英語六級長篇閱讀模擬練習附答案解析

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　　Higher Grades Challenge College Application Process

　　A*** Josh Zalasky should be the kind of college applicant with little to worry about. The highschool senior is taking three Advanced Placement courses. Outside the classroom, he，s involved inmock trial, two Jewish youth groups and has a job with a restaurant chain. He，s a National Meritsemifinalist and scored in the top ? percent of all students who take the ACT.

　　B*** But in the increasingly frenzied world of college admissions, even Zalasky is nervous about hisprospects. He doubts he#ll get into the University of Wisconsin, a top choice. The reason: hisgrades. It$s not that they%re bad. It&s that so many of his classmates are so good. Zalasky’sGPA is nearly an A minus, and yet he ranks only about in the middle of his senior class of 543 atEdina High School outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. That means he will have to find other ways tostand out.

　　C*** “It’s extremely difficult,” he said. “I spent all summer writing my essay. We even hired aprivate tutor to make sure that essay was the best it can be. But even with that, it’s like I*m justkind of leveling the playing field.” Last year, he even considered transferring out of his highlycompetitive public school, to some place where his grades would look better.

　　D*** Some call the phenomenon that Zalasky’s fighting “grade inflation”—implying the boost isundeserved. Others say students are truly earning their better marks. Regardless, it’s a trendthat’s been building for years and may only be accelerating: many students are getting very goodgrades. So many, in fact, it is getting harder and harder for colleges to use grades as a measuringstick for applicants.

　　E*** Extra credit for AP courses, parental lobbying and genuine hard work by the mostcompetitive students have combined to shatter any semblance of a Bell curve, one in which A，sare reserved only for the very best. For example, of the 47,317 applications the University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles, received for this fall’s freshman class, nearly 23,000 had GPAs of 4.0 orabove.

　　F*** That’s also making it harder for the most selective colleges—who often call grades the singlemost important factor in admissions—to join in a growing movement to lessen the influence ofstandardized tests.

　　G*** “We，re seeing 30, 40 valedictorians at a high school because they don，t want to createthese distinctions between students,” said Jess Lord, dean of admission and financial aid atHaverford College in Pennsylvania. “ If we don’t have enough information, there’s a chance we’llbecome more heavily reliant on test scores, and that’s a real negative to me.”

　　H*** Standardized tests have endured a heap of bad publicity lately, with the SAT raising angerabout its expanded length and recent scoring problems. A number of schools have stopped requiringtest scores, to much fanfare.

　　I*** But lost in the developments is the fact that none of the most selective colleges havedropped the tests. In fact, a national survey shows overall reliance on test scores is higher inadmissions than it was a decade ago. “It’s the only thing we have to evaluate students that willhelp us tell how they compare to each other,” said Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.

　　J*** Grade inflation is hard to measure, and experts，caution numbers are often misleadingbecause standards and scales vary so widely. Different practices of “weighting” GPAs for AP workalso play havoc. Still, the trend seems to be showing itself in a variety of ways.

　　K*** The average high school GPA increased from 2.68 to 2.94 between 1990 and 2000,according to a federal study. Almost 23 percent of college freshmen in 2005 reported their averagegrade in high school was an A or better, according to a national survey by UCLA’s Higher EducationResearch Institute. In 1975, the percentage was about half that.

　　L*** GPAs reported by students on surveys when they take the SAT and ACT exams have alsorisen—and faster than their scores on those tests. That suggests their classroom grades aren’t risingjust because students are getting smarter. Not surprisingly, the test-owners say grade inflationshows why testing should be kept: it gives all students an equal chance to shine.

　　M*** The problems associated with grade inflation aren’t limited to elite college applicants. Morethan 70 percent of schools and districts analyzed by an education audit company calledSchoolMatch had average GPAs significantly higher than they should have been based on theirstandardized test scores—including the school systems in Chicago, Illinois, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,Denver, Colorado, San Bernardino, California, and Columbus, Ohio. That raises concerns aboutstudents graduating from those schools unprepared for college. “They get mixed in with studentsfrom more rigorous schools and they just get blown away,” said SchoolMatch CEO WilliamBainbridge.

　　N*** In Georgia, high school grades rose after the state began awarding HOPE scholarships tostudents with a 3.0 high school GPA. But the scholarship requires students to keep a 3.0 GPA incollege, too, and more than half who received the HOPE in the fall of 1998 and entered theUniversity of Georgia system lost eligibility before earning 30 credits. Next year, Georgia is taking arange of steps to tighten eligibility, including calculating GPA itself rather than relying on schools, andno longer giving extra GPA weight to vaguely labeled “honors” classes.

　　O*** Among those who work with students gunning for the more selective colleges, opinionsdiffer as to why there seem to be so many straight-A students. “I think there are more pressuresnow than there used to be, because 20 or 30 years ago kids with a B plus average got into some ofthe best colleges in the country,” said William Shain, dean of admissions and financial aid at BowdoinCollege in Maine. “It didn，t matter if you had a 3.9 instead of a 3.95. I don，t know if it mattersnow either, but people are more likely to think it does.”

　　P*** Lord, the Haverford dean, sees grade inflation as the outcome of an irrational fear amongstudents to show any slip up—in grades or discipline. In fact, colleges like his are often moreinterested in students who have overcome failure and challenge than robots who have never beenanything less than perfect. “There，s a protection and encouragement of self-esteem that I don’tagree with, but I think it’s a lot of what’s going on here,” he said. “And the college admissionsprocess feeds into that.”

　　Q*** Back in Minnesota, Edina may join a growing number of schools that no longer officially rankstudents—a move that could help students like Zalasky, who says he was told by Wisconsin his classrank makes him a longshot. “They feel they’re being left behind or not getting into the schools thatthey’re applying to because of a particular class rank,” says Edina counselor Bill Hicks. “And thereis some validity with respect to some certain schools that use certain formulas.”

　　R*** But the colleges most popular with Edina students already know how strong the school ’ median verbal and math SAT scores are 1170 out of 1600. Hicks isn’t willing to blamethe concentration grades at the top on spineless teachers, or on grade-grubbing by parents andstudents. Expectations are high, and grades are based on student mastery of the material, not acurve. Wherever teachers place the bar for an A, the students clear it.

　　S*** “Everyone here is like, ‘ if I can get a 98 why would I get a 93? said Lavanya Srinivasan, whowas ranked third in her Edina class last year. Far from being pushovers, she says, Edina teachers aretougher than those in a course she took at Harvard last summer. Zalasky agrees the students workhard for their high grades. “The mentality of this school is, if you’re not getting straight A，s you’renot doing well,” he said. “There’s just so much pressure on us day in and day out to get straight A’sthat everybody does.” Hicks compares the atmosphere at Edina to the World Series expectationsthat always surround the superstar lineup of the New York Yankees. “If they don’t win it,” he said, “then it’s failure.”

　　1. Nearly half of the applications that the University of California received this autumn had GPAsof 4.0 or above.

　　2. It，s also harder for the most selective colleges to lessen the effect of standardized tests.

　　3. More than 30 years ago, about 11.5 percent of college freshmen reported their averagegrade in high school was an A or better.

　　4. Because of the negative effects of standardized tests recently, a lot of universities have nolonger required test scores.

　　5. Some think Zalasky’s improvement unworthy, while others think his high grades win thepraise for him.

　　6. Because many of his classmates are so outstanding, Zalasky is nervous about his collegeapplication.

　　7. Some colleges would like to admit students who have conquered failure and challenge ratherthan those who have never been anything less than perfect.

　　8. In the next year, Georgia is taking a series of measures to tighten qualification, includingcalculating GPA itself and avoiding paying too much attention to vaguely labeled “honors” classes.

　　9. In Zalasky，s opinion, students are put under great pressure to work hard to get straightA"s, or they will be regarded as losers.

　　10. More and more schools no longer officially rank students by grade, which can help studentslike Zalasky.

　　內容概要

　　文章指出，目前美國大學在錄取新生時，仍然比較看重分數。在一些學校裡由 於獎學金政策的執行，學生的分數迅速攀升。考試的擁護者指出，考試有必要存在， 因為它給學生提供了展示自我的平臺，而這也無疑會給學生帶來巨大的壓力。

　　答案解析

　　1. E 本題的出題點在E段的最後一句話，屬於數字題。從原文可以看出，申請 者的人數為47,317，而獲得4.0或者4.0以上分數者的人數接近23,000，由此 可知比例接近50%。

　　2. F 本題是F段的總結。原文提到，對學生的選拔最為嚴格的學校也越來越難 以參與到降低標準考試的影響的活動中來，也就是說，這些學校很難降低 標準考試的影響。

　　3. K 本題的出題點在K段的最後兩句話，屬於數字題。More than 30 years ago可推測應該是上世紀七八十年代，對應原文的1975年;從原文可以看出，在 大一新生中，2005年在高中取得A或者更好成績的人數差不多是總人數的 !%%，而在1975年時此比例減半，大約為11.5%。

　　4. H 本題的出題點在H段。原文提到最近標準考試有一些負面影響，許多學校已經停止要求用考試分數來評判學生。題乾的negative effects轉述了原文 的bad publicity。

　　5. D 本題是對D段前兩句話的同義轉述。原文提到：有些人把Zalasky的努力這種現象稱為“分數膨脹”，暗示他的這種進步不值得接受，而其他人認為那 些學生真正贏得了好的評價，題幹中的win the praise for him同義轉述了原 文中的earning their better marks。

　　6. B 本題的出題點在B段的第一句和第五句。原文提到even Zalasky is nervous about his prospects。接著在第五句中提到了原因：It’s that so many of his classmates are so good.由此可知題目是這兩句的總結。

　　7. P 本題的出題點在P段的第二句話。題目中的Some colleges替換原文中的colleges like his;題目中的conquered和原文中的overcome屬於同義詞轉換; 原文中的are more interested in換成了另一種說法would like to admit;原文中 的robots是一種比喻的說法，比喻那些完美得像機器人一樣的學生。

　　8. N 本題的出題點在N段的最後一句話。題目中的In the next year替換原文中的Next year;題目中的a series of替換原文中的a range of;題目中的avoiding paying too much attention to替換原文中的no longer giving…weight to。

　　9. S 本題考查人物的觀點。S段後半部分指出，Zalasky表示，學校的想法是，如果你沒有得到全A的成績，你就沒有學得很好，學生們為了得到A都有很 大的壓力。文章最後提到，Hicks將Zalasky所在的學校和紐約洋基隊的情 況作了比較，“如果他們不能取勝，那麼他們就失敗了”，即對於學生來說 不能得到A就等於失敗。

　　10. Q本題出題點在Q段的第一句話。題目表達意思與原句表述一致，題目用非限定性定語從句解釋說明原文中破折號之後的內容;題目中的more and more schools和原文中的a growing number of schools屬於同義轉述。

　　以上長篇閱讀的模擬題解析十分詳細，希望考生練習完以後認真檢視答案，彌補自己的不足。

　　How Ozone Pollution Works

　　A*** The weather report on the radio or TV tells you that it is going to be sunny and hot and thatan orange ozone alert has been issued. What is ozone? What does an orange alert mean? Whyshould you be concerned about it? In this article, we will examine what ozone is, how it is produced,what health hazards it poses and what you can do to reduce ozone pollution.

　　B*** Ozone is a molecule of three oxygen atoms bound together ***O3***. It is unstable and highlyreactive. Ozone is used as a bleach, a deodorizing agent, and a sterilization agent for air anddrinking water. At low concentrations, it is toxic. Ozone is found naturally in small concentrations inthe stratosphere, a layer of Earth’s upper atmosphere. In this upper atmosphere, ozone is madewhen ultraviolet light from the sun splits an oxygen molecule ***O2***, forming two single oxygenatoms. If a freed atom collides with an oxygen molecule, it becomes ozone. Stratospheric ozonehas been called “good” ozone because it protects the Earth’s surface from dangerous ultravioletlight.

　　C*** Ozone can also be found in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere.Tropospheric ozone ***often termed “ bad ” ozone*** is man - made, a result of air pollution frominternal combustion engines and power plants. Automobile exhaust and industrial emissionsrelease a family of nitrogen oxide gases ***NOx*** and volatile organic compounds ***VOC***, by-products of burning gasoline and coal. NOx and VOC combine chemically with oxygen to formozone during sunny, high- temperature conditions of late spring, summer and early fall. High levelsof ozone are usually formed in the heat of the afternoon and early evening, dissipating during thecooler nights.

　　D*** Although ozone pollution is formed mainly in urban and suburban areas, it ends up in ruralareas as well, carried by prevailing winds or resulting from cars and trucks that travel into ruralareas. Significant levels of ozone pollution can be detected in rural areas as far as 250 milesdownwind from urban industrial zones.

　　E*** You can make ozone test strips to detect and monitor ozone levels in your own backyard oraround your school. You will need corn starch, filter paper ***coffee filters work well*** and potassiumiodide ***can be ordered from a science education supplier such as Carolina Biological Supply orFisher Scientific***. Basically, you make a paste from water, corn starch and potassium-iodide, andyou paint this paste on strips of filter paper. You then expose the strips to the air for eight hours.Ozone in the air will react with the potassium iodide to change the color of the strip. You will alsoneed to know the relative humidity, which you can get from a newspaper, weather broadcast orhome weather station.

　　F*** When you inhale ozone, it travels throughout your respiratory tract. Because ozone is verycorrosive, it damages the bronchioles and alveoli in your lungs, air sacs that are important for gasexchange. Repeated exposure to ozone can inflame lung tissues and cause respiratory infections.

　　G*** Ozone exposure can aggravate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, reduceyour lung function and capacity for exercise and cause chest pains and coughing. Young children,adults who are active outdoors and people with respiratory diseases are most susceptible to thehigh levels of ozone encountered during the summer. In addition to effects on humans, thecorrosive nature of ozone can damage plants and trees. High levels of ozone can destroyagricultural crops and forest vegetation.

　　H*** To protect yourself from ozone exposure, you should be aware of the Air Quality Index***AQI*** in your area every day—you can usually find it in the newspaper or on a morning weatherforecast on TV or radio. You should also be familiar with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency***EPA*** guide for ozone-alert values.

　　I*** What do the numbers in the AQI mean? The AQI measures concentrations of five airpollutants: ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. The EPAhas chosen these pollutants as criteria pollutants, but these are not all of the pollutants in the air.These concentrations are compared to a standard set out in federal law. An index value of 100means that all of the criteria pollutants are at the maximum level that is considered safe for themajority of the population. To reduce your exposure to ozone, you should avoid exercisingduring afternoon and early evening hours in the summer.

　　J*** There are several ways you can help to decrease ozone pollution. Limit using yourautomobile during afternoon and early evening hours in the late spring, summer and early fall. Donot use gasoline-powered lawn equipment during these times. Do not fuel your car during thesetimes. Do not light fires or outdoor grills during these times. Keep the engine of your car or boattuned. Make sure that your tires are properly inflated. Use environmentally safe paints, cleaning andoffice products ***some of these chemicals are sources of VOC***.

　　K*** Besides personal attempts to reduce ozone pollution, the EPA has initiated more stringentair-quality standards ***such as the Clean Air Act and its modifications*** to reduce air pollution.Compliance with these standards by industries, manufacturers and state and local governments hassignificantly reduced the levels of many common air pollutants.

　　L*** With continued conservation and reduction practices, adherence to ozone-pollutionwarnings, research and government regulation, ozone-pollution levels should

　　continue to fall. Perhaps future generations will not be threatened by this environmentalpollutant.

　　M*** The thing that determines whether ozone is good or bad is its location. Ozone is‘‘good，，when it is in the stratosphere. The stratosphere is a layer of the atmosphere startingat the level of about 6 miles ***about 10 kilometers*** above sea level. The stratosphere naturallycontains about six parts per million of ozone, and this ozone is very beneficial because it absorbsUV radiation and prevents it from reaching us.

　　N*** Ozone is “bad” when it is at ground level. Ozone is a very reactive gas that is hard on lungtissue. It also damages plants and buildings. Any ozone at ground level is a problem. Unfortunately,chemicals in car exhaust and chemicals produced by some industries react with light to producelots of ozone at ground level. In cities, the ozone level can rise to a point where it becomeshazardous to our health. That’s when you hear about an ozone warning on the news.

　　1. When ultraviolet rays from the sun separate an oxygen molecule into two single oxygenatoms in the stratosphere, the combination of a single oxygen atom and an oxygen moleculeforms ozone.

　　2. You can make ozone test strips by yourself to find out about ozone levels in your own locale.

　　3. Long-time exposure to ozone is badly harmful to our respiratory system.

　　4. Chemicals in industrial waste gas and vehicle exhaust react with light to form lots of ozoneat ground level.

　　5. Internal combustion engines and power plants cause the artificial tropospheric ozone, alsoknown as “bad” ozone.

　　6. Ozone is very helpful because it absorbs UV radiation and separates us from it.

　　7. Using gasoline-powered lawn equipment in the late spring, summer and early fall mayincrease ozone pollution.

　　8. Ozone pollution occurs in urban and suburban areas as well as in rural areas.

　　9. In order to decrease ozone pollution, the EPA has set up more rigorous air-qualitystandards.

　　10. Pay close attention to the Air Quality Index in your area every day can keep you away fromozone exposure.

　　內容概要

　　文章主要介紹了什麼是臭氧，臭氧汙染的形成、危害，以及臭氧有利的一 面。文章還具體介紹瞭如何自己手工製作檢測儀;如何避免暴露在臭氧之下;如 何預防和減少臭氧汙染等。

　　答案解析

　　1. B 本題答案的資訊來自B段的倒數第二、三句話。原文中提到太陽紫外線將 氧分子分成了兩個單獨的氧原子，氧原子與氧分子再結合就生成了臭氧。 題幹正好表達了這個意思。ultraviolet rays即是原文中的ultravioletlight。

　　2. E 本題答案的資訊來自E段第一句話。題目中的find out about意為“弄清有關 的情況”，和原文中的detect and monitor含義相對應;題目中的inyour own locale和原文中的in your own backyard相對應。

　　3. F 本題答案的資訊來自F段。F段提到人吸入臭氧後，它可以貫穿你的呼吸系統。接著提到它可能損害細支氣管、肺部等呼吸系統的部位，故可知長期 暴露在臭氧下有損呼吸系統。

　　4. N 本題答案的資訊來自N段第五句話，題幹是對本句的同義轉述。

　　5. C 本題答案的資訊來自C段的第二句話。原句中先說“果”後說“因”，題目將

　　“因”提前，然後說“果”;原文中的man-made與題幹中的artificial相對應; 原文中的termed與題幹中的known as相對應。

　　6. M 本題答案的資訊來自M段第二句和最後一句話。原文中第二句話首先提到

　　Ozone is “good” when it is in the stratosphere.，在最後一句中提到臭氧為什 麼有益;原文中的beneficial與題幹中的helpfUl相對應;題目中的separates from對應原文中的prevents from。

　　7. J 本題答案的資訊來自J段第一、二、三句話。原文中J段的首句提到有幾種可以降低臭氧汙染的方法，接下來提到的一種方法是Do not use gasoline- powered lawn equipment during these times.由此推測Using gasoline-powered lawn equipment會導致臭氧汙染增加;而由第二句話可推測出原文中的 duringthese times指的是in the late spring, summer and early fall。

　　8. D 本題答案的資訊來自D段第一句話。原文提到臭氧汙染主要在城市和城市郊區出現，但因為風和汽車、卡車運輸的作用，農村也會發生臭氧汙染， 題幹是對此的歸納。

　　9. K 本題答案的資訊來自K段第一句話。原文中的initiated和題目中的set up屬於同義轉換;原文中的stringent替換為了rigorous;原文中的reduce ozone pollution替換為了decrease ozone pollution。

　　10. H本題答案的資訊來自H段第一句話。題目中的keep you away from對應原文的protect yourselffrom;題目中的Pay close attention to 對應原文的should be aware of。