Reading passages

 
34 
C) make sure that it includes lightly cooked meat 
D) eat plenty of salads and citrus fruits 
E) include such items as salted and dried food 
At least half of all visitors to Nepal go to the lakeside town of Pokhara. The symbol of the region is 
the 6.993 -metre high Machhapuchhare Mountain, which means ― fish tail‖ in English. Indeed the 
mountain is shaped like a fish tail and viewed from Pokhara, is a majestic sight. Yet one detail singles 
out this giant mountain from the others in the region: no one has ever climbed it, and it is unlikely 
that anyone ever will. In the 1960s, the Nepalese government declared it a holy mountain, forbidden 
to mountaineers. Sherpas, in particular, respect this. And without sherpas, the indispensable porters of 
the high valleys of Nepal, the Europeans and Americans who constantly attempt to conquer the 
mountains in the region are helpless. 
205 -It is obvious from the passage that -- . 
A) there are a lot of fish in Pokhara Lake 
B) no one has ever climbed most of the mountains near Pokhara 
C) the mountains around Pokhara have English names 
D) tourism in Nepal has grown in importance since the 1960s
E) Pokhara is one of the most popular destinations in Nepal 
206 -Machhapuchhare has never been climbed because-. 
A) it is one of the tallest mountains in the world 
B) it is regarded as sacred, and so mountaineers are not allowed to climb it 
C) it is dangerously steep, which discourages mountaineers from attempting to climb it 
D) it is not as challenging for climbers as the other mountains in the region 
E) there aren‘t any Sherpas experienced enough to lead mountaineers to it 
207 -What the passage stresses about Sherpas is that they ---- . 
A) are members of a religious sect trying to ban mountain -climbing in Nepal 
B) climbed high mountains until the government forbade them in the 1960s 
C) are essential to climbers who want to conquer the mountains in Nepal 
D) don't approve of Europeans and Americans climb their mountain 
E) want to be the first people to climb Machhapuchhare 
Plants can summon an insect rescue team when they are attacked by pests, just as if they were calling 
for a microscopic ambulance. In fact, researchers say the signal is specific enough to tell the helpful 
insects exactly what to expect when they arrive on the scene. For example, two kinds of caterpillars 
attack numerous crops and cost US farmers about $6 billion annually. The plants summon a black, 
parasitic wasp that it is the natural enemy of the caterpillars. Scientists have known for years that 
plants could send out distress calls to wasps and other insect bodyguards, but they are just beginning 
to understand how sophisticated the messages can be. They hope to find out more about the signals 
and eventually use them to develop chemical -free pest control systems.