雅思(阅读)模拟试卷112(题后含答案及解析)

雅思（阅读）模拟试卷112(题后含答案及解析)题型有：1.ReadingModuleReadingModule(60minutes)Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions1-13whicharebasedonReadingPassage1below.Australia’sGrowingDisasterFarmingisthreateningtodestroythesoilandnativefloraandfaunaovervastareasofAustralia.Whatpriceshouldbeputonconservation?Australia’sNationalGreenhouseGasInventoryCommitteeestimatesthatburningwoodfromclearedforestaccountsforabout30percentofAustralia’semissionsofcarbondioxide,or156milliontonnesayear.Andwatertablesarerisingbeneathclearedland.IntheWesternAustralianwheatbelt,estimatessuggestthatwaterisrisingbyupto1metreayear.Thelandisbecomingwaterloggedandunproductiveorisbeingpoisonedbysalt,whichisbroughttothesurface.TheAustralianConservationFoundation(ACF)reckonsthat33millionhectareshavebeendegradedbysalination.ThefederalgovernmentestimatesthelossinproductionfromsalinityatA$200millionayear.AccordingtoJasonAlexandraoftheACF,thislistofwoesisevidencethatAustraliaisdepletingitsresourcesbytradingagriculturalcommoditiesformanufacturedgoods.Ineffect,itsellstopsoilfortechnologiesthatwillbewornoutorredundantinafewyears.Thecountryneedstogetawayfromthe‘colonialmentality’ofexploitingresourcesandadoptagriculturalpracticessuitedtoAustralianconditions,hesays.RobertHadleroftheNationalFarmers’Federationdoesnotdenythatthereisaproblem,butsaysthatitis‘illogical’toblamefarmers.Untiltheearly1980s,farmersweregiventaxincentivestoclearlandbecausethatwaswhatpeoplewanted.Iffarmersaregiventaxbreakstomanagelandsustainably,theywilldoso.Hadlerarguesthatthetworeportsonlandclearancedonotsayanythingwhichwasnotknownbefore.Australiaisstillbetteroffthanmanyotherdevelopedcountries,saysDenGraetz,anecologistattheCSIRIO,thenationalresearchorganisation.‘Alotofthecountryisstillnotionallypristine,’hesays‘ItisnottransformedlikeEuropewherealmostnothingthatisleftisnatural.’Graetz,whoanalysedthesatellitephotographsforthesecondlandclearancereport,arguesthatthereisnowbetterco-operationbetweenAustralianscientists,governmentofficialsandfarmersthaninthepast.Butthevulnerablestateofthelandisnowwidelyunderstood,andacrossAustralia,schemeshavestartedforpromotingenvironmentfriendlyfarming.In1989PrimeMinisterBobHawkesetupLandcare,anetworkofmorethan2000regionalconservationgroups.About30percentoflandholdersaremembers.‘Ithasbecomeaverysignificantsocialmovement,’saysHelenAlexanderfromtheNationalLandcareCouncil.‘Westartedoutworryingaboutnotmuchmorethanerosionandthereplantingoftreesbutithasgrownmuchmorediverseandsophisticated.’Butthebugbearofalltheseconservationeffortsismoney.Landcare’sbudgetisA$110millionayear,ofwhichonlyA$6milliongoestofarmers.NeilClark,anagriculturalconsultantfromBendigoinVictoria,saysthatfarmersarenotgettingenough.‘Farmersmaywanttomakemoreefficientuseofwaterandnutrientsandembracemoresustainablepractices,butitallcostsmoneyandtheyjustdon’thavethesparefunds,’hesays.Clarkalsosaysscientistsaretakingtoolargeashareofthemoneyforconservation.Manyproblemsposedbyagriculturetotheenvironmenthavebeen‘researchedtodeath’,hesays.‘Weneedtodivertthemoneyforawhileintogettingthesolutionsintoplace’.Australia’schiefscientist,MichaelPitman,disagrees.Hesaysthatscienceisincreasinglyimportant.Meteorologists,forexample,arebecomingconfidentaboutpredictingeventswhichcausedroughtsinAustralia.‘Ifthiscanbedonewithaccuracythenitwillhaveimmenseimpactonstockinglevelsandhowmuchfeedtoprovide,’saysPitman.“Theendresultwillbemuchgreaterefficiency.’SteveMortonoftheCSIRODivisionofWildlifeandEcologysaystherealchallengefacingconservationistsistoconvincethe85percentofAustralianswholiveincitiesthattheymustfootalargepartofthebill.“Thelandisbeingusedtofeedthemajorityandtoproducewealththatcirculatesthroughthefinancialmarketsofthecities,’hesays.Onewaywouldbetoofferincentivestoextendtheideaofstewardshiptoareasoutsidetherangelands,sothatmorelandcouldbeprotectedratherthanexploited.Alexanderagrees.‘Thenationwillhavetodebatetowhatextentitiswillingtosupportruralcommunities,’shesays.‘Itwillhavetodecidetowhatextentitwantsfoodpricestoreflectthetruecostofproduction.Thatincludesthecostoflookingaftertheenvironment.’Questions1-8Lookatthefollowingstatements(Questions1-8)andthelistofpeoplebelow.Matcheachstatementwiththecorrectperson,A-G.Writethecorrectletter,A-G,inboxes1-8onyouranswersheet.NBYoumayuseanylettermorethanonce.ListofPeopleAJasonAlexandraBRobertHadlerCDeanGraetzDHelenAlexanderENeilClarkFMichaelPitmanGSteveMorton1．Currentconservationconcernsarefocusedonabroadrangeofproblems.正确答案：D解析：人物与观点的匹配题较特殊，选项A—G人物顺序与文中的出现顺序是一致的，且利用人名来定位较易，故做题时建议按人物顺序来解题，在1—8各题中寻找与人物匹配的观点。A项人物JasonAlexandra出现在第一段，其观点在最后三句中。他的观点主要是批评澳大利亚的贸易方式。滥用土地资源(depletingitsresources)，用农作物来交换制造业产物(manufacturedgoods)，用耕作土(topsoil是提喻的用法，代指土地资源)来换取技术(technologies)，实际此处是讲述进出口，出口的是农作物，进口的是制造业产物和技术，Alexandra的建议是摒弃这种做法(getawayfrom…)，试题中，第4题讲述import／exportpractices“进出口做法”与Alexandra所述内容一致，而shouldreview也和文中needstogetawayfrom体现的态度一致，表示否定。故第4题与A项匹配。RobertHadler出现在第二段。首句指出，他认为对于现在的问题，责怪农民是不合逻辑的(illogicaltoblamefarmers)。试题中第3题出现关键词farmers，且其中的makesnosense“不合理”与文中的illogical意思一致，文中的problem指代前文提及的土地滥用问题，题目中的landmisuse与此对应，故第3题应与B项匹配。DenGraetz出现在第二段最后三句。该部分包括两个方面的内容。倒数第二、三句主要讲述他认为澳大利亚很多土地仍未受损(notionallypristine)，比欧洲的发达国家要好。第6题中的unspoilt是spoil“破坏”的派生词，意为“未受破坏的”，与该部分内容对应。第二段最后一句则讲述，他认为现在澳大利亚的科学家、政府官员和农民之间的合作更好了(betterco-operation)，而试题中，第8题的Thoseinvolvedinconservation“环保涉及的人员”可与文中提到科学家、官员、农民对应上，workingtogethermoreefficiently则与原文的betterco-operation是同义表达。故第6题和第8题都与C项匹配。HelenAlexander在文中出现了两次，第一次是在第三段末。他认为Landcare成为了重要的社会运动，也提到环保工作起初只关注土壤腐蚀和补植树木，但目前问题正变得日益多样和复杂(diverseandso-phisticated)。各试题中，第1题提到环保问题的忧虑所在，与文中内容相符，其中abroadrangeofproblems“问题范围很广”与文中的diverseandsophisticated对应，故第1题与D项匹配。文章最后两句也出现Alexander的观点。该部分主要讲述国家(nation)的定位，如何看待ruralcommunities以及农产品定价(foodprices)，各试题中并没有出现相应的关键词句。NeilClark的观点在第四、五段均有出现。第四段提到的是，农民没有得到足够的钱(上一句提到用于农民的经费，故可知代词enough代指enoughmoney)。然后指出要采用更有利于可持续发展的农业生产方式，而那是需要钱的(costsmoney)，但农民没有多余的资金。第2题所说的，农民保护土地的代价昂贵与此内容相符，故第2题与E项匹配。第五段是Clark对环保资金分(moneyforconservation)的批评。他认为现在过多资金用于科学家身上(scientistsaretakingtoolargeashareof．．．)，资金应用在解决问题上(divertthemoney…intogettingthesolutionsintoplace)，与此内容相关的是第5题，其中的conservationfunds与文中的moneyforconservation对应，helpful，practicalprojects“有用的、有实效性的项目”则与solution对应，故第5题亦与E项匹配。MichaelPitman出现在第五段后半部分。他提到了科学的重要性(scienceisincreasinglyimportant)，并举了meteorologists的例子加以说明。meteorologists一词意为“气象学家”，由文中的droughts“旱灾”一词大致推测该词与气候有关。第7题提到的Weatherresearch“气候研究”与此相关；其中的helpsolveconservationproblems与文中表积极意义的haveimmenseimpact和muchgreaterefficiency对应，故第7题与F项匹配。SteveMorton出现在最后一段。其观点主要是要让城市居民(Australianswholiveincities)分摊环保的费用(footalargepartofthebill)。试题中，第2题的expensive和第5题的conservationfund涉及到费用，但这两题均没有提及城市居民，故G项不能找到匹配的试题。2．Conservinglandistooexpensiveforfarmers.正确答案：E3．Holdingfarmersresponsibleforlandmisusemakesnosense.正确答案：B4．Australiashouldreviewitsimport/exportpractices.正确答案：A5．Moreconservationfundsshouldbeputintohelpful,practicalprojects.正确答案：E6．MuchofthelandinAustraliaisunspoilt.正确答案：C7．Weatherresearchcanhelpsolveconservationproblems.正确答案：F8．Thoseinvolvedinconservationareworkingtogethermoreefficientlythanbefore.正确答案：CCompletethesentencesbelow.ChooseNOMORETHANTWOWORDSfromthepassageforeachanswer.Writeyouranswersinboxes9-13onyouranswersheet.9．Inadditiontoincreasingemissionofcarbondioxide,landclearancealsoraises______正确答案：watertables解析：题目提到砍林开荒(landclearance)产生的两个问题。increasingemissionofcarbondioxide与文章首句内容对应。文中第二句提到的问题是watertables的上升，空格前的raise是文中rising(原形为rise)的及物形式，故应填原文rising的主语watertables。10．StatisticsshowthatalargeareaoflandinAustraliaisdestroyeddueto______正确答案：salination解析：由landinAustraliaisdestroyed可知题目有关澳大利亚土地被破坏的情况，相关信息在第一段中间部分。第五句提到，盐化(salination)导致了全国约有3300万公顷的土地退化。题目用alargeareaofland概括了文中的33millionhectares；而destroyed“被破坏”与文中的degraded“退化”对应；题目用表原因的dueto替代了表施动者的by，故答案为degradedby的宾语salination。11．Itwas______thatmotivatedAustralianfarmers’willingnessforlandreclamation.正确答案：taxincentives/breaks解析：本题有关农民开荒，第二段开头就提到相关信息。第二句提到，农民砍伐森林开荒是由于taxincentives“税收优惠”，题目填的是reclamation“开垦”的诱因，故填入taxincentives或其出现在下一句的同义词taxbreaks均可。12．ThenetworkLandcarewasconsideredameaningful______forconservation.正确答案：socialmovement解析：由Landcare可直接定位至第三段，在第四句直接引语中，Landcare成为了一项重要的socialmovement，空格前的meaningful“有意义”与文中的significant“重要的”同义，故答案填socialmovement。13．Thereisanopinionthat______shouldtackletheproblembypersuadingcitydwellersintobearingthecost.正确答案：conservationists解析：本题有关费用问题，定位应在后三段。题目中另一较为明显的信息是citydwellers“城市居民”，这与最后一段首句的Australianswholiveincities是同义的。该句提到，环保主义者面临的真正挑战是要去说服这些人分摊(环保)账单，题目缺的是主语，对比原文toconvince的逻辑主语应是conservationists，故得出答案。题目的persuading与文中的convince同义，表示“说服”；bearingthecost“分担费用”与原文的foot…thebill“支付费用”同义。Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions14-26whicharebasedonReadingPassage2below.Whatifeverythinghadabarcode?Avastnewdatabasewillletuscatalogueeveryplantandanimalontheplanet,andidentifytheminseconds.Imaginegoingforawalkandspottingawildflower.Itsbeautyandfragrancedelightyou,butthenameeludesyou.Noproblem.Youwhipoutahand-heldscanner,aboutthesizeofamobilephone,andpopafragmentofaleafintothedevice.Afewseconds,andtheread-outtellsyouthatyou’relookingatapyramidalorchid.Satisfied,youcontinueonyourway.Soundfar-fetched?Notatall.ScientistsarecurrentlycreatingaDNAbarcodeforeveryspeciesofplantandanimalontheplanetItwon’tbelongbeforeeveryone,fromexpertstoamateurs,willbeabletoscantheworld’sfloraandfaunaasiftheywerecheckingoutgroceriesatasupermarket,tolookuporconfirmtheiridentities.Therearenumerouspracticalusestoo.Suchadevicewouldletyouscanfishatthefishmonger’stocheckifit’sbeenlabelledproperly,workoutexactlywhatisinyourmixedvegetablesoup,andconfirmwhetherapieceoffurniturereallyhascomefromarenewableforest,astheretailerclaims.Itwouldalsoassistforensicscienceteams,whocouldquicklyidentifythepollenonasuspect,tolinkhimtoaparticularlocation;customsofficials,intheireffortstopreventdisease-carryingpestsbeingtakenacrossnationalborders;andenvironmentalinspectorsassessingwaterquality,whoneedtoworkoutwhatmicrobesarelurkinginaparticularsample.ItwasProfessorPaulHebert,abiologistfromtheUniversityofGuelphinCanada,whocameupwiththeideaofDNAbarcodingthenaturalworld.Theinspirationcamewhilehewaswalkingupanddowntheaislesofasupermarket,marvellingattheabilityofthestoretokeeptrackofallthelinesstockedandsoldusingthethickandthinlinesthatmakeupabarcode.Couldscientists,hewondered,exploitabarcodesystemtorecordthemillionsofspeciesonearthviatheirDNA?Thecompilationofaplanetaryinventorybeganmorethan250yearsago,withtheSwedishlifeclassifierCarlLinnaeus.In1758,hefoundedthescienceoftaxonomy—amethodofclassifyinglivingthings—basedonphysicalandbehaviouralcharacteristics.Todate,scientistshaveclassifiedabout1.7millionorganisms,asmallfractionofthetotalnumberofspecies,whichhasbeenestimatedatanywherebetween5and30million.Buttaxonomyisdifficultandtime-consuming.Manyspecies,suchasthedifferentkindsofflies,lookremarkablysimilar.Onlyanexpertwhohasspentyearsexaminingaparticulargroupcandistinguishonefromanother.Eventheexpertsmaybestumped,however,whenpresentedwithanegg,anembryo,aseedlingoraroot.Thenextproblemisthatwearerunningoutoftimeinwhichtocompletetheinventory.TheInternationalUnionfortheConservationofNatureestimatesthataquarteroftheworld’spopulationofmammalsarethreatenedwithextinction.So,Hebert’sideacentredonfindingafragmentofDNAthatwoulddisclosetheidentityofaspecieswithouthavingtodecodeitsentiregeneticcode.Heenvisageda‘DNAbarcodereader’,similartothescannersatretailcheckouts.OutlininghisideainScientificAmerican,Hebertwrites:‘Aninspectoratabusyseaport,ahikeronamountaintrail,orascientistinalabcouldinsertasamplecontainingDNA—asnippetofwhisker,say,orthelegofaninsect—intothedevice,whichwoulddetectthesequenceofnucleicacidsinthebarcodesegment.Thisinformationwouldbeinstantlyrelayedtoareferencedatabase,apubliclibraryofDNAbarcodes.Anyone,anywhere,couldidentifyspecies.’Tocreatethebarcode,HebertproposedtheuseofasectionofDNA,fromtheenergy-producingunitsfoundinallcells.HeselectedagenethatgivesrisetoanenzymeknownasCOLThisgeneissmallenoughtobequicklyandeasilydeciphered,buthassufficientvariationforustobeabletotellmostanimalspeciesapart.YouandI,forinstance,willhavedifferentversionsofCO1,buttheywillbesimilarenoughtoshowthatwe’rebothhumansandnotchimpanzees.In2003,Hebertandhisteampublishedtheirfirstresults.Theyshowedthatthebarcodesystemcouldidentifythegroupananimalcamefrom(forexample,whetheritwasavertebrate,awormoraninsect)andeventhespecieswhenitwasstoredinthebarcodelibrary.Afteryearsofwork,resultsindicatethatanimalscannowbeidentifiedbytheirbarcodesin98percentofcases.Earlyresultshaveconfirmedtheadditionalbenefitsofthenewsystem:forexample,caterpillarsofthetropicalbutterflyAstraptesfulgerator,whichwasfirstrecognisedasaspeciesin1775,alllookverysimilar,andwereassumedtobelongtoasinglespecies.Barcodinghasshownthereare10differentkinds.Ofcourse,thevalueofthesystemdependsonacomprehensivereferencelibraryoftheDNA(COl)barcodesofestablishedspecies.TheBarcodeofLifeDatasystemsisanenormousinternationalcollaborationsupportedby150institutionsin45countries.Todate,ithascompiledmorethan500,000recordsfrom50,000species.Theconsortiumishopingthattheworld’sbirdswillbebarcodedinthenextthreeyears.‘Peoplehavewatchedbirdsforsolongthattheymightthinkeverydifferenttweethasbeenheard,everydifferentcolourobserved,butbarcodingmayproveotherwise,’saysProfessorMarkStoeckle,professorofthehumanenvironmentatRockefellerUniversity,NewYork,whoworkswithHebert.Heestimatesthatoutoftheworld’s10,000birdspecies,DNAbarcodingwilldistinguishatleast1,000newones.Questions14-18DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage2?Inboxes14-18onyouranswersheet,writeTRUEifthestatementagreeswiththeinformationFALSEifthestatementcontradictstheinformationNOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationonthis14．Thewriterbelievesthatthebarcodesystemwillbewidelyusedbythegeneralpublic.A．TRUEB．FALSEC．NOTGIVEN正确答案：A解析：由题目writerbelieves、barcodesystem以及bewidelyused可知题目与条形码系统的实际应用有关，从而定位到第二段最后一句。该处作者指出，不久之后，每个人都能对世界上各种动植物进行条形码扫描。题目generalpublic与其中的everyone同义，而thebarcodesystemwillbewidelyused与willbeabletoscantheworld’sfloraandfauna是主被动表达的转换。故答案为TRUE。15．Itislikelythatthebarcodedevicewillshowthatmanyfoodsandgoodshavenotbeencorrectlydescribed.A．TRUEB．FALSEC．NOTGIVEN正确答案：C解析：题目有关条形码扫描设备对验证商品描述的作用，第三段第二句提到该设备可以用来扫描商品，以检测其标签(labelled)或商家所说(retailerclaims)是否正确，原文属于客观地介绍barcodedevice的用途，并没有暗示检测出来的结果如何，题目较有偏向性地推测检测结果，属于过度推断，故本题答案为NOTGIVEN。16．HebertgottheideaforDNAbarcodingfromsomeonewhoworkedatasupermarket.A．TRUEB．FALSEC．NOTGIVEN正确答案：B解析：根据supermarket可定位至第四段第二句。该句提到赫伯特的灵感来源，由该句内容可知，这灵感是他在超市通道走动时自己想出来的，而不是题目所说的来自超市员工，故答案为FALSE。17．ThenumberoforganisationssupportingHebert’sbarcodingprojectisgrowingallthetime.A．TRUEB．FALSEC．NOTGIVEN正确答案：C解析：有关支持条形码系统的组织的信息出现在末段第二句，该处只提到，生物数据条码系统是一个由全球45国家的150个机构联合研发的项目，并无提到支持这一系统的组织其数量是否增加，故题目表述在文中没有依据，答案为NOTGIVEN。18．AlargenumberofnewbirdspecieshavealreadybeenidentifiedbytheDNAbarcodesystem.A．TRUEB．FALSEC．NOTGIVEN正确答案：B解析：由newbirdspecies可定位至末段最后一句。该句提到鉴定出新鸟类品种是估计出来的(estimates)，用的是将来时willdistinguish，说明动作尚未完成，而题目用的是现在完成时havealreadybeenidentified，题目错在时态错误，故答案为FALSE。Completethenotesbelow.ChooseNOMORETHANONEWORDAND/ORANUMBERfromthepassageforeachanswer.Writeyouranswersinboxes19-21onyouranswersheet.Problemswithtaxonomy-Only【R19】______specieshavebeenclassifiedsofar.-Difficulttodistinguishbetweenspeciesofcertaincreatures,forexample【R20】______-Possibilityofalargenumberofspeciesof【R21】______dyingoutsoon.19．【R19】正确答案：1.7million20．【R20】正确答案：flies21．【R21】正确答案：mammalsCompletetheflowchartbelow.ChooseNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSAND/ORANUMBERfromthepassageforeachanswer.Writeyouranswersinboxes22-26onyouranswersheet.22．正确答案：DNAbarcodereader解析：流程图介绍的是Hebert系统的操作原理和研究结果，总体内容的定位应在最后四段。文中有多处提到Hebert建立的系统，表达方式也是多样，故本题关键在于定位。查找到第六段第二句，可看出题目与该句所述是对应的，decidedtocreate与原文的envisaged“想象”对应，like“与……类似”与原文similar同义，shops与原文的retailcheckouts“零售店的收银处”是对应的，故本题填入该句中的DNAbarcodereader。23．正确答案：gene解析：题目中的CO1是明显的定位词。题目chose与原文的selected同义，表示“选择”；produces与原文的givesriseto均表示“产生”；called与原文的knownas也是同义替换，故答案为selected后的gene。24．正确答案：barcodelibrary解析：第八段第二句提到，生物的DNA是储存(stored)在barcodelibrary的，题目中的kept与原文的stored是同义替换，故答案填barcodelibrary即可。25．正确答案：98percent解析：题目与DNA条形码扫描的研究成果相关，定位至第八段第三句。Current与原文的now对应，题目中的resultsshowthat与是原文resultsindicatethat的同义表述，indentified是关键词复现。空格处填入说明成果的数据98percent。26．正确答案：caterpillars解析：第八段最后两句讲述barcodesystem的另一个好处。其中的例子是caterpillarsoftropicalbutterflyAstraptesfulgerator，大意是某种热带蝴蝶的幼虫，原先人们认为这只是一种物种(assumedtobelongtoasinglespecies)，而barcoding表明这其实是10种不同的物种，故答案取caterpillarsoftropicalbutterflyAstraptesfulgerator的中心语caterpillars。Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions27-40whicharebasedonReadingPassage3below.Questions27-34ReadingPassage3hasnineparagraphs,A-I.ChoosethecorrectheadingforparagraphsB-Ifromthelistofheadingsbelow.Writethecorrectnumber,i-xi,inboxes27-34onyouranswersheet.ListofHeadingsiHowtogrowarubbertreeiiUsefuladditionstoanexistingideaiiiUsefulformakingyourcoatwaterproofivThefirstknownusesvExportingnewforestsviInspirationfromabumpybicyclerideviiHowdifferentisrubbernowadays?viiiNewdemandleadstodramaticallyescalatingcostixUnpopularduetodecayxAgoodideainprinciplexiManymodernusesExampleAnswerParagraphAxiNaturalRubberAnexoticmaterialAToday,wetakemodernmaterialsverymuchforgranted,withoutknowingtheiroriginorrealisingtheirversatility.Rubber,forexample,isavitalcomponentofcars,supplyingtractionbetweenthewheelsandtheroad,aswellassealingoilandfuelfromleakageandabsorbingunwantedvibrationsfromtheengine.Rubberalsosuppliesuswithmanydomesticitems(toyballoons,waterbottles,condoms,carpetunderlay,mattressesandcushioning),officeproducts(rubberbands,erasers)andarticlesofsportsandrecreation(footballs,golfballs,tennisballs,etc.).Butwheredoesrubbercomefrom?BNaturalrubberwasdiscoveredduringthevariousinvasionsofSouthAmericabytheSpanishconquistadorsinthe15thcentury.Thematerial,madesimplybydryingoutthesapofanativetree,Heveabrasiliensis,wasfirstspottedbyColumbusintheWestIndiesinthe1490s,whereitwasusedtomadeballs.Itwasalsomadeintobagsforcarryingliquidsbymouldingflexiblerubbersheetintothedesiredshape.Rubberwasclearlyamaterialwellknowntonativecultures,andrecentdiscoveriesofitsuseinancientceremoniesarehardlysurprising.CDespiteitsearlydiscoverybytheSpanish,itwasnotuntilabout1730thatrubberwasintroducedintoBritain,andnotuntil1791thatitsuseforthemackintosh(therubberisedraincoat)wasintroduced.In1770JosephPriestley,whoalsodiscoveredoxygen,noticedthatrubbererasespencilmarks.Despitethisserendipitousfinding,itstilltooksometimebeforethematerialwastofindwidespreadapplication.Onereasonforthiswasitsdeteriorationwithtime,degradinginairtoastickyunmanageablemess.Thatwastochangedramaticallywiththeinventionof‘vulcanisation’,when,in1834,CharlesGoodyearfoundthatcookingthematerialwithrawsulphurstabiliseditandstiffenedproductsmanufacturedfromthesubstance.DThisdiscoveryopenedthewaytopneumatictyresforearlyvehiclessuchascarriages(travelinwhichwasratherpainfulowingtotherigidwheelsandroughroadstheninexistence).Thefirstpatentforatyredatesfrom1846,whenRobertThompsonannouncedthepneumatictyre,agreatadvanceforwheeledtraffic.Thekeytotheideaisthecushionprovidedbytheairpocket,thepressureofwhichcanbevariedtosuittheuser.Theinventionlanguished,perhapsbecauseofproblemswithcontainingtheinevitableleaksofairfromthemanyinnertubes.However,solidrubbertyresweresubsequentlyadopted,withmuchreducedcushioning.EAtthesametime,vulcanisedrubbercametobeusedforanincreasingnumberofproducts,suchasgaloshesorWellingtonbootsandimprovedmackintoshes,whererubberwascombinedwithtextiletomakeawaterprooffabric.Thegrowingdemandfornaturalrubbermadeitacommodityproduct,yetonlysuppliedbyoneareaintheworld—Brazil.Asaresult,thepricesoared,creatingrichentrepreneurs,whoessentiallyexploitednativestocollecttherawlatexfromtherainforest.Butsincethetreecouldpotentiallybegrowninanytropicalclimate,whynotcollectseedlingsandtransplanttoothercountries?FIntensiveeffortsweremadeatKewGardenstoraisehealthyplantsfromseedscollectedbySirHenryWickhaminBrazilin1876.TheyoungtreesraisedinthetropicalgreenhouseatKewwereshippedtoCeylonandMalaysiatoformthenucleusoflargeplantations.Thosecountrieswereabletomeettherisingdemandsoftherubberindustry,andthepriceofrawrubberfelldramatically.GIn1888,overfortyyearsafterThompson’sinventionofthepneumatictyre,JohnDunlop,aBelfastvet,respondedtoarequestfromhisyoungsonforbettertyresforhistrike.WhenriddenovertheroughcobblesofBelfast’sstreets,solidrubbertyresjustcouldnotgiveacomfortableride.Variousrubbertubeswereusedbyvets,andDunlopreinventedthepneumatictyrebyfittingawheelwithaninflatedrubbertubeprotectedbyaheavieroutercover.Aftermuchexperimentation,theworld’sfirstbicycletyreemerged.HDunlop’sfirstpatenttoprotecttheinventionwasinevitablyinvalidbecauseofThompson’spriorpatent,buthewentontoinventthevalveandnumerousothercomponentswhichwereprovedvalid.Thoseinventionswerethebaseonwhichheandothersbuiltthebiketyreindustry,whichbroughtcyclingintoaneweraforeveryone.Itwasanerawhenindustrialprogresshadcreatednew-foundwealthandleisuretimeformillions.Aswithanynewandfundamentalinvention,theideawastakenupbyothers,inparticularbyMichelininFrance(1896),todevelopamuchheavier-dutydevice,thecartyre.ITodayawiderangeofsyntheticrubberisavailabletodesigners,manyforspecialtytasksrequiring,forexample,veryhighorlowtemperatures.Yetnaturalrubberisstillavaluableinternationalcommodity,helpingmanydevelopingcountriesearnusefulhardcurrency.Thetechnologyofprocessingtherawrubberhasimprovedgreatlyovertheyears,butthebasicsstillremainthesameastheywerewhenKewGardensselectedthebestplantsforcloningandtransplantingoveronehundredyearsago.27．ParagraphB正确答案：iv解析：B段主要介绍了橡胶的发现过程。在15世纪，哥伦布在西印度群岛首次发现了橡胶(firstspottedbyColumbus)，那时橡胶被当地人用来做球和装液体的袋子，还被用于古代的庆典中。B段与橡胶的发现和早期用途有关，故选iv项。28．ParagraphC正确答案：ix解析：根据C段提到的几个时间点可知，本段介绍从橡胶发现后到1834年之间的使用有关。其发展大致为：1730年引入英国——1770年被发现可以擦掉铅笔印记，但由于易变质(deteriorationwithtime、degradinginair)未被广泛使用——1791年用来做雨衣(mackintosh、raincoat)——1834年硫化法发明，使橡胶得以普及。综观各选项，有两个选项与段中内容相关，一是iii项中的makingyourcoatwaterpoof与1791年的raincoat相关，二是ix项Unpopularduetodecay与1770年的内容一致。将这两项作对比，文中仅一句带过说可以用来做雨衣，并没有展开论述iii项中的useful具体在哪，而ix项内容与1770和1834的事件都是相关，占段落篇幅较多，故答案确定为ix项。选项中的dueto与C段中的Onereasonfor都是因果关系的标志，而deteriorationwithtime以及degradinginair与ix中decay的表述相符。29．ParagraphD正确答案：x解析：D段主要讲述1846年充气轮胎(pneumatictyres)的发明，该发明刚开始时是轮式车辆的一大进步(agreatadvance)。之后第三句提到了其原理是依靠气袋提供缓冲力(thecushionprovidedbytheairpocket)。但由于避免不了内胎漏气，充气轮胎却发展不起来(languished)，而之后出现硬质橡胶轮胎。综合来看，本段主要是论述充气轮胎的发明，及其发展不起来的原因。但各选项中并无出现与此相关的主题词，而x项的inprinciple可理解为“在理论上，按道理”，该项所说的“理论上的好主意”(暗示实际上行不通)正好是对充气轮胎的概括，虽然理论上很好，但避免不了漏气这一局限，最终发展不起来，故答案为x。30．ParagraphE正确答案：viii解析：E段提到的是越来越多的产品都开始使用硫化橡胶，从而使人们对天然橡胶的需求日益增长(growingdemand)。橡胶价格随之飞涨(thepricesoared)。vii项中的newdemand可对应原文的growingdemand，而escalatingcost指“攀升的价格”，与thepricesoared对应，故答案为vii项。31．ParagraphF正确答案：v解析：F段与上段关系紧密，讲述价格上涨的解决方法：英国皇家植物园用一些橡胶树的种子育苗(raisehealthyplantsfromseeds)，之后那些幼苗被运到锡兰和马来西亚开始大面积种植。选项中有关种植橡胶树有两项，一是i项Howtogrowarubbertree“如何种植橡胶树”以及v项Exportingnewforests“出口新的树林”。而本段并没有提及具体种植橡胶树的步骤和方法，故可排除i项。而英国皇家植物园的做法，将原本只在巴西产的橡胶树移植到其他国家(shippedtoCeylonandMalaysia)，其实就是V项所说的Exporting“出口”。而选项中的newforests又与文中的formthenucleusoflargeplantations“形成大种植园”相对应，故确定v项为答案。32．ParagraphG正确答案：vi解析：由首尾句可知，G段主要讲述新型自行车轮胎(firstbicycletyreemerge)的发明。而其发明者JohnDunlop改良充气轮胎的契机是他的儿子在鹅卵石铺成的街道上骑行时，感觉硬质橡胶轮胎的三轮车坐得不舒服