Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Passage One Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:

Much of Canada’s forestry¹ production goes towards making pulp² and paper. According to the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world’s wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper. If these paper products could be produced in some other way, Canadian forests could be preserved. Recently, a possible alternative way of producing paper has been suggested by agriculturalists and environmentalists: a plant called hemp³.

Hemp has been cultivated by many cultures for . It produces fibre which can be made into paper, fuel, oils, textiles, food, and rope. For centuries, it was essential to the economies of many countries because it was used to make the ropes and cables used on sailing ships; colonial expansion and the establishment of a world-wide trading network would not have been feasible without hemp. Nowadays, ships’ cables are usually made from wire or synthetic⁴ fibres, but scientists are now suggesting that the cultivation⁵ of hemp should be revived for the production of . According to its proponents⁶, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many environmentalists believe that the large-scale cultivation of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada’s forests.

However, there is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries of the world. This plant, so useful for fibre, rope, oil, fuel and textiles, is a species of cannabis, related to the plant from which marijuana is produced. In the late 1930s, a movement to ban the drug marijuana began to gather force, resulting in the eventual⁷ banning of the cultivation not only of the plant used to produce the drug, but also of the commercial fibre-producing hemp plant. In fact, marijuana cannot be produced from the hemp plant, since it contains almost no THC (the active ingredient in the drug).In recent years, a movement for legalization have been gathering⁸ strength. It is concerned only with the hemp plant used to produce fibre; this group wants to make it legal to cultivate the plant and sell the fibre for  production.

21.Why is pulp and paper production important to Canada
A) Canada needs to find a way to use all its spare wood.
B) Canada publishes a lot of newspapers and books.
C) Pulp and paper export is a major source of income for Canada.
D) Hemp is a traditional plant of Canada.

22.Why was the plant hemp essential to world-wide trade in the past
A) Ships’ ropes were made from it.
B) Hemp was a very profitable export.
C) Hemp was used as fuel for ships.
D) Hemp was used as food for sailors.

23.Why do agriculturalists think that hemp would be better for paper production than trees
A) It is cheaper to grow hemp than to cut down trees.
B) More paper can be produced from the same area of land.
C) Hemp produces higher quality paper.
D) It causes less pollution of the environment.

24.Why was hemp banned
A) It is related to the marijuana plant.
B) It can be used to produce marijuana.
C) It was no longer a useful crop.
D) It was destructive to the land.

25.“According to its proponents, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees.” ——What does “proponents” mean
A) People who are against something.
B) People who support something.
C) People in charge of something.
D) People who do research on something.

内容概要:加拿大是世界上生产纸浆和纸制品的大国。为了保护森林资源，环境学家们提出可以种植麻，用麻纤维造纸。过去人们种植麻用以制造绳索、燃料、油类等，同样面积的土地上种出来的麻造成的纸是树制成纸的四倍。然而在许多国家种植麻是违法的，尽管麻植物并不能制成毒品大麻。人们正在努力使麻种植合法化。

21.【答案】C。
【译文】因为纸浆和纸制品是加拿大主要的出口收入来源，所以对加拿大来说非常重要。
【试题分析】细节推理题。
【详细解答】原文第一段第二句“According to the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world’s wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper”，根据加拿大纸浆和纸制品协会的数据，加拿大提供全世界34%的木浆和49%的新闻纸，由此得知加拿大的纸浆和纸制品出口量大，是加拿大重要的收入来源，所以C）为正确答案。答案A）加拿大要想法用掉多余的木材与人们希望保护森林资源的目的正好相反，答案B）加拿大出版许多报纸和书籍在原文中并未提及，答案D）麻是加拿大的传统植物与问题无关。

22.【答案】A。
【译文】过去麻在世界贸易中至关重要是因为船用绳索就是麻制成的。
【试题分析】细节考察题。
【详细解答】原文第二段第三句话“For centuries, it was essential to the economies of many countries because it was used to make the ropes and cables used on sailing ships”，几个世纪以来，它对许多国家的经济来说举足轻重是因为它可以用来制造缆绳，所以答案是A）。答案B）麻是利润丰厚的出口产品、C）麻可以制成船用燃料、D）麻可以作水手的食物等在原文中未提及。

23.【答案】B。
【译文】农业学家认为麻造纸比用树木好是因为在同样面积土地上，种植麻造纸比种树造纸产量高。
【试题分析】细节考察题。
【详细解答】原文第二段最后一句话“four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many environmentalists believe that the large-scale cultivation of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada’s forests”意思是，环境学家据此认为大规模种植麻将缓解加拿大森林砍伐的压力，由此可见麻造纸的优势在于产纸量大，从而减少树木的砍伐量，保护环境。答案A）种麻比砍树便宜、答案C）麻造的纸质量更好、答案D）麻较少污染环境均与原文不符。

24.【答案】A。
【译文】禁止种植麻是因为麻跟制成大麻毒品的植物种类相近。
【试题分析】细节考察题。
【详细解答】原文第三段第二句话“This plant, so useful for fibre, rope, oil, fuel and textiles, is a species of cannabis, related to the plant from which marijuana is produced”说这种植物非常有用，可以制成纤维，绳索，油类，燃料和织物，但它是大麻属的一种植物，与制成大麻毒品的植物种类相近，所以答案A）是正确答案。原文中还说麻并不能制造大麻毒品，因此答案B）麻可以制成大麻毒品明显是错误的，C）麻不再有用也与原文不符，D）麻对土地具破坏性在原文中并未提到，相反种麻可以减少树木砍伐量，从而保护环境。

25.【答案】B。
【译文】“proponent”的意思是支持者。
【试题分析】词义推测题，根据上下文猜测词义。
【详细解答】上一句说环境学家们提议用麻代替树木造纸，下一句说根据“proponents”的看法，用麻造纸有很大的好处，所以“proponents”肯定是支持这一建议的人。