TEST-2

17TEST2TEST2ReadingPassage1Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions1-13whicharebasedonReadingPassage1below.AmbergrisWhatisitandwheredoesitcomefrom?AmbergriswasusedtoperfumecosmeticsinthedaysofancientMesopotamiaandalmosteverycivilizationontheearthhasabrushwithAmbergris.Before1,000AD,theChinesenamesambergrisaslungsienhiang,”dragon’sspittleperfume,”astheythinkthatitwasproducedfromthedroolingofdragonssleepingonrocksattheedgeofasea.TheArabsknewambergrisasanbarwhobelievedthatitisproducedfromspringsnearseas.Italsogetsitsnamefromhere.Forcenturies,thissubstancehasalsobeenusedasaflavouringforfood.DuringtheMiddleAges,Europeansusedambergrisasaremedyforheadaches,colds,epilepsy,andotherailments.Inthe1851whalingnovelMoby-Dick,HermanMelvilleclaimedthatambergriswas“largelyusedinperfumery.”Butnobodyeverknewwhereitreallycamefrom.Expertswerestillguessingitsoriginthousandsofyearslater,untilthelongagesofguessworkendedinthe1720’s,whenNantucketwhalersfoundgobsofthecostlymaterialinsidethestomachsofspermwhales.Industrialwhalingquicklyburgeoned.By20thcenturyambergrisismainlyrecov-eredfrominsidethecarcassesofspermwhales.Throughcountlessages,peoplehavefoundpiecesofambergrisonsandybeaches.Itwasnamedgreyambertodistinguishitfromgoldenamber,anotherraretreasure.Bothofthemwereamongthemostsought-aftersubstancesintheworld,almostasvaluableasgold.(Ambergrissellsforroughly$20agram,slightlylessthangoldat$30agram.)Amberfloatsinsaltwater,andinoldtimestheoriginofboththesesubstanceswasmysterious.Butitturnedoutthatamberandambergrishavelittleincommon.AmberisafossilizedresinfromtreesthatwasquitefamiliartoEuropeanslongbeforethediscoveryoftheNewWorld,andprizedforjewelry.Althoughcon-sideredagem,amberisahard,transparent,wholly-organicmaterialderivedfromtheresinofextinctspeciesoftrees,mainlypines.189分达人雅思阅读真题还原及解析2TotheearliestWesternchroniclers,ambergriswasvariouslythoughttocomefromthesamebituminousseafountsasamber,fromthespermoffishesorwhales,fromthedroppingsofstrangeseabirds(probablybecauseofconfusionovertheincludedbeaksofsquid)orfromthelargehivesofbeeslivingnearthesea.MarcoPolowasthefirstWesternchroniclerwhocorrectlyattributedambergristospermwhalesanditsvomit.Asspermwhalesnavigateintheoceans,theyoftendivedownto2kmormorebelowthesealeveltopreyonsquid,mostfamouslytheGiantSquid.It’scom-monlyacceptedthatambergrisformsinthewhale’sgutorintestinesasthecreatureattemptsto”deal”withsquidbeaks.Spermwhalesareratherpartialtosquid,butseeminglystruggletodigestthehard,sharp,parrot-likebeaks.Itisthoughttheirstomachjuicesbecomehyper-activetryingtoprocesstheirritants,andeventuallyhard,resinouslumpsareformedaroundthebeaks,andthenexpelledfromtheirinnardsbyvomiting.Whenawhaleinitiallyvomitsupambergris,itissoftandhasaterriblesmell.Somemarinebiologistscompareittotheunpleasantsmellofcowdung.Butafterfloatingonthesaltyoceanforaboutadecade,thesubstancehardenswithairandsunintoasmooth,waxy,usuallyroundedpieceofnostrilheaven.Thedungsmellisgone,replacedbyasweet,smooth,muskyandpleasantearthyaroma.Sinceambergrisisderivedfromanimals,naturallyaquestionofethicsarises,andinthecaseofambergris,itisveryimportanttoconsider.Spermwhalesareanendan-geredspecies,whosepopulationsstartedtodeclineasfarbackasthe19thcenturyduetothehighdemandfortheirhighlyemollientoil,andtodaytheirstocksstillhavenotrecovered.Duringthe1970’s,theSavetheWhalesmovementbroughttheplightofwhalestointernationalrecognition.Manypeoplenowbelievethatwhalesare”saved”.Thiscouldn’tbefurtherfromthetruth.Allaroundtheworld,whalingstillexists.Manycountriescontinuetohuntwhales,inspiteofinternationaltreatiestoprotectthem.Manymarineresearchersareconcernedthateventhetradeinnatu-rallyfoundambergriscanbeharmfulbycreatingfurtherincentivestohuntwhalesforthisvaluablesubstance.Oneoftheformsambergrisisusedtodayisasavaluablefixativeinperfumestoenhanceandprolongthescent.Butnowadays,sinceambergrisisrareandexpensive,andbigfragrancesuppliersthatmakemostofthefragrancesonthemarkettodaydonotdealinitforreasonsofcost,availabilityandmurkylegalissues,mostperfumer-iesprefertoaddachemicalderivativewhichmimicsthepropertiesofambergris.Asafragranceconsumer,youcanassumethatthereisnonaturalambergrisinyourperfumebottle,unlessthecompanyadvertisesthisfactandunlessyouownvintagefragrancescreatedbeforethe1980s.Ifyouarewonderingifyouhavebeenwearingaperfumewiththislegendaryingredient,youmaywanttoreviewyourscentcol-lection.Hereareafewofsomeofthetopambergriscontainingperfumes:GivenchyAmarige,ChanelNo.5,andGucciGuilty.19TEST2Questions1-6ClassifythefollowinginformationasreferringtoaambergrisonlyBamberonlyCbothambergrisandamberdneitherambergrisnoramberWritethecorrectletter,A,B,C,orDinboxes1-6onyouranswersheet.1beingexpensive2addsflavortofood3usedascurrency4beingsee-through5referredtobyHermanMelville6producessweetsmellQuestions7-9CompletethesentencesbelowwithNOMORETHANONEWORDfromthepassage.Writeyouranswersinboxes7-9onyouranswersheet.7.Spermwhalescan’tdigestthe____ofthesquids.8.Spermwhalesdrivetheirritantsoutoftheirintestinesby____.9.Thevomitofspermwhalegradually____oncontactofairbeforeha