Unit6 阅读技能突破-真题展示
El Nino, a Spanish term for “the Christ child”, was named by South American fishermen who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nino sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects, both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Ninos, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nino in1997——98 helped America’s economy grow by $15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvests: farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural incomes in rich countries is greater than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought(干旱) in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997—98, killed around 21, 000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure(基础设施) can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers(下水道) make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr. Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
1. What can we learn about El Nino in paragraph 1
A. It is named after a South American fisherman.
B. It takes place almost every year all over the world.
C. It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.
D. It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.
2. What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected
A. Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.
B. Droughts become more harmful than floods.
C. Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.
D. Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.
3. The data provided by ODl in paragraph 4 suggest that ________
A. more investment should go to risk reduction
B. governments of poor countries need more aid
C. victims of El Nino deserve more compensation
D. recovery and reconstruction should come first
4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage
A. To introduce El Nino and its origin.
B. To explain the consequences of El Nino.
C. To show ways of fighting against El Nino.
D. To urge people to prepare for El Nino.
【语篇导读】本文介绍了厄尔尼诺现象带来的利弊，呼吁人们在厄尔尼诺现象来临之前采取一些防范措施，以降低风险。
1. D细节理解题。根据文章第一段最后一句El Nino sees warm water ... flow back eastwards... or sometimesthe other way round. 可知，厄尔尼诺现象发生时会看到水流方向的异常变化，故选D项。
2. C 细节理解题。根据文章第二段第二句 Rich countries gain more from powerful Ninos, on balance, than they lose.可知，受厄尔尼诺现象的影响，总体上富有国家的收获大于损失，故选C项。
3. A 推理判断题。根据第四段第三句... just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance...以及最后一句... a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.可知，ODI 认为过去二十年里用于提前降低风险的资金只有12%，花一美元用于降低风险，可以至少省去重建所需的两美元，因而此处强调要投入更多的资金用于降低风险，故选A项。
4. D推理判断题。本文主要介绍了厄尔尼诺现象带来的利弊，并呼吁人们采取措施提前防范，以降低风险，故选D项。
【微技能】根据主旨推断作者的写作目的 解答这类题需用略读法，即重点关注文章首尾段和各段的首尾句，找到主题句，抓住文章主旨，然后根据主旨来推断作者的写作目的。议论文、应用文、说明文等文体的主题句多在文首或文尾。 通过本文最后一句Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.(既然最贫穷的国家最不可能弥补与厄尔尼诺现象有关的灾难造成的损失，就要把减少他们的损失放在首要位置)可以看出，本文正是敦促我们要提前防范可能发生的厄尔尼诺现象。

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