高考英语阅读理解()(说明文)

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高考英语阅读理解说明文5篇

高考英语阅读理解说明文5篇

高考英语说明文5篇1Here is an astonishing and significant fact: Mental work alone can’t make us tire. It sounds absurd. But a years ago, scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage of fatigue (疲劳). To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered that blood passing through the brain, when it is active, shows no fatigue at all! If we took a drop of blood from a day laborer, we would find it full of fatigue toxins(毒素) and fatigue products. But if we took blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show no fatigue toxins at the end of the day.So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain is totally tireless. So what makes us tired?Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional(情绪的) attitudes. One of England’s most outstanding scientists, J.A. Hadfield, says, “The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin. In fact, fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.”Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares, “One hundred percent of the fatigue of sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction? No! A feeling of being bored, anger, anxiety, tenseness, worry, a feeling of not being appreciated---those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.1. What surprised the scientists a few years ago?A. Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer’s blood.B. Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn after a day’s work.C. The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.D. A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins.2. According to the author, which of the following can make sitting workers tired?A. Challenging mental work.B. Unpleasant emotions.C. Endless tasks.D. Physical labor3. What’s the author’s attitude towards the scientists’ idea?A. He agrees with them.B. He doubts them.C. He argues against them.D. He hesitates to accept them.4. We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energetic, sitting workers need to ________.A. have some good food.B. enjoy their workC. exercise regularlyD. discover fatigue toxins2They baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地)when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.5. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.A. sense of hearingB. sense of sightC. sense of touchD. sense of smell6. Babies are sensitive to the change in______.A. the size of cardsB. the colour of picturesC. the shape of patternsD. the number of objects7. Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.B. To see how babies recognize sounds.C. To carry their experiment further.D. To keep the babies’interest.8. Where does this text probably come from?A. Science fiction.B. Children’s literature.C. An advertisement.D.A science report3Last night’s meteor(流星) shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding answers. According to Gabe Rothsclild, Emerald Valley’s mayor, people gathered in the suburbs of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brightened by the city’s lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.“My family was so frustrated,” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointments.”Astronomers---scientists who study stars and planets----have been complaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.There is yet a population besides professional and amateur star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating(迁徙的)birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association. “100 million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes with lighted buildings and towers.”Countless more animals casualties(伤亡)result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful for humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase person’s chances of getting cancer.Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona, has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the LowellObservatory. Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night.9.It happened last night thatA. the city’s lights affected the meteor watchingB. the meteors flew past before being noticedC. the city light show attracted many peopleD. the meteor watching ended up a social outing10. What do the astronomers complain about?A. Meteor showers occur less often than beforeB. Their observation equipment is in poor repairC. Light pollution has remained unsolved for yearsD. Their eyesight is failing due to artificial lighting11. What the author concerned about according to Paragraph 4?A. Birds may take other migration pathsB. Animals living habits may change suddenlyC. Varieties of animals will become sharply reducedD. Animals’ survival is threatened by outdoor lighting12. Lighting regulations in Flagstaff, Arizona are put into effect toA. Lessen the chance of getting cancerB. create an ideal observation conditionC. ensure citizens a good sleep at nightD. enable all creatures to live in harmony13.What message does the author most want to give us?A. Saving wildlife is saving ourselvesB. Great efforts should be made to save energyC. Human activities should be environmentally friendlyD. New equipment should be introduced for space study4Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know,however,that they existed over 5,500years ago in ancient Asia.The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5,100 years old. Evidence suggests thatwheels for transport didn't become popular for .while, though . This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfaces weren't going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother, but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.In the mid-1700s,a Frenchman came up with a new design of road--a base layer (层)of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller atones. A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time, metal hubs(the central part of a wheel) came into being, followed by the Wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(泊油路). As wheel design took off, vehicles got faster and faster.14. What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?A. Few knew how to use transport wheels.B. Humans carried farming tools just as well.C. Animals were a good means of transport.D. The existence of transport wheels was not known.15.What do we know about road design from the passage?A. It was easier than wheel design.B. It improved after big changes in vehicle design.C. It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles.D. It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.16. How is the last paragraph mainly developed?A. By giving examples.B. By making comparisons.C. By following time order.D. By making classifications.17. What is the passage mainly about?A. The beginning of road deaign.B. The development of transport wheels.C. The history of public transport.D. The invention of fast-moving vehicles.5Imagination and fantasy can play an important role in achieving the things we fear. Children know this very well. Fred Epstein, in his book I Make It to Five, tells a story he heard from one of his friends about Tom, a four-year-old boy with a cancer in his back bone. He came through several operations and a lot of pain by mastering his imagination.Tom loved to pretend, and he particularly loved to play superheroes. Dr. Epstein explained that it was actually a brilliant way for his young mind to handle the terrifying and painful life he led.The day before his third trip to the operating room, Tom was terribly afraid. “ Maybe I could go as Superman,” he whispered to his mom. Hearing this, the mother hesitated for while. She has avoided buying the expensive costume(戏装), but finally she agreed.The next day Tom appeared as the powerful Superman, showing off through the hospital halls and coolly waving his hand to the people greeting him along the way. And Tom, with the strength of his fantasy, successfully made it through the operation.The power of imagination need not be reserved for children only. We all have the power to use our fantasies to attempt things we never thought possible, to go through those things that seem impossible, and to achieve what we never believed we could. Just as Dr. Epstein puts it, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”It doesn’t mean that you should dress as a superhero for your next job interview. But, next time you are tested in a way that seems impossible, imagine what it would take to overcome it. Become the person you need to become to win over your challenge and do it in your mind first. So, let your imagination run wild, and dare to dream.18. What do we know about Tom?A. He was seriously ill.B. He was a dishonest boy.C. He was crazy about magic.D. He was Dr. Epstein’s patient.19. What can be inferred about Tom’s mother?A. She was a rich lady.B. She refused Tom’s request.C. She wanted Tom to be a superhero.D. She wanted to get Tom through the pain.20. When Tom went for the third operation, he_________.A. pretended to be painfulB. acted like a superheroC. appeared in poor spiritsD. argued with his mother21. In the last paragraph, you are advised________.A. to go through some difficult testsB. to wake up from your wilddreamsC. to become a powerful person in your mindD. to wear expensive clothes for job interviews22. What is the purpose of the passage?A. To tell us an interesting story.B. To help us make right decisions.C. To advise us to care about children.D. To encourage us to use our imagination.。

(完整)高考英语阅读理解科普类说明文4篇--较难(有答案)

(完整)高考英语阅读理解科普类说明文4篇--较难(有答案)

高考英语说明文4篇1Here is an astonishing and significant fact: Mental work alone can’t makeus tire. It sounds absurd/əb'sɜːd/荒谬的. But a years ago, scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage 阶段of fatigue /fə'tiːg/(疲劳). To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered that blood passing through the brain, when it is active, shows no fatigue at all! If we tooka drop of blood from a day laborer劳动者, we would find it fullof fatigue toxins /'tɒksɪn/ (毒素) and fatigue products. But if wetook blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show nofatigue toxins at the end of the day.So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly很快地at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain istotally tireless. So what makes us tired?Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional(情绪的) attitudes. One of England’s most outstanding scientists, J.A. Hadfield, says, “The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin /'ɒrɪdʒɪn/起源. In fact, fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.”Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares, “One hundred percent of the fatigue of sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction?No! A feeling of being bored, anger, anxiety/æŋ'zaɪətɪ/焦虑, tenseness紧张, worry, a feeling of not being appreciated---those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.1. What surprised the scientists a few years ago?A. Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer’s blood.B. Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn after a day’s work.C. The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.D. A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins.2. According to the author, which of the following can make sitting workers tired?A. Challenging mental work.B. Unpleasant emotions.C. Endless tasks.D. Physical labo3. What’s the author’s attitude towards the scientists’ idea?A. He agrees with them.B. He doubts them.C. He argues against them.D. He hesitates to accept them.4. We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energetic, sitting workers need to ________.A. have some good food.B. enjoy their workC. exercise regularlyD. discover fatigue toxins2They baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quietbut alert /ə'lɜːt/(警觉). Twenty centimeters厘from her face researchershave placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully.A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视)starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots,is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness 名,新奇? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three,or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地)when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.5. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.A. sense of hearingB. sense of sightC. sense of touch D sense of smell6. Babies are sensitive to the change in______.A. the size of cardsB. the colour of picturesC. the shape of patternsD. the number of objects7. Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.B. To see howbabies recognize sounds.C. To carry their experiment further.D. To keep the babies’interest.8. Where does this text probably come from?A. Science fiction.B. Children’s literature.C. An advertisement.D.A science report3Last night’s meteor(流星) 英/'miːtɪə/ shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding 苛求的;要求高的;吃力的answers. According to Gabe Rothsclild, Emerald Valley’s mayor市长, people gathered in thesuburbs /'sʌbɜːb/of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brightene by the city’s lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead. “My family was so frustrated,” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointments.”Astronomers- /ə'strɒnəmə/n. 天文学家--scientists who study stars and planets---- have beencomplaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fightagainst it.There is yet a population besides professional and amateur /ˈæmətə(r)/美 /'æmə.tʃʊr/n. 爱好者star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating(迁徙的)birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association. “100million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes 撞碎with lighted buildings and towers.”Countless more animals casualties(伤亡)result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful for humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase pers on’s chances of getting cancer. Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona/,æri'zəunə/美 /,æri'zəunə/n. 美国亚利桑那州, has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the Lowell Observatory.英 /əb'zɜːvət(ə)rɪ/美 /əb'zɝvətɔri/n. 天文台;气象台;瞭望台Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement isunderway 进行中的to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so thatother creatures can share the night.9.It happened last night thatA. the city’s lights affected the meteor watchingB. the meteors flew past before being noticedC. the city light show attracted many peopleD. the meteor watching ended up a social outing10. What do the astronomers complain about?A. Meteor showers occur less often than beforeB. Their observation equipment is in poor repairC. Light pollution has remained unsolved for yearsD. Their eyesight is failing due to artificial lighting11. What the author concerned about according to Paragraph 4?A. Birds may take other migration pathsB. Animals living habits may changesuddenlyC. Varieties of animals will become sharplyreducedD. Animals’ survival is threatened byoutdoor lighting12. Lighting regulations in Flagstaff, Arizona areput into effect toA. Lessen the chance of getting cancerB. create an ideal observation conditionC. ensure citizens a good sleep at nightD. enable all creatures to live in harmony13.What message does the author most want to give us?A. Saving wildlife is saving ourselvesB. Great efforts should be made to save energyC. Human activities should be environmentally friendlyD. New equipment should be introduced for space study4Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know,however,that they existed over 5,500years ago in ancient Asia.The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5,100 years old. Evidence suggests thatwheels for transport didn't become popular for .while, though . This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carryingfarming tools and humans around.But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfaces weren't going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother, but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.In the mid-1700s,a Frenchman came up with a new design of road--a base layer (层)of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones. A Scotsman苏格兰人improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time, metal hubs英 /hʌb/美 /hʌb/n. 中心;毂;木片(the central part of a wheel)、came into being, followed by the Wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(泊油路). As wheel design took off,vehicles got faster and faster.14. What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?A. Few knew how to use transport wheels.B. Humans carried farming tools just aswell. C. Animals were a good means oftransport.D. The existence of transport wheels was not known.15. What do we know about road design from the passage?A. It was easier than wheel design.B. It improved after big changes in vehicle design.C. It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles.D. It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.16. How is the last paragraph mainly developed?A. By giving examples.B. By making comparisons.C.By following time order.D.By making classifications.17.What is the passage mainly about ?A.The beginning of road deaign.B.The development of transport wheel.C.The history of public transport.D.The invention of fast-moving vehicles.。

高考英语阅读理解说明文

高考英语阅读理解说明文
(5) The purpose of the passage is to...
这种题型的答案在原文中不是直接就能找到的,它要求考生进行合理的推断。如因果关系,文中的某些用词、语气也往往具有隐含意义,要将这种含义读出来。
观点态度题也是判断推理题考查的内容之一。说明文的对象为客观事实,但设题以议论的表达方式抒发对该说明对象的看法。如对某种新发明的赞赏,或对某个事物的批判。
考点四判断推理题
命题形式
(1)The passage is intended to...
(2) The author suggests that...
(3) Which point of view may the author agree to?
(4) From the passage we can conclude that...
高考英语阅读理解说明文
说明文是一种以说明为主要表达方式的文章体裁。对客观事物做出说明或对抽象事理的阐释,使人们对事物的形态、构造、性质、种类、成因、功能、关系或对事理的概念、特点、来源、演变、异同等能有科学的认识,说明文的中心鲜明突出,文章具有科学性,条理性,语言确切生动。它通过揭示概念来说明事物特征、本质及其规律性。说明文一般介绍事物的形状、构造、类别、关系、功能,解释事物的原理、含义、特点、演变等。说明文实用性很强,它包括广告、说明书、提要、规则、章程、解说词等。说明文有的是以时间为序,有的是以空间为序;有的由现象写到本质,有的由主写到次;有的按工艺流程顺序来说明,有的按事物的性质、功用、原理等顺序来说明。
考点三主旨大意题
说明文常用文章大意判断题考查考生对通篇文意的理解。即对文章的主题或中心意思的概括和归纳。主要考查考生对文章的整体理解能力。
命题形式:

中等生·高考英语专题18:阅读理解-说明文类

中等生·高考英语专题18:阅读理解-说明文类

中等生�高考英语专题18:阅读理解-说明文类学校:___________姓名:___________班级:___________考号:___________一、阅读理解A build-it-yourself solar still(蒸馏器) is one of the best ways to obtain drinking water in areas where the liquid is not readily available. Developed by two doctors in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it’s an excellent water collector. Unfortunately, you must carry the necessary equipment with you, since it’s all but impossible to find natural substitutes. The only components required, though, are a 5'×5'sheet of clear or slightly milky plastic, six feet of plastic tube, and a container— perhaps just a drinking cup — to catch the water. These pieces can be folded into a neat little pack and fastened on your belt.To construct a working still, use a sharp stick or rock to dig a hole four feet across and three feet deep. Try to make the hole in a damp area to increase the water catcher’s productivity. Place your cup in the deepest part of the hole. Then lay the tube in place so that one end rests all the way in the cup and the rest of the line runs up — and out — the side of the hole.Next, cover the hole with the plastic sheet, securing the edges of the plastic with dirt and weighting the sheet’s center down with a rock. The plastic should now form a cone(圆锥体) with 45-degree-angled sides. The low point of the sheet must be centered directly over, and no more than three inches above, the cup.The solar still works by creating a greenhouse under the plastic. Ground water evaporates (蒸发) and collects on the sheet until small drops of water form, run down the material and fall off into the cup. When the container is full, you can suck the refreshment zxxk out through the tube, and won’t have to break down the still every time you need a drink.1.What do we know about the solar still equipment from the first paragraph?A.It’s delicate. B.It’s expensive.C.It’s complex. D.It’s portable.2.What does the underlined phrase “the water catcher” in paragraph 2 refer to?A.The tube. B.The still.C.The hole. D.The cup.3.What’s the last step of constructing a working solar still?A.Dig a hole of a certain size. B.Put the cup in place.C.Weight the sheet’s center down. D.Cover the hole with the plastic sheet. 4.When a solar still works, drops of water come into the cup form ________.A.the plastic tube B.outside the holeC.the open air D.beneath the sheetTerrafugia Inc. said Monday that its new flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle —named the Transition – has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. The Transition, which flew at 1,400 feet for eight minutes last month, can reach around 70 miles per hour on the road and 115 in the air. It flies using a 23-gallon tank of gas and burns 5 gallons per hour in the air. On the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon.Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto Show. But don’t expect it to show up in too many driveways. It’s expected to cost $279,000.And it won’t help if you’re stuck in traffic. The car needs a runway.Inventors have been trying to make flying cars since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry expert. But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. The government has already permitted the company to use special materials to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. The Transition is now going through crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administr ation’s decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft, which are lower than those for pilots of larger planes. Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a requirement pilots would find relatively easy to meet.5.What is the first paragraph mainly about?A.The basic data of the Transition.B.The advantages of flying cars.C.The potential market for flying cars.D.The designers of the Transition.6.Why is the Transition unlikely to show up in too many driveways?A.It causers traffic jams.B.It is difficult to operate.C.It is very expensive.D.It burns too much fuel.7.What is the government’s attitude to the development of the flying car?A.Cautious B.Favorable.C.Ambiguous. D.Disapproving.8.What is the best title for the text?A.Flying Car at Auto ShowB.The Transition’s First FlightC.Pilots’ Dream Coming TrueD.Flying Car Closer to RealityWhen a leafy plant is under attack, it do esn’t sit quietly. Back in 1983, two scientists, Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin, reported that young maple trees getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. What the plants pump through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, VOCs for short.Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked .It’s a plant’s way of crying out. But is anyone listening? Apparently. Because we can watch the neighbours react.Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others do double duty. They pump out perfumes designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once they arrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was lunching now becomes lunch.In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors .The damage is usually more serious on the first plant, but the neighbors, relatively speaking, stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.Does this mean that plants talk to each other? Scientists don’t know. Maybe the firstplant just made a cry of pain or was sending a message to its own branches, and so, in effect, was talking to itself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to “overhear” the cry. So information was exchanged, but it wasn’t a true, intentional back and forth. Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago, imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate(亲密的) than the world we can see and hear. Our senses are weak. There’s a whole lot going on.9.What does a plant do when it is under attack?A.It makes noises. B.It gets help from other plants.C.It stands quietly D.It sends out certain chemicals.10.What does the author mean by “the tables are turned” in paragraph 3?A.The attackers get attacked.B.The insects gather under the table.C.The plants get ready to fight back.D.The perfumes attract natural enemies.11.Scientists find from their studies that plants can ________.A.predict natural disastersB.protect themselves against insectsC.talk to one another intentionallyD.help their neighbors when necessary12.What can we infer from the last paragraph?A.The world is changing faster than ever.B.People have stronger senses than beforeC.The world is more complex than it seemsD.People in Darwin’s time were imaginative.After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations— major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well. 13.What is the text mainly about?A.Wildlife research in the United States.B.Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area.C.The conflict between farmers and gray wolves.D.The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park.14.What does the underlined word "displaced"in paragraph 2 mean?A.Tested. B.Separated.C.Forced out. D.Tracked down.15.What did the disappearance of gray wolves bring about?A.Damage to local ecology.B.A decline in the park’s income.C.Preservation of vegetation.D.An increase in the variety of animals.16.What is the author’s attitude towards the Yellowstone wolf project?A.Doubtful. B.Positive.C.Disapproving. D.Uncaring.The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into amobile laboratory named “DriveLAB” in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.Research shows that giving up driving is one of the key reasons for a fall in health and well-being among older people, leading to them becoming more isolated(隔绝) and inactive.Led by Professor Phil Blythe, the Newcastle team are developing in-vehicle technologies for older drivers which they hope could help them to continue driving into later life.These include custom-made navigation(导航) tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations. Phil Blythe explains: “For many older people, particula rly those living alone or in the country, driving is important for preserving their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others.”“But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and th is often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.” Dr Amy Guo, the leading researcher on the older driver study, explains, “The DriveLAB is helping us to understand what the key points and difficulties are for older drivers and how we might use technology to address these problems.“For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined. We’re looking at the benefits of systems which control their speed as a way of preventing that.“We hope that our work will help with technological solutions(解决方案) to ensure that older drivers stay safer behind the wheel.”17.What is the purpose of the DriveLAB?A.To explore new means of transport. B.To design new types of cars.C.To find out older driver’s problems.D.To teach people traffic rules.18.Why is driving important for older people according to Phil Blythe?A.It keeps them independent. B.It helps them save time.C.It builds up their strength. D.It cures their mental illnesses.19.What do researchers hope to do for older drivers?A.Improve their driving skills. B.Develop driver-assist technologies.C.Provide tips on repairing their cars. D.Organize regular physical checkups. 20.What is the best title for the text?A.A new Model Electric Car B.A Solution to Traffic ProblemC.Driving Service for elders D.Keeping Older Drivers on the RoadMeasles(麻疹), which once killed 450 children each year and disabled even more, was nearly wiped out in the United States 14 years ago by the universal use of the MMR vaccine(疫苗). But the disease is making a comeback, caused by a growing anti-vaccine movement and misinformation that is spreading quickly. Already this year, 115 measles cases have been reported in the USA, compared with 189 for all of last year.The numbers might sound small, but they are the leading edge of a dangerous trend. When vaccination rates are very high, as they still are in the nation as a whole, everyone is protected. This is called “herd immunity”, which protects the people who get hurt easily, including those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, babies too young to get vaccinated and people on whom the vaccine doesn’t work.But herd immunity works only when nearly the whole herd joins in. When some refuse vaccination and seek a free ride, immunity breaks down and everyone is in even bigger danger.That’s exactly what is happening in small neighborhoods around the country from Orange County, California, where 22 measles cases were reported this month, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where a 17-year-old caused an outbreak last year.The resistance to vaccine has continued for decades, and it is driven by a real but very small risk. Those who refuse to take that risk selfishly make others suffer.Making things worse are state laws that make it too easy to opt out(决定不参加) of what are supposed to be required vaccines for all children entering kindergarten. Seventeen states allow parents to get an exemption(豁免), sometimes just by signing a paper saying they personally object to a vaccine.Now, several states are moving to tighten laws by adding new regulations for opting out. But no one does enough to limit exemptions.Parents ought to be able to opt out only for limited medical or religious reasons. But personal opinions? Not good enough. Everyone enjoys the life-saving benefits vaccines provide, but they’ll exist only as long as everyone shares in the risks.21.The first two paragraphs suggest that ____________.A.a small number of measles cases can start a dangerous trendB.the outbreak of measles attracts the public attentionC.anti-vaccine movement has its medical reasonsD.information about measles spreads quickly22.Herd immunity works well when ____________.A.exemptions are allowedB.several vaccines are used togetherC.the whole neighborhood is involved inD.new regulations are added to the state laws23.What is the main reason for the comeback of measles?A.The overuse of vaccine.B.The lack of medical care.C.The features of measles itself.D.The vaccine opt-outs of some people.24.What is the purpose of the passage?A.To introduce the idea of exemption.B.To discuss methods to cure measles.C.To stress the importance of vaccination.D.To appeal for equal rights in medical treatment.Hollywood’s theory that machines with evil(邪恶) minds will drive armies of killer robots is just silly. The real problem relates to the possibility that artificial intelligence(AI) may become extremely good at achieving something other than what we really want. In 1960 a well-known mathematician Norbert Wiener, who founded the field of cybernetics(控制论), put it this way: “If we use, to achieve our purposes, a mechanical agency with whose operation we cannot effectively interfere(干预), we had better be quite sure that the purpose put into the machine is the purpose which we really desire.”A machine with a specific purpose has another quality, one that we usually associate with living things: a wish to preserve its own existence. For the machine, this quality is notin-born, nor is it something introduced by humans; it is a logical consequence of the simple fact that the machine cannot achieve its original purpose if it is dead. So if we send out a robot with the single instruction of fetching coffee, it will have a strong desire to secure success by disabling its own off switch or even killing anyone who might interfere with itstask. If we are not careful, then, we could face a kind of global chess match against very determined, super intelligent machines whose objectives conflict with our own, with the real world as the chessboard.The possibility of entering into and losing such a match should concentrate the minds of computer scientists. Some researchers argue that we can seal the machines inside a kind of firewall, using them to answer difficult questions but never allowing them to affect the real world. Unfortunately, that plan seems unlikely to work: we have yet to invent a firewall that is secure against ordinary humans, let alone super intelligent machines.Solving the safety problem well enough to move forward in AI seems to be possible but not easy. There are probably decades in which to plan for the arrival of super intelligent machines. But the problem should not be dismissed out of hand, as it has been by some AI researchers. Some argue that humans and machines can coexist as long as they work in teams—yet that is not possible unless machines share the goals of humans. Others say we can just “switch them off” as if super intelligent machines are too stupid to think of th at possibility. Still others think that super intelligent AI will never happen. On September 11, 1933, famous physicist Ernest Rutherford stated, with confidence, “Anyone who expects a source of power in the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshi ne.” However, on September 12, 1933, physicist Leo Szilard invented the neutron-induced(中子诱导) nuclear chain reaction.25.Paragraph 1 mainly tells us that artificial intelligence may .A.run out of human controlB.satisfy human’s real desiresC.command armies of killer robotsD.work faster than a mathematician26.Machines with specific purposes are associated with living things partly because they might be able to .A.prevent themselves from being destroyedB.achieve their original goals independentlyC.do anything successfully with given ordersD.beat humans in international chess matches27.According to some researchers, we can use firewalls to .A.help super intelligent machines work betterB.be secure against evil human beingsC.keep machines from being harmedD.avoid robots’ affecting the world28.What does the author think of the safety problem of super intelligent machines?A.It will disappear with the development of AI.B.It will get worse with human interference.C.It will be solved but with difficulty.D.It will stay for a decade.Suppose you’re in a rush, feeling tired, not paying attention to your screen, and you send an email that could get you in trouble.Realisation will probably set in seconds after you’ve clicked “send”. You freeze in horrors and burn with shame.What to do? Here are four common email accidents, and how to recover.Clicking “send” too soonDon’t waste your time trying to find out if the receivers has read it yet. Write another email as swiftly as you can and send it with a brief explaining that this is the correct version and the previous version should be ignored.Writing the wrong timeThe sooner you notice, the better. Respond quickly and briefly, apologizing for your mistake. Keep the tone measured: don’t handle it too lightly, as people can be offered, especially if your error suggests a misunderstanding of their culture(I.e. incorrect ordering of Chinese names).Clicking “reply all” unintentionallyYou accidentally reveal(透露)to entire company what menu choices you would prefer at the staff Christmas dinner, or what holiday you’d like to take. In this instance, the best solution is to send a quick, light-hearted apology to explain your awkwardness. But it can quickly rise to something worse, when ever yone starts hitting “reply all” to join in a long and unpleasant conversation. In this instance, step away from your keyboard to allow everyone to calm down.Sending an offensive message to it’s subjectThe most awkward email mistake is usually committed in anger. You write an unkindmessage about someone, intending to send it to a friend, but accidentally send it to the person you’re discussing. In that case, ask to speak in person as soon as possible and say sorry. Explain your frustrations calmly and sensibly—see it as an opportunity tic hear up any difficulties you may have with this person.29.After realizing an email accident, you are likely to feel _______.A.curious B.tiredC.awful D.funny30.If you have written the wrong name in an email, it is best to ________. A.apologise in a serious mannerB.tell the receiver to ignore the errorC.learn to write the name correctlyD.send a short notice to everyone31.What should you do when an unpleasant conversation is started by your “reply all” email? A.Try offering other choices.B.Avoid further involvement.C.Meet other staff members.D.Make a light-hearted apology.32.How should you deal with the problem caused by an offensive email?A.By promising not to offend the receiver again.B.By seeking support from the receiver’s friends.C.By asking the receiver to control his anger.D.By talking to the receiver face to face.33.What is the passage mainly about?A.Defining email errors.B.Reducing email mistakes.C.Handling email accidents.D.Improving email writing.CHRONOLOGICA——The Unbelievable Years that Defined HistoryDID YOU KNOW…In 105 AD paper was invented in China?When Columbus discovered the New World?The British Museum opened in 1759?CHRONOLOGICA is a fascinating journey through time, from the foundation of Rome to the creation of the Internet. Along the way are tales of kings and queens, hot air balloons…and monkeys in space.Travel through 100 of the most unbelievable years in world history and learn why being a Roman Emperor wasn’t always as good as it sounds, how the Hundred Years’ War didn’t actually last for 100 years and why Spencer Perceval holds a rather unfortunate record.CHRONOLOGICAis an informative and entertaining tour into history, beautifully illustrated and full of unbelievable facts. While CHRONOLOGICA tells the stories of famous people in history such as Thomas Edison and Alexander the Great, this book also gives an account of the lives of lesser-known individuals including the explorer Mungo Park and sculptor Gutzon Borglum.This complete but brief historical collection is certain to entertain readers young and old, and guaranteed to present even the biggest history lover with something new!34.What is CHRONOLOGICA according to the text?A.A biography. B.A travel guide.C.A history book. D.A science fiction.35.How does the writer recommend CHRONOLOGICA to readers?A.By giving details of its collection.B.By introducing some of its contents.C.By telling stories at the beginning.D.By comparing it with other books.Before birth, babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices. They can even distinguish their mother’s voice from that of a female stranger. But when it comes to embryonic learning (胎教), birds could rule the roost. As recently reported in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch (孵化). New-born chicks can then imitate their mom’s call within a few days of entering the world.This educational method was first observed in 2012 by Sonia Kleindorfer, a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia, and her colleagues. Female Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their eggs. When the eggs were hatched, the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers—a sound that served as their regular "feed me!"call.To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds, the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren, another species of Australian songbird. First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queensland before and after hatching. Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and number of notes. A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks, ranking them by similarity.It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their eggs, the more similar were the babies’ begging calls. In addition, the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the baby birds that most closely imitated their mom’s voice were rewarded with the most food.This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological (神经系统的) strengths of children to parents. An evolutionary inference can then be drawn. "As a parent, do you invest in quality children, or do you invest in children that are in need?"Kleindorfer asks. "Our results suggest that they might be going for quality."36.The underlined phrase in Paragraph 1 means"____________".A.be the worst B.be the bestC.be the as bad D.be just as good37.What are Kleindorfer’s findings based on?A.Similarities between the calls of moms and chicks.B.The observation of fairy wrens across Australia.C.The data collected fro m Queensland’s locals.D.Controlled experiments on wrens and other birds.38.Embryonic learning helps mother birds to identify the baby birds which ____________. A.can receive quality signalsB.are in need of trainingC.fit the environment betterD.make the loudest callDo you wear your school uniform in your school life? Believer it or not, there are quite a few advantages of wearing school uniforms. The idea may seem disagreeable at first, but considering all the positive effects coming from wearing uniforms you would be more likely to enjoy them.Teachers love school uniforms because it helps provide an orderly learning environment. Having students dressed in uniforms may teach them how to present themselves in a neat and professional manner. It gives students the opportunity to learn how to dress like young ladies and gentlemen. And they can focus their attention on academies rather than style.Purchasing school uniforms is easy and needs less hesitation and consideration. No matter what the school’s pol icy is, there are only specific essential pieces to the wardrobe(服装)that are necessary, so it won’t break the bank. A few wardrobe items can last a long time. Parents could also enjoy an easy morning, as it will take less time to chose a set of clothes for the school day.Students wearing uniforms will feel less pressure about what to wear or not to wear when their classmate are dressed similarly. Getting dressed before school becomes less of a chore when students are limited in their choices, so there shou ldn’t be any trouble about choosing an outfit for the day and getting ready quickly. Some students may not like the lackof individuality(个性)with a uniform, but some school dress code policies may offer them the opportunities to show their unique styles.Uniforms today are also becoming trendier and can be seen in many areas of pop culture. Celebrities and fashion designers are using uniforms as inspiration for new looks which also appeal to students.39.Teachers think that wearing school uniforms___________.A.is just a tradition that students should followB.makes students feel less pressure in studyC.helps students put more effort into their studiesD.makes students lose their independence and identity40.The underlined part “it won’t break the bank” in Paragraph 3 probably means“_________”.A.a school uniform doesn’t cost a lot of moneyB.a school uniform should be worn every dayC.parents will have to go to the bank many timesD.parents who work in a bank can afford the uniform41.We can infer from the text that school uniforms______________.A.are not popular with fashion designersB.were not accepted by parents in the pastC.will be designed by students themselvesD.will be more fashionable in the future42.The author’s attitude towards students’ wear ing school uniforms is _________. A.negative B.supportiveC.doubtful D.unclearWhen most of us hear the word chocolate, the verb that comes to mind is probably “eat”, not “drink”, and the most proper adjective would seem to be “sweet”. But for about 90 percent of chocolate’s long history, it was strictly a beverage(饮料), and sugar didn’t have anything to do with it.The Origin of ChocolateMany modern historians have estimated that chocolate has been around for about 2000 years, but recent research suggests that it may be even older. In the book The True History of。

高考英语 阅读理解 科普类说明文4篇 -- 较难 (有答案)

高考英语 阅读理解 科普类说明文4篇 -- 较难  (有答案)

高考英语说明文4篇1Here is an astonishing and significant fact: Mental work alone can’t makeus tire. It sounds absurd/əb'sɜːd/荒谬的. But a years ago, scientists tried to find outhow long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage 阶段of fatigue /fə'tiːg/(疲劳). To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered that blood passing through the brain, when it is active, shows no fatigue at all! If we tooka drop of blood from a day laborer劳动者, we would find it full offatigue toxins /'tɒksɪn/ (毒素) and fatigue products. But if we tookblood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show no fatiguetoxins at the end of the day.So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly很快地at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain is totally tireless. So what makes us tired?Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mentaland emotional(情绪的) attitudes. One of England’s most outstanding scientists, J.A. Hadfield, says, “The greater part of the fatigue from which wesuffer is of mental origin /'ɒrɪdʒɪn/起源. In fact, fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.”Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares, “One hundred percent of the fatigue of sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction?No! A feeling of being bored, anger, anxiety/æŋ'zaɪətɪ/焦虑, tenseness紧张, worry, a feeling of not being appreciated---those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.1. What surprised the scientists a few years ago?A. Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer’s blood.B. Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn after a day’s work.C. The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.D. A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins.2. According to the author, which of the following can make sitting workers tired?A. Challenging mental work.B. Unpleasant emotions.C. Endless tasks.D. Physical labo3. What’s the author’s attitude towards the scientists’ idea?A. He agrees with them.B. He doubts them.C. He argues against them.D. He hesitates to accept them.4. We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energetic, sitting workers need to ________.A. have some good food.B. enjoy their workC. exercise regularlyD. discover fatigue toxins2They baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quietbut alert /ə'lɜːt/(警觉). Twenty centimeters厘from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully.A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, hergaze(凝视)starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots,is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did atthe previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three,just 24 hours after coming into the world?Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, butwith three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest whenthe number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness 名,新奇? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three,or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地)when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.5. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.A. sense of hearingB. sense of sightC. sense of touch D sense of smell6. Babies are sensitive to the change in______.A. the size of cardsB. the colour of picturesC. the shape of patternsD. the number of objects7. Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.B. To see howbabies recognize sounds.C. To carry their experiment further.D. To keep the babies’interest.8. Where does this text probably come from?A. Science fiction.B. Children’s literature.C. An advertisement.D.A science report3Last night’s meteor(流星) 英/'miːtɪə/ shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding 苛求的;要求高的;吃力的answers. According to Gabe Rothsclild, Emerald Valley’s mayor市长, people gathered in the suburbs /'sʌbɜːb/ of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brighteneby the city’s lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.“My family was so frustrated,” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be ahuge disappointments.”Astronomers- /ə'strɒnəmə/n. 天文学家--scientists who study stars and planets----have beencomplaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.There is yet a population besides professional and amateur /ˈæmətə(r)/美 /'æmə.tʃʊr/n. 爱好者star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating(迁徙的)birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association. “100million birds a year throughoutNorth America die in crashes 撞碎with lighted buildings and towers.”Countless more animals casualties(伤亡)result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, butsome scientists think it can be harmful for humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase pers on’s chances of getting cancer. Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona/,æri'zəunə/美 /,æri'zəunə/n. 美国亚利桑那州, has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the Lowell Observatory.英 /əb'zɜːvət(ə)rɪ/美 /əb'zɝvətɔri/n. 天文台;气象台;瞭望台Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway 进行中的to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night.9.It happened last night thatA. the city’s lights affected the meteor watchingB. the meteors flew past before being noticedC. the city light show attracted many peopleD. the meteor watching ended up a social outing10. What do the astronomers complain about?A. Meteor showers occur less often than beforeB. Their observation equipment is in poor repairC. Light pollution has remained unsolved for yearsD. Their eyesight is failing due to artificial lighting11. What the author concerned about according to Paragraph 4?A. Birds may take other migration pathsB. Animals living habits may changesuddenlyC. Varieties of animals will become sharplyreducedD. Animals’ survival is threatened by outdoorlighting12. Lighting regulations in Flagstaff, Arizona areput into effect toA. Lessen the chance of getting cancerB. create an ideal observation conditionC. ensure citizens a good sleep at nightD. enable all creatures to live in harmony13.What message does the author most want to give us?A. Saving wildlife is saving ourselvesB. Great efforts should be made to save energyC. Human activities should be environmentally friendlyD. New equipment should be introduced for space study4Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know,however,that they existed over 5,500years ago in ancient Asia.The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5,100 years old. Evidence suggests thatwheels for transport didn't become popular for .while, though . Thiscould be because animals did a perfectly good job of carryingfarming tools and humans around.But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfacesweren't going to be constructed until there was plenty of demandfor them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother, but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There hadbeen no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before thearrival of modern road design.In the mid-1700s,a Frenchman came up with a new design ofroad--a base layer (层)of large stones covered with a thin layer ofsmaller stones. A Scotsman苏格兰人improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around thesame time, metal hubs英 /hʌb/美 /hʌb/n. 中心;毂;木片(the central part of a wheel)、came into being, followed by the Wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(泊油路). As wheel design took off, vehicles got faster and faster.14. What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?A. Few knew how to use transport wheels.B. Humans carried farming tools just as well.C. Animals were a good means of transport.D. The existence of transport wheels was not known.15. What do we know about road design from the passage?A. It was easier than wheel design.B. It improved after big changes in vehicle design.C. It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles.D. It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.16. How is the last paragraph mainly developed?A. By giving examples.B. By making comparisons.C.By following time order.D.By making classifications.17.What is the passage mainly about ?A.The beginning of road deaign.B.The development of transport wheel.C.The history of public transport.D.The invention of fast-moving vehicles.。

高考英语备考 专题17 阅读理解之说明文

高考英语备考 专题17 阅读理解之说明文

限时训练——阅读理解之说明文1. 【•卷】The oddness of life in space never quite goes away. Here are some examples.First consider something as simple as sleep. Its position presents its own challenges. The main question is whether you want your arms inside or outside the sleeping bag. If you leave your arms out, they float free in zero gravity, often giving a sleeping astronaut the look of a funny balled 〔芭蕾〕dancer. “I’m an inside guy,〞 Mike Hopkins says, who returned from a six-month tour on the International Space Statio n. “I like to be wrapped up.〞On the station, the ordinary becomes strange. The exercise bike for the American astronauts has no handlebars. It also has no seat. With no gravity, it’s just as easy to pedal violently. You can watch a movie while you pedal by floating a microcomputer anywhere you want. But station residents have to be careful about staying in one place too long. Without gravity to help circulate air, the carbon dioxide you exhale (呼气) has a tendency to form an invisible 〔隐形的〕cloud around you head. You can end up with what astronauts call a carbon-dioxide headache.Leroy Chiao, 54, an American retired astronaut after four flights, describes what happens even before you float out of your seat,〞Your inner ear thinks your’re falling . Meanwhile yo ur eyes are telling you you’re standing straight. That can be annoying—that’s why some people feel sick.〞 Within a couple days —truly terrible days for some —astronauts’ brains learn to ignore the panicky signals from the inner ear, and space sickness disappears.Space travel can be so delightful but at the same time invisibly dangerous. For instance, astronauts lose bone mass. That’s why exercise is considered so vital that National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) puts it right on the workday schedule. The focus on fitness is as much about science and the future as it is about keeping any individual astronauts return home, and, more importantly, how to maintain strength and fitness for the two and a half years or more that it would take to make a round-trip to Mars.1.What is the major challenge to astronauts when they sleep in space?A. Deciding on a proper sleep positionB. Choosing a comfortable sleeping bagC. Seeking a way to fall asleep quicklyD. Finding a right time to go to sleep.2.The astronauts will suffer from a carbon-dioxide headache when _____.A. the y circle around on their bikesB. they use microcomputers without a stopC. they exercise in one place for a long timeD. they watch a movie while pedaling3.Some astronauts feel sick on the station during the first few days because _____.A. their senses stop workingB. they have to stand up straightC. they float out of their seats unexpectedlyD. whether they are able to go back to the station4.One of the NASA’s major concerns abou t astronauts is _____.A. how much exercise they do on the stationB. how they can remain healthy for long in spaceC. whether they can recover after returning homeD. whether they are able to go back to the station2. 【•】The production of coffee beans is a huge, profitable business, but, unfortunately, full-sun production is taking over the industry and bringing about a lot of damage. The change in how coffee is grown from shade-grown production to full-sun production endangers the very existence of, certain animals and birds, and even disturbs the world’s ecological balance.On a local level, the damage of the forest required by full-sun fields affects the area’s birds and animals. The shade of the forest trees provides a home for birds and other special(物种) that depend on the trees’ flowers and fruits. Full-sun coffee growers destroy this forest home. As a result, many special are quickly dying out.On a more global level, the destruction of the rainforest for full-sun coffee fields also threatens(威胁)human life. Medical research often makes use of the forests' plant and animal life, and the destruction of such species could prevent researchers from finding cures for certain diseases. In addition, new coffee-growing techniques are poisoning the water locally, and eventually the world's groundwater.Both locally and globally, the continued spread of full-sun coffee plantations (种植园)could mean the destruction of the rainforest ecology. The loss of shade trees is already causing a slight change in the world's climate, and studies show that loss of oxygen-giving trees also leads to air pollution and global warming. Moreover, the new growing techniques are contributing to acidic(酸性的) soil conditions.It is obvious that the way much coffee is grown affects many aspects many aspects of life, from the local environment to the global ecology. But consumers do have a choice. They can purchase shade-grown coffee whenever possible, although at a higher cost. The future health of the planet and mankind is surely worth more than an inexpensive cup of coffee.1. What can we learn about full-sun coffee production from Paragraph 4?A. It limits the spread of new growing techniques.B. It leads to air pollution and global warming.C. It slows down the loss of shade trees.D. It improves local soil conditions.2. The purpose of the text is to_______ .A. entertainB. advertiseC. instructD. persuade3. Where does this text probably come from ?A. An agricultural magazine.B. A medical journal.C. An engineering textbook.D. A tourist guide.4.Which of the following shows the structure of the whole text?3. 【•】Their cheery song brightens many a winter's day. But robins are in danger of wearing themselves out by singing too much. Robins are singing all night一as well as during the day, British-based researchers say.David Dominoni, of Glasgow University, said that light from street lamps, takeaway signs and homes is affecting the birds' biological clocks, leading to them being wide awake when they should be asleep.Dr Dominoni, who is putting cameras inside nesting boxes to track sleeping patterns, said lack of sleep could put the birds’ health at risk. His study shows that when robins are exposed to light at night in the lab, it leads to some genesbeing active at the wrong time of day. And the more birds are exposed to light, the more active they are at night.He told people at a conference, "There have been a couple of studies suggesting they are increasing their song output at night and during the day they are still singing. Singing is a costly behaviour and it takes energy. So by increasing their song output, there might be some costs of energy."And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light. Blackbirds and seagulls are also being more nocturnal. Dr Dominoni said, "In Glasgow where I live, gulls are a serious problem. I have people coming to me saying `You are the bird expert. Can you help us kill these gulls?'.During the breeding(繁殖)season, between April and June, they are very active at night and very noisy and people can't sleep."Although Dr Dominoni has only studied light pollution, other research concluded that robins living in noisy cities have started to sing at night to make themselves heard over loud noise.However, some birds thrive(兴隆)in noisy environments. A study from California Polytechnic University found more hummingbirds in areas with heavy industrial machinery. It is thought that they are capitalising on their predators(天敌)fleeing to quieter areas.1.According to Dr Dominoni's study, what cause robins to sing so much?A. The breeding season.B. The light in modern lifeC. The dangerous environment.D. The noise from heavy machinery.2.What is the researchers' concern over the increase of birds' song output?A. The environment might be polluted.B. The birds' health might be damaged.C. The industry cost might be increased.D. The people's hearing might be affected.3.What does the underlined word "nocturnal" in Paragraph 5 mean?A. Active at night.B. Inactive at night.C. Active during the day.D. Inactive during the day.4.Why do some birds thrive in noisy environments?A. Because there are fewer dangers.B. Because there is more food to eat.C. Because there is less light pollutionD. Because there are more places to take shelter.4.【·】Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientistat the robot company Jibo.While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn’t just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.Fellow Robots is one company bringing social ro bots to the market. The company’s “Oshbot〞 robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product’s location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. “We have techn ologies to train social robots to do things not forus, but with us,〞 said Breazeal.1. How are social robots different from household robots?A. They can control their emotions.B. They are more like humans.C. They do the normal housework.D. They respond to users more slowly.2. What can a Jibo robot do according to Paragraph 3?A. Communicate with you and perform operations.B. Answer your questions and make requests.C. Take your family pictures and deliver milk.D. Obey your orders and remind you to take pills.3. What can Oshbot work as?A. A language teacher.B. A tour guide.C. A shop assistant.D. A private nurse.4. We can learn from the last paragraph that social robots will ______.A. train employeesB. be our workmatesC. improve technologiesD. take the place of workers5. What does the passage mainly present?A. A new design idea of household robots.B. Marketing strategies for social robots.C. Information on household robots.D. An introduction to social robots.励志赠言经典语录精选句;挥动**,放飞梦想。

高考英语阅读理解说明文5篇

高考英语阅读理解说明文5篇

高考英语说明文5篇1Here is an astonishing and significant fact: Mental work alone can’t make us tire. It sounds absurd. But a years ago, scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage of fatigue (疲劳). To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered that blood passing through the brain, when it is active, shows no fatigue at all! If we took a drop of blood from a day laborer, we would find it full of fatigue toxins(毒素) and fatigue products. But if we took blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show no fatigue toxins at the end of the day.So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain is totally tireless. So what makes us tired?Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional(情绪的) attitudes. One of England’s most outstanding scientists, J.A. Hadfield, says, “The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin. In fact, fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.” Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares, “One hundred percent of the fatigue of sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction? No! A feeling of being bored, anger, anxiety, tenseness, worry, a feeling of not being appreciated---those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.1. What surprised the scientists a few years ago?A. Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer’s blood.B. Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn after a day’s work.C. The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.D. A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins.2. According to the author, which of the following can make sitting workers tired?A. Challenging mental work.B. Unpleasant emotions.C. Endless tasks.D. Physical labor3. What’s the author’s attitude towards the scientists’ idea?A. He agrees with them.B. He doubts them.C. He argues against them.D. He hesitates to accept them.4. We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energetic, sitting workers need to ________.A. have some good food.B. enjoy their workC. exercise regularlyD. discover fatigue toxins2They baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time withthe spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视)starts to lose its focus —until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地)when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.5. Th e experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.A. sense of hearingB. sense of sightC. sense of touchD. sense of smell6. Babies are sensitive to the change in______.A. the size of cardsB. the colour of picturesC. the shape of patternsD. the number of objects7. Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.B. To see how babies recognize sounds.C. To carry their experiment further.D. To keep the babies’ inter est.8. Where does this text probably come from?A. Science fiction.B. Children’s literature.C. An advertisement.D. A science report3Last night’s meteor(流星) shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding answers. According to Gabe Rothsclild, Emerald Valley’s mayor, people gathered in the suburbs of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brightened by the city’s lights t hat it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.“My family was so frustrated,” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointments.”Astronomers---scientists who study stars and planets----have been complaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.There is yet a population besides professional and amateur star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating(迁徙的)birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association. “100 million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes with lighted buildings and towers.”Countless more animals casualties(伤亡)result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful forhumans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase person’s chances of getting cancer.Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona, has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the Lowell Observatory. Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night.9.It happened last night thatA.the city’s lights affected the meteor watchingB. the meteors flew past before being noticedC. the city light show attracted many peopleD. the meteor watching ended up a social outing10. What do the astronomers complain about?A. Meteor showers occur less often than beforeB. Their observation equipment is in poor repairC. Light pollution has remained unsolved for yearsD. Their eyesight is failing due to artificial lighting11. What the author concerned about according to Paragraph 4?A. Birds may take other migration pathsB. Animals living habits may change suddenlyC. Varieties of animals will become sharply reducedD. Animals’ survival is threatened by outdoor lighting12. Lighting regulations in Flagstaff, Arizona are put into effect toA. Lessen the chance of getting cancerB. create an ideal observation conditionC. ensure citizens a good sleep at nightD. enable all creatures to live in harmony13.What message does the author most want to give us?A. Saving wildlife is saving ourselvesB. Great efforts should be made to save energyC. Human activities should be environmentally friendlyD. New equipment should be introduced for space study4Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know,however,that they existed over 5,500years ago in ancient Asia.The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5,100 years old. Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn't become popular for .while, though . This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfaces weren't going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother,but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.In the mid-1700s,a Frenchman came up with a new design of road--a base layer (层)of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller atones. A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time, metal hubs(the central part of a wheel) came into being, followed by the Wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(泊油路). As wheel design took off, vehicles got faster and faster.14. What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?A. Few knew how to use transport wheels.B. Humans carried farming tools just as well.C. Animals were a good means of transport.D. The existence of transport wheels was not known.15.What do we know about road design from the passage?A. It was easier than wheel design.B. It improved after big changes in vehicle design.C. It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles.D. It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.16. How is the last paragraph mainly developed?A. By giving examples.B. By making comparisons.C. By following time order.D. By making classifications.17. What is the passage mainly about?A. The beginning of road deaign.B. The development of transport wheels.C. The history of public transport.D. The invention of fast-moving vehicles.5Imagination and fantasy can play an important role in achieving the things we fear. Children know this very well. Fred Epstein, in his book I Make It to Five, tells a story he heard from one of his friends about Tom, a four-year-old boy with a cancer in his back bone. He came through several operations and a lot of pain by mastering his imagination.Tom loved to pretend, and he particularly loved to play superheroes. Dr. Epstein explained that it was actually a brilliant way for his young mind to handle the terrifying and painful life he led.The day before his third trip to the operating room, Tom was terribly afraid. “ Maybe I could go as Superman,” he whispered to his mom. Hearing this, the mother hesitated for while. She has avoided buying the expensive costume(戏装), but finally she agreed.The next day Tom appeared as the powerful Superman, showing off through the hospital halls and coolly waving his hand to the people greeting him along the way. And Tom, with the strength of his fantasy, successfully made it through the operation.The power of imagination need not be reserved for children only. We all have the power to use our fantasies to attempt things we never thought possible, to go through those things that seem impossible, and to achieve what we never believed we could. Just as Dr. Epstein puts it, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”It doesn’t mean that y ou should dress as a superhero for your next job interview. But, next time you are tested in a way that seems impossible, imagine what it would take to overcome it. Become the person you need to become to win over your challenge and do it in your mind first. So, let your imagination run wild, and dare to dream.18. What do we know about Tom?A. He was seriously ill.B. He was a dishonest boy.C. He was crazy about magic.D. He was Dr. Epstein’s patient.19. What can be inferred about Tom’s mother?A. She was a rich lady.B. She refused Tom’s request.C. She wanted Tom to be a superhero.D. She wanted to get Tom through the pain.20. When Tom went for the third operation, he_________.A. pretended to be painfulB. acted like a superheroC. appeared in poor spiritsD. argued with his mother21. In the last paragraph, you are advised________.A. to go through some difficult testsB. to wake up from your wild dreamsC. to become a powerful person in your mindD. to wear expensive clothes for job interviews22. What is the purpose of the passage?A. To tell us an interesting story.B. To help us make right decisions.C. To advise us to care about children.D. To encourage us to use our imagination.。

高考英语阅读理解-说明文8篇真题训练

高考英语阅读理解-说明文8篇真题训练

高考英语复习阅读理解专练说明文8篇Passage 1(2017北京,C)Measles(麻疹), which once killed 450 children each year and disabled even more, was nearly wiped out in the United States 14 years ago by the universal use of the MMR vaccine(疫苗). But the disease is making a comeback, caused by a growing anti-vaccine movement and misinformation that is spreading quickly. Already this year, 115 measles cases have been reported in the USA, compared with 189 for all of last year.The numbers might sound small, but they are the leading edge of a dangerous trend. When vaccination rates are very high, as they still are in the nation as a whole, everyone is protected. This is called“herd immunity”, which protects the people who get hurt easily, including those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, babies too young to get vaccinated and people on whom the vaccine doesn’t work.But herd immunity works only when nearly the whole herd joins in. When some refuse vaccination and seek a free ride, immunity breaks down and everyone is in even bigger danger.That’s exactly what is happening in small neighborhoods around the country from Orange County, California, where 22 measles cases were reported this month, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where a 17-year-old caused an outbreak last year.The resistance to vaccine has continued for decades, and it is driven by a real but very small risk. Those who refuse to take that risk selfishly make others suffer.Making things worse are state laws that make it too easy to opt out(决定不参加)of what are supposed to be required vaccines for all children entering kindergarten. Seventeen states allow parents to get an exemption(豁免), sometimes just by signing a paper saying they personally object to a vaccine.Now, several states are moving to tighten laws by adding new regulations for opting out. But no one does enough to limit exemptions.Parents ought to be able to opt out only for limited medical or religious reasons. But personal opinions?Not good enough. Everyone enjoys the life-saving benefits vaccines provide, but they’ll exist only as long as everyone shares in the risks.1.The first two paragraphs suggest that .A.a small number of measles cases can start a dangerous trendB.the outbreak of measles attracts the public attentionC.anti-vaccine movement has its medical reasonsrmation about measles spreads quickly2.Herd immunity works well when .A.exemptions are allowedB.several vaccines are used togetherC.the whole neighborhood is involved inD.new regulations are added to the state laws3.What is the main reason for the comeback of measles?A.The overuse of vaccine.B.The lack of medical care.C.The features of measles itself.D.The vaccine opt-outs of some people.4.What is the purpose of the passage?A.To introduce the idea of exemption.B.To discuss methods to cure measles.C.To stress the importance of vaccination.D.To appeal for equal rights in medical treatment.Passage 2(2017天津,A)Suppose you’re in a rush, feeling tired, not paying attention to your screen, and you send an email that could get you in trouble.Realisation will probably set in seconds after you’ve clicked “send”. You freeze in horror and burn with shame.What to do?Here are four common email accidents, and how to recover.Clicking “send”too soonDon’t waste your time trying to find out if the receiver has read it yet. Write another email as swiftly as you can and send it with a brief title explaining that this is the correct version and the previous version should be ignored.Writing the wrong nameThe sooner you notice, the better. Respond quickly and briefly, apologising for your mistake. Keep the tone measured:don’t handle it too lightly, as people can be offended, especially if your error suggests a misunderstanding of their culture(i.e. incorrect ordering of Chinese names).Clicking “reply all”unintentionallyYou accidentally reveal(透露)to the entire company what menu choices you would prefer at the staff Christmas dinner, or what holiday you’d like to take. In this instance, the best solution is to send a quick, light-hearted apology to explain your awkwardness. But it can quickly rise to something worse, when everyone starts hitting “reply all”to join in a long and unpleasant conversation. In this instance, step away from your keyboard to allow everyone to calm down.Sending an offensive message to its subjectThe most awkward email mistake is usually committed in anger. You write an unkind message about someone, intending to send it to a friend, but accidentally send it to the person you’re discussing. In that case, ask to speak in person as soon as possible and say sorry. Explain your frustrations calmly and sensibly—see it as an opportunity to clear up any difficulties you may have with this person.1.After realising an email accident, you are likely to feel .A.curiousB.tiredC.awfulD.funny2.If you have written the wrong name in an email, it is best to .A.apologise in a serious mannerB.tell the receiver to ignore the errorC.learn to write the name correctlyD.send a short notice to everyone3.What should you do when an unpleasant conversation is started by your “reply all”email?A.Try offering other choices.B.Avoid further involvement.C.Meet other staff members.D.Make a light-hearted apology.4.How should you deal with the problem caused by an offensive email?A.By promising not to offend the receiver again.B.By seeking support from the receiver’s friends.C.By asking the receiver to control his anger.D.By talking to the receiver face to face.5.What is the passage mainly about?A.Defining email errors.B.Reducing email mistakes.C.Handling email accidents.D.Improving email writing.Passage 3(2017天津,D)I read somewhere that we spend a full third of our lives waiting. But where are we doing all of this waiting, and what does it mean to an impatient society like ours?To understand the issue, let’s take a look at three types of “waits”.The very purest form of waiting is the Watched-Pot Wait. It is without doubt the most annoying of all. Take filling up the kitchen sink(洗碗池)as an example. There is absolutely nothing you can do while this is going on but keep both eyes fixed on the sink until it’s full. During these waits, the brain slips away from thebody and wanders about until the water runs over the edge of the counter and onto your socks. This kind of wait makes the waiter helpless and mindless.A cousin to the Watched-Pot Wait is the Forced Wait. This one requires a bit of discipline. Properly preparing packaged noodle soup requires a Forced Wait. Directions are very specific.“Bring three cups of water to boil, add mix, simmer three minutes, remove from heat, let stand five minutes.”I have my doubts that anyone has actually followed the procedures strictly. After all, Forced Waiting requires patience.Perhaps the most powerful type of waiting is the Lucky-Break Wait. This type of wait is unusual in that it is for the most part voluntary. Unlike the Forced Wait, which is also voluntary, waiting for your lucky break does not necessarily mean that it will happen.Turning one’s life into a waiting game requires faith and hope, and is strictly for the optimists among us. On the surface it seems as ridiculous as following the directions on soup mixes, but the Lucky-Break Wait well serves those who are willing to do it. As long as one doesn’t come to rely on it, wishing for a few good things to happen never hurts anybody.We certainly do spend a good deal of our time waiting. The next time you’re standing at the sink waiting for it to fill while cooking noodle soup that you’ll have to eat until a large bag of cash falls out of the sky, don’t be desperate. You’re probably just as busy as the next guy.1.While doing a Watched-Pot Wait, we tend to .A.keep ourselves busyB.get absent-mindedC.grow anxiousD.stay focused2.What is the difference between the Forced Wait and the Watched-Pot Wait?A.The Forced Wait requires some self-control.B.The Forced Wait makes people passive.C.The Watched-Pot Wait needs directions.D.The Watched-Pot Wait engages body and brain.3.What can we learn about the Lucky-Break Wait?A.It is less voluntary than the Forced Wait.B.It doesn’t always bring the desired result.C.It is more fruitful than the Forced Wait.D.It doesn’t give people faith and hope.4.What does the author advise us to do the next time we are waiting?A.Take it seriously.B.Don’t rely on others.C.Do something else.D.Don’t lose heart.5.The author supports his view by .A.exploring various causes of “waits”B.describing detailed processes of “waits”C.analyzing different categories of “waits”D.revealing frustrating consequences of “waits”Passage 4(2017浙江,B)Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day!Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime?Watch TV.“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,”says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago,schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.1.What is the new National Sleep Foundation survey on?A.American kids’sleeping habits.B.Teenagers’sleep-related diseases.C.Activities to prevent sleeplessness.D.Learning problems and lack of sleep.2.How many hours of sleep do 11-year-olds need every day?A.7 hours.B.8 hours.C.10 hours.D.18 hours.3.Why do teenagers go to sleep late according to Carskadon?A.They are affected by certain body chemicals.B.They tend to do things that excite them.C.They follow their parents’examples.D.They don’t need to go to school early.Passage 5(2017课标全国Ⅰ,C)Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合)voice across cultures.Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,”Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan.“What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and white anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost.“The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,”says Moran.Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party,“just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,”says Moran.“For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感)lie?Are we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟)on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and ourthoughts?Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,”says Moran,“so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.”1.Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day?A.To remember the birth of jazz.B.To protect cultural diversity.C.To encourage people to study music.D.To recognize the value of jazz.2.What does the underlined word“that”in paragraph 3 refer to?A.Jazz becoming more accessible.B.The production of jazz growing faster.C.Jazz being less popular with the young.D.The jazz audience becoming larger.3.What can we infer about Moran’s opinion on jazz?A.It will disappear gradually.B.It remains black and white.C.It should keep up with the times.D.It changes every 50 years.4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?A.Exploring the Future of JazzB.The Rise and Fall of JazzC.The Story of a Jazz MusicianD.Celebrating the Jazz DayPassage 6(2016课标Ⅲ,C)If you are a fruit grower—or would like to become one—take advantage of Apple Day to see what’s around. It’s called Apple Day but in practice it’s more like Apple Month. The day itself is on October 21, but since it has caught on, events now spread out over most of October around Britain.Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see, and often taste, a wide variety of apples. To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets, it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence, such as Decio which was grown by the Romans. Although it doesn’t taste of anything special, it’s still worth a try, as is the knobbly(多疙瘩的)Cat’s Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else.There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette, but you’ll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so it’s a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it.At the events, you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions, and because these are family affairs, children are well catered for with apple-themed fun and games.Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit, including stately gardens and commercial orchards(果园). If you want to have a real orchard experience, try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, near Faversham in Kent.1.What can people do at the apple events?A.Attend experts’lectures.B.Visit fruit-loving families.C.Plant fruit trees in an orchard.D.Taste many kinds of apples.2.What can we learn about Decio?A.It is a new variety.B.It has a strange look.C.It is rarely seen now.D.It has a special taste.3.What does the underlined phrase“a pipe dream”in Paragraph 3 mean?A.A practical idea.B.A vain hope.C.A brilliant plan.D.A selfish desire.4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?A.To show how to grow apples.B.To introduce an apple festival.C.To help people select apples.D.To promote apple research.Passage 7(2015课标Ⅰ,C)Salvador Dali(1904—1989)was one of the most popular of modern artists.The Pompidou Centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings,sculptures,drawings and more.Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces,most importantly The Persistence ofMemory.There is also L’Enigme sans Fin from 1938,works on paper,objects,and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist’s showman qualities.The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning,the world of birth.The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities(无限).“From the infinity small to the infinity large,contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus:amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,”explains the Pompidou Centre.The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration(合作)with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid,Spain,and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St.Petersburg,Florida.1.Which of the following best describes Dali according to Paragraph 1?A.Optimistic.B.Productive.C.Generous.D.Traditional.2.What is Dali’s The Persistence of Memory considered to be?A.One of his masterworks.B.A successful screen adaptation.C.An artistic creation for the stage.D.One of the best TV programmes.3.How are the exhibits arranged at the World of Dali?A.By popularity.B.By importance.C.By size and shape.D.By time and subject.4.What does the word“contributions”in the last paragraph refer to?A.Artworks.B.Projects.C.Donations.D.Documents. Passage 8(2014课标Ⅰ,B)Passenger pigeons(旅鸽)once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers.Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks(群)so large that they darkened the sky for hours.It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point,there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons—a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States,making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world.Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller,a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles(about 515 kilometers)long was seen near Cincinnati.Sadly,the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been theirundoing.Where the birds were most abundant,people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the mercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain,waited until pigeons had settled to feed,then threw large nets over them,taking hundreds at a time.The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.By the closing decades of the 19th century,the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans’need forwood,which scattered(驱散)the flocks and forced the birds to go farthernorth,where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline.Soon the great flocks were gone,never to be seen again.In 1897,the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons,but by then,no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years.The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County,Ohio,in 1900.For a time,a few birds survived under human care.The last of them,known affectionately as Martha,died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1,1914.1.In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons .A.were the biggest bird in the worldB.lived mainly in the south of AmericaC.did great harm to the natural environmentD.were the largest bird population in the US2.The underlined word “undoing”probably refers to the pigeons’.A.escapeB.ruinC.liberationD.evolution3.What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?A.To seek pleasure.B.To save other birds.C.To make money.D.To protect crops.4.What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?A.It was ignored by the public.B.It was declared too late.C.It was unfair.D.It was strict.答案全解全析Passage 1[语篇解读] 本文是一篇说明文。

(完整版)高考英语阅读理解科普类说明文4篇--较难(有答案)

(完整版)高考英语阅读理解科普类说明文4篇--较难(有答案)

高考英语说明文4篇1Here is an astonishing and significant fact: Mental work alone can’t makeus tire. It sounds absurd/əb'sɜːd/荒谬的. But a years ago, scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage 阶段of fatigue /fə'tiːg/(疲劳). To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered that blood passing through the brain, when it is active, shows no fatigue at all! If we tooka drop of blood from a day laborer劳动者, we would find it fullof fatigue toxins /'tɒksɪn/ (毒素) and fatigue products. But if wetook blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show nofatigue toxins at the end of the day.So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly很快地at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain istotally tireless. So what makes us tired?Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional(情绪的) attitudes. One of England’s most outstanding scientists, J.A. Hadfield, says, “The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin /'ɒrɪdʒɪn/起源. In fact, fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.”Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares, “One hundred percent of the fatigue of sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction?No! A feeling of being bored, anger, anxiety/æŋ'zaɪətɪ/焦虑, tenseness紧张, worry, a feeling of not being appreciated---those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.1. What surprised the scientists a few years ago?A. Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer’s blood.B. Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn after a day’s work.C. The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.D. A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins.2. According to the author, which of the following can make sitting workers tired?A. Challenging mental work.B. Unpleasant emotions.C. Endless tasks.D. Physical labo3. What’s the author’s attitude towards the scientists’ idea?A. He agrees with them.B. He doubts them.C. He argues against them.D. He hesitates to accept them.4. We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energetic, sitting workers need to ________.A. have some good food.B. enjoy their workC. exercise regularlyD. discover fatigue toxins2They baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quietbut alert /ə'lɜːt/(警觉). Twenty centimeters厘from her face researchershave placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully.A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视)starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots,is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness 名,新奇? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three,or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地)when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.5. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.A. sense of hearingB. sense of sightC. sense of touch D sense of smell6. Babies are sensitive to the change in______.A. the size of cardsB. the colour of picturesC. the shape of patternsD. the number of objects7. Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.B. To see howbabies recognize sounds.C. To carry their experiment further.D. To keep the babies’interest.8. Where does this text probably come from?A. Science fiction.B. Children’s literature.C. An advertisement.D.A science report3Last night’s meteor(流星) 英/'miːtɪə/ shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding 苛求的;要求高的;吃力的answers. According to Gabe Rothsclild, Emerald Valley’s mayor市长, people gathered in thesuburbs /'sʌbɜːb/of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brightene by the city’s lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead. “My family was so frustrated,” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointments.”Astronomers- /ə'strɒnəmə/n. 天文学家--scientists who study stars and planets---- have beencomplaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fightagainst it.There is yet a population besides professional and amateur /ˈæmətə(r)/美 /'æmə.tʃʊr/n. 爱好者star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating(迁徙的)birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association. “100million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes 撞碎with lighted buildings and towers.”Countless more animals casualties(伤亡)result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful for humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase pers on’s chances of getting cancer. Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona/,æri'zəunə/美 /,æri'zəunə/n. 美国亚利桑那州, has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the Lowell Observatory.英 /əb'zɜːvət(ə)rɪ/美 /əb'zɝvətɔri/n. 天文台;气象台;瞭望台Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement isunderway 进行中的to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so thatother creatures can share the night.9.It happened last night thatA. the city’s lights affected the meteor watchingB. the meteors flew past before being noticedC. the city light show attracted many peopleD. the meteor watching ended up a social outing10. What do the astronomers complain about?A. Meteor showers occur less often than beforeB. Their observation equipment is in poor repairC. Light pollution has remained unsolved for yearsD. Their eyesight is failing due to artificial lighting11. What the author concerned about according to Paragraph 4?A. Birds may take other migration pathsB. Animals living habits may changesuddenlyC. Varieties of animals will become sharplyreducedD. Animals’ survival is threatened byoutdoor lighting12. Lighting regulations in Flagstaff, Arizona areput into effect toA. Lessen the chance of getting cancerB. create an ideal observation conditionC. ensure citizens a good sleep at nightD. enable all creatures to live in harmony13.What message does the author most want to give us?A. Saving wildlife is saving ourselvesB. Great efforts should be made to save energyC. Human activities should be environmentally friendlyD. New equipment should be introduced for space study4Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know,however,that they existed over 5,500years ago in ancient Asia.The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5,100 years old. Evidence suggests thatwheels for transport didn't become popular for .while, though . This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carryingfarming tools and humans around.But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfaces weren't going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother, but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.In the mid-1700s,a Frenchman came up with a new design of road--a base layer (层)of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones. A Scotsman苏格兰人improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time, metal hubs英 /hʌb/美 /hʌb/n. 中心;毂;木片(the central part of a wheel)、came into being, followed by the Wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(泊油路). As wheel design took off,vehicles got faster and faster.14. What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?A. Few knew how to use transport wheels.B. Humans carried farming tools just aswell. C. Animals were a good means oftransport.D. The existence of transport wheels was not known.15. What do we know about road design from the passage?A. It was easier than wheel design.B. It improved after big changes in vehicle design.C. It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles.D. It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.16. How is the last paragraph mainly developed?A. By giving examples.B. By making comparisons.C.By following time order.D.By making classifications.17.What is the passage mainly about ?A.The beginning of road deaign.B.The development of transport wheel.C.The history of public transport.D.The invention of fast-moving vehicles.。

专题04阅读理解D篇(说明文)高考英语真题题源解密(新高考卷)(原题版)

专题04阅读理解D篇(说明文)高考英语真题题源解密(新高考卷)(原题版)

专题04 阅读理解D篇〔说明文〕〔2023·新高考卷I阅读理解D篇〕On March 7, 1907, the English statistician Francis Galton published a paper which illustrated what has e to be known as the “wisdom of crowds〞effect. The experiment of estimation he conducted showed that in some cases, the average of a large number of independent estimates could be quite accurate.This effect capitalizes on the fact that when people make errors, those errors aren’t always the same. Some people will tend to overestimate, and some to underestimate. When enough of these errors are averaged together, they cancel each other out, resulting in a more accurate estimate. If people are similar and tend to make the same errors, then their errors won’t cancel each other out. In more technical terms, the wisdom of crowds requires that people’s estimates be independent. If for whatever reasons, people’s errors bee correlated or dependent, the accuracy of the estimate will go down.But a new study led by Joaquin Navajas offered an interesting twist (转折) on this classic phenomenon. The key finding of the study was that when crowds were further divided into smaller groups that were allowed to have a discussion, the averages from these groups were more accurate than those from an equal number of independent individuals. For instance, the average obtained from the estimates of four discussion groups of five was significantly more accurate than the average obtained from 20 independent individuals.In a followup study with 100 university students, the researchers tried to get a better sense of what the group members actually did in their discussion. Did they tend to go with those most confident about their estimates? Did they follow those least willing to change their minds? This happened some of the time, but it wasn’t the dominant response. Most frequently, the groups reported that they “shared arguments and reasoned together.〞Somehow, these arguments and reasoning resulted in a global reduction in error. Although the studies led by Navajas have limitations and many questions remain, the potential implications for group discussion and decisionmaking are enormous.32. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?A. The methods of estimation.B. The underlying logic of the effect.C. The causes of people’s errors.D. The design of Galton’s experiment.33. Navajas’ study found that the average accuracy could increase even if ________.A. the crowds were relatively smallB. there were occasional underestimatesC. individuals did not municateD. estimates were not fully independent34. What did the followup study focus on?A. The size of the groups.B. The dominant members.C. The discussion process.D. The individual estimates.35. What is the author’s attitude toward Navajas’ studies?A. Unclear.B. Dismissive.C. Doubtful.D. Approving.〔2023·新高考卷II阅读理解D篇〕As cities balloon with growth, access to nature for people living in urban areas is being harder to find. If you’re lucky, there might be a pocket park near where you live, but it’s unusual to find places in a city that are relatively wild.Past research has found health and wellness benefits of nature for humans, but a new study shows that wildness in urban areas is extremely important for human wellbeing.The research team focused on a large urban park. They surveyed several hundred parkgoers, asking them to submit a written summary online of a meaningful interaction they had with nature in the park. The researchers then examined these submissions, coding (编码) experiences into different categories. For example, one participant’s experience of “We sat and listened to the waves at the beach for a while〞was assigned the categories “sitting at beach〞 and “listening to waves.〞Across the 320 submissions, a pattern of categories the researchers call a “nature language〞 began to emerge. After the coding of all submissions, half a dozen categories were noted most often as important to visitors. These include encountering wildlife, walking along the edge of water, and following an established trail.Naming each nature experience creates a usable language, which helps people recognize and take part in the activities that are most satisfying and meaningful to them. For example, the experience of walking along the edge of water might be satisfying for a young professional on a weekend hike in the park. Back downtown during a workday, they can enjoy a more domestic form of this interaction by walking along a fountain on their lunch break.“We’re trying to generate a language that helps bring the humannature interactions back into our daily lives. And for that to happen, we also need to protect nature so that we can interact with it,〞 said Peter Kahn, a senior author of the study.32. What phenomenon does the author describe at the beginning of the text?A. Pocket parks are now popular.B. Wild nature is hard to find in cities.C. Many cities are overpopulated.D. People enjoy living close to nature.33. Why did the researchers code participant submissions into categories?A. To pare different types of parkgoers.B. To explain why the park attracts tourists.C. To analyze the main features of the park.D. To find patterns in the visitors’ summaries.34. What can we learn from the example given in paragraph 5?A. Walking is the best way to gain access to nature.B. Young people are too busy to interact with nature.C. The same nature experience takes different forms.D. The nature language enhances work performance.35. What should be done before we can interact with nature according to Kahn?A. Language study.B. Environmental conservation.C. Public education.D. Intercultural munication.【命题意图】试卷所选阅读语篇围绕人与自我、人与社会、人与自然三大主题语境。

高考英语阅读理解-说明文8篇真题训练

高考英语阅读理解-说明文8篇真题训练

高考英语阅读理解-说明文8篇真题训练-CAL-FENGHAI-(2020YEAR-YICAI)_JINGBIAN高考英语复习阅读理解专练说明文8篇Passage 1(2017北京,C)Measles(麻疹), which once killed 450 children each year and disabled even more, was nearly wiped out in the United States 14 years ago by the universal use of the MMR vaccine(疫苗). But the disease is making a comeback, caused by a growing anti-vaccine movement and misinformation that is spreading quickly. Already this year, 115 measles cases have been reported in the USA, compared with 189 for all of last year.The numbers might sound small, but they are the leading edge of a dangerous trend. When vaccination rates are very high, as they still are in the nation as a whole, everyone is protected. This is called“herd immunity”, which protects the people who get hurt easily, including those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, babies too young to get vaccinated and people on whom the vaccine doesn’t work.But herd immunity works only when nearly the whole herd joins in. When some refuse vaccination and seek a free ride, immunity breaks down and everyone is in even bigger danger.That’s exactly what is happening in small neighborhoods around the country from Orange County, California, where 22 measles cases were reported this month, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where a 17-year-old caused an outbreak last year.The resistance to vaccine has continued for decades, and it is driven by a real but very small risk. Those who refuse to take that risk selfishly make others suffer.Making things worse are state laws that make it too easy to opt out(决定不参加)of what are supposed to be required vaccines for all children entering kindergarten. Seventeen states allow parents to get an exemption(豁免), sometimes just by signing a paper saying they personally object to a vaccine.Now, several states are moving to tighten laws by adding new regulations for opting out. But no one does enough to limit exemptions.Parents ought to be able to opt out only for limited medical or religious reasons. But personal opinions?Not good enough. Everyone enjoys the life-saving benefits vaccines provide, but they’ll exist only as long as everyone shares in the risks.1.The first two paragraphs suggest that.A.a small number of measles cases can start a dangerous trendB.the outbreak of measles attracts the public attentionC.anti-vaccine movement has its medical reasonsrmation about measles spreads quickly2.Herd immunity works well when.A.exemptions are allowedB.several vaccines are used togetherC.the whole neighborhood is involved inD.new regulations are added to the state laws3.What is the main reason for the comeback of measles?A.The overuse of vaccine.B.The lack of medical care.C.The features of measles itself.D.The vaccine opt-outs of some people.4.What is the purpose of the passage?A.To introduce the idea of exemption.B.To discuss methods to cure measles.C.To stress the importance of vaccination.D.To appeal for equal rights in medical treatment.Passage 2(2017天津,A)Suppose you’re in a rush, feeling tired, not paying attention to your screen, and you send an email that could get you in trouble.Realisation will probably set in seconds after you’ve clicked “send”. You freeze in horror and burn with shame.What to do?Here are four common email accidents, and how to recover.Clicking “send”too soonDon’t waste your time trying to find out if the receiver has read it yet. Write another email as swiftly as you can and send it with a brief title explaining that this is the correct version and the previous version should be ignored.Writing the wrong nameThe sooner you notice, the better. Respond quickly and briefly, apologising for your mistake. Keep the tone measured:don’t handle it too lightly, as people can be offended, especially if your error suggests a misunderstanding of their culture(i.e. incorrect ordering of Chinese names).Clicking “reply all”unintentionallyYou accidentally reveal(透露)to the entire company what menu choices you would preferat the staff Christmas dinner, or what holiday you’d like to take. In this instance, the best solution is to send a quick, light-hearted apology to explain your awkwardness. But it can quickly rise to something worse, when everyone starts hitting “reply all” to join in a long and unpleasant conversation. In this instance, step away from your keyboard to allow everyone to calm down.Sending an offensive message to its subjectThe most awkward email mistake is usually committed in anger. You write an unkind message about someone, intending to send it to a friend, but accidentally send it to the person you’re discussing. In that case, ask to speak in person as soon as possible and say sorry. Explain your frustrations calmly and sensibly—see it as an opportunity to clear up any difficulties you may have with this person.1.After realising an email accident, you are likely to feel .A.curiousB.tiredC.awfulD.funny2.If you have written the wrong name in an email, it is best to .A.apologise in a serious mannerB.tell the receiver to ignore the errorC.learn to write the name correctlyD.send a short notice to everyone3.What should you do when an unpleasant conversation is started by your “reply all”email?A.Try offering other choices.B.Avoid further involvement.C.Meet other staff members.D.Make a light-hearted apology.4.How should you deal with the problem caused by an offensive email?A.By promising not to offend the receiver again.B.By seeking support from the receiver’s friends.C.By asking the receiver to control his anger.D.By talking to the receiver face to face.5.What is the passage mainly about?A.Defining email errors.B.Reducing email mistakes.C.Handling email accidents.D.Improving email writing.Passage 3(2017天津,D)I read somewhere that we spend a full third of our lives waiting. But where are we doing all of this waiting, and what does it mean to an impatient society like ours?To understand the issue, let’s take a look at three types of “waits”.The very purest form of waiting is the Watched-Pot Wait. It is without doubt the most annoying of all. Take filling up the kitchen sink(洗碗池)as an example. There is absolutely nothing you can do while this is going on but keep both eyes fixed on the sink until it’s full. During these waits, the brain slips away from the body and wanders about until the water runs over the edge of the counter and onto your socks. This kind of wait makes the waiter helpless and mindless.A cousin to the Watched-Pot Wait is the Forced Wait. This one requires a bit of discipline. Properly preparing packaged noodle soup requires a Forced Wait. Directions are very specific.“Bring three cups of water to boil, add mix, simmer three minutes, remove from heat, let stand five minutes.”I have my doubts that anyone has actually followed the procedures strictly. After all, Forced Waiting requires patience.Perhaps the most powerful type of waiting is the Lucky-Break Wait. This type of wait is unusual in that it is for the most part voluntary. Unlike the Forced Wait, which is also voluntary, waiting for your lucky break does not necessarily mean that it will happen.Turning one’s life into a waiting game requires faith and hope, and is strictly for the optimists among us. On the surface it seems as ridiculous as following the directions on soupmixes, but the Lucky-Break Wait well serves those who are willing to do it. As long as one doesn’t come to rely on it, wishing for a few good things to happen never hurts anybody.We certainly do spend a good deal of our time waiting. The next time you’re standing at the sink waiting for it to fill while cooking noodle soup that you’ll have to eat until a large bag of cash falls out of the sky, don’t be desperate. You’re probably just as busy as the next guy.1.While doing a Watched-Pot Wait, we tend to.A.keep ourselves busyB.get absent-mindedC.grow anxiousD.stay focused2.What is the difference between the Forced Wait and the Watched-Pot Wait?A.The Forced Wait requires some self-control.B.The Forced Wait makes people passive.C.The Watched-Pot Wait needs directions.D.The Watched-Pot Wait engages body and brain.3.What can we learn about the Lucky-Break Wait?A.It is less voluntary than the Forced Wait.B.It doesn’t always bring the desired result.C.It is more fruitful than the Forced Wait.D.It doesn’t give people faith and hope.4.What does the author advise us to do the next time we are waiting?A.Take it seriously.B.Don’t rely on others.C.Do something else.D.Don’t lose heart.5.The author supports his view by.A.exploring various causes of “waits”B.describing detailed processes of “waits”C.analyzing different categories of “waits”D.revealing frustrating consequences of “waits”Passage 4(2017浙江,B)Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm orlater on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day!Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime?Watch TV.“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’ bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.1.What is the new National Sleep Foundation survey on?A.American kids’ sleeping habits.B.Teenagers’ sleep-related diseases.C.Activities to prevent sleeplessness.D.Learning problems and lack of sleep.2.How many hours of sleep do 11-year-olds need every day?A.7 hours.B.8 hours.C.10 hours.D.18 hours.3.Why do teenagers go to sleep late according to Carskadon?A.They are affected by certain body chemicals.B.They tend to do things that excite them.C.They follow their parents’ examples.D.They don’t need to go to school early.Passage 5(2017课标全国Ⅰ,C)Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合)voice across cultures.Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,”Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan.“What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and white anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost.“The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,”says Moran.Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party,“just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,”says Moran.“For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感)lieAre we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟)on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughtsSometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,”says Moran,“so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.”1.Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day?A.To remember the birth of jazz.B.To protect cultural diversity.C.To encourage people to study music.D.To recognize the value of jazz.2.What does the underlined word“that”in paragraph 3 refer to?A.Jazz becoming more accessible.B.The production of jazz growing faster.C.Jazz being less popular with the young.D.The jazz audience becoming larger.3.What can we infer about Moran’s opinion on jazz?A.It will disappear gradually.B.It remains black and white.C.It should keep up with the times.D.It changes every 50 years.4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?A.Exploring the Future of JazzB.The Rise and Fall of JazzC.The Story of a Jazz MusicianD.Celebrating the Jazz DayPassage 6(2016课标Ⅲ,C)If you are a fruit grower—or would like to become one—take advantage of Apple Day to see what’s around. It’s called Apple Day but in practice it’s more like Apple Month. The day itself is on October 21, but since it has caught on, events now spread out over most of October around Britain.Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see, and often taste, a wide variety of apples. To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets, it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence, such as Decio which was grown by the Romans. Although it doesn’t taste of anything special,it’s still worth a try, as is the knobbly(多疙瘩的)Cat’s Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else.There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette, but you’ll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so it’s a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it.At the events, you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions, and because these are family affairs, children are well catered for with apple-themed fun and games.Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit, including stately gardens and commercial orchards(果园). If you want to have a real orchard experience, try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, near Faversham in Kent.1.What can people do at the apple events?A.Attend experts’ lectures.B.Visit fruit-loving families.C.Plant fruit trees in an orchard.D.Taste many kinds of apples.2.What can we learn about Decio?A.It is a new variety.B.It has a strange look.C.It is rarely seen now.D.It has a special taste.3.What does the underlined phrase“a pipe dream”in Paragraph 3 mean?A.A practical idea.B.A vain hope.C.A brilliant plan.D.A selfish desire.4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?A.To show how to grow apples.B.To introduce an apple festival.C.To help people select apples.D.To promote apple research.Passage 7(2015课标Ⅰ,C)Salvador Dali(1904—1989)was one of the most popular of modern artists.The Pompidou Centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings,sculptures,drawings and more.Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces,most importantly The Persistence of Memory.There is also L’Enigme sans Fin from 1938,works onpaper,objects,and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist’s showman qualities.The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning,the world of birth.The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities(无限).“From the infinity small to the infinity large,contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus:amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,”explains the Pompidou Centre.The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration(合作)with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid,Spain,and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St.Petersburg,Florida.1.Which of the following best describes Dali according to Paragraph 1?A.Optimistic.B.Productive.C.Generous.D.Traditional.2.What is Dali’s The Persistence of Memory considered to be?A.One of his masterworks.B.A successful screen adaptation.C.An artistic creation for the stage.D.One of the best TV programmes.3.How are the exhibits arranged at the World of Dali?A.By popularity.B.By importance.C.By size and shape.D.By time and subject.4.What does the word“contributions”in the last paragraph refer to?A.Artworks.B.Projects.C.Donations.D.Documents.Passage 8(2014课标Ⅰ,B)Passenger pigeons(旅鸽)once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers.Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks(群)so large that they darkened the sky for hours.It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point,there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons—a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States,making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world.Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller,a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles(about 515 kilometers)long was seen near Cincinnati.Sadly,the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing.Where the birds were most abundant,people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the mercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain,waited until pigeons had settled to feed,then threw large nets over them,taking hundreds at a time.The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.By the closing decades of the 19th century,the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans’ need for wood,which scattered(驱散)the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north,where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline.Soon the great flocks were gone,never to be seen again.In 1897,the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons,but by then,no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years.The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County,Ohio,in 1900.For a time,a few birds survived under human care.The last of them,known affectionately as Martha,died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1,1914.1.In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons.A.were the biggest bird in the worldB.lived mainly in the south of AmericaC.did great harm to the natural environmentD.were the largest bird population in the US2.The underlined word “undoing”probably refers to the pigeons’.A.escapeB.ruinC.liberationD.evolution3.What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?A.To seek pleasure.B.To save other birds.C.To make money.D.To protect crops.4.What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?A.It was ignored by the public.B.It was declared too late.C.It was unfair.D.It was strict.答案全解全析Passage 1[语篇解读]本文是一篇说明文。

超实用高考英语复习:阅读理解 说明文 ---测 (解析版)

超实用高考英语复习:阅读理解 说明文 ---测 (解析版)

专题18 阅读理解说明文备考高考英语二轮复习距离高考还有一段时间,不少有经验的老师都会提醒考生,愈是临近高考,能否咬紧牙关、学会自我调节,态度是否主动积极,安排是否科学合理,能不能保持良好的心态、以饱满的情绪迎接挑战,其效果往往大不一样。

以下是本人从事10多年教学经验总结出的以下学习资料,希望可以帮助大家提高答题的正确率,希望对你有所帮助,有志者事竟成!养成良好的答题习惯,是决定高考英语成败的决定性因素之一。

做题前,要认真阅读题目要求、题干和选项,并对答案内容作出合理预测;答题时,切忌跟着感觉走,最好按照题目序号来做,不会的或存在疑问的,要做好标记,要善于发现,找到题目的题眼所在,规范答题,书写工整;答题完毕时,要认真检查,查漏补缺,纠正错误。

总之,在最后的复习阶段,学生们不要加大练习量。

在这个时候,学生要尽快找到适合自己的答题方式,最重要的是以平常心去面对考试。

英语最后的复习要树立信心,考试的时候遇到难题要想“别人也难”,遇到容易的则要想“细心审题”。

越到最后,考生越要回归基础,单词最好再梳理一遍,这样有利于提高阅读理解的效率。

另附高考复习方法和考前30天冲刺复习方法。

名校最新测试卷阅读理解(说明文)(共八篇)1.(湖北省重点高中智学联盟2022-2023学年高三上学期10月联考)If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise: for the first time in thousands of years there will be wild bison roaming in the UK.Early today three European bison are to be released into West Blean and Thornden Woods in Kent in an attempt to address the climate crisis and boost biodiversity.Donovan Wright, a bison ranger with the Wilder Blean Project — a joint endeavour between Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust — told the Guardian thefirst animals to be released will be a 14-year-old matriarch (母野牛) and two young females who come from herds in Scotland and Ireland, respectively. A male from Germany is set to arrive in a month.The hope is that the huge beasts will act as natural engineers, with behaviours such as the felling of certain trees — a result of the bison stripping the bark off to eat or rubbing their fur off against them — giving a range of plant and animal species a chance to prosper.“It opens up the canopy (树冠), allowing the light to go through to the woodland floor,” Wright said, noting that as the bison move through the undergrowth they create paths about half a metre wide, while they also love to dust bathe, often reusing the same sites.“Those become home for sand lizards and your pioneering plants,” said Wright, adding bison themselves are like giant seed banks. “As they move they collect seeds, and then they are also spreading seeds along the route,” he said, noting as wildflowers spring up, they attract insects and other pollinators, with their seeds a source of food for birds.The project will also help with conservation of the European bison. “In 1927 they were classified as extinct in the wild,” said Wright, adding the team have gained inspiration from projects in other countries, including the Netherlands, where the European bison have been reintroduced.Yesterday the three females set to be released in Kent were fitted with tracking collars, an approach that will allow the team to plot the animals’ movements and glean insights into the plants they interact with.Evan Bowen-Jones, the chief executive of Kent Wildlife Trust, said: “The restoration of naturally functioning ecosystems is a vital and inexpensive tool in tackling the climate crisis. The bison will help to create climate-resistant landscapes which can adapt to the challenges presented by the crisis we face.”“We want Wilder Blean to mark the beginning of a new era for conservation in the UK. We need to revolutionise the way we restore natural landscapes, relying less on human intervention and more on natural engineers like bison, boar and beaver.”28.Which of the following is not the advantage of releasing the bison? A.Providing home for some animals and plants.B.Acting as seed banks.C.Attracting insects and other pollinators.D.Preventing the European bison from dying out.29.What is the function of the tracking collars?A.Spreading the seeds.B.Protecting the bison.B.Collecting the data.D.Tackling the climate crisis.30.What is the Evan Bowen-Jones’ attitude towards the project?A.Favorable.B.Tolerant.C.Curious.D.Opposed.31.What is the main idea of the passage?A.The development of the European bison.B.The project of releasing the European bison.C.The way to boost biodiversity.D.The protection of the European bison.【答案】28.C29.C30.A31.B【导语】这是一篇说明文。

高考英语复习31:说明文类阅读理解

高考英语复习31:说明文类阅读理解

高考英语复习31:说明文类阅读理解一、阅读理解1. ( 8分) (2019·北京)阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。

By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world's oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate, according to a new study.At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms (海洋微生物) called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms, these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue, depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas, while reducing it in other spots, leading to changes in the ocean's appearance.Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface, where they pull carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die, they bury carbon in the deep ocean, an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean's warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth, since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, but also nutrients.Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a scientist in MIT's Center for Global Change Science, built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 3℃, it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters, such as those of the Arctic, a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton, and these areas will turn greener. "Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing." she said, "but the type of phytoplankton is changing."(1)What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?A.The various patterns at the ocean surface.B.The cause of the changes in ocean colour.C.The way light reflects off marine organisms.D.The efforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton.(2)What does the underlined word "vulnerable" in Paragraph 3 probably mean?A.SensitiveB.BeneficialC.SignificantD.Unnoticeable(3)What can we learn from the passage?A.Phytoplankton play a declining role in the marine ecosystem.B.Dutkiewicz's model aims to project phytoplankton changesC.Phytoplankton have been used to control global climateD.Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear greener.(4)What is the main purpose of the passage?A.To assess the consequences of ocean colour changesB.To analyse the composition of the ocean food chainC.To explain the effects of climate change on oceansD.To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton2. ( 6分) (2019·北京)阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。

2023高考英语二轮复习阅读理解专题讲和练——说明文(含解析)

2023高考英语二轮复习阅读理解专题讲和练——说明文(含解析)

2023高考英语二轮复习:阅读理解专题说明文说明文是一种以说明为主要表达方式的文章体裁。

它通过对实体事物进行科学的解说,对客观事物作出说明或对抽象事理进行阐释,使人们对事物的形态、构造、性质、种类、成因、功能、关系或对事理的概念、特点、来源、演变、异同等有科学的认识,从而获得有关知识。

考情分析说明文所选材料题材丰富多样,涉及社会、科技、文化、生活、人物、教育、生态、安全等方面。

在高考英语阅读理解中,说明文所占比重尤为突出。

它既要求考生能熟练运用词汇和语法知识、理解文章语句、把握语篇整体结构,还要求学生有大量的阅读积淀和知识储备,熟悉不同的话题和不同的题目考查方式。

即便是细节理解题,大多数情况下考生也无法从文章中直接找到与选项表述完全一致的信息,而是需要在理解文章细节信息后作出归纳和判断。

通常一套卷中主旨大意、词义猜测、写作意图/观点态度类高难度试题的考查数量为2道左右,说明文考查此类题目的频率较高,且命题点呈多样化。

二、文体特点与阅读策略1. 语言特点:阅读理解主要考查考生对词汇和句式的掌握和运用情况。

说明文因其生僻词汇多、句式复杂等特点,相对于其他体裁的文章来说难度更大。

结构特点:说明文的特点是客观、简练,文章很少表达作者的感情倾向。

说明文通常采用以下结构形式:(1)总分式。

事物说明文常用“总-分”式、“总-分-总”式和“分-总”式结构,完整的“总-分-总”式说明文先总体概括,再分说,最后再总结。

(2)递进式。

事理说明文常用这种结构形式,通常由浅入深、由表及里、由现象到本质,逐层递进,一层一层地剖析事理。

(3)并列式。

文章各部分的内容没有主次轻重之分。

(4)对照式。

通过两个事物的比较和对照说明其异同。

不管采用何种方式行文,说明文基本上都会遵循“首段引入所要说明的话题,其他部分采用并列式段落或递进式段落对其进行说明”这一规律。

3. 备考误区(1)阅读方法错误。

比如用手指划着读或者边读边译都会减慢应有的阅读速度。

超实用高考英语复习:专题04 阅读理解之说明文02-(解析版)

超实用高考英语复习:专题04  阅读理解之说明文02-(解析版)
9. What did Dr Runkle find out?
A. The workforce was ageing rapidly.
B. Wearable heat sensors lacked great accuracy.
C. Employers attached little importance to heat exhaustion.
【精选真题01】
(2022·河南中原名校联考)
Heat can kill. It lowers a worker’s ability to concentrate and leads to notable increases in workplace injuries, research suggests.
D. How Were Body Temperature Monitors Invented?
【答案】8. C 9. D 10. B 11. C
【导语】本文是一篇说明文,主要讲的是减少户外工作的员工中暑风险的两种新技术。
【解析】
【8题详解】
词句猜测题。根据第二段的“Outdoor workers, notably those within the construction and agricultural industry, are the most affected by rising heat.(户外工作人员,尤其是建筑业和农业行业的工作人员,受高温影响最大。)”可知,划线词所在句子的意思是“即使是世界上最健康的人也容易受影响,就像奥运会运动员在东京的高温中倒下一样”,划线词impressionable的意思是“容易受影响”,和Easily influenced意思相近,故选C。
B. To show their employers are responsible.

高考英语阅读理解()(说明文)

高考英语阅读理解()(说明文)

Day 7阅读理解(7)(说明文)Passage 1文体:说明文词数:403 限时:8分钟Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners.One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine(跑步机). Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot(赤脚).Researchers from the JKM Technologies Company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels. The study appeared in the official scientific journal of The American Academy of Physical Medicine.The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers w ere from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the Universityof Glasgow in Scotland.They divided the runners into three groups. One group had always第1页共11页。

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Day 7阅读理解(7)(说明文)Passage 1文体:说明文词数:403 限时:8分钟Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners.One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine(跑步机). Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot(赤脚).Researchers from the JKM Technologies Company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels. The study appeared in the official scientific journal of The American Academy of Physical Medicine.The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.They divided the runners into three groups. One group had alwaysrun shoeless. Another group had always run with shoes. And the third group had changed to shoeless running.Runners who wear shoes usually come down their heel first. That puts great force on the back of the foot. But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot. That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel.Harvard’s Danie l Lieberman led the study. He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heel. The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come down first. Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings.But the researchers do not suggest that runners immediately start running barefoot. They say it takes some training. And there can be risks, like running when your feet are too cold to feel if you get injured.The study was partly supported by Vibram, which makes a kind of footwear that it says is like running barefoot. The findings have gotten a lot of attention. But the researchers say there are many problems in the way the press has reported in their paper. So they have tried to explain their findings on a Harvard Website.1.What’s the main idea of the passage?A.Walking in high heels could cause less serious effects than running barefootB.Two new discoveries encourage people to run in high heels.C.Running in shoes is partly good to runners.D.Two new studies prove running without shoes is less risky to runners in most cases.2.Which part of our body could be injured if we run in running shoes?A.Toes.B.Hips.C.Feet.D.Legs.3.What can we learn from the passage?A.The way that we run by landing on the front or middle of our foot could avoid damaging our heel.B.We should start running barefoot in no time.C.Running in modern running shoes could cause more serious effects than running in high heels.D.We won’t be injured if we run barefoot.4.What is the writer’s attitude toward the use of the modern running shoes?A.Persuasive.B.Negative.C.Objective.D.Supportive.Passage 2文体:说明文词数:335 限时:7分钟If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or inthe railway station, you don’t need to feel surprised. They are a flash mob(快闪族), which is a group of people who come together suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly break up. They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communication network. At a predetermined time, they gather and perform some distractions(消遣) such as waving their hands and exchanging books. Then, they quickly break up before the police can arrive. Using mobile phones, the flash mob can change its location if the first one has been replaced for any reason.Bill Lasik, senior editor of Harper’s Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May, 2003 and the first successful flash mob came together on June 3, 2003—after the first attempt was foiled at Macy’s department store. Lasik claimed that the activity was designed to make fun of hipsters(赶时髦的人), and call attention to the cultural atmosphere.Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people. Such an activity might seem amusing and untrue, but it also might frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. Undoubtedly, flash mobs can serve as good political tools in any direction. They also have great economic potential, such as using flash mobs to advertise a product.The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular. People use it to do many things. For example, in 2009, Michael Jackson’s fans tookpart in a flash mob to remember him. Hundreds of his fans gathered singing and dancing Michael’s famous song “Beat It” together. Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.1.The underlined word “foiled” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by______.A.forgottenB.preventedC.announcedD.confirmed2.What can you learn about the flash mob from the passage?A.The flash mob usually breaks up quickly for lacking enough time.B.Once the place for the activity is determined, it can’t be changed.C.The flash mob can be made use of in many fields just for fun.D.It gives people the chance to come together to do something unusual.3.The main purpose of the passage is______.A.to entertainB.to encourageC.to informD.to persuade4.The writer’s attitude toward the flash mob is______.A.negativeB.objectiveC.favorableD.doubtfulPassage 3文体:说明文词数:366限时:7分钟Ever get that feeling you’re being watched?Well, if you’re a dog-owner, you may have a point. Dogs are able to watch people’s interactions with one another to determine who holds yummier treats, according to a new study. This study joins others that show dogs are good observers of human behaviors and feelings. It offers evidence that dogs use information not only from people’s direct interactions with them, but also their interactions with one another.In the study, dogs watched a man asking two women for some of their corns. Both women gave the man corns when he asked, but in response to one woman, the man showed his enthusiasm and said the corns were so delicious. In response to the other woman, he gave the corns back and called them gross(in Spanish;the study was conducted in Argentina). After these interactions, the man left and an assistant holding the dog let the dog go. While many dogs didn’t approach either woman, the dogs that did have a preference tended to prefer the woman with the yummier food.Other studies of dogs’ people-watching ability have found dogs are able to tell the difference between happy and sad faces of their owners. They prefer people who give others food when asked to people who don’t give others food. And in one study, dogs turned toward crying people more often than toward talking people.So how much do dogs really understand the humans aroundthem?That’s not totally settled yet. In a strange twist, to the Argentine study above, when the researchers tried an experiment in which they put two plates of corns on a table and had a man react to each plate, dogs didn’t preferentially approach the tastier plate afterward. You could say dogs watch for the interaction between two persons, not just how a person reacts. Yet a previous study found dogs will choose boxes that people reacted to happily, but not boxes people reacted to with a disgusted face.Well, either way, you can be sure Fluffs is keeping an eye on you, to the best of her ability. The study was published in the journal PLOS One.1.What does the main study in this passage show?A.Dogs prefer yummier foods.B.Dogs can read human actions and feelings.C.Dogs can interact with humans easily.D.Dogs like to copy human’s behavior.2.What does the underline d word “gross” probably mean?A.Healthy.B.Disgusting.C.Yummy.D.Hot.3.Which is one of the procedures of the Argentine study?A.The man had different reactions to the food received.B.one of the women didn’t give the food to the man.C.The assistant accompanied the dogs to get the food.D.Many dogs went to one of the women.4.What can be concluded from Paragraph 4?A.Interactions between two persons confuse dogs.B.Dogs never understand the reaction of one person.C.The findings of some studies are controversial.D.Dogs have good interactions with one another.答案及解析Passage 1【语篇导读】本文是一篇说明文。

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