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张亚哲：IELTS阅读(A类)学习参考
PASSAGE 1
Hidden history: the beetle's secret cycle of life
The deathwatch beetle is thought of as the devil's pest
in churches and old hous
es, but in natural habitats it infests a wide range
of decaying hardwoods. It has
been found in hornbeam, sweet chestnut, hawthorn, beech,
ash, blackpoplar, elm,
larch, spruce and yew; but the two most commonly infested
species in Britain ar
e oak and willow. In buildings, oak timbers are usually
the focus of attack by
the beetle, but alder, walnut, elm, larch and Scots
pine can be affected too. De
athwatch beetles attack wood that has been decayed by
fungi, so it is the damp_p
rone of timbers, at the ends and near leaking gutters
and enclosed spaces, that
are normally attacked first.;
Adult beetles emerge from holes in the timber in spring,
or occasionally in autumn. They
breed once and a week or two later the females lay eggs,
usually about fifty, in small cracks on the
surface of the wood. Adults depend on stored reserves;
they do not feed, so the adult lifespan is
largely determined by body size and metabolic demands.
Emergent females rarely live for more
than ten weeks, and males eight or nine weeks, at a
temperature of about 20℃.
The eggs hatch after two to five weeks and the larvae
then wander across the wood to find
suitable entry points through which to bore into the
timber. Then they take between two and ten
years to complete their development. The larvae pupate
in late summer to early autumn, each
individual having constructed a pupal cell just below
the surface of the wood. After two or three
weeks, the immature beetle emerges from the pupal skin,
but then remains torpid inside the
chamber until the following spring or early summer.
The mature beetle then cuts a perfectly round
hole, three to five millimetres in diameter, and emerges
covered in a fine layer of wood powder.
Questions 1-4
1.What is the subject of the passage as a whole?
2.Which paragraph contains information about the larvae?
3 Which paragraph contains information about the adult
beetles?
4.Which paragraph contains information about where the
beetles live?
Summary
The deathwatch beetle is found most often in...5...and
...6...They infest damp-prone timber which
has been affected...7...Adults do not feed, so they
survive on...8...and live for only two or three
months. The larvae, on the other hand, live for up to...9...feeding
on the timbers during that time.
They pupate in...10...but the adult does not emerge
until the following spring.
KEY:
1. We know it is about a beetle; its life cycle; 'hidden'
implies that the life cycle occurs inside
something; 'history' may refer to the life cycle or
to the development of the species over time.
2. paragraph 3
3. paragraph 2
4. paragraph 1
PASSAGE 2
How the brain reorganizes itself
Paragraph 1
The work that Tim Pons and his colleagues published
last week is basic research
into the portion of the brain, the cortex, that one
scientists says is 'respons
ible for all the interesting things we do.' The cortex
is a layer between two a
nd five millimetres thick that covers the brain and
each area of the cortex has
a different function. The area Pons and his colleagues
are interested in receive
s 'somatic' sensation, in other words, information about
touch, position, heat
, cold and pain. The somatic sensory cortex can be represented
as a topographic
map, sub_divided into specific regions that receive
nerve signals from specific
areas of the body.
Paragraph 2
About twelve years before Pons and his colleagues carried
out their experiments,
the Macaque monkeys being studies had the nerves cut
which carried signals from
the fingers, palm, upper limb, neck and the back of
the head. The regions borde
ring this part of the somatic sensory cortex receive
signals from the face and t
runk.1
Paragraph 3
Under anaesthetic, Pons and his colleagues inserted
electrodes into the region o
f the cortex where the nerves had been cut and recorded
the neuronal 2 response
. They found to their surprise that the whole region,
covering an area of betwee
n tend and fourteen square millimetres, now responded
to stimulation of the lowe
r face. Previously, scientists had thought that the
cortex of adult animals coul
d not reorganize itself over an area greater than one
or two millimetres.
1 trunk-the main part of the body
2 neuronal-areas of news
List of headings
A Macaque monkeys B Method of research
C Electrical stimulation D The effects of heat
E Cortex reorganization F The area of research
Questions 11-13
The diagram above represents the reading passage How
the brain reorganizes itself. Match one of the headings
below to the subject of each of the paragraphs in the
reading passage. Write the corresponding letter in the
appropriate space on your answer sheet. Note there are
more headings than paragraphs so you will not use all
of them.
KEY:
11.F
12.B
13.E
PASSAGE 3
Social and cultural impacts of tourism in Cyprus
In Cyprus, hospitality forms an integral part of the
culture, and the people have a welcoming
attitude towards foreigners. Furthermore, the society's
culture emphasizes ideologies and value
systems which attach great importance to individual
achievement. As the tourist policy followed
by the Cyprus Government and the tourists come mainly
from Europe, tourism has not had as
marked an adverse effect on the values and attitudes
of Cypriot society as may otherwise have
been the case. In certain areas, such as Ayia Napa,
however, the influx of large numbers of tourists
has influenced social behaviour and social values, and
caused a certain amount of antagonism.
Bryden suggests that:
there may be a relationship between tourism density,
expressed in the annua
l numbers of tourists as a proportion of the population...and
the growth of rese
ntment towards tourists....The inference here is that
tourism density is an indi
cator of the degree of confrontation between tourists
and indigenes and that thi
s confrontation gives rise to the resentment of tourists.
Table 1 Contact ratio values, 1985
Area Contact ratio
Annual average Peak day value
Limassol 19.5 7.3
Larnaca 24.4 13.9
Ayia Napa/Paralimni 17.7 1.5
Paphos 17.7 10.8
Hill resorts 43.0 16.6
Total 18.0 9.5
The concept of 'tourism density' is thus used as a
measure of 'social carry
ing capacity' which Mathieson and Wall define as 'host
peoples' levels of tol
erance for the presence and behaviour of tourists. An
alternative measure used by
Andronikou is the 'contact ratio', which is the inverse
of tourism density,
that is the ratio of the local population to tourist
population. Now, whereas An
dronikou suggests that the minimum value that the contact
ratio can fall to befo
re the social impact resulting from tourist development
becomes detrimental is a
bout eight, most authors now do not believe that a single
specific value can be
given for social carrying capacity. Mathieson and Wall
point out that:
Carrying capacity remains an elusive concept, but
the time when researchers
and managers sought one mythical magic number, which
could be approached with
safety but exceeded at peril, has passed.
Nevertheless, inspection of table 1 does suggest that
it is highly likely that
the social carrying Capacity in Ayia Napa has been overreached.
The extreme conce
ntration of tourists here has resulted in a modification
of social attitudes amon
g young people, especially towards sexual behaviour.
This is part of the 'demon
stration effect' which introduces foreign ideologies
and ways of life into soci
eties that have not been exposed to tourist lifestyles.
The close and continued
contact of Cypriot youth with young foreign tourists
has resulted in them adopting different sets of
values on morality, style of dressing, and so on, in
comparison with prevailing traditional attitudes,
and as a result the bonds of closely knit families are
in some cases being loosened.
Questions 16-18
Reading the following statements and say how they reflect
the information in thereading passage,
by writing.
T if it is true according to the passage.
F if it is false according to the passage, and NCG if
the information is not clearly given in the passage.
Write your answers in boxes 16-18 on your answer sheet.
Example Answer
Cypriots are welcoming T
16 Individual achievement is more important than hospitality.
17.Tourits come mainly from the UK.
18.Cypriot society has not been adversely affected by
tourism.
KEY:
16.NCG
17.NCG
18.F
PASSAGE 1
Social and cultural impacts of tourism in Cyprus
In Cyprus, hospitality forms an integral part of the
culture, and the people have a welcoming
attitude towards foreigners. Furthermore, the society's
culture emphasizes ideologies and value
systems which attach great importance to individual
achievement. As the tourist policy followed
by the Cyprus Government and the tourists come mainly
from Europe, tourism has not had as
marked an adverse effect on the values and attitudes
of Cypriot society as may otherwise have
been the case. In certain areas, such as Ayia Napa,
however, the influx of large numbers of tourists
has influenced social behaviour and social values, and
caused a certain amount of antagonism.
Bryden suggests that:
there may be a relationship between tourism density,
expressed in the annua
l numbers of tourists as a proportion of the population...and
the growth of rese
ntment towards tourists....The inference here is that
tourism density is an indi
cator of the degree of confrontation between tourists
and indigenes and that thi
s confrontation gives rise to the resentment of tourists.
Table 1 Contact ratio values, 1985
Area Contact ratio
Annual average Peak day value
Limassol 19.5 7.3
Larnaca 24.4 13.9
Ayia Napa/Paralimni 17.7 1.5
Paphos 17.7 10.8
Hill resorts 43.0 16.6
Total 18.0 9.5
The concept of 'tourism density' is thus used as a
measure of 'social carry
ing capacity' which Mathieson and Wall define as 'host
peoples' levels of tol
erance for the presence and behaviour of tourists. An
alternative measure used b
y Andronikou is the 'contact ratio', which is the inverse
of tourism density,
that is the ratio of the local population to tourist
population. Now, whereas An
dronikou suggests that the minimum value that the contact
ratio can fall to befo
re the social impact resulting from tourist development
becomes detrimental is a
bout eight, most authors now do not believe that a single
specific value can be
given for social carrying capacity. Mathieson and Wall
point out that:
Carrying capacity remains an elusive concept, but
the time when researchers
and managers sought one mythical magic number, which
could be approached with safety
but exceeded at peril, has passed.
Nevertheless, inspection of table 1 does suggest that
it is highly likely that t
he social carrying Capacity in Ayia Napa has been overreached.
The extreme conce
ntration of tourists here has resulted in a modification
of social attitudes amon
g young people, especially towards sexual behaviour.
This is part of the 'demon
stration effect' which introduces foreign ideologies
and ways of life into soci
eties that have not been exposed to tourist lifestyles.
The close and continued
contact of Cypriot youth with young foreign tourists
has resulted in them adopting different sets of
values on morality, style of dressing, and so on, in
comparison with prevailing traditional attitudes,
and as a result the bonds of closely knit families are
in some cases being loosened.
Questions 16-18
Reading the following statements and say how they reflect
the information in thereading passage, by writing.
T if it is true according to the passage.
F if it is false according to the passage, and NCG if
the information is not clearly given in the passage.
Write your answers in boxes 16-18 on your answer sheet.
Example Answer
Cypriots are welcoming T
16 Individual achievement is more important than hospitality.
17.Tourits come mainly from the UK.
18.Cypriot society has not been adversely affected by
tourism.
Questions 19-21
In the two lists below, a definition in the list on
the right (A-G) matches one item in the list on the
left (19-21). Show which items match by writing one
appropriate letter (A-G) in boxes 19-21 on your answer
sheet.
Example Answer
social carrying capacity C
19 'contact ratio' A ratio of locals to tourists
20 tourism density B introduction of foreign values
to tourists
21 the' demonstration effect' C host's tolerance towards
D proportion of tourists to locals
E approximately eight
F introduction of new lifestyles
into societies
G different sets of values
Passage 2
In 1952 the neurophysiolgist Nathaniel Kleitman and
one of his students, Eugene Aserinsky,
studied the rolling movements of the eyes which occur
early in sleep. They attached electrodes
which responded to eye movements to the temples of volunteers
who came to sleep in their
laboratory. As the volunteers began to fall asleep,
the electrodes detected the slow rolling eye
movements which could be seen easily through their eyelids.
Soon after, the volunteers fell deeper
into sleep and their eyes became still. An hour or so
later, to the great surprise of Aserinsky, them
pen recorders showed that the eyes were moving again.
This time they were not just
swinging from side to side but were darting back and
forth(see fig
ure 2). These rapid eye movements continued for some
time and then the eyes came to rest again.
These phases of rapid eye movement (R.E.M.) occur
every ninety minutes or so and
represent a distinct and important stage of sleep. The
huge slow waves of norma
l sleep are replaced by a higher frequency pattern closer
to the brainwaves of the
normal waking state. In this state of ??paradoxical
sleep?ˉ, it is more difficult
to wake the sleeper even though the brain is active.
Indeed, most of the muscles
of the body are paralysed, cut of from the restless
activity of the brain
by inhibitory signals from a tiny region deep in the
brainstem. The
only responses to the brain activity are the eye movements
and the
occasional twitching of fingers or the grinding of the
teeth.
During this period of paradoxical sleep, vivid wild
dreams usually
occur. People deprived of this stage of sleep show many
more signs
of a sleepless night than if they have been woken at
other times during
sleep. Moreover, the following night they spend more
time than usual
in paradoxical sleep, as if they need to catch up on
the dreams they
had lostˉ. This discovery has led to the identification
of regions
within the reticular formation of the brainstem which
might
control this specific phase of sleep
Questions 27-35
The block diagram below represents key information from
the reading passage Pe
rchance to dream. Complete the diagram by finding no
more than two words from
the text to fill each numbered space. Write your answers
in the corresponding bo
xes on your sheet. If the information is not given in
the passage, leave the box
blank.
State Brainwaves Eyes Body
waking 27
onset of sleep slower 28 29
30 31 32 33
paradoxical sleep as waking 34 35
Questions 36-37
From the information in the passage, match the phrases
A_D below with the brain
pattern and physical evidence given. Write the appropriate
letter in spaces 36 a
nd 37 on your answer sheet. Note that there are more
phrases than answer so you will not need to use all
of them.
A rapid eye movement B slow waves dominate
C vivid dreams occur D high frequency pattern
Brain pattern Physical evidence
36 eyes roll slowly from side to side
very similar to the normal waking state 37
Passage3.
Reading skills
At university and college, all the four skills in English
are important:
l listening, for information in lectures, seminars and
tutorials
l speaking, when taking part in seminars and tutorials
l reading, of textbooks, journals and handouts
l and writing, for essays and reports
Of these, reading is at least as important as any
of the four. Students at tertiary level have a
huge amount of reading to do; some for core information
and even more as background to the
main subject. It is therefore essential that it be done
as efficiently as possible.
Written text has one distinct advantage over spoken
discourse: it is static. Whilst this means a
text can be reviewed as many times as the reader wishes,
the rate at which any text is read will
depend entirely on the speed of the reader's eye movements.
Given the amount of reading that
most students have to do, it is clearly in their interests
to do so as quickly and as effectively as
possible.
Obviously students must understand what they are reading.
Less obviously, reading slowly does
not necessarily increase comprehension. In fact, increasing
reading speed may actually improve
understanding. One thing to bear in mind is that reading,
whilst being a receptive skill, is most
certainly not a passive one. There must be an interactive
process between the reader and the text in
order to extract the meaning.
To illustrate this, some common misconceptions, and
some common sense, are discussed below.
Vocabulary and discourse
Clearly one must have a command of the words of a language
before comprehension can be
achieved. There are, however, at least two other levels
to be considered: syntax and discourse. It is
almost pointless attempting to make sense of comprehensible
lexis if one is not also very clear
about how words are strung together in the target language.
An understanding of word order, and
the significance of changes in word order, are vital.
The anticipation and recognition of common,
acceptable and essential collocations clearly help the
process of extracting information and
meaning. Beyond this it is also of paramount importance
to recognize and understand the
conventions of discourse structure, both generally and
within specific subject areas. Recognizing
the topic sentence in a paragraph, or the use of discourse
sequence markers, for example, are the
first important steps.
Eye movements
In practical terms, in order to read any passage,
the eyes must follow the print on the page. This,
however, cannot be a smooth, even flow; it would be
impossible to focus on anything unless the
eyes are momentarily fixed on the words. The eyes, then
must move in a series of pauses and
jumps. There are several points to bear in mind with
this process:
the eyes and brain are so efficient that each fixation
need last no more than a quarter of a
second.
skipping back to re-read words is usually a result
of anxiety and a feeling of insecurity; with
confidence it can be eliminated almost entirely, instantly
increasing reading speed.
It is very inefficient to read one word at a time.
As mentioned above, collocation is very
important; with practice, up to five words can be taken
in at each fixation. Clearly this will
increase reading speed dramatically.
Sense units
Reading slowly necessitates adding the meaning of one
word to the meaning of the next, which is
a very inefficient process. By reading in 'sense units',
rather than one word at a time,
concentration will be improved and meaning will be more
easily extracted.
Using a guide
At school, children are often taught not to use their
fingers as a guide while reading. If we wish to
help our eyes follow the words efficiently, we can only
gain by using some kind of visual aid.
Whether we use our finger or another object, such as
a pencil or a ruler, the only important thing is
to increase the speed at which it moves across and down
the page.
Skimming and scanning
With so much to cover, it is vital that students are
selective in what they read. Skimming is a
technique used in previewing or for getting an overview
of a text; the eyes 'skim' rapidly over the
page, just picking out the main ideas and topics. Scanning
also involves rapid movement through a
text, but looking for specific key information rather
than the gist.
Practice
As with any skill, the more one practices the better
one becomes. This will include both increasing
the speed of movement of the visual guide and increasing
the amount of text taken in at one
fixation. Some move the guide vertically down the page,
others diagonally; they all benefit. With
practice it is not difficult, certainly when skimming
and scanning, to take in two or more lines at a
time. Moreover, as success comes with practice, confidence
and motivation will increase also.
Fatigue
By reducing the back skipping and the number of fixations
per page, the eyes will actually be
doing far less word. This will reduce fatigue, thus
allowing more to be read at one sitting.
Time
To sustain concentration and maintain efficiency, it
is best to take regular short breaks. Most
people find around half an hour of study is the optimum,
followed by a few minutes to reflect
before starting another period of reading. Regardless
of the number of breaks, concentration is
bound to fall to a counterproductive level after about
two hours.
Questions 50-52
Reading the following statements and
indicate whether or not they reflect the
information in the reading passage by
writing:
T if the statement is true according to the
passage
C if it contradicts the passage, and
U if it is unclear from the passage.
Write your answers in boxes 50-52 on your answer sheet.
50 The speed of a reader's eye
movement is irrelevant.
51 Reading slowly increases comprehension.
52 Reading is a passive skill
PASSAGE4 Reading Tasks
True／False／Not Given Exercises
Unit1
1 It is almost impossible to write of the Arts in
Australia without mentioning the building that first
put Australia firmly on the world cultural map-the Sydney
Opera House. Completed in 1973 after
14 years of much heated discussion and at a cost of
over $85 million, it is not only the most
well-known Australian building in the world but perhaps
5 the most famous design of any modern building anywhere.
Its distinctive and highly original
shape has been likened to everything from the sails
of a sailing ship to broken eggshells, but few
would argue with the claim that the Opera House is a
major contribution to world architecture. Set
amidst the graceful splendour of Sydney Harbour, presiding
like a queen over the bustle and
brashness of a modern city.
10 striving to forge a financial reputation in a tough
commercial world, it is a reminder to all
Australians of their deep and abiding love of all things
cultural. The Opera House was designed
not by an Australian but by a celebrated Danish architect,
Jorn Utzon, whose design won an
international competition in the late 1950s. However,
it was not, in fact, completed to his original
specifications. Plans for much of the intended
15 interior design of the building have only recently
been discovered. Sadly, the State Government
of the day interfered with Utzon's plans because of
concerns about the escalating cost, though this
was hardly surprising the building was originally expected
to cost only $8 million. Utzon left the
country before completing the project and in a fit of
anger vowed never to return. The project was
eventually paid for by a State run lottery.
20 The size of the interior of the building was scaled
down appreciably by a team of architects
whose job it was to finish construction within a restricted
budget. Rehearsal rooms and other
facilities for the various theatres within the complex
were either made considerably smaller or cut
out altogether, and some artists have complained bitterly
about them ever since. But despite the
controversy that surrounded its birth, the Opera House
has risen
25 above the petty squabbling and is now rightfully
hailed as a modern architectural masterpiece.
The Queen officially opened the building in 1975 and
since then, within its curved and twisted
walls, audiences of all nationalities have been quick
to acclaim the many world class
performances of stars from the Australian opera, ballet
and theatre.
1. The building is possibly the most famous of its type
in the world.
2. The Opera House drew world attention to the Arts
in Australia.
3. Utzon designed the roof to look like the sails of
a sailing ship.
4. A few people claim that it is a major architectural
work.
5. According to the author, Sydney is a quiet and graceful
city.
6. The cost of construction went more than $75 million
over budget.
7. Utzon never returned to Australia to see the completed
building.
8. There is only one theatre within the complex.
9. The Government was concerned about some artists complaints.
10. Australian artists give better performances in the
Opera House.
Unit2
When was the last time you saw a frog? Chances are,
if you live in a city, you have not seen
one for some time. Even in wet areas once teeming with
frogs and toads, it is becoming less and
less easy to find those slimy, hopping and sometimes
poisonous members of the animal kingdom.
All over the world, and even in remote parts of Australia,
frogs are losing the ecological battle for
survival, and biologists are at a loss to explain their
demise. Are amphibians simply oversensitive
to changes in the ecosystem? Could it be that their
rapid decline in numbers is signaling some
coming environmental disaster for us all?
This frightening scenario is in part the consequence
of a dramatic increase over the last
quarter century in the development of once natural areas
of wet marshland; home not only to frogs
but to all manner of wildlife. However, as yet, there
are no obvious reasons why certain frog
species are disappearing from rainforests in Australia
that have barely been touched by human
hand. The mystery is unsettling to say the least, for
it is known that amphibian species are
extremely sensitive to environmental variations in temperature
and moisture levels. The danger is
that planet Earth might not only lose a vital link in
the ecological food chain (frogs keep
populations of otherwise pestilent insects at manageable
levels), but we might be increasing our
output of air pollutants to levels that may have already
become irreversible. Frogs could be
inadvertently warning us of a catastrophe.
An example of a species of frog that, at far as is
known, has become extinct, is the platypus
frog. Like the well-known Australian mammal it was named
after, it exhibited some very strange
behaviour; instead of giving birth to tadpoles in the
water, it raised its young within its stomach.
The baby frogs were actually born from out of their
mother's mouth. Discovered in 1981, less than
ten years later the frog had completely vanished from
the crystal clear waters of Booloumba Creek
near Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately, this
freak of nature is not the only frog species
to have been lost in Australia. Since the 1970s, no
less than eight others have suffered the same
fate.One theory that seems to fit the facts concerns
the depletion of the ozone layer, a well
documented phenomenon which has led to a sharp increase
in ultraviolet radiation levels. The
ozone layer is meant to shield the Earth from UV rays,
but increased radiation may be having a
greater effect upon frog populations than previously
believed. Another theory is that worldwide
temperature increases are upsetting the breeding cycles
of frogs.
TRUE／FALSE／NOT GIVEN
1.Frogs are disappearing only from city areas.
2.Frogs and toads are usually poisonous.
3.Biologists are unable to explain why frogs are dying.
4.The frogs' natural habitat is becoming more and more
developed.
5.Attempts are being made to halt the development of
wet marshland.
6.Frogs are important in the ecosystem because they
control pests.
KEY:
18.F 19.A 20.D 21.F
27 higher frequency
28. roll slowly
29.-
30. normal/deep sleep
31.large/slow waves
32 still
33.-
34 jerk rapidly
35.paralysed
36.B
37.A
50.C
51.U
52.C
Unit1: 1.T 2.T 3.NG 4.F 5.F 6.F 7.NG 8.F 9.NG 10.NG
Unit2: 1.F 2.F 3.T 4.T 5.NG 6.T
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