阅读理解
Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A., B., C. and D. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:
If the salinity of ocean water is analyzed, it is found to vary only slightly from place to place. Nevertheless, some of these small changes are important. There are three basic processes that cause a change in oceanic salinity. One of these is the subtraction of water from the ocean by means of evaporation—conversion of liquid water to water vapor. In this manner, the salinity is increased, since the salts stay behind. If this is carried to the extreme, of course, white crystals of salt would be left behind; this, by the way, is how much of the table salt we use is actually obtained.
The opposite of evaporation is precipitation, such as rain, by which water is added to the ocean. Here the ocean is being diluted so that the salinity is decreased. This may occur in areas of high rainfall or in coastal regions where rivers flow into the ocean. Thus salinity may be increased by the subtraction of water by evaporation, or decreased by the addition of fresh water by precipitation or runoff.
Normally, in tropical regions where the sun is very strong, the ocean salinity is somewhat higher than it is in other parts of the world where there is not as much evaporation. Similarly, in coastal regions where rivers dilute the sea, salinity is somewhat lower than in other oceanic areas.
A third process by which salinity may be altered is associated with the formation and melting of sea ice. When seawater is frozen, the dissolved materials are left behind. In this manner, seawater directly beneath freshly formed sea ice has a higher salinity than it did before the ice appeared. Of course, when this ice melts, it well tend to decrease the salinity of the surrounding water.
In the Weddell Sea, off Antarctica, the densest water in the oceans is formed as a result of this freezing process, which increases the salinity of cold water. This heavy water sinks and is found in the deeper portions of oceans of the world.
1. What is the main topic of the passage?
A. Where do we get our table salt?
B. Oceanic salinity in tropical regions
C. Three basic processes that alter oceanic salinity
D. Variations of salinity in different parts of the ocean
2. According to the author, the oceanic salinity is usually lower in _____.
A. tropical regions
B. coastal regions
C. places in which warm currents and cold currents meet
D. the Antarctica
3. All of the following are processes that decrease ocean salinity except _____.
A. precipitation B. runoff C. melting D. evaporation
4. What does the word “subtraction" in the fourth line of the first paragraph mean?
A. reduction B. influx C. transformation D. freezing
5. Which of the following is NOT a result of the formation of ice in oceans?
A. The surrounding water sinks.
B. The water becomes denser.
C. Water salinity decreases.
D. The surrounding water becomes colder.
单项选择
6. The facts he supplied were not relevant _____the case in question.
A. with B. to C. for D. about
7. A committee has been _____ by the counsel to look into the causes of unemployment.
A. designed B. devised C. worked D. set up
8. Few articles in the newspapers _____more attention than that reporting the murder case with O.J. Simpson involved.
A. enlist B. divert C. draw D. absorb
9. Julia _____two children since she got married in 1990.
A. gives birth to B. has given birth to
C. has been giving birth to D. gave birth to
10. The hospital was built on the side of a river, hence _____.
A. it has the name Riverside B. given the name Riverside
C. has got the name Riverside D. the name Riverside
参考答案
1. D。文章的主要内容是在不同的地区和地理、温度、气候条件下海洋的盐度。
2. B。根据文中信息，在沿岸地区，因为有淡水河流的注入，所以盐度较低。
3. D。文中第一段指出，蒸发使海洋失去水分，留下了盐分，盐的浓度就此增加。降水、径流、溶化都是减少盐分的过程。
4. A。subtraction的意思是“减少，抽走”。
5. C。文中很明确指出，海洋中冰的形成会引起盐度的增加。所以C显然不是海水结冰的结果。
6. B。relevant to：相关，切题。
7. D。“成立一个委员会”：to set up a committee。set up在这里是“创立、开办、建立”的意思。
8. C。draw attention to something: 把某人的注意力吸引到……上来。也可以说attract one's attention to something。
9. B。give birth to：生子，产崽。因为有完成时态的标志词since，所以必须用现在完成时。
10. D。hence是个副词，“因此”。这个词较正式，用法也较特殊，后面的动词经常省略。直接跟名词、形容词。