英语四级阅读材料必备1
When global warming finally came, it stuck with avengeance(异乎寻常地) 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(灵长目动物) 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.务农成了糊口策略，因为人们已经被___________。
A)放弃原来的生活方式
B)离开海岸地区
C)跟随总在变化的植被情况
D)放弃原来的居住地
[A]文章第1段提到“人类在将其周围的许多种动物逼向濒临灭绝的境地之后，也被迫放弃他们已导致饥荒、疾病的旧有生活方式而选择全新的求生策略。这种策略就是农业”。A与文章的意思相符合。
2.地球科学家已经了解到，气候___________________。
A)正在经历重大的变化
B)已经在过去的l万年当中变得越来越热
C)终将从热变冷
D)已经经历了阶段性的变化
[D]文章第2段提到“研究者已经开始综合出一幅有关强大的地质和天文力量发生作用的说明性的图片，在过去的几百万年中，这两种力量结合在一起改变着地球的环境：从炎热到寒冷，从潮湿到干燥，如此反复，循环不止”，D与文章的意思一致。因而正确。
3.科学家认为人类的进化__________________。
A)极少伴随着气候变化
B)对气候变化的影响很小
C)深受气候变化的影响
D)对气候变化有重大影响
[C]文章第3段提到“最重要的是，科学家已经开始意识到气候的变化对人种的进化有着主要的影响。现在新的研究表明几乎在人类进化的每一个重大的转折时期天气变化都起着关键的作用”，所以人类进化受到气候变化的影响。因此，C正确。
4.过去气候变化的证据表明了__________________。
A)人类的活动已经加速了地球环境的变化
B)尽管受到了人类的干预，地球环境会保持湿和不变
C)地球的气候在未来会有重大的改变
D)地球的气候在未来不大可能发生实质性的改变
[C]文章最后一段提到“事实上，过去气候变化的模式表明地球的气候在将来肯定会经历重大的变化——即使是没有人类活动的影响”，因此，C与文章所表达的意思一致。
5.作者想通过文章传达出的信息是__________________。
A)虽然人类文明受到了气候变化的影响，但仍然绚烂无比
B)面对气候的剧烈变化，人类基本上束手无荣
C)人类应该限制自己的活动来减缓全球暖化的进程
D)尽管自然在发生变化，但人类文明仍会继续发展
[B]全文围绕气候变化给人类带来的影响展开，而文章最后一句“地球气候几乎注定要在将来发生巨大的变化——甚至无须人类的干预”，说明人类无力改变自然，B为正确答案。
英语四级阅读材料必备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(领地) 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 .
练习题：
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] 根据文章第1段，老虎被捕杀是其数量剧减的根本原因，因此使老虎免于被杀是野生动物保护基金会的最终目的，故选D。
2.[B] 第3段第2句说，但研究表明老虎捕捉猎物的成功率仅为1/20，B与之相符。第2段说到老虎一般会避免领土之争，C与之不符，故排除;A、D在原文中并未提及均可排除。
3.[A] 第2段第2句提到，研究表明，一头雄老虎依年龄、体型及力量可以控制10至20公里的狩猎领地，随着老虎的长大，其体型及力量都在增大，其占领的.狩猎领地的面积自然也就增大，故A正确。
4.[C] 文章第4段首句说,许多人近来开始担心老虎项目过于成功，C项是该句的同义替换，故为答案。
5.[B] 纵观全文，作者对于老虎保护项目没有加入个人的主观色彩，他持的是一种客观的态度，故选B。
英语四级阅读材料必备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 (危机) 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?
练习题：
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] 语义理解题。该短语所在句子的上文(第1段最后一句)表明“孩子的课余时间比以前少了”,而本句指出父母和孩子都受time crunch的影响，可见the same time crunch是指空闲时间不够用，故C正确。
2.[B] 观点态度题。第2段第2句中括号里的内容表明了作者的观点。转折词Nevertheless说明作者的观点跟上文Sandra Hofferth的看法不完全一致，而作者在下文举例中提到，单身母亲因为要上班，与孩子在起的时间只有9个小时，确实少了很多，这与Hofferth所述一致，因此选B。
3.[B] 事实细节题。第3段最后一句表明孩子自由玩乐能促使他们独立思考，并使他们学会处理与同龄关系，其中unstructured play 相当于B中的play in his own way，故B正确。
4.[A] 观点态度题。文章一开头作者就说孩子们比1981年时上学的时间每周多8小时，他们还做更多的家务,参加更多的有组织性的活动等等,而这些均是造成孩子们空闲时间越来越少的原因，而孩子们空闲时间少也正是作者忧虑的问题，故可推知本题选A。B是作者在第2段括号里反驳过的观点;C错在more and more time，而且作者对孩子看电视也不完全反对;孩子们事实上要做更多家务，故D错。
5.[D] 推理判断题。文章最后一段倒数第2句说“尽管父母费尽心思培养孩子的读书兴趣，可孩子们一周也只不过花一个多小时读书”。由此可见,父母认为读书对孩子有好处，即D。A中的extracurricular activities包含 structured and unstructured activities，文中只说unstructured activities有助于培养孩子独立思考以及与同龄人交往的能力，没有说structured activities对intelligence有什么帮助;B与文章的倒数第3句不符;C与倒数第2句不符。
