文档内容
考点 17 阅读之说明文（原卷
版）
【命题趋势】
说明文在高考中一直处于主导地位，其特点：词汇量和长难句比其他体裁的文章多，学生只要账务相
关词汇，熟悉句式句型，基本上不会有问题。以下是近两年真题和模拟试题，学生可以集中练习。
【2022新高考1卷】
B
Like most of us, I try to be mindful of food that goes to waste. The arugula (芝麻菜)was to make a nice green
salad, rounding out a roast chicken dinner. But I ended up working late. Then friends called with a dinner invitation.
I stuck the chicken in the freezer. But as days passed, the arugula went bad. Even worse, I had unthinkingly bought
way too much; I could have made six salads with what I threw out.
In a world where nearly 800 million people a year go hungry, “food waste goes against the moral grain,” as
Elizabeth Royte writes in this month’s cover story. It’s jaw-dropping how much perfectly good food is thrown away
— from “ugly” (but quite eatable) vegetables rejected by grocers to large amounts of uneaten dishes thrown into
restaurant garbage cans.
Producing food that no one eats wastes the water, fuel, and other resources used to grow it. That makes food
waste an environmental problem. In fact, Royte writes, “if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest
producer of greenhouse gases in the world.”
If that’s hard to understand, let’s keep it as simple as the arugula at the back of my refrigerator. Mike Curtin
sees my arugula story all the time — but for him, it's more like 12 bones of donated strawberries nearing their last
days. Curtin is CEO of DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., which recovers food and turns it into healthy
meals. Last year it recovered more than 807,500 pounds of food by taking donations and collecting blemished (有瑕疵的) produce that otherwise would have rotted in fields. And the strawberries? Volunteers will wash, cut, and
freeze or dry them for use in meals down the road.
Such methods seem obvious, yet so often we just don’t think. “Everyone can play a part in reducing waste,
whether by not purchasing more food than necessary in your weekly shopping or by asking restaurants to not
include the side dish you won’t eat,” Curtin says.
24. What does the author want to show by telling the arugula story?
A. We pay little attention to food waste. B. We waste food unintentionally at times.
C. We waste more vegetables than meat. D. We have good reasons for wasting food.
25. What is a consequence of food waste according to the test?
A. Moral decline. B. Environmental harm.
C. Energy shortage. D. Worldwide starvation.
26. What does Curtin’s company do?
A. It produces kitchen equipment. B. It turns rotten arugula into clean fuel.
C. It helps local farmers grow fruits. D. It makes meals out of unwanted food.
27. What does Curtin suggest people do?
A. Buy only what is needed. B. Reduce food consumption.
C. Go shopping once a week. D. Eat in restaurants less often.
C
The elderly residents (居民) in care homes in London are being given hens to look after to stop them feeling
lonely.
The project was dreamed up by a local charity (慈善组织) to reduce loneliness and improve elderly people’s
wellbeing, It is also being used to help patients suffering dementia, a serious illness of the mind. Staff in care homes
have reported a reduction in the use of medicine where hens are in use.
Among those taking part in the project is 80-year-old Ruth Xavier. She said: “I used to keep hens when I was
younger and had to prepare their breakfast each morning before I went to school. ”
“I like the project a lot. I am down there in my wheelchair in the morning letting the hens out and down there
again at night to see they’ve gone to bed.”
“It’s good to have a different focus. People have been bringing their children in to see the hens and residents
come and sit outside to watch them. I’m enjoying the creative activities, and it feels great to have done something
useful.”There are now 700 elderly people looking after hens in 20 care homes in the North East, and the charity has
been given financial support to roll it out countrywide.
Wendy Wilson, extra care manager at 60 Penfold Street, one of the first to embark on the project, said:
“Residents really welcome the idea of the project and the creative sessions. We are looking forward to the benefits
and fun the project can bring to people here.”
Lynn Lewis, director of Notting Hill Pathways, said: “We are happy to be taking part in the project. It will
really help connect our residents through a shared interest and creative activities.”
28. What is the purpose of the project?
A. To ensure harmony in care homes. B. To provide part-time jobs for the aged.
C. To raise money for medical research. D. To promote the elderly people’s welfare.
29. How has the project affected Ruth Xavier?
A. She has learned new life skills. B. She has gained a sense of achievement.
C. She has recovered her memory. D. She has developed a strong personality.
30. What do the underlined words “embark on” mean in paragraph 7?
A. Improve. B. Oppose. C. Begin. D. Evaluate.
31. What can we learn about the project from the last two paragraphs?
A. It is well received. B. It needs to be more creative.
C. It is highly profitable. D. It takes ages to see the results.
D
Human speech contains more than 2,000 different sounds, from the common “m” and “a” to the rare clicks of
some southern African languages. But why are certain sounds more common than others? A ground-breaking, five-
year study shows that diet-related changes in human bite led to new speech sounds that are now found in half the
world’s languages.
More than 30 years ago, the scholar Charles Hockett noted that speech sounds called labiodentals, such as “f”
and “v”, were more common in the languages of societies that ate softer foods. Now a team of researchers led by
Damián Blasi at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, has found how and why this trend arose.
They discovered that the upper and lower front teeth of ancient human adults were aligned (对齐), making it
hard to produce labiodentals, which are formed by touching the lower lip to the upper teeth. Later, our jaws
changed to an overbite structure (结构), making it easier to produce such sounds.
The team showed that this change in bite was connected with the development of agriculture in the Neolithicperiod. Food became easier to chew at this point. The jawbone didn’t have to do as much work and so didn’t grow
to be so large.
Analyses of a language database also confirmed that there was a global change in the sound of world
languages after the Neolithic age, with the use of “f” and “v” increasing remarkably during the last few thousand
years. These sounds are still not found in the languages of many hunter-gatherer people today.
This research overturns the popular view that all human speech sounds were present when human beings
evolved around 300,000 years ago. ”The set of speech sounds we use has not necessarily remained stable since the
appearance of human beings, but rather the huge variety of speech sounds that we find today is the product of a
complex interplay of things like biological change and cultural evolution,“ said Steven Moran, a member of the
research team.
32. Which aspect of the human speech sound does Damián Blasi’s research focus on?
A. Its variety. B. Its distribution. C. Its quantity. D. Its development.
33. Why was it difficult for ancient human adults to produce labiodentals?
A. They had fewer upper teeth than lower teeth.
B. They could not open and close their lips easily.
C. Their jaws were not conveniently structured.
D. Their lower front teeth were not large enough.
34. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?
A. Supporting evidence for the research results.
B. Potential application of the research findings.
C. A further explanation of the research methods.
D. A reasonable doubt about the research process.
35. What does Steven Moran say about the set of human speech sounds?
A. It is key to effective communication. B. It contributes much to cultural diversity.
C. It is a complex and dynamic system. D. It drives the evolution of human beings.
【2022年全国甲卷】
B
Goffin’s cockatoos, a kind of small parrot native to Australasia, have been shown to have similar shape-
recognition abilities to a human two-year-old. Though not known to use tools in the wild, the birds have provedskilful at tool use while kept in the cage. In a recent experiment, cockatoos were presented with a box with a nut
inside it. The clear front of the box had a “keyhole” in a geometric shape, and the birds were given five differently
shaped “keys” to choose from. Inserting the correct “key” would let out the nut.
In humans, babies can put a round shape in a round hole from around one year of age, but it will be another
year before they are able to do the same with less symmetrical (对称的) shapes. This ability to recognize that a
shape will need to be turned in a specific direction before it will fit is called an “allocentric frame of reference”. In
the experiment, Goffin’s cockatoos were able to select the right tool for the job, in most cases, by visual recognition
alone. Where trial-and-error was used, the cockatoos did better than monkeys in similar tests. This indicates that
Goffin’s cockatoos do indeed possess an allocentric frame of reference when moving objects in space, similar to
two-year-old babies.
The next step, according to the researchers, is to try and work out whether the cockatoos rely entirely on visual
clues (线索), or also use a sense of touch in making their shape selections.
24. How did the cockatoos get the nut from the box in the experiment?
A. By following instructions. B. By using a tool.
C. By turning the box around. D. By removing the lid.
25. Which task can human one-year-olds most likely complete according to the text?
A. Using a key to unlock a door. B. Telling parrots from other birds.
C. Putting a ball into a round hole. D. Grouping toys of different shapes.
26. What does the follow-up test aim to find out about the cockatoos?
A. How far they are able to see. B. How they track moving objects.
C. Whether they are smarter than monkeys. D. Whether they use a sense of touch in the test.
27. Which can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Cockatoos: Quick Error Checkers B. Cockatoos: Independent Learners
C. Cockatoos: Clever Signal-Readers D. Cockatoos: Skilful Shape-Sorters
C
As Ginni Bazlinton reached Antarctica, she found herself greeted by a group of little Gentoo penguins (企鹅)
longing to say hello. These gentle, lovely gatekeepers welcomed her and kick-started what was to be a trip Ginni
would never forget.
Ever since her childhood, Ginni, now 71, has had a deep love for travel. Throughout her career (职业) as a
professional dancer, she toured in the UK, but always longed to explore further. When she retired from dancing andher sons eventually flew the nest, she decided it was time to take the plunge.
After taking a degree at Chichester University in Related Arts, Ginni began to travel the world, eventually
getting work teaching English in Japan and Chile. And it was in Chile she discovered she could get last-minute
cheap deals on ships going to Antarctica from the islands off Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of the South
American mainland. “I just decided I wanted to go,” she says. “I had no idea about what I’d find there and I wasn’t
nervous, I just wanted to do it. And I wanted to do it alone as I always prefer it that way.”
In March 2008, Ginni boarded a ship with 48 passengers she’d never met before, to begin the journey towards
Antarctica. “From seeing the wildlife to witnessing sunrises, the whole experience was amazing. Antarctica left an
impression on me that no other place has,” Ginni says. “I remember the first time I saw a humpback whale; it just
rose out of the water like some prehistoric creature and I thought it was smiling at us. You could still hear the
operatic sounds it was making underwater.”
The realization that this is a precious land, to be respected by humans, was one of the biggest things that hit
home to Ginni.
28. Which of the following best explains “take the plunge” underlined in paragraph 2?
A. Try challenging things. B. Take a degree.
C. Bring back lost memories. D. Stick to a promise.
29. What made Ginni decide on the trip to Antarctica?
A. Lovely penguins. B. Beautiful scenery.
C. A discount fare. D. A friend’s invitation.
30. What does Ginni think about Antarctica after the journey?
A. It could be a home for her. B. It should be easily accessible.
C. It should be well preserved. D. It needs to be fully introduced.
31. What is the text mainly about?
A. A childhood dream. B. An unforgettable experience.
C. Sailing around the world. D. Meeting animals in Antarctica.
【2022全国乙卷】
B
In 1916, two girls of wealthy families, best friends from Auburn, N. Y. — Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond
Underwood — traveled to a settlement in the Rocky Mountains to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. The girls had
gone to Smith College. They wore expensive clothes. So for them to move to Elkhead, Colo. to instruct the childrenwhose shoes were held together with string was a surprise. Their stay in Elkhead is the subject of Nothing Daunted:
The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden, who is a magazine editor and
Dorothy Woodruff’s granddaughter.
Why did they go then? Well, they wanted to do something useful. Soon, however, they realized what they had
undertaken.
They moved in with a local family, the Harrisons, and, like them, had little privacy, rare baths, and a blanket of
snow on their quilt when they woke up in the morning. Some mornings, Rosamond and Dorothy would arrive at the
schoolhouse to find the children weeping from the cold. In spring, the snow was replaced by mud over ice.
In Wickenden’s book, she expanded on the history of the West and also on feminism, which of course
influenced the girls’ decision to go to Elkhead. A hair-raising section concerns the building of the railroads, which
entailed (牵涉) drilling through the Rockies, often in blinding snowstorms. The book ends with Rosamond and
Dorothy’s return to Auburn.
Wickenden is a very good storyteller. The sweep of the land and the stoicism (坚忍) of the people move her to
some beautiful writing. Here is a picture of Dorothy Woodruff, on her horse, looking down from a hill top: “When
the sun slipped behind the mountains, it shed a rosy glow all around them. Then a full moon rose. The snow was
marked only by small animals: foxes, coyotes, mice, and varying hares, which turned white in the winter.”
24. Why did Dorothy and Rosamond go to the Rocky Mountains?
A. To teach in a school. B. To study American history.
C. To write a book. D. To do sightseeing.
25. What can we learn about the girls from paragraph 3?
A. They enjoyed much respect. B. They had a room with a bathtub.
C. They lived with the local kids. D. They suffered severe hardships.
26. Which part of Wickenden’s writing is hair-raising?
A. The extreme climate of Auburn. B. The living conditions in Elkhead.
C. The railroad building in the Rockies. D. The natural beauty of the West.
27. What is the text?
A. A news report. B. A book review. C. A children’s story. D. A diary entry.
C
Can a small group of drones (无人机) guarantee the safety and reliability of railways and, at the same time,
help railway operators save billions of euros each year? That is the very likely future of applying today’s “eyes in
the sky” technology to making sure that the millions of kilometres of rail tracks and infrastructure (基础设施)worldwide are safe for trains on a 24/7 basis.
Drones are already being used to examine high-tension electrical lines. They could do precisely the same thing
to inspect railway lines and other vital aspects of rail infrastructure such as the correct position of railway tracks
and switching points. The more regularly they can be inspected, the more railway safety, reliability and on-time
performance will be improved. Costs would be cut and operations would be more efficient (高效) across the board.
That includes huge savings in maintenance costs and better protection of railway personnel safety. It is
calculated that European railways alone spend approximately 20 billion euros a year on maintenance, including
sending maintenance staff, often at night, to inspect and repair the rail infrastructure. That can be dangerous work
that could be avoided with drones assisting the crews’ efforts.
By using the latest technologies, drones could also start providing higher-value services for railways, detecting
faults in the rail or switches, before they can cause any safety problems. To perform these tasks, drones for rail
don’t need to be flying overhead. Engineers are now working on a new concept: the rail drones of the future. They
will be moving on the track ahead of the train, and programmed to run autonomously. Very small drones with
advanced sensors and AI and travelling ahead of the train could guide it like a co-pilot. With their ability to see
ahead, they could signal any problem, so that fast-moving trains would be able to react in time.
28. What makes the application of drones to rail lines possible?
A. The use of drones in checking on power lines. B. Drones’ ability to work at high altitudes.
C. The reduction of cost in designing drones. D. Drones’ reliable performance in remote areas.
29. What does “maintenance” underlined in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Personnel safety. B. Assistance from drones.
C. Inspection and repair. D. Construction of infrastructure.
30. What function is expected of the rail drones?
A. To provide early warning. B. To make trains run automatically.
.
C To earn profits for the crews. D. To accelerate transportation.
31. Which is the most suitable title for the text?
A. What Faults Can Be Detected with Drones
B. How Production of Drones Can Be Expanded
C. What Difficulty Drone Development Will Face
D. How Drones Will Change the Future of Railways
DThe Government’s sugar tax on soft drinks has brought in half as much money as Ministers first predicted it
would generate, the first official data on the policy has shown.
First announced in April, 2016, the tax which applies to soft drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per
100ml, was introduced to help reduce childhood obesity (肥胖). It is believed that today’s children and teenagers
are consuming three times the recommended level of sugar, putting them at a higher risk of the disease.
Initially the sugar tax was expected to make £520m a year for the Treasury. However, data of the first six
months showed it would make less than half this amount. At present it is expected to generate £240m for the year
ending in April 2019, which will go to school sports.
It comes after more than half of soft drinks sold in shops have had their sugar levels cut by manufacturers (制
造商) so they can avoid paying the tax. Drinks now contain 45 million fewer kilos of sugar as a result of
manufacturers’ efforts to avoid the charge, according to Treasury figures. Since April drinks companies have been
forced to pay between 18p and 24p for every litre of sugary drink they produce or import, depending on the sugar
content.
,
However some high sugar brands, like Classic Coca Cola, have accepted the sugar tax and are refusing to
change for fear of upsetting consumers. Fruit juices, milk-based drinks and most alcoholic drinks are free of the tax,
as are small companies manufacturing fewer than 1m litres per year.
Today’s figures, according to one government official, show the positive influence the sugar tax is having by
raising millions of pounds for sports facilities (设施) and healthier eating in schools. Helping the next generation to
have a healthy and active childhood is of great importance, and the industry is playing its part.
32. Why was the sugar tax introduced?
.
A To collect money for schools. B. To improve the quality of drinks.
C. To protect children’s health. D. To encourage research in education.
33. How did some drinks companies respond to the sugar tax?
A. They turned to overseas markets. B. They raised the prices of their products.
C. They cut down on their production. D. They reduced their products’ sugar content.
34. From which of the following is the sugar tax collected?
A. Most alcoholic drinks. B. Milk-based drinks. C. Fruit juices. D. Classic Coke.
35. What can be inferred about the adoption of the sugar tax policy?
A. It is a short-sighted decision. B. It is a success story.
C. It benefits manufacturers. D. It upsets customers.【2021年6月浙江卷】
If you ever get the impression that your dog can "tell" whether you look content or annoyed, you may be onto
something. Dogs may indeed be able to distinguish between happy and angry human faces, according to a new
study
Researchers trained a group of 11 dogs to distinguish between images（图像）of the same person making either
a happy or an angry face. During the training stage, each dog was shown only the upper half or the lower half of the
person's face. The researchers then tested the dogs' ability to distinguish between human facial expressions by showing
them the other half of the person's face on images totally different from the ones used in training. The researchers
found that the dogs were able to pick the angry or happy face by touching a picture of it with their noses more often
than one would expect by random chance.
The study showed the animals had figured out how to apply what they learned about human faces during training
to new faces in the testing stage. "We can rule out that the doge simply distinguish between the pictures based on a
simple cue, such as the sight of teeth," said study author Corsin Muller. "Instead, our results suggest that the successful
dogs realized that a smiling mouth means the same thing as smiling eyes, and the same rule applies to an angry mouth
having the same meaning as angry eyes.”
"With our study, we think we can now confidently conclude that at least some dogs can distinguish human facial
expressions," Muller told Line Science.
At this point, it is not clear why dogs seem to be equipped with the ability to recognize different facial expressions
in humans. "To us, the most likely explanation appears to be that the basis lies in their living with humans, which
gives them a lot of exposure to human facial expressions," and this exposure has provided them with many chances
to learn to distinguish between them, Muller said.
28. The new study focused on whether dogs can_________.
A. distinguish shapes B. make sense of human faces
C. feel happy or angry D. communicate with each other
29. What can we learn about the study from paragraph 2?
A. Researchers tested the dogs in random order.
B. Diverse methods were adopted during training.
C. Pictures used in the two stages were different
D. The dogs were photographed before the lest.
30. What is the last paragraph mainly about?A. A suggestion for future studies. B. A possible reason for the study findings.
C. A major limitation of the study D. An explanation of the research method.
【2021年全国甲卷】
Port Lympne Reserve, which runs a breeding (繁育) programme, has welcomed the arrival of a rare black rhino
calf (犀牛幼崽). When the tiny creature arrived on January 31, she became the 40th black rhino to be born at the
reserve. And officials at Port Lympne were delighted with the new arrival, especially as black rhinos are known for
being difficult to breed in captivity (圈养).
Paul Beer, head of rhino section at Port Lympne, said: “Obviously we're all absolutely delighted to welcome
another calf to our black rhino family. She's healthy, strong and already eager to play and explore. Her mother, Solio, is
a first-time mum and she is doing a fantastic job. It's still a little too cold for them to go out into the open, but as soon
as the weather warms up, I have no doubt that the little one will be out and about exploring and playing every day.”
The adorable female calf is the second black rhino born this year at the reserve, but it is too early to tell if the
calves will make good candidates to be returned to protected areas of the wild. The first rhino to be born at Port
Lympne arrived on January 5 to first-time mother Kisima and weighed about 32kg. His mother, grandmother and
great grandmother were all born at the reserve and still live there.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the global black rhino population has dropped as low as 5500, giving the
rhinos a “critically endangered” status.
4. Which of the following best describes the breeding programme?
A. Costly. B. Controversial. C. Ambitious. D. Successful.
5. What does Paul Beer say about the new-born rhino?
A. She loves staying with her mother. B. She dislikes outdoor activities.
C. She is in good condition D. She is sensitive to heat.
6. What similar experience do Solio and Kisima have?
A. They had their first born in January. B. They enjoyed exploring new places
C. They lived with their grandmothers. D. They were brought to the reserve young
7. What can be inferred about Porn Lympne Reserve?
A. The rhino section will be open to the public.
B. It aims to control the number of the animals.
C. It will continue to work with the World Wildlife Fund.D. Some of its rhinos may be sent to the protected wild areas.
【2021年全国乙卷】
The Biggest Stadiums in the World
People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built
the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s
Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with
the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.
These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan’s desire for a good view and comfortable
seat—tend to keep stadium capacities（容量） slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are
the days of thousands standing to watch the match.
For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks
them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.
All these stadiums are still functional , still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.
·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D.P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.
·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.
·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.
·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.
·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.
21. How many people could the Circus Maximus hold?
A. 104,944. B. 107,601. C. About 150,000. D. About 250,000.
22. Of the following stadiums, which is the oldest?
A. Michigan Stadium. B. Beaver Stadium. C. Ohio Stadium. D. Kyle Field.
23. What do the listed stadiums have in common?
A. They host big games. B. They have become tourist attractions.
C. They were built by Americans. D. They are favored by architects.
【2021年全国乙卷】
When almost everyone has a mobile phone, why are more than half of Australian homes still paying for a
landline（座机）?
These days you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Australia over the age of 15 who doesn’t own a mobilephone. In fact plenty of younger kids have one in their pocket. Practically everyone can make and receive calls
anywhere, anytime.
Still, 55 percent of Australians have a landline phone at home and only just over a quarter （29%） rely only
on their smartphones according to a survey （调查）. Of those Australians who still have a landline, a third concede
that it’s not really necessary and they’re keeping it as a security blanket — 19 percent say they never use it while a
further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies. I think my home falls into that category.
More than half of Australian homes are still choosing to stick with their home phone. Age is naturally a factor
（因素）— only 58 percent of Generation Ys still use landlines now and then, compared to 84 percent of Baby
Boomers who’ve perhaps had the same home number for 50 years. Age isn’t the only factor; I’d say it’s also to do
with the makeup of your household.
Generation Xers with young families, like my wife and I, can still find it convenient to have a home phone rather
than providing a mobile phone for every family member. That said, to be honest the only people who ever ring our
home phone are our Baby Boomers parents, to the point where we play a game and guess who is calling before we
pick up the phone（using Caller ID would take the fun out of it）.
How attached are you to your landline? How long until they go the way of gas street lamps and morning milk
deliveries?
24. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about mobile phones?
A. Their target users. B. Their wide popularity.
C. Their major functions. D. Their complex design.
25. What does the underlined word “concede” in paragraph 3 mean?
A. Admit. B. Argue.
C. Remember. D. Remark.
26. What can we say about Baby Boomers?
A. They like smartphone games. B. They enjoy guessing callers’ identity.
C. They keep using landline phones. D. They are attached to their family.
27. What can be inferred about the landline from the last paragraph?
A. It remains a family necessity.
B. It will fall out of use some day.
C. It may increase daily expenses.
D. It is as important as the gas light.【2021年全国乙卷】
You’ve heard that plastic is polluting the oceans — between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes enter ocean ecosystems
every year. But does one plastic straw or cup really make a difference? Artist Benjamin Von Wong wants you to know
that it does. He builds massive sculptures out of plastic garbage, forcing viewers to re-examine their relationship to
single-use plastic products.
At the beginning of the year, the artist built a piece called “Strawpocalypse,” a pair of 10-foot-tall plastic waves,
frozen mid-crash. Made of 168,000 plastic straws collected from several volunteer beach cleanups, the sculpture
made its first appearance at the Estella Place shopping center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Just 9% of global plastic waste is recycled. Plastic straws are by no means the biggest source（来源）of plastic
,
pollution but they’ve recently come under fire because most people don’t need them to drink with and, because of
their small size and weight, they cannot be recycled. Every straw that’s part of Von Wong’s artwork likely came
from a drink that someone used for only a few minutes. Once the drink is gone, the straw will take centuries to
disappear.
In a piece from 2018, Von Wong wanted to illustrate（说明） a specific statistic: Every 60 seconds, a truckload’s
worth of plastic enters the ocean. For this work, titled “Truckload of Plastic,” Von Wong and a group of volunteers
collected more than 10,000 pieces of plastic, which were then tied together to look like they’d been dumped（倾
倒） from a truck all at once.
Von Wong hopes that his work will also help pressure big companies to reduce their plastic footprint.
28. What are Von Wong’s artworks intended for?
A. Beautifying the city he lives in. B. Introducing eco-friendly products.
C. Drawing public attention to plastic waste. D. Reducing garbage on the beach.
29. Why does the author discuss plastic straws in paragraph 3?
A. To show the difficulty of their recycling.
B. To explain why they are useful.
C. To voice his views on modern art.
D. To find a substitute for them.
30. What effect would “Truckload of Plastic” have on viewers?
A. Calming. B. Disturbing.
C. Refreshing. D. Challenging.
31. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?A. Artists’ Opinions on Plastic Safety
B. Media Interest in Contemporary Art
C. Responsibility Demanded of Big Companies
D. Ocean Plastics Transformed into Sculptures
【2021年全国乙卷】
During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by
the level of distraction（干扰）in his open office, he said, “That’s why I have a membership at the coworking space
across the street — so I can focus”. His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use
an open office layout（布局）. But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.
The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking.
They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total
silence to 50 decibels（分贝）, 70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were
statistically insignificant; however, the participants in the 70 decibels group — those exposed to a level of noise
similar to background chatter in a coffee shop — significantly outperformed the other groups. Since the effects were
small, this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels
of background noise.
But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background
noise — not too loud and not total silence — may actually improve one’s creative thinking ability. The right level of
background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander,
without making it impossible to focus. This kind of “distracted focus” appears to be the best state for working on
creative tasks.
So why do so many of us hate our open offices? The problem may be that, in our offices, we can’t stop ourselves
from getting drawn into others’ conversations while we’re trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-
to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a
certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.
.
32 Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?
A. It helps him concentrate. B. It blocks out background noise.
C. It has a pleasant atmosphere. D. It encourages face-to-face interactions.
33. Which level of background noise may promote creative thinking ability?
A. Total silence. B. 50 decibels C. 70 decibels. D. 8 5 decibels.34. What makes an open office unwelcome to many people?
A. Personal privacy unprotected. B. Limited working space.
C. Restrictions on group discussion. D. Constant interruptions.
35. What can we infer about the author from the text?
A. He’s a news reporter.
B. He’s an office manager.
C. He’s a professional designer.
D. He’s a published writer.
【2021年新高考全国卷Ⅰ】
When the explorers first set foot upon the continent of North America, the skies and lands were alive with an
astonishing variety of wildlife. Native Americans had taken care of these precious natural resources wisely.
Unfortunately, it took the explorers and the settlers who followed only a few decades to decimate a large part of
these resources. Millions of waterfowl ( 水 禽 ) were killed at the hands of market hunters and a handful of overly
ambitious sportsmen. Millions of acres of wetlands were dried to feed and house the ever-increasing populations,
greatly reducing waterfowl habitat.
In 1934, with the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (Act), an increasingly concerned nation took
firm action to stop the destruction of migratory ( 迁徙的) waterfowl and the wetlands so vital to their survival. Under
this Act, all waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over must annually purchase and carry a Federal Duck Stamp. The
very first Federal Duck Stamp was designed by J.N. “Ding” Darling, a political cartoonist from Des Moines, lowa,
who at that time was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as Director of the Bureau of Biological Survey.
Hunters willingly pay the stamp price to ensure the survival of our natural resources.
About 98 cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase
wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System — a fact that ensures this land
,
will be protected and available for all generations to come. Since 1934 better than half a billion dollars has gone
into that Fund to purchase more than 5 million acres of habitat. Little wonder the Federal Duck Stamp Program has
been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated.
28. What was a cause of the waterfowl population decline in North America?
A. Loss of wetlands. B. Popularity of water sports.
C. Pollution of rivers. D. Arrival of other wild animals.
29. What does the underlined word “decimate” mean in the first paragraph?A. Acquire. B. Export.
C. Destroy. D. Distribute.
30. What is a direct result of the Act passed in 1934?
A. The stamp price has gone down. B. The migratory birds have flown away.
C. The hunters have stopped hunting. D. The government has collected money.
31. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?
A. The Federal Duck Stamp Story B. The National Wildlife Refuge System
C. The Benefits of Saving Waterfowl D. The History of Migratory Bird Hunting
【2021年新高考全国卷Ⅰ】
Popularization has in some cases changed the original meaning of emotional (情感的) intellingence. Many
people now misunderstand emotional intelligence as almost everything desirable in a person's makeup that cannot be
measured by an IQ test, such as character, motivation, confidence, mental stability, optimism and “people skills.”
Research has shown that emotional skills may contribute to some of these qualities, but most of them move far beyond
skill-based emotional intelligence.
We prefer to describe emotional intelligence as a specific set of skills that can be used for either good or bad
purposes. The ability to accurately understand how others are feeling may be used by a doctor to find how best to
help her patients, while a cheater might use it to control potential victims. Being emotionally intelligent does not
necessarily make one a moral person.
Although popular beliefs regarding emotional intelligence run far ahead of what research can reasonably support,
the overall effects of the publicity have been more beneficial than harmful. The most positive aspect of this
popularization is a new and much needed emphasis (重视) on emotion by employers, educators and others interested in
promoting social well-being. The popularization of emotional intelligence has helped both the public and researchers
re-evaluate the functionality of emotions and how they serve people adaptively in everyday life.
Although the continuing popular appeal of emotional intelligence is desirable, we hope that such attention will
excite a greater interest in the scientific and scholarly study of emotion. It is our hope that in coming decades, advances
in science will offer new perspectives (视角) from which to study how people manage their lives. Emotional
intelligence, with its focus on both head and heart, may serve to point us in the right direction.
32. What is a common misunderstanding of emotional intelligence?
A. It can be measured by an IQ test. B. It helps to exercise a person’s mind.C. It includes a set of emotional skills. D. It refers to a person’s positive qualities.
33. Why does the author mention “doctor” and “cheater” in paragraph 2?
A. To explain a rule. B. To clarify a concept.
C. To present a fact. D. To make a prediction.
34. What is the author’s attitude to the popularization of emotional intelligence?
A. Favorable. B. Intolerant.
C. Doubtful. D. Unclear.
35. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about concerning emotional intelligence?
A. Its appeal to the public. B. Expectations for future studies.
C. Its practical application. D. Scientists with new perspectives.
【2021年1月浙江卷】
At the start of the 20th century, an American engineer named John Elfreth Watkins made predictions about life
today. His predictions about slowing population growth, mobile phones and increasing height were close to the
mark. But he was wrong in one prediction: that everybody would walk 10 miles a day.
Today, in Australia, most children on average fall 2,000 steps short of the physical activity they need to
avoid being overweight. In the early 1970s, 40 per cent of children walked to school, while in 2010, it was as low
as 15 per cent.
The decline is not because we have all become lazy. Families are pressed for time, many with both parents
working to pay for their house, often working hours not of their choosing, living in car-dependent neighborhoods
with limited public transport.
The other side of the coin is equally a deprivation: for health and well-being, as well as lost opportunities (机
会) for children to get to know their local surroundings. And for parents there are lost opportunities to walk and talk
with their young scholar about their day.
Most parents will have eagerly asked their child about their day, only to meet with a “good”, quickly followed by
“I’m hungry”. This is also my experience as a mother. But somewhere over the daily walk more about my son’s day
comes out. I hear him making sense of friendship and its limits. This is the unexpected and rare parental opportunity
to hear more.
Many primary schools support walking school-bus routes (路线), with days of regular, parent-accompanied
walks. Doing just one of these a few times a week is better than nothing. It can be tough to begin and takes a little
planning — running shoes by the front door, lunches made the night before, umbrellas on rainy days and hats on hotones — but it’s certainly worth trying.
24. Why does the author mention Watkins’ predictions in the first paragraph?
A. To make comparisons. B. To introduce the topic.
C. To support her argument. D. To provide examples.
25. What has caused the decrease in Australian children’s physical activity?
A. Plain laziness. B. Health problems.
C. Lack of time. D. Security concerns.
26. Why does the author find walking with her son worthwhile?
A. She can get relaxed after work.
B. She can keep physically fit.
C. She can help with her son’s study.
D. She can know her son better.
【2021年1月浙江卷】
Researchers say they have translated the meaning of gestures that wild chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use to communicate.
They say wild chimps communicate 19 specific messages to one another with a “vocabulary” of 66 gestures. The
scientists discovered this by following and filming groups of chimps in Uganda, and examining more than 5,000
incidents of these meaningful exchanges.
Dr Catherine Hobaiter, who led the research, said that this was the only form of intentional communication to
be recorded in the animal kingdom. Only humans and chimps, she said, had a system of communication where they
deliberately sent a message to another group member.
“That’s what’s so amazing about chimp gestures,” she said. “They’re the only thing that looks like human
language in that respect.”
Although previous research has shown that apes and monkeys can understand complex information from
another animal’s call, the animals do not appear to use their voices intentionally to communicate messages. This was a
significant difference between calls and gestures, Dr Hobaiter said.
Chimps will check to see if they have the attention of the animal with which they wish to communicate. In one
case, a mother presents her foot to her crying baby, signalling: “Climb on me.” The youngster immediately jumps
on to its mother’s back and they travel off together. “The big message from this study is that there is another species
(物种) out there that is meaningful in its communication, so that’s not unique to humans,” said Dr Hobaiter.Dr Susanne Shultz, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Manchester, said the study was
praiseworthy in seeking to enrich our knowledge of the evolution of human language. But, she added, the results
were “a little disappointing”.
“The vagueness of the gesture meanings suggests either that the chimps have little to communicate, or we are
still missing a lot of the information contained in their gestures and actions,” she said. “Moreover, the meanings
seem to not go beyond what other animals convey with non-verbal communication. So, it seems the gulf remains.”
27. What do chimps and humans have in common according to Dr Hobaiter?
A. Memorizing specific words.
B. Understanding complex information.
C. Using voices to communicate.
D. Communicating messages on purpose.
28. What did Dr Shultz think of the study?
A. It was well designed but poorly conducted.
B. It was a good try but the findings were limited.
C. It was inspiring but the evidence was unreliable.
D. It was a failure but the methods deserved praise.
29. What does the underlined word “gulf” in the last paragraph mean?
A. Difference. B. Conflict.
C. Balance. D. Connection.
30. Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A. Chimpanzee behaviour study achieved a breakthrough
B. Chimpanzees developed specific communication skills
C. Chimpanzees: the smartest species in the animal kingdom
D. Chimpanzee language: communication gestures translated
1【2020年全国卷Ⅰ】
Returning to a book you’ve read many times can feel like drinks with an old friend. There’s a welcome familiarity
— but also sometimes a slight suspicion that time has changed you both, and thus the relationship. But books don’t
change, people do. And that’s what makes the act of rereading so rich and transformative.
The beauty of rereading lies in the idea that our bond with the work is based on our present mental register. It’s
true, the older I get, the more I feel time has wings. But with reading, it’s all about the present. It’s about the now andwhat one contributes to the now, because reading is a give and take between author and reader. Each has to pull their
own weight.
There are three books I reread annually. The first, which I take to reading every spring, is Ernest Hemingway’s
A Moveable Feast. Published in 1964, it’s his classic memoir of 1920s Paris. The language is almost intoxicating (令人
陶醉的)，an aging writer looking back on an ambitious yet simpler time. Another is Annie Dillard’s Holy the
Firm, her poetic 1975 ramble (随笔) about everything and nothing. The third book is Julio Cortazar’s Save
Twilight: Selected Poems, because poetry. And because Cortazar.
While I tend to buy a lot of books, these three were given to me as gifts, which might add to the meaning I attach to
them. But I imagine that, while money is indeed wonderful and necessary, rereading an author’s work is the highest
currency a reader can pay them. The best books are the ones that open further as time passes. But remember, it’s you
that has to grow and read and reread in order to better understand your friends.
24. Why does the author like rereading?
A. It evaluates the writer-reader relationship.
B. It’s a window to a whole new world.
C. It’s a substitute for drinking with a friend.
D. It extends the understanding of oneself.
25. What do we know about the book A Moveable Feast?
A. It’s a brief account of a trip.
B. It’s about Hemingway’s life as a young man.
C. It’s a record of a historic event.
D. It’s about Hemingway’s friends in Paris.
26. What does the underlined word ＂currency＂ in paragraph 4 refer to?
A. Debt. B. Reward. C. Allowance. D. Face value.
27. What can we infer about the author from the text?
A. He loves poetry. B. He’s an editor. C. He’s very ambitious. D. He teaches reading.
1【2020年全国卷Ⅰ】
Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer
injuries. It does, however, have its own problem.
Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-
kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport’s rules require that a racewalker’s knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact(接触) with the ground at
all times. It’s this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an
assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.
Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says. According to most calculations, race walkers
moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately twice
as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more
calories per hour.
However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her
research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do
not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step.
As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner’s knee, are uncommon among
race walkers. But the sport’s strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a
history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking
should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some
practice.
28. Why are race walkers conditioned athletes?
A. They must run long distances.
B. They are qualified for the marathon.
C. They have to follow special rules.
D. They are good at swinging their legs.
29. What advantage does race walking have over running?
A. It’s more popular at the Olympics.
B. It’s less challenging physically.
C. It’s more effective in body building.
D. It’s less likely to cause knee injuries.
30 What is Dr. Norberg’s suggestion for someone trying race walking?
A. Getting experts’ opinions. B. Having a medical checkup.
C. Hiring an experienced coach. D. Doing regular exercises.
31. Which word best describes the author’s attitude to race walking?
A. Skeptical. B. Objective. C. Tolerant. D. Conservative.1【2020年全国卷Ⅰ】
The connection between people and plants has long been the subject of scientific research. Recent studies have
found positive effects. A study conducted in Youngstown，Ohio，for example, discovered that greener areas of the
city experienced less crime. In another, employees were shown to be 15% more productive when their workplaces
were decorated with houseplants.
The engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology（MIT）have taken it a step further — changing
the actual composition of plants in order to get them to perform diverse, even unusual functions. These include plants
that have sensors printed onto their leaves to show when they’re short of water and a plant that can detect harmful
chemicals in groundwater. ＂We’re thinking about how we can engineer plants to replace functions of the things
that we use every day,＂explained Michael Strano, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT.
One of his latest projects has been to make plants glow（发光）in experiments using some common vegetables.
Strano’s team found that they could create a faint light for three-and-a-half hours. The light, about one-thousandth of
the amount needed to read by, is just a start. The technology, Strano said, could one day be used to light the rooms
or even to turn tree into self-powered street lamps.
In the future, the team hopes to develop a version of the technology that can be sprayed onto plant leaves in a
one-off treatment that would last the plant’s lifetime. The engineers are also trying to develop an on and off ＂switch＂where
the glow would fade when exposed to daylight.
Lighting accounts for about 7% of the total electricity consumed in the US. Since lighting is often far removed
from the power source（电源）— such as the distance from a power plant to street lamps on a remote highway —
a lot of energy is lost during transmission（传输）. Glowing plants could reduce this distance and therefore help
save energy.
32. What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A. A new study of different plants. B. A big fall in crime rates.
C. Employees from various workplaces. D. Benefits from green plants.
33. What is the function of the sensors printed on plant leaves by MIT engineers?
A. To detect plants’ lack of water. B. To change compositions of plants.
C. To make the life of plants longer. D. To test chemicals in plants.
34. What can we expect of the glowing plants in the future?
A. They will speed up energy production. B. They may transmit electricity to the home.
C. They might help reduce energy consumption. D. They could take the place of power plants.35. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. Can we grow more glowing plants? B. How do we live with glowing plants?
C. Could glowing plants replace lamps? D. How are glowing plants made pollution-free?
1【2020年全国卷Ⅱ】
Some parents will buy any high-tech toy if they think it will help their child, but researchers said puzzles help
children with math-related skills.
Psychologist Susan Levine, an expert on mathematics development in young children the University of Chicago,
found children who play with puzzles between ages 2 and 4 later develop better spatial skills. Puzzle play was found
to be a significant predictor of cognition(认知) after controlling for differences in parents’ income, education and the
amount of parent talk, Levine said.
The researchers analyzed video recordings of 53 child-parent pairs during everyday activities at home and found
children who play with puzzles between 26 and 46 months of age have better spatial skills when assessed at 54 months
of age.
“The children who played with puzzles performed better than those who did not, on tasks that assessed their
ability to rotate(旋转)and translate shapes,” Levine said in a statement.
The parents were asked to interact with their children as they normally would, and about half of children in the
study played with puzzles at one time. Higher-income parents tended to have children play with puzzles more
frequently, and both boys and girls who played with puzzles had better spatial skills. However, boys tended to play
with more complex puzzles than girls, and the parents of boys provided more spatial language and were more active
during puzzle play than parents of girls.
The findings were published in the journal Developmental Science.
24. In which aspect do children benefit from puzzle play?
A. Building confidence. B. Developing spatial skills.
C. Learning self-control. D. Gaining high-tech knowledge.
25.What did Levine take into consideration when designing her experiment？
A. Parents’ age. B. Children’s imagination.
C. Parents’ education. D. Child-parent relationship.
26. How do boy differ from girls in puzzle play?
A. They play with puzzles more often.
B. They tend to talk less during the game.C. They prefer to use more spatial language.
D. They are likely to play with tougher puzzles.
27. What is the text mainly about?
A. A mathematical method. B. A scientific study.
C. A woman psychologist D. A teaching program.
1【2020年全国卷Ⅱ】
When you were trying to figure out what to buy for the environmentalist on your holiday list, fur probably
didn’t cross your mind. But some ecologists and fashion (时装）enthusiasts are trying to bring back the market for
fur made from nutria(海狸鼠).
Unusual fashion shows in New Orleans and Brooklyn have（showcased）nutria fur made into clothes in
different styles. “It sounds crazy to talk about guilt-free fur-unless you understand that the nutria are destroying vast
wetlands every year”, says Cree McCree, project director of Righteous Fur.
Scientists in Louisiana were so concerned that they decided to pay hunters $5 a tail. Some of the fur ends up
in the fashion shows like the one in Brooklyn last month.
Nutria were brought there from Argentina by fur farmers and let go into the wild. “The ecosystem down there
can’t handle this non-native species（物种）.It’s destroying the environment. It’s them or us." says Michael Massimi,
an expert in this field.
The fur trade kept nutria check for decades，but when the market for nutria collapsed in the late 1980s，the
cat-sized animals multiplied like crazy.
Biologist Edmond Mouton runs the nutria control program for Louisiana. He says it’s not easy to convince
people that nutria fur is green, but he has no doubt about it. Hunters bring in more than 300,000 nutria tails a year, so
part of Mouton’s job these days is trying to promote fur.
Then there’s Righteous Fur and its unusual fashion. Morgan says，“To give people a guilt-free option that
they can wear without someone throwing paint on them—1 think that’s going to be a massive thing, at least here in
New York.” Designer Jennifer Anderson admits it took her a while to come around to the opinion that using nutria
fur for her creations is morally acceptable. She trying to come up with a lable to attach to nutria fashions to show it
is eco-friendly.
28. What is the purpose of the fashion shows in New Orleans and Brooklyn?
A. To promote guilt-free fur.
B. To expand the fashion market.C. To introduce a new brand.
D. To celebrate a winter holiday.
29. Why are scientists concerned about nutria?
A. Nutria damage the ecosystem seriously.
B. Nutria are an endangered species.
C. Nutria hurt local cat-sized animals.
D. Nutria are illegally hunted.
30. What does the underlined word “collapsed” in paragraph 5 probably mean?
A. Boomed. B. Became mature. C. Remained stable. D. Crashed.
31. What can we infer abouf wearing fur in New York according to Morgan?
A. It’s formal. B. It’s risky. C. It’s harmful. D. It’s traditional.
1【2020年全国卷Ⅲ】
We are the products of evolution, and not just evolution that occurred billions of years ago. As scientists look
deeper into our genes(基因), they are finding examples of human evolution in just the past few thousand years. People
in Ethiopian highlands have adapted to living at high altitudes. Cattle-raising people in East Africa and northern
Europe have gained a mutation(突变) that helps them digest milk as adults.
On Thursday in an article published in Cell, a team of researchers reported a new kind of adaptation — not to
air or to food, but to the ocean. A group of sea-dwelling people in Southeast Asia have evolved into better divers. The
Bajau, as these people are known, number in the hundreds of thousands in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
They have traditionally lived on houseboats; in recent times, they’ve also built houses on stilts(支柱) in coastal
waters. “They are simply a stranger to the land," said Redney C. Jubilado, a University of Hawaii researcher who
studies the Bajau.
Dr. Jubilado first met the Bajau while growing up on Samal Island in the Philippines. They made a living as
divers, spearfishing or harvesting shellfish. "We were so amazed that they could stay underwater much longer than
us local islanders," Dr. Jubilado said. “I could see them actually walking under the sea."
In201, Melissa Ilardo, then a graduate student in genetics at the University of Copenhagen, heard about the
Bajau. She wondered if centuries of diving could have led to the evolution of physical characteristics that made the
task easier for them. “It seemed like the perfect chance for natural selection to act on a population," said Dr. Ilardo.
She also said there were likely a number of other genes that help the Bajau dive.32. What does the author want to tell us by the examples in paragraph 1?
A. Environmental adaptation of cattle raisers. B. New knowledge of human evolution.
C. Recent findings of human origin. D. Significance of food selection.
33. Where do the Bajau build their houses?
A. In valleys. B. Near rivers. C. On the beach. D. Off the coast.
34. Why was the young Jubilado astonished at the Bajau?
A. They could walk on stilts all day. B. They had a superb way of fishing.
C. They could stay long underwater. D. They lived on both land and water.
35. What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Bodies Remodeled for a Life at Sea B. Highlanders’ Survival Skills
C. Basic Methods of Genetic Research D. The World’s Best Divers
1【2020年新高考卷Ⅰ】
According to a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research, both the size and consumption habits of our
eating companions can influence our food intake. And contrary to existing research that says you should avoid eating
with heavier people who order large portions（份）, it's the beanpoles with big appetites you really need to avoid.
To test the effect of social influence on eating habits, the researchers conducted two experiments. In the first, 95
undergraduate women were individually invited into a lab to ostensibly（表面上）participate in a study about movie
viewership. Before the film began, each woman was asked to help herself to a snack. An actor hired by the researchers
grabbed her food first. In her natural state, the actor weighed 105 pounds. But in half the cases she wore a specially
designed fat suit which increased her weight to 180 pounds.
Both the fat and thin versions of the actor took a large amount of food. The participants followed suit, taking
more food than they normally would have. However, they took significantly more when the actor was thin.
For the second test, in one case the thin actor took two pieces of candy from the snack bowls. In the other case,
she took 30 pieces. The results were similar to the first test: the participants followed suit but took significantly more
candy when the thin actor took 30 pieces.
The tests show that the social environment is extremely influential when we're making decisions. If this fellow
participant is going to eat more, so will I. Call it the “I’ll have what she's having” effect. However, we'll adjust the
influence. If an overweight person is having a large portion, I'll hold back a bit because I see the results of his eating
habits. But if a thin person eats a lot, I'll follow suit. If he can eat much and keep slim, why can't I?
12. What is the recent study mainly about? （ ）A. Food safety. B. Movie viewership.
C. Consumer demand. D. Eating behavior.
13. What does the underlined word "beanpoles" in paragraph 1 refer to? （ ）
A. Big eaters. B. Overweight persons.
C. Picky eaters. D. Tall thin persons.
14. Why did the researchers hire the actor? （ ）
A. To see how she would affect the participants.
B. To test if the participants could recognize her.
C. To find out what she would do in the two tests.
D. To study why she could keep her weight down.
15. On what basis do we "adjust the influence" according to the last paragraph? （ ）
A. How hungry we are. B. How slim we want to be.
C. How we perceive others. D. How we feel about the food.
1【2020年7月浙江卷】
I am an active playgoer and play-reader, and perhaps my best reason for editing this book is a hope of sharing
my enthusiasm for the theater with others. To do this I have searched through dozens of plays to find the ones that I
think best show the power and purpose of the short play.
Each play has a theme or central idea which the playwright（剧作家）hopes to get across through dialogue and
action. A few characters are used to create a single impression growing out of the theme. It is not my intention to
point out the central theme of each of the plays in this collection, for that would, indeed, ruin the pleasure of reading,
discussing, and thinking about the plays and the effectiveness of the playwright. However, a variety of types is
represented here. These include comedy, satire, poignant drama, historical and regional drama. To show the
versatility（多面性）of the short play, I have included a guidance play, a radio play and a television play.
Among the writers of the plays in this collection, Paul Green, Susan Glaspell, Maxwell Anderson, Thornton
Wilder, William Saroyan, and Tennessee Williams have all received Pulitzer Prizes for their contributions to the
theater. More information about the playwrights will be found at the end of this book.
To get the most out of reading these plays, try to picture the play on stage, with you, the reader, in the audience.
The houselights dim（变暗）. The curtains are about to open, and in a few minutes the action and dialogue will tell
you the story.21. What do we know about the author from the first paragraph?
A. He has written dozens of plays. B. He has a deep love for the theater.
C. He is a professional stage actor. D. He likes reading short plays to others.
22. What does the author avoid doing in his work?
A. Stating the plays’ central ideas. B. Selecting works by famous playwrights.
C. Including various types of plays. D. Offering information on the playwrights.
23. What does the author suggest readers do while reading the plays?
A. Control their feelings. B. Apply their acting skills.
C. Use their imagination. D. Keep their audience in mind.
24. What is this text?
A. A short story. B. An introduction to a book.
C. A play review. D. An advertisement for a theater.
1【2020年7月浙江卷】
The traffic signals along Factoria Boulevard in Bellevue, Washington, generally don’ t flash the same length of
green twice in a row, especially at rush hour. At 9：30 am, the full red/yellow/green signal cycle might be 140
seconds. By 9：33 am, a burst of additional traffic might push it to 145 seconds. Less traffic at 9：37 am could
push it down to 135. Just like the traffic itself, the timing of the signals changes.
That is by design. Bellevue, a fast-growing city, just east of Seattle, uses a system that is gaining popularity
around the US：intersection（十字路口） signals that can adjust in real time to traffic conditions. These lights,
known as adaptive signals, have led to significant declines in both the trouble and cost of travels between work and
home.
“Adaptive signals can make sure that the traffic demand that is there is being addressed,” says Alex Stevanovic, a
researcher at Florida Atlantic University.
For all of Bellevue’s success, adaptive signals are not a cure-all for jammed roadways. Kevin Balke, a
research engineer at the Texas A&M University Transportation Institute, says that while smart lights can be particularly
beneficial for some cities, others are so jammed that only a sharp reduction in the number of cars on the road will
make a meaningful difference. “It’s not going to fix everything, but adaptive signals have some benefits for smaller
cities,” he says.
In Bellevue, the switch to adaptive signals has been a lesson in the value of welcoming new approaches. In the
past, there was often an automatic reaction to increased traffic: just widen the roads, says Mark Poch, the BellevueTransportation Department’s traffic engineering manager. Now he hopes that other cities will consider making their
streets run smarter instead of just making them bigger.
25. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A. Increased length of green lights. B. Shortened traffic signal cycle.
C. Flexible timing of traffic signals. D. Smooth traffic flow on the road.
26. What does Kevin Balke say about adaptive signals?
A. They work better on broad roads.
B. They should be used in other cities.
C. They have greatly reduced traffic on the road.
D. They are less helpful in cities seriously jammed.
27. What can we learn from Bellevue’ s success?
A. It is rewarding to try new things. B. The old methods still work today.
C. It pays to put theory into practice. D. The simplest way is the best way.
20.【2020年7月浙江卷】
Challenging work that requires lots of analytical thinking, planning and other managerial skills might help your
brain stay sharp as you age, a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology suggests.
Researchers from the University of Leipzig in Germany gathered more than 1, 000 retired workers who were
over age 75 and assessed the volunteers’ memory and thinking skills through a battery of tests. Then, for eight years,
the scientists asked the same group to come back to the lab every 18 months to take the same sorts of tests.
Those who had held mentally stimulating（刺激）, demanding jobs before retirement tended to do the best on
the tests. And they tended to lose cognitive（认知）function at a much slower rate than those with the least mentally
challenging jobs. The results held true even after the scientists accounted for the participants’ overall health status.
“This works just like physical exercise,” says Francisca Then, who led the study. “After a long run, you may
feel like you’re in pain, you may feel tired. But it makes you fit. After a long day at work — sure, you will feel tired,
but it can help your brain stay healthy. ”
It’s not just corporate jobs, or even paid work that can help keep your brain fit, Then points out. A waiter’ s job,
for example, that requires multitasking, teamwork and decision-making could be just as stimulating as any high-level
office work. And “running a family household requires high-level planning and coordinating（协调）,” she says.
“You have to organize the activities of the children and take care of the bills and groceries.”
Of course, our brains can decline as we grow older for lots of reasons — including other environmental influencesor genetic factors. Still, continuing to challenge yourself mentally and keeping your mind busy can only help.
28. Why did the scientists ask the volunteers to take the tests?
A. To assess their health status. B. To evaluate their work habits.
C. To analyze their personality. D. To measure their mental ability.
29. How does Francisca Then explain her findings in paragraph 4?
A. By using an expert’s words. B. By making a comparison.
C. By referring to another study. D. By introducing a concept.
30. Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A. Retired Workers Can Pick Up New Skills
B. Old People Should Take Challenging Jobs
C. Your Tough Job Might Help Keep You Sharp
D. Cognitive Function May Decline As You Age
2【2020年1月浙江卷】
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is road testing a new way to keep winter roads ice-free — by spreading on them cheese
brine, the salty liquid used to make soft cheeses, like mozzarella.
Wisconsin, also called “America’s Dairyland,” is famous for its cheese. The state produced 2.8 billion pounds
of cheese last year! As a result, there was a lot of leftover cheese brine. Disposing of (处置) the brine can be expensive.
So what should cheese makers do with the waste?
Normally, towns use rock salt to de-ice streets. The salt lowers water’s freezing point, causing ice to melt (融
化). But using cheese brine could help both cheese producers and cities save money, while keeping roads safe. Cheese
brine has salt in it, which, like the rock salt, helps lower water’s freezing point.
In addition to saving money, cheese brine could also be a more eco-friendly option. Many people suspect that
all the rock salt used every winter is harming the environment.
Rock salt is made of sodium chloride, the same compound (化合物) in ordinary table salt. Sounds harmless,
right? But while you probably add only a small amount of salt to your food, road crews spread about 20 million tons
of salt on U.S. roads every year!
The chemical washes off roads and goes into the ground. There it can pollute drinking water, harm plants, and
eat away soil. By spreading cheese brine on streets before adding a layer of rock salt, Milwaukee may be able to cut
its rock salt use by 30 percent.
Cheese brine has a downside too — a smell similar to that of bad milk. “I don’t really mind it,” Emil Norbytold Modern Farmer magazine. He works for one of Wisconsin’s county highway commissions and came up with
the idea of using cheese brine. “Our roads smell like Wisconsin!” he said.
24. Why can cheese brine help keep winter roads ice-free?
A. It is soft. B. It contains salt.
C. It is warm. D. It has milk in it.
25. What is a benefit of using cheese brine on roads?
A. Improving air quality. B. Increasing sales of rock salt.
C. Reducing water pollution. D. Saving the cheese industry.
26. Milwaukee’s new way to de-ice streets may be an example of ______.
A. barking up the wrong tree B. putting the cart before the horse
C. robbing Peter to pay Paul D. killing two birds with one stone
2【2020年北京卷】
Baggy has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by
recording pollutant levels near the ground.
Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Her
monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, which has helped highlight concerns
that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems.
Conventional air pollution monitors are normally fixed on lampposts at about nine feet in the air. However, since
Baggy stands at about the same height as a child in a pushchair（婴儿车）, she frequently records pollution levels
which are much higher than the data gathered by the Environment A gency.
The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy's 13-vea-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt. The English
youngster noticed that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the
height where they are recorded by the agency. Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an
attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma（哮喘）.
Matt Hunt said he was "very proud" of his son because “when the boy gets an idea, he keeps his head down and
gets on with it, and he really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma."“Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age," Matt added. “He became very
interested in gadgets（小装置）. A bout one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One
Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, why don't we put it on Baggy's collar and let her
monitor the pollution？'So we did it."
Tom said, "Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and
we are all really proud of her."
34. With a monitor on her collar, Baggy can ____________.（ ）
A. take pollutant readings B. record pollutant levels
C. process collected data D. reduce air pollution
35. What can we learn from the Baggy data? （ ）
A. High places are free of air pollution. B. Higher pushchairs are more risky for kids.
C. Conventional monitors are more reliable. D. Air is more polluted closer to the ground.
36. What is Tom's purpose of doing the research? （ ）
A. To wan of a health risk. B. To find out pollution sources.
C. To test his new monitor. D. To prove Baggy's abilities.
37. According to the passage, which word can best describe Tom Hunt?（ ）
A. Modest. B. Generous. C. Creative. D. Outgoing.
Passage 1（2022·河南·模拟预测）
The US space agency NASA has revealed an astonishing picture revealing new secrets of the Earth’s home
galaxy (星系), the Milky Way. The sun is just one of hundreds of billions of stars that form the huge shape of our
galaxy. Our solar system sits in an outlying region but the new image focuses on the centre of the Milky Way, a
“noisy” area because of all the crowded stars. Light from this region takes about 26,000 years to reach Earth. For
comparison, light takes just eight minutes to reach us from the sun.
The researchers use the data collected by two telescopes that see the sky in ways that are very different from
the visible light our eyes can see to form the new image. Most of the data comes from 370 different pictures taken
over the past 20 years by NASA’s Chandra X Observatory. This satellite telescope detects X-rays out in space. X-
rays are a from of radiation that is sent out when violent events heat matter to temperatures of millions of degrees.Other data comes from the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa, which can detect radio waves from space. These
waves have much less energy than X-rays. They are usually produced by cooler material, such as huge clouds of
gas between the stars.
The brightest sources include neutron stars which are the cores of huge stars that ran out of fuel and collapsed
to city-sized balls of super hot matter. Many neutron stars and black holes jet out gases that appear in the picture as
purple streaks (斑纹). Powerful magnetic fields in the area cause the jets to bend as they get further from their
source. Astronomer Dr Daniel Wang, who has worked on the image over the past year, said the new picture
described “a violent or energetic ecosystem”.
1．What can be learned about the Milky Way?
A．The center of it remains unknown.
B．The sun isn’t located in the center of it.
C．Its center is very peaceful.
D．Its center features fewer stars.
2．What’s paragraph 2 mainly about?
A．The collection of space data.
B．The function of the MeerKAT telescope.
C．The differences of space waves.
D．The formation of the new image.
3．What can we know about the gases jetted out by the black hole?
A．They will absorb surrounding materials.
B．They will form super big matter.
C．They get bent if away from their source.
D．They are likely to explode when superheated.
4．What may be the best title for the text?
A．Our galaxy’s violent heart B．An attempt to travel in outer space
C．Radio waves from outer space D．Stars’ purple streaks
Passage 2（2022·吉林长春·模拟预测）
Have a hard time waking up when it’s cold out? Scientists say your brain is to blame. A study conducted by
scientists from Northwestern University made it possible to offer some explanations for this phenomenon.
Their study on fruit flies shows how seasonally cold and dark conditions can prohibit neurons within the fly
brain that promote activity and wakefulness from sending out signals, particularly in the morning. It helps explainswhy, for both flies and humans, it is so hard to wake up in the morning in winter.
“By studying behaviors in a fruit fly, we can better understand how and why temperature is so vital to regulate
sleep,” said Marco Gallio, associate professor of neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
The study describes for the first time “absolute cold” receptors in the fly antenna, which respond to
temperature only below the fly’s “comfort zone” of about 25°C．Having recognized those neurons, the researchers
followed them all the way to their targets within the brain. They found their targets are a small group of brain
neurons that are part of a larger network that controls rhythms of activity and sleep. When the neurons they
discovered are active, the target cells, which normally are made active by morning light, are shut down.
“Temperature sensing is one of the most fundamental abilities,” said Gallio, whose group is one of only a few
in the world that are systematically studying temperature sensing in fruit flies. “The principles we are finding in the
fly brain, the logic and organization, may be the same all the way to humans. And future studies on human brain
will surely find some reference information in this study.”
5．Why is it hard for flies to wake up in cold mornings?
A．Cold conditions disable the antennas of flies.
B．Flics have fewer neurons in the brain than humans.
C．Coldness stops flies’ neurons from functioning well.
D．Flies’ neurons controlling wakefulness are damaged.
6．What do we know about the study?
A．It focuses mainly on how fly brains work.
B．It helps explain how temperature affects sleep.
C．It aims at solving humans’ sleeping problems.
D．It shows the similarities between fly brains and human brains.
7．Which part of a fruit fly will be made active when it is cold?
A．Its antenna. B．Its target cells.
C．Its “absolute cold” receptors. D．Its network controlling sleep.
8．What’s Gallio’s attitude towards the practical value of the findings?
A．Positive. B．Doubtful. C．Ambiguous. D．Disappointed.
Passage 3（2022·吉林长春·模拟预测）
New York-based Ecovative has been creating environmentally friendly packaging made from mushrooms and
agricultural waste since 2009. Now, the company wants to bring their amazing material into homes and offices with
a new line of compostable (可堆肥的) furnishings that are grown using just three materials: mycelium (thevegetative part of mushrooms), hemp (麻类植物), and salt.
While creating hard material from mushrooms might sound magical, the company’s CEO Eben Bayer says it is
a relatively low-tech process and compares it to “making bread”. The company begins by adding a few mycelium
cells to damp hemp or other agricultural waste.
The mycelium that grows like little hairs is allowed to twist with the waste until everything is ”glued“
together. The combination is then mixed again and placed into the desired mold (模具) where it continues to grow
and harden. The resulting material is then baked in the oven. In addition to making it as strong as wood, the heat
also kills the mycelium, thus giving the compostable material a similar shelf life to wood.
Also, though the table tops of the stylish Tafl and King’s tables released at the recently held Biofabricate 2016
conference in New York City resemble marble, they are far from it. The perfectly carved blocks are made of a
material grown by a North Carolina-based company named bioMASON using grains of sands and bacteria.
As you have probably guessed, this waste-free furniture does not come cheap. Customers can expect to pay
anywhere from $249 USD for the Tafl to $699 USD for the King’s table, both of which are only available in limited
quantities. Those that cannot afford those prices can choose cheaper GIY (grow it yourself) ones made of various
products ranging from Christmas tree decorations to lamp shades.
9．Why did Eben compare making hard materials to making bread?
A．Their raw materials are the same. B．Their product appearances are alike.
C．Their production processes are simple. D．Their production costs are relatively low.
10．What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
A．The method of making mushrooms hard. B．How to make mushroom furniture materials.
C．What are needed to make mushroom furniture. D．The difficulties of making mushroom furniture.
11．What can we learn about Tafl and King’s tables?
A．They are in limited supply. B．They are offered in GIY forms.
C．They consist mainly of marble. D．They are designed by bioMASON.
12．What is the best title for the text?
A．The Invention of New Kinds of Furniture
B．The First Sale of Furniture Made of Mushrooms
C．Scientists Found New Material to Make Furniture
D．Future Furniture May Be Grown from Mushrooms
Passage 4 （2022·河南安阳·模拟预测）
Instead of a human deliveryman, Beijing resident Xiao Wei received his online order for daily necessities inless than 30 minutes from an unmanned delivery vehicle.
The four-wheeled vehicle named “magic bag” is 1.56 meters high, 2.77 meters long, and 1.19 meters wide.
Weighing 500 kg, it can carry about 100 kg of goods at a time and run a distance of 100 km on a single charge with
a maximum traveling speed of 20 kph.
After customers place orders on the Meituan app, an intelligent distribution system will assign orders to those
autonomous vehicles, which will pick up and deliver goods to pick-up stations at the final destinations. Customers
can collect the delivery from the stations without any human contact during the whole process, said Meituan
Dianping, China’s major online food delivery platform.
“I can check the real-time route of the driverless vehicle. It is fast, convenient and safe as well,” said Xiao.
“This is also the first time that Meituan has used unmanned vehicles to complete delivery orders on open roads.”
Meanwhile, according to Meituan, daily sales on its retail grocery service app have increased by 200 to 300 percent
in Beijing compared to figures from before the epidemic.
The catering（餐饮）chain brand Xiaoheng Dumplings has cooperated with an unmanned vehicle enterprise
to pilot unmanned vehicle delivery services in Beijing. Li Heng, the founder of Xiaoheng Dumplings, believes
unmanned delivery is the future of the industry as it is cleaner, safer and more efficient. “An unmanned vehicle can
deliver 300 to 400 meals a day, while a deliveryman can only deliver dozens of meals,” Li said. Xiaoheng’s
unmanned vehicles have a heat preservation function. A new type of vehicle with a freezing function will be
introduced in the future to deliver frozen food.
Meituan and Xiaoheng will continue the unmanned delivery service in the future. More varieties of goods,
including food, medicine, and daily necessities, will be added to such delivery services.
13．What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?
A．The origin of driverless delivery vehicles.
B．The introduction of driverless delivery vehicles.
C．The reason for using driverless delivery vehicles.
D．The background of creating driverless delivery vehicles.
14．What are customers required to do to place orders?
A．Contact the food delivery platform.
B．Collect groceries at the pick-up station.
C．Download a Meituan app.
D．Track the real-time route of the vehicle.15．What is Li Heng’s attitude towards unmanned delivery vehicles?
A．Favorable. B．Suspicious. C．Cautious. D．Indifferent.
16．What can we learn from the text?
A．Driverless vehicles have been in operation in many cities.
B．More types of goods will be delivered by driverless vehicles.
C．Driverless vehicles can hand goods to the customers directly.
D．Meituan is experiencing a huge labor shortage of delivering.
Passage 5（2022·福建厦门·模拟预测）
Our planet is home to many radioactive substances-not just in is geologic innards but also in its hospitals, at its
industrial sites and in its food processing plants. In Colorado, for instance, 27 buildings house scary-sounding
chemical elements such as cesium 137 and cobalt 60. These materials are not there for risky purposes, though. They
play a part in cancer treatment, blood irradiation, medical and food sterilization, structure and equipment testing,
geologic exploration, etc.
The radioactive material is not always bad in a black and-white way: it can be a useful tool. The rays given off
by cesium and cobalt can kill germs multiplying in your meat and make your apples last longer. Radiographic
instruments can detect, say, cracks in a city’s pipes in a similar way to an x-ray picking up a hairline fracture in
your knee. A practice called “well logging” uses sealed radioactive sources to map the geology of holes oil seekers
drill into the earth. And of course, radiation is key to cancer treatment.
The risk arises because the same radioactive material that is beneficial could also be stolen or misplaced and
find its way into trafficking rings or dirty bombs. It might also barn workers if something accidentally goes wrong
during a normal nine-to-five day. In 2017 alone, according to a report from the James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation Studies, there were 171 “incidents of nuclear or other radioactive materials outside of regulatory
control” based on open source reports, 104 of which happened in the U.S.
An initiative called RadSecure 100 was launched to remove and better secure energetic material in 100 U.S.
cities. “Where is the most high-risk material located around the most people?” says Emily Adams, deputy director
of a domestic program in the Office of Radiological Security. “And that’s how we got our 100.”
17．What message does the author seem to convey in paragraph 1?
A．Radioactive substances can warm our planet.
B．Food processing does harm to workers in plants.
C．The radioactive material is basically everywhere.D．It’s hard to remove scary-sounding elements in buildings.
18．Why does the author mention “well logging” in paragraph 2?
A．To make a summary. B．To raise a question.
C．To provide a contrast. D．To support an idea.
19．What is RadSecure 100 intended for?
A．Making use of energetic substances. B．Ensuring safety of the radioactive material.
C．Warning people of the most high-risk material D．Protecting the Office of Radiological Security.
20．What is the writer’s attitude towards the radioactive material?
A．Pessimistic. B．Objective. C．Disapproval. D．Carefree.
Passage 6（2022·陕西·宝鸡中学模拟预测）
For thousands of years, mankind has bred plants and animals to create more desired and useful plants and
animals. For instance, modern corn has been bred to such a large size that it is no longer able to reproduce without
man’s assistance. Modern dairy cows produce too much milk; and if they are not often drained of milk, they could
leak, burst, become infected, and possibly die. Furthermore, most domesticated dogs can not survive in the wild
even with special training. Since natural evolution is extremely slow and mankind’s selective breeding programs
only take a few generations to produce a completely new species, natural evolution has already taken a backseat to
mankind’s breeding programs.
Additionally, mankind has successfully killed off several species all together. For instance, there are no more
European wolves in existence and mammoths probably became extinct because of mankind. Even certain diseases
have been permanently eradicated (根除) from the planet, and dozens of other diseases will soon follow. Again,
natural evolution did not cause most extinction during humanity’s reign.
Currently, scientists are creating new species with desired characteristics in the lab significantly faster than
evolution creates new species. In a single generation, new species can be artificially created and destroyed, while
natural evolution could take thousands of years to do the same but only haphazardly (偶然地). Scientists are even
able to replace flawed (有缺陷的) or damaged genes with different genes in an attempt to cure genetic defects. This
is something that natural evolution could possibly never correct.
Eventually scientists will be able to enhance even people. For example, imagine not only correcting your
eyesight with gene therapy, but also ensuring that all of your descendants do not inherit your old genes of poor
eyesight to. Scientists will one day be able to enhance the memory and intelligence of your children, so that they
will do better in school and achieve more in life. Doctors and scientists will be able to customize babies before theyare born just like picking options at a car dealership.
In the near future, natural evolution in the genetic code of any species can be quickly fixed if desired. As a
result, natural evolution is doomed.
21．From Paragraph 1 we learn that ______ .
A．selective breeding has improved all species
B．only selective breeding can make up for natural losses
C．modern corn can’t able to reproduce itself due to selective breeding
D．natural evolution can’t do without man’s assistance
22．The underlined word “backseat ” in Paragraph 1 probably means “ ______ ” .
A．powerful assistance B．important part
C．bad fortune D．secondary position
23．What do we know from the passage?
A．Selective breeding is partly beneficial to humans.
B．Genetic defects won’t be inherited due to natural evolution.
C．Natural evolution can’t create new species.
D．Selective breeding can determine the sex of babies.
24．The author mainly wants to tell us that ______ .
A．selective breeding will cause the extinction of many species
B．natural evolution is almost dead with the development of selective breeding
C．selective breeding has aroused attention from all over the world
D．natural evolution survives strongly although it is in danger
Passage 7（2022·安徽·合肥市第八中学模拟预测）
We are a culture drowning in our possessions. We take in more and more ( holiday, birthdays, sales,
needs ),but rarely find an opportunity to get rid of it. As a result, our homes fill up with so much stuff. And because
we believe the best solution is to find organizational tools to manage all of it, we seek out bigger containers or more
efficient organizational tips and tricks. But simply organizing our stuff must be repeated over and over.
At its heart, organizing is simply rearranging. And though we may find storage solutions today, we are quickly
forced to find new ones as early as tomorrow. Additionally, organizing has some other major shortcomings that are
rarely considered. For example, it doesn’t benefit anyone else. The possessions we rarely use sit on shelves in our
basements or garages, even while some of our closest friends desperately need them.
On the other hand, the act of getting rid of stuff from our home accomplishes many purposes. It is not atemporary solution. It is an action of permanence — once an item has been removed, it is removed completely.
Whether we re-sell our possessions, donate them to charity, or give them to a friend, they are immediately put to
use by those who need them.
Removing possessions begins to turn back our desire for more as we find freedom and happiness in owning
less. And removing ourselves from the all-consuming desire to own more creates opportunities for significant life
changes to take place.
If you’re struggling with how to get rid of stuff, you can first challenge yourself to remove the unneeded
things in your home, carry a trash bag from room-to-room, see how big of a donation pile you can make, and even
eliminate debt by selling what you no longer need.
It doesn’t matter how you remove them, for it is far better to remove than to always organize.
25．What is the problem with simply organizing stuff?
A．Few tools and tricks are available. B．It needs to be repeated very often.
C．People cannot save money by organizing. D．Desire to buy more disappears by organizing.
26．How can we remove unnecessary possessions?
A．By reselling them to others. B．By keeping them in trash bags.
C．By storing them in the garage. D．By piling them on the shelves.
27．What does the underlined word “eliminate” mean in Paragraph 5?
A．get rid of B．get over C．add to D．take charge of
28．What is the purpose of the passage?
A．To explain the advantages and disadvantages of organizing things.
B．To inform readers of the ways to get rid of unnecessary possessions.
C．To call for people to remove stuff instead of just organizing.
D．To appeal to people to make donations to people in need.
