2004年10月全国高等教育自学考试英语阅读（二）试题

　　SECTION 1 VOCABULARY（30 points）

　　I. Directions： Match the words in Column A with their definitions in Column B. Write the letter of the answer to each word in Column A on your ANSWER SHEET.（10 points， 1 point for each）

　　A B

　　1. challenge A. making dirty or impure

　　2. inaccessible B. against reason or common sense

　　3. surge C. forward movement like powerful waves

　　4.diverse D. greatness of size or importance

　　5. foul E. of different kinds

　　6. emerge F. rock in a very hot liquid state

　　7. heed G. question the lawfulness or rightness of

　　8. absurd H. give attention to

　　9.lava I. that cannot be reached

　　10. magnitude J. come into existence

　　II. Directions： Read each of the following sentences carefully， and choose A，B，C or D that has the closest meaning to the underlined word or phrase. Blacken the corresponding letter of the answer on your ANSWER SHEET.（10 points， 1 point for each）

　　11. Through the passing millennia， thousands of animal species have come and gone.

　　A. arrived and left

　　B. appeared and escaped

　　C. come into existence and become extinct

　　D. approached and disappeared

　　12. Occasional loss of livestock must be weighed against the good these animals do in maintaining the balance of nature.

　　A. estimated by B. balanced by

　　C. copied in terms of D. compared in terms of value of

　　13. Recognizing the growing threat HIV/AIDS poses to child survival， the Agency will support efforts for a solution.

　　A. affects B. takes to

　　C. increases D. points to

　　14. Pesticides have also taken their toll.

　　A. threatened their lives B. destroyed their habitat

　　C. played their part D. caused deaths

　　15. With each departure a small part of the diversity of nature that makes life so interesting is also gone.

　　A. going away B. extinction

　　C. changing D. disaster

　　16. Several months later a similar feat was performed by the first American astronaut to walk in space.

　　A. ordinary task B. noteworthy achievement

　　C. common deed D. something done

　　17. On the earth， our atmosphere diffuses light so that， when the sun is up， light seems to be everywhere.

　　A. sends out in every direction B. focuses in every direction

　　C. concentrates in every direction D. reflects in every direction

　　18. During the subsequent lull in hunting， the seal population made a good， although temporary， recovery.

　　A. stop B. stillness

　　C. quietness D. pause

　　19. A mutation happens to suit a new environment， and the “odd” creature survives because it is better fitted.

　　A. calcium B. remnant

　　C. alteration D. eradication

　　20. This is an unexplored area in vitamin research and the only known advantages of vitamin E are confined to specialized medical cases.

　　A. assessed in B. restricted to

　　C. contributed to D. expected on

　　III. Directions： Scan Passage 1 and find the words which have roughly the meanings given below. Write the word you choose in the corresponding space on your ANSWER SHEET.（10 points， 1 point for each）

　　Note： The numbers in the brackets refer to the numbers of paragraphs in the passage.

　　21. conditions and surroundings that affect people‘s lives （1）

　　22. passing on of physical or mental characteristics from parents to children （2）

　　23. have an effect on each other （2）

　　24. way in which something works （3）

　　25. power of learning， understanding and reasoning （4）

　　26. controlling or handling something with skill （4）

　　27. characteristics and qualities of a person （5）

　　28. deciding the value or amount of something （6）

　　29. explaining something which is not easily understandable （6）

　　30. make something difficult to see clearly （6）

　　Passage 1

　　1. We inherit genes， not traits. When we say that a boy got his brown eyes from his father， we really mean that he got the genes for brown eyes from his father. Every gene must develop in an environment， and the environment influences how that gene will develop. In the case of fruit flies， the vestigial（退化的）-wing characteristic will develop if the flies are raised at room temperature. If the flies are reared at about 92oF（33oC）， however， the wings will be almost normal.

　　2. In the final analysis， the question， “Which is more important， heredity or environment ” has no meaning. There can be no “heredity versus environment” situation： both factors， heredity and environment， must interact for an organism to develop.

　　3. Still， we can get some idea of the relative contributions of heredity and environment to certain traits. To do this， we must determine the genetic mechanism for a particular trait. We must also determine how much effect the environment can have on the trait. Neither of these determinations is easy， but for a few traits they have both been made.

　　4. In the case of Down‘s syndrome， for example， we know that the presence of an extra number 21 chromosome sets limits on the development of the intelligence and largely determines certain other abnormal characteristics of the victim. Unfortunately， no amount of environmental manipulation can cause the victim’s intelligence to exceed a certain “subnormal” level. Thus we can say that in the development of the phenotype of a person with Down‘s syndrome， heredity makes a relatively great contribution— by imposing severe limits.

　　5. But in most situations one can study， the role of the environment is very much in evidence. Identical human twins who have been reared apart show quite noticeable phenotypic differences， in personality and even in some physical characteristics.

　　6. The problem of assessing the relative contributions of heredity and environment to human intelligence is notoriously difficult and controversial. On the one hand， many studies have shown high correlations between the intelligence of individuals and their degree of “relatedness”。 On the other hand， the many variables encountered in studies of this type make interpretation very difficult. But some studies have found correlations suggesting environmental factors influence intelligence more than genetic factors do. So the question of intelligence and inheritance is still very much up in the air. The problems and the controversy should not， however， obscure one basic fact： intelligence， like any other trait， depends on the interaction of both genetic and environmental factors.

　　SECTION 2 READING COMPREHENSION （40 points）

　　IV. Directions： Skim passage 2 and read the statements given right after the passage and judge whether they are True or False. Blacken the corresponding answer you choose on your ANSWER SHEET. （10 points， 1 point for each）

　　Passage 2

　　1. Mild stress is known to improve learning. A totally relaxed child will not be as receptive to new information as a child experiencing mild stress. It is also known that when the stress of working at a job is removed when elderly people retire they age more quickly unless new activities are substituted in their lives. It is thought that senility occurs more frequently with inactivity than with continued activity. Much of the great art， inventions and discoveries has resulted from the stress of the creators. Would we have the Sistine Chapel（西斯行廷教堂） if Mich