英語四級長篇閱讀練習原文

　　Skin Is the Key

　　C) The biologists discovered that the skin of the shark is the key to the animal’s high efficiency in swimming through the water. The skin contains many fibers that crisscross like the inside of a belted radial tire. The fibers are called collagen fibers. These fibers can either store or release large amounts of energy depending on whether the fibers are relaxed or taut. When the fibers are stretched, energy is stored in them the way energy is stored in the string of a bow when pulled tight. When the energy is released, the fibers become relaxed.

　　D) The Duke University biologists have found that the greatest stretching occurs where the shark bends its body while swimming. During the body’s back and forth motion, fibers along the outside part of the bending body stretch greatly. Much potential energy is stored in the fibers. This energy is released when the shark’s body snaps back the other way.

　　As energy is alternately stored and released on both sides of the animal’s body, the tail whips strongly back and forth. This whip-like action propels the animal through the water like a living bullet.

　　Source of Energy

　　E) What causes the fibers to store so much energy? In finding the answer the Duke University scientists learned that the shark’s similarity to a belted radial tire doesn’t stop with the skin. Just as a radial tire is inflated by pressure, so, too, is the area just under the shark’s collagen “radials”. Instead of air pressure, however, the pressure in the shark may be due to the force of the blood pressing on the collagen fibers.

　　F) When the shark swims slowly, the pressure on the fibers is relatively low. The fibers are more relaxed, and the shark is able to bend its body at sharp angles. The animal swims this way when looking around for food or just swimming. However, when the shark detects an important food source, some fantastic involuntary changes take place. The pressure inside the animal may increase by 10 times. This pressure change greatly stretches the fibers, enabling much energy to be stored. This energy is then transferred to the tail, and the shark is off. The rest of the story is predictable.

　　Dolphin Has Speed Record

　　G) Another fast marine animal is the dolphin. This seagoing mammal has been clocked at speeds of 32 kilometers (20 miles) an hour. Biologists studying the dolphin have discovered that, like the shark, the animal’s efficient locomotion can be traced to its skin. A dolphin’s skin is made up in such a way that it offers very little resistance to the water flowing over it. Normally when a fish or other object moves slowly through the water, the water flows smoothly past the body. This smooth flow is known as laminar flow. However, at faster speeds the water becomes more turbulent along the moving fish. This turbulence muses friction and slows the fish down.

　　H) In a dolphin the skin is so flexible that it bends and yields to the waviness of the water. The waves, in effect, become tucked into the skin’s folds. This allows the rest of the water to move smoothly by in a laminar flow. Where other animals would be slowed by turbulent water at rapid speeds, the dolphin can race through the water at record breaking speeds.

　　Other Animals Less Efficient

　　I) Not all animals move as efficiently as sharks and dolphins. Perhaps the greatest loser in locomotion efficiency is the slug. The slug, which looks like a snail without a shell, lays down a slimy trail over which it crawls. It uses so much energy producing the slimy mucus and crawling over it that a mouse traveling the same distance uses only one twelfth as much energy. Scientists say that because of the slug’s inefficient use of energy, its lifestyle must be restricted. That is, the animals are forced to confine themselves to small areas for obtaining food and finding proper living conditions. Have humans ever been faced with this kind of problem?

　　英語四級長篇閱讀練習選項

　　1.According to the passage, a shark can use movement to find food, to avoid being chased by its enemies, and to find a new place to live.

　　2.Examples of automobiles, rockets and submarines are used to show that human inventions enable us to travel in almost any kind of environment.

　　3.The skin is the key to the shark’s swift locomotion in water.

　　4.According to the Duke University scientists, when bending its body in swimming, the shark stretch its collagen fibers to the greatest extent.

　　5.Because it is also inflated by pressure, the area just under the shark’s collagen fibers similar to a belted radial tire.

　　6.A laminar flow is formed when a fish swims slowly through the water.

　　7.Consuming the equal amount of energy as a slug does, a mouse can travel 12 times as long as a slug.

　　8.A shark finds its prey by feeling the vibrations of a struggling prey.

　　9.According to the passage, collagen fibers can be compared to the string of a bow for both of them store energy when stretched.

　　10.When the shark detects an important food source, some fantastic involuntary changes take place.

　　英語四級長篇閱讀練習答案

　　1.B

　　可以將答案定位在小標題“Moving to Survive”下第二段的前兩句話，“Like the shark, most animals use movement to find food. They also use locomotion to escape enemies, find a mate, and explore now territories”。

　　2.B

　　題干考查汽車、火箭和潛艇的例子是為了說明可以使人類到達任何環境，其中的“examples of automobiles, rockets and submarines”是關鍵詞，可以將答案定位在文章小標題“Moving to Survive”下這句話，“Humans have the added advantage of using their various inventions to move about in just about any kind of environment. Automobiles, rockets, and submarines transport humans from deep oceans to as far away as the moon”。

　　3.C

　　本題考查鯊魚在水中快速游動的關鍵是在皮膚。其中的“key”是關鍵詞，可以將答案定位在小標題“Skin Is the Key”下首段的第一句話，“The biologists discovered that the skin of the shark is the key to the animal’s high efficiency in swimming through the water”，與本題句子完全一致，所以直接選擇C即可。

　　4.D

　　題干中的“collagen fibers to the greatest extent”是關鍵詞，可以將答案定位在小標題“Skin Is the Key”下第二段的第一句話，“The Duke University biologists have found that the greatest stretching occurs where the shark bends its body while swimming”。這與本題句子的內容完全一致，

　　5.E

　　題干中“a belted radial tire”是關鍵詞，可以將答案鎖定在文章小標題“Source of Energy”下第一段的第三句話，“Just as a radial tire is inflated by pressure, so, too, is the area just under the shark’s collagen ‘radials’”。其中的“just as”和“so”正說明了兩者的相似之處在于“inflated by pressure”，所以答案應該是E。

　　6.G

　　題干中的關鍵詞是“a laminar flow”，所以可以將答案鎖定在文章小標題“Dolphin Has Speed Record”下，根據該節第一段的倒數第三、四句話，“Normally when a fish or other object moves slowly through the water, the water flows smoothly past the body. This smooth flow is known as laminar flow.”。題干是對這兩句話的改寫，所以正確答案是G。

　　7.I

　　題干中“a slug”和“a mouse”均為關鍵詞，可以直接定位在小標題“Other Animals Less Efficient”下第一段的第二句話，“It uses so much energy ... a mouse traveling the same distance uses only one twelfth as much energy”。題干是對該句的同義改寫.

　　8.A

　　題干中的shark, prey, struggling均為關鍵詞，可以直接定位在A段，Suddenly sensitive nerve ending in the shark’s skin picked up vibrations of a struggling fish.

　　9.C

　　在Skin Is the Key中，C段中第二、三句話，The fibers are called collagen fibers.

　　10.F

　　在Source of Energy中，可以定位到第二段倒數第一句。