Exercise 1

　　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)

　　A valley treasured by biologists as one of the widest places in North America could become the site of large coal-related development projects, if two plans are realized.

　　41)_______________________________________.

　　Kenneth Bates, president of the Cline Mining Corporation, a Canadian company, said he planned to have an open-pit coal mine operating within two years to extract hard metallurgical coal, which is in demand because of a boom in steel production in China.① The other project is a series of exploratory wells to find out whether it is feasible to drill more extensively for natural gas found in coal deposits in the valley. It is not clear what company will handle that project.

　　42)__________________________________________.

　　But environmentalists, biologists and Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, have vowed to block the proposal. “If they want to pursue a full-scale operation that could devastate one of our most pristine and valuable areas for recreation and wildlife, then they’re asking for a fight,② ”Mr. Baucus said. He has written to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell asking him to express concern to the Canadians.

　　43)__________________________________________.

　　On the American side, the North Fork has been designated a wild and scenic river, which carries some federal protections. It is home to an endangered species, the bull trout.

　　Experts fear a mine could taint the region’s water with increased sediment, coal dust and nitrates from explosives.

　　The valley is a redoubt for grizzly bears, and an important connector between bears further north in Canada, and threatened bears in the United States.

　　44)______________________________________________.

　　An unrelated open-pit mine was proposed in the late 1970’s in the same area. The fear then that American water quality would be threatened led to the creation of the International Joint Commission, a team of Canadian and American scientists that studied the issue for three years. In 1988, the commission found that pollution from the mine could flow into the United States and would violate the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty. It voted unanimously to recommend against the mine.

　　That decision remains untested because the mine plans were dropped. Some involved in the commission believe the 1988 decision is still binding under international law and would affect the Cline plan.

　　45)______________________________________________.

　　Mr. Bates, however, said he did not believe the decision would affect his plan. He also took issue with what he called exaggerated claims about the mine.④ “It’s a harmless and clean operation,” he said.

　　［A］ Keneth Bates likes hunting grizzly bears and he hunts every year in the North Fork area. He hates the idea that bears would go further north if people develop mines in the Flathead Valley.

　　［B］ The proposals call for mining and gas development in the Flathead Valley in British Columbia, a sparsely settled region that includes the North Fork of the Flathead River. A few miles south, the river forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park in the United States.

　　［C］ Glacier National Park and, next to it, Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada are among the most pristine areas in the world.

　　［D］ Mr. Bates, who is working in partnership with Mitsui Matsushima, a Japanese company, said the mine would be a boon to southern British Columbia, producing nearly two million tons of coal a year and creating some 1,500 jobs directly and indirectly.

　　［E］ “I would argue it does,” said Richard Moy, chief of the Water Management Bureau in the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation of Montana and a member of the commission in the 1980’s, “Treaties are, in effect, international law, and that’s as binding as it gets.”

　　［F］ “You can’t turn this corridor into an industrial landscape,” said David Thomas, a member of the City Council of Fernie, British Columbia, which is near the proposed wells. “It would create an isolated population of large animals.”

　　［G］ Canadian authority has showed much concern over the issue and greatly supported Mr. Bates.

　　答案与解析

　　41.【答案】 B

　　【解析】 空白前的段落大意是被生物学家们珍视为北美洲最荒野的未开发地的大峡谷就要被开发成为两个大型与煤炭相关的发展项目的场地。空白后的一段介绍了开发项目的负责人开发大峡谷的目的。按照逻辑，上一段讲的是即将发生的大峡谷开发行为，接下来是空白处的段落应讲被开发的大峡谷的地理位置。选项中与此语题相关的有选项B和C，但C是关于另外一个地方的地理位置，与第41题的上下文不符，因此不是正确答案。只有选项B的话题与前段提到的开发项目相关，因此B为正确答案。

　　42.【答案】 D

　　【解析】 空白前的一段讲的是加拿大克林采矿有了公司董事长要在两年内让煤矿在大峡谷动作起来的计划和加拿大境内大峡谷的位置。后一段讲的是另外一个话题，反对者的声音，与前一段话题不同，而且有明显的表示转折的词But，因此被抽出去的段落按照逻辑应与前段的话题相接才对。选项D显然符合这一点，因此选项D是正确答案。

　　43.【答案】 C

　　【解析】 空白前的一段讲的是基地设在布朗克斯动物园的野生动物保护学会去年做了一项调查研究，研究发现大峡谷很可能是北美洲48个州里最茺野的未开发地。后一段讲的是美国一边的情况，按照逻辑，抽出去的那段应当是关于加拿大一边的情况。选项中只有选项C符合这样的上下文。因此C是正确答案。

　　44.【答案】 F

　　【解析】 空白前的一段讲到了大峡谷是大灰熊的最后防御阵地，是连接加拿大远在北部的大灰熊和美国的大灰熊之间的重要纽带。空白后的一段则是另一个话题，因此与第44题关系不大。那么被抽出去的那一段和第七段有密切联系。根据上下文逻辑，空白处那一段一定还是有关大灰熊的话题。选项中只有F是关于把大峡谷这个大走廊变成工业区后对这个大动物的生态环境的影响：会产生一个孤立的大动物群。其他选项均与此语题无关。因此F是答案。

　　45.【答案】 E

　　【解析】 空白后的一段中的“however”表示话题在此段有转折，与前面的段落意思不同了。因此空白处的段落一定与前一段的话题相同。第45题前一段讲：当年参加国际联合委员会成员认为，根据国际法，上文提到的1988年达成的那个国际条约对克林计划仍具有约束力。因此被抽一段的话题也应该是关于这个条约的。选项E正是这个话题的延续，因此是正确答案。

　　全文精译

　　被生物学家珍视为北美洲最茺野的地方之一的一个大峡谷，如果有两个方案得到批准，可能成为大型煤炭产业发展项目的工地。

　　41)有关的方案提倡在英属哥伦比亚的Flathead Valley大峡谷进行采矿和天然开发，Flathead Valley大峡谷包括Flathead河北支流在内，人烟稀少。向南几英里的地方，Flathead河形成了美国国家冰川公园的西部边境。

　　加拿大克林采矿有限公司董事长肯尼西•贝茨说，由于中国兴起的钢铁生产需要这种煤，他计划两年内获取露天煤矿以开采含硬金属煤。另外一个项目是挖掘一系列探明在大峡谷发现的矿区进行大规模的

　　42)目前正与日本的Mitsui Matsushima合作的贝茨先生说这个煤矿将给英属哥伦比亚南部地区带来好处，每年能生产将近两百万吨煤，直接或间接创造1500多个工作岗位。

　　但是，环境学家、生物学家和蒙大拿州的民主党麦克斯•鲍库存斯议员全力反对这一项目。鲍库斯说：“如果他们想进行大规模开采行动，破坏我们的最原始、最宝贵的休闲和野生地区，那么，他们是在找挨打。”他还写信给国务卿鲍威尔，请求他对加拿大人表示关注。

　　43) 冰川国家以及它的近邻瓦特顿湖国家公署则是世界上最为原始的地区。

　　在美国这边，North Fork河被认定为野生风景河，该河流还受到了联邦政府的一些保护。这条河是一种濒危动物鲑鱼的栖息地。

　　专家们担心矿井会由于沉淀物、煤尘和炸药的残留氮的增加而污染这一地区的水源。

　　大峡谷是大灰熊的最后防御阵地，并且是连接远在加拿大北部的大灰熊和在美国已经受到威胁的大灰熊的重要纽带。

　　44)距项目里提到的矿井不远的加拿大英属哥伦比亚尼市政委员大卫•托马斯说：“你们不能把这个大走廊变成一个工业区。那样就会出现一个与世隔绝的大动物群”。

　　70年代后期，在这同一个地方，就有人提出过另外一个露天矿开发项目。当时人们的担心是，美国水的质量将会受到威胁，这种担心的结果是产生了国际联合委员会，该委员会由一些加拿大和美国的科学家组成，他们对这个问题研究了三年。1988年，委员会发现矿井的污染物会流入美国，并且会违反1909年制定的边境水资源条约。委员会进行了无记名投票反对采矿。

　　那个条约一直没有经受过考验，因为当时的开矿案没有通过。参与该委员会的几个人认为根据国际法，1988年的条约仍然具有约束力，并且会影响克林计划的实施。

　　45)美国蒙大拿州自然资源与保护部下属的水务局局长里查德•英伊说：“我也这样认为。条约事实上是国际法，当然具有应有的约束力。”

　　然而，贝茨先生并不认为那个条约会影响他的计划。他还就那个被他认为是夸大了的矿井问题进行辩解。他说：“我的计划既无害也无污染。”

　　两个项目目前均处于调研阶段，而且必须经过加拿大官方的批准。

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