高考英语二轮专题复习 阅读理解 科普知识类提分训练(真题集锦,含解析)新人教版(1)

科普知识类
Passage 1 （2010·全国卷I·C）
Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
In appeara nce, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
63. What is the text mainly about?
A. Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.
B. The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.
C. Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.
D. The appearance and living habits of hoatzins.
64. Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that_________ ．
A. they look like young cuckoos
B. they have claws on the wings
C. they eat a lot like a cow
D. they live on river banks
65．What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
A. They had claws to help them climb.
B. They could fly long distances.
C. They had four wings like hoatzins.
D. They had a head with long feathers on the top.
66．Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
A. To find more food.
B. To protect themselves better.
C. To keep themselves warm.
D. To produce their young.
63．【解析】选D。

主旨大意题。

文章主要介绍了the hoatzin，它是生活在亚马逊河的麝雉。

本文主要介绍了这种鸟的外表特征以及生活习性。

故选D。

【解析】选B。

细节理解题。

根据第三段的第一句Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading 64．
edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip.与此段的最后一句When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.可知幼鸟的翅膀上有爪子
而老一些的鸟没有。

故选B。

65．【解析】选A。

推理判断题。

根据第三段的Using these four claws, together with the beak, they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done.可知最初的鸟用爪子帮助爬行。

故选A。

66．【解析】选D。

细节理解题。

根据最后一段的...when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.可知。

Passage 2 （2010·上海·C）
The 2012 London Olympics had enough problems to worry about. But one more has just been added—a communications blackout caused by solar storms.
After a period of calm within the Sun, scientists have detected the signs of a fresh cycle of sunspots that could peak in 2012, just in time for the arrival of the Olympic torch in London.
Now scientists believe that this peak could result in vast solar explosions that could throw billions of tons of charged matter towards the Earth, causing strong solar storms that could jam the telecommunications satellites and internet links sending live Olympic broadcast from London.
“The Sun’s activity has a strong influence on the Earth. The Olympics could be in the middle of the next solar maximum which could affect the functions of communications satellites,” sa id Professor Richard Harrison, head of space physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.
At the peak of the cycle, violent outbursts called coronal mass ejections (日冕物质抛射) occur in the Sun’s atmosphere, throwing out great quantities of electrically-charged matter. “A coronal mass ejection can carry a billion tons of solar material into space at over a million kilometres per hour. Such events can expose astronauts to a deadly amount, can disable satellites, cause power failures on Earth and disturb communications,” Professor Harrison added. The risk is greatest during a solar maximum when there is the greatest number of sunspots. Next week in America, NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity called the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which will take images of the Sun that are 10 times clearer than the most advanced televisions available. The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory helped to make the high-tech cameras that will capture images of the solar flares (太阳耀斑) and explosions as they occur.
Professor Richard Holdaway, the lab’s director, said that the SDO should be able to provide early warning of a solar flare or explosion big enough to affect satellite communications on Earth. “If we have advance warning, we’ll be able to reduce the damage. What you don’t want is things switching off for a week with no idea of what’s caused the problem,” he said.
72. The phrase “communications blackout” in Paragraph 1 most probably refers to _________ during the 2012 Olympics.
A. the extinguishing of the Olympic torch
B. the collapse of broadcasting systems
C. the transportation breakdown in London
D. the destruction of weather satellites
73. What can be inferred about the solar activity described in the passage?
A. The most fatal matter from the corona falls onto Earth.
B. The solar storm peak occurs in the middle of each cycle.
C. It takes several seconds for the charged matter to reach Earth.
D. The number of sunspots declines after coronal mass ejections.
74. According to the passage, NASA will launch a satellite to______.
A. take images of the solar system
B. provide early warning of thunderstorms
C. keep track of solar activities
D. improve the communications on Earth
75. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A. Solar Storms: An Invisible Killer
B. Solar Storms: Earth Environment in Danger
C. Solar Storms: Threatening the Human Race
D. Solar Storms: Human Activities to Be Troubled
72.【解析】选B。

词义猜测题。

根据文章第三段并结合全文可以总结得出答案B。

73.【解析】选D。

推理判断题。

根据文章第五段最后一句可以推出答案D。

A项中fatal一词使用有误，B项叙述错误，由文章中的内容也不能推测出C项的叙述。

74.【解析】选C。

细节理解题。

由文章第六段“...NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity...”可知C项为正确选项。

75.【解析】选D。

推理判断题。

文章以2012年伦敦夏季奥运会所面临的太阳风暴问题为引子，展开论述了太阳风暴将对人类活动造成的影响。

Passage 3 (2010·重庆卷·E)
Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own. We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies beyond our everyday lives.
This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists have made to find out whether life of some kind exists on Mars，and the popularity of fantasy （幻想）literature or movies like The Lord of the Rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other，to the world around us ,and to the world of make-believe. But have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?
Human beings，as biologists have suggested，possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms. However, people，especially in big cities，often lead rather isolated lives. In a study of British schoolchildren，it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than with common wildlife. Without modern technology，a small Pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants，insects，birds，and animals .When we lack meaningful interaction（交互）with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends，we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen. The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad. But when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet（出路）for our sense of wonder，then we are really missing something. We are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful worlds
exist all around us. But even more interesting is that if we look closely enough，we can see that these worlds, in a broad sense, are really part of our own. 72．The popularity of The Lord of the Rings proves _________ .
A．the close connection between man and the fantasy world
B．the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature
C．the fine taste of moviegoers around the world
D．the general existence of the sense of curiosity
73．What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?
A．People are far less familiar with the world of fantasy.
B．The world around us could serve as a source of wonder.
C．The world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond.
D．Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder.
74．If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make-believe, we will ______. A．fail to appreciate the joy in our lives
B．be confused by the world o f make-believe
C．miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world
D．be trapped by other worlds existing all around us
75. What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To show us the hidden beauty in our world.
B. To warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world.
C. To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder.
D. To discuss the influence of the world of make-believe.
【文章大意】本文讲述了人们对幻想世界的好奇以及幻想世界对我们的影响，旨在告诉我们不要沉溺于幻想世界，而失去现实生活的快乐。

72.【解析】选D。

细节理解题。

第二段的主题句This sense of wonder is universal.人们的好奇心是普遍存在的，其中就举了科幻电影The Lord of the Rings指环王的例子。

所以选D。

选项A、B、C与这一段的主题不相符。

73. 【解析】选B。

推理判断题。

句意：如果没有现代技术，即使一个小小的池塘也能成为一个令人惊异的世界，充满了令人好奇的美丽植物、昆虫、鸟和动物的世界。

从而我们可以推测出我们现实世界也是很令人好奇的、美丽的，也是一切东西产生的根源。

所以B项是正确的。

A项人们对幻想世界不熟悉，第三段显示的是沉溺于幻想世界，所以A项不对。

C项不合文意。

D项中的prevent错，不是阻止。

74．【解析】选A。

事实细节题。

文章最后一段告诉我们：生活在幻想世界不一定是坏事，但是当幻想成为我们好奇感的唯一出路的时候，我们就会失去一些东西，就会失去与现实世界的联系。

我们的周围有其他奇妙的世界，最有趣的是如果我们仔细观察的话，我们就会明白那些世界真的就是我们自己生活的世界中的一部分。

由此判断选A项，如果我们沉溺于幻想世界，我们也就不能体会到我们现实生活中的快乐。

其他选项中的be confused by ,miss , be trapped 不合文意。

75．【解析】选B。

推理判断题。

作者从人们对幻想世界好奇感的误用以及生活于幻想世界对我们的影响和我们的现实世界其实也是令人好奇的、美丽的等几个角度来提醒人们，我们现在走得太远了，已脱离了我们现实的世界，失去了生活中的快乐。

所以文章的目的是提醒人们不要沉迷在幻想之中。

B项是正确答案。

其他选项仅仅是事实现象，不是目的。

Passage 4 (2010·安徽卷·B)
Have you ever wondered?
1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York(NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet(喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east di rection when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.
2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures(建筑物) float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string (细绳), it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line.‘Switching off ’ gravity would be lik e letting go of the string.Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things outside would fly off into space.
60. What information can we get from the first passage?
A. It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.
B. Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.
C. It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY.
D. The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic.
61.The word“shoot”underlined in the 2nd passage probably means“ ________”.
A. send for
B. move quickly
C. come out
D. grow quickly
62. It can be inferred that without gravity _________.
A. buildings and other structures would float away
B. trees and buildings would not so easily fly off
C. something around your head would not float away
D. everything outside buildings would fly off into space
63. Where can we most probably read this text?
A In a research paper. B. In a short story.
C. In a travel magazine.
D. In a students’ book.
【文章大意】本篇阅读分为两个话题。

一是由于气流的影响，飞机从纽约飞向伦敦比从伦敦飞向纽约用时要少。

二是如果地球没有了引力，会发生什么事。

60.【解析】选A。

细节理解题。

根据第一段的The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet stream.可知影响飞机速度的是喷射气流。

61.【解析】选B。

词义猜测题。

本段前面提到“没有依附在地球上面的物体会笔直地飞出去”，那么人也会以极高的速度飞上去。

所以shoot的意思就是迅速移动move quickly ；send for 派人去请；come out 出来，出版；grow quickly迅速成长。

62.【解析】选B。

推理判断题。

根据第二段的What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth.及Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line.可知紧紧地依附于地球的树木和建筑不易飞出去。

63.【解析】选D。

推理判断题。

本文的标题和两个话题的引出都是疑问句。

目的是吸引读者的注意力。

而话题内容的介绍浅显易懂，不可能来自专业性强的研究论文，而应是来自学
生用书。

B项是短篇故事，C项是旅游杂志，都不符合文章意思。

Passage 5 （2010·广东卷·C）
Food sometimes gets poisoned with harmful things. A person who eats such food can
get an illness called food poisoning. Food poisoning is usually not serious, but some types are deadly. The symptoms of food poisoning usually begin within hours
of eating the poisoned food. Fever is one of the most common symptoms.
Certain microorganisms（微生物）cause most types of food poisoning. Bacteria and other microorganisms can poison eggs, meat, vegetables, and many other foods. After entering the body, these tiny living things release（释放）poisons that make people sick.
Some chemicals can also cause food poisoning. They are often added to food while
it is being grown, processed, or prepared. For example, many farmers spray chemicals
on crops to kill weeds and insects. Some people may have a bad reaction to those chemicals when they eat the crops.
Some plants and animals contain natural poisons that are harmful to people. These include certain kinds of seafood, grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and mushrooms. When people handle food properly, the risk of food poisoning is very small. Microorganisms multiply rapidly in dirty places and in warm temperatures. This means that people should never touch food with dirty hands or put food on unwashed surfaces. Food should be kept in a refrigerator to stop microorganisms from growing. Meat needs
to be cooked thoroughly to kill any dangerous microorganisms. People should also wash food covered with chemicals before eating it. Finally, people should not eat wild mushrooms or other foods that grow in the wild. Some of these foods may contain natural materials that are poisonous to humans. In addition, some types of fish can
be poisonous.
Most people recov er from food poisoning after a few days of resting and drinking extra water. If people eat natural poisons, they must go to the hospital right away
to have their stomachs emptied.
51. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Food when poisoned can make people sick.
B. Food poisoning means death.
C. Food poisoning comes in varieties.
D. Food poisoning can be serious.
52. We know from the passage that the symptoms of food poisoning _________.
A. are always accompanied by a fever
B. are too common to be noted
C. can be noticed within hours
D. can be ignored
53. Food poisoning can be caused by all the following EXCEPT _________.
A. some chemicals
B. low temperatures
C. some tiny living things
D. certain natural materials
54. From Paragraph 5, we can learn that _________.
A. mushrooms should not be eaten
B. vegetables are safer than meat and seafood
C. natural poisons are more dangerous than chemicals
D. different types of food should be handled differently
55. It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
A. natural materials are safe in food processing
B. chemicals are needed in food processing
C. food poisoning can be kept under control
D. food poisoning is out of control
51. 【解析】选B。

考查细节分析。

根据第一段的Food poisoning is usually not serious, but some types are deadly可知。

52.【解析】选C。

考查细节分析。

根据第一段的The symptoms of food poisoning usually begin within hours of eating the poisoned food.可知。

易错选A项，只是众多症状中常见的一个,表述过于绝对。

53.【解析】选B。

考查细节分析。

根据第五段的Food should be kept in a refrigerator to stop microorganisms from growing.可知低温不会导致食物中毒。

54.【解析】选D。

考查推断分析。

第五段主要讲述不同的食物要进行不同的处理。

55.【解析】选C。

考查推断分析。

从第五段第一句When people handle food properly, the risk of food poisoning is very small.可知。

Passage 6 （2010·湖北卷·E篇）
Have you winterized your horse yet? Even though global warming may have made our climate more mild, many animals are still hibernating(冬眠) . It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate. In fact, as a species, we almost did.
Apparently, at times in the past, peasants in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation. So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French peasants. As soon as the weather turned cold, people all over France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months on end.
In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed fundamentally since the invention of artificial(人造的) lighting and the electric bulb.
When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though. Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours’ uninterrupted sleep is a modern invention.
In the past , without the artificial light of the city to bathe in, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves around midnight. The late night period was known as “The Watch”. It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbours.
According to some sleep researchers, a short period of insomnia(失眠) at midnight is not a disorder. It is normal. Humans can experience another state of consciousness around their sleeping, which occurs in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning. This period can be an extraordinarily creative time for some people. The impressive inventor, Thomas Edison, used this state to hit upon many of his new ideas.
Playing with your sleep rhythms can be adventurous, as anxiety may set in. Medical
science doesn’t help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural; however, according to Warren’s theory，it is really the opposite of what we need.
67. The example of the French peasants shows the fact that________.
A. people might become lazy as a result of too much sleep
B. there were signs of hibernation in human sleeping habits
C.people tended to sleep more peacefully in cold weather
D. winter was a season for people to sleep for months on end
68. The late night was called “The Watch” because it was a time for people______.
A. to set traps to catch animals
B. to wake up their family and neighbours
C. to remind others of the time
D. to guard against possible dangers
69. What does the author advise people to do?
A. Sleep in the way animals do.
B. Consult a doctor if they can’t sleep.
C. Follow their natural sleep rhythm.
D. Keep to the eight-hour sleep pattern.
70.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A.To give a prescription for insomnia.
B.To urge people to sleep less.
C.To analyze the sleep pattern of modern people.
D.To throw new light on human sleep.
【文章大意】本文介绍了一些睡眠专家的研究成果，这对人们如何对待睡眠习惯有所启示。

属于科普类说明文。

67．【解析】选B。

细节推断题。

根据第二段讲述的内容，联系第一段最后一句分析推断B 项符合题意。

C项为干扰项，但原文未做比较而且也不符合文章中心。

68. 【解析】选D。

细节推断题。

由第五段最后一句It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply...直接推断出正确答案为D。

69. 【解析】选C。

细节推断题。

综合分析最后一段内容可知作者建议人们遵循自然睡眠规律，因此，C项符合题意。

70. 【解析】选D。

主旨意图题。

根据各段的主旨大意综合分析即可得出结论。

Para.1 lead in the topic—human sleep
Para.2 an example for human hibernating
Para.3～5 different types of human sleep
Para.6 as for insomnia and another state of consciousness
Para.7 advice on human sleep
此题也可用排除法，A、B、C三项都比较片面。

Passage 7 (2010·湖南卷·A )
LIPITOR
ABOUT LIPITOR
Lipitor is a prescription medicine. Along with diet and exercise, it lowers “bad” cholesterol (胆固醇) in your blood. It can als o raise “good” cholesterol.
Lipitor can lower the risk of heart attack in patients with several common risk factors, including family history of early heart disease, high blood pre ssure, age and smoking .
WHO IS LIPITOR FOR?
Who can take LIPITOR:
·Pe ople who cannot lower their cholesterol enough with diet and exercise ·Adults and children over l0
Who should NOT take LIPITOR:
·Women who are pregnant, may be pregnant, or may become pregnant. Lipitor may harm your unborn baby.
·Women who are breast-feeding. Lipitor can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby.
·People with liver (肝脏) problems
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF LIPITOR
Serious side effects in a small number of people:
·Muscle (肌肉) problems that can lead to kidney (肾脏) problems, including kidney failure
·Liver problems. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your liver before you start Lipitor and while you are taking it.
Call your doctor right away if you have:
·Unexplained muscle pain or weakness, especially if you have a fever or feel v ery tired
·Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing
·Stomach pain
Some common side effects of LIPITOR are:
·Muscle pain
·Upset stomach
·Changes in some blood tests
HOW TO TAKE LIPITOR
DO:
·Take Lipitor as prescribed by your doctor.
·Try to eat heart-healthy foods while you take Lipitor.
·Take Lipitor at any time of day, with or without food.
·If you miss a dose (一剂), take it as soon as you remember. But if it has been more than 12 hours since your missed dose, wait. Take the next dose at your regular time.
Don’t:
·Do not change or stop your dose before talking to your doctor.
·Do not start new medicines before talking to your doctor.
56．What is a major function of Lipitor?
A. To help quit smoking.
B. To control blood pressure.
C. To improve unhealthy diet.
D. To lower “bad” cholesterol.
57．Taking Lipitor is helpful for _________.
A. breast-feeding women
B. women who are pregnant
C. adults having heart disease
D. teenagers with liver problems
58．If it has been over 12 hours since you missed a dose, you should _______.
A. change the amount of your next dose
B. eat more when taking your next dose
C. have a dose as soon as you remember
D. take the next dose at your regular time
59．Which of the following is a common side effect of taking Lipitor?
A. Face swelling.
B. Upset stomach.
C. Kidney failure.
D. Muscle weakness.
60．What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To teach patients ways for quick recovery.
B. To present a report on a scientific research.
C. To show the importance of a good lifestyle.
D. To give information about a kind of medicine.
【文章大意】这是一篇说明文，介绍药品立普妥（LIPITOR）的用途、适合人群、可能的副作用及服用方法。

56．【解析】选D。

细节理解题。

根据第一栏中的“Along with diet and exercise, it l owers “bad” cholesterol in your blood.”可知选D。

57．【解析】选C。

细节理解题。

根据第一栏中的“Lipitor can lower the risk of heart attack…”以及第二栏中Lipitor的适用人群Adults and children over l0可知，服用Lipitor对患有心脏病的成年人有帮助。

58．【解析】选D。

细节理解题。

由第四栏中的“But if it has been more than 12 hours since your missed dose, wait. Take the next dose at your regular time.”可知选D。

59．【解析】选B。

细节理解题。

根据第三栏中的“Some common side effects of LIPITOR are”以及下面的Upset stomach可知选B。

60．【解析】选D。

主旨大意题。

本文是说明文，旨在向读者介绍名叫立普妥（LIPITOR）这种药的有关信息，故选D。

Passage 8 （2010·江西卷·D ）
Modern invention s have speeded up people’s lives amazingly. Motor-cars cover a hundred miles in little more than an hour, aircraft cross the world inside a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boasts（吹嘘）of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.
All this saves time, but at a price. When we lose or gain half a day in speeding across the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel that they have been left b ehind in another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientists; too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.
However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing, or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone
when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.
There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestors faced; they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.
68. The new products become more and more time-saving because _________.
A. our love on speed seems never-ending
B. time is limited
C. the prices are increasingly high
D. the manufacturers boast a lot
69. What does “the days” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Imaginary life.
B. Simple life in the past.
C. Times of inventions .
D. Time for constant activity.
70. What is the author’s attitude towards the modern technology?
A. Critical.
B. Objective.
C. Optimistic.
D. Negative.
71. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The present and past times.
B. Machinery and human beings.
C. Imaginations and inventions.
D. Modern technology and its influence.
【文章大意】现代科技发明以惊人的速度提高着人们的生活，但同时也带来了一些负面影响。

那我们该如何利用发明节省下来的时间呢？这正是本文作者想要告诉我们的。

68. 【解析】选A。

细节理解题。

根据第一段中的“ Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending.”可知A项正确。

69. 【解析】选B。

细节理解题。

根据后文提到的“...when we might listen quietly to
a story on the radio, letting imaginat ion take us into another world.”可知是那种生活简单的日子。

70. 【解析】选B。

推理判断题。

一方面作者对于现代发明给人们带来的便利予以肯定，另一方面又承认了它的负面影响，所以作者的观点是中立的、客观的。

71. 【解析】选D。

主旨大意题。

本文主要讲述了现代发明提高了人们的生活水平以及人们该如何处理它所带来的负面影响，故选D。

Passage 9（2010·辽宁卷·C）
Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs.
A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don’t prove that TV is the cause and don’t rule out that already poorly motivated youngsters (年轻人）may watch lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. Those with college degrees had watched an average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight。