上海交通大學考博英語真題

2013年上海交大考博英語試題及部分答案
第一篇
    There are desert plants which survive the dry season in theform of inactive seeds. There are also desert insects which survive as inactivelarvae (幼蟲). In addition, difficult as it is tobelieve, there are desert fish which can survive through years of drought (干旱) in theform of inactive eggs. These are the shrimps (小蝦) that live in the Mojave Desert, anintensely dry region in the south-west of the United States where shadetemperatures of over 50C areoften recorded.
    The eggs of the Mojave shrimps are the size and have theappearance of grains of sand. When sufficient spring rain falls to form a lake,once every two to five years, these eggs hatch (孵化). Then the water is soon filled withmillions of tiny shrimps about a millimetre long which feed on tiny plant andanimal organisms which also grow in the temporary desert lake. Within a week,the shrimps grow from their original 1 millimetre to a length of about 1.5centimetres.
    Throughout the time that the shrimps are rapidly maturing,the water in the lake equally rapidly evaporates. Therefore, for the shrimps itis a race against time. By the twelfth day, however, when they are about 3centimetre long, hundreds of tiny eggs form on the underbodies of the females.Usually by this time, all that remains of the lake is a large, muddy patch ofwet soil. On the thirteenth day and the next, during the final hours of theirbrief lives, the shrimps lay their eggs in the mud. Then, having ensured thattheir species will survive, the shrimps die as the last of the waterevaporates.
    If sufficient rain falls the next year to form another lake,the eggs hatch, and once again the shrimps pass rapidly through their cycle ofgrowth, adulthood, egg-laying, and death. Some years there is insufficient rainto form a lake: in this case, the eggs will remain dormant for another years,or even longer if necessary. Very, very occasionally, perhaps twice in ahundred years, sufficient rain falls to form a deep lake that lasts a month ormore. In this case, the species passes through two cycles of growth,egg-laying, and death. Thus, on such occasions, the species multipliesconsiderably, which further ensures its survival.

1.Which of the following is the MOSTdistinctive feature of Mojave shrimps?
    A) Their lives are brief.
    B) They feed on plant and animal organisms.
    C) Their eggs can survive years of dought.
    D) They lay their eggs in the mud.
2.By saying "for the shrimps it is a race against time "(Para.3,Line2)the author means_____.
    A) they have to swim fast to avoid danger in the rapidlyevaporating lake
    B) they have to swim fast to catch the animal organisms onwhich they survive
    C) they have to multiply as many as possible within thirteendays
    D) they have to complete their life cycle within a shortspan of time permitted by the environment '
3.The passage mainly deals with_____.
    A) the life span of the 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,Line 3)most probablymeans______.
    A) inactive