Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.
Text 4
Sharks have long served Hollywood as symbols of summer dread, from the marauding great white of Jaws to the airborne predators of the Sharknado franchise. Off the U.S. East Coast, however, a very different role is being tested: researchers at the University of Delaware want to know whether sharks, fitted with small sensors, could help forecasters gauge how intense an approaching hurricane might become.
The devices in question, known as CTD tags, record ocean conductivity—closely tied to salinity—along with temperature and depth as a tagged animal swims and dives. Animal-borne sensors are not new to oceanography; they have long been deployed on elephant seals in polar waters, where direct observations are otherwise scarce, says Aaron Carlisle, the project's principal investigator. Sharks, he argues, offer a fresh advantage: unlike many protected marine mammals, they are abundant, widely dispersed, and comparatively easy to access.
Shark tagging has traditionally tracked only where the animals travel and which habitats they favour. This project instead targets a specific physical quantity: the heat stored in the ocean's uppermost layer, known as the mixed layer, which fuels a hurricane's intensity—the warmer that layer, the stronger the storm it can sustain. Researchers select species that surface often enough for satellites to pick up their data, with shortfin mako, blue, smooth hammerhead and juvenile great white sharks emerging as strong North Atlantic candidates.
Tagging begins each May, when migratory sharks move toward the coast from deeper winter waters, explains doctoral candidate Caroline Wiernicki. Crews travel roughly 30 to 40 miles offshore, set baited lines, and typically wait two to three hours for a shark to bite. Once hooked, the animal is fitted with a fin-mounted tag—an operation described as running like a pit crew, usually finished within five minutes—before undergoing a health check and release; researchers take care to avoid stressing the animal, since a distressed shark might behave unnaturally and skew the resulting data. The tags themselves are designed to corrode and detach on their own over time.
Wiernicki is quick to contrast the exaggerated menace of shark films with the far tamer reality of the work, joking that a tagged shark resembles less a movie monster than an office worker logging the day's temperature readings before clocking out. Nor, she adds, does the project involve flinging sharks through waterspouts—at least not yet.
Should the approach prove successful, the resulting data could sharpen forecasts of hurricane intensity along the East Coast, from North Carolina to Massachusetts, giving coastal communities firmer footing to prepare for increasingly powerful storms. Carlisle hopes the project might also soften the public's largely fear-based image of sharks. Most people, he notes, will never encounter one in the wild, yet the animals remain deeply misunderstood. Demonstrating that they can help protect the very communities that fear them, he says, would make for a genuine win-win.
36. The mention of elephant seals in Paragraph 2 mainly serves to ____
[A] suggest that elephant seals and sharks migrate through the same ocean regions
[B] indicate that elephant seals will be used alongside sharks in this particular hurricane research project
[C] establish that using marine animals to gather scientific data is an established practice, not an untested idea
[D] imply that animal-borne sensors have generally proven unreliable in past research
37. According to Paragraph 3, researchers are particularly interested in the ocean's mixed layer because it ____
[A] is the layer where the candidate shark species spend most of their time
[B] holds heat that directly influences how powerful a hurricane can become
[C] is easier for satellites to detect than deeper layers of the ocean
[D] determines exactly when and where a hurricane will make landfall
38. According to Paragraph 4, researchers give tagged sharks a health check mainly to ____
[A] reduce the chance that stress-induced behaviour will distort the data collected
[B] comply with a legal requirement imposed specifically on shark researchers
[C] determine which individual sharks are best suited for long-distance migration
[D] ensure that the tags will corrode and detach at the intended time
39. Wiernicki's comparison of a tagged shark to an office worker is intended to ____
[A] argue that sharks should be regarded as intelligent as human professionals
[B] criticise the accuracy of scientific data collected through tagging
[C] reinforce the dramatic image of sharks presented in popular films
[D] highlight how mundane the actual research process is compared with popular portrayals of sharks
40. Which of the following best summarizes the researchers' hopes for this project?
[A] that it could yield practical benefits for coastal communities while reshaping public perceptions of sharks
[B] that it will primarily serve to correct inaccuracies in popular shark films
[C] that it will eliminate the need for other forms of hurricane forecasting technology
[D] that it will lead to sharks being officially reclassified as a protected species
附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。
参考答案见以下。
Quick look: CBADA
36.【正确答案】C
【解析】题型：举例目的题
定位：第二段提到，动物携带式传感器已被海洋学家成功用于多年，尤其是在观测稀缺的极地海域用在象海豹身上。
分析：提及象海豹的作用，是为了说明"用海洋动物采集科学数据"这一做法早有先例、并非未经检验的新尝试，从而为后文用鲨鱼做类似研究提供可信度背书。选项C准确概括了这一举例功能。
干扰项：[A]"暗示象海豹与鲨鱼在相同的海域迁徙"——无中生有，原文未做这一地理关联；[B]"表明本次飓风研究项目中会同时使用象海豹和鲨鱼"——张冠李戴，象海豹是过去研究中使用的动物，并非本项目的一部分；[D]"暗示动物携带式传感器在以往研究中普遍被证明不可靠"——事实相反，原文明确说这类传感器"多年来被成功使用"。
37.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：细节理解题
定位：第三段"the heat stored in the ocean's uppermost layer, known as the mixed layer...fuels a hurricane's intensity—the warmer that layer, the stronger the storm it can sustain."
分析："混合层"之所以受到研究者的特别关注，是因为其储存的热量直接影响飓风能达到的强度——该层越暖，飓风越强。选项B准确复述了这一关键原因。
干扰项：[A]"是候选鲨鱼物种大部分时间停留的水层"——无中生有，原文未说明鲨鱼主要活动在这一水层；[C]"比海洋更深处的水层更容易被卫星探测到"——偷换概念，卫星探测的是鲨鱼浮出水面时的标签信号，而非直接探测混合层本身；[D]"精确决定飓风登陆的具体时间和地点"——程度夸大，原文只说混合层影响飓风"强度"，并未提及登陆的时间地点。
38.【正确答案】A
【解析】题型：细节理解题
定位：第四段"researchers take care to avoid stressing the animal, since a distressed shark might behave unnaturally and skew the resulting data."
分析：给鲨鱼做健康检查、避免其受到过度应激，主要是为了防止应激状态下的异常行为扭曲最终采集到的数据。选项A准确概括了这一原因。
干扰项：[B]"遵守专门针对鲨鱼研究者的法律要求"——无中生有，原文提到的是机构动物关怀监督，并非专门法律要求；[C]"判断哪些个体鲨鱼最适合长距离迁徙"——无中生有，健康检查与迁徙适应性无关；[D]"确保标签会在预定时间腐蚀脱落"——偷换概念，标签的可降解设计是标签材料本身的属性，并非健康检查这一步骤要确保的事情。
39.【正确答案】D
【解析】题型：推理判断题
定位：第五段"Wiernicki is quick to contrast the exaggerated menace of shark films with the far tamer reality of the work, joking that a tagged shark resembles...an office worker logging the day's temperature readings."
分析：Wiernicki将佩戴标签的鲨鱼比作"上班打卡的职员"，用意在于凸显实际研究过程的平淡无奇，与流行文化中对鲨鱼的夸张渲染形成鲜明对比。选项D准确概括了这一推论。
干扰项：[A]"主张鲨鱼应被视为与人类职业人士同等智能"——以偏概全，这一比喻只是幽默类比，并非严肃的智能对比论断；[B]"批评通过标签采集的科学数据的准确性"——无中生有，原文没有对数据准确性提出质疑；[C]"强化了流行电影中对鲨鱼的夸张形象"——事实相反，这一比喻恰恰是为了消解而非强化那种夸张形象。
40.【正确答案】A
【解析】题型：主旨大意题
定位：末段"could sharpen forecasts of hurricane intensity...giving coastal communities firmer footing...Carlisle hopes the project might also soften the public's largely fear-based image of sharks."
分析：末段将全文的研究意义归纳为两个层面——为沿海社区提供更可靠的飓风预报信息（实际效益），以及有望缓和公众对鲨鱼的恐惧化刻板印象（认知层面）。选项A精准概括了这两重期望。
干扰项：[B]"主要是为了纠正流行鲨鱼电影中的不准确之处"——以偏概全，纠正大众认知只是其中一个附带期望，改善飓风预报才是研究的核心目标；[C]"将使其他形式的飓风预测技术变得不再必要"——程度夸大，原文只说该数据可能"提升"预报精度，并未说要取代其他技术手段；[D]"将促使鲨鱼被正式列为受保护物种"——无中生有，原文未提及物种保护地位的变更。
【词汇注释】
marauding: adjective (RAIDING) roaming in search of things to steal or people to attack 掠夺成性的（文中形容大白鲨在电影中"肆虐"的形象）
conductivity: noun (ELECTRICAL PROPERTY) the degree to which a specified material conducts electricity 电导率
corrode: verb (WEAR AWAY) to be gradually destroyed by chemical action, especially oxidation 腐蚀；锈蚀
distressed: adjective (UPSET) suffering from extreme anxiety or stress 处于应激/痛苦状态的
skew: verb (DISTORT) to make something biased or distorted in a way regarded as inaccurate or misleading 使失真；使产生偏差
menace: noun (THREAT) a person or thing likely to cause harm; a threat or danger 威胁；危险
resilience: noun (RECOVERY ABILITY) the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or withstand pressure 韧性；恢复力
【长难句】Should the approach prove successful, the resulting data could sharpen forecasts of hurricane intensity along the East Coast, from North Carolina to Massachusetts, giving coastal communities firmer footing to prepare for increasingly powerful storms.
Should the approach prove successful为倒装的虚拟条件状语从句（省略if并将should提前），相当于if the approach should prove successful；
主干为the resulting data could sharpen forecasts of hurricane intensity along the East Coast，from North Carolina to Massachusetts为插入的地点范围说明； giving coastal communities firmer footing to prepare for increasingly powerful storms为现在分词短语作结果状语，说明这一提升带来的后续效果。
【参考译文】
鲨鱼长期以来一直是好莱坞电影中夏季恐惧的象征，从《大白鲨》中肆虐的大白鲨，到《鲨卷风》系列电影中翱翔天际的掠食者皆是如此。然而，在美国东海岸外海，鲨鱼正被赋予一种截然不同的角色：特拉华大学的研究人员希望了解，为鲨鱼安装微型传感器后，能否帮助气象预报员评估即将到来的飓风可能达到的强度。
这些被称为CTD标签的设备，在被标记的鲨鱼游动和潜水时，会记录海洋电导率（与盐度密切相关）以及水温和深度。该项目首席研究员亚伦·卡莱尔表示，动物搭载式传感器在海洋学领域并非新鲜事物；在极地水域——那里直接观测机会本就稀少——人们早已将此类传感器部署在象海豹身上。他认为，鲨鱼具有独特的优势：与许多受保护的海洋哺乳动物不同，它们数量丰富、分布广泛，且相对容易接近。
传统上，鲨鱼标记仅用于追踪这些动物的迁徙路线及其偏好的栖息地。而该项目则瞄准了一个具体的物理量：储存在海洋最上层（即混合层）中的热量，这一热量是飓风强度的驱动力——该层水温越高，飓风就能维持越强的风力。研究人员选择那些浮出水面频率足够高、能被卫星捕获数据的鲨鱼物种，其中短鳍真鲨、蓝鲨、光头锤头鲨和幼年大白鲨成为北大西洋地区的理想候选对象。
博士生卡罗琳·维尔尼基解释说，标记工作每年5月开始，此时迁徙的鲨鱼会从冬季栖息的深水区向海岸移动。研究团队会驶离海岸约30至40英里，设置带诱饵的钓线，通常等待两到三个小时，直到有鲨鱼上钩。鲨鱼上钩后，研究人员会为其安装鳍部追踪器——这一操作被形容为“如同赛车维修队般高效”，通常五分钟内即可完成——随后进行健康检查并将其放生；研究人员会格外小心，避免给鲨鱼造成压力，因为受惊的鲨鱼可能会表现出异常行为，从而导致数据失真。这些标记装置本身的设计是随着时间的推移会自行腐蚀并脱落。
维尔尼基迅速将鲨鱼电影中被夸大的威胁与这项工作温和得多的现实进行了对比，她开玩笑说，一只被标记的鲨鱼与其说像电影里的怪物，不如说更像一名在下班前记录当天气温读数的办公室职员。她补充道，该项目也不涉及将鲨鱼抛入水龙卷中——至少目前还没有。
如果这种方法被证明是成功的，所得数据将有助于提高从北卡罗来纳州到马萨诸塞州沿东海岸飓风强度的预测精度，使沿海社区能够更有底气地应对日益强烈的风暴。卡莱尔希望该项目还能缓和公众对鲨鱼那种主要基于恐惧的刻板印象。他指出，大多数人一生中都不会在野外遇到鲨鱼，但人们对这些动物的误解依然根深蒂固。他说，证明鲨鱼能够帮助保护那些害怕它们的社区，将实现真正的双赢。
附注：