剑桥雅思8阅读：Test2雅思阅读PASSAGE 3真题+答案+解析

       HOW DOESTHE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK TICK?

　　A Our life span is restricted. Everyone accepts this as "biologically' obvious.

　　"Nothing lives for everl' However, in this statement we think of atificlally

　　produced, technical objects, products which are subjected to natural wear andtear during use. This leads to the result that at some time or other the objectstops working and is unusable ('death' in the biological sense), But are thewear and tear and loss o function of technical objects and the death of livingorganisms really similar or comparable?

　　B Our 'dead' products are 'static', ciosed systems. It is always the basic materialwhich constitutes the object and which, in the natural course of things, is worndown and becomes 'older'. Ageing in this case must occur according to the lawsof physical chemistry and of thermodynamics. Although the same law holds

　　for a living organism, the result of this law is not inexorable in the same way.At least as long as a biological system has the ability to renew itell it could

　　actually become older without ageing; an organism is an open, dynamic systemthrough which new material continuously flows. Destruction of old material

　　and formation of new material are thus in pemanent dynamic equilbrium.The material of which the organism is formed changes continuously. Thusour bodies continuously exchange old substance for new, just like a springwhich more or less maintains its form and movement, but in which the watermolecules are always dfferent.

　　C Thus ageing and death should not be seen as inevitable, particularly as

　　the organism possesses many mechanisms for repair. It is not, in principle,necessary for a biological system to age and die. Nevertheless, a restricted lifespan, ageing, and then death are basic characteristics of life. The reason forthis is easy to recognise: in nature, the existent organisms either adapt or areregularly replaced by new types. Because ol changes in the genetic material(mutations) these have new characteristics and in the course of their individuallives they are tested for optimal or better adaptation to the environmental

　　conditions. Immortality would disturb this system - it needs room for new andbetter life. This is the basic problem of evolution.

　　D Every organism has a life span which is highly characteristic. There are strikingdifferences in life span between dfferent species, but within one species theparameter is relatively constant. For example, the average duration of humanlife has hardly changed in thousands of years. Although more and more peopleattain an advanced age as a result of developments in medical care and betternutrition, the characteristic upper limit for most remains 80 years. A further

　　argument against the simple wear and tear theory is the observation that thetime within which organisms age lies between a few days (even a few hours forunicellular organisms) and several thousand years, as with mammoth trees.

　　E Ifa life span is a genetically determined biological characteristic, it is logicallynecessary to propose the existence of an internal clock, which in some waymeasures and controls the ageing process and which finally determines deathas the last step in a fixed programme. Like the life span, the metabolic rate hasfor dfferent organisms a fixed mathematical relationship to the body mass. Incomparison to the life span this relationship is 'inverted'; the larger the organismthe lower its metabolic rate. Again this relationship is valid not only for birds,

　　but also, similarly on average within the systematic unit, for all other organisms(plants, animals, unicellar organisms).

　　F Animals which behave 'rugallyl with energy become particularly old, for

　　example, crocodiles and tortoises. Parrots and birds of prey are often held

　　chained up. Thus they are not able to 'experience life' and so they attain a highlife span in captivity. Animals which save energy by hibernation or lethargy

　　(e.g. bats or hedgehogs) live much longer than those which are always active.The metabolic rate of mice can be reduced by a very low consumption of food(hunger diet). They then may live twice as long as their well fed comrades.Women become distinctly (about 10 per cen) older than men. If you examinethe metabolic rates of the two sexes you establish that the higher male

　　metabolic rate roughly accounts for the lower male life span. That means thatthey live life 'energeticall' - more intensively, but not for as long.

　　G It follows from the above that sparing use of energy reserves should

　　tend to extend life. Extreme high performance sports may lead to optimal

　　cardiovascular performance, but they quite certainly do not prolong life.

　　Relaxation lowers metabolic rate, as does adequate sleep and in general anequable and balanced personality. Each of us can develop his or her own

　　'energy saving programme' with a lit selt-observation, critical self-control and,above all, logical consistency. Experience will show that to live in this way notonly increases the life span but is also very healthy. This final aspect should notbe forgotten.

气味的涵义和力量

　　嗅觉的作用是强大的。气味从生理、心理和社会层面上对我们都有影响。然而,在极大程度 上,我们在环绕四周的香味中呼吸不会意识到它们对于我们的重要性。只有当嗅觉能力由于一 些原因而被损害时,我们才会开始认识到嗅觉对于我们身体健康的必要性。

　　A 蒙特利尔康卡迪亚大学的安东尼· 西诺特进行的调查询问了受访者是如何评价气味对其生 活的重要性。显而易见,气味可以引起强烈的情感反应。与美好的经历相关联的气味可以 带来大量的愉悦感,而刺鼻或与不好回忆相关的的气味可能会让我们产生厌恶的表情。接 受调查的受访者提到他们嗅觉的喜好基于情感联想。这样的联想可以有足够强大的力 量让我们把通常不喜欢的气味归类为宜人的气味,把通常认为是芳香的气味变为令特定人 群不悦的气味。因此,对气味的感知不仅包括对气味本身的感知,还包括与之相关的经历和情感。

　　B 气味也是社会关系重要的标志。一位受访者认为不触碰、不闻心爱之人,就没有实质性的情 感关系。实际上,婴儿出生后不久是通过气味来辨别母亲,成人也经常能通过气味来辨认出 孩子或配偶。在一项的测试中,人们可以单凭配偶所穿衣服的气味从其他身穿类似衣 服的人中认出对方。在参与此测试之前,绝大多数参与者可能从来没想过可以通过气味来 辨别家庭成员。而且实验显示,就算没有下意识这样想,气味也会显现出来。

　　C 虽然气味对我们的感知、情感生活很重要,但是在文化中嗅觉是最被低估的感官。一般 来说,气味不受重视的原因是,与气味对于动物的重要性相比,人类的嗅觉是微弱的、不发达 的。虽然人类的嗅觉能力不如一些动物灵敏的说法也是正确的,但是也还是敏锐的。 我们的鼻子可以辨认出数千种气味,也可以嗅出目前数量仍十分稀少的气味。

　　D 然而,气味是一种特别难以理解的现象。例如,与颜色不同,语言不能给气味命名,因为 具体的词汇就不存在。在描述一种气味时,我们不得不说“闻起来像......”以此来勉强表达 我们嗅觉的感受。气味也不能被记录下来,因为随着时间的推移,也没有有效的办法来捕捉 或是储存。在嗅觉方面,我们必须凑合着使用描述和回忆。这对嗅觉的研究有潜在的影响。

　　E 目前,绝大多数气味的研究都是关于其科学的物理属性。虽然在了解气味的生物、化学属性 上取得了重大进展,但是基本的问题仍亟待解决。研究学者仍要断定嗅觉是一种感官 还是两种:一种是应对气味本身,另一种是指示空气中无味的化学品。其他未解答的问题是 鼻子是否是身体受气味影响的器官;考虑到非物理成分,如何客观地对气味进行测量。 这些问题意味着研究者对于气味产生心理影响的兴趣会不可避免地在研究中占有越来越重 要的地位。

　　F 然而,气味并不是简单的生物、心理现象。气味具有文化性,因此,也是一种社会、历史现象。气味赋有文化价值,在某些令人不快的气味也许在其他是完全可以被接受的。所 以,我们的嗅觉是一种与世界沟通交流的方法、模式。不同的气味可以给我们带来私人的、 充满情感的经历,而社会成员以深刻的个人方式将与这些经历相关的价值深入人心。重要 的是,我们对于气味的普遍感觉可以将我们与别国区分开来。因此,对于气味的文化历史研 究从真正意义上来说是对人类文化精华的研究。

　   剑桥雅思8阅读解析：

　　文章结构

　　体裁：说明文

　　主要内容：气味对于人类的影响。

　　结构：

　　A 段 :气味会引起人类情绪的变化。

　　B 段 :气味在人际关系中的作用。

　　C 段 :气味的作用和影响往往被人们忽视。

　　D 段 :有时候很难准确描述气味。

　　E 段 :关于气味的未来研究趋势。

　　F 段 :气味划分人群,具备文化研究价值。

　　师资点题剑桥雅思8阅读：

　　考题解析 Questions 27-32

　　● 题型归类 :List of Headings 可先找出段落中的主题句,再找出其句子中的关键词(多为句子的主干),与句中关键词意思 相同的选项即为正确答案。但应注意同义替换,如果选项中与文章中使用完全相同的词,则多 为混淆选项。

　　题目解析

　　题目编号 题目选项句意 段落主题句 题解

　　27 viii 气味与感觉 之间的关系 第2句 答案 viii 本段先是提到了一项关于气味 的 研 究, 接 着 说 smell can evoke strong emotional response, 点明了本段的主题。原 文中的 evoke strong emotional responses 对 应选项 viii 中的 feelings。

　　28 ii 气味在人际 关系间扮演的 角色 第1句 答案 ii 本段第 1 句综述气味和社交的关系, 第 2 句中的 loved one, 第 3 句中的 infants 和 mothers,第 4 句中的 women and men, 最后一句中的 family members 则都是选项 ii 中 personal relationships 的具体表现形式。

　　29 vi 为什么我们 的嗅觉被低估 第1句 答案 vi 原文中的 the most undervalued sense 对应选项 vi 中的 not appreciated。

　　30 i 讨论气味这一 话题的困难所 在 第1句 答案 i 原文中的 elusive phenomenon 对 应 选 项 i 中 的 difficulties of talking about smells。本段第 2 句中 cannot be named in many languages 则用具体例子做了解释说 明。

　　31 iii 未来对于气 味的研究 第2句 答案 iii 由本句中的强转折词 but 可知其后 为作者的主要目的或观点。之后的句子中则 详细举例说明关于气味研究中仍有待解决的 各项问题,选项 iii 提出的 future studies 是 其抽象概括。

　　32 v 在定义群体 时,气味因素 作如何解释 最后一句 答案 v 本段第 2 句提出气味具备文化意义, 其后的句子中则详细加以分析,最后提出得 出结论,气味可区分不同文化族群。选项 v 是本段内容的整体概括。

　　师资点题剑桥雅思8阅读：

　　考题解析

　　Questions 33-36

　　题型归类 :Multiple Choice

　　题目解析

　　题目编号 题目定位词 答案位置 题解

　　33 introduction, aware of, importance 引言最后 1 句 答案 C 题目问我们什么时候发现气味的重要 性,引言最后一句说“只有嗅觉失灵时,我们 才感觉到它的重要性”,从而可得出答案。题干 中的 aware of 对应本句中的 realise,题目中的 importance 对应本句中的 essential role,文章中 的 is impaired 对应选项 C 中 damaged。

　　34 paragraph B, experiment B段最后1 行 答案 A 通过题目中 experiment 定位至文章 B 段第 5 行 test。本题考查实验所证明的理论, 应着重寻找其结论。由本段倒数第 2 行 the experiment revealed 可知,其后句子为实验结论。 原文中的 not consciously considered 对应选项 A 中 without realizing it。

　　35 paragraph C C段 答案C 由选项可知,本题求证作者的写作目的。 由本段第 3 句 while 可知,作者采用驳论法。另 外,本题也可通过排除法选出正确答案。

　　36 paragraph E, atmosphere E 段第 3 句 答案 D 通过题目中的 atmosphere 定位至 E 段第 3 句最后的 in the air。由本句的主句 researchers have still to decide 可知 D 选项 smell is yet to be defined 为正确答案。

　　剑桥雅思8阅读答案：

　　考题解析

　　Questions 37-40

　　● 题型归类 :Sentence Completion

　　题目解析

　　题目编号 题目定位词 答案位置 题解

　　37 tests, husbands and wives B 段第 5 行 题目中的 husbands and wives 对应 B 段第 6 行 的 marriage partners。 题 目 中 的 belong to 与文章中的 worn by 逻辑关系一致,它 们所修饰的词即是答案,所以本题答案为 clothing。

　　38 linguistic groups, difficulty, lack D 段第 2 行 题目中的 linguistic 对应 D 段第 2 行的 languages,题目中的 lack 对应 D 段第 3 行 的 doesn’t exist。本题答案为 vocabulary。

　　39 response to, E 段第 5 行 题 目 中 which do not smell 对 应 E 段 第 5 行的 odourless, 二者在语法功能上也一致, 都是用来修饰名词。所以 odourless 修饰的 chemicals 即为本题的答案。

　　do not smell, obvious odours

　　40 unpleasant, not regarded as unpleasant in others F 段第 3 行 可通过题目中的逻辑关系 in certain...not ...in others 帮助定位。通过原文 smells that are considered to be offensive in some cultures may be perfectly acceptable in others 可以确定本题的答案为 cultures。题 目中的 unpleasant 对应原文中的 offensive。