12月四级阅读理解模拟:泰国大象的生存危机
2021-12-01点击量:150
Forcenturies,inthecountriesofsouthandSoutheastAsiatheelephanthasbeenanintimatepartoftheculture,economyandreligion,andnowheremoresothaninThailand.UnlikeitsAfricancousin,theAsianelephantiseasilydomesticated(驯化).Therareso-calledwhiteelephantshaveactuallylenttheauthorityofkingshiptoitsrulersanduntilthe1920sthenationalflagwasawhiteelephantonaredbackground.TotheearlyWesternvisitorsthecountry'sromanticnamewas“LandoftheWhiteElephant”.Today,however,thestoryisverydifferent.Outofworkandoutofland,theThaielephantstrugglesforsurvivalinanationthatnolongerneedsit.Theelephanthasfounditselfmoreorlessabandonedbypreviousownerswhohavemovedontoadifferenteconomicworldandawesternizedsociety.Andwhiletheelephant'sproblemsbeganmanyyearsago,nowitratesaverylownationalpriority.Howthisreversalfromnationalicon(圣像)toneglectedanimalcameaboutisataleofworseningenvironmentalandthechanginglivesoftheThaisthemselves.AccordingtoRichardLair,Thailand’sexpertsontheAsianelephantandauthorofthereportGoneAstray,attheturnofthecenturytheremaywellhavebeenasmanyas100,000domesticelephantsinthecountry.InthenorthofThailandaloneitwasestimatedthatmorethan20,000elephantswereemployedintransport,1,000ofthemaloneontheroadbetweenthecitiesofChiangMaiandChiangSaen.Thiswasatatimewhen90percentofThailandwasstillforest—ahabitat(栖息地)thatnotonlysupportedtheanimalsbutalsomadethemnecessarytocarrygoodsandpeople.Nothingploughsthroughdenseforestbetterthanamassivebutsure-footedelephant.By1950theelephantpopulationhaddroppedtoastillsubstantial13,397,buttodaythereareprobablynomorethan3,800,withanother1,350roamingfreeinthenationalparks.Butnow,Thailand’sforestcoversonly20percentoftheland.Thisdeforestation(采伐森林)isthecentralpointoftheelephant'sdifficultsituation,forithaseffectivelyputtheanimalsoutofwork.Thiscentury,astheroadnetworkgrew,sotheelephant'sroleasabeastofburdendeclined.练习题:Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:1.WhatcanweknowaboutAfricanelephantsfromthepassage?A.Itiseasytotamethem.B.Itishardtotamethem.C.TheyarelivingabetterlifethanAsianelephants.D.TheirfateisquitesimilartothatofAsianelephants.2.Thailandwasoncecalled“LandoftheWhiteElephant”because_______.A.whiteelephantisrarelyseenandthusveryspecialB.whiteelephantwasanationalsymboluntilthe1920sC.whiteelephanthashelpedkingstogaintherulingauthorityD.thisnamewassoromanticthatitwaspopularamongvisitors3.WhyistheThaielephant“outofwork”,accordingtotheauthor?A.Becausetheelephantsarenolongerusefultotheirowners.B.Becausetheirownersarewesternizedandneglectthem.C.Becausethegovernmentpayslittleattentiontotheproblem.D.Becausetherearetoomanyelephantsandtoofewjobs.4.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrueabouttheelephantpopulationatvarioustimes?A.Therewere100,000tamedelephantsattheturnofthecentury.B.20,000elephantswereemployedintransportinThailandattheturnofthecentury.C.By1950theelephantpopulationinThailandhasbeenquitesmall.D.Todaytheelephantpopulationisestimatedat5,150.5.Thepassageismostprobablyfrom_______.A.atravelmagazineB.ahistorybookC.aresearchreportD.anofficialannouncement1.[B]事实细节题。本题考查对比处。根据文章第l段第3句:和非洲象不同,亚洲象容易驯养,言下之意就是:非洲象不易驯养。答案中用tame替代原文的domesticate,意思相同。选项A与原文意思正好相反;选项C,D原文根本未提到。2.[B]推理判断题。根据文章第l段第4句中的“untilthe1920sthenationalflagwasawhiteelephantonaredbackground.”可知当时白象是泰国的国家象征,因此B为正确选项。本题最具干扰性的是选项D,在形式上,选项D与第1段最后一句极为相似,但是,游客这样称呼泰国,原因也是因为白象是泰国的象征,而不只是因为这个名字浪漫,因此,选项D是对原文的曲解;选项A和选项C虽然也来自文章,但不是原因,不能回答所提问题。3.[A]推理判断题。文章有几处解释了大象失业的原因,如第2段的第2句“anationthatnolongerneedsit(Thaielephant)”及最后一段的最后一句“theelephant’sroleasabeastofburdendeclined”等。选项A是对这些解释的一个基本概括。选项B中westernized和neglect虽在文章中出现,但选项B只是对想像的描述,不能解释大象“失业”的原因。选项C来自第2段最后一句话,但这句话只能说明大象不再受重视,不能作为大象“失业”的理由。选项D原文未提及,而且,从第3、4段可以看出:大象的数量急剧下降,谈不上“太多”。4.[D]事实细节题。此题考查的是大象数量变化的情况。四个选项中的数字惟有选项D没有直接出现,但根据第4段第l句很容易推算出来。选项A和B虽用了原文的数据,但选项A忽略了may这个词,而且未点明泰国,故不妥。B则忽略了inthenorthofThailand及morethan这两处。选项C中的small与原文substantial(大量的)冲突,也不对。5.[C]主旨大意题。从本文所用的大量客观的数据和数字可以推断这是一篇研究报告。本文趣味性不足,因此不能选A。选项B不能选,是因为历史书不可能如此大篇幅的描述大象的问题。选项D也不是正确答案,因为政府公告通常是一些规定,而不是客观的陈述。本文由培训无忧网新东方教育专属课程顾问整理发布,更多大学英语四六级考试培训课程信息欢迎关注培训无忧网英语四六级培训频道或添加老师微信:15033336050...