第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)
下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。
第一篇
Sugar Power for Cell Phones
Using enzymes commonly found in living cells, a new type of fuel cell produces small amounts of electricity from sugar. If the technology is able to succeed in mass production, you may some day share your sweet drinks with your cell phone.
In fuel cells, chemical reactions generate electrical currents. The process usually relies on precious metals, such as platinum. In living cells, enzymes perform a similar job, breaking down sugars to obtain electrons and produce energy.
When researchers previously used enzymes in fuel cells, they had trouble keeping them active, says Shelley D. Minteer of St Louis University. Whereas biological cells continually produce fresh enzymes, there’s no mechanism in fuel cells to replace enzymes as they quickly degrade.
Minteer and Tarnara Klotzbach, also of St Louis University, have now developed polymers that wrap around an enzyme and preserve it in a microscopic pocket. “We tailor these pockets to provide the ideal microenvironment for the enzyme, Minteer says. The polymers keep the enzyme active for months instead of days.
In the new fuel cell, tiny polymer bags of enzyme are embedded in a membrane that coats one of the electrodes. When glucose from a sugary liquid gets into a pocket, the enzyme oxidizes it, releasing electrons and protons. The electrons cross the membrane and enter a wire through which they travel to the other electrode, where they react with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce water. The flow of electrons through the wire constitutes an electrical current that can generate power.
So far, the new fuel cells don’t produce much power, but the fact that they work at all is exciting, says Paul Kenis, a chemical engineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Just getting it to work,” Kenis says, “is a major accomplishment.”
Sugar-eating fuel cells could be an efficient way to make electricity. Sugar is easy to find. And the new fuel cells that run on it are biodegradable, so the technology wouldn’t hurt the environment. The scientists are now trying to use different enzymes that will get more power from sugar. They predict that popular products may be using the new technology in as little as 3 years.
31. According to the first paragraph, when can we share our sweet drinks with our cell phones?
A. When enzymes can be commonly found in living cells.
B. When the technology of producing a new type of fuel cell appears.
C. When the technology of a newtype of fuel cell is suitable for mass production.
D. When the technology of mass producing cell phones appears.
32. What trouble did Minteer and Klotzbach have in their research?
A. They had trouble keeping enzymes in fuel cells active.
B. They had trouble keeping biological cells active.
C. They had trouble producing fresh enzymes.
D. They had trouble finding mechanism for producing enzymes.
33. According to Paragraph 5, electrons are released _____
A. when bags of enzyme are embedded in the new fuel cell.
B. when glucose from a sugary liquid goes through the enzyme.
C. when the enzyme oxidizes the glucose from a sugary liquid that goes through a pocket.
D. when the enzyme oxidizes the sugary liquid that goes through a pocket.
34. What is exciting about the new fuel cells?
A. Their limitless power generation capacity is amazing.
B. Their limited power generation capacity is a good beginning.
C. Their limited power generation capacity is the result of great efforts.
D. Their limitless power generation capacity is a major accomplishment.
35. According to the last paragraph, what is NOT true of the new fuel cells?
A. The new fuel cells run on sugar that is easy to find.
B. The new fuel cells are environment friendly.
C.The new fuel cells are biologically degradable.
D. It will take some time before the new fuel cells can be used in popular products.
第二篇
Citizen Scientists
Understanding how nature responds to climate change will require monitoring key life cycle event-flowering, the appearance of leaves, the first frog calls of the spring-all around the world. But ecologists can’t be everywhere so they’re turning to non-scientists, sometimes called citizen scientists, for help.
Climate scientists are not present everywhere. Because there are so many places in the world and not enough scientists to observe all of them, they’re asking for your help in observing signs of climate change across the world. The citizen scientist movement encourages ordinary people to observe a very specific research interest-birds, trees, flowers budding, etc.-and send their observations to a giant database to be observed by professional scientists. This helps a small number of scientists track a large amount of data that they would never be able to gather on their own. Much like citizen journalists helping large publications cover a hyper-local beat, citizen scientists are ready for the conditions where they live. All that’s needed to become one is a few minutes each day or each week to gather data and send it in.
A group of scientists and educators launched an organization last year called the National Phenology Network. “Phenology” is what scientists call the study of the timing of events in nature.
One of the group’s first efforts relies on scientists and non-scientists alike to collect data about plant flowering and leafing every year. The program, called Project BudBurst, collects life cycle data on a variety of common plants from across the United States. People participating in the project-which is open to everyone-record their observations on the Project BudBurst website.
“People don’t have to be plant experts they just have to look around and see what’s in their neighborhood,” says Jennifer Schwartz, an education consultant with the project. “As we collect this data, we’ll be able to make an estimate of how plants and communities of plants and animals will respond as the climate changes.”
36. Ecologists turn to non-scientist citizens for help because they need them _____
A. to provide their personal life cycles.
B. to observe the life cycle of plants.
C. to collect data of the life cycle of living things.
D. to teach children knowledge about climate change.
37. What are citizen scientists asked to do?
A. To develop a specific research interest and become professional scientists.
B. To send their research observations to a professional database.
C. To increase their knowledge about climate change.
D. To keep a record of their research observations.
38. In “All that’s needed to become one … (paragraph2)”, what does the word “one” stands for?
A. a citizen journalist.
B. a citizen scientist.
C. a scientist.
D. a citizen.
39. What is NOT true of Project BudBurst?
A. Only experts can participate in it.
B. Everybody can participate in it.
C. It collects life cycle data on a variety of common plants.
D. It has its own website.
40. What is the final purpose of Project BudBurst?
A. To study when plants will have their first buds.
B. To find out the types of plants in the neighborhood.
C. To collect life cycle data on a variety of common plants from across the United States.
D. To investigate how plants and animals will respond as the climate changes.
第三篇
A Sunshade for the Planet
Even with the best will in the world，reducing our carbon emissions is not going to prevent global warming. It has become clear that even if we take the most strong measures to control emissions，the uncertainties (不确定) in our climate models still leave open the possibility of extreme warming and rises in sea level. At the same time，resistance by governments and special interest groups makes it quite possible that the actions suggested by climate scientists might not be implemented (执行) soon enough.
Fortunately，if the worst comes to the worst，scientists still have a few tricks up their sleeves. For the most part they have strongly resisted discussing these options for fear of inviting a sense of complacency that might thwart efforts to tackle the root of the problem. Until now, that is. A growing number of researchers are taking a fresh look at large-scale “geoengineering” projects that might be used to counteract (抵消) global warming. “I use the analogy of methadone,” says Stephen Schneider，a climate researcher at Stanford University in California who was among the first to draw attention to global warming. “If you have a heroin addict，the correct treatment is hospitalization，and a long rehab. But if they absolutely refuse，methadone is better than heroin.”
Basically the idea is to apply “sunscreen” to the whole planet. One astronomer has come up with a radical plan to cool Earth; launch trillions of feather-light discs into space，where they would form a vast cloud that would block the sun’s rays. It’s controversial，but recent studies suggest there are ways to deflect just enough of the sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface to counteract the warming produced by the greenhouse effect. Global climate models show that blocking just 1.8 per cent of the incident energy in the sun’s rays would cancel out the warming effects produced by a doubling of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That could be crucial，because even the most severe emissions-control measures being proposed would leave us with a doubling of carbon dioxide by the end of this century，and that would last for at least a century more.
41. According to the first two paragraphs，the author thinks that
A. strong measures have been taken by the government to prevent global warming.
B. to reduce carbon emissions is all impossible mission.
C. despite the difficulty，scientists have some options to prevent global warming.
D. actions suggested by scientists will never be realized.
42. Scientists resist talking about their options because they don't want people to
A. know what they are doing.
B. feel their efforts are useless.
C. think the problem has been solved.
D. see the real problem.
43. What does Stephen Schneider say about a heroin addict and methadone?
A. Methadone is an effective way to treat a hard heroin addict.
B. Methadone is not a correct way to treat a heroin addict.
C. Hospitalization together with methadone can work effectively with a heroin addict.
D. Methadone and heroin are equally effective in treating a heroin addict.
44. What is Stephen Schneider’s idea of preventing global warming?
A. To ask governments to take stronger measures.
B. To increase the sunlight reaching the Earth.
C. To apply sunscreen to the Earth.
D. To decrease greenhouse gases.
45. What is NOT true of the effectiveness of “sunscreen”, according to the last paragraph?
A. It deflects sunlight reaching the Earth to counteract the warming.
B. It blocks the incident energy in the sun’s rays.
C. It is a controversial method.
D. It decreases greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
