2018年学位英语考试自测习题及答案（18）

　　Part I Reading Comprehension (30%)

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

　　Archaeology, like many academic words, comes from Greek and means, more or less, “the study of old things”. So, it is really a part of the study of history. However, most historians use paper evidence, such as letters, paintings and photographs，but archaeologists (考古家) learn from the objects left behind by the humans of long ago. Normally, these are the hard materials that don't break down or disappear very quickly—things like human bones and objects made from stone and metal.

　　It is very unusual to find anything more than the hard evidence of history--normally, the bacteria (细菌) in the air eat away at soft materials, like bodies, clothes and things made of wood. Occasionally, things are different.

　　In 1984, two men made an amazing discovery while working in a bog called Lindow Moss, in the north of England. A bog is a very wet area of earth, with a lot of plants growing in it. It can be like a very big and very thick vegetable soup—walk in the wrong place and you can sink and disappear forever. The men were working when one of them saw something sticking out—a human foot! Naturally, the men called the police，who then found the rest of the body. Was it a case of murder? Possibly--but it was a death nearly two thousand years old. The two men had found a body from the time of the Roman invasion of Britain. Despite being so old, this body had skin, muscles, hair and internal organs—the scientists who examined him were able to look inside the man's stomach and find the food that he had eaten for his last meal!

　　Why was this man so well preserved? (76) It was because he was in a very watery environment, safe fi:om the bacteria that need oxygen to live. Also, the water in the bog was very acidic. The acid preserved the man's skin in the way that animal skin is preserved for leather coats and shoes.

　　How did he die? Understandably, archaeologists and other scientists wanted to know more about the person that they called,“Lindow Man”. (77) His hands and fingernails suggested that he hadn't done heavy manual work in his life—he could have been a rich man. They found that he hadn't died by accident. The archaeologists believe that he was sacrificed to three different gods.

　　1. Which language does the word “archaeology”come from?

　　A. French. B. Greek. C. Roman. D. German.

　　【答案】B。答案：可能谈不上什么常识储备，我们带着题干关键词：“archaeology”一目一行定位答案范围在：第一段第一句话。“archaeology”一词源于希腊语。因此答案选择选项B。应该是属于送分题目，不含技巧成分。

　　2. The word “these” in the first paragraph refers to_______.

　　A. letters B. photographs C. paintings D. objects

　　【答案】D。答案：these“这些”，指代的东西前面已经提及过，四个选项均有提及，A与B与C选项，是用and连接起来的没有主次之分的四个并列词语，反过来也就是说，它们当中，我们无从选择，答案是D。D选项就包含了前面三个选项的内容。

　　具体解法：细节题。根据“these”一词的上下语境可判断，该词是指上句话中的“objects left behind by the humans of long ago”，很久以前人们留下来诸如骨头、石头和金属之类的物体，因此答案选择D。

　　3. Which of the following helped to preserve“Lindow Man”?

　　A. Ice and Iow temperature. B. Bacteria and oxygen.

　　C. Soil and energy. D. Acid and water.

　　【答案】D。答案：带着题干关键词：preserve“Lindow Man” 一目一行定位答案范围在：第四段的“he was in a very watery environment”和“the water in the bog was very acidic”，可知是由于充满水的环境以及水里面的酸使尸体保存比较完好，因此答案选D。

　　4. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

　　A. “Lindow Man”was named after the person who first found him.

　　B. Historians usually use paper evidence, while archaeologists use hard evidence.

　　C. “Lindow Man” was found by two archaeologists in the south of England.

　　D. “Lindow Man”was good at manual work.

　　【答案】B。答案：此类题目，最好是带着选项内容去原文中寻找有价值的信息：A选项在第三段的细节题。根据文章第三段可知“Lindow Man”是bog沼泽的名称，故A错;“Lindow Man”是两个施工中的男子发现，故C错;根据最后一段，可知“Lindow Man”是一个很少做体力活的富人，故D错;而从第一段中，可得知B对。

　　认真做了第二小题的话，此题目就手到擒来了：However, most historians use paper evidence, such as letters, paintings and photographs，but archaeologists (考古学家) learn from the objects left behind by the humans of long ago. Normally, these are the hard materials…….。

　　5. Which is the best title for the passage?

　　A. What Is Archaeology?

　　B. Archaeology and History

　　C. An Amazing Archaeological Discovery

　　D. The Death of“Lindow Man”

　　【答案】C。答案：此类题目我们有两种方法：一、利用切题解题法，通过题干的设置，去了解文章的大意，因为出题人的题干设置一般而言，也是围绕文章中心的;二、浏览每一自然段的第一句话和最后一句话，因为这些地方是主旨出没的地方。

　　此题目利用第二种方法较好：第三段第一句“两个人有了一个惊人的发现….”;第四段第一句话“为什么这个人保存得如此完好…..”;第五段“他是怎么死的…”。与之匹配的是C选项。

　　具此可知，文章主要介绍了“Lindow Man”这一考古学上的惊人发现，而非讲述考古学的概念，也非考古学与历史的关系或“Lindow Man”的死因，因此ABD均为以偏概全。

　　【全 文 翻 译】

　　“考古学”一词像其他的学术词汇一样，是来自于希腊语，意思大致为“研究旧的东西”。所以，它是历史研究的一部分。然而，大多数历史学家使用诸如信函、油画和照片之类的纸质证据，而考古学家则从很久以前人类留下的物体获取信息。一般这些物体是不容易分解或者消失的硬东西，比如说人的骨头、石头和金属制作的东西。

　　通常除了这些硬东西，很少能再发现其他的东西，因为空气中的细菌常常会腐蚀掉尸体、衣服和木制品之类的软东西。不过偶尔也会有例外。

　　1984年，在英格兰北部一个叫做“Lindow Moss”的沼泽地区，两个男子正在施工的时候有一个惊人的发现。该沼泽是一个浸满水的地域，上面长了很多植物，可以比作一碗很大很稠的汤——一一旦你走错了地方就会沉下去并永远消失。两个人正在施工时，其中一个人看见一个从水中翘起来的东西—— 一个人脚!于是他们就报了警，警察来之后发现了其余的尸体。这是一件谋杀案吗?也许，但是这个“案件”差不多是两千年前的事儿了。他们发现的这具尸体是古罗马入侵英国时留下的。尽管尸体已经很久远，但还是保留着皮肤，肌肉，毛发和内脏。科学家们甚至可以看到男子胃的内部，以及里面最后一次所吃的食物。

　　为什么这具尸体保存如此完好?这是因为他处在一个非常潮湿多水的环境中，免受了需要氧气才能存活的细菌的侵扰。而且沼泽里面的水呈酸性，正如用酸保存皮革和皮鞋一样，水里面的酸使男子的皮肤得以完好无损。

　　他又是怎么死去的呢?考古学家和科学家们理所当然地都想知道这个被他们称为“Lindow Man”男子的更多信息。他的手和手指甲表明他在生活中没有干过重体力活——他生前可能是一个富人。他们发现该男子不是死于一个意外事件，考过学家们进一步认为该男子实际上是被献祭给三个不同的神灵。

　　Passage 2 　　Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:

　　The city has always been an engine of intellectual life, from the 18th-century cafes of London, where citizens gathered to discuss chemistry and politics, to the Left Bank bars of modern Paris, where Picasso talked about modem art. Without the metropolis, we might not have had the great art of Shakespeare.

　　And yet, city life isn't easy. Now scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are depressing. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs (损害) our basic mental processes. (78) After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory, and suffers from reduced self-control. While it's long been recognized that city life is exhausting, this new research suggests that cities actually dull our thinking, sometimes dramatically so.

　　One of the main forces at work is a complete lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain. Studies have demonstrated, for instance, that hospital patients recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows, and that women living in public housing are better able to focus when their apartments overlook a lawn. Even these glimpses of nature improve brain performance, it seems, because they provide a mental break from the urban life.

　　This research arrives just as humans cross an important milestone (里碑). For the first time in history, the majority of people live in cities. Instead of inhabiting wide-open spaces, we're crowded into concrete jungles, surrounded by traffic and millions of Strangers. In recent years, it's become clear that such unnatural surroundings have important implications for our mental and physical health, and can powerfully alter how we think.

　　This research is also leading some scientists to dabble (涉足) in urban design, as they look for ways to make the city less damaging to the brain. (79) The good news is that even slight alterations, such as planting more trees in the inner city or creating urban parks with a greater variety of plants, can significantly reduce the negative side effects of city life. The mind needs nature, and even a little bit can be a big help.

　　6. Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?

　　A. The city inspires talented people. 　　B. The city hurts your brain.

　　C. The city has many pleasures and benefits. D. The city seriously affects the natural balance.

　　【答案】B。答案：此题目可以放在最后。因为我们也许能够在下面的题目中，获得有关文章大意的信息。主旨题，根据文章大意，讲的是城市生活影响我们的大脑，因此选择选项B “The city hurts your brain。”

　　7. The word “metropolis” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to_______.

　　A. citizen B. nature C. city D. stress

　　【答案】 C。答案：题目中的词语“metropolis”，前面加了定冠词“the”，说明前面有所指代了，B与D选项原文中没有提及，排除;A选项放入句子中，句子意思不通顺;根据上文一直在讲the city的种种好处，可知此处metropolis也是city的意思。

　　8. People have just come to realize that_______.

　　A. human attention is a scarce resource 　B. city life can make people very tired

　　C. the city is an engine of intellectual life D. an urban environment is damaging to the brain

　　【答案】D。答案：根据文章第二段第一句话的and yet，表达转折关系，所以下面就应该讲述：城市生活的害处。排除C选项;下面一句话：Now scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are depressing可知，人们开始认识到城市的环境对人体大脑的损害，因此选择D。

　　9. What is the factor mentioned in the third paragraph that helps the hospital patients recover more quickly?

　　A. Nature. B. Better treatment. 　C. Experienced doctors. D. Good medicine.

　　【答案】A。答案：通过前面两道小题，我们应该对文章大意有了这样的信息：城市生活的害处，环境对人们生活的影响。

　　仔细浏览选项，充分利用切题解题法，我们可以大胆推测答案就是A。因为对病人来说后面三个选项都是至关重要的，分不出彼此。A选项就切题了。

　　认证答案：带着题干关键词：一目一行定位答案范围在：文章第三段第一句One of the main forces at work is a complete lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain，定语从句修饰nature，说它是对大脑有益的，紧接着举了医院病人看到更多的树而康复更快的例子，因此本题选A。

　　10. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

　　A. Different aspects (方面) of an urban environment, such as the crowded streets, can lead to an increase in self-control.

　　B. Small changes in urban design, cannot reduce the negative side effects of city life.

　　C. For the first time in history, the earth's population is more urban than rural.

　　D. A walk down a busy city street will improve brain performance.

　　【答案】C。答案：结合前面题目的信息与常识储备，A选项应该排除，拥挤的街道还能够提高自我控制能力，很显然，这是不可能的，排除;B选项：太绝对，否则我们城市里的街心花园，栽一些树都没有好处?利用常识储备排除：同样的理由排除D选项。

　　认证答案：细节题，根据文章倒数第二段For the first time in history, the majority of people live in cities大多数人开始的时候是生活在城市“即城市人口比农村人口多”，可知C the earth’s population is more urban than rural是正确的。

　　题外话：我们当今不就是这么一种尴尬局面吗?大量农村人口蜂拥而至城市里。

　　再返回去完成第六小题：后面四道小题，提供的信息，都是城市的害处，尤其是对大脑，答案就是B。

　　【全 文 翻 译】

　　城市一直以来都是知识生活的发动机，从18世纪英国的咖啡馆，公民们聚集在那里讨论化学和政治，到现代巴黎的左岸酒吧，毕加索在那里谈论着现代艺术。没有城市，也许我们就没莎士比亚的伟大艺术。

　　然而，城市的生活不易!现在很多科学家们已经发现城市对人脑有着消极的影响，最后使人们消沉沮丧。他们发现生活在城市的环境里会损害我们的基本神智运转。如在一条拥挤的城市街道上待上几分钟后，大脑记忆能力不如从前，自我控制能力也减弱了。尽管很久以来人们就认为城市生活会令人精疲力竭，而新的研究表明城市会使我们的思维迟钝，有时候会极其明显。

　　作怪的主要力量是城市彻底缺乏自然环境，而自然环境恰恰是对大脑大有裨益的因素。这已经得到研究的证明，假如医院中的病人能从窗户看到树木将会恢复的更快，又如住在公屋中的女子当能遥望草坪时候，精神会更容易集中。即使对自然环境的种种一瞥就可以提高大脑的运作，看来正是因为这些一瞥就可以让人们从城市的生活中暂得休歇。

　　这项研究来的正是时候，因为人类跨越着重要的里程碑——历史上第一次大部分的人居住在城市。水泥丛林取代了开阔的旷野，我们不得不挤居其中，这里有繁忙的交通，也杂陈着百万计的陌生人。近些年来，如此非自然的环境和我们的身心健康问题的重要干系也越来越彰显，它可以强有力地改变我们思考的方式。

　　这项研究也使一些科学家涉足到城市设计的领域，因为他们试图藉此寻找到减少大脑损害的方法。好消息是即使是细微的改变，例如在市中心种更多的树或者多建一些植物种类更丰富的市区公园，都能显著减少城市生活消极的影响。我们的大脑需要大自然的呵护，即使那么一点点，也大有裨益。