综合写作阅读文本+听力原文.docx

综合写作阅读文本+听力原文.docx

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综合写作阅读文本+听力原文

2006年10月8日

Althoughdinosaursaretraditionallybelievedtobecold-bloodedreptiles,suchascrocodiles,lizardsandseaturtles,evidencesrecentlydiscoveredhaveimpliedapictureonquitetheoppositeside.Scientiststodayaremorereadilytobelievethatthereisagoodchancefordinosaurstobewarm-bloodedanimals,liketoday'smammalsandbirds.

First,asdemonstratedbyastonyheartrecentlyfoundinSouthDakotain1993byaprivatefossilcollector,dinosaurscouldhaveevolvedaheartadaptedtowarm-bloodcirculation.Althoughthefactthatsofttissuesusuallydecomposedbeforetheycouldfossilizehadleftscientistssearchingindarknessforcenturies,fossilorganscouldstillbepreservedunderextremecircumstancessuchasrapidsedimentontheseabed.Becausetodayfour-chamberedheartisonlyfoundinwarm-bloodedanimals,thisfossilheartindicatesthecloserelationshipbetweendinosaursandmammals.

Second,becausecold-bloodedanimalssuchasreptilescouldn'tmaintaintheirbodytemperatureconstantly,theyhavetorelyonthesurroundingenvironmenttoadjustthebodyheat.Thus,ifdinosaursarecold-blooded,theirhugebodysizewouldmakeitimpossibletoshiftbetweenbaskingandburrowingasoftenastoday'slizards.

Third,forhugebodyanimalstomaximizetheirenergyusage,theymustmaintainaconstantbodytemperature.Thisisbecausemetabolismisinfactachemicalprocessoccurringinthebody,whichburnsfoodin-takeandreleasesenergysupportinggrowth.Forthischemicalreactiontofunctionoptimally,keepingorgansworkingatcertaintemperatureisanecessity.

MaleProfessor

Youallheardaboutthat….warm-bloodeddinosaurstheory.Itsoundslikeasciencefiction,doesn’tit?

ImustbehonesttoadmitthatIamnotgoingtoacceptthiswarm-bloodedtheory,althoughquitesomeofmycolleaguesdo.Tomeandmanyotherresearchers,dinosaursaredoubtlesslycloserelativesofcold-bloodedreptiles,onlymuchbigger.

First,itissaidthatafour-chamberedstonydinosaurhearthadbeendiscovered,buthowcouldweidentifythattheheartbelongstoanextinctdinosaur,ratherthanfromanancientmammal?

Weallknowthatmorethanoften,differentanimalskeletonsarediscoveredblendedtogetheratonesinglefossilsite.

Second,Idon’tthinkdinosaurshadtorelyontheenvironmenttoadjusttheirbodytemperatureasmuchaslizardsandsnakesdotoday.Don’tforget,whendinosaursdominatedthisplanet,theclimatewasmuchmilderthanitistoday.Airtemperaturesshiftingbetweenhighandlowextremeswererarelyrecorded.

Third,yes,itistruethatlargeanimalsmustkeepaconstantbodytemperaturetomaximizetheenergyreleasedfromfoodin-take.Butastablebodytemperatureisn’tnecessarilyproofofwarm-bloodedness,sinceevensomecold-bloodedanimalslikegiantseaturtlescouldkeepbodytemperatureconstantly.Thisisbecausetheirratioofsurfaceareatovolumeisrelativelylow,minimizingheatexchangewiththeenvironment.

Theratioofhissalarytohiswealthisverylow.

2006．10.15

InUnitedStates,anydrughastopassaseriesofinvestigationsbeforeitcanbeputintorealapplication.Theseexaminationsarecalleddrugtesting.Althoughdrugtestingisgenerallybelievednecessaryinreducingpotentialmedicalrisks,therearedifferentopinionsaswell.

First,therightmomentofnewdrugspromotionisoftendelayed,asaresultofseriesofverycomplexandprolongeddrugtestingmeasures.Eachyear,plentyofpatientsaresufferingfromlackingofnewdrugs,whileitoftentakesmonthsevenyearstopassgovernmentdrugtestingprocedures.

Second,drugtestingcanbeverycostlysometimes.Eventually,alltheseexpendituresspentondrugtestingwillhavetobeswallowedbypatients.However,withthemoneysavedfromdrugtesting,newdrugscouldhavebeendevelopedandpatientsdyingforlackingofaffordablenewmedicineswillbelesslikelytobeobserved.

Third,thebiggestadvantageboastedbythecurrentdrugtestingsystemismedicinesafety.However,withthedevelopmentofMedWatchsystem,medicinesafetycanbeeasilyachievedwithouttheextendedandveryluxuriousdrugtestingprocedure.ThisisbecauseMedWatchsystemrequiresthatdoctorsmustfilloutinformationsuchasthesideeffectsofacertainmedicineonpatientsaftereachtreatment.Allthesedatawillbecollectedandeventuallythegovernmentcaneasilyfindoutthenegativeaspectsofeachnewdrugandthereforedecidewhetherthisnewdrugissuitableforfurtherapplication.

MaleProfessor

Youallhearaboutthecriticizingremarksondrugtesting,right?

Whatwouldyousay?

Actually,theseremarkshaveunderestimateddrugtesting,becausetheyfailtoconsidersomeveryimportantfactors.

First,yes,newdrugtestingdoesinvolveaverylongprocedure,butwaitingiscertainlyworthwhile,becausepatients’safetyshouldalwaysbetheNO.1concern.Wecannotforgetthat,forexample,afewyearsago,afterpassingdrugtestingonlyonadults,anewmedicinewasbroughttomarket.Later,however,whenthisnewdrugwaswidelyappliedonchildren,certainsideeffectsappeared.Becauseofthesetotallyunexpectedsideeffects,somechildrenlosttheirlives.Therefore,thismedicaltragedyrepeatedlyremindsusthatwecanneverbetoocautiousindealingwithdrugtesting.

Second,er…itiscomplainedthatdrugtestingistooexpensive.Well,thispointisevenmoreunreasonable.Pleaserememberthis:

ifweallownewdrugstobebroadlyappliedwithoutpassinganydrugtestingprocedures,wewillprobablyendupwithspendingmuchmoremoney.Thisisbecausetheproblemscausedbysideeffectscouldhavebeenmoreexpensivetoindividualsortosocietyasawhole.Inaddition,weallknowthatpartofthemoneyspentondrugtestingisactuallygoingintoresearch.Infact,withtheenormousdatacollected,thedrugtestingitselfcanbevaluableresearchandisdefinitelyworththemoneyweputin.

Third,theMedWatchmentionedinthepassageisofcourseagoodthing.But,itisfarfromenoughtoaccumulatefirst-handdetails.Because,youknow,theMedWatchsystemisnotmandatory.Imean,itiscompletelybasedonvoluntaryinformationfeedbackofdoctors.Andsometimes,thosedoctorscanbetoooverworkedortoooverbookedtowritedownconcreteandspecificrecordsweneed.

2006年11月19日

Whilemanyanimalsregularlymovefromplacetoplace—includingcertainbutterflies,bats,seaturtles,fish,and,whales—birdsseemtocatchmostofourinterest.Severaltheorieshavebeenraisedtryingtoexplainbirds’navigation,thatis,howdobirdsfindtheirway?

Thefirsttheoryholdsthatbirdsareguidedbythesunindaytimeandstarsatnight.Manyofushavesucceededinlocatingthewaybackhomethroughtheguidanceofthesunandstarswhenlostinthewildfield.Asamatteroffact,usingheavenlybodiesasindicatorsfordirectionwasoncethemostwidelyappliedsurvivingtactforourancestors.

Thesecondtheoryiscalled“sightingtheory”,whichbelievesthefactthatbirdscanalwaysfindthecorrectwayisduetoaspecialmemoryfieldintheirbrain.Whentravelinglongdistancefromoneplacetoanother,birdsmemorizemajorterrainfeaturessuchasrivers,coastlinesandmountainrangesandthenrelyonthesememoriestofindthewaybackhome.

Thethirdtheorybelievesthatbirdsarerathersensitivetotheearth’smagneticfields.Inaddition,researchershavesucceededinlocatingtinymagneticmineralgrainscalled“magnetite”intheverydeeppartofbirds’head,whichfurtherassistsbirdstorelyonmagneticfieldstonavigate.

2006年10月22日

Itusedtobethecasethatatmostuniversitiesonlyafewstudentsreceivedthehighestgrades.Butprofessorstodayroutinelygiveamajorityoftheirstudentsgradethatlooksfarbeyondtheirrealperformance.Thisissometimesknownas“gradeinflation”.Althoughthispracticehasitscritics,itseemsvirtuallyirreversible.Actually,gradeinflationhasbecomeabrickinthebuildingofgeneralsocialexpectationsanditcannomorebechangedatthispointforquiteafewreasons.

First,sincemoststudentstodayaregettingaccustomedtoreceivinghighergrades,theyhavetakenthefactofreceivingbigscoresasgranted.Therefore,onceprofessorsstarttogradestrictly,somestudentsmaybefrustratedbythescoreslowerthanexpectedandthenloseinterestintheirfurtheracademicpursuits.

Second,professorshavetheconcernthatoncetheystopgrantinginflatedscorestolessqualifiedstudents,thereisagoodchancethattheymayalsoreceivelowerevaluationsfromthosestudentsasaresult.Usually,students’evaluationmattersalotindeterminingifaprofessorwillgetapromotionorsimplykeephispositioninthefuture.

Third,highmarkshelpstudentssellinthejobmarket,becauseemployersgenerallybelievethatgoodscoresstandforhighqualitiesofthestudents.Therefore,studentsreceivinginflatedgradeshaveapparentadvantagesoverthosewhoaregradedstrictlyinschool.

2006年12月1日

Marsislongconsideredoneoftheplanetsthatappearunfriendlytomostlifeforms,partlyduetoitsextremelycoldsurfacetemperatures.However,recentstudiestowardthisalienlandinvariablyrefertoquitetheopposite:

MarscouldbethefirstplanetwherewefindsignsoflifeexistingoutoftheEarth.

First,theMartianatmospherehasbeenconfirmedtoconsistofplentyofmethane.Ontheearth,atmosphericmethanecomesprimarilyfrommethanogen,bacteria-lifethatproducemethaneastheirdailymetabolicby-product.Sincemethanebreakdownsintoothergasesquicklyafterithasbeenproduced,forthisgastocontinueexistingintheMartianatmosphere,livemethanogenisanecessity.

Second,ameteorit