题文
Spanish explorers called them Las Encantadas, the Enchanted Isles, and Charles Darwin used his studies of the islands as the foundation for his theory of natural selection. The Galapagos are among the world's most important scientific treasures, a group of volcanic islands surrounded by deserted beaches and inhabited by unique varieties of giant tortoise, lizards, and birds.Yet life on this United Nations world heritage site has turned sour. Battles have broken out between fishermen and conservationists. Ecuador, which owns the islands, has sent a naval patrol (海军巡逻队) to put down disturbances.
The controversial director of the Galapagos National Park—which controls 97 percent of Galapagos land and the reserve extending to 40 miles offshore—has been fired, while an air of uneasy tension hangs over the islands, as the islanders prepare for election when they pick their representatives in Ecuador’s national assembly.
“It’s a very tense situation,” said Leonor Stjepic, director of the London-based Galapagos Conservation Trust, which raises money to help projects on the islands. “We are watching it with concern.”
The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands’ population. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island, housed just 45 inhabitants in the 50s. Today there are more than 10,000, while the islands' total population is more than 19,000 and growing by 6 percent a year, despite recently introduced a law to limit waves of immigrants fleeing the poor areas of Ecuador for a life “in paradise (天堂)”. On top of this, more than 100,000 tourists visit the islands every year.
Such numbers have put the islands, special ecology under intense pressure. Conservationists backed by the Ecuador government, have replied by exercising strict controls to protect the islands* iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and giant tortoises.
These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit (开发利用) the islands’ waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in Japan and South Korea.
Angry fishermen surrounded the Charles Darwin research station on Santa Cruz last February, threatened to kill Lonesome George—the last surviving member of the Pinta Island species of the Galapagos giant tortoise.
The situation got improved after the Ecuador government made concessions (让步) by increasing fishing quotas (配额), which angered conservationists. “It is tragic, the short-term gain of a few fishermen versus the long-term survival of the Galapagos,” said John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences. “They are killing the golden goose.”
Then, the Ecuador government appointed Fausto Cepeda as the national park's new director, a post that has become a political football for the mainland government. There have been nine directors in the past 18 months.
This appointment was particularly controversial, however. Cepeda was known to have close ties with the fishing industry, and the rangers (管理员),who run the national park and reserve, rebelled.
More than 300 staged a sit-in at the park’s headquarters and prevented Cepeda from taking up his post. A battle broke out, and at least two people suffered serious injuries. Eventually, Cepeda—with the fishermen’s help- entered the park. “I am in office, i am in control. And I am trying to lower the tension,” he announced.
The Ecuador government took no chances, and sent a patrol boat to maintain the peace. A few days later, Ecuador Environment Minister Fabian Valdivicso met representatives of rangers. After discussions, he told newspapers that he had decided to remove Cepeda from the post.
However, as the population continues to rise, the long-term pressures on the islands are serious and will not disappear that easily.
“We have to balance its special environment with the needs of local people. In that sense, it is a microcosm (缩影) for all the other threatened parts of the world. So getting it right here is going to be a very, very important trick to pull off,” said Stjepic.
小题1:What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 5 refer to?A．The island’s swelling population.B．The law to limit waves of immigrants.C．A life in paradise.D．The tourists’ visiting the islands every year.小题2:How significant were the islands for Charles Darwin?A．He based his theory on his studies there.B．He built the Charles Darwin research center there.C．He advocated the balance between ecology and people there.D．He found the last surviving giant tortoise there.小题3:What is the primary contributing factor to the conflict between conservationists and fishermen?A．The dismissal of the previous director of the Galapagos National Park.B．The exploitation of the islands.C．The government's support of Galapagos Conservation Trust.D．Cepeda’s close tie with the fishing industry.小题4:We can learn from the passage that _______.A．the projects of Galapagos Conservation Trust on the islands are profitableB．conservationists get angry when fishermen are killing a gooseC．politicians from the mainland government play football on the islandsD．the government is trying to ease the tension小题5:In Paragraph 13, what does the author mean by “The Ecuador government took no chances”?A．The government did not seize opportunities.B．The government made no compromises.C．The government did not run risks.D．The government shrank from responsibilities. 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:A
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:D
小题5:C
解析
文章报道了在加拉帕戈斯群岛发生的保护主义者和渔民的冲突，为了开发岛屿的问题，双方发生了激烈的冲突，政府正试图缓解岛上的压力。
小题1:猜词题：从第五段的句子：The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands’ population.可知this指的是岛屿的日益增长的人口，选A
小题2:细节题：从第一段的句子：Spanish explorers called them Las Encantadas, the Enchanted Isles, and Charles Darwin used his studies of the islands as the foundation for his theory of natural selection.可知这些岛屿对达尔文很重要，因为他的理论是建立在这里的研究基础上的。选A
小题3:细节题：从文章第七段的句子：These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit (开发利用) the islands’ waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in Japan and South Korea.可知在保护主义者和渔民的冲突中主要的因素是这些岛屿的开发。选B
小题4:细节题：从文章第10段的句子：Then, the Ecuador government appointed Fausto Cepeda as the national park's new director, a post that has become a political football for the mainland government.可知政府正努力缓解紧张。选D
小题5:句意理解题：从第13段的句子：sent a patrol boat to maintain the peace.可知“The Ecuador government took no chances”的意思是“政府没有冒风险”，选C
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Spanish explorers ca.....”主要考查你对 [新闻报道类阅读 ]考点的理解。新闻报道类阅读
新闻报道类阅读的概念：
阅读理解的选材明显地呈现出关注实际生活的趋势，这种趋势与当前基础教育改革的目标是一致的，而中学生学习语言的根本目标与基础教育学会求知，学会做事，学会合作，学会做人的目标是一致的，真实新颖的选材对基础英语教学课程改革具有重要的反作用。
新闻报道类阅读理解技巧点拨：
新闻报道类类文章有一共同特点，即都是由标题（Headline）、导语（Lead）、主体（Mainbody）、背景（Background）和结尾（End）五部分构成。标题是新闻报道中心思想高度而又精辟的概括；导语位于新闻报道的首段，高度概括新闻事实；主体则对导语概括的新闻事实进行详细叙述；新闻背景是指新闻事实之外，对新闻事实或新闻事实的某个部分进行解释或补充的材料；结尾往往是新闻事件的结果或动态展望，也是中心思想的概括并常常与新闻导语相呼应。
新闻报道中的导语非常重要，它位于文章的第一段，通过它点出新闻的主题，五个W和一个H(When,Where,Who,What,Why和How)通常是构成一则完整消息不可缺少的要素。文章往往呈现出“倒金字塔”的特征，因此读懂首句或首段至关重要。
另外，从句的使用也是此类文章的一大语言特色，因为从句信息量大，适合新闻报道的要求。此外，大量的副词和插入语的使用也是此类文章的特点。为使文章更客观、更具信服力，常用The study said…, Scientists believe that…Experts said…, It's reported that…, According to the survey…等语言。同事在阅读过程中，我们要对材料所提供信息如when, where, who, how, why等进行提问，将信息迅速提炼出来。
新闻报道类阅读应试策略：
【命题趋势】
阅读理解的选材明显地呈现出关注实际生活的趋势，这种趋势与当前基础教育改革的目标是一致的，而中学生学习语言的根本目标与基础教育学会求知，学会做事，学会合作，学会做人的目标是一致的，真实新颖的选材对基础英语教学课程改革具有重要的反作用。时文报道就在文章中体现了这一要求。主要表现在以下几个方面：
1、反映海内外事件，文章结构严谨，内容贴近生活，用现代英语反映现代生活。
2、如果是新闻报道，都有比较固定的写作格式，如文首通常有报道的地点或时间，第一句话常常是文章的导语，有助于了解文章的大致内容和主题。
3、如果是新闻报道则是记叙文，有地点、时间、人物、事物等要素。
4、有许多大量反映当代社会变化的新词汇和表达方式。
5、命题既重细节，又重推理和主旨。
6、大背景中的小事件，大事件中的小插曲往往是选材的热点。
【应试对策】
1、在平时学习中，关注生活，阅读新闻报道和广告类文章、把阅读时事文章作为学习英语的重要途径。
2、了解新的词汇和表达方式。如：tsunami海啸，MP3players(MP3)播放器，well_offsociety小康社会等。
3、抓住文章主题，准确捕捉细节和内涵，进行合理的推理。
4、品味新闻的标题，联系平时所积累的知识，为了解材料大意作铺垫。
5、了解新闻报道的特殊规律，其内容和多含何人、何地、何事、何时等，阅读时要抓住新闻的这一主要特点去理解判断。
6、要注意文中以黑体、大写、下划线等方式加以提示的文字，因为这很有可能是材料的核心或至少是一部分内容的概括。
