雅思真题阅读部分解题精讲

　　各位考生一定要在做雅思阅读题目之前好好了解一下该部分的题型和评分标准，看文章之前先快速浏览一下文章后面的题型和题目，读文章的时候做到有针对性有目的的阅读，提高阅读效率。有必要的时候要在文章里做一些标记，要注意文中出现的数据，比如年月日、具体时间、百分比等，还要注意一些醒目的信息词，比如一些术语和生僻词汇的定义。接下来，做完题对完答案后回到文章中，通过查单词尽量扩大自己的单词量，所有不认识的单词都是新单词，仔细看看该词的固定搭配、句型结构和例句，加深记忆。

　　我们今天以一篇阅读真题为例，仔细探讨一下解题过程和方法。

　　MAKING TIME FOR SCIENCE

　　Chronobiology might sound a little futuristic – like something from a science fiction novel, perhaps – but it’s actually a field of study that concerns one of the oldest processes life on this planet has ever known: short-term rhythms of time and their effect on flora and fauna.

　　This can take many forms. Marine life, for example, is influenced by tidal patterns. Animals tend to be active or inactive depending on the position of the sun or moon. Numerous creatures, humans included, are largely diurnal – that is, they like to come out during the hours of sunlight. Nocturnal animals, such as bats and possums, prefer to forage by night. A third group are known as crepuscular: they thrive in the low light

　　of dawn and dusk and remain inactive at other hours.

　　When it comes to humans, chronobiologists are interested in what is known as the circadian rhythm. This is the complete cycle our bodies are naturally geared to undergo within the passage of a twenty-four hour day. Aside from sleeping at night and waking during the day, each cycle involves many other factors such as changes in blood pressure and body temperature. Not everyone has an identical circadian rhythm. ‘Night people’, for example, often describe how they find it very hard to operate during the morning, but become alert and focused by evening. This is a benign variation within circadian rhythms known as a chronotype.

　　Scientists have limited abilities to create durable modifications of chronobiological demands. Recent therapeutic developments for humans such as artificial light machines and melatonin administration can reset our circadian rhythms, for example, but our bodies can tell the difference and health suffers when we breach these natural rhythms for extended periods of time. Plants appear no more malleable in this respect; studies demonstrate that vegetables grown in season and ripened on the tree are far higher in essential nutrients than those grown in greenhouses and ripened by laser.

　　Questions 1–7

　　Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

　　In boxes 1–7 on your answer sheet, write

　　TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

　　FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

　　NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

　　1 Chronobiology is the study of how living things have evolved over time.

　　2 The rise and fall of sea levels affects how sea creatures behave.

　　3 Most animals are active during the daytime.

　　4 Circadian rhythms identify how we do different things on different days.

　　5 A ‘night person’ can still have a healthy circadian rhythm.

　　6 New therapies can permanently change circadian rhythms without causing harm.

　　7 Naturally-produced vegetables have more nutritional value.

　　1. 第一题考察的是考生对一个术语Chronobiology的定义的理解，我们在第一段中能够看到相对应的提示：it is a field of study that...，那么答案一定就在这里a field of study that concerns one of the oldest processes life on this planet has ever known: short-term rhythms of time and their effect on flora and fauna. 也就是短期的时间节律及其对动植物的影响，而第一题是在说生物钟是对生物是如何进化的研究，明显是不对的，所以答案是FALSE。此外，我们可以靠构词法判断出chrono- 是与时间有关的前缀，而biology是生物，不难猜出单词的意思。又或者，有的考生单词量很大，本来就认识这个词。

　　2. 潮涨潮落能够影响海洋生物的行为，答案在第二段的第二句。Marine life, for example, is influenced by tidal patterns. Marine life就是sea creatures，affect与influence同义，the rise and fall of sea levels就是指tidal patterns。Tidal 的名词是tide，指的是潮汐，所以第二题是TRUE。

　　3. 大多数动物在白天都是活跃的。这个说法文中并没有，作者只是说Numerous creatures, humans included, are largely diurnal. 也就是说数不清的生物都是白天活跃的。在第二段中，我们可以看出diurnal的定义是they like to come out during the hours of sunlight;Nocturnal animals：prefer to forage by night. 答案是NOT GIVEN.

　　4. Circadian rhythms的定义在第三段的第二句This is the complete cycle our bodies are naturally geared to undergo within the passage of a twenty-four hour day. 即昼夜节律。而题目中说昼夜节律是指我们如何在不同的时间做不同的事情，所以答案是FALSE。

　　5. 一个夜间清醒的人依然有着健康的生物钟(昼夜节律)，这句是对的。答案在第三段的最后，This is a benign variation(温和的或良性的变体) within circadian rhythms known as a chronotype. Benign variation within circadian rhythms就是healthy circadian rhythm。所以答案是TRUE。

　　6. New therapies can permanently change circadian rhythms without causing harm.题目中permanently change是永久性的改变，而第四段中有一句：but our bodies can tell the difference and health suffers when we breach these natural rhythms for extended periods of time. 我们的身体会有不适，并且当我们违背了自然规律时身体健康会遭受损害，without causing harm是违背原文意思的，所以答案是FALSE。

　　7. 7. 自然生长的蔬菜具有更高的营养价值，第四段最后一句就是答案：studies demonstrate that vegetables grown in season and ripened on the tree are far higher in essential nutrients than those grown in greenhouses and ripened by laser. 生长在温室中并且被激光催熟的蔬菜的营养价值不如自然生长的、当季的蔬菜高。所以答案是TRUE。