2014年雅思阅读模拟试题

1、2014 年雅思阅读模拟试题 (1)When was the last time you saw a frog? Chances are, if you live in a city, you have not seen one for some time. Even in wet areas once teeming with frogs and toads, it is BEComingl ess and less easy to find those slimy, hopping and sometimes poisonous members of the animal kingdom.

2、 All over the world, and even in remote parts of Australia, frogs are losing the ecological battle for survival, and biologists are at a loss to explain their demise. Are amphibians simply oversensitive to changes in the ecosystem? Could it be that their rapid decline in numbers is signaling some co

3、ming environmental disaster for us all? This frightening scenario is in part the consequence of a dramatic increase over the last quarter century in the development of once natural areas of wet marshland; homen ot only to frogs but to all manner of wildlife. However, as yet, there are no obvious rea

4、sons why certain frog species are disappearing from rainforests in Australia that have barely been touched by human hand. The mystery is unsettling to say the least, for it is known that amphibian species are extremely sensitive to environmental variations in temperature and moisture levels. The dan

5、ger is that planet Earth might not only lose a vital link in the ecological food chain (frogs keep populations of otherwise pestilent insects at manageable levels), but we might be increasing our output of air pollutants to levels that may have already become irreversible. Frogs could be inadvertent

6、ly warning us of a catastrophe.An example of a species of frog that, at far as is known, has become extinct, is the platypus frog. Like the well-known Australian mammal it was named after, it exhibited some very strange behaviour; instead of giving birth to tadpoles in the water, it raised its young

7、 within its stomach. The baby frogswere actually born from out of their mothers mouth. Discovered in 1981, less than ten years later the frog had completely vanished from the crystal clear waters of Booloumba Creek near Queenslands Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately, this freak of nature is not the only

8、frog species to have been lost in Australia. Since the 1970s, no less than eight others have suffered the same fate.One theory that seems to fit the facts concerns the depletion of the ozone layer, a well documented phenomenon which has led to a sharp increase in ultraviolet radiation levels.The ozo

9、ne layer is meant to shield the Earth from UVr ays, but increased radiation mayb e having a GREater effect upon frog populations than previously believed. Another theory is that worldwide temperature increases are upsetting the breeding cycles of frogs.TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN1. Frogs are disappearing o

10、nly from city areas.2. Frogs and toads are usually poisonous.3. Biologists are unable to explain why frogs are dying.4. The frogs natural habitat is becoming more and more developed.5. Attempts are being made to halt the development of wet marshland.6. Frogs are important in the ecosystem because th

11、ey control pests.7. The platypus frog became extinct by 1991.8. Frogs usually give birth to their young in an underwater nest.9. Eight frog species have become extinct so far in Australia.10. There is convincing evidence that the ozone layer is being depleted.11.It is a fact that frogs breeding cycl

12、es are upset by worldwide in creases in temperature.Answer Keys：1.F 2.F 3.T 4.T 5.NG 6.T 7.T 8.NG 9.F 10.T 11.F2014 年雅思阅读模拟试题 (2)Almost everyone with or without a computer is aware of the latest technological revolution destined to change forever the way in which humans communicate, namely, the Info

13、rmation Superhighway, best exemplified by the ubiquitous Internet. Already, millions of people around the world are linked by computer simply by having a modema nd an address on the Net, in much the same way that owning a telephone links us to almost anyone who pays a phone bill. In fact, since the

14、computer connections are made via the phone line, the Internet can be envisaged as a network of visual telephone links. It remains to seen in which direction the Information Superhighway is headed, but many believeit is the educational hope of the future.The World Wide Web, an enormous collection of

15、 Internet addresses or sites, all of which can be accessed for information, has been mainly responsible for the increase in interest in the Internet in the 1990s. Before the World Wide Web, the Net was comparable to an integrated collection of computerized typewriters, but the introduction of the We

16、b in 1990 allowed not only text links to be madeb ut also graphs, images and even video.A Web site consists of a home page, the first screen of a particular site on the computer to which you are connected, from where access can be had to other subject related pages(or screens) at the site and on tho

17、usands of other computers all over the world. This is achieved by a process called hypertext. By clicking with a mouse device on various parts of the screen, a person connected to the Net can go traveling, or surfing through a of the screen, a person connected to the Net can go traveling, or surfing

18、 through a web of pages to locate whatever information is required.Anyone can set up a site; promoting your club, your institution, your companys products or simply yourself, is what the Web and the Internet is all about. And what is more, information on the Internet is not owned or controlled by an

19、y one organization. It is, perhaps, true to say that no one and therefore everyone owns the Net. BECause of the relative freedom of access to information, the Internet has often been criticised by the media as a potentially hazardous tool in the hands of young computer users. This perception has pro

20、ved to be largely false however, and the vast majority of users both young and old get connected with the Internet for the dual purposes for which it was intended - discovery and delight.TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN1. Everyone is aware of the Information Superhighway.2. Using the Internet costs the owner of

21、 a telephone extra money.3.Internet computer connections are made by using telephone lines.4. The World Wide Web is a network of computerised typewriters.5. According to the author, the Information Superhighway may be the future hope of education.6. The process calledhypertextrequires the use of a m

22、ouse device.7. The Internet was created in the 1990s.8. The home pageis the first screen of a Website on the Net.9. The media has often criticised the Internet because it is dangerous.10. The latest technological revolution will change the way humans communicate.1.F 2.NG 3.T 4.F 5.T 6.T 7.F 8.T 9.F

23、10.T2014 年雅思阅读模拟试题 (3)1. The failure of a high-profile cholesterol drug has thrown a spotlight on the complicated machinery that regulates cholesterol levels. But many researchers remain confident that drugs to boost levels of good cholesterol are still one of the most promising means to combat spir

24、alling heart disease.2. Drug company Pfizer announced on 2 December that it was cancelling all clinical trials of torcetrapib ， a drug designed to raise heart-protective high-density lipoproteins (HDLs)。In a trial of 15000 patients， a safety board found that morepeople died or suffered cardiovascula

25、r problems after taking the drug plus a cholesterol-lowering statin than those in a control group who took the statin alone.3. The news camea s a kick in the teeth to many cardiologists because earlier tests in animals and people suggested it would lower rates of cardiovascular disease. “ There have

26、 been no red flags to my knowledge ，” says John Chapma，n a specialist in lipoproteins and atherosclerosis at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Paris who has also studied torcetrapib.“ This cancellation came as a complete shock.4. Torcetrapib is one of the most advanc

27、ed of a new breed of drugs designed to raise levels of HDLs， which ferrycholesterol out of artery-clogging plaques to the liver for removal from the body. Specifically， torcetrapib blocks aprotein called cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP)，which normally transfers the cholesterol from high-den

28、sity lipoproteins to low density ， plaque-promoting ones. Statins ， in contrast ， mainly work by lowering the bad low-density lipoproteins.Under pressure5. Researchers are now trying to work out why and how the drug backfired ， something that will not becomec lear until the clinical details are rele

29、ased by Pfizer. One hint lies in evidence from earlier trials that it slightly raises blood pressure in somep atients. It was thought that this mild problem would be offset by the heart benefits of the drug. But it is possible that it actually proved fatal in some patients who already suffered high

30、blood pressure. If blood pressure is the explanation ， it would actually be good news for drug developers because it suggests that the problems are specific to this compound. Other prototype drugs that are being developed to block CETPw ork in a slightly different way and might not suffer the same d

31、ownfall.6. But it is also possible that the whole idea of blocking CETPis flawed ， says Moti Kashyap， who directs atherosclerosis research at the VA Medical Center in Long Beach， California.WhenH DLse xcrete cholesterol in the liver ， they actually rely on LDLs for part of this process. So inhibitin

32、g CETP， whichprevents the transfer of cholesterol from HDL to LDL， mightactually cause an abnormal and irreversible accumulation of cholesterol in the body.“ Youre blocking a physiologicmechanism to eliminate cholesterol and effectively constipating the pathway ，” says Kashyap.Going up7. Most resear

33、chers remain confident that elevating high density lipoproteins levels by one means or another is one of the best routes for helping heart disease patients. But HDLs are complex and not entirely understood. One approved drug，called niacin ， is known to both raise HDL and reduce cardiovascular risk b

34、ut also causes an unpleasant sensation of heat and tingling. Researchers are exploring whether they can bypass this side effect and whether niacin can lower disease risk more than statins alone. Scientists are also working onseveral other means to bump up high-density lipoproteins by ， for example，

35、introducing synthetic HDLs. “The only thing we know is dead in the water is torcetrapib， not the whole ideaof raising HDL，” says Michael Miller ， director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center ， Baltimore.Questions 1-7This passage has 7 paragraphs 1-7.Choose the corre

36、ct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.Write the correct number i-ix in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.List of Headingsi. How does torcetrapib work?ii. Contradictory result prior to the current trialiii. One failure may possibly bring about future successiv. The failure doesn

37、t lead to total loss of confidencev. It is the right route to followvi. Why it s stoppedvii. They may combine and theoretically produce ideal resultviii. What s wrong with the drugix. It might be wrong at the first placeQuestions 7-13Match torcetrapib ， HDLs， statin and CETP with theirfunctions (Questions 8-13)Write the correct letter A， B ， C or D in boxes 8-13 onyour answer sheet.NB You may use any letter more than once.7.It has been administered to over 10， 000 subjects in aclinical trial.8.It could help r