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2012年MBA考试试题--联考英语阅读能力练习
Directions： Read the following text. Choose the best word（s） for each numbered blank and mark
A， B， C or D on Answer Sheet 1. （10 points）
Imagine fishermen walking down to the seashore， ready to carry out their early morning routine of preparing their boats and net. _1_ they hope for a good catch of fish. But to their _2_， a horrible sight meets their still sleepy eyes. Thousands of fish have been washed _3_ dead. The cause of this mass destruction？ A red tide！
Red tides are a global _4_. They have been observed on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of the United States and Canada. They have also _5_ in many other places. Though relatively few people are _6_ them， red tides are not new.
In the Philippines， a red tide was first seen in the province of Bataan in 1908. Since then， red tides have been seen in many other _7_. A Philippines red tide expert told us that “_8_ the fish kills， the Philippines has documented 1，926 cases of dead shellfish poisoning caused by red tides.”
The term “red tide” _9_ the discoloration of water that sometimes occurs in certain areas of the ocean or sea. Although the color is often red， it may also be _10_ of brown or yellow. The World Book Encyclopedia reports that “the discolored areas may range from _11_ a few square yards to more than 2， 600 square kilometers.”
What causes such discoloration？ Red tides are generally caused by several _12_ of single-celled organisms. These tiny organisms have hair-like projections which they use to _13_ themselves in water. There are about 2，000 varieties of these organisms， 30 of which carry poisonous _14_. These minute organisms usually stay in warm waters with high content of salt.
A red tide occurs when there is a sudden and rapid _15_ of these organisms. The concentration of these organisms may _16_ to 50， 000， 000 per quart of water！ Although scientists do not fully understand why this happens， it is known that these organisms _17_ when certain conditions simultaneously affect the water. These include abnormal weather， _18_ temperatures， an oversupply of nutrients in the water， a generous _19_ sunlight， and favorable water currents. When a heavy rainfall occurs， minerals and other nutrients are sometimes washed _20_ the land into coastal water. These nutrients can contribute to the breeding of the organisms. The result？ Red tides！
1. A. As a result B. As it is C. As expected D. As usual
2. A. satisfaction B. disappointment C. astonishment D. regret
3. A. ashore B. aboard C. aside D. across
4. A. question B. crisis C. phenomenon D. situation
5. A. occupied B. occurred C. acquired D. accused
6. A. assured of B. worried about C. concerned about D. aware of
7. A. sandy beaches B. river mouths C. coastal areas D. reef areas
8. A. except B. besides C. despite D. without
9. A. applies to B. sums up C. copes with D. leads to
10. A. shadows B. shades C. shakes D. shapes
11. A. less than B. more than C. as much as D. as little as
12. A. components B. elements C. ingredients D. species
13. A. propel B. probe C. proceed D. prompt
14. A. materials B. substances C. masses D. objects
15. A. bolt B. block C. bloom D. blast
16. A. scale B. plunge C. gauge D. swell
17. A. accelerate B. accommodate C. accumulate D. accompany
18. A. optimum B. minimum C. maximum D. momentum
19. A. means of B. amount of C. way to D. account for
20. A. over B. on C. by D. from
Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions： Read the following four passages. Answer the questions below each passage by choosing A， B， C or D. Mark your answers on Answer Sheet 1（40 points）
Text 1
Within a large concrete room， cut out of a mountain on a freezing-told island just 1，000 kilometers from the North Pole， could lie the future of humanity.
The room is a vault （地下库） designed to hold around 2 million seeds， representing all known varieties of the world‘s crops. It is being built to safeguard the world’s food supply against nuclear war， climate change， terrorism， rising sea levels， earthquakes and the collapse of electricity supplies. “If the worst came to the worst， this would allow the world to reconstruct agriculture on this planet.” says Cary Fowler， director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust， an independent international organization promoting the project.
The Norwegian （挪威的） government is planning to create the seed bank next year at the request of crop scientists. The $3 million vault will be built deep inside a sandstone mountain on the Norwegian Arctic island of Spitsbergen. The vault will have metre-thick walls of reinforced concrete and will be protected behind two airlocks and high-security doors.
The vault‘s seed collection will represent the products of some 10，000 years of plant breeding by the world’s famers. Though most are no longer widely planted， the varieties contain vital genetic properties still regularly used in plant breeding.
To survive， the seeds need freezing temperatures. Operators plan to replace the air inside the
vault each winter， when temperatures in Spitsbergen are around -18℃。 But even if some disaster meant that the vault was abandoned， the permanently frozen soil would keep the seeds alive. And even accelerated global warming would take many decades to penetrate the mountain vault.
“This will be the world‘s most secure gene bank，” says Fowler. “But its seeds will only be used when all other samples have gone for some reason.”
The project comes at a time when there is growing concern about the safety of existing seed banks around the world. Many have been criticized for poor security， ageing refrigeration （冷藏） systems and vulnerable electricity supplies.
The scheme won UN approval at a meeting of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome in October 2005. A feasibility study said the facility “would essentially be built to last forever”。
21. The Norwegian vault in important in that _________________.
A. the seeds in it represent the rarest varieties of world’s crops.
B. the seeds in it could revive agriculture if the worst thing should happen
C. it is built deep in a mountain on a freezing-cold Arctic island
D. it is strong enough against all disasters caused by man and nature
22. The seed bank project was proposed by __________.
A. the Norwegian government B. Norwegian farmers
C. Spitsbergen residents D. agricultural scientists
23. The seeds in the vault will be stored ____________________.
A. as samples of world crop varieties
B. as products of world plant breeding
C. for their valuable genetic properties
D. for their resistance to plant diseases
24. For the seed bank project to be successful， the most important factor is probably________.
A. constructing tight airlocks B. maintaining high security
C. keeping freezing temperatures D. storing large quantities of seeds
25. Which of the following statements is true？
A. The Norwegian vault models after existing seed banks
B. The Spitsbergen seed bank is expected to last 10，000 years
C. The existing seed banks have potential problems
D. The UN financed the Spitsbergen seed bank
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