全国2010年10月高等教育英语阅读自考试题4.doc

全国2010年10月高等教育自学考试英语阅读试题 课程代码：00596 全部题目用英文作答(翻译题除外)，并将答案写在答题纸相应位置上I. Reading Comprehension. (50 points, 2 points for each) Directions: In this part of the test, there are five passages. Following each passage, there are five questions with four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and then write the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet. Passage One Animal life first appeared on the earth about 400 million years ago. Through the passing millennia, thousands of animal species have come and gone. Until recently, this process was gradual, the result of changes in climate, in habitat, or in the genes of the animals themselves. But the tremendous expansion of modern civilization now threatens to upset this natural balance, putting unprecedented pressure on the survival of our wildlife. Of all the continents, the most drastic reduction in wildlife has occurred in North America, where the transition from a rural to a highly industrialized society has been most rapid. Among the victims are birds, mammals, and fish. We will never again see the passenger pigeon or the eastern elk. They have been wiped out. Of many other species, only a few representatives still survive in the wild. The U.S. Department of the Interior has put no fewer than 109 species on the endangered species list. This list includes everything from the timber wolf to the whooping crane. Even the bald eagle, our national symbol, is threatened. Animals that kill other game for food are called predators. The predators include the wolf, mountain lion, fox, bobcat, and bear. Attack against these animals began with the arrival of the first European settlers, who wished to protect their livestock. Eventually, a reward was offered to hunters for every predator that was killed. This reward is called a bounty. Ironically, the Federal government was the chief funder of predator-control programs. The settlers also brought with them their Old World fears and superstitions concerning predators．Whether