第4部分：閱讀理解(第31-45題，每題3分，共45分)

下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道題。請根據短文內容，為每題確定1個最佳選項。

第一篇 Forecasting Methods

There are several different methods that can be used to create a forecast. The method a forecaster chooses depends upon the experience of the forecaster, the amount of information available to the forecaster, the level of difficulty that the forecast situation presents, and the degree of accuracy or confidence needed in the forecast.

The first of these methods is the persistence method; the simplest way of producing a forecast. The persistence method assumes that the conditions at the time of the forecast will not change. For example, if it is sunny and 87 degrees today, the persistence method predicts that it will be sunny and 87 degrees tomorrow. If two inches of rain fell today, the persistence method would predict two inches of rain for tomorrow. However, if weather conditions change significantly from day to day, the persistence method usually breaks down and is not the best forecasting method to use.

The trends method involves determining the speed and direction of movement for fronts, high and low pressure centers, and areas of clouds and precipitation(降水量). Using this information, the forecaster can predict where he or she expects those features to be at some future time. For example, if a storm system is 1,000 miles west of your location and moving to the east at 250 miles per day, using the trends method you would predict it to arrive in your area in 4 days. The trends method works well when systems continue to move at the same speed in the same direction for a long period of time. If they slow down, speed up, change intensity, or change direction, the trends forecast will probably not work as well.

The climatology(氣候學) method is another simple way of producing a forecast. This method involves averaging weather statistics accumulated over many years to make the forecast. For example, if you were using the climatology method to predict the weather for New York City on July 4th, you would go through all the weather data that has been recorded for every July 4th and take an average. The climatology method only works well when the weather pattern is similar to that expected for the chosen time of year. If the pattern is quite unusual for the given time of year, the climatology method will often fail.

The analog method is a slightly more complicated method of producing a forecast. It involves examining today's forecast scenario(模式) and remembering a day in the past when the weather scenario looked very similar (an analog). The forecaster would predict that the weather in this forecast will behave the same as it did in the past. The analog method is difficult to use because it is virtually impossible to find a predict analog. Various weather features rarely align themselves in the same locations as they were in the previous time. Even small differences between the current time and the analog can lead to very different results.

31. Which of the following factors is NOT mentioned in choosing a forecasting method?

A. Necessary amount of information.

B. Degree of difficulty involved in forecasting.

C. Practical knowledge of the forecaster.

D. Creativity of the forecaster.

32. The persistence method fails to work well when

A. it is rainy.

B. it is sunny.

C. weather conditions stay stable.

D. weather conditions change greatly.

33. The trends method works well when

A. weather features are constant for a long period of time.

B. weather features are defined well enough.

C. predictions on precipitation are accurate.

D. the speed and direction of movement are predicable.

34. The analog method should not be used in making a weather forecast when

A. the analog looks complicated.

B. the current weather scenario is different from the analog.

C. the analog is more than 10 years old.

D. the current weather scenario is exactly the same as the analog.

35. Historical weather data are necessary in

A. the persistence method and the trends method.

B. the trends method and the climatology method.

C. the climatology method and the analog method.

D. The persistence method and the analog method.

參考答案：DDABC

第二篇 Students Learn Better With Touchscreen Desks

Observe the criticisms of nearly any major public education system in the world, and a few of the many complaints are more or less universal. Technology moves faster than the education system. Teachers must teach at the pace of the slowest student rather than the fastest. And — particularly in the United States — school children as a group don’t care much for, or excel(擅長)at, mathematics. So it’s heartening to learn that a new kind of “classroom of the future” shows promise at mitigating some of these problems, starting with that fundamental piece of classroom furniture: the desk.

AUK study involving roughly 400 students, mostly aged 8-10 years, and a new generation of multi-touch, multi-user, computerized desktop surfaces is showing that over the last three years the technology has appreciably boosted students’ math skills compared to peers learning the same material via the conventional paper-and-pencil method. How? Through collaboration, mostly, as well as by giving teachers better tools by which to micromanage individual students who need some extra instruction while allowing the rest of the class to continue moving forward.

Traditional instruction still shows respectable efficacy (效力) at increasing students fluency in mathematics, essentially through memorization and practice — dull, repetitive practice. But the researchers have concluded that these new touchscreen desks boost both fluency and flexibility — the critical thinking skills that allow students to solve complex problems not simply through knowing formulas and devices, but by being able to figure out what the real problem is and the most effective means of stripping it down and solving it.

One reason for this, the researchers say, is the multi-touch aspect of the technology. Students working in the next-gen classroom can work together at the same tabletop, each of them contributing and engaging with the problem as part of a group. Known as SynergyNet, the software uses computer vision systems that see in the infrared (紅外線的) spectrum to distinguish between different touches on different parts of the surface, allowing students to access and use tools on the screen, move objects and visual aids around on their desktops, and otherwise physically interact with the numbers and information on their screens. By using these screens collaboratively, the researchers say, the students are to some extent teaching themselves as those with a stronger grasp on difficult concepts pull other students forward along with them.

36. Which of the following statements is NOT true of the public education system?

A. It does not catch up with the development of technology.

B. Teachers pay more attention to fast learners than slow learners.

C. Some similar complaints about it are heard in different countries.

D. Many students are not good at learning mathematics.

37. What has been found after the new tech is employed?

A. Teachers are able to give individualized attention to students in need.

B. Students become less active in learning mathematics.

C. Students show preference to the conventional paper-and-pencil method.

D. The gap between slow learners and fast learners get more noticeable.

38. What is the benefit students get from the new tech?

A. It makes them more fluent in public speech.

B. It offers them more flexibility in choosing courses.

C. It is effective in helping them solve physical problems.

D. It enables them to develop critical thinking ability.

39. What happens when students are using the desktop of the new tech?

A. Every student has an individual tabletop.

B. Students use different tools to interact with each other.

C. The multi-touch function stimulates students.

D. The software installed automatically identifies different users.

40. How does the new tech work to improve students’mathematical learning?

A. It helps fast learners to learn faster.

B. It makes teachers’ instruction unnecessary.

C. It enables them to work together.

D. It allows the whole class to learn at the same pace.

參考答案：BADCC

第三篇 On the Trail of the Honey Badgers

On a recent field trip to the Kalahari Desert, a team of researchers learnt a lot more about honey badgers (獾). The team employed a local wildlife expert, Kitso Khama, to help them locate and follow the badgers across the desert. Their main aim was to study the badgers’ movements and behaviour as discreetly (謹慎地) as possible, without frightening them away or causing them to change their natural behaviour. They also planned to trap a few and study them close up before releasing them. In view of the animal’s reputation, this was something that even Khama was reluctant to do.

“The problem with honey badgers is they are naturally curious animals, especially when they see something new,” he says. “that, combined with their unpredictable nature, can be a dangerous mixture. If they sense you have food, for example, they won’t be shy about coming right up to you for something to eat. They’re actually quite sociable creatures around humans, but as soon as they feel they might be in danger, they can become extremely vicious (兇惡的). Fortunately this is rare, but it does happen.”

The research confirmed many things that were already known. As expected, honey badgers ate any creatures they could catch and kill. Even poisonous snakes, feared and avoided by most other animals, were not safe from them. The researchers were surprised, however, by the animal’s fondness for local melons, probably because of their high water content. Previously researchers thought that the animal got all of its liquid requirements from its prey (獵物). The team also learnt that, contrary to previous research findings, the badgers occasionally formed loose family groups. They were also able to confirm certain results from previous research, including the fat that female badgers never socialized with each other.

Following some of the male badgers was a challenge, since they can cover large distances in a short space of time. Some hunting territories cover more than 500 square kilometers. Although they seem happy to share these territories with other males, there are occasional fights over an important food source, and male badgers can be as aggressive towards each other as they are towards other species.

As the badgers became accustomed to the presence of people, it gave the team the chance to get up close to them without being the subject of the animal’s curiosity —or their sudden aggression. The badgers’ eating patterns, which had been disrupted, returned to normal. It also allowed the team to observe more closely some of the other creatures that form working associations with the honey badger, as these seems to adopt the badgers’ relaxed attitude when near humans.

41. Why did the wildlife experts visit the Kalahari Desert?

A. To find where honey badgers live.

B. To observe how honey badgers behave.

C. To catch some honey badgers for food.

D. To find out why honey badgers have a bad reputation.

42. What does Kitso Khama say about honey badgers?

A. They show interest in things they are not familiar with.

B. They are always looking for food.

C. They do not enjoy human company.

D. It is common for them to attack people.

43. What did the team find out about honey badgers?

A. There were some creatures they did not eat.

B. They were afraid of poisonous creatures.

C. They may get some of the water they needed from fruit.

D. Female badgers did not mix with male badgers.

44. Which of the following is a typical feature of male badgers?

A. They don’t run very quickly.

B. They hunt over a very large area.

C. They defend their territory from other badgers.

D. They are more aggressive than females

45. What happened when honey badgers got used to humans around them?

A. They became less aggressive towards other creatures.

B. They started eating more.

C. Other animals started working with them.

D. They lost interest in people.

參考答案：BACBD

（責任編輯：vstara）

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