雅思阅读句子填空题实例机经讲解
本站从今天和大家分享雅思阅读机经真题，是烤鸭在剑桥雅思之余的良好调剂品。烤鸭们可以先自己试着做一做，做完之后可以对下答案，再看看悉心讲解。本篇阅读的标题：The effects of light on plant and animal species
雅思阅读句子填空题实例机经讲解
The effects of light on plant and animal species
Light is important to organisms for two different reasons. Firstly it is used as a cue for the timing of daily and seasonal rhythms in both planes and animals, and secondly it is used to assist growth in plants.
Breeding in most organisms occurs during a part of the year only, and so a reliable cue is needed to trigger breeding behavior. Day length is an excellent cue, because it provides a perfectly predictable pattern of change within the year. In the temperate zone in spring, temperatures fluctuate greatly from day to day, but day length increases steadily by a predictable amount. The seasonal impact of day length on physiological responses is called photoperiodism, and the amount of experimental evidence for this phenomenon is considerable. For example, some species of birds’ breeding can be induced even in midwinter simply by increasing day length artificially (Wolfson 1964). Other examples of photoperiodism occur in plants. A short-day plant flowers when the day is less than a certain critical length. A long-day plant flowers after a certain critical day length is exceeded. In both cases the critical day length differs from species to species. Plants which flower after a period of vegetative growth, regardless of photoperiod, are known as day-neutral plants.
Breeding seasons in animals such as birds have evolved to occupy the part of the year in which offspring have the greatest chances of survival. Before the breeding season begins, food reserves must be built up to support the energy cost of reproduction, and to provide for young birds both when they are in the nest and after fledging. Thus many temperate-zone birds use the increasing day lengths in spring as a cue to begin the nesting cycle, because this is a point when adequate food resources will be assured.
The adaptive significance of photoperiodism in plants is also clear. Short-day plants that flower in spring in the temperate zone are adapted to maximising seedling growth during the growing season. Long-day plants are adapted for situations that require fertilization by insects, or a long period of seed ripening. Short-day plants that flower in the autumn in the temperate zone are able to build up food reserves over the growing season and over winter as seeds. Day-neutral plants have an evolutionary advantage when the connection between the favourable period for reproduction and day length is much less certain. For example, desert annuals germinate, flower and seed whenever suitable rainfall occurs, regardless of the day length.
The breeding season of some plants can be delayed to extraordinary lengths. Bamboos are perennial grasses that remain in a vegetative state for many years and then suddenly flower, fruit and die (Evans 1976). Every bamboo of the species Chusquea obietifolia on the island of Jamaica flowered, set seed and died during 1884. The next generation of bamboo flowered and died between 1916 and 1918, which suggests a vegetative cycle of about 31 years. The climatic trigger for this flowering cycle is not yet known, but the adaptive significance is dear. The simultaneous production of masses of bamboo seeds (in some cases lying 12 to 15centimetres deep on the ground) is more than all the seed-eating animals can cope with at the time, so chat some seeds escape being eaten and grow up to form the next generation (Evans 1976).
The second reason light is important to organisms is that it is essential for photosynthesjs. This is the process by which plants use energy from the sun to convert carbon from soil or water into organic material for growth. The rate of photosynthesis in a plant can be measured by calculating the rate of its uptake of carbon. There is a wide range of photosynthetic responses of plants to variations in light intensity. Some plants reach maximal photosynthesis at one-quarter full sunlight, and others, like sugarcane, never reach a maximum, but continue to increase photosynthesis rate as light intensity rises.
Plants in general can be divided into two groups: shade-tolerant species and shade-intolerant species. This classification is commonly used in forestry and horticulture. Shade-tolerant plants have lower photosynthetic rates and hence have lower growth rates than those of shade-intolerant species. Plant species become adapted to living in a certain kind of habitat, and in the process evolve a series of characteristics that prevent them from occupying other habitats. Grime (1966) suggests that light may be one of the major components direrting these adaptations. For example, eastern hemlock seedlings are shade-tolerant. They can survive in the forest understorey under very low light levels because they have a low photosynthetic rate.
Questions 34-40
Complete the sentences.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 34-40 on your answer sheet.
34Day length is a useful cue for breeding in areas where ..................... are unpredictable.
35Plants which do not respond to light levels arc referred to as ......................... .
36Birds in temperate climates associate longer days with nesting and the availability of .........................
37Plants that flower when days are long often depend help them
38Desert annuals respond a signal for reproduction.
39There is no limit to the photosynthetic rate in plants such as .............................. .
40 Tolerance to shade is one criterion for the horticulture …………………………… of plants in forestry and horticulture.
答案与解析：
长难句练习：
ding seasons in animals such as birds have evolved to occupy the part of the year in which offspring have the greatest chances of survival.
参考译文：例如鸟类等动物的繁殖期占据了一年中他们后代生存几率最大的时间。
知识点：句子主干Breeding seasons主语， have evolved to occupy 谓语，the part of the year宾语，in animals定语，in which引导限定性定语从句在句中做时间状语因为in which=when。Breeding seasons繁殖期，繁殖季节;evolve逐步进化;offspring后代
2. Long-day plants are adapted for situations that require fertilization by insects, or a long period of seed ripening.
参考译文：长日照植物会选择适宜昆虫受精或种子成熟周期较长的时期。
知识点：Long-day plants长日照植物，are adapted for适宜，fertilization by insects昆虫受精，seed ripening种子成熟 句子主干Long-day plants主语 ，are adapted for谓语被动态 ，situations宾语，that限定性引导定语从句修饰 situations。
simultaneous production of masses of bamboo seeds (in some cases lying 12 to 15 centimeters deep on the ground) is more than all the seedeating animals can cope with at the time, so that some seeds escape being eaten and grow up to form the next generation.
参考译文：大量的竹子同时孕育的种子产量(在一些例子中，种子在地下12-15厘米深)，超过了这一时期以种子为食的动物所能吃掉的数量，所以，一些种子就能存活下来，长成下一代。
知识点：主句主语是production，more than表语后加了一个对比关系的句子 all the seedeating animals can cope with at the time; so that引导结果状语从句。
雅思阅读材料大集合：六个坏习惯将毁掉你的睡眠
If you equate getting older with needing—or getting—less sleep, here’s a wake-up call: It's not true! “The majority of us require between seven and nine hours of shut-eye a night," says Robert Oexman, D.C., director of the Sleep to Live Institute. “And there’s little reason—whether you’re 55 or 80—not to get it.” Barring disease, medication and pain (all legitimate sleep interrupters), if patients complain of bad sleep, Dr. Oexman looks at their nighttime habits, where the problem almost always resides.
如果你认为人慢慢长大变老，需要或得到的睡眠更少，那我来提醒你吧，不是这样的!睡眠与生命研究所所长，脊骨神经科医师罗伯特·欧克斯曼说道：“大多数人每晚需要7-9小时的睡眠时间。无论你是55还是80岁，都应该做到这一点。”疾病、药物和疼痛除外(这些都可能会干扰睡眠)，如果病人抱怨睡不好觉，欧克斯曼医师会查看其晚间生活习惯来发现问题所在。
So, how are you sabotaging your z-z-z-z-z’s?
所以，你是怎样破坏自己的睡眠的呢?
Bad Habit #1: Watching TV until you fall asleep?
坏习惯一：看电视看到睡着
Why It Disrupts Sleep: It has nothing to do with what you watch—Downton Abbey isn’t a better pre-sleep choice than Dog the Bounty Hunter. Rather it’s the exposure to TV’s bright light that’s the culprit. Artificial bright light after dusk not only enhances alertness, but also delays the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone. So even if you nod off (in front of the TV, for example), you probably won’t stay asleep for long.
为什么会影响睡眠：这和你看什么节目没有任何关系，因为《唐顿庄园》并不是比《赏金猎人》更好的睡前节目。反而是暴露在电视强光下才是影响你睡眠的罪魁祸首。天黑后的人造强光不仅让人增加警惕性，而且会延迟体内睡眠荷尔蒙——褪黑素的生成。所以即使你打盹了(比如在电视机前)，你很可能也睡不了多久。
EZZZ Fix: An hour before bedtime, treat yourself like a baby: a warm bath, followed by a quiet activity in dim light—meditation, journal writing, reading. But no reading or writing on your computer before bed or in the middle of the night. (Almost half of the respondents in the AOL Email Addiction survey admitted to checking email during the night. If that’s you, keep technology out of the bedroom.)
解决方法：睡前一小时，让自己像婴儿一样：洗个热水澡，在暗淡的灯光下做些安静的事情-冥想，写日记，阅读。但是睡前或者半夜绝对不能在电脑上阅读或者写东西。(几乎一半参与美国在线电子邮件上瘾调查的人们承认晚间会查看电子邮件。如果你也是这样，那么记得把高科技关在卧室外面吧。)
Bad Habit #2: Sleeping with Fido
坏习惯二：抱狗狗睡觉
Why It Disrupts Sleep: While animal-lovers argue the emotional benefits of sharing a pillow with their pets, research shows that pets can contribute to less than sound sleep. How? “Pets have different circadian rhythms than humans," says Oexman. “They sleep most of the day, and they shift a lot when sleeping—they get comfortable, then they move. This goes on all night, and whether you admit it or not, it interrupts your ability to get the level of sleep needed to feel rested." (As for pet dander and allergies—sneezing and wheezing are not great sleep enhancers.)
为什么会影响睡眠：动物爱好者认为和宠物一起睡觉有情感上的益处，然而研究表明宠物实际上会影响睡眠。这是怎么回事呢?“宠物和人有着不同的生理节律，”欧克斯曼说，“他们每天大多数时候都会睡，睡觉的时候经常动-他们觉得舒服，然后就会动。整晚都会这样，而且无论你承认与否，你都会不知不觉被影响而达不到自己需要的睡眠程度。(至于宠物皮屑和各种过敏导致的打喷嚏和喘息都是会影响睡眠的因素。)
EZZZ Fix: For two weeks, put your pooch or cat in a crate outside your closed bedroom door. When your pet can sleep quietly in the crate, move the crate inside your room for another two weeks. When the crate training is complete, try letting the dog or cat sleep in his own bed near your bed. Discourage all attempts to jump on your bed and reward all successes for staying in his own bed. (Caveat: Plan on interrupted sleep for a few weeks.)
雅思阅读材料大集合：可以听懂你情绪的手机应用
Beyond Verbal Communications Ltd., a voice-recognition software developer here, is rolling out an app promising something Siri can't yet deliver: a readout on how you feel.
语音识别软件开发商Beyond Verbal Communications Ltd.即将推出一款应用软件，有望实现Siri尚且无法实现的一个功能：把你的情绪显示出来。
Called Moodies, it lets a smartphone user speak a few words into the phone's mike to produce, about 20 seconds later, an emotional analysis. Beyond Verbal executives say the app is mostly for self-diagnosis -- and a bit of fun: It pairs a cartoon face with each analysis, and users can share the face on social media.
借助于这款名为“Moodies”的应用，智能手机用户可以朝着手机的麦克风讲话，在大约20秒钟之后生成情绪分析。Beyond Verbal的管理人员说，该应用主要是用于自我诊断，也可以带来一些小小的乐趣：它给每一次分析配上一张卡通脸孔，用户可以把脸孔拿到社交媒体上去分享。
But the app is coming out as the company and other developers -- many clustered in Tel Aviv -- push increasingly sophisticated hardware and software they say can determine a person's emotional state through analysis of his or her voice.
在这款应用面世之际，Beyond Verbal和其他一些开发商――很多都扎堆特拉维夫――正在推出一些越来越尖端、据它们说可以通过分析语音确定一个人情绪状态的硬件和软件。
These companies say the tools can also detect fraud, screen airline passengers and help a call-center technician better deal with an irate customer. And they can be used to keep tabs on employees or screen job applicants. One developer, Tel Aviv-based Nemesysco Ltd., offers what it calls 'honesty maintenance' software aimed at human-resource executives. The firm says that by analyzing a job applicant's voice at an interview, the program can help identify fibs.
这些公司说，这些工具还可以侦测欺诈、检查飞机乘客、帮助呼叫中心技术人员更好地对付发飙的顾客。它们可以用来监视员工或筛选求职者。特拉维夫开发商Nemesysco Ltd.推出以人力资源经理为目标客户的“诚信维护”软件。该公司说，这套程序可以通过分析求职者在面试期间的说话声音来帮助辨别谎言。
That's raising alarm among many voice-analysis experts, who question the accuracy of such on-the-spot interpretations. It's also raising worries among privacy advocates, who say such technology -- especially if it is being rolled out in cheap, easy-to-use smartphone apps -- could be a fresh threat to privacy.
这引起了很多语音分析专家的警惕，他们对这类现场转译的准确性提出了质疑。也引起了很多隐私鼓吹者的忧虑，他们说，这类技术有可能成为一种新的隐私威胁，如果是以便宜好用的智能手机应用的形式推出，威胁就更为严重。
Depending on how the analysis is performed, used and shared, 'there could well be breaches of certain privacy laws,' says Gwendolen Morgan, an associate at Bindmans LLP, a London human-rights law firm.
伦敦人权律师事务所Bindmans LLP合伙人格温德琳?摩根(Gwendolen Morgan)说，这些分析“很有可能违反了某些隐私法规”，具体要看它们是怎样运行以及被使用和共享的。
The new wave of technology is based on so-called layered voice analysis, and it's related to the much broader, more established field of 'speech-to-text' sentiment analysis. Verint Systems Inc., Thomson Reuters PLC and Hewlett-Packard Co. and others have long used speech-to-text technology to record phone calls and break them down into so-called text-based sentiment intelligence by flagging the occurrence of keywords or types of words. Call centers use the data to teach employees to keep customers on the phone or monitor employees for training purposes.
这一波新的技术浪潮基于“深层语音分析”(layered voice analysis)，跟更广泛、更成熟的“语音转文字”(speech-to-text)情绪分析领域有关。Verint Systems Inc.、汤森路透(Thomson Reuters PLC)、惠普(Hewlett-Packard Co.)等公司曾长期使用语音转文字技术来记录通话，并把出现在其中的关键词或某些词语种类标注出来，从而将通话分解为“基于文本的情绪情报”。呼叫中心用这些数据教员工如何让客户保持通话，或为了培训的目的而监测员工。
The new speech-focused tools come as other companies are marketing body-language and facial-recognition sentiment-analysis tools -- including an app for Google Inc.'s Google Glass.
在这些新的语音分析工具面世之际，其他公司也在销售身体语言和面部识别类的情绪分析工具，比如一款针对谷歌公司(Google Inc.)“谷歌眼镜”(Google Glass)的应用。
