2014考研英語：模擬試題及答案之閱讀理解(六)_跨考網(wǎng)

　　2014考研英語：模擬試題及答案之閱讀理解(六)

　　Part B

　　Directions：

　　In the following article，some sentences have been removed .For Questions 41-45，choose the most suitable one from the list A-G to fit into each of the numbered blank.There are two extra choices，which do not fit in any of the gaps.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(10 points)

　　Aremote Patagonian town that‘s just beginning to prosper by guiding tourists through the virgin forests nearby is being shaken by the realization that it’s sitting on a gold mine. Literally. 41)___________________________________________________________________

　　Esquel‘s plight is winning attention from international conservation and environmental groups such as Greenpeace. 42)__________________________

　　About 3.2 million acres already are under contract for mineral exploration in poor and sparsely settled Chubut Province，where Esquel is，near the southern tip of South America. 43)______________________________________

　　Meridian‘s project，about 5 miles outside Esquel at a higher elevation，is about 20 miles from a national park that preserves rate trees known as alerces，a southern relative of California’s giant sequoia. Some of them have been growing serenely in the temperate rain forest for more than 3，000 years.

　　The greatest fear is that cyanide，which is used to leach gold from ore，will drain downhill and poison Esquel‘s and possibly the park’s water supplies. The mine will use 180 tons of the deadly chemical each month. Although many townspeople and some geologists disagree，the company says any excess cyanide would drain away from Esquel.

　　“We won‘t allow them to tear things up and leave us with the toxic aftermath，”said Felix Aguilar，28，as he piloted a boatload of tourists through a lake in the Alerces National Park.“We take care of things here，so that the entire world can hear and see nature in its pure state. The world must help us prevent this.”

　　44)__________________________________________________________________________

　　A young English botanist named Charles Darwin，the author of the theory of evolution，was the first European to see alerces，with trunks that had a circumference of 130 feet. He gave the tree its generic name，F(xiàn)itzroya cupressoides，for the captain of his ship，Robert Fitzroy.

　　Argentina，pressed by the United States，Canada，the World Bank and other global lenders，rewrote its mining laws in the 1990s to encourage foreign investment.45)________________________________________

　　Argentina took in more than$1 billion over the past decade by granting exploration contracts for precious metals to more than 70 foreign and domestic companies. If the country were to turn away a major investor，the message to its mining sector would be chilling.

　　[A]Whether Meridian Gold Corp. gets its open pit gold mine outside Esquel could determine the fate of mining in Patagonia，a pristine region spanning southern Argentina and Chile.

　　[B]Forest ecologist Paul Alaback，a University of Montana professor who studies the alerces，said Argentine authorities could gain from Alaska‘s successful nature based tourism.

　　[C]More than 3，000 worried Esquel residents recently took to the streets in protests aimed at assuring that their neat community of 28，000 becomes a ecotourism center，not a gold rush town.

　　[D]American Douglas Tomkins，the founder of the Esprit clothing line and a prominent global conservationist，has bought more than 800，000 wilderness acres in Chile to preserve alerces and protect what‘s left of the temperate rain forest. Ted Turner，the communications magnate，also has bought land in Argentine Patagonia with an eye to conservation.

　　[E]Residents also complain that Argentina hasn‘t given nature based tourism a chance.

　　[F]Mining companies received incentives such as 30 years without new taxes and duty free imports of earth moving equipment.

　　[G]In Argentina，the town has become a national symbol in the debate over exploitation vs. preservation of the country‘s vast natural resources.