职称英语考试理工A 第四十六篇

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1、理工A-2+第四十六篇Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as Ecosystem Engineers 蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”对环境影响巨大Research by the University of Exeter1 has revealed透露 that ants 蚂蚁have a big impact影响 on their local当地的 environment环境 as a result of their activity活动 as ecosystem engineers and predators捕食者. The study, published

2、 in the Journal of Animal Ecology, found that ants have two distinct effects on their local environment.Firstly, through moving of soil by nest building2 activity and by collecting food they affect the level of nutrients in the soil. This can indirectly impact the local populations of many animal gr

3、oups, from decomposers to species much higher up the food chain.Secondly, they prey on a wide range of other animals, including larger prey which can be attacked by vast numbers of ant workers.Dirk Sanders, an author of the study from the universitys Centre for Ecology and Conservation, said:Ants ar

4、e very effective predators which thrive in huge numbers. Theyre also very territorial3 and very aggressive, defending their resources and territory against other predators. All of this means they have a strong influence on their surrounding area.In this research, we studied for the first time how bi

5、g this impact is and the subtleties of it. What we found is that despite being predators, their presence can also lead to an increase in density and diversity of other animal groups4. They genuinely play a key role in the local environment, having a big influence on the grassland food web, Sanders s

6、aid.The study, carried out in Germany, studied the impact of the presence of different combinations and densities of black garden ants and common red ants, both species which can be found across Europe, including in the UK. It found that a low density of ants in an area increased the diversity and d

7、ensity of other animals in the local area, particularly the density of herbivores and decomposers. At higher densities ants had no or the opposite effect, showing that predation is counteracting the positive influence.Dr Frank van Veen, another author on the study, said:What we find is that the impa

8、ct of ants on soil nutrient levels has a positive effect on animal groups at low levels, but as the number of ants increases, their predatory impacts have the bigger effect thereby counteracting the positive influence via ecosystem engineering.Ants are important components of ecosystems not only bec

9、ause they constitute a great part of the animal biomass5 but also because they act as ecosystem engineers. Ant biodiversity6 is incredibly high and these organisms are highly responsive to human impact, which obviously reduces its richness. However, it is not clear how such disturbance damages the m

10、aintenance of ant services to the ecosystem Ants are important in below ground processes8 through the alteration of the physical and chemical environment and through their effects on plants, microorganisms, and other soil organisms.词汇：predator / predt/ n食肉动物nutrient/ nju:trint/ n 营养物；adj营养的decompose

11、r/,di:kmpuz/ n腐生物；分解体prey/prei/ v捕食；n被捕食的动物subtlety/ stlti/ n ，微妙，精妙herbivore/ h:biv: / n 食草动物注释：1.the University of Exeter ：埃克斯特大学。1851 年建校，位于英国西南部重要商业中心埃克斯特市，是英国著名的传统大学之一。2. nest building ：筑巢3. territorial ：领地的。在此用来形容蚂蚁的本性，即具有很强的领地意识，并且会竭尽全力保卫自己的领地。4. an increase in density and diversity of other

12、animal groups ：其他动物群体在数量和品种上的增长。5. biomass ：物质名词，由bio和mass 两部分组成，意为“生物量”“生物质”。6. biodiversity ：物质名词，由bio和diversity 两部分组成，意为“生物多样性”。7.the maintenance of ant services to the ecosystem ：蚂蚁对生态系统的维护作用。8. below ground processes ：土壤下面的（工作）过程，即影响生态环境的过程。练习：1 .Why are ants compared to ecosystem engineers?A B

13、ecause they build their own nests.B Because they collect food.C Because their activity affects the environment.D Because they are predators.2. As predators, antsA prey on small as well as large animals.B collect nutritious food from the soilC collect food as decomposers.D prey on species much higher

14、 up the food chain.3. Dirk Sanders study centered on how antsA can manage to thrive in huge numbers.B defend their resources and territory against other predators.C attack those invading animals for survival.D produce such a big impact on the environment.4. What does paragraph 6 tell us?A Ants bring

15、 about a negative influence to an area when their population is small.B Ants bring about a positive influence to an area when their population is small.C Ants predation counteracts the positive influence they may have on an area.D At higher density, ants produce a positive influence on an area.5. Wh

16、at still remains unclear about ants, according to the last paragraph?A What roles do ants play in the ecosystem in which they live?B How do ants affect the animal diversity in a given ecosystem?C How do human activities affect ants influence on a given ecosystem?D How do ants alter the physical and

17、chemical environment?答案与题解：1. C 短文的第一段提供了答案。A不是正确答案，因为并不是因为蚂蚁会筑巢才被誉为生态系统工程师，而是因为它们筑巢和获取食物的方式改变了土壤的营养水平，为整个食物链提供了很好的生态环境（见第二段）。2.A答案能够从短文的第三段直接找到。该段告诉我们，蚂蚁的掠食范围很广，甚至包括比它们体积更大的动物（ larger animals) 。 prey 在这里的意思是“捕猎，捕食”，作为动词，后面跟介词on或upon。3.D Dirk Sanders说：“In this research, we studied for the first time

18、 how big this impact is and the subtleties of it.”（第五段）所以，D是正确选择。句中the subtleties of it 的意思是：蚂蚁对环境影响的精妙之处。4.B 短文第六段第二句的大概意思是，蚂蚁数量小（a low density of ants）的话，能使其他动物的品种和数量增加（increased the diversity and density of other animals），从而给环境带来积极影响；第三句说，如果蚂蚁的数量大（At higher densities），就不可能产生同样的影响，或者是相反的影响，这表明，蚂蚁的

19、掠食活动会抵销蚂蚁给环境带来的积极影响。第七段Dr Frank van Veen 表达了大体相同的内容。5.C 最后一段的第二和第三句提供了答案。第二句告诉我们，蚂蚁极易受人类的影响（these organisms are highly responsive to human impact），第三句告诉我们，科学家还不清楚人类对蚂蚁这种干扰如何破坏蚂蚁对生态系统的维护作用（”it is not clear how such disturbance damages the maintenance of ant services to the ecosystem.”）。第四十六篇 蚂蚁作为“生态系

20、统工程师”对环境影响巨大埃克斯特大学所做的研究表明，蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”和食肉动物的行为对当地的环境影响巨大。该研究发表在动物生态杂志上，它表明蚂蚁对当地的环境有两大显著的影响。第一，通过筑巢而挪动土壤或采集食物，蚂蚁影响土壤的营养水平。这可间接影响当地从腐生物到食物链高层的许多动物种群的数量。第二，它们捕食的动物种类很多，包括那些被大量工蚁攻击的大猎物。Dirk Sanders是该大学生态和保护中心所做的此项研究的作者，他说：“蚂蚁是高效的食肉动物，而且能大量繁殖。它们具有很强的领地意识，并且会竭尽全力对抗其他的食肉动物来保卫自己的领地。所有这些都意味着蚂蚁对周围环境影响巨大。”“在该

21、研究中，我们第一次对蚂蚁带来的影响程度及微妙程度进行研究。所得到的发现是：尽管是食肉动物，蚂蚁的出现能促使其他动物族群在数量和品种上的增长。并对当地的环境起到切实重要的作用，对大草原的食物链影响巨大。”Sanders说。该研究在德国进行，它对花园黑蚂蚁和一般的红蚂蚁在不同混合程度和不同密度下的影响力进行研究。黑蚂蚁和红蚂蚁在整个欧洲包括英国都能找到。研究发现，一个地区的蚂蚁密度小，而其他动物尤其是食草动物和腐生物的数量和种类会增多。如果蚂蚁的密度大，就不可能产生同样的影响，或者产生相反的影响，这表明，蚂蚁的掠食活动会抵消蚂蚁给环境带来的积极影响。Dr Frank van Veen是本研究的另一

22、作者，他说：“我们的发现是：如果蚂蚁的数量少，其对土壤的营养水平的影响会对动物族群产生积极的效果。如果蚂蚁的数量增加，其捕食的影响会达到最大化，因此会抵消蚂蚁通过生态工程给环境带来的积极影响。”蚂蚁是生态系统的重要组成部分，不仅因为它占有很大部分的生物量，而且因为其作为生态系统工程师的角色。蚂蚁具有难以想象的多样性，但极易受人类的影响，这就使它的多样性有显著的减少。然而，科学家还不消楚人类对蚂蚁这种干扰如何破坏蚂蚁对生态系统的维护作用。蚂蚁通过变动物理的和化学的环境，通过对植物、微生物和其他土壤生物的影响而对生态环境起至关重要的作用。第四十八篇 Researchers研究人员Discover发

23、现 Why Humans Began Walking走路 Upright直立的Most of us walk and carry items in our hands every day. These are seemingly simple activities that the majority of us dont question. But an international team of researchers, including Dr. Richmond from GWs Columbian College of Arts and Sciences，have discovered

24、 that human walking upright, may have originated millions of years ago as an adaptation to carrying scarce, high- quality resources. The team of researchers from the U. S., England, Japan and Portugal investigated the behavior of modern-day chimpanzees as they competed for food resources，in an effor

25、t to understand what ecological settings would lead a large ape one that resembles the 6 million-year old ancestor we shared in common with living chimpanzees to walk on two legs.“These chimpanzees provide a model of the ecological conditions under which our earliest ancestors might have begun walki

26、ng on two legs, ，said Dr. Richmond.The research findings suggest that chimpanzees switch to moving on two limbs instead of four in situations where they need to monopolize a resource. Standing on two legs allows them to carry much more at one time because it frees up their hands. Over time，intense b

27、ursts of bipedal activity may have led to anatomical changes that in turn became the subject of natural selection where competition for food or other resources was strong.Two studies were conducted by the team in Guinea. The first study was conducted by the team in Kyoto Universitys “ outdoor labora

28、tory ” in a natural clearing in Bossou Forest. Researchers allowed the wild chimpanzees access to different combinations of two different types of nut the oil palm nut，which is naturally widely available, and the coula nut, which is not. The chimpanzees behavior was monitored in three situations:(a)

29、 when only oil palm nuts were available,(b)when a small number of coula nuts were available，and(c) when coula nuts were the majority available resource.When the rare coula nuts were available only in small numbers, the chimpanzees transported more at one time. Similarly, when coula nuts were the maj

30、ority resource, the chimpanzees ignored the oil palm nuts altogether. The chimpanzees regarded the coula nuts as a more highly-prized resource and competed for them more intensely.In such high-competition settings，the frequency of cases in which the chimpanzees started moving on two legs increased b

31、y a factor of four. Not only was it obvious that bipedal movement allowed them to carry more of this precious resource, but also that they were actively trying to move as much as they could in one go by using everything available 一 even their mouths.The second study, by Kimberley Hockings of Oxford

32、Brookes University, was a 14-month study of Bossou chimpanzees crop-raiding, a situation in which they have to compete for rare and unpredictable Resources. Here, 35 percent of the chimpanzees activity involved some sort of bipedal movement, and once again, this behavior appeared to be linked to a c

33、lear attempt to carry as much as possible at one time. 练习：1.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the first two paragraphs? -对错类A Many people question the simple human activities of walking and carrying items.B Chimpanzees behaviors may suggest why humans walk on two legs.C Huma

34、n walking upright is viewed as an adaptation to carrying precious resources. D Our ancestors ecological conditions resembled those of modern-day chimpanzees.2.Dr. Richmond conducted the experiment with the purpose of finding-主题类A when humans began walking on two legs.B what made our ancestors walk u

35、pright.C what benefits walking upright brought to our ancestors.D how walking upright helped chimpanzees monopolize resources.3.Kyoto, Universitys study discovered that chimpanzees.A regarded both types of nut as priced resources.B preferred oil palm nuts to coula nuts.C liked coula nuts better than

36、 oil palm nuts.D ignored both types of nut altogether.4.Why did the chimpanzees walk on two limbs during Kyoto Universitys experiment?A Because they imitated the human way of walking just for fun.B Because they wanted to please the researchers to get more coula nuts from them.C Because they wanted t

37、o get to die nut-rich forest faster by walking that way.D Because they wanted to carry more nuts with two free limbs.5.What can we infer from the reading passage?A Chimpanzees are in the same process of evolution as our ancestors were.B Chimpanzees are similar to humans in many behaviors.C Walking o

38、n two limbs and walking on four limbs each have their advantages.D Human walking on two legs developed as a means of survival.第四十八篇 Researchers Discover Why Humans Began Walking Upright研究人员发现人类开始直立行走的原因Most of us walk and carry items in our hands every day. 我们大多数人每天都走路而且手里搬着东西。These are seemingly si

39、mple activities that the majority of us dont question. 这样的活动看似太简单，大多数人没有疑问。 But an international team of researchers, including Dr. Richmond from GWs Columbian College of Arts and Sciences，have discovered that human walking upright, may have originated millions of years ago as an adaptation to carry

40、ing scarce, high- quality resources. 但是一个国际研究者（包括乔治华盛顿大学哥伦比亚艺术与科学学院的Richmond博士）团队已经发现了人类直立行走可能源于数百万年以前适应搬运稀有的、高质量的资源。The team of researchers from the U. S., England, Japan and Portugal investigated the behavior of modern-day chimpanzees as they competed for food resources，in an effort to understand

41、what ecological settings would lead a large ape one that resembles the 6 million-year old ancestor we shared in common with living chimpanzees to walk on two legs. 这些来自美国、英国、日本和葡萄牙的研究者研究了当代黑猩猩争抢食物时的行为特征，试图对什么样的生态环境竟然导致大猿（一种我们与现存的黑猩猩一样的600万年前的祖先）直立行走作出解释。“These chimpanzees provide a model of the ecol

42、ogical conditions under which our earliest ancestors might have begun walking on two legs, ，said Dr. Richmond. “这些黑猩猩居住的生态环境和我们最早的祖先开始直立行走时是相同的，” Richmond博士说。The research findings suggest that chimpanzees switch to moving on two limbs instead of four in situations where they need to monopolize a res

43、ource. 研究结果显示，当黑猩猩需要独占一种资源时，它们就从四肢行走转换为直立行走。Standing on two legs allows them to carry much more at one time because it frees up their hands. 由于直立行走可以解放它们的双手，这使得它们能搬更多的东西。 Over time，intense bursts of bipedal activity may have led to anatomical changes that in turn became the subject of natural select

44、ion where competition for food or other resources was strong. 久而久之，双足活动的强烈爆发可能导致了解剖学上的变化，因此这种变化也就成为自然选择的主题，在那种情况下，对食物或其他 资源的争夺是十分激烈的。Two studies were conducted by the team in Guinea. 有两项研究是在几内亚完成的。The first study was conducted by the team in Kyoto Universitys “ outdoor laboratory ” in a natural clea

45、ring in Bossou Forest. 第一项研究是在京都大学博苏森林的一块天然空地“室外实验室”进行的。Researchers allowed the wild chimpanzees access to different combinations of two different types of nut the oil palm nut，which is naturally widely available, and the coula nut, which is not. 研究者们允许森林里的黑猩猩能得到两种不同的坚果，一种叫油棕榈坚果，自然界随处可见，一种叫可乐果，自然环境中

46、不常见。The chimpanzees behavior was monitored in three situations:(a) when only oil palm nuts were available,(b)when a small number of coula nuts were available，and(c) when coula nuts were the majority available resource. 人们监控黑猩猩在下列三种情形下的行为：(a)只有油棕榈坚果；（b)只有少量的可乐果，大多数是油棕榈坚果;(c)大多数是可乐果，少数是油棕榈坚果。When the

47、rare coula nuts were available only in small numbers, the chimpanzees transported more at one time. 当稀有的可乐果数量很少时，黑猩猩一次就会拿得多。Similarly, when coula nuts were the majority resource, the chimpanzees ignored the oil palm nuts altogether. 同样，当大部分是可乐果时，黑猩猩对油棕榈坚果根本视而不见。The chimpanzees regarded the coula nut

48、s as a more highly-prized resource and competed for them more intensely. 黑猩猩认为可乐果才是珍贵的资源，并为得到可乐果激烈竞争。In such high-competition settings，the frequency of cases in which the chimpanzees started moving on two legs increased by a factor of four. 处于这种激烈竞争的环境中，黑猩猩直立行走的频率增加了四倍。Not only was it obvious that b

49、ipedal movement allowed them to carry more of this precious resource, but also that they were actively trying to move as much as they could in one go by using everything available 一 even their mouths. 很显然，双足行走可以使它们拿走更多的稀有资源，而且，为了尽可能地一口气多拿，它们积极利用可用到的任何方法，甚至嘴巴。The second study, by Kimberley Hockings o

50、f Oxford Brookes University, was a 14-month study of Bossou chimpanzees crop-raiding, a situation in which they have to compete for rare and unpredictable Resources. 第二项研究是在牛津布鲁克斯大学的Kimberley Hockings进行的。该研究历时14个月，主题是博苏的黑猩猩抢劫粮食，场景是它们不得不为稀有和不可预知的资源竞争。Here, 35 percent of the chimpanzees activity involved some sort of bipedal movement, and once again, this behavior appeared to be linked to a clear attempt to carry as much as possible at one time. 在这项研究中，黑猩猩35%的活动是直立行走。而这一次研究再一次证实了黑猩猩的直立行走与它们试图一次搬走尽可能多的东西有关。