2013汕头二模英语试题阅读理解4篇文章原文及译文

汕头市2013年普通高中高三教学质量测评试题（二）英语阅读理解原文4篇及中文译文AGreeninvadersaretakingoverAmerica.Nope,notinvadersfromspace.Plants.Youmightnotthinkofplantsasdangerous,butinthiscasetheyarethreateningnature'sdelicatefoodweb.Theinvadersareplantsfromothercountriesbroughtheretomakegardensandyardslookpretty.EversincepeoplestartedtoarriveonAmerica'sshores,they'vecarriedalongtrees,flowers,andvegetablesfromotherplaces.Nowtherearesomanyofthoseplants,theyarecrowdingoutthenativeplantsthathavelivedheresincebeforehumansettlersarrived.Andthat'saproblem,saysDr.DougTallamy.He'sanentomologist(aninsectexpert)attheUniversityofDelaware.Heexplainsthatalmostalltheplant-eatinginsectsintheUnitedStates—90%ofthem—arespecialized.Thatmeanstheyeatonlycertainplants.Prettyorangeandblackmonarchbutterflies,forexample,canonlydineononeplant:milkweed.Ifpeoplecutdownmilkweedandreplaceitwithsomethingelse,thebutterfliesstarve,becausetheirbodiescannotacceptanyotherfood.Butthetroubledoesn'tstopthere,itgoesrightacrossthefoodweb.Wheninsectscan'tgettherightplantstoeatandtheydieoff,thenthebirdsdon'thaveenoughbugsfortheirmeals.Tallamypointsoutthatalmostallmigratingbirdsdependoninsectstofeedtheiryoung.Wecannotlettheplantsandanimalsaroundusdisappear,saysTallamy.Thewaytopreservethemistogivethemfoodtoeat.Butwhenweplantnon-nativeplants,weareclobberingthefoodweb,becausethenwedon'thavetheinsectsthebirdsneedtolive.Feweroftherightplantsmeanfewerbugs,andfewerbugsmeanfewerbirds.Andthat'sbadfortheEarth,becauseweneedavarietyoflivingthingstokeeptheplanethealthyandbeautiful.Thegoodnewsis,gardenerseverywhereareworkinghardtoprotectnativeplantsandgetridoftheinvaders.Manylocalgardencenterssellnativeplants.JustGoogle'nativeplants'andyourlocation,andyoucanfindoutwhichplantsreallybelongwhereyoulive,saysTallamy.Plantingtherightthingsmakesarealdifference,andfast.Hedescribesplantingmilkweedinatinycitycourtyardaboutthesizeofalivingroomonespring.Bysummertime,thatmilkweedpatchhadproduced50newmonarchbutterflies!Tallamyencourageskidstogooutandplantnativeplants.Adoptabirdspeciesintroubleandseeifyoucanplantsomethingsthatwillattracttheinsectstheyneed,hesuggests.Itwillhappen—insectsmovearoundalot,andtheywillfindtheplantsyouputoutthereforthem!外来绿色植物的入侵者正在超过美国的人口数量。不是空间中的侵略者，而是植物。你可能不认为植物是有危险的，但在这种情况下，他们正在微妙的威胁着大自然的食物网。这些从其他国家引进的植物侵入者，将花园和庭院装饰的非常漂亮。自从人们抵达美国海岸时，这些来自其他地方的物种便与树木、花卉和蔬菜一同也进入了美国。现在有太多这样的植物，它们甚至开始排挤早在人类出现时便已存在的植物。这是一个问题，特拉华大学昆虫学家（昆虫专家）Tallamy博士说，在美国，几乎90％吃植物的昆虫都是职业的。也就是说，他们只吃特定的植物。例如漂亮的橙色和黑色君主蝴蝶，它们只会吃一种植物：milkweed。如果人们将milkweed砍锄或同其它植物一起移植的话，这些蝴蝶便会饿死，因为它们的身体接受不了任何其它食物。对于整个食物网而言，麻烦并不止如此。当昆虫无法得到适合的可食植物时便会死去，这样一来鸟类便没有足够的食物。Tallamy指出，几乎所有的候鸟都要依靠昆虫来喂养自己的幼鸟。“我们不能让身边的植物和动物消失了,”Tallamy说“能够保护它们的方法就是给它们提供食物。但是，当我们种植非本地植物时，我们也是在破坏自然界的食物网，因为我们并没有得到鸟类赖以生存的昆虫。”越来越少的植物就意味着越来越少的昆虫，相应地，也就意味着鸟类的渐少。这对地球而言是可怕的，因为我们需要各种各样的生物体来维持健康美丽的地球。令人欣慰的是，各地的园林者们正在努力的保护本土植物来摆脱侵入种的破坏。许多当地的花园中心都在出售原生植物。“在谷歌网上收索‘本土植物和所属地域’，你就可以找出真正属于你居住地的植物了。”Tallamy说道。种植正确植物会产生明显的效果，Tallamy介绍说，他在一个起居室大小的庭院里种植milkweed，结果发现这一植物的碎片竟然产生出了50个新生君主蝴蝶！Tallamy鼓励孩子们走出去，种植本土植物。“收养一只陷入困境的鸟类，并且观察一下，如果你能种植吸引鸟类所需昆虫的植物时，会发生什么。”他建议说道。“这一定会发生，因为昆虫在不停的移动，他们一定会找到你为他们种植的植物！”BInWesterncountriespeoplehavebeenusingtheinstallmentplansincethefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury.Today,alargeproportionofallthefamiliesinGreatBritainbuyfurniture,householdgoodsandcarsbyinstallment.IntheU.S.A.,theproportionismuchhigherthaninGreatBritain,andpeopletherespendover10percentoftheirincomeontheinstallmentplan.Thegoodsboughtontheinstallmentplanare,inalmosteverycase,goodsthatwilllast—radios,televisionsets,washingmachines,refrigerators,motorcars,motorcycles,andfurniture.Thepriceofanarticleboughtinthiswayisalwayshigherthanthepricethatwouldbepaidbycash.Thereisachargeforinterest.Thebuyerpaysaproportion,perhapsone－quarterorone－third,ofthepriceasadownpaymentwhenthegoodsaredeliveredtohim.Hethenmakesregularpayments,weeklyormonthly,untilthefullpriceispaidup.Thelegalownershipofthegoodsremainswiththeselleruntilthefinalpaymenthasbeenmade.Installmentbuyinghasadvantagesanddisadvantages.Inthepast,itwaseasytofindcoupleswhohadbeensavingforyearsinordertofurnishtheirhomes.Now,theydon’thavetodothat.Installmentbuyingcanhelpcoupleswithsmallincomestofurnishtheirhomesandstarthousekeeping.Itincreasesthedemandforgoods,andinthiswayhelpsbusinessandemployment.Thereis,however,thedangerthatwhenbusinessisbad,installmentbuyingmayendsuddenly,makingbusinessmuchworse.Thismayresultinagreatincreaseinunemployment.Ifthepeopleontheinstallmentplanlosttheirjobs,theywouldprobablynotbeabletomaketheirpayments.Ifgreatnumbersofpeoplearenotabletopaytheirinstallmentdebts,thereisapossibilitythatbusinessmencannotcollecttheirdebtsandwillthereforelosemoney.Ifbusinessmenlosemoneyorfailtomakeasatisfactoryprofit,thepossibilitiesofhavingadepressionareincreased.Thisiswhy,insomecountries,thegovernmentcontrolstheinstallmentplanbyfixingtheproportionofthedownpaymentandthesucceedinginstallmentstodiscouragepeoplefrombuyingmorethantheycanpayforontheinstallmentplan.在西方国家，人们从二十世纪上半叶以来一直用分期付款的方式购物。今天，很大部分的英国家庭用分期付款的方式购买家具、家用电品和气车。在美国，用分期付款购物的比例高于英国。美国人将其百分之十以上的收入用于分期付