12月四級閱讀理解模擬:泰國大象的生存危機
2021-12-01點擊量:150
Forcenturies,inthecountriesofsouthandSoutheastAsiatheelephanthasbeenanintimatepartoftheculture,economyandreligion,andnowheremoresothaninThailand.UnlikeitsAfricancousin,theAsianelephantiseasilydomesticated(馴化).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(棲息地)thatnotonlysupportedtheanimalsbutalsomadethemnecessarytocarrygoodsandpeople.Nothingploughsthroughdenseforestbetterthanamassivebutsure-footedelephant.By1950theelephantpopulationhaddroppedtoastillsubstantial13,397,buttodaythereareprobablynomorethan3,800,withanother1,350roamingfreeinthenationalparks.Butnow,Thailand’sforestcoversonly20percentoftheland.Thisdeforestation(采伐森林)isthecentralpointoftheelephant'sdifficultsituation,forithaseffectivelyputtheanimalsoutofwork.Thiscentury,astheroadnetworkgrew,sotheelephant'sroleasabeastofburdendeclined.練習題: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]事實細節題。本題考查對比處。根據文章第l段第3句:和非洲象不同,亞洲象容易馴養,言下之意就是:非洲象不易馴養。答案中用tame替代原文的domesticate,意思相同。選項A與原文意思正好相反;選項C,D原文根本未提到。2.[B]推理判斷題。根據文章第l段第4句中的“untilthe1920sthenationalflagwasawhiteelephantonaredbackground.”可知當時白象是泰國的國家象征,因此B為正確選項。本題最具干擾性的是選項D,在形式上,選項D與第1段最后一句極為相似,但是,游客這樣稱呼泰國,原因也是因為白象是泰國的象征,而不只是因為這個名字浪漫,因此,選項D是對原文的曲解;選項A和選項C雖然也來自文章,但不是原因,不能回答所提問題。3.[A]推理判斷題。文章有幾處解釋了大象失業的原因,如第2段的第2句“anationthatnolongerneedsit(Thaielephant)”及最后一段的最后一句“theelephant’sroleasabeastofburdendeclined”等。選項A是對這些解釋的一個基本概括。選項B中westernized和neglect雖在文章中出現,但選項B只是對想像的描述,不能解釋大象“失業”的原因。選項C來自第2段最后一句話,但這句話只能說明大象不再受重視,不能作為大象“失業”的理由。選項D原文未提及,而且,從第3、4段可以看出:大象的數量急劇下降,談不上“太多”。4.[D]事實細節題。此題考查的是大象數量變化的情況。四個選項中的數字惟有選項D沒有直接出現,但根據第4段第l句很容易推算出來。選項A和B雖用了原文的數據,但選項A忽略了may這個詞,而且未點明泰國,故不妥。B則忽略了inthenorthofThailand及morethan這兩處。選項C中的small與原文substantial(大量的)沖突,也不對。5.[C]主旨大意題。從本文所用的大量客觀的數據和數字可以推斷這是一篇研究報告。本文趣味性不足,因此不能選A。選項B不能選,是因為歷史書不可能如此大篇幅的描述大象的問題。選項D也不是正確答案,因為政府公告通常是一些規定,而不是客觀的陳述。本文由培訓無憂網新東方教育專屬課程顧問整理發布,更多大學英語四六級考試培訓課程信息歡迎關注培訓無憂網英語四六級培訓頻道或添加老師微信:15033336050...