D. Louis XIV.

45. We can conclude from this passage that ballet

A. is a dying art.

B. will continue to change.

C. is currently performed only in Russia.

D. is often performed by dancers with little training.

参考答案：BAADB

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