2022年考博英语-河北工业大学考前模拟强化练习题（附答案详解）1. 单选题During the mid-1840s, from 1845-1848, the potato crop in Ireland failed, creating a famine that ravaged the population. This event, the Great Famine, was one of the most significant events in the 8000-year history of this island nation, and the effects of it continue to haunt the Irish, both those who still live in Ireland and those who live in the United States. The most immediate effect of the famine was the dramatic decline in the Irish populationeither through death from starvation and disease or through emigration to other countries.In Ireland, the potato had historically been the mainstay of the diet of a large proportion of the rural population. Highly nutritional, the potato was easy to plant and easy to harvest. If a family of six had one acre of land, it could grow a potato crop that would feed them for almost a year. However, dependence on one crop had its downside as well. Potatoes could not be stored for long, and farmers who had grown so accustomed to dealing with this one crop neglected to plant other crops as a hedge against possible failures.Rapid population increases in the years preceding the Great Famine had created a country whose expanding population was often poverty-stricken. Expanding population, coupled with landowners lack of responsibility toward tenant-farmers, led to a system where tenant-farmers frequently subdivided their land so that they could gain a bit of rent themselves. Consequently, the rural areas were dotted with small plots of land, most of which were used for potato farming. Prior to the famine, urban areas in Ireland were also experiencing economic distress because of a decline in Irish industry that resulted in unemployment and poverty in cities such as Dublin.In 1845, the year the famine began, a good potato crop was expected, so it came as a great surprise when nearly half of the crop of the country failed because of a blight that had come from North America. This particular blight was unusual inasmuch as when the potato was dug from the ground, it appeared to be healthy; it was only after a day or two that the potato began to rot.Despite the fact that only half the crop failed in 1845, starvation and disease plagued the entire country because many starving people, some of whom were infected with contagious diseases, roamed the countryside looking for food and spreading disease. Then, in 1846, the crop failed completely. In 1847, there was another partial failure, but because people had eaten their seed potatoes in 1846, the crop was much smaller in 1847. Then again in 1848, the crop failed completely.As if the crop failures were not enough, other factors affected the seriousness of the situation. Various contagious diseases such as typhus, dysentery, and several different types of fever spread rapidly. Landlords evicted tenant-farmers, and the government did very little to provide relief. Nor did it help that the winter of 1846-1847 was one of the coldest on record.When the famine was over in 1849, a cholera epidemic struck Ireland, so that by 1850 the country found its population reduced from 8.5 million to 6.5 million. One million people had died from disease and starvation, and one million had left Ireland for Britain, Europe, or North America.The results of the Great Famine were profound. Farming in Ireland changed from a one-crop economy to an agricultural economy that included livestock and other crops, such as grains. The seeds of animosity toward Great Britain, which had not helped the Irish in their time of need, were sown. And a pattern of emigration was established that lasts until today.1. According to the passage, the potato became a staple of the Irish diet for all of the following reasons EXCEPT _.2. The passage implies that _.3. According to the passage, rural life in the years before the Great Famine can best be described as _.4 Disease plagued the Irish during the famine because _.5. All of the following were results of the famine EXCEPT that the Irish _.问题1选项A.it was filled with nutrientsB.it was easy to plantC.it was easy to harvestD.the soil was good for potatoes问题2选项A.dependence on one crop was sensibleB.the potato was not the only crop in IrelandC.the Irish were a happy peopleD.dependence on one crop was dangerous问题3选项A.declining in populationB.harshC.decreasing in tenant-farmersD.expanding in farm size问题4选项A.the potato was diseasedB.immigrants brought diseaseC.starving Irish carried disease from place to placeD.living conditions were not sanitary问题5选项A.emigrated to new landsB.began to raised livestockC.became angered at the BritishD.became independent from Great Britain【答案】第1题:D第2题:D第3题:B第4题:C第5题:D【解析】1.【选项释义】1. According to the passage, the potato became a staple of the Irish diet for all of the following