1、雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 102及答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 0 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. Radiocarbon Dating The Profile of Nancy Athfield Have you ever picked up a small stone off the ground and wondered how old it was? Chances are, that
2、stone has been around many more years than your own lifetime. Many scientists share this curiosity about the age of inanimate objects like rocks, fossils and precious stones. Knowing how old an object is can provide valuable information about our prehistoric past. In most societies, human beings hav
3、e kept track of history through writing. However, scientists are still curious about the world before writing, or even the world before humans. Studying the age of objects is our best way to piece together histories of our pre-historic past. One such method of finding the age of an object is called
4、radiocarbon dating. This method can find the age of any object based on the kind of particles and atoms that are found inside of the object. Depending on what elements the object is composed of, radiocarbon can be a reliable way to find an objects age. One famous specialist in this method is the res
5、earcher Nancy Athfield. Athfield studied the ancient remains found in the country of Cambodia. Many prehistoric remains were discovered by the local people of Cambodia. These objects were thought to belong to some of the original groups of humans that first came to the country of Cambodia. The remai
6、ns had never been scientifically studied, so Nancy was greatly intrigued by the opportunity to use modern methods to discover the true age of these ancient objects. Athfield had this unique opportunity because her team, comprised of scientists and filmmakers, were in Cambodia working on a documentar
7、y. The team was trying to discover evidence to prove a controversial claim in history: that Cambodia was the resting place for the famous royal family of Angkor. At that time, written records and historic accounts conflicted on the true resting place. Many people across the world disagreed over wher
8、e the final resting place was. For the first time, Athfield and her team had a chance to use radiocarbon dating to find new evidence. They had a chance to solve the historic mystery that many had been arguing over for years. Athfield and her team conducted radiocarbon dating of many of the ancient o
9、bjects found in the historic site of Angkor Wat. Nancy found the history of Angkor went back to as early as 1620. According to historic records, the remains of the Angkor royal family were much younger than that, so this evidence cast a lot of doubt as to the status of the ancient remains. The resea
10、rch ultimately raised more questions. If the remains were not of the royal family, then whose remains were being kept in the ancient site? Athfields team left Cambodia with more questions unanswered. Since Athfields team studied the remains, new remains have been unearthed at the ancient site of Ang
11、kor Wat, so it is possible that these new remains could be the true remains of the royal family. Nancy wished to come back to continue her research one day. In her early years, the career of Athfield was very unconventional. She didnt start her career as a scientist. At the beginning, she would take
12、 any kind of job to pay her bills. Most of them were low-paying jobs or brief community service opportunities. She worked often but didnt know what path she would ultimately take. But eventually, her friend suggested that Athfield invest in getting a degree. The friend recommended that Athfield atte
13、nd a nearby university. Though doubtful of her own qualifications, she applied and was eventually accepted by the school. It was there that she met Willard Libby, the inventor of radiocarbon dating. She took his class and soon had the opportunity to complete hands-on research. She soon realised that
14、 science was her passion. After graduation, she quickly found a job in a research institution. After college, Athfields career in science blossomed. She eventually married, and her husband landed a job at the prestigious organisation GNN. Athfield joined her husband in the same organisation, and she
15、 became a lab manager in the institution. She earned her PhD in scientific research, and completed her studies on a kind of rat when it first appeared in New Zealand. There, she created original research and found many flaws in the methods being used in New Zealand laboratories. Her research showed
16、that the subjects diet led to the fault in the earlier research. She was seen as an expert by her peers in New Zealand, and her opinion and expertise were widely respected. She had come a long way from her old days of working odd jobs. It seemed that Athfields career was finally taking off. But Athf
17、ields interest in scientific laboratories wasnt her only interest. She didnt settle down in New Zealand. Instead, she expanded her areas of expertise. Athfield eventually joined the field of Anthropology, the study of human societies, and became a well-qualified archaeologist. It was during her blos
18、soming career as an archaeologist that Athfield became involved with the famous Cambodia project. Even as the filmmakers ran out of funding and left Cambodia, Athfield continued to stay and continue her research. In 2003, the film was finished in uncertain conclusions, but Nancy continued her resear
19、ch on the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. This research was not always easy. Her research was often delayed by lack of funding, and government paperwork. Despite her struggles, she committed to finishing her research. Finally, she made a breakthrough. Using radiocarbon dating, Athfield completed a data
20、base for the materials found in Cambodia. As a newcomer to Cambodia, she lacked a complete knowledge of Cambodian geology, which made this feat even more difficult. Through steady determination and ingenuity, Athfield finally completed the database. Though many did not believe she could finish, her
21、research now remains an influential and tremendous contribution to geological sciences in Cambodia. In the future, radiocarbon dating continues to be a valuable research skill. Athfield will be remembered as one of the first to bring this scientific method to the study of the ancient ruins of Angkor
22、 Wat. Questions 1-7 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-7 on you answer sheet, write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts with the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this. 1 Nan
23、cy Athfield first discovered the ancient remains in Cambodia. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 2 The remains found in the Cambodia was in good condition. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 3 Nancy took some time off from her regular work to do research in Cambodia. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT
24、GIVEN 4 The Cambodia government asked Nancy to radiocarbon the remains. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 5 The filmmakers aimed to find out how the Angkor was rebuilt. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 6 Nancy initially doubted whether the royal family was hidden in Cambodia. （ A） TRUE （ B） FAL
25、SE （ C） NOT GIVEN 7 Nancy disproved the possibility that the remains belonged to the Angkor royal family. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 7 Complete the flow-chart below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet. The Career of N
26、ancy Athfield During her mid-teens, Nancy wasnt expected to attend 【 R8】 _. Willard Billy later helped Nancy to find that she was interested in science. Her PhD degree was researching when a kind of 【 R9】 _first went into New Zealand. Her research showed that the subjects 【 R10】 _accounted for the f
27、ault in the earlier research. She was a professional 【 R11】 _before she went back to Cambodia in 2003. When she returned Cambodia, the lack of 【 R12】 _was a barrier for her research. Then she compiled the 【 R13】 _of the Cambodia radiocarbon dating of the ancients. After that, the lack of a detailed
28、map of the geology of Cambodia became a hindrance of her research. 8 【 R8】 9 【 R9】 10 【 R10】 11 【 R11】 12 【 R12】 13 【 R13】 13 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. Stress of Workplace A How busy is too busy? For some it means having to miss
29、 the occasional long lunch; for others it means missing lunch altogether. For a few, it is not being able to take a “sickie“ once a month. Then there is a group of people for whom working every evening and weekend is normal, and franticness is the tempo of their lives. For most senior executives, wo
30、rkloads swing between extremely busy and frenzied. The vice-president of the management consultancy AT Kearney and its head of telecommunications for the Asia-Pacific region, Neil Plumridge, says his work weeks vary from a “manageable“ 45 hours to 80 hours, but average 60 hours. B Three warning sign
31、s alert Plumridge about his workload: sleep, scheduling and family. He knows he has too much on when he gets less than six hours of sleep for three consecutive nights; when he is constantly having to reschedule appointments; “and the third one is on the family side“, says Plumridge, the father of a
32、three-year-old daughter, and expecting a second child in October. “If I happen to miss a birthday or anniversary, I know things are out of control.“ Being “too busy“ is highly subjective. But for any individual, the perception of being too busy over a prolonged period can start showing up as stress:
33、 disturbed sleep, and declining mental and physical health. National workers compensation figures show stress causes the most lost time of any workplace injury. Employees suffering stress are off work an average of 16.6 weeks. The effects of stress are also expensive. Comcare, the Federal Government
34、 insurer, reports that in 2003-04, claims for psychological injury accounted for 7% of claims but almost 27% of claim costs. Experts say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief a game of golf or a massage but to reassess workloads. Neil Plumridge says he makes it a priority to work
35、out what has to change; that might mean allocating extra resources to a job, allowing more time or changing expectations. The decision may take several days. He also relies on the advice of colleagues, saying his peers coach each other with business problems. “Just a fresh pair of eyes over an issue
36、 can help,“ he says. C Executive stress is not confined to big organisations. Vanessa Stoykov has been running her own advertising and public relations business for seven years, specialising in work for financial and professional services firms. Evolution Media has grown so fast that it debuted on t
37、he BRW Fast 100 list of fastest-growing small enterprises last yearjust after Stoykov had her first child. Stoykov thrives on the mental stimulation of running her own business. “Like everyone, I have the occasional day when I think my heads going to blow off,“ she says. Because of the growth phase
38、the business is in, Stoykov has to concentrate on short-term stress relief weekends in the mountains, the occasional “mental health“ day rather than delegating more work. She says: “Were hiring more people, but you need to train them, teach them about the culture and the clients, so its actually mor
39、e work rather than less.“ D Identify the causes: Jan Eisner, Melbourne psychologist who specialises in executive coaching, says thriving on a demanding workload is typical of senior executives and other high-potential business people. She says there is no one-size-fits-all approach to stress: some p
40、eople work best with high-adrenalin periods followed by quieter patches, while others thrive under sustained pressure. “We could take urine and blood hormonal measures and pass a judgement of whether someones physiologically stressed or not,“ she says. “But thats not going to give us an indicator of
41、 what their experience of stress is, and what the emotional and cognitive impacts of stress are going to be.“ E Eisners practice is informed by a movement known as positive psychology, a school of thought that argues “positive“ experiences feeling engaged, challenged, and that one is making a contri
42、bution to something meaningful do not balance out negative ones such as stress; instead, they help people increase their resilience over time. Good stress, or positive experiences of being challenged and rewarded, is thus cumulative in the same way as bad stress. Eisner says many of the senior busin
43、ess people she coaches are relying more on regulating bad stress through methods such as meditation and yoga. She points to research showing that meditation can alter the biochemistry of the brain and actually help people “retrain“ the way their brains and bodies react to stress. “Meditation and yog
44、a enable you to shift the way that your brain reacts, so if you get proficient at it youre in control.“ F Recent research, such as last years study of public servants by the British epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot, shows the most important predictor of stress is the level of job control a person h
45、as. This debunks the theory that stress is the prerogative of high-achieving executives with type-A personalities and crazy working hours. Instead, Marmots and other research reveals they have the best kind of job: one that combines high demands (challenging work) with high control (autonomy). “The
46、worst jobs are those that combine high demands and low control. People with demanding jobs but little autonomy have up to four times the probability of depression and more than double the risk of heart disease,“ LaMontagne says. “Those two alone count for an enormous part of chronic diseases, and th
47、ey represent a potentially preventable part.“ Overseas, particularly in Europe, such research is leading companies to redesign organisational practices to increase employees autonomy, cutting absenteeism and lifting productivity. G The Australian vice-president of AT Kearney, Neil Plumridge says, “O
48、ften stress is caused by our setting unrealistic expectations of ourselves. Ill promise a client Ill do something tomorrow, and then promise another client the same thing, when I really know its not going to happen. Ive put stress on myself when I could have said to the clients: Why dont I give that
49、 to you in 48 hours? The client doesnt care.“ Overcommitting is something people experience as an individual problem. We explain it as the result of procrastination or Parkinsons law: that work expands to fill the time available. New research indicates that people may be hard-wired to do it. H A study in the February issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that people always believe they will be less busy in the future than now. This is a misapprehension, according to the authors of the report,
