Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension ( 40 minutes )
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
Questions 26 to 35 are based on the following passage.
A rat or pigeon might not be the obvious choice to tend to someone who is sick, but these creatures have some 26 skills that could help the treatment of human diseases.
Pigeons are often seen as dirty birds and an urban 27 , but they are just the latest in a long line of animals that have been found to have abilities to help humans. despite having a brain no bigger than the 28 of your index finger, pigeons have a very impressive 29 memory. recently it was shown that they could be trained to be as accurate as humans at detecting breast cancer in images.
Rats are often 30 with spreading disease rather than 31 it, but this long-tailed animal is highly 32 . Inside a rat's nose are up to 1,000 different types of olfactory receptors (嗅觉感受器), whereas humans only have 100 to 200 types. This gives rats the ability to detect 33 smells. As a result, some rats are being put to work to detect TB(肺结核). When the rats detect the smell, they stop and rub their legs to 34 a sample is infected.
Traditionally, a hundred samples would take lab technicians more than two days to 35 , but for a rat it takes less than 20 minutes. This rat detection method doesn't rely on specialist equipment. It is also more accurate — the rats are able to find more TB infections and, therefore, save more lives.
A)associated
B)examine
C)indicate
D)nuisance
E)peak
F)preventing
G)prohibiting
H)sensitive
I)slight
J)specify
K)superior
L)suspicious
M)tip
N)treated
O)visual
答案解析：
26. K
27. D
28. M
29. O
30. A
31. F
32. H
33. I
34. C
35. B
根据“but these creatures have some... skills that could help the treatment of human diseases”(但这些生物有一些……技能可以帮助治疗人类疾病)，结合选项可知，这里说的是这些生物有“卓越的”技能，superior表示“优越的，卓越的”，所以选K。
根据“Pigeons are often seen as dirty birds and an urban...”(鸽子通常被视为脏鸟和城市里的……)，这里需要一个表示负面意义的名词，nuisance表示“令人讨厌的人或事物”，符合语境，所以选D。
根据“Despite having a brain no bigger than the... of your index finger”(尽管它们的大脑还没有你食指的……大)，这里说的是大脑和食指的某个部位比较，tip表示“尖端，末端”，the tip of your index finger“食指尖”，符合语境，所以选M。
根据“pigeons have a very impressive... memory”(鸽子有非常令人印象深刻的……记忆)，结合后文提到鸽子能通过图像检测乳腺癌，可知这里说的是“视觉”记忆，visual表示“视觉的”，所以选O。
根据“Rats are often... with spreading disease”(老鼠经常……传播疾病)，be associated with是固定短语，表示“与……有关”，符合语境，所以选A。
根据“rather than... it”(而不是……它)，这里与spreading disease(传播疾病)相对，应该是“预防”疾病，prevent表示“预防”，所以选F。
根据“Inside a rat's nose are up to 1,000 different types of olfactory receptors (嗅觉感受器), whereas humans only have 100 to 200 types.”(老鼠鼻子里有多达1000种不同类型的嗅觉感受器，而人类只有100到200种)，可知老鼠的嗅觉很“灵敏”，sensitive表示“灵敏的”，所以选H。
根据“This gives rats the ability to detect... smells”(这使老鼠有能力检测……气味)，结合前文说老鼠嗅觉灵敏，可知这里说的是能检测到“轻微的”气味，slight表示“轻微的”，所以选I。
根据“When the rats detect the smell, they stop and rub their legs to... a sample is infected”(当老鼠检测到气味时，它们会停下来摩擦腿来……样本被感染了)，这里需要一个表示“表明，显示”的词，indicate表示“表明，显示”，所以选C。
根据“Traditionally, a hundred samples would take lab technicians more than two days to...”(传统上，一百个样本需要实验室技术人员花两天多时间来……)，这里说的是技术人员对样本进行“检查”，examine表示“检查”，所以选B。
