职称英语《综合类B》真题精选四

Kicking the Habit
What is a bad habit?The most common definition is that it is something that we do regularly,almost without thinking about it,and which has some sort of negative consequence.This consequence could affect those around us,or it could affect us personally.Those who deny having bad habits are probably lying.Bad habits are part of what makes us human.
Many early habits,like sucking our thumb,are broken when we are very young.We are either told to stop doing it by our parents,or we consciously or subconsciously observe that others do not have the same habit,and we gradually grow out of it.It is when we intentionally or unintentionally pick up new habits in our later childhood or early adulthood that it becomes a problem.Unless we can break that habit early on,it becomes a part of our life,and becomnes"programmed"into our brain.
A recent study of human memory suggests that no matter how hard we try to change our habits,it is the old ways that tend to win,especially in situations where we are rushed,stressed or overworked.Habits that we thought we had got rid of can suddenly come back.During the study programme,the researchers showed a group of volunteers several pictures, and gave them words to associate with them.They then showed the volunteers the same pictures again,and gave them new words to associate with them.
A few days later,the volunteers were given a test.The researchers showed them the pictures,and told them to respond with one of the words they had been given for each one.It came as no surprise that their answers were split between the first set of words and the second.Two weeks later,they were given the same test again.This time,most of them only gave the first set of words.They appeared to have completely forgotten the second set.
The study confirms that the responses we learn first are those that remain strongest over time.We may try to change out ways,but after a while,the response that comes to mind first is usually the first one we learned.The more that response is used,the more automatic it becomes and the harder it becomes to re-spond in any other way.
The study therefore suggests that over time,our bad habits also become automatic,learned behaviour.
This is not good news for people who picked up bad habits early in life and now want to change or break them.Even when we try to put new,good intentions into practice,those previously learned habits remain stronger in more automatic,unconscious forms of memory.

Traffic Jams一No End in Sight
1 Traffic congestion（拥堵）affects people throughout the world.Traffic jams cause smog in dozens of cities across both the developed and developing world.In the U.S.,commuters（通勤人员）spend an average of a full working week each year sitting in traffic jams,according to the Texas Transportation Institu-te.While alternative ways of getting around are available,most people still choose their cars because they are looking for convenience,comfort and privacy.
2 The most promising technique for reducing city traffic is called congestion pricing,whereby cities charge a toll to enter certain parts of town at certain times of day.In theory,if the toll is high enough,some drivers will cancel their trips or go by bus or train.And in practice it seems to work:Singapore,London and Stockholm have reduced traffic and pollution in city centres thanks to congestion pricing.
3 Another way to reduce rush-hour traffic is for employers to implement flexitime,which lets employees travel to and from work at off-peak traffic times to avoid the rush hour.Those who have to travel during busy times can do their part by sharing cars.Employers can also allow more staff to telecommute(work from home)so as to keep more cars off the road altogether.
4 Some urban planners still believe that the best way to ease traffic congestion is to build more roads, especially roads that can take drivers around or over crowded city streets.But such techniques do not really keep cars off the road;they only accommodate more of them.
5 Other,more forward-thinking,planners know that more and more drivers and cars are taking to the roads every day,and they are unwilling to encourage more private automobiles when public transport is so much better both for people and the environment.For this reason,the American government has decided to spend some$7 billion on helping to increase capacity on public-transport systems and upgrade them with more efficient technologies.But environmentalists complain that such funding is tiny compared with the$50 billion being spent on roads and bridges.

第一篇
On the Trail of the Honey Badger
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（谨慎地） 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 some-thing 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（凶恶的）.Fortunately this is rare , but it does happen."
The research confirmed many things that were already known.As expected,honey badgers ate any crea-tures 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'5 fondness for local melons,probably because of their high water content.Previously researchers thought that the animal got all of its liquid require-ments from its prey（猎物）.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 fact that female badgers never socialised 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 kilometres.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 animals'curiosity一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 seemed to adopt the badgers' relaxed attitude when near humans.

第二篇
“Lucky" Lord Lucan一Alive or Dead?
On 8th November 1974 Lord Lucan, a British aristocrat（贵族）,vanished.The day before, his chil-dren's nanny（保姆）had been brutally murdered and his wife had been attacked too.To this day the British 'public are still interested in the murder case because Lucan has never been found.Now,over 30 years later,the police have reopened the case,hoping that new DNA techniques will help solve this murder mystery.
People suspected that"Lucky",as he was called by friends,wanted to kill his wife he no longer lived with.They say that Lucan entered his old house and in the dark,killed the nanny by mistake.His estranged （分居的）wife heard noises, came downstairs and was also attacked, but managed to escape.Seven months after the murder,a jury concluded that Lucan had killed the nanny.
What happened next is unclear,but there are several theories which fall into one of three categories:he may have killed himself,he could have escaped or he might have been killed.It appears that the night after the murder,"Lucky"borrowed a car and drove it.Lucan's friend Aspinall said in an interview that he thought Lucan had committed suicide by sinking his boat in the English Channel.
Another version of events says that"Lucky"left the blood-soaked car on the coast and took a ferry to France.He was met there by someone who drove him to safety in another country.However,after a time, his rescuers became worried that they would become involved in the murder too and so Lucan was killed.
A further fascinating theory was made in the book Dead Lucky by Duncan Maclaughlin,a former detective.
He believes that Lucan travelled to Go'a,India,where he assumed the identity of a Mr.Barry Haplin.Lucan then lived in Goa till his death in 1996.In the end the claim turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.The man who died in 1996 was really Haplin,an ex-schoolteacher.So what is the truth about"Lucky"?DNA testing has solved many murder cases,but who knows if it can close the book on this one.

第三篇
Operation Migration
If you look up at the sky in the early fall in the northern part of North America,you may see groups of birds.'These birds are flying south to places where they can find food and warmth for the winter.They are migrating（迁徙）.The young birds usually learn to migrate from their parents.They follow their parents south.In one unusual case,however,the young birds are following something very different.These birds
are young whooping cranes,and they are following an airplane! The whooping crane is the largest bird that is native to North America.These birds almost disappeared in the l800s.By 1941,there were only about 20 cranes alive.In the l970s,people were worried that these creatures were in danger of disappearing completely.As a result,the United States identified whooping cranes as an endangered species that they needed to protect.
Some researchers tried to help.They began to breed whooping cranes in special parks to increase the number of birds.This plan was successful.There were a lot of new baby birds.As the birds became older,the researchers wanted to return them to nature.However,there was a problem:These young birds did not know how to migrate.They needed human help.
In 2001,some people had a creative idea.They formed an organization called Operation Migration.
This group decided to use very light airplanes,instead of birds,to lead the young whooping cranes on their first trip south.They painted each airplane to look like a whooping crane.Even the pilots wore special clothing to make them look like cranes.The cranes began to trust the airplanes,and the plan worked.
Today,planes still lead birds across approximately 1,200 miles(1,931 kilometers),from the United States-Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico.They leave the birds at different sites.If a trip is successful,the birds can travel on their own in the future.Then,when these birds become parents,they will teach their young to migrate.The people of Operation Migration think this is the only way to maintain the whooping crane population.
Operation Migration works with several other organizations and government institutes.Together,they assist hundreds of cranes each year.However,some experts predict that soon,this won't be necessary.
Thanks to Operation Migration and its partners,the crane population will continue to migrate.Hopefully,they won't need human help any more.

The Tough Grass that Sweetens Our Lives
Sugar cane was once a wild grass that grew in New Guinea and was used by local people for roofing their houses and fencing their gardens.Gradually a different variety evolved which contained sucrose（蔗糖）and was chewed on for its sweet taste.Over time,sugar cane became a highly valuable commercial plant,grown throughout the world.___________(46)
Sugar became a vital ingredient in all kinds of things, from confectionery（糖果点心）to medicine, and,as the demand for sugar grew,the industry became larger and more profitable._________(47)Many crops withered（枯萎）and died,despite growers'attempts to save them,and there were fears that the health of the plant would continue to deteriorate.
In the 1960s,scientists working in Barbados looked for ways to make the commercial species stronger and more able to resist disease.They experimented with breeding programmes,mixing genes from the wild species of sugar cane,which tends to be tougher,with genes from the more delicate,commercial type.
_________(48)This sugar cane is not yet ready to be sold commercially,but when this happens,it is expected to be incredibly profitable for the industry.
___________(49)Brazil,which produces one quarter of the world's sugar,has coordinated an interna-tional project under Professor Paulo Arrudo of the Universidade Estaudual de Campinas in Sao Paulo.Teams of experts have worked with him to discover more about which parts of the genetic structure of the plant are important for the production of sugar and its overall health.
Despite all the research,however,we still do not fully understand how the genes function in sugar cane.__________(50)This gene is particularly exciting because it makes the plant resistant to rust,a dis-ease which probably originated in India,but is now capable of infecting sugar cane across the world.Scien-tists believe they will eventually be able to grow a plant which cannot be destroyed by rust.

Teaching and Learning
Many teachers believe that the responsibilities for learning lie with the student.If a long reading assign-ment is given,instructors expect students to be__________(51)with the information in the reading even if they do not discuss it in class or__________(52)an examination.The ideal student is________(53)to be one who is motivated to learn for the sake of learning,not the one interested only in getting high ___________(54).Sometimes homework is returned with brief written____________(55)but without a grade.Even if a grade is not given,the student is___________(56)for learning the material assigned.
When research is_________(57),the professor expects the student to take it actively and to complete it with minimum___________(58).It is the student's responsibility to find books,magazines,and articles in the library.Professors do not have the time to__________(59)how a university library works;they expect students to exhaust the___________(60)resources in the library.Professors will help students who need it,_________(61)prefer that their students should not be too __________(62)on them.In the United States professors have many other___________(63)besides teaching,such as administrative or research work.Therefore,the time that a professor can spend__________(64)a student outside of class is limited.
if a student has problems with classroom work,the student should either__________(65)a professor during office hours or make an appointment.