单选题
The Book of Life

So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species (特种), and that's just a small part of what probably exists on Earth. With so many plants, animals, and other creatures covering the planet, it can be tough to figure out what type of spider is moving up your leg or what kind of bird is flying by.
A soon-to-be-launched Web site might help. An international team of researchers has announced the creation of a Web-based Encyclopedia (百科全书) of Life (EoL). The project aims to catalog every species on Earth in a single, easy-to-use reference guide.
To get the encyclopedia started, the creators will use information from scientific databases (数据库) that already exist. And eventually, in special sections of the site, non-scientists with specialized (专门的) knowledge will get to join in. Bird-watchers, for example, will be able to input which birds they've seen and where. The technology for this kind of tool has only recently become available.
As the EoL develops, you might find it useful for school projects. The site will feature special pa ges for kids who are studying ecosystems (生态系统) in their neighborhoods. To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate, scientists will review much of the information added to it. People who visit the site will be able to choose to leave out pages that haven't been reviewed.
Another convenient feature of the EoL is that you'll be able to pick the level of detail you see to match your interests, age, and current knowledge. If you wanted to learn about bears for a science class report, for example, you could use the "novice " setting to get basic information about the animals. On the "expert" setting, on the other hand, you could get much more detailed information about the history, literature, and exploration of bears.
It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species. The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed that process.

单选题 "Spider" and "bird" mentioned in paragraph 1 are examples to illustrate
A. animals are people's friends.
B. there are numerous living species on Earth.
C. it is easy to see spiders and birds.
D. there are many types of spiders and birds.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 题干中的关键词为“Spider蜘蛛;bird鸟;paragraph 1(第1段);to illustrate说明。”
根据文中第1段的2—4行:“由于有那么多的植物、动物和其他生物分布在这颗星球上,所以很难指出到底是什么类型的蜘蛛爬到你的腿上或什么种类的鸟飞过你的身旁。”以此判断B项正确。
单选题 The goal of the creation of the EoL is to
A. collect enough data to analyze the living species on Earth.
B. work out an easy-to-use catalog of every living species on Earth.
C. enlarge an existing website of the living species on Earth.
D. add new information to the existing databases of the living species on Earth.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 题干中的关键词为“The goal目标;the EoL生命百科全书。”
根据文中第2段的第3行:“该项目旨在(目的在于)以单一、易用的参考为指导来编目地球上的每一个物种。”以此判断B项正确。
单选题 At the starting stage the EoL will get information from
A. all the websites available.
B. databases built up by its creators.
C. the existing scientific databases.
D. non-scientists with specialized knowledge.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 题干中的关键词为“the starting stage开始阶段;the EoL生命百科全书;get information获取信息。”
根据文中第3段的1—2行:“为启动该百科全书,开发者将利用现有的科学数据库的信息。”以此判断C项正确。
单选题 The word "novice" in paragraph 5 could be best replaced by
A. beginner.
B. scientist.
C. creator.
D. expert.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 题干中的关键词为“‘novice’;in paragraph 5在第5段中;be best replaced by由…替换最好。”
novice的词义是:“初学者”。
A项初学者;B项科学家;C项创立者;D项专家。
故选A项。
单选题 Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Scientists have cataloged only a small part of the living species on Earth.
B. The EoL will be beneficial to school kids with its development.
C. Scientists will review every piece of the information added to the EoL.
D. People with different interests and knowledge will in a way find the EoL useful.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 题干中的关键词为“NOT true不真实”
B项在4段1行;D项在5段1—2行;C项在4段3行。以此判断应选A项。