10.31 考研英语阅读题源外刊模拟试题【难度6.3】

Section II Reading Comprehension 

Part A 

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. 

Text 3

Our planet makes one full turn every day, which produces the alternation of light and dark and helps drive winds and ocean currents. Because the motion is so smooth, we never sense it. Yet what if it came to a halt?

Online clips sometimes show the Earth stopping dead, but one astrophysicist calls that unthinkable: the planet is not a rigid block, and a sudden stop would tear it apart. He prefers to picture a slow deceleration, gentle enough that the oceans stay in place.

Someone standing on the equator is being carried round at nearly 1,700 kilometres an hour. That motion pushes matter outwards, giving the planet a bulge of some 20 kilometres at its waist. With the spin gone, an oceanographer says, the seas would retreat from the tropics and collect around the poles, uncovering fresh land near the equator and flooding more of the land close to the poles.

Eventually one hemisphere would be permanently turned to the Sun. The planet would technically still rotate, but only once per orbit, that is, once a year. The result would be a world of two halves: one in near-perpetual day, the other in perpetual night. Even so, perpetual day need not mean clear skies, the astrophysicist cautions; simulations of other planets that keep the same face to their star often show the sunlit hemisphere wrapped in cloud.

How severe the consequences were would hinge on how far the rotation slowed. Early on, longer days would let the sunlit side heat up more and the shaded side cool down. Once one face was locked towards the Sun, the gap would be vast: on the day side the temperature could reach 100 degrees or more, enough to boil off the water, which would then drift to the dark side and settle as ice, building enormous glaciers. The one relatively mild place would be a thin strip along the line between day and night, where some water might stay liquid.

Even so, such a planet could not sustain ecosystems as we know them, ours included, though bacteria and a few other organisms might cope. With no sunlight on the dark side, plants could not photosynthesise. For astronomers, though, any cloud-free stretch of that side would make an excellent observatory.

In any case, the scenario is hypothetical. The Earth has spun since it condensed from a swirling cloud of gas and dust some 4.6 billion years ago, and with almost nothing to brake it, it has kept turning. It is slowing a little, chiefly because of the Moon’s tides, which add about 2.4 milliseconds to the length of the day each century. The astrophysicist doubts that the process would finish before the Sun swells into a red giant. For planets circling close to other stars, though, a similar “tidal locking”, which keeps one face turned to the star, is common, and studying it matters for judging whether such planets could support life.

31. According to the astrophysicist, a sudden stop of the Earth’s rotation is unthinkable becauseA. online clips have exaggerated how fast the Earth turnsB. the Earth is already slowing down very rapidlyC. the planet is not solid enough to survive such a stopD. the Moon’s tides would keep the planet turning

32. According to the oceanographer, if the Earth’s rotation faded away, the oceans wouldA. gather near the poles, leaving fresh land around the equatorB. pile up at the equator, drowning the tropicsC. be flung out into spaceD. freeze solid across the whole planet

33. What does the astrophysicist point out about the side of the Earth that would face the Sun?A. It would enjoy constant clear skies.B. It might nevertheless be covered in cloud.C. It would be cooler than the night side.D. It would be the only part of the planet still rotating.

34. It can be inferred from Paragraphs 5 and 6 that on a planet whose rotation had stoppedA. humans could live comfortably in the strip between day and nightB. plants would flourish on the dark sideC. all forms of life would die out completelyD. even the most tolerable region would not support life as we know it

35. According to the last paragraph, tidal locking around other stars deserves study because itA. bears on whether planets around other stars could support lifeB. suggests that the Earth will eventually be locked to the SunC. shows that most planets always face their starsD. explains why the Moon is slowing the Earth down

附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。

参考答案见以下。

Quick look: CABDA

31.【正确答案】C【解析】定位：第二段 “one astrophysicist calls that unthinkable: the planet is not a rigid block, and a sudden stop would tear it apart.”分析：天体物理学家认为"地球骤然停转"不可想象，理由是地球并非坚固的整块，骤停会使它四分五裂。C项（地球不够坚固，经不起这样的骤停）对应这一理由。干扰项：[A]”网络视频夸大了地球自转速度"无中生有，原文只是说视频有时展示地球骤停，没有说夸大了转速；[B]"地球已在快速减速"与原文相反，末段说地球只是在轻微减速；[D]"月球潮汐会让地球继续转动"张冠李戴，月球潮汐的作用是使地球自转略微减慢，而不是维持转动。

32.【正确答案】A【解析】定位：第三段末句 “the seas would retreat from the tropics and collect around the poles, uncovering fresh land near the equator and flooding more of the land close to the poles.”分析：自转消失后，海水会从赤道地区退去，向两极聚集，赤道附近露出新的陆地，两极附近则有更多陆地被淹。A项对应。干扰项：[B]”堆积在赤道、淹没热带"与原文相反，方向颠倒；[C]"被甩入太空"与原文的前提相反，第二段设想的是缓慢减速，慢到海洋留在原位；[D]"整个星球上的海水冻结"以偏概全，原文只说水汽迁移到背阳面后凝结成冰，并非全球冻结。

33.【正确答案】B【解析】定位：第四段末句 “perpetual day need not mean clear skies, the astrophysicist cautions; simulations of other planets that keep the same face to their star often show the sunlit hemisphere wrapped in cloud.”分析：天体物理学家提醒，永昼不一定意味着晴空：对其他总以同一面朝向恒星的行星所做的模拟显示，向阳半球常被云层包裹。B项（面向太阳的一面仍可能被云覆盖）对应。干扰项：[A]”终年晴空"与原文相反；[C]"比背阳面更凉"与原文相反，第五段说向阳面会热到足以让水蒸发；[D]"是仍在自转的唯一部分"偷换概念，原文说整个星球仍在自转，只是一年才转一圈。

34.【正确答案】D【解析】定位：第五段末句 “The one relatively mild place would be a thin strip along the line between day and night...” 与第六段首句 “such a planet could not sustain ecosystems as we know them, ours included...”分析：第五段说昼夜交界处的窄带是相对最温和的地方，但"相对温和"并不等于适宜；第六段则明确指出，这样的星球无法维持我们所熟知的生态系统。合起来可以推知，即使是最能容忍的区域，也不能支撑我们所熟知的生命形态。D项准确。干扰项：[A]”人类可以在昼夜交界带舒适生活"程度夸大，原文只说那里"相对温和"，而整个星球都不适合人类；[B]"植物在背阳面会繁茂"与原文相反，背阳面没有阳光，植物无法进行光合作用；[C]"所有生命都会彻底消亡"程度夸大，原文说细菌和少数生物也许能应付。

35.【正确答案】A【解析】定位：末段末句 “a similar ‘tidal locking’, which keeps one face turned to the star, is common, and studying it matters for judging whether such planets could support life.”分析：对其他恒星近旁的行星而言，类似的"潮汐锁定"很常见，研究它有助于判断这类行星能否支持生命。A项对应。干扰项：[B]”表明地球最终会被锁定于太阳"与原文相反，原文说天体物理学家怀疑地球在太阳膨胀成红巨星之前来得及停转；[C]"表明大多数行星总以同一面朝向恒星"以偏概全，原文说的是靠近恒星运行的行星中这类情况很常见，并非大多数行星；[D]"解释月球为何在使地球减速"张冠李戴，月球潮汐使地球减速是前文单独讲述的内容，与研究其他恒星周围的潮汐锁定无关。

【参考译文】

我们的星球每天完整地转一圈，这产生了昼夜交替，并帮助驱动风和洋流。由于这种运动非常平稳，我们从未察觉到它。但是，如果它停了下来会怎样？

网络上的一些视频有时会展示地球戛然而止，但一位天体物理学家称这是不可想象的：地球不是一块刚性的整体，骤然停转会使它四分五裂。他更愿意设想一种缓慢的减速，缓慢到足以让海洋留在原位。

站在赤道上的人，正以近每小时1700公里的速度被带着转动。这种运动把物质向外推，使地球在腰部鼓出大约20公里。一位海洋学家说，一旦自转消失，海水将从热带退去，聚集到两极周围，使赤道附近露出新的陆地，同时淹没更多靠近两极的陆地。

最终，地球的一个半球将永远朝向太阳。这颗行星技术上仍在自转，但每绕轨道一周才转一圈，也就是一年一圈。结果将是一个分成两半的世界：一半近乎永昼，另一半永夜。即便如此，天体物理学家提醒，永昼未必意味着晴空；对其他总以同一面朝向恒星的行星所做的模拟，常常显示向阳的半球被云层包裹。

后果有多严重，取决于自转减慢到什么程度。起初，更长的白昼会让向阳面升温更多、背阳面降温更多。一旦一面被锁定朝向太阳，两面的差距将变得巨大：向阳面的温度可能达到100度甚至更高，足以把水煮干，水汽随后会飘到背阳面，凝结成冰，形成巨大的冰川。相对温和的地方只有昼夜分界线上的一条狭窄地带，那里的部分水或许还能保持液态。

即便如此，这样的星球也无法维持我们所熟知的生态系统，包括我们人类，不过细菌和少数其他生物也许能应付。背阳面没有阳光，植物无法进行光合作用。不过，对天文学家来说，那一面任何一片没有云的区域，都会是绝佳的观测站。

无论如何，这一情景都只是假想。地球自大约46亿年前由一团旋转的气体和尘埃凝聚而成以来一直在转动，而由于几乎没有什么力量能使它制动，它一直转了下来。它在轻微减速，主要是因为月球引起的潮汐，使一天每个世纪增长约2.4毫秒。这位天体物理学家怀疑，在太阳膨胀成红巨星之前，这一过程是否来得及完成。不过，对于在其他恒星近旁运行的行星而言，类似的"潮汐锁定"（使其一面始终朝向恒星）相当常见，研究它对判断这类行星能否支持生命很重要。

附注：