剑桥雅思6第一套阅读section2真题原文+详细解析.doc

剑桥雅思6第一套阅读真题原文+詳細解析READING PASSAGE 2You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. DELIVERING THE GOODS The vast expansion in international trade owes much to a revolution in the business of moving freightA International trade is growing at a startling pace. While the global economy has been expanding at a bit over 3% a year, the volume of trade has been rising at a compound annual rate of about twice that. Foreign products, from meat to machinery, play a more important role in almost every economy in the world, and foreign markets now tempt businesses that never much worried about sales beyond their nations borders.B What lies behind this explosion in international commerce? The general worldwide decline in trade barriers, such as customs duties and import quotas, is surely one explanation. The economic opening of countries that have traditionally been minor players is another. But one force behind the import-export boom has passed all but unnoticed: the rapidly falling cost of getting goods to market. Theoretically, in the world of trade, shipping costs do not matter. Goods, once they have been made, are assumed to move instantly and at no cost from place to place. The real world, however, is full of frictions. Cheap labour may make Chinese clothing competitive in America, but if delays in shipment tie up working capital and cause winter coats to arrive in spring, trade may lose its advantages.C At the turn of the 20th century, agriculture and manufacturing were the two most important sectors almost everywhere, accounting for about 70% of total output in Germany, Italy and France, and 40-50% in America, Britain and Japan. International commerce was therefore dominated by raw materials, such as wheat, wood and iron ore, or processed commodities, such as meat and steel. But these sorts of products are heavy and bulky and the cost of transporting them relatively high.D Countries still trade disproportionately with their geographic neighbours. Over time, however, world output has shifted into goods whose worth is unrelated to their size and weight. Today, it is finished manufactured products that dominate the flow of trade, and, thanks to technological advances such as lightweight components, manufactured goods themselves have tended to become lighter and less bulky. As a result, less transportation is required for every dollars worth of imports or exports.E To see how this influences trade, consider the business of making disk drives for computers. Most of the worlds disk-drive manufacturing is concentrated in South-east Asia. This is possible only because disk drives, while valuable, are small and light and so cost little to ship. Computer manufacturers in Japan or Texas will not face hugely bigger freight bills if they import drives from Singapore rather than purchasing them on the domestic market. Distance therefore poses no obstacle to the globalisation of the disk-drive industry.F This is even more true of the fast-growing information industries. Films and compact discs cost little to transport, even by aeroplane. Computer software can be exported without ever loading it onto a ship, simply by transmitting it over telephone lines from one country to another, so freight rates and cargo-handling schedules become insignificant factors in deciding where to make the product. Businesses can locate based on other considerations, such as the availability of labour, while worrying less about the cost of delivering their output.G In many countries deregulation has helped to drive the process along. But, behind the scenes, a series of technological innovations known broadly as containerisation and intermodal transportation has led to swift productivity improvements in cargo-handling. Forty years ago, the process of exporting or importing involved a great many stages of handling, which risked portions of the shipment being damaged or stolen along the way. The invention of the container crane made it possible to load and unload containers without capsizing the ship and the adoption of standard container sizes allowed almost any box to be transported on any ship. By 1967, dual-purpose ships, carrying loose cargo in the hold* and containers on the deck, were giving way to all-container vessels that moved thousands of boxes at a time.H The shipping container transformed ocean shipping into a highly efficient, intensely competitive business. But getting the cargo to and from the dock was a different story. National governments, by and large, kept a much firmer hand on truck and railroad tariffs than on charges for ocean freight. This started changing, however, in the mid-1970s, when America began to deregulate its transportation industry. First airlines, then road hauliers and railways, were freed from restrictions on what they could carry, where they could haul it and what price they could charge. Big productivity gains resulted. Between 1985 and 1996, for example, Americas freight railways dramatically reduced their employment, trackage, and their fleets of locomotives - while increasing the amount of cargo they hauled. Europes railways have also shown marked, albeit smaller, productivity improvements.I In America the period of huge productivity gains in transportation may be almost over, but in most countries the process still has far to go. State ownership of railways and airlines, regulation of freight rates and toleration of anti-competitive practices, such as cargo-handling monopolies, all keep the cost of shipping unnecessarily high and deter international trade. Bringing these barriers down would help the worlds economies grow even closer.* hold: ships storage area below deckQuestions 14-17Reading Passage 2 has nine paragraphs, A-I.Which paragraph contains the following information?Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.14 a suggestion for improving trade in the future15 the effects of the introduction of electronic delivery16 the similar cost involved in transporting a product from abroad or from a local supplier17 the weakening relationship between the value of goods and the cost of their deliveryQuestions 18-22Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?In boxes 18-22 on your answer sheet, writeTRUE if the statement agrees with the informationFALSE if the statement contradicts the informationNOT GIVEN if there is no information on this18 International trade is increasing at a greater rate than the world economy.19 Cheap labour guarantees effective trade conditions.20 Japan imports more meat and steel than France.21 Most countries continue to prefer to trade with nearby nations.22 Small computer components are manufactured in Germany.Questions 23-26Complete the summary using the list of words, A-K, below.Write the correct letter, A-K, in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet. THE TRANSPORT REVOLUTIONModern cargo-handling methods have had a significant effect on 23. as the business of moving freight around the world becomes increasingly streamlined.Manufacturers of computers, for instance, are able to import 24. from overseas, rather than having to rely on a local supplier. The introduction of 25. has meant that bulk cargo can be safely and efficiently moved over long distances. While international shipping is now efficient, there is still a need for governments to reduce 26. in order to free up the domestic cargo sector.A tariffs B components C container shipsD output E employees F insurance costsG trade H freight I faresJ software K international standards体裁 说明文主题 货物运输结构 A段：概括国际贸易的发展和扩张B段：简述国际贸易飞速发展的原因C段：20世纪之交的货物运送情况D段：贸易运输货物类型以及与运输关系的转变E段：举硬盘之例说明货物运送类型的转变对贸易的影响F段：信息产业的货物运送情况G段：科技创新技术对于船运货物的影响H段：陆运货物的发展和进步I段：货物运送产业的发展前景必背词汇A段oweto把归功于pacen.速度，步调freightn.船货，货运；运费compoundadj.复合的startlingadj.令人吃惊的temptv.吸引B段explosionn.原意为爆发，此处意为突增boomn.繁荣declinev.降低，减少theoreticallyadv.理论上地barriern.屏障，障碍shipping cost运输费用customs duty关税assumev.假定，设想importn./v.进口frictionn.摩擦；矛盾quotan.配额delayv.延迟，推迟minoradj.次要的，较小的，二流的tie up占用(资金等)exportn./v.出口capitaln.资金，资产C段sectorn.部门iron ore铁矿石account for(在数量方面)占，占据processv.加工，处理dominatev.支配；占优势commodityn.商品rawadj.生的；未加工的bulkyadj.庞大的D段disproportionately adv.不成比例地，不相称地lightweightadj.轻的(重量轻的，标准重以下的)shiftv.改变，移转unrelated to无关的，不相关的componentn.成分flown.流程E段disk drive磁盘驱动器domesticadj.国内的concentratev.集中，专心于poseto给制造(问题，困难等)purchasev.购买globalizationn.全球化F段transmitv.传输，转送based on基于，作为的基础cargo handling货物装卸considerationn.需要考虑的因素insignificantadj.无关紧要的，可忽略的availabilityn.可用性，有效性G段deregulationn.撤消管制规定stagen.发展的进程，阶段behind the scenes在幕后riskv.冒的危险innovationn.改革，创新cranen.起重机broadlyadv.广泛地capsizev.(特指船)倾覆containerisationn.集装箱化adoptionn.采用intermodaladj.联合运输的dual purpose两用，双重任务transportationn.运输looseadj.散装的swiftadj.迅速的，快的deckn.甲板productivityn.生产力，生产率vesseln.船H段intenselyadv.激烈地haulv.拖运dockn.码头，船坞dramaticallyadv.引人注目地，显著地by and large总的来说(从各方面来看，大体上，基本上，全面地)trackagen.铁路轨道线路locomotiven.火车头，机关车tariffn.关税albeitconj.虽然(即使)restrictionn.限制，约束I段stateadj.国家的monopolyn.垄断tolerationn.容忍，容许deterv.阻止anti-competitive practice反竞争行为难句解析1. Foreign products, from meat to machinery, play a more important role in almost every economy in the world, and foreign markets now tempt businesses that never much worried about sales beyond their nations borders.参考译文：外国产品几乎在各国市场中都扮演着愈加重要的角色，产品范围广及肉类制品到机械设备，国外市场也正在吸引着那些从来不曾关心其商品在国外销路的企业。注：此句话是复合句，包含一个定语从句。that后面是定语从句，修饰businesses。语言点：(1)play a role：起作用Genetics clearly play a role.遗传学显然同这种病有关。(2) tempt：引诱 to try to persuade someone to do something by making it seem attractiveHe was tempted into making a false step.他被引诱而做了一件傻事。(3) beyond: 超过 on or to the further side of somethingBeyond the fiver, cattle were grazing.越过河水，牛在吃草。2. Cheap labour may make Chinese clothing competitive in America, but if delays in shipment tie up working capital and cause winter coats to arrive in spring, trade may lose its advantages.参考译文：廉价劳动力可以使中国的纺织品在美国市场上极具竞争力，而一旦货运的延迟占用了流动资金，并导致冬大衣直至来春才运达目的地，那么这笔交易将会失去其竞争优势。注：此复合句中包含有两层关系，第一层是but所表示的转折关系，而第二层是由if引导的条件状语从句。转折关系包含着条件关系，因此要分清主次。语言点：(1)delay：延误to make someone or something latea. delay something until somethingThe opening of this section of the road is delayed until September.道路项目的开始时间被推迟到九月。b. delay something for somethingOur meeting was delayed for ten minutes.我们的会议被推迟了十分钟。c. delay doing somethingBig companies often delay paying their bills.大公司经常拖欠交纳各项账单。(2)capital：资产money or property, especially when it is used to start a business or to produce more wealth The government is eager to attract foreign capital.政府期望吸引外资。3. Computer software can be exported without ever loading it onto a ship, simply by transmitting it over telephone lines from one country to another, so freight rates and cargo-handling schedules become insignificant factors in deciding where to make the product.参考译文：计算机软件的“出口”甚至不需要装运，而仅仅通过电话线就可以在各国之间传输。因此，在选定制造地点时，货运费用和货物装卸表已成为无关紧要的因素。语言点：(1)export：出口 to sell goods to another country；反import：进口The company exports tuna to the US.公司向美国出口吞拿鱼。(2)transmit v.传输，转送a. to send out electronic signals, messages etc. using radio, television, or other similar equipmentThe US Open will be transmitted live via satellite.美国网球公开赛将通过卫星进行直播。The system transmits information over digital phone lines.系统通过数字电话线传输信息。b. transmit something (from somebody/something) to somebody/somethingMathematical knowledge is transmitted from teacher to student.数学知识通过老师传授给学生。(3) insignificant: 无关紧要的too small or unimportant to consider or worry aboutYou will realize that your problems are insignificant in comparison.通过比较你会发觉你的问题显得微不足道。试题解析Questions 14-17题目类型：MATCHING题目解析：题号定位词文中对应点14suggestion, in the future/would helpI段：Bringing these barriers down would help the worlds economies grow even closer.首先看到题干中有明确的时间词“在未来”。根据段意，可以判定应该是文章的最后一段。之后看题干中的定位词suggestion表示建议，在文章结尾部分的最后一句话，可以清楚地找到它是作者对于提高贸易的一个建议，完全对应。另外还可以根据语法，suggest当“建议”讲的时候后面的从句应该用虚拟语气，而would help正好符合。综上，答案为I段。15electronic delivery/transmittingover telephoneF段：simply by transmitting it over telephone lines from one country to another.题干中提到电子式的传递，很容易跟文章关于信息产业的F段挂钩，之后再细读本段第二句话就可以找到与题干相对应的transmittingover telephone。因此，答案是F段。16similar cost Abroad, local/Singapore, domesticE段：manufacturers in Japan or Texas will not face hugely bigger freight bills if they import drives from Singapore rather than purchasing them on the domestic market.首先必须弄懂题干的意思，题干是说“无论是国际还是国内的，在运输货物环节的相近成本。”也就是说国内的运输和国际的运输成本基本相同，间接表明国际运输成本比较低。而文章中此句话的意思是“即使从新加坡进口磁盘驱动器而不是在国内市场购买，日本或美国得克萨斯州的计算机制造商们也不会面对花费高出很多的运费账单”。可以看出制造商们不用花费很高的运费，正好跟题干相对应。因此应该选择E段。17Weakening relationship, value of goods, cost of delivery/ unrelated toD段:world output has shifted into goods whose worth is unrelated to their size and weight.首先可以通过题干判断出描述的问题是商品价值和运输成本的关系，因此根据段落大意，可以先猜测性判断应该和文章第四段对应。之后细读第四段，发现有很明显的对应。题干的weakening relationship(弱化的关系)，跟文章unrelated to(不相关的)表达同一个意思。因此可以很迅速地找到对应答案。Questions 18-22题目类型：True/False/Not Given题目解析：18. International trade is increasing at a greater rate than the world economy.参考译文国际贸易比世界经济增长得快很多。定位词international trade，world economy解题关键字at a greater rate文中对应点A段：global economy has been expanding at a bit over 3a year，the volume of trade has been rising at a compound annual rate of about twice that.非常明显，twice是题眼，表示trade是global economy的两倍，所以看出国际贸易要比世界经济增长快很多，正好对应上定位词和题干。答案TRUE19. Cheap labour guarantees effective trade conditions.参考译文廉价劳动力保证了有效的贸易情况。定位词cheap labour解题关键字guarantee，effective/but文中对应点B段：Cheap labour may make Chinese clothing competitive in America，but if delays in shipmenttrade may lose its advantages.此题找到对应段落，正好cheap labour用词一样。之后文章尽管说廉价劳动力使得中国纺织品在美国具有竞争力，但要注意转折词but，它使意思发生转变。后面的句子可以看出，如果没有好的、及时的运输，那么贸易也就失去了优势(lose advantages)。因此正好是驳斥了题干中关于廉价劳动力对于贸易的保证关系，因此题干与文章的意思不相符。答案FALSE20. Japan imports more meat and steel than France.参考译文日本比法国进口更多的肉类和钢铁。定位词Japan，France解题关键字Import more meat and steel文中对应点C段:agriculture and manufacturing were the two most important sectors almost eve