阅读试题

Passage 28
When you think about the growth of human population over the last century or so, it is all too easy to imagine it merely as an increase in the number of humans. But as we _1_, so do all the things associated with us, including our livestock. At present, there are about 1.5 billion _2_ and domestic buffalo and about 1.7 billion sheep and goats. With pigs and poultry, they form a _3_ part of our enormous biological footprint upon this planet.
Just how enormous was not really _4_ until the publication of a new report, called “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Consider these numbers. Global livestock grazing and feed production use “30 percent of the land surface of the planet.” Livestock—which consume more food than they _5_—also compete directly with humans for water. And the drive to expand grazing land destroys more biologically sensitive land, rain forests _6_, than anything else.
But what is even more striking, and _7_, is that livestock are responsible for about 18 percent of the global warming effect, more than transportation’s _8_. Greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrogen，are resulted from their digestion. Grazing land, which destroys forests, adds to the effect.
There are no easy trade-offs when it comes to global warming—such as cutting back on livestock to make room for care. The human _9_ for meat is certainly not about to end anytime soon. As “Livestock’s Long Shadow” makes clear, our health and the health of the planet depend on pushing livestock production in more _10_ directions.
A)yield B)contribution C)stain D)ideally
E)apparent F)multiply G)cattle H)passion
I)scrape J)critical K)liable L)sustainable
M)deposit N)alarming O)especially

解题思路

Passage 28
解题思路
1.[F] as从句缺少谓语，此处应填人动词。空格前面说到人口的增长,后面提到牲畜的数目，由此推断填人空格处的动词应与前面出现的increase意思相近，因此选multiply。
2.[G] and提示此处应是与buffalo并列的名词。结合上文和空格后罗列的动物可知，空格处的名词属于某种livestock(牲畜），名词词库中的cattle最填合。
3.[J]空格处应为名词、形容词或分词作part的定语。本句表明牲畜是地球物种的组成部分，critical “关键的”符合句意。
4.[E]空格前的really提示此处应填入形容词或分词。根据后面的“直到新报告发布”可知，在报告发布前牲畜的数量庞大到何种程度还是未知的，因此选apparent。
5.[A] more... than...表示的比较关系提示空格处应为动词，且意思应与consume相对，因此yield为本题答案。
6.[0]此处应为副词。rain forests将biologically sensitive land “生态敏感地区”的范围进一步缩小，更加具体指出热带雨林受到的影响“尤其”严重，especially符合句意。
7.[N] more和and提示此处应填入与striking并列的形容词，而且语义应比striking更进一步。本段讲的是畜牧业造成了全球变暖，在形容词词库中，alarming最符合句意。
8.[B]空格前的所有格提示此处应填入名词。根据本句内容:畜牧业对全球变暖造成的影响高过运输业。词库中的contribution “作用，影响”符合句意。
9.[H]此处应为名词，且可与介词for搭配。词库中可与介词for搭配的名词为passion,passion for meat意为“对肉类的爱好”,正好说明本段的观点:想解决全球变暖的问题，不能简单地靠少养牲畜或少吃肉。
10.[L]此处应填入定语成分修饰directions。这里是讲解决全球变暖，应该将畜牧业推向什么方向发展。可见，空格处应填入含有积极含义的词,sustainable符合句意,sustainable directions意为“可持续发展的方向”。