In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act, designed to protect species' living areas, and policies that preserve land and forests compete with economic interests. In the 1990's, for example, the woodcutters in the Western United States were challenged legally in their attempt to cut trees for timber in the Cascade Mountains. The challenge was mounted to protect the endangered spotted owl(猫头鹰), whose remaining population occupies these forests and requires the intact, ancient forest for survival. The problematic situation set the interests of environmentalists against those of corporations and of individuals who stood to lose jobs. After months of debate and legal battles, the fate of the woodcutters-and the owls-was still undecided in mid-1992.
注：1. controversial的意思是受争议的，同"sharply political issue"，contro-表示"反" contradict 同…矛盾
2. for example前句子是重点
3. problematic悬而未决的，有问题的（problema问题么？）
Similar tensions exist between the developed and the developing nations. Many people in industrialized nations, for example, believe that developing nations in tropical regions should do more to protect their rain forests and other natural areas. But the developing countries may be impoverished (使赤贫), with populations growing so rapidly that using the land is a means to temporarily avoid worsening poverty and starvation.
注：1. tension张力，冲突
2. 看到similar就说明第二段说的和第一段一样。
3. But转折是重点
Many of the changes to Earth that concern scientists have the potential to rob the planet of its biological richness. The destruction of Earth's ozone layer (臭氧层), for example, could contribute to the general process of impoverishment by allowing ultra-violet rays to harm plants and animals. And global warming could wipe out species unable to quickly adapt to changing climates. Clearly, protecting will come only through coordinated international efforts to control human population, stabilize the composition of the atmosphere, and preserve intact Earth's complex web life（小并列不重要）.
36.Why does the author say that the protection of endangered species is a highly controversial issue?
A) Because people can't agree as to what species to protect.
B) Because it is difficult to find an effective way to protect such species.
C) Because it affects the interests of certain groups of people.
D) Because it is a major problem involving a series of legal procedures.
注：细节题。第一段economic interests
●表示绝对的词（灭绝师太）--出现在文章中，是非常重要的出题点；如果出现在选项中，很可能是不对的。
（灭）全无：none-nothing-never-seldom-hardly-little-few-prevent-exclude-neither…nor
（绝）全有：all- absolutely-every-full-either…or…
唯一：only-exactly- best-most
37.According to the passage, the preservation of rain forests ________.
A) may hamper a developing country in its fight against poverty.
B) benefits developed countries rather than developing countries.
C) should take priority over the control of human population.
D) will help improve the living conditions in developing countries.（反：和谐了）
注：细节题，对应文章第二段。举例前那句话更重要，只要表达出"和经济利益冲突"就对了。多看到最后的文章，则可能会选C，所以尽量少看。
38.According to the passage, cutting tress to grow more food _______.
A) will widen the gap between the developed and the developing countries.
B) is but a short-term relief to the food problem.
C) can hardly alleviate the shortage of food.
D) proves to be an effective way out for impoverished nations.
注：对应文章第二段。Short-term对应temporarily，relief对应avoid。
39.Among"humanity's current problems" (Line 6, Para. 3), the chief concern of the scientists
is _______.
A) the impoverishment of developing countries.（跨段信息，错）
B) the explosion of the human population.
C) the reduction of biological diversity.
D) the effect of global warming.
注：第三段。C选项中reduction对应rob，diversity对应richness。
40.The author's purpose in writing this passage is ________.
A) to describe the difficulties in solving humanity's current problems.（表层）
B) to present the different views on humanity's current problems.
C) to analyze the contradiction between countries in dealing with humanity's current
problems.
D) to point out that humanity's current problems can only（原文有） be solved through the cooperation of nations.
注：看最后一句话，cooperation of nations 对应coordinated international efforts。
１． 例子如何处理：重要的一定看明白，不重要的不看
２． 哪些重要（转折、例子前后的话、灭绝的东西），哪些不重要（例子内容、小的并列＜如水果的例子>
We sometimes think humans are uniquely vulnerable to anxiety, but stress seems to affect the immune defenses of lower animals too. In one experiment, for example, behavioral immunologist (免疫学家)Mark Laudenslager, at the University of Denver, gave mild electric shocks to 24 rats. Half the animals could switch off the current by turning a wheel in their enclosure, while the other half could mot. The rats in the two groups were paired so that each time one rat turned the wheel it protected both itself and its helpless partner from the shock. Laudenslager found that the immune response was depressed below normal in the helpless rats but not in those that could turn off the electricity. What he has demonstrated, he believes, is that lack of control over an event, not the experience itself, is what weakens the immune system.
注：1. vulnerable易受伤害的
2. immune defense 免疫系统
3. found之后是试验告诉我们的观点
4. depress压抑；沮丧的，de往下
Other researchers agree. Jay Weiss, a psychologist at Duke University School of Medicine, has shown that animals who are allowed to control unpleasant stimuli don't develop sleep disturbances or changes in brain chemistry typical of stressed rats. But if the animals are confronted with situations they have no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control. Such findings reinforce psychologists' suspicions that the experience or perception of helplessness is one of the most harmful factors in depression.
注：1. 看第一句三个单词就知道本段内容和上一段相同。
2. passive被动的
21. Laudenslager's experiment showed that the immune system of those rats who could turn off the electricity ______.
A) was strengthened
B) was not affected
C) was altered
D) was weakened
注：定位文章第一段found之后
22. According to the passage, the experience of helplessness causes rats to ______.
A) try to control unpleasant stimuli
B) turn off the electricity
C) become abnormally suspicious
D) behave passively in controllable situations
注：定位第二段But之后那句话
23. The reason why the mice in Ader's experiment avoided saccharin was that ______ .
A) they disliked its taste
B) it affected their immune systems
C) it led to stomach pains
D) they associated it with stomachaches
英语四级
