The livelihood of each species in the vast and intricate assemblage of living things depends on the existence of other organisms. This interdependence is sometimes subtle, sometimes obvious. Perhaps the most straightforward dependence of one species on another occurs with parasites, organisms that live on or in other living things and derive nutrients directly from them. The parasitic way of life is widespread. A multitude of microorganisms (including viruses and bacteria) and an army of invertebrates—or creatures lacking a spinal column (including crustaceans, insects, and many different types of worms) —make their livings directly at the expense of other creatures. In the face of this onslaught, living things have evolved a variety of defense mechanisms for protecting their bodies from invasion by other organisms.
Certain fungi and even some kinds of bacteria secrete substances known as antibiotics into their environment. These substances are capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of various kinds of bacteria that also occupy the area, thereby eliminating or reducing the competition for nutrients. The same principle is used in defense against invaders in other groups of organisms. For example, when attacked by disease-causing fungi or bacteria, many kinds of plants produce chemicals that help to ward off the invaders.
Members of the animal kingdom have developed a variety of defense mechanisms for dealing with parasites. Although these mechanisms vary considerably, all major groups of animals are capable of detecting and reacting to the presence of “foreign” cells. In fact, throughout the animal kingdom, from sponges to certain types of worms, shellfish, and all vertebrates (creatures possessing a spinal column) , there is evidence that transplants of cells or fragments of tissues into an animal are accepted only if they come from genetically compatible or closely related individuals.
The ability to distinguish between “self” and “non-self”, while present in all animals, is roost efficient among vertebrates, which have developed an immune system as their defense mechanism. The immune system recognizes and takes action against foreign invaders and transplanted tissues that are treated as foreign cells.
31. What does the passage mainly discuss?
32. The word “intricate” in line 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
33. According to the passage, some organisms produce antibiotics in order to ______.
34. According to the passage, a transplant of tissue between genetically incompatible organisms will result in the transplanted tissue ______.
35. According to the passage, the ability to distinguish between “self” and “non-self” enables vertebrates to ______.
问题1选项
A.How parasites reproduce.
B.How organisms react to invaders.
C.How antibiotics work to cure disease.
D.How the immune system of vertebrates developed.
问题2选项
A.difficult
B.widespread
C.critical
D.complex
问题3选项
A.prevent disease in humans
B.aid digestion
C.fight off other organisms
D.create new types of nutrients
问题4选项
A.becoming a parasite
B.being treated as an invader
C.altering its genetic makeup
D.developing a new immune system
问题5选项
A.accept transplanted cells
B.detect and react to invasion
C.weaken their immune system
D.get rid of antibiotics
第1题:B
第2题:D
第3题:C
第4题:B
第5题:B
第1题:
31.【选项释义】
31. What does the passage mainly discuss? 31. 这篇文章主要讨论什么？
A. How parasites reproduce. A. 寄生虫如何繁殖。
B. How organisms react to invaders. B. 生物体如何对入侵者做出反应。
C. How antibiotics work to cure disease. C. 抗生素是如何治疗疾病的。
D. How the immune system of vertebrates developed. D. 脊椎动物的免疫系统是如何发展的。
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】首先，根据首段最后一句“生物进化出了各种各样的防御机制来保护自己的身体免受其他生物的入侵”，和末段第一句“区分‘自我’和‘非自我’的能力，虽然存在于所有动物中，但在脊椎动物中是非常有效的，它们已经发展出一种免疫系统作为它们的防御机制”；从中可知文章首段和尾段讨论的都是生物体的防御机制；然后看到文章行为结构是总分结构，开头介绍引发生物进化出防御机制的原因，后面三段分别讨论这种防御机制的作用。综上所述，可以得知这篇文章主要讨论的是生物体如何对入侵者做出反应。所以B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“寄生虫如何繁殖”和D选项“脊椎动物的免疫系统是如何发展的”属于以偏概全；
C选项“抗生素是如何治疗疾病的”没提及，无中生有。
第2题:
32.【选项释义】
32. The word “intricate” in line 1 is closest in meaning to ______. 32. 第一行中的“intricate”一词的意思最接近______。
A. difficult A. 困难的
B. widespread B. 广泛的
C. critical C. 批判的
D. complex D. 复杂的
【考查点】词义推测题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位至第一段第一句“在这个庞大而intricate的生物群落中（in the vast and intricate assemblage of living things），每个物种的生存都依赖于其他生物的存在”，由所修饰的assemblage（群落），以及并列的定语vast（庞大的）可推测，intricate应该表示“复杂”的意思，所以D项正确。
【干扰项排除】A选项“困难的”、B选项“广泛的”和C选项“批判的”不符合原文意思，曲解原文。
第3题:
33.【选项释义】
33. According to the passage, some organisms produce antibiotics in order to ______. 33. 根据这篇文章，一些生物产生抗生素是为了______。
A. prevent disease in humans A. 预防人类疾病
B. aid digestion B. 有助消化
C. fight off other organisms C. 抵抗其他生物
D. create new types of nutrients D. 创造新的营养类型
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】定位原文第二段前两句“某些真菌，甚至是某些种类的细菌会向环境中分泌抗生素。这些物质能够杀死或抑制同样占据该区域的各种细菌的生长，从而消除或减少对营养物质的竞争（eliminating or reducing the competition for nutrients）。”，从中可知，一些生物产生抗生素是为了消除或减少其他生物对自身营养物质的竞争，故C项正确。
【干扰项排除】A选项“预防人类疾病”、B选项“有助消化”和D选项“创造新的营养类型”没有提到，无中生有。
第4题:
34.【选项释义】
34. According to the passage, a transplant of tissue between genetically incompatible organisms will result in the transplanted tissue ______. 34. 根据这篇文章，在基因不相容的生物体之间移植组织将导致移植的组织______。
A. becoming a parasite A. 成为寄生虫
B. being treated as an invader B. 被视为入侵者
C. altering its genetic makeup C. 改变其基因组成
D. developing a new immune system D. 发展出新的免疫系统
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】首先定位第三段最后一句，文章对此有描述：“事实上，在整个动物界，从海绵动物到某些种类的蠕虫、贝类和所有的脊椎动物，只有来自基因相容或亲缘关系密切的个体的细胞或组织碎片移植到动物体内，才会被接受”，从中可知在基因不相容的生物体之间移植组织将导致移植的组织不被接受；而该段前面提到“动物王国的成员已经发展出了对付寄生虫的各种防御机制。尽管这些机制差别很大，但所有主要的动物群体都能够检测到外来细胞的存在并做出反应。”，综合理解可推断，不相容的组织会被认为是外来入侵细胞，使得生物体对该组织做出防御机制。因此，该题选择B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“成为寄生虫”表述错误，不是成为寄生虫，而是会被生物体视为寄生虫一样的外来组织，该项曲解原文；
C选项“改变其基因组成”和D选项“发展出新的免疫系统”没提到，无中生有。
第5题:
35.【选项释义】
35. According to the passage, the ability to distinguish between “self” and “non-self” enables vertebrates to ______. 35. 根据这篇文章，区分“自我”和“非自我”的能力使脊椎动物能够______。
A. accept transplanted cells A. 接受移植的细胞
B. detect and react to invasion B. 检测并应对入侵
C. weaken their immune system C. 削弱它们的免疫系统
D. get rid of antibiotics D. 摆脱抗生素
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到最后一段的内容：区分“自我”和“非自我”的能力，虽然存在于所有动物中，但在脊椎动物中是非常有效的，它们已经发展出一种免疫系统作为它们的防御机制（developed an immune system as their defense mechanism）。免疫系统会识别被视为外来细胞的移植组织和外来入侵者并采取行动（recognizes and takes action）。从中可知，区分“自我”和“非自我”的能力能够使脊椎动物产生一种免疫系统，而这种免疫系统能够识别并对入侵者采取防御措施。这与B项“检测并应对入侵”意思相一致，故B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“接受移植的细胞”与原文相反，免疫系统先会对移植组织进行识别，该项反向干扰；
C选项“削弱他们的免疫系统”和D选项“摆脱抗生素”没提到，无中生有。
