教师资格证笔试《英语学科知识与教学能力》考试大纲

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2.单项选择题(阅读理解)

Human beings are an irritant to Mother Nature, and in spite of the fact that it took their brains five million years to evolve, She can rid Herself of them in an instant. This, however, may not be necessary, since humans seem to be racing to see if they can save Her the trouble. They behave so arrogantly, contending they are superior to Nature. Rain forests are being cut down or burned—not only polluting the air but also causing a drop in oxygen levels. The love affair people have with their automobiles, especially “gas hog” SUV’s, adds to the pollutants in the air and is, yet, another nail in their coffins. Since prehistoric times, humans have been stalking and killing animals, causing many, beginning with the mastodon and saber-toothed tiger, to become extinct. Modern civilization is rushing headlong to slaughter animals in wholesale lots, all the while trying to prove its superiority to Mother Nature, usually with disastrous results.

For thousands of years, humans also have been defacing the earth, making scars upon the land. The throngs of people who responded to the lure of gold in the Yukon totally stripped mountainsides of trees above the Yukon River to make rafts in order to sail 500 miles to Dawson. Forty percent never made it! In the populated areas of the Himalayas very few trees remain since the citizens have cut them down for cooking and heating fires. With most of the trees gone, erosion occurs on a large scale, washing away most of the topsoil, making food production difficult. Even more disturbing is the fact that, due to large-scale cutting, the famous cedars of Lebanon, mentioned in the Bible, no longer exist. Along the same lines, so much of the rain forest in Panama is being destroyed that scientists are predicting the Panama Canal could fill with silt, thus prohibiting ships from crossing the isthmus, due to the effects of deforestation.

Deforestation and erosion, along with changing weather patterns, have led to the fastest-growing regions on this planet—deserts. All the while, populations are exploding worldwide and the proliferation of deserts means there is less arable land to feed the increasing number of people. Starvation on a massive scale will run rampant, and whenever a noted ecologist or environmentalist sends out warnings about such dangers to human life, very few consider giving up any of their conveniences. For instance, they insist on using aerosols and traveling one-to-a-car, thus adding to the emissions, which cause the ozone holes to expand, leading to more cases of skin cancer—a vicious cycle, indeed.

To make matters even more critical, global warming is becoming an ever-increasing threat to the existence of humans and animals. Polar icecaps are melting, and sections, the size of the state of Rhode Island, are breaking off. Traveling toward the Temperate Zones, they begin to melt, placing an inordinate amount of fresh water into the oceans and causing an imbalance.

Humans further complicate their lives by allowing businesses to release pollutants in urban areas, in the name of profit. “Accidents” often take place at refineries where toxic fumes are released into the air that people and animals breathe. Pesticides are so widely used and pose such a threat that it is amazing all of them haven’t been banned.

Governments, anxious to appease money-hungry corporations and their stockholders, have allowed timber companies into National Forests to cut virgin-growth trees. Most of these businesses clear cut vast areas and often wait an inordinate amount of time to replant.

Burning questions never cease: When will governments—local, state, and federal—corporations, and the rest of the human race realize what is happening to this planet? When will the race for profit cease to consume them? Perhaps it will come about when there is no land left to farm and feed the burgeoning population, or there is no clean water left to drink, or wildlife to balance the ecosystem, or, more importantly, when their children start dying. By that time, however, it probably will be too late.

1.In Paragraph 1, “another nail in their coffin” is similar in meaning to______.

A.a bad luck B.going dead

C.a blessing in disguise D.going from bad to worse

2.The author purposefully capitalizes the initial letters of Mother Nature because ______.

A.the author is clearly being sarcastic and suggesting that human beings show no respect for the nature

B.the author wants to emphasize the point that nature, like our mother, provides us with nourishment

C.they are used here as a proper noun personifying the might power of nature

D.they are words of very special importance

3.The author implies that travelling one-to-a-car______.

A.is an environmentally-friendly travel option

B.should be discouraged

C.should be encouraged