大学英语四级分类模拟题402
Reading Comprehension
Section A
When we think about the growth of human population over the last century or so, it is all too easy to imagine it merely as an increase in the number of humans. But as we   1  , so do all the things associated with us,   2  our livestock (牲畜). At present, there are about 1.5 billion cattle and domestic buffalo and about 1.7 billion sheep and goats. With pigs and poultry, they form a   3  part of our enormous biological footprint upon this planet.
    Just how enormous was not really apparent until the   4  of a report, called Livestock's Long Shadow, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
    Consider these numbers. Global livestock grazing (放牧) and feed production use 30 percent of the land surface of the planet. Livestock—which consume more food than they   5  —also compete directly with humans for water. And the drive to expand grazing land destroy
s more biologically sensitive terrain,   6  rain forests, than anything else.
    But what is even more striking, and alarming, is that livestock are   7  for about 18 percent of the global warming effect, more than transportation's   8  . The culprits (罪魁祸首) are methane—the natural result of bovine digestion—and the nitrogen emitted by manure. Deforestation of grazing land adds to the effect.
    There are no easy trade-offs when it comes to global warming—such as cutting back on cattle to make room for cars. The human   9  for meat is certainly not about to end anytime soon. As Livestock's Long Shadow makes clear, our health and the health of the planet depend on pushing livestock production in more   10  directions.
    A. available                I. multiply
firefighter    B. certainly                J. passion
    C. concerning              K. publication
    D. contribution            L. responsible
    E. critical                M. sustainable
    F. especially              N. waste
    G. including                O. yield
    H. liable
Section B
Firefighter Training
    A. To a typical American kid, the only thing cooler than a firetruck is somebody who rides in one. Firefighters drive through the city at high speeds and climb ladders to sickening heights. These highly trained specialists risk their lives every day fighting fires. It's easy to see why so many people want to become firefighters: serving as one is heroic and adventurous. But becoming a firefighter takes more than strength and courage.
    B. Before you can become an active-duty firefighter, you need to spend about 600 hours
in training, over the course of 12 to 14 weeks. That's somewhere between 40 to 48 hours per week, which makes firefighter training a full-time job. Training typically occurs at a fire academy, which is often run by the fire department, a division of the state government or a university. Much of this training is actually in the classroom. During their academic coursework at the fire academy, students study English, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Fire Science in relation to real-life fire situations. To be effective problem solvers and keep up good communication on the job, a firefighter needs to be strong.
    C. Firefighting is a highly competitive field. Thousands of applicants apply every year across the country, but most are rejected. Many departments hire every two years, and typically give staff positions to about 30 applicants at a time. While some fire departments only require applicants to hold a high school diploma, many look for applicants with two years of college credits from an accredited college or university. Firefighting is so competitive, in fact, that many applicants obtain EMT or paramedic (护理人员) certification before applying to become a firefighter, making them more desirable to hiring departments. Today, more applicants than ever before have four-year degrees in Fire Science or related f
ields, which has made the field even more competitive.
    D. To enter a training program, applicants take three exams: a written test, a Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) and an aptitude test. The written exam typically consists of around 100 multiple choice questions and covers spatial awareness, reading comprehension, mechanical reasoning, logic, observation and memory. The primary focus of the physical ability test is agility (机敏), upper body strength and endurance. Each task is timed and tests the applicant's capacity to endure sustained physical activity. These tasks are reflective of what students do in the fire academy throughout their training days in and out. It's unlikely that an applicant who strains to complete the tasks will survive 14 weeks of training, and so is a strong indicator of future success.
    E. Applicants train for the CPAT in some unusual ways. Often, applicants run up and down stairs or stadiums, lift heavy sacks of sand by rope, or jog in multi-level parking garages. Next, we'll take a look at the most exciting and dangerous aspect of firefighter training. In order to survive, firefighters must be able to think critically and clearly and solve
problems quickly, under extreme stress. This can be especially difficult in an actual fire, so training instructors conduct live fire training drills: They purposely set buildings on fire to give students opportunities to develop these skills. The overall goal of this behavioral training is to instill (逐步培养) good habits in students through repeated exposure. Live fire training is conducted in burn buildings, which are structures, built or acquired, to be intentionally burned for firefighter training.