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上海交通大学2013年博士研究生入学考试英语真题
Part I: Reading Comprehension
Passage 1
There are desert plants which survive the dry season in the form of inactive seeds. There are also desert insects which survive as inactive larvae (high). In addition, difficult
as it is to believe, there are desert fish which can survive through years of drought in the
form of inactive eggs. These are the shrimps that live in the Mojave Desert, an intensely
dry region in the south-west of the United States where shade temperatures of over 50 are
open recorded.
The eggs of the Mojave shrimps are the size and have the appearance of grains of
sand. When sufficient spring rain falls to form a lake, once every two to five years, these
eggs hatch. Then the water is soon filled with millions of tiny shrimps about a millimeter long which feed on tiny plant and animal organisms which also grow in the temporary des-
ert lake. Within a week, the shrimps grow from their original 1 millimeter to a length of a-
bout 1.5 centimeters.
Throughout the time that the shrimps are rapidly maturing, the water in the lake equally
rapidly evaporates. Therefore, for the shrimps it is a race against time. By the twelfth day,
however, when they are about 3 centimeters long, hundreds of tiny eggs form on the un-
derbodies of the females. Usually by this time, all that remains of the lake is a large, mud-
dy patch of wet soil. On the thirteenth day and the next, during the final hours of their brief
lives, the shrimps lay their eggs in the mud. Then, having ensured that their species will
survive, the shrimps die as the last of the water evaporates.
If sufficient rain falls the next year to form another lake, the eggs hatch, and once a-
gain the shrimps pass rapidly through their cycle of growth, adulthood, egg-laying，and death. Some years is insufficient rain to form a lake: in this case, the eggs will remain dor-
mant for another year, or even longer if necessary. Very, very occasionally, perhaps twice
in a hundred years, sufficient rain falls to form a deep lake that lasts a month or more. In
this case, the species passes through two cycles of growth, egg-laying, and death. Thus,
on such occasions, the species multiplies considerably, which further ensures its survival.
1. Which of the following is the MOST distinctive feature of Mojave shrimps? A. Their lives are brief.
巳.They feed on plant and animal organisms.
A. Their eggs can survive years of drought. B. They lay their eggs in the mud.
2. By saying “for the shrimps it is a race against time”(Para. 3) the author means _________ .
A. they have to swim fast to avoid danger in the rapidly evaporating licks
B. they have to swim fast to catch the animal organisms on which they survive. C. they have to multiply as many as possible within thirteen days.
D. they have to complete their life cycle within a short span of time permitted by the
environment.
3. The passage mainly deals with ___________ . A. the life span of Mojave shrimps B. the survival of desert shrimps C. the importance of water to life D. life in the Mojave Desert
4. The word “dormant” (Para. 4) most probably means _______________ . A. inactive
B. strong
C. alert
D. soft
5. It may be inferred from the passage that ____________ .
A. appearance and size are most important for life to survive in the desert. B. a species must be able to multiply quickly in order to survive.
C. for some species one life cycle in a year is enough to survive the desert drought.
D. some species develop a unique life pattern to survive in extremely harsh condi- tions.
Passage 2
The Welsh language has always been the ultimate marker of Welsh identity, but a gen-
eration ago it looked as if Welsh would go the way of Manx.——Once widely spoken on the
isle of Man but not extinct. Government financing and central planning, however, have helped reverse the decline of Welsh. Road signs and official public documents are written
in both Welsh and English, and schoolchildren are required to learn both languages,