1.If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars,we would go in darkness happily,the midnight world as visible to us as it is to the vast number of nocturnal(夜間活動的)species on this planet.Instead,we are diurnal creatures,with eyes adapted to living in the sun's light.This is a basic evolutionary fact,even though most of us don't think of ourselves as diurnal beings.Yet it's the only way to explain what we've done to the night:We've engineered it to receive us by filling it with light.
The benefits of this kind of engineering come with consequences---called light pollution---whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study.Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design,which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into sky.Ill-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and completely changes the light levels---and light rhythms---to which many forms of life,including ourselves,have adapted.Wherever human light spills into the natural world,some aspect of life is affected.
In most cities the sky looks as though it has been emptied of stars,leaving behind a vacant haze(霾) that mirrors our fear of the dark.We've grown so used to this orange haze that the original glory of an unlit night---dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadows on Earth---is wholly beyond our experience,beyond memory almost.
We've lit up the night as if it were an unoccupied country,when nothing could be further from the truth.Among mammals alone,the number of nocturnal species is astonishing.Light is a powerful biological force,and on many species it acts as a magnet(磁鐵).The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being"captured"by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms.Migrating at night,birds tend to collide with brightly lit tall buildings.
Frogs living near brightly lit highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times brighter than normal,throwing nearly every aspect of their behavior out of joint,including their nighttime breeding choruses.Humans are no less trapped by light pollution than the frogs.Like most other creatures,we do need darkness.Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare,to our internal clockwork,as light itself.
Living in a glare of our own making,we have cut ourselves off from our evolutionary and cultural heritage---the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night.In a very real sense,light pollution causes us to lose sight of our true place in the universe,to forget the scale of our being,which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way---the edge of our galaxy---arching overhead.
50.According to the passage,human beingsB.
A.prefer to live in the darkness
B.a(chǎn)re used to living in the day light
C.were curious about the midnight world
D.had to stay at home with the light of the moon
51.What does"it"(Paragraph 1)most probably refer to?A
A.The night B.The moon C.The sky D.The planet
52.The writer mentions birds and frogs toB.
A.provide examples of animal protection
B.show how light pollution affects animals
C.compare the living habits of other species
D.explain why the number of certain species has declined
53.It is implied in the last paragraph thatD.
A.light pollution does harm to the eyesight of animals
B.light pollution has destroyed some of the world heritages
C.human beings cannot go to the outer space
D.human beings should reflect on their position in the universe.C.
54.What might be the best title for the passage?
A.The Magic Light B.The Orange Haze
C.The Disappearing Night D.The Rhythms of Nature.
分析 如果人類正常的生活在月光和星光下,我們將會快樂地走到黑暗中.我們可見的午夜世界,是在這個星球上的大量夜間活動的物種.相反,我們是日行動物,眼睛適應(yīng)了太陽的光線.這是一個進化的基本事實,盡管我們大多數(shù)人不認為自己是日間活動的生物,但這是唯一的方法去解釋我們對于夜晚做了什么:我們設(shè)計了光,讓光充滿星空.
這種工程的益處帶來的是所謂的光污染---科學(xué)家只是現(xiàn)在才開始研究它的影響.光污染很大程度上是設(shè)計光線的結(jié)果,它允許人造的光照向天空.設(shè)計不充分的燈光會洗刷夜晚的黑暗,徹底改變光的水平---和光的節(jié)奏---包括我們自己在內(nèi)的許多生命形式都已經(jīng)適應(yīng)了,只要人造的光照到自然界,生活的某些方面就會受到影響.
在大多數(shù)的城市,天空好像被掏空了星星,只留下一個空的陰霾,反射了我們對黑暗的恐懼.我們已經(jīng)如此的習(xí)慣了這種橙色霾以致于一個黑夜原本的壯觀---黑暗足以讓金星在地球上投下陰影--已經(jīng)完全超越我們的感受,幾乎超出了我們的記憶.
當(dāng)什么也不可能是事實的時候,我們已經(jīng)點亮了夜晚,好像它是一個沒被占領(lǐng)的國家.僅哺乳動物中,夜行動物的數(shù)量都是驚人的.光是一個強大的生物力,并在許多物種中擔(dān)當(dāng)著一塊磁鐵的角色.影響是如此的強大,以致于科學(xué)家說到鳴禽和海鳥被"捕獲"都是通過在陸地上的探照燈或是在海上石油平臺的輕氣彈的光.夜間遷徙的時候,鳥往往撞向明亮的高層建筑.
生活在燈火通明的公路附近的青蛙遭受的夜間光照水平比正常情況下要高一百萬倍,在幾乎每個方面它們的行為都發(fā)生混亂,包括夜間育種.人類所受到的光污染并不比青蛙少.像其他大多數(shù)的生物一樣,我們也需要黑暗,黑暗和光本身一樣是我們必不可少的生物福利,是我們內(nèi)部的發(fā)條.
生活在一個我們自己制造的強光里,我們已經(jīng)遠離了進化和文化遺產(chǎn)---星星及晝夜節(jié)律的光.在一個非常真實的意義上,光污染使我們在宇宙中失去真我,忘記了我們權(quán)衡與銀河系在一起的深夜的范圍---銀河系的邊緣---空中的拱的生存規(guī)模.
解答 答案:
50 選B 細節(jié)理解題 據(jù)第一段第二行with eyes adapted to living in the sun's light眼睛適應(yīng)了太陽的光線,可知道答案.其中adapted to和 used to 同義,譯為習(xí)慣于,故選B
51 選A 詞義猜測題 Yet it's the only way…filling it with light.但這是唯一的方法去解釋我們對于夜晚做了什么:我們設(shè)計了光,讓光充滿星空.根據(jù)語境分析可知it指代the night.故選A
52 選B 寫作目的題 根據(jù)第二段的第一句 The benefits of this kind…consequences這項工程帶來好處的同時也帶來了壞處.和最后一句Wherever human…life is affected.無論光灑在什么地方,生活都會受到影響.由此可知,光影響了人們的生活及地球上的環(huán)境.所以,答案是show how light pollution affects animals,作者舉例是為了說明光污染影響動物.故選B
53 選D 推理題 根據(jù)最后一段we have cut…of day and night.生活在一個刺眼的世界,我們已經(jīng)遠離了進化與文化遺產(chǎn):星星與晝夜節(jié)律的光."In a very real sense,…forget the scale of our being.""在一個非常真實的意義上,光污染使我們在宇宙中失去真我等語句可知:光污染使我們失去了很多.D.human beings should reflect on their position in the universe.人類應(yīng)該反思自己的行為.符合語境,故選D
54 選C 主旨大意題 根據(jù)文章最多出現(xiàn)light和night我們可以知道答案是C.之所以不選A,是因為它所使用的形容詞Magic意思是奇幻的,這個單詞具有褒義的意思.故選C
點評 由于本文是健康環(huán)保類的說明文,讀起來或者是理解起來有難度,所以不必要一句句翻譯,要了解文章的結(jié)構(gòu),抓住文章的主旨---本文介紹了光污染對于動物和人類的影響,呼吁我們反思我們的行為.