the sound must contain acoustical variation(声学变化). Where the sound does not vary much acoustically, the performance of the task is much closer to that observed in quiet conditions.
The irrelevant sound effect itself comes from attempting to process two sources of ordered information at the same time—one from the task and one from the sound. Unfortunately, only the former is required to successfully perform the recall task, and the effort in ensuring that irrelevant order information from the sound is not processed actually hinders(阻碍) this ability.
A similar conflict is also seen when reading while in the presence of lyrical music. In this situation, the two sources of words—from the task and the sound—are in conflict. The cost is poorer performance of the task in the presence of music with lyrics.
What this all means is that whether having music playing in the background helps or hinders performance depends on the task and on the type of music, and only understanding this relationship will help people maximize their productivity levels.
38. “Mozart effect” is mentioned to ________.
A. explain how music can relax people B. show music can improve performance C. advise people to listen to Mozart music
D. stress Mozart music gains wide attention
39. It can be inferred that participants in the research ________.
A. have improved their rehearsal ability B. perform better in the quiet conditions C. ignore the background noise successfully D. prefer the music with great sound variation 40. Paragraph 6 is written to ________.
A. support an idea C. introduce a topic
B. make a contrast D. describe a fact
41. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Music shapes your life B. Music develops your creativity C. Choose quiet music for your work D. Does music make you concentrate?
D
According to official government figures, there are more than twice as many kangaroos as people in Australia, and many Australians consider them pests(有害动物). Landholding farmers say that the country’s estimated 50 million kangaroos damage their crops and compete with livestock for scarce resources. Australia’s insurance industry says that kangaroos are involved in more than 80 percent of the 20,000-plus vehicle-animal collisions reported each year. In the country’s underpopulated region, the common belief is that kangaroo numbers have swollen to “plague proportions.”
In the absence of traditional hunters, the thinking goes, killing kangaroos is critical to balancing the ecology and boosting the rural economy. A government-sanctioned(政府认可的) industry, based on the commercial harvest of kangaroo meat and hides, exported $29 million in products in 2017 and supports about 4,000 jobs. Today meat, hides, and leather from kangaroos have been exported to 56 countries. Global brands such as Nike, Puma, and Adidas buy strong, supple “k-leather” to make athletic gear. And kangaroo meat is finding its way into more and more grocery stores.
Advocates point out that low-fat, high-protein kangaroo meat comes from an animal more environmentally friendly than greenhouse gas-emitting sheep and cattle. John Kelly, former executive director of the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, says, “Harvesting our food and fibers from animals adapted to Australia’s fragile rangelands is extremely wise and sustainable. Many ecologists will tell you that there is no more humane way of producing red meat.”
Opponents(反对者) of the industry call the killing inhumane, unsustainable, and unnecessary. Population estimates are highly debatable, they say, but “plague proportions” are
biologically implausible. Little kangaroos grow slowly, and many die, so kangaroo populations can expand by only 10 to 15 percent a year, and then only under the best of circumstances. Dwayne Bannon-Harrison, a member of the Yuin people of New South Wales, says the idea that kangaroos are destroying the country is laughable. “They’ve been walking this land a lot longer than people have,” he says. “How could something that’s been here for thousands of years be ‘destroying’ the country? I don’t understand the logic in that.”
Can Australians’ conflicting attitudes toward kangaroos be reconciled(和解)? George Wilson says that if kangaroos were privately owned, then graziers(放牧人)—working independently or through wildlife conservancies—would protect the animals, treating them as possessions. They could feed them, lease them, breed them and charge hunter a fee for access. “If you want to conserve something,” Wilson says, “you have to give it a value. Animals that are considered pests don’t have value.”
Privatization could also help reduce grazing pressures. If kangaroos were more valuable than cattle or sheep, farmers would keep less live-stock, which could be good for the environment. Under this scheme, landholders would work with the kangaroo industry on branding, marketing and quality control. The government’s role would be oversight and regulation.
42. What can be learnt from the first three paragraphs?
A. Kangaroo meat is healthier than other red meat. B. Global brands make small profits on kangaroos. C. Kangaroos are more friendly to the environment. D. Overpopulated kangaroos have become a financial burden.
43. What does the underlined word “implausible” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Unreasonable. C. Unquestionable.
B. Immeasurable. D. Unchangeable.
44. Which of the following might be the benefit of privatization?
A. The popularity of kangaroo hunting.
B. The reduction in the number of kangaroos. C. The establishment of more conservation areas. D. The better management of the kangaroo industry. 45. The passage is written to ________.
A. argue against the killing of kangaroos B. stress the importance of protecting kangaroos C. present different opinions on the kangaroo industry D. provide a solution to the problem caused by kangaroos
第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，共10分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Empathy is the ability to imagine what it must be like in someone else’s situation. It is an essential part of what it means to be human, to the extent that we are suspicious of anyone who does not show empathy in their behavior.
46 We read novels, watch television and go to the theatre, and part of our enjoyment comes from understanding the dilemma faced by the characters because we know how we would feel if we were in the same situation.
47 One study has shown animals displaying empathy towards other animals and towards humans. Creatures from across the animal kingdom such as bees and whales, as well as domestic pets, display behavior that suggests they cooperate with and protect each other.
In another study, psychiatrist Jules Masserman and his team conducted an experiment with monkeys in which the monkeys pulled one of two chains that released food. One chain simply released the food, while another gave an electric shock to a second monkey. The first monkey stopped pulling the chain that delivered the shock. 48 This empathetic behavior was observed in a number of monkeys.
The origin of empathy is probably the need for the young of all animal species to be cared for. They communicate this requirement by crying for attention and to show pain. Both human
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