D processing and packaging cuts down on other garbage
E chemicals become less dangerous after 20 years
F disposable nappies make up less than 2% of landfills
G fresh food creates less waste debris
H chemicals do not spread far in landfills
I plastic bottles are a bigger waste problem than nappies
J there are many businesses that collect and resell things people no longer want
K manufacturers cut their costs by using as little packaging as possible
L household goods constituted a smaller than expected part of solid waste
M people use fewer disposable nappies now than in past years

Example Answer
Counter arguments for Misconception I: B & H
Counter arguments for Misconception Ⅱ：(1)
Counter arguments for Misconception Ⅲ：(2)
Counter arguments for Misconception Ⅳ：(3)
练习三
It looks as if it came straight from the set of Star Wars. It has four-wheel drive and rises above rocky surfaces. It lowers and raises its nose when going up and down hills. And when it comes to river, it turns amphibious: two hydrojets power it along by blasting water under its body. There is room for two passengers and a driver, who sit inside a glass bubble operating electronic, aircraft-type controls. A vehicle so daring on land and water needs windscreen wipers—but it doesn't have any. Water molecules are disintegrated on the screen's surface by ultrasonic sensors.
This unusual vehicle is the Racoon. It is an invention not of Hollywood but of Renault, a rather conservative French state-owned carmaker, better known for its family hatchbacks. Renault built the Racoon to explore new freedoms for designer s and engineers created by advances in materials and manufacturing processes. Renault is thinking about startlingly different cars; other producers have radical new ideas for trains, boats and aeroplanes.
The first of the new freedoms is in design. Powerful computer-aided design (CAD) systems can replace with a click of a computer mouse hours of laborious work done on thousands of drawing boards. So new products, no matter how complicated, can be developed much faster. For the first time, Boeing will not have to build a giant replica of its new airliner, the 777, to make sure all the bits fit together. Its CAD system will take care of that.
But Renault is taking CAD further. It claims the Racoon is the world's first vehicle to be designed within the digitised world of virtual reality. Complex programs were used to simulate the vehicle and the terrain that it was expected to cross. This allowed a team led by Patrick Le Quement, Renault's industrial-design director, to “drive” it long before a prototype existed.
Renault is not alone in thinking that virtual reality will transform automotive design. In Detroit, Ford is also investigating its potential. Jack Telnac, the firm's head of design, would like designers in different parts of the world to work more closely together, linked by computers. They would do more than style car s. Virtual reality will allow engineers to peer inside the working parts of a vehicle. Designers will watch bearings move, oil flow, gears mesh and hydraulics pump. As these techniques catch on, even stranger vehicles are likely to come along.
Transforming these creations from virtual reality to actual reality will also be come easier, especially with advances in materials. Firms that once bashed every thing out of steel now find that new alloys or composite materials (which can be made from mixtures of plastic, resin, ceramics and metals, reinforced with fibres such as glass or carbon) are changing the rules of manufacturing. At the same time, old materials keep getting better, as their producers try to secure their place in the factory of the furture. This competition is increasing the pace of development of all materials.
One company in this field is Scaled Composites. It was started in 1982 by Burt Rutan, an aviator who has devised many unusual aircraft. His company develops and tests prototypes that have ranged from business aircraft to air racers. It has also worked on composite sails for the America's Cup yacht race and on General Motors' Ultralite, a 100-miles-per-gallon experimental family car built from carb on fibre.
Again, the Racoon reflects this race between the old and the new. It uses conventional steel and what Renault describes as a new “high-limit elastic steel” in its chassis. This steel is 30% lighter than the usual kind. The Racoon also has parts made from composites. Renault plans to replace the petrol engine with a small gas turbine, which could be made from heat-resisting ceramics, and use it to run a generator that would provide power for electric motors at each wheel.
With composites it is possible to build many different parts into a single component. Fiat, Italy's biggest car maker, has worked out that it could reduce the number of components needed in one of its car bodies from 150 to 16 by using a composite shell rather than one made of steel. Aircraft and cars may increasingly be assembled as if they were plastic kits.
Advances in engine technology also make cars lighter. The Ultralite, which Scaled Composites helped to design for General Motors, uses a two-stroke engine in a “power pod” at the rear of the vehicle. The engine has been developed from an East German design and weighs 40% less than a conventional engine but produces a s much power. It is expected to run cleanly enough to qualify as an ultra-low em issions vehicle under California's tough new rules.
Questions 1-6
These five companies are mentioned in Reading Passage 1.Which company is each of the following design features associated with?
Write the letters of the appropriate company in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
SC if it is Scaled Composites
R if it is Renault
GM if it is General Motors
F if it is Fiat
B if it is Boeing
1.a power pod
2.electronic controls
3.a composite body
4.elastic steel
5.aircraft prototypes
6.ultrasonic sensors
练习四
DO WE NEED CITIES ANY MORE?
A I don't want to live in a city. Perhaps we divide naturally into two types: those for whom cities are vibrant and exciting, a focus for human activity; and those for whom they are dirty, noisy and dangerous. It may be unfashionable, but I'm in the latter camp. I do not believe that we are a species whose behaviour improves in overcrowded conditions.
B A new study proposes a significant increase in the capacity of towns and cities through a combination of increased housing densities, lower onplot provision for cars and more onstreet parking, and the re-use of marginal open space that is “devoid of any amenity value”. The benefit of this approach is to reduce the loss of green fields and to help “move towards more sustainable patterns of development”.
C This study suggests that it would be possible to achieve a 25 % in crease in density in a typical provincial city without changing the traditional street scene, although it would be necessary to reduce the size of the houses an d substitute parking spaces for garages. Therefore, the cost of this approach is to have more people living in smaller homes at higher densities, along streets that are lined with parked cars. Can we really accept the notion that space with in dwellings may be reduced even further? In times when, we are told, living standards are rising in real terms, is it realistic to seek to reduce personal space standards?
D The streets of many inner suburbs are already lined with cars on both sides, reducing movement to a single lane. Increasing densities means accepting urban streets that are designed as linear car parks, bounded by even smaller living units and tempered only by occasional trees sprouting from the tarmac. Would the benefits of higher density be worth the disadvantages of increasing on-street parking? Can we achieve a satisfactory visual environment from such raw materials? Higher urban densities may be communally good for us, but they will fail to meet the aspirations of many prospective home owners.
E Those without economic choice can be directed to live in this way, but if we are to continue to rely on the private sector to produce this urban housing, it will need to appeal to the private developers' customers. Who will choose to live in these high-density developments of small dwellings, with minimal open space and a chance to park on the highway if you are lucky enough to find a space? The main consumers will be single people, couples without children , and perhaps some “empty nesters” (people whose children have grown up and le ft home). These are people who can choose to spend much of their time outside their home, making the most of those urban cultural opportunities or getting away at weekends to a country cottage or sporting activities.
F The combination of a young family and a mortgage restricts the mobility and spending power of many couples. Most people with a family will try to avoid bringing up their children in a cramped flat or house. Space for independent activity is important in developing the individual and in maintaining family equilibrium. The garden is the secure place where the children can work off excess energy.
G There is a danger that planners may take a dispassionate, logical view of how we should live, and seek to force society into that mould. A few years ago a European Commission study provided a good example of this. It took the view, quite sensibly, that housing should not be under-occupied because this is a waste of resources. Therefore, it would be much better if the many thousands of old ladies who live alone in large detached houses would move into small urban flats, thus releasing the large houses for families. What the study failed to recognise was that many of those old ladies prefer to continue to live in their family home with their familiar surroundings and, most importantly, with their memories. What is good for us is not necessarily what we want.
H The urban housing option may be technically sustainable, but individually unacceptable. There still seems to be a perception among planners that new housing investment can be forced into those areas that planners want to see developed, without proper consideration of where the prospective purchasers want to live. There is a fatal flaw in this premise. Housing developers run businesses. They are not irrevocably committed to building houses and they are not obliged to invest their resources in housing development. Unless there is a reasonable prospect of a profit on the capital at risk in a housing project, they may simply choose to invest in some other activity.
Questions 1-6
Choose ONE phrase A-G from the box to complete each of the following key points. Write the appropriate letters A-G in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
The information in the completed sentences should be an accurate summary of points made by the writer.
You may use any phrase more than once.
Example Answer
There will be more green space available... E
1.Residential density in cities will be increased ...
2.There are two types of ...
3.There are three types of ...
4.Developers are unlikely to build houses ...
5.Planners might try to dictate ...
6.Many people will not be happy ...
A people likely to want to live in high-density accommodation.
B living in higher density accommodation.
C if houses are built smaller.
D where old people should live.
E if residential density in cities is increased.
F where people do not want to live.
G attitude towards city living.
专项练习三SUMMARY & SENTENCE COMPLETION
练习一
Garbage In, Garbage Out
There are many ways of obtaining an understanding of people's behaviour. One of these is to study the objects discarded by a community, objects used in daily lives. The study of the refuse of a society is the basis for the science of archaeology in which the lives and behaviour of past societies are minutely examined. Some recent studies have indicated the degree to which rubbish is socially defined.
For several years the University of Arizona, USA, has been running a Garbage Project, in which garbage is collected, sorted out and noted. It began in 1973 with an arrangement whereby the City of Tucson collected for analysis garbage from r andomly selected households in designated census collection districts. Since then the researchers have studied other cities, both in the USA and Mexico, refining their techniques and procedures in response to the challenges of validating and understanding the often unexpected results they have obtained. Garbage is sort edaccording to an extremely detailed schedule, a range of data for each item is recorded on a standardised coding form, and the researchers cross-tabulate their findings with information from census and other social surveys.
This Project arose out of courses designed to teach students at the University the principles of archaeological methodology and to sensitise them to the complex and frequently surprising links between cultural assumptions and physical realities. Often a considerable discrepancy exists between what people say they door even think they do—and what they actually do. In one Garbage Project study, none of the Hispanic (Spanish-speaking) women in the sample admitted to using as much as a single serving of commercially-prepared baby food, clearly reflecting cultural expectations about proper mothering. Yet garbage from the Hispanic households with infants contained just as many baby food containers as garbage from non -Hispanic households with infants.
The Project leaders then decided to look not only at what was thrown away, but what happened to it after that. In many countries waste is disposed of in landfills; the rubbish is compacted and buried in the ground. So in 1987, the Project expanded its activities to include the excavation of landfills across the United States and Canada. Surprisingly, no one had ever attempted such excavations before.
The researchers discovered that far from being sites of chemical and biological activity, the interiors of waste landfills are rather inactive, with the possible exception of those established in swamps. Newspapers buried 20 or more years previously usually remained perfectly legible, and a remarkable amount of food wastes of similar age also remained intact.
While discarded household products such as paints, pesticides, cleaners and cosmetics result in a fair amount of hazardous substances being contained in municipal landfills, toxic leachates pose considerably less danger than people fear, provided that a landfill is properly sited and constructed. Garbage Project researchers have found that the leachates do not migrate far, and tend to get absorbed by the other materials in the immediate surrounds.
The composition of landfills is also strikingly different from what is commonly believed. In 1990 US survey people were asked whether particular items were a major cause of garbage problems. Disposable nappies (baby diapers) were identified as a major cause by 41 per cent of the survey respondents, plastic bottles by 29 per cent, all forms of paper by six per cent, and construction debris by zero per cent. Yet Garbage Project data shows that two per cent of the volume of land fills and plastic bottles less than one percent. On the other hand, over 40 percent of the volume of landfills is composed of paper and around 12 per cent is construction debris.
Packaging—the paper and plastic wrapping around goods bought—has also been seen as a serious cause of pollution, But while some packaging is excessive, the Garb age Project researchers note that most manufacturers use as little as possible, because less is cheaper. They also point out that modern product packaging frequently functions to reduce the overall size of the solid-waste stream.
This apparent paradox is illustrated by the results of a comparison of garbage from a large and socially diverse sample of households in Mexico City with a similarly large and diverse sample in three United States cities. Even after correcting for differences in family size, US households generated far less garbage than the Mexican ones. Because they are much more dependent on processed and packaged foods than Mexican households, US households produce much less food debris. (An d most of the leaves, husks, etc. that the US processor has removed from the food can be used in the manufacture of other products, rather than entering the was testream as is the likely fate with fresh produce purchased by households.)
One criticism made of Western societies is that the people are wasteful, and throw things away while they are still useable. This, however, does not seem to be true. Garbage Project data showed that furniture and consumer appliances were entering the solid waste stream at a rate very much less than would be expected from production and service-life figures. So the researchers set up a study to track the fate of such items and thus gained an insight into the huge informal and commercial trade in used goods that rarely turns up in official calculations and statistics.
The Garbage Project's work shows how many misconceptions exist about garbage. The researchers are therefore critical of attempts to promote one type of waste management, such as source reduction or recycling, over others, such as incineration or landfilling. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and what may be appropriate for one locality may not be appropriate for another.
Glossary
Leachate: water carrying impurities which has filtered through the soil
Questions 1-7
Complete the following notes using information from the passage. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.
The Garbage Project
started in 1973
organised by (Example)Answer: University of Arizona
first studied garbage in the city of (1)since then has
studied it in other cities in USA and(2)
method: garbage collected and sorted, the information noted on (3)
findings compared with(4)and other social surveys
reason for the Project: show students the(5)
of archaeological(6)
from 1987 Garbage Project studied(7)in USA and Canada
Questions 8-11
Complete the following sentences using information in the passage.
Choose the appropriate phrase A-C from the list in the box and write its letter in boxes 8-11 on your answer sheet. You may use any phrase more than once.
A more... than
B less... than, fewer... than
C as many ... as, as
8. Hispanic women usedbaby foodthey said they did.
9. After excavating landfills the Garbage Project researcher found that there wereplastic bottlespeople thought.
10. Mexican families creategarbage American families.
11. Consumer appliances are reused was officially predicted.
练习二
Keeping Cut Flowers
While everybody enjoys fresh cut flowers around their house, few people know how to keep them for as long as possible. This may be done by keeping in mind a few simple facts.
An important thing to remember about cut flowers is that they are sensitive to temperature. For example, studies have shown that cut carnations retain their freshness eight times longer when kept at 12℃ than when kept at 26℃. Keeping freshly harvested flowers at the right temperatures is probably the most important aspect of flower care.
Flowers are not intended by nature to live very long. Their biological purpose is simply to attract birds or insects, such as bees, for pollination. After that, they quickly wither and die. The process by which flowers consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide, called respiration, generates the energy the flower needs to give the flower its shape and colour. The making of seeds also depends on this energy. While all living things respire, flowers have a high level of respiration. A result of all this respiration is heat, and for flowers, the level of he at relative to the mass of the flower is very high. Respiration also brings about the eventual death of the flower, thus the greater the level of respiration, the sooner the flower dies.
Questions 1-3
Complete the sentences below with words taken from Reading Passage 1. Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD or NUMBER for each blank. Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.
1. A difference of 14℃ can extend the life of carnations by up to times.
2. and are two aspects of a flower's appearance that depend on respiration.
3. Respiration is also necessary for the flowers to produce .
练习三
With all the hundreds of plant species used for food by the Australian Aborigines, it is perhaps surprising that only one, the Queensland nut, has entered into commercial cultivation as a food plant. The reason for this probably does not lie with an intrinsic lack of potential in Australian flora, but rather with the lack of exploitation of this potential. In Europe and Asia, for example, the main food plants have had the benefit of many centuries of selection and hybridisation , which has led to the production of forms vastly superior to those in the wild. Before the Europeans came, the Aborigines practised no agriculture and so there was no opportunity for such improvement, either deliberate or unconscious, in t he quality of the edible plants.
Since 1788, there has, of course, been opportunity for selection of Australian food plantswhich might have led to the production of varieties that were worth cultivating. But Australian plants have probably “missed the bus”. Food plants from other regions were already so far in advance after a long tradition of cultivation that it seemed hardly worth starting work on Australian species. Undoubtedly, the native raspberry, for example, could, with suitable selection and breeding programs, be made to yield a high-class fruit; but Australians already enjoy good raspberries from other areas of the world and unless some dedicated amateur plant breeder takes up the task, the Australian raspberries are likely to re main unimproved.
And so, today, as the choice of which food plants to cultivate in Australia has been largely decided. and as there is little chance of being lost for long period sin the bush, our interest in the subject of Australian food plants tends to relate to natural history rather than to practical necessity.
Questions 1-3
Complete the partial summary below. Choose ONE or TWO words from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.
Despite the large numbers of wild plants that could be used for food. only one, the ... (1) ... is being grown as a cash crop. Other edible plants in Australia, however much potential they have for cultivation, had not gone through the leng thy process of ...(2)... that would allow their exploitaion, because Aborigines were not farmers. Thus species such as the ... (3) ... which would be an agricultural success had it not had to compete with established European varieties at the time of European settlement are of no commercial value.
练习四
Developing Environmental Management Strategies
Strong and sustainable economic activity depends on healthy environmental management. It is being increasingly recognized by the public, government and industy that there is a need to shift smoothly from a “react and cure” approach to an “anticipate and prevent” approach. The mechanism governing this change started to appear three to four years ago and the momentum for change has been gathering steadily ever since.
Whilst the need to embrace these changes is almost universally accepted, the mechanisms for change and the priorities for action have been far from clear. The public and the media point to anecdotal evidence of lack of progress or setbacks, over a bewildering range of topics. These incidents are catalogued by local and national pressure groups to enhance their own campaigns for change. The Government, under pressure from the European Community, has introduced legislation which, although progressive, often appears to industry to be fragmented and diffcult to digest.
There is, therefore, a clear and often expressed need on the part of British and European management for techniques to identify and prioritize the key environmental issues for allocation of resources and action. The technique emerging as the most effective is a strategy which involves the formulation of a policy statement setting out the organization's philosophy on the environment and the aims to be achieved. A detailed assessment of the environmental status and performance of the operation is then undertaken, key issues identified and targets set. The performance of the operation or unit is regularly audited to measure progress to wards the targets set. This environmental strategy is often called an Environmental Management System or simply referred to as an Environmental Audit.
The need for environmental strategies
Over the past few years, the incentives for introducing such an Environmental Risk Management Strategy have changed as public attitude has evolved, insurance markets have hardened and national legislation has been enacted. Environmental Risk Management Strategies may therefore be implemented for reasons of insurance, market forces, acquisitions, national legislation or Environmental Accreditation Schemes.
The basic elements of the Environmental Strategies currently being proposed by most authorities are as follows:
Environmental strategy
An Environmental Strategy is a documented plan, comprising the drawing up of an Environmental Policy and an Initial Environmental Assessment, which provides prioritized recommendations for action and targets to be achieved. This is followed by regular audits to measure progress towards the targets.
Environmental policy
An Environmental Policy is a statement of the overall aims and principles of action of an organization with respect to the environment. It may be expressed in general terms, but it may also include quantitative targets.
Initial environmental assessment
An Initial Environmental Assessment is a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact as a result of an organization's activities. It leads to a report to top management in which the key issues are identified and priorities for action allocated. This initial Environmental Assessment is referred to in the Draft British Standard as an Environmental Effects Inventory and in the Draft Eco-Audit scheme as an Environmental Review. The topics covered in Initial Assessments may include a review of management systems, a historical review of the site, assessment of emissions and impact on air, water and land as well as control and monitoring of emissions. Noise, odours, recycling, disposal and duty of care will usually come into the assessment, as will raw materials management, savings, transportation, storage, water conservation, energy management and products planning. Other important aspects of the assessment are the prevention and mitigation of accidents, unexpected and foreseen pollution and of course staff information, t he relationship with the public and the need for Environmental Audits.
An Environmental Audit is systematic, documented, periodic and an objective evaluation of how well the organization's systems are performing, assessed against
internal procedures and compliance with internal policies and statutory requirements. Both the Draft British Standard and Draft Eco-Audit scheme stipulate that the audits should be carried out by personnel independent of the plant or process being audited.
Environmental statements
Under the UK Environmental Protection Act the details declared in the application for Authorization to Operate are included in a Register which is open to the public. Such legislation also exists in many of the European Community countries.
The Eco-Audit scheme also proposes that organizations which are accredited under
the scheme should regularly publish an environmental statement containing fact
u al information and data on the environmental performance of each site.
Questions 1-6
The paragraph below is a summary of the first part of the reading passage. Complete the summary by choosing one or two words from the reading passage to complete the spaces 1-6. Write the words in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
The first one has been done for you as an example.
Summary: Developing Environmental Management Strategies
Example Answer
There has been a steady movement
towards morefficient, proactive ... environmental management
Whilst the ...1... is generally accepted, the means have yet to be agreed. Attempts at introducing ...2... have, so far, been ineffective. Techniques are currently being defined for allocating...3... to act on key environmental issues. Policies are formulated, detailed assessments conducted and performance measure d. These evaluations, or ...4..., are carried out objectively by ...5... personnel and ...6... against both internal and external criteria.
专项练习四 TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN
练习一
It is almost impossible to write of the Arts in Australia without mentioning the building that first put Australia firmly on the world cultural map-the Sydney Opera House. Completed in 1973 after 14 years of much heated discussion and at acost of over $85 million, it is not only the most well-known Australian building in the world but perhaps the most famous design of any modern building anywhere.
Its distinctive and highly original shape has been likened to everything from the sails of a sailing ship to broken eggshells, but few would argue with the claim that the Opera House is a major contribution to world architecture. Set amidst the graceful splendour of Sydney Harbour, presiding like a queen over the bustle and brashness of a modern city striving to forge a financial reputation in a tough commercial world, it is a reminder to all Australians of their deep and abiding love of all things cultural.
The Opera House was designed not by an Australian but by a celebrated Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, whose design won an international competition in the late 1950s. However, it was not, in fact, completed to his original specifications. Plans for much of the intended interior design of the building have only recently been discovered. Sadly, the State Government of the day interfered with Utzon's plans because of concerns about the escalating cost, though this was hardly surprising—the building was originally expected to cost only $8 million. Utzon left the country before completing the project and in a fit of anger vowed never to return. The project was eventually paid for by a State-run lottery.
The size of the interior of the building was scaled down appreciably by a team of architects whose job was to finish construction within a restricted budget. Rehearsal rooms and other facilities for the various theatres within the complex were either made considerably smaller or cut out altogether, and some artists have complained bitterly about them ever since. But despite the controversy that surrounded its birth, the Opera House has risen above the petty squabbling and is now rightfully hailed as a modern architectural masterpiece. The Queen officially opened the building in 1975 and since then, within its curved and twisted walls, audiences of all nationalities have been quick to acclaim the many world-class performances of stars from the Australian opera, ballet and theatre.
TRUE／FALSE／NOT GIVEN
a. The building is possibly the most famous of its type in the world. T F NG
b. The Opera House drew world attention to the Arts in Australia. T F NG
c. Utzon designed the roof to look like the sails of a sailing ship. T F NG
d. A few people claim that it is a major architectural work. T F NG
e. According to the author, Sydney is a quiet and graceful city. T F NG
f. The cost of construction went more than $75 million over budget. T F NG
g. Utzon never returned to Australia to see the completed building. T F NG
h. There is only one theare within the complex. T F NG
i. The Government was concerned about some artists complaints. T F NG
J. Australian artists give better performances in the Opera House. T F NG
练习二
When was the last time you saw a frog? Chances are, if you live in a city, you have not seen one for some time. Even in wet areas once teeming with frogs and toads, it is becoming less and less easy to find those slimy , hopping and sometimes poisonous members of the animal kingdom. All over the world, and even in remote parts of Australia, frogs are losing the ecological battle for survival, and biologists are at a loss to explain their demise. Are amphibians simply over-sensitive to changes in the ecosystem? Could it be that their rapid decline in numbers is signalling some coming environmental disaster for us all?
This frightening scenario is in part the consequence of a dramatic increase over the last quarter century in the development of once natural areas of wet marshland; home not only to frogs but to all manner of wildlife. However, as yet, there are no obvious reasons why certain frog species are disappearing from rainforests in Australia that have barely been touched by human hand. The mystery is unsettling to say the least, for it is known that amphibian species are extremely s ensitive to environmental variations in temperature and moisture levels. The danger is that planet Earth might not only lose a vital link in the ecological food chain (frogs keep populations of otherwise pestilent insects at manageable levels), but we might be increasing our output of air pollutants to levels that may have already become irrversible. Frogs could be inadvertently warning us of a catastrophe.
An example of a species of frog that, as far as is known, has become extinct, is
the platypus frog. Like the well-known Australian mammal it was named after, it exhibited some very strange behaviour; instead of giving birth to tadpoles in the water, it raised its young within its stomach. The baby frogs were actually born from out of their mother's mouth. Discovered in 1981, less than ten years later the frog had completely vanished from the crystal clear waters of Booloumba Creek near Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately, this freak of nature is not the only frog species to have been lost in Australia. Since the 1970s, noless than eight others have suffered the same fate.
One theory that seems to fit the facts concerns the depletion of the ozone layer, a well-documented phenomenon which has led to a sharp increase in ultraviolet radiation levels. The ozone layer is meant to shield the Earth from UV rays, but increased radiation may be having a greater effect upon frog populations than previously believed. Another theory is that worldwide temperature increases are upsetting the breeding cycles of frogs.
TRUE／FALSE／NOT GIVEN
a. Frogs are disappearing only from city areas. T F NG
b. Frogs and toads are usually poisonous. T F NG
c. Biologists are unable to explain why frogs are dying. T F NG
d. The frogs' natural habitat is becoming more and more developed. T F NG
e. Attempts are being made to halt the development of wet marshland. T F NG
f. Frogs are important in the ecosystem because they control pests. T F NG
g. The platypus frog became extinct by 1991. T F NG
h. Frogs usually give birth to their young in an underwater nest. T F NG
i. Eight frog species have become extinct so far in Australia. T F NG
j. There is convincing evidence that the ozone layer is being depleted. T F NG
k. It is a fact that frogs' breeding cycles are upset by worldwide increases in temperature. T F NG
练习三
Almost everyone with or without a computer is aware of the latest technological revolution destined to change forever the way in which humans communicate, namely, the Information Superhighway, best exemplified by the ubiquitous Internet. Al ready, millions of people around the world are linked by computer simply by having a modem and an address on the “Net”, in much the same way that owning a telephone links us to almost anyone who pays a phone bill. In fact, since the computer connections are made via the phone line, the Internet can be envisaged as a network of visual telephone links. It remains to see in which direction the In formation Superhighway is headed, but many believe it is the educational hope of the future.
The World Wide Web, an enormous collection of Internet addresses or sites, all of which can be accessed for information, has been mainly responsible for the increase in interest in the Internet in the 1990s. Before the World Wide Web, the “Net” was comparable to an integrated collection of computerised typewriters, but the introduction of the “Web” in 1990 allowed not only text links to be made but also graphs, images and even video. A Web site consists of a “home page ”，the first screen of a particular site on the computer to which you are connected, from where access can be had to other subject related “pages” (or screens) at the site and on thousands of other computers all over the world. This is achieved by a process called “hypertext”. By clicking with a mouse device on various parts of the screen, a person connected to the “Net” can go travelling, or “surfing” through a web of pages to locate whatever information is required.
Anyone can set up a site; promoting your club, your institution, your company's products or simply yourself, is what the Web and the Internet is all about. And what is more, information on the Internet is not owned or controlled by any one organisation. It is, perhaps, true to say that no-one and therefore everyone own s the “Net”. Because of the relative freedom of access to information, the Internet has often been criticised by the media as a potentially hazardous tool in the hands of young computer users. This perception has proved to be largely false however, and the vast majority of users both young and old get connected with the Internet for the dual purposes for which it was intended-discovery and delight.
TRUE／FALSE／NOT GIVEN
a. Everyone is aware of the Information Superhighway. T F NG
b. Using the Internet costs the owner of a telephone extra money. T F NG
c. Internet computer connections are made by using telephone lines. T F NG
d. The World Wide Web is a network of computerised typewriters. T F NG
e. According to the author, the Information Superhighway may be T F NG
the future hope of education.
f. The process called‘hypertext'requires the use of a mouse device. T F NG
g. The Internet was created in the 1990s. T F NG
h. The “home page” is the first screen of a “Web” site on the “Net”.
T F NG
i. The media has often criticised the Internet because it is dangerous. T F NG
j. The latest technological revolution will change the way humans T F NG
communicate.
练习四
The Australian political scene is dominated by two major parties that have quite different political agendas. However, the policies of the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party have become much more difficult to tell apart in recent years. In fact, it would be true to say that both parties consist of conservative, moderate and radical elements, and therefore the general public is often perplexed about which party to vote for. Nonetheless, it is usual to find that an Australian will lean towards supporting one of these two parties and remain faithful to that pary for life.
The Labor Party was formed early in the twentieth century to safeguard the interests of the common working man and to give the trade unions political representation in Parliament. The Party has always had strong connections with the unions, and supports the concept of a welfare society in which people who are less fortunate than others are financially, and otherwise, assisted in their quest for a more equitable slice of the economic pie. The problem is that such socialist political agendas are extremely expensive to implement and maintain, especially in a country that, although comparatively wealthy, is vast and with a small working and hence taxpaying population base. Welfare societies tend towards bankruptcy unless government spending is kept in check.
The Liberal Party, on the other hand, argues that the best way to ensure a fair division of wealth in the country is to allow more freedom to create it. This, in turn, means more opportunities, jobs created etc., and therefore more wealth a vailable to all. Just how the poor are to share in the distribution of this wealth (beyond being given, at least in theory, the opportunity to create it) is, however, less well understood. Practice, of course, may make nonsense of even the best theoretical intentions, and often the less politically powerful are badly catered for under governments implementing “free-for-all” policies.
It is no wonder that given the two major choices offered them, Australian voters are increasingly turning their attention to the smaller political parties, which claim to offer a more balanced swag of policies, often based around one major current issue. Thus, for instance, at the last election there was the No Aircraft Noise Party, popular in certain city areas, and the Green Party, which is almost solely concerned with environmental issues.
TRUE／FALSE／NOT／GIVEN
a. Policies in support of the concept of a welfare society are costly. T F NG
b. Australians usually vote for the party they supported early in life. T F NG
c. The Labor Party was formed by the trade unions. T F NG
d. Radical groups are only found within the Labor Party. T F NG
e. The Liberal Party was formed after the Labor Party. T F NG
f. Welfare-based societies invariably become bankrupt. T F NG
g. According to the author, theories do not always work in practice. T F NG
h. Some Australian voters are confused about who to vote for. T F NG
i. The No-Aircraft-Noise Party is only popular in the city. T F NG
j. The smaller parties are only concerned about the environment. T F NG
练习五
The need for a satisfactory education is more important than ever before. Nowadays, without a qualification from a reputable school or university, the odds of landing that plum job advertised in the paper are considerably shortened. Moreover, one's present level of education could fall well short of future career requirements.
It is no secret that competition is the driving force behind the need to obtain increasingly higher qualifications. In the majority of cases , the urge to upgrade is no longer the result of an insatiable thirst for knowledge. The pressure is coming from within the workplace to compete with ever more qualified job applicants, and in many occupations one must now battle with colleagues in the reshuffle for the position one already holds.
Striving to become better educated is hardly a new concept. Wealthy parents have always been willing to spend the vast amounts of extra money necessary to send their children to schools with a perceived educational edge. Working adults have long attended night schools and refresher courses. Competition for employment has been around since the curse of working for a living began. Is the present situation so very different to that of the past?
The difference now is that the push is universal and from without as well as within. A student at secondary school receiving low grades is no longer as easily accepted by his or her peers as was once the case. Similarly , in the workplace, unless employees are engaged in part-time study, they may be frowned upon by their employers and peers and have difficulty even standing still. In fact, in these cases, the expectation is for careers to go backwards and earning capacity to take an appreciable nosedive.
At first glance, the situation would seem to be laudable; a positive response to the exhortation by a former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, for Australia to become the “clever country”. Yet there are serious ramifications according to at least one educational psychologist. Dr Brendan Gatsby has caused some controversy in academic circles by suggesting that a bias towards what he terms “paper” excellence might cause more problems than it is supposed to solve. Gatsby raises a number of issues that affect the individual as well as society in general.
Firstly, he believes the extra workload involved is resulting in abnormally high stress levels in both students at secondary school and adults studying after working hours. Secondly, skills which might be more relevant to the undertaking of a sought-after job are being overlooked by employers interviewing candidates without qualifications on paper. These two areas of concern for the individual are causing physical and emotional stress respectively.
Gatsby also argues that there are attitudinal changes within society to the exalted role education now plays in determining how the spoils of working life are distributed. Individuals of all ages are being driven by social pressures to achieve academic success solely for monetary considerations instead of for the joy of enlightenment. There is the danger that some universities are becoming degree factories with an attendant drop in standards. Furthermore, our education system may be rewarding doggedness above creativity; the very thing Australians have been encouraged to avoid. But the most undesirable effect of this academic paper chase, Gatsby says, is the disadvantage that “user pays” higher education confers on the poor, who invariably lose out to the more financially favoured.
Naturally, although there is agreement that learning can cause stress, Gatsby's comments regarding university standards have been roundly criticised as alarmist by most educationists who point out that, by any standard of measurement, Australia's education system overall, at both secondary and tertiary levels, is equal to that of any in the world.
TRUE／FALSE／NOT／GIVEN
a. It is impossible these days to get a good job without a qualification T F NG
from a respected institution.
b. Most people who upgrade their qualifications do so for the joy T F NG
of learning.
c. In some jobs, the position you hold must be reapplied for. T F NG
d. Some parents spend extra on their children's education because T F NG
of the prestige attached to certain schools.
e. According to the text, students who performed bally at school T F NG
used to be accepted by their classmates.
f. Employees who do not undertake extra study may find their T F NG
salary decreased by employers.
g. Australians appear to have responded to the call by a former T F NG Prime Minister to become better qualified.
h. Australia's education system is equal to any in the world in the T F NGopinion of most educationists.
练习六
Over 120 years ago, the English botanist J.D. Hooker, writing of Australian edible plants. suggested that many of them were “eatable but not worth eating”. Never theless, the Australian flora, together with the fauna, supported the Aboriginal people well before the arrival of Europeans. The Aborigines were not farmers and were wholly dependent for life on the wild products around them. They learned to eat, often after treatment, a wide variety of plants.
The conquering Europeans displaced the Aborigines, killing many, driving others from their traditional tribal lands, and eventually settling many of the tribal remnants on government reserves, where flour and beef replaced nardoo and wallaby as staple foods. And so, gradually, the vast store of knowledge, accumulated over thousands of years, fell into disuse. Much was lost.
However, a few European men took an intelligent and even respectful interest in the people who were being displaced. Explorers, missionaries, botanists, naturalists and government officials observed, recorded and, fortunately in some cases, published. Today, we can draw on these publications to form the main basis of our knowledge of the edible, natural products of Australia. The picture is no doubt mostly incomplete. We can only speculate on the number of edible plants on which no observation was recorded.
Not all our information on the subject comes from the Aborigines. Times were hard in the early days of European settlement, and traditional foods were often in short supply or impossibly expensive for a pioneer trying to establish a farm in the bush. And so necessity led to experimentation, just as it must have done for the Aborigines, and experimentation led to some lucky results. So far as is known, the Aborigines made no use of Leptospermum or Dodonaea as food plants, Yet the early settlers found that one could be used as a substitute for tea and the other for hops. These plants are not closely related to the species they re placed, so their use was not based on botanical observation. Probably some experiments had less happy endings; L.J. Webb has used the expression “eat, die and l earn” in connection with the Aboriginal experimentation, but it was the successful attempts that became widely known. It is possible the edibility of some native plants used by the Aborigines was discovered independently by the European settlers or their descendants.
Explorers making long expeditions found it impossible to carry sufficient food for the whole journey and were forced to rely, in part, on food that they could find on the way, Still another source of information comes from the practice in other countries. There are many species from northern Australia which occur also in southeast Asia, where they are used for food.
In general, those Aborigines living in the dry inland areas were largely dependent for their vegetable foods on seed such as those of grasses, acacias and eucalyptus. They ground these seeds between flat stones to make a coarse flour. Tribes on the coast, and particularly those in the vicinity of coastal rainforests, had a more varied vegetable diet with a higher proportion of fruits and tubers. Some of the coastal plants, even if they had grown inland, probably would have been unavailable as food since they required prolonged washing or soaking to render them non-poisonous: many of the inland tribes could not obtain water in the quantities necessary for such treatment. There was also considerable variation in the edible plants available to Aborigines in different latitudes. In general, the people who lived in the moist tropical areas enjoyed a much greater variety than those in the southern part of Australia.
Questions 1-7
Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 1-7 write:
YES if the statement reflects the writer's claims
NO if the statement contradicts the writer NOT GIVES if there is no information about this in the passage
1. Most of the pre-European Aboriginal knowledge of wild foods has been recovered.
2. There were few food plants unknown to pre-European Aborigines.
3. Europeans learned all of what they knew of edible wild plants from Aborigines.
4. Dodonaea is an example of a plant used for food by both pre-Europe an Aborigines and European settlers.
5. Some Australian food plants are botanically related to plants outside Australia.
6. Pre-European Aboriginal tribes closer to the coast had access to a greater variety of food plants than tribes further inland.
7. Some species of coastal food plants were also found inland.
专项练习五 FLOW CHART & TABLE COMPLETION
练习一
How, then to control the rate at which flowers die? By controlling respiration. How is respiration controlled? By controlling temperature. We know that respiration produces heat, but the reverse is also true. Thus by maintaining low temperatures, respiration is minimised and the cut flower will age more slowly. (Tropical flowers are an exception to this rule; they prefer warmer temperatures.)
Cooler temperatures also have the benefit of preserving the water content of the flower, which helps to slow down ageing as well. This brings us to another important aspect of cut flower care: humidity. The average air-conditioned room has a relative humidity of 65%, which contributes to greater water loss in the flower. Flowers are less likely to dry out if humidity levels are 90-95%, but this may be unrealistic unless you live in the tropics or subtropics.

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