大学英语六级考试快速阅读模拟题训练(六级已过经验)

Unit 1RainforestsTropical rainforests are the most diverse ecosystem(生态系统)on Earth, and also the oldest. Today, tropical rainforests cover only 6 percent of the Earth's ground surface, but they are home to over half of the planet's plant and animal species.What Is a Rainforest?Generally speaking, a rainforest is an environment that receives high rainfall and is dominated by tall trees. A wide range of ecosystems fall into this category, of course. But most of the time when people talk about rainforests, they mean the tropical rainforests located near the equator.These forests receive between 160 and 400 inches of rain per year. The total annual rainfall is spread pretty evenly throughout the year, and the temperature rarely dips below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.This steady climate is due to the position of rainforests on the globe. Because of the orientation of the Earth's axis, the Northern and Southern hemispheres each spend part of the year tilted away from the sun. Since rainforests are at the middle of the globe, located near the equator, they are not especially affected by this change. They receive nearly the same amount of sunlight, and therefore heat, all year. Consequently, the weather in these regions remains fairly constant.The consistently wet, warm weather and ample sunlight give plant life everything it needs to thrive. Trees have the resources to grow to tremendous heights. and they live for hundreds, even thousands, of years. These giants, which reach 60 to 150 ft in the air, form the basic structure of the rainforest. Their top branches spread wide in order to capture maximum sunlight. This creates a thick canopy(树冠)level at the top of the forest, with thinner greenery levels underneath. Some large trees grow so tall that they even tower overthe canopy layer.As you go lower, down into the rainforest, you find less and less greenery. The forest floor is made up of moss, fungi, and decaying plant matter that has fallen from the upper layers. The reason for this decrease in greenery is very simple：The overabundance of plants gathering sunlight at the top of the forest blocks most sunlight from reaching the bottom of the forest, making it difficult for robust plants to thrive.The Forest for the TreesThe ample sunlight and extremely wet climate of many tropical areas encourage the growth of towering trees with wide canopies. This thick top layer of the rainforest dictates the lives of all other plants in the forest. New tree seedlings rarely survive to make it to the top unless some older trees die, creating a "hole" in the canopy. When this happens, all of the seedlings on the ground level compete intensely to reach the sunlight.Many plant species reach the top of the forest by climbing the tall trees. It is much easier to ascend this way, because the plant doesn't have to form its own supporting structure.Some plant species, called epiphytes, grow directly on the surface of the giant trees. These plants, which include a variety of orchids and ferns, make up much of the under story, the layer of the rainforest right below the canopy. Epiphytes are close enough to the top to receive adequate light, and the runoff from the canopy layer provides all the water and nutrients(养分)they need, which is important since they don't have access to the nutrients in the ground.Stranglers and Buttre sse sSome epiphytes eventually develop into stranglers. They grow long, thick roots that extend down the tree trunk into the ground. As they continue to grow, the roots form a sort of web structure all around the tree. At the same time, the strangler plant's branches extend upward, spreading out into the canopy. Eventually, the strangler may block so much light from above, and absorb such a high percentage of nutrients from the ground below, that the host tree dies.Competition over nutrients is almost as intense as competition for light. The excessive rainfall rapidly dissolves nutrients in the soil, making it relatively infertile except at the top layers. For this reason, rainforest tree roots grow outward to cover a wider area, rather than downward to lower levels. This makes rainforest trees somewhat unstable, since they don't have very strong anchors in the ground. Some trees compensate for this by growing natural buttresses. These buttresses are basically tree trunks that extend out from the side of the tree and down to the ground, giving the tree additional support.Rainforest trees are dependent on bacteria that are continually producing nutrients in the ground. Rainforest bacteria and trees have a very close, symbiotic(共生的) relationship. The trees provide the bacteria with food, in the form of fallen leaves and other material, and the bacteria break this material down into the nutrients that the trees need to survive.One of the most remarkable things about rainforest plant life is its diversity. The temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest are mainly compose d of a dozen or so tree species. A tropical rainforest, on the other hand, might have 300 distinct tree species.All Creatures, Great and SmallRainforests are home to the majority of animal species in the world. And a great number of species who now live in other environments, including humans, originally inhabited the rainforests. Researchers estimate that in a large rainforest area, there may be more than 10 million different animal species.Most of these species have adapted for life in the upper levels of the rainforest, where food is most plentiful. Insects, which can easily climb or fly from tree to tree, make up the largest group(ants are the most abundant animal in the rainforest).Insect species have a highly symbiotic relationship with the plant life in a rainforest. The insects move from plant to plant, enjoying the wealth of food provided there. As they travel, the insects may pick up the plants' seeds, dropping them some distance away. This helps to disperse the population of the plant species over a larger area.The numerous birds of the rainforest also play a major part in seed dispersal. When they eat fruit from a plant, the seeds pass through their digestive system. By the time they excrete (排泄) the seeds, the birds may have flown many miles away from the fruit-bearing tree.There are also a large number of reptiles and mammals in the rainforest. Since the weather is so hot and humid during the day, most rainforest mammals are active only at night, dusk or dawn. The many rainforest bat species are especially well adapted for this lifestyle. Using their sonar, bats navigate easily through the mass of trees in the rainforest, feeding on insects and fruit.While most rainforest species spend their lives in the trees, there is also a lot of life on the forest floor. Great apes, wild pigs, big cats and even elephants can all be found in rainforests. There are a number of people who live in the rainforests, as well. These tribes - which, up until recently, numbered in the thousands - are being forced out of the rainforests at an alarming rate because of deforestation.DeforestationIn the past hundred years, humans have begun destroying rainforests at an alarming rate. Today, roughly 1.5 acres of rainforest are destroyed every second. People are cutting down the rainforests in pursuit of three major resources：• L and for crops• Lumber for paper and other wood products• Land for livestock pasturesIn the current economy, people obviously have a need for all of these resources. But almost all experts agree that, over time, we will suffer much more from the destruction of the rainforests than we will benefit.The world's rainforests are an extremely valuable natural resource, to be sure, but not for their lumber or their land. They are the main cradle of life on Earth, and they hold millions of unique life forms that we have yet to discover. Destroying the rainforests is comparable to destroying an unknown planet-we have no idea what we're losing. If deforestation continues at its current rate, the world's tropical rainforests will be wiped out within 40 years.1. Virtually all plant and animal species on Earth can be found in tropical rainforests.2. There is not much change in the weather in the tropical rainforests all the year round.3. The largest number of rainforests in the world are located on the African continent.4. Below the canopy level of a tropical rainforest grows an overabundance of plants.5. New tree seedlings will not survive to reach the canopy level unless ________.6. Epiphytes, which form much of the under story of the rainforest, get all their water and nutrients from ________.7. Stranglers are so called because they ________ by blocking the sunlight and competing for the nutrients.8. Since rainforest bacteria and trees depend on each other for life, the relationship they form is termed ________.9. Plant species are dispersed over a large area with the help of ________.10. As we are still ignorant of millions of unique life forms in the rainforest, deforestation can be compared to the destruction of ________.Unit 11. N2. Y3. NG4. N5. guaranteed6. Internet access7. two customer satisfaction programs / a customer hotline and a customer call-back program8. higher prices of their pizzas9. reckless driving by their drivers10. the sameUnit 2Space TourismMake your reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are going for a mere $20 million for a one-week stay in space. Despite reluctance from National Air and Space Administration (NASA)，Russia made American businessman Dennis Tito the world‘s first space tourist. Tito flew into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on April 30, 2001. The second space tourist, South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth, took off aboard the Russian Soyuz on April 25, 2002, also bound for the ISS.Lance Bass of ‗N Sync was supposed to be the third to make the $20 million trip, but he did not join the three-man crew as they blasted off on October 30, 2002, due to lack of payment. Probably the most incredible aspect of this proposed space tour was that NASA approved of it.These trips are the beginning of what could be a profitable 21st century industry. There are already several space tourism companies planning to build suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two decades. These companies have invested millions, believing that the space tourism industry is on the verge of taking off.In 1997, NASA published a report concluding that selling trips into space to private citizens could be worth billions of dollars. A Japanese report supports these findings, and projects that space tourism could be a $10 billion per year industry within the next two decades. The only obstacles to opening up space to tourists are the space agencies, who are concerned with safety and the development of a reliable, reusable launch vehicle.Space AccommodationsRussia‘s Mir space station was supposed to be the first destination for space tourists. But in March 2001，the Russian Aerospace Agency brought Mir down into the Pacific Ocean. As it turned out, bringing down Mir only temporarily delayed the first tourist trip into space.The Mir crash did cancel plans for a new reality-based game show from NBC, which was going to be called Destination Mir. The Survivor-like TV show was scheduled to air in fall 2001,Participants on the show were t o go through training at Russia‘s cosmonaut (宇航员) training center, Star City. Each week, one of the participants would be eliminated from the show, with the winner receiving a trip to the Mir space station. The Mir crash has ruled out NBC‘s space plans for now. NASA is against beginning space tourism until the International Space Station is completed in 2006.Russia is not alone in its interest in space tourism. There are several projects underway to commercialize space travel. Here are a few of the groups that might take tourists to space:Space Island Group is going to build a ring-shaped, rotatingλ―commercial space infrastructure (基础结构)‖ that will resemble the Discovery spacecraft in the movie ―2001: A Space Odyssey.‖ Space Island says it will build its space city out of empty NASA space-shuttle fuel tanks (to start, it should take around 12 or so), and place it about 400 miles above Earth. The space city will rotate once per minute to create a gravitational pull one-third as strong as Earth‘s.According to their vision statement. Space Adventures plansλto ―fly tens of thousand of people in space over the next 10-15 years and beyond, around the moon, and back, from spaceports both on Earth and in space, to and from private space stations, and board dozen of different vehicles...‖Even Hilton Hotels has shown interest in the space tourismλindustry and possibility of building or co-funding a space hotel. However, the company did say that it believes such a space hotel is 15 to 20 years away.Initially, space tourism will offer simple accommodations at best. For instance, if the International Space Station is used as a tourist attraction, guests won‘t find the luxurious surroundings of a hotel room on Earth. It has been designed for conducting research, not entertainment. However, the first generation of space hotels should offer tourists a much more comfortable experience.In regard to a concept for a space hotel initially planned by Space Island, such a hotel could offer guests every convenience they might find at a hotel on Earth, and some they might not. The small gravitational pull created by the rotating space city would allow space-tourists and residents to walk around and function facilities would be possible. Additionally, space tourists would even be able to take space walks.Many of these companies believe that they have to offer an extremely enjoyable experience in order for passengers to pay thousands, if not millions, of dollars to ride into space. So will space create another separation between the haves and have-nots?The Most Expensive VacationWill space be an exotic retreat reserved for only the wealthy? Or will middle-class folks have a chance to take their families to space? Make no mistake about it, going to space will be the most expensive vacation you ever take. Prices right now are in the tens of millions of dollars. Currently, the only vehicles that can take you into space are the space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz, both of which are terribly inefficient. Each spacecraft requires millions of pounds of fuel to take off into space, which makes them expensive to launch. One pound of payload (有效载重) costs about $10,000 to put into Earth‘s orbit.NASA and Lockheed Martin are currently developing a single-stage-to-orbit launch space plane, called the VentureStar, that could be launched for about a tenth of what the space shuttle costs to launch. If the VentureStar takes off, the number of people who could afford to take a trip into space would move into the millions.In 1998, a joint report from NASA and the Space Transportation Association stated that improvements in technology could push fares for space travel as low as $50,000, and possibly down to $20,000 or $10,000 a decade later. The report concluded that a ticket price of $50,000, there could be 500,000 passengers flying into space each year. While still leaving out many people, these prices would open up space to a tremendous amount of traffic.Since the beginning of the space race, the general public has said, ―Isn‘t that great—when do I get to go?‖ Well, our chance might be closer than ever. Within the next 20 years, space planes could be taking off for the Moon at the same frequency as airpl anes flying between New York and Los Angles.1. Lance Bass wasn‘t able to go on a tour of space because of health problems.2. Several tourism companies believe space travel is going to be a new profitable industry.3. The space agencies are reluctant to open up space to tourists.4. Two Australian billionaires have been placed on the waiting list for entering space as private passengers.5. The price for the winner in the fall 2001 NBA TV game show would have been________.6. Hilton Hotels beli eves it won‘t be long before it is possible to build a ________.7. In order for space tourists to walk around and function normally, it is necessary for the space city to create a ________.8. What making going to space the most expensive vacation is the enormous cost involved in ________.9. Each year 500,000 space tourists could be flying into space if ticket prices could be lowered to ________.10. Within the next two decades, ________ could be as intercity air travel.Unit 21. N2. Y3. Y4. NG5.a trip to the Mir Space Station6.a space hotel7.small gravitational8. the fuel of spacecraft9.$50,00010. space travelUnit 3Seven Steps to a More Fulfilling JobMany people today find themselves in unfulfilling work situations. In fact, one in four workers is dissatisfied with their current job, according to the recent ―Plans for 2004‖ survey. Their career path may be financially rewarding, but it doesn‘t meet their emotional, social or creative needs. They‘re stuck, unhappy, a nd have no idea what to do about it, except move to another job.Mary Lyn Miller, veteran career consultant and founder of the Life and Career Clinic, says that when most people are unhappy about their work, their first thought is to get a different job. Instead, Miller suggests looking at the possibility of a differe nt life. Through her book, 8 Myths of Making a Living, as well as workshops, seminars and personal coaching and consulting, she has helped thousands of dissatisfied workers reassess life and work.Like the way of Zen, which includes understanding of oneself as one really is, Miller encourages job seekers and those dissatisfied with work or life to examine their beliefs about work and recognize that ―in many cases your beliefs are what brought you to where you aretoday.‖ You may have been raised to think that women were best at nurturing and caring and, therefore, should be teachers and nurses. So that‘s what you did. Or, perhaps you were brought up to believe that you should do what your father did, so you have taken over the family business, or become a dentist ―just like dad.‖ If this sounds familiar, it‘s probably time to look at the new possibilities for your future.Miller developed a 7-step process to help potential job seekers assess their current situation and beliefs, identify their real passion, and start on a journey that allows them to pursue their passion through work.Step 1: Willingness to do something different.Breaking the cycle of doing what you have always done is one of the most difficult tasks for job seekers. Many find it difficult to steer away from a career path or make a change, even if it doesn‘t feel right. Miller urges job seekers to open their minds to other possibilities beyond what they are currently doing.Step 2: Commitment to being who you are, not who or what someone wants you to be.Look at the \gifts and talents you have and make a commitment to pursue those things that you love most. If you love the social aspects of your job, but are stuck inside an office or ―chained to your desk‖ most of the time, vow to fol low your instinct and investigate alternative careers and work that allow you more time to interact with others. Dawn worked as a manager for a large retail clothing store for several years. Though she had advanced within the company, she felt frustrated and longed to be involved with nature and the outdoors. She decided to go to school nights and weekends to pursue her true passion by earning her master‘s degree in forestry. She now works in the biotech forestry division of a major paper company.Step 3: Self-definitionMiller suggests that once job seekers know who they are, they need to know how to sell themselves. ―In the job market, you are a product. And just like a product, you most know the features and benefits that you have to offer a potential client, or employer.‖ Examine the skills and knowledge that you have identify how they can apply to your desired occupation. Your qualities will exhibit to employers why they should hire you over other candidates.Step 4: Attain a level of self-honoring.Self-honoring or self-love may seem like an odd step for job hunters, but being able to accept yourself, without judgment, helps eliminate insecurities and will make you moreself-assured. By accepting who you are – all your emotions, hopes and dreams, your personality, and your unique way of being –you‘ll project more confidence when networking and talking with potential employers. The power of self-honoring can help to break all the falsehoods you were programmed to believe – those that made you feel that you were not good enough, or strong enough, or intelligent enough to do what you truly desire.Step 5: Vision.Miller suggests that job seekers develop a vision that embraces the answer to ―What do I really want to do?‖ one should create a solid s tatement in a dozen or so sentences that describe in detail how they see their life related to work. For instance, the secretary who longs to be an actress describes a life that allows her to express her love of Shakespeare on stage.A real estate agent, attracted to his current job because her loves fixing up old homes, describes buying properties that need a little tender loving care to make them more saleable.Step 6: Appropriate risk.Some philosophers believe that the way to enlightenment comes through facing obstacles and difficulties. Once people discover their passion, many are too scared to do anything about it. Instead, they do nothing. With this step, job seekers should assess what they are willing to give up, or risk, in pursuit of their dream. For one working mom, that meant taking night classes to learn new computer-aided design skills, while still earning a salary and keeping her day job. For someone else, it may mean quitting his or her job, taking out loan and going back to school full ti me. You‘ll move one step closer to your ideal work life if you identify how much risk you are willing to take and the sacrifices you are willing to make.Step 7: Action.Some teachers of philosophy describe action in this way, ―If one wants to get to t he top of a mountain, just sitting at the foot thinking about it will not bring one there. It is by making the effort of climbing up the mountain, step by step, that eventually the summit is reached.‖ All too often, it is the lack of action that ultimately holds people back from attaining their ideals. Creating a plan and taking it one step at a time can lead to new and different job opportunities. Job-hunting tasks gain added meaning as you sense their importance in your quest for a more meaningful work life. The plan can include researching industries and occupations, talking to people who are in your desired area of work, taking classes, or accepting volunteer work in your targeted field.Each of these steps will lead you on a journey to a happier and more rewarding work life. After all, it is the journey, not the destination, that is most important.1. According to the recent ―Plans for 2004‖ survey, most people are unhappy with their current jobs.2. Mary Lyn Miller‘s job is to advise people on thei r life and career.3. Mary Lyn Miller herself was once quite dissatisfied with her own work.4. Many people find it difficult to make up their minds whether to change their career path.5. According to Mary Lyn Miller, people considering changing their careers should commit themselves to the pursuit of ________.6. In the job market, job seekers need to know how to sell themselves like ________.7. During an interview with potential employers, self-honoring or self-love may help a job seeker to show ________.8. Mary Lyn Miller suggests that a job seeker develop a vision that answers the question ―________‖9. Many people are too scared to pursue their dreams because they are unwilling to________.10. What ultimately holds people back from attaining their ideals is ________.Unit 31. N2. Y3. NG4. Y5. those things that they love most6. products7. his confidence8. What do I really want to do?9. take risk and make sacrifices10. the lack of actionUnit 4Seven way to Save the WorldForget the old idea that conserving energy is a form of self-denial—riding bicycles, dimming the lights, and taking fewer showers. These days conservation is all about efficiency: getting the same—or better—results from just a fraction of the energy. When a slump in business travel forced Ulrich Ramer to cut costs at his family—owned hotel in Germany, he replaced hundreds of the hotel‘s wasteful light bulbs, getting the same light for 80 percent less power. He bought a new water boiler with a digitally controlled pump, and wrapped insulation around the pipes. Spending about ￡100,000 on these and other improvements, he slashed his ￡90,000 fuel and power bill by ￡60,000. As a bonus, the hotel‘s lower energy needs have reduced its annual carbon emissions by more than 200 metric tons. ―For us, saving energy has been very, very profitable,‖ he says. ―And most importantly, we‘re not giving up a single comfort for our guests.‖Efficiency is also a great way to lower carbon emissions and help slow global warming. But the best argument for efficiency is its cost—or, more precisely, its profitability. That‘s because quickly growing energy demand requires immense investment in new supply, not to mention the drain of rising energy prices.No wonder efficiency has moved to the top of the political agenda. On Jan. 10, the European Union unveiled a plan to cut energy use across the continent by 20 percent by 2020. Last March, China imposed a 20 percent increase in energy efficiency by 2020. Even George W. Bush, the Texas oilman, is expected to talk about energy conservation in his State of the Union speech this week.The good news is that the world is full of proven, cheap ways to save energy. Here are the seven that could have the biggest impact.InsulateSpace heating and cooling eats up 36 percent of all the world‘s energy. There‘s virtually no limit to how much of that can be saved, as prototype ―zero-energy homes‖ in Switzerland and Germany have shown. There‘s been a surge in new ways of keeping h eat in and cold out (or vice versa). The most advanced insulation follows the law of increasing returns: if you add enough you can scale down or even eliminate heating and air-conditioning equipment, lowering costs even before you start saving on utility bills. Studies have shown that green workplaces (ones that don‘t constantly need to have the heat or air-conditioner running) have higher worker productivity and lower sick rates.Change BulbsLighting eats up 20 percent of the world‘s electricity, or t he equivalent of roughly 600,000 tons of coal a day. Forty percent of that powers old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs—a19th-century technology that wastes most of the power it consumes on unwanted heat.Compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLS, not only use 75 to 80 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs to generate the same amount of light, but they also last 10 times longer. Phasing old bulbs out by 2030 would save the output of 650 power plants and avoid the release of 700 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year.Comfort ZoneWater boilers, space heaters and air conditioners have been notoriously inefficient. The heat pump has altered that equation. It removes heat from the air outside or the ground below and uses it to supply heat to a building or its water supply. In the summer, the system can be reversed to cool buildings as well.Most new residential buildings in Sweden are already heated with ground-source heat pumps. Such systems consume almost no conventional fuel at all. Several countries have used subsidies to jump-start the market, including Japan, where almost I million heat pumps have been installed in the past two years to heat water for showers and hot tubs.Remake FactoriesFrom steel mills to paper factories, industry eats up about a third of the world‘s energy. The opportunities to save are vast. In Ludwigshafen, German chemicals giant BASF runs an interconnected complex of more than 200 chemical factories, where heat produced by one chemical process is used to power the next. At the Ludwigshafen site site alone, such recycling of heat and energy saves the company ￡200 million a year and almost half its CO2 emissions. Now BASF is doing the same for new plants in China. ―Optimizing (优化) energy efficiency is a de cisive competitive advantage,‖ says BASF CEO Jurgen Hambrecht.Green DrivingA quarter of the world‘s energy---including two thirds of the annual production of oil—is used for transportation. Some savings come free of charge: you can boost fuel efficie ncy by 6 percent simply by keeping your car‘s tires properly inflated (充气). Gasoline-electric hybrid(混合型的) models like the Toyota Prius improve mileage by a further 20 percent over conventional models.A Better Fridge。