考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析--2006年part3
When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strange happened to the large animals. They suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived. The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans.
That the seas are being overfished has been known for years. What researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown is just how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass （the amount of living biological matter）of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators （animals that kill and eat other animals）in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then.
Dr Worm acknowledges that the figures are conservative. One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Today's vessels can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since no baited hooks would have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around now.
Dr Myers and Dr Worm argue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the data support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the “shifting baseline”. The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the maximum sustainable yield that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to do business.
11. The extinction of large prehistoric animals is noted to suggest that____
A. large animal were vulnerable to the changing environment.
B. small species survived as large animals disappeared.
C. large sea animals may face the same threat today.
D. Slow-growing fish outlive fast-growing ones
12. We can infer from Dr Myers and Dr. Worm's paper that____
A. the stock of large predators in some old fisheries has reduced by 90%.
B. there are only half as many fisheries as there were 15 years ago.
C. the catch sizes in new fisheries are only 20% of the original amount.
D. the number of larger predators dropped faster in new fisheries than in the old.
13. By saying these figures are conservative （Line 1, paragraph 3）， Dr Worm means that____
A. fishing technology has improved rapidly
B. then catch-sizes are actually smaller then recorded
C. the marine biomass has suffered a greater loss
D. the data collected so far are out of date.
14. Dr Myers and other researchers hold that_____
A. people should look for a baseline that can't work for a longer time.
B. fisheries should keep the yield below 50% of the biomass
C. the ocean biomass should restored its original level.
D. people should adjust the fishing baseline to changing situation
15. The author seems to be mainly concerned with most fisheries'___
A. management efficiency B. biomass level
C. catch-size limits D. technological application.
Unit 13（2006）Part 3
重点词汇：
1. prey ① n. 被捕获的动物，捕食。牺牲者② vi. prey on 掠夺，抢夺，抢劫；捕食，伤害，损害，使人烦恼extinction n. 灭绝，熄灭
2. estimate ① v. 估计，估价，评估；
3. conservative a. 保守的，守旧的
4. exploitation n. 开发，开拓，剥削 相关词① exploit vt. 开采， 开发剥削 ② n.业绩，功绩，事迹 搭配 exploit with 利用……来剥削
5. vessel n. 船，容器，血管
6. saturate vt. soak sth. thoroughly 浸湿；使……充满某物；使饱和
7. bait ① n. 诱饵；（比喻）诱惑物 ② vt. 折磨，欺负，扰乱；取笑，嘲弄，戏弄（某人）
8. baseline n. 基准线，基础，起点，准则；（据通货膨胀率作出调整的）政府开支基数；相关词 deadline n.（付款的）最后期限，截止时间
9. marine a. 海洋的，海产的，航海的，海运的， 海军的
10. massive a. 大量的，粗大的
11. sustainable a. 能承受的，能维持的，可持续的；（经济上）保持在一定水平上的；能保持一定发展速度的
12. target ① n. 目标（或指标），靶子，（服务的）对象，（攻击的）对象 ② vt. 瞄准某物（=aim sth.）； 选作调查对象； 搭配off target 不对头的，不准确的； on target （武器）命中目标；判断准确
13. prehistoric a. 史前的，相关词prehistory史前时期
14. biomass n. 生物量
15. halve vt. 把……对半分
16. predator n. 掠夺者，捕食其他动物的动物
重要词组
1. on average 平均地
2. since then 从那时起
3. take into account （+宾语） 认真考虑（某事）
4. do business 做生意
5. look back into the past 回顾历史
答案详解
11.【正确答案】［C］ large sea animals may face the same threat today.
【测试要点】这是一道语意推断题。
【试题解析】答案是“Now something similar could be happening in the oceans.”的改写，［A］是就事论事，［B］和［D］都是无中生有。
12.【正确答案】［A］ the stock of large predators in some old fisheries has reduced by 90%.
【测试要点】这是一道细节判断题。
【试题解析】这道题关键是要理解原文第二段的最后一句， …the biomass of large predators （animals that kill and eat other animals） in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some longfished areas, it has halved again since then.前一个句子讲大型食肉动物减少了80%,即剩下20%,现在在某些longfished地区，又减少了一半10%,所以总共减少了90%。
13.【正确答案】［C］ the marine biomass has suffered a greater loss.
【测试要点】这是一道语意推断题。
【试题解析】通过对整篇文章的阅读，我们知道它的主题是海洋鱼类需要保护。文章第二段提到的数字只是一种保守数字，因为没有考虑到如今捕鱼科技进步造成的鱼类数量减少，暗含的意思是鱼类资源遭受的损失要更加严重。
14.【正确答案】［D］ people should adjust the fishing baseline to changing situation.
【测试要点】这是一道细节判断题。
【试题解析】最后一段提到给出一个correct baseline 才行，就是要调整原来的baseline。文中的“shifting baseline”也提示了答案。
15.【正确答案】［B］ biomass level.
【测试要点】这是一道作者态度判断题。
【试题解析】本文中心是海洋生物量biomass的变化。文中明确指出他们所关心的是changes of fish species over time。
全文翻译：
当时前人到达世界新的地方时，大型动物遭遇了奇怪的命运：它们突然灭绝了，而小型的物种存活了下来。大型的、移动速度缓慢的队伍就成了易于捕获的猎物，很快被捕杀以至灭绝。现在，类似的情景可能就发生在海洋之中。
多年来，我们就已经知道，海洋正在被过度捕捞。研究者如Ransom Myers 和 Boris Worm所呈现在我们面前的发现只是说明形势正在发生改变。他们研究了全世界半个世纪的捕鱼资料，它们的方法并非尝试对大海中某个特定区域的鱼类单位面积内的生物量（活体生物数量）作出估计，而是为了揭示生物数量随着时间的变化情况。根据他们在《自然》杂志上最新发表的论文，一个新渔场的大型食肉动物（捕食其他队伍的动物）的生物量在开始经营十五年内平均减少80%；在一些长期捕鱼的地区，迄今已经减少了一倍半。
Worm博士承认，这些数字过于保守，原因之一是因为捕鱼技术的提高。近几天的渔船可以通过卫星和声纳找到鱼群，而这些技术在50年前是没有的。这就意味着大海中更多的鱼类被捕获，所以，现在和过去之间的捕获量之间的真正差别要比记录变化所反映的要更糟。在早期，长线多钩捕鱼应该是渔钩上几乎都挂满了鱼，所以，因为没有多余的挂着诱饵的钩子的诱捕，个别的鱼可能没有被钓到，这就使得过去的鱼类资源被低估。再者，在多钩长线钓鱼的早期，许多鱼在上钩后都成为鲨鱼的食物。现在这已经不再成为问题，因为没有多少鲨鱼出没。
Myers 和 Worm博士坚持认为，它们的研究给出了正确的基线，未来的管理决策者必须给予重视。他们相信这些资料支持目前在海洋生物学家中流行的一种观点，就是“多变的基线”的观点，这种观点认为因为人们只限于对过去相对较短的时期的研究，所以他们没有能够觉察到大海中所发生的巨大变化。这点之所以很重要是因为理论指出，一个渔场所能够获得的最高持续产量仅当目标物种的生物量是原来水平的50%时才能实现，而大部分的渔场都处于这个水平之下，这对于正常的营业是很不利的。大纲词和超纲词
考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析--2006年part3的延伸阅读——复习英语要讲究技巧
一，重视单词。
从第一天开始复习到考试的前一天，考试大纲词汇就应不离手，因为这是一切的基础。考试大纲是命题专家出题的依据、基础，所以考生一定要重视。背单词时，可以总结同义词、一词多义以及包含“高级”短语的句子，然后跟同桌的研友们对话，或者“厚颜无耻”地主动向他们“炫耀”，同时也坚持参加英语辩论活动，把自己最新积累的词句一一“亮”出，这样考生会感觉记得特别牢固。
二，日积月累。
作为一门语言，充满了繁琐与细节的，想一口吃成大胖子是不太现实的，必须耐心地积累“量变”以求“质变”。学习英语的时间安排也是有规律可循的，如果你一天安排3个小时学英语，那么与其一鼓作气学3个小时倒不如改成上下午各1.5小时。持续学习、及时复习才能收到较为理想的效果。可以参照着名的“艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线”来合理安排时间，最大限度地降低遗忘率，以获得较好的学习效果。
三，研读真题。
历年考研英语全真试题是了解考研水平的最快途径，也是熟悉命题规律的唯一途径。所以要在老师的指导下分阶段复习考研英语真题。找一个安静的环境，先用一周的时间做一套真题，做完后，对自己的错题先看一下怎么错的，错在哪里，能不能解决。剩下的时间要分析题型，也就是看这些题目是属于细节题、推理题，还是主旨大意题……当复习完十年的真题，建议考生放20天左右的时间，重新再做真题，分析自己的做题思路，考前一个月适当做些高质量的模拟题练练手。另外，希望考生真题至少看三遍。第一遍先做，做完之后归纳总结错题的原因。第二遍主要精读文章解决单词句子翻译。第三遍前两遍的内容都要看。
四，增加课外阅读。
课外阅读在考研英语复习中占有重要地位，对提高成绩有很大作用，建议大家订一份《英语世界》杂志，阅读上面的文章，也会有不少收获。如果有条件，看看自己学校图书馆是否有这本书，有的话坚持看，肯定会有收获的！
希望以上的介绍对2013的考研同学有所帮助，另外，大家在学习英语学习方法时，要从自身实际出发，选择真正适合自己的复习方法。 | 
