专题07 阅读理解（说明文）
C 篇
（一）
（2025 年山西省名校联考二模）
Excitement and expectation surrounded this year’s National History Day competition. The annual event is
run by a nonprofit organization in College Park, Maryland. It encourages students in grades 4 through 12 to explore
key people and events from the past. The theme of this year was “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas”.
The program now has a global reach, with students from Central America, South Korea, and elsewhere
participating. “We’re going to have around 2,800 students from around the world here to contend,” said Lynne
O’Hara, director of the program.
The contest week in College Park and nearby Washington, D ．C．, extended beyond judging entries. It
featured events, exhibits, and documentaries at the National Museum of American History, the Museum of African
American History and Culture, and other venues.
Dr. Cathy Gorn, director of National History Day, said that she enjoyed seeing students research events of
the past and share their creativity. “Teachers,” Gorn added, “have a significant impact on students’ critical thinking
and research skills.”
Young participants also expressed their enthusiasm for the program. Students Jake Wilson and Bianca Yota
from Illinois highlighted the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. They explored lesser-known aspects of the battle for
labor rights, including the involvement of Chinese immigrants.
Lucy DiMarco, a student from Minneapolis, Minnesota, stressed the importance of shedding light on
underrepresented stories. “Black women’s stories don’t get highlighted or talked about enough,” she said. “We
wanted to bring one woman to light and talk about her.” Lucy and her classmate, Juliet Zylla, examined the
complex legacy of Henrietta Lacks, who was born in 1920. Like countless Black Americans, Lacks was used for
medical research without her knowledge or permission.
National History Day, which first took place in 1974, remains an important platform for students to explore
history and share their discoveries with others. They gain a deeper understanding of the ways key events shape
society, and they help preserve diverse historical stories.
1．What does the underlined word “contend” mean in paragraph 2?
A．Gather.
B．Respond.
C．Compete.
D．Train.
2．What did the director of National History Day stress in her words?
A．Students’ passion for research.
B．The important role of teachers.
C．The value of students’ creativity.
D．The significance of studying history.
3．What did Jake Wilson and Bianca Yota focus on in their research?
A．Unfair treatment of black women.
B．The past life of American workers.
C．Less well-known people in history.
D．The struggle of workers for labor rights.
4．What is Lucy DiMarco’s study about?
A．An ignored black woman.
B．The rights of black women.
C．A successful woman pioneer.
D．The stories of Americans.
（二）
（2025 年青海省西宁市二模）
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or
other members of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named
George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones. Some people give their children names that
mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”;
Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames (姓), were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or
Brooks probably lived near a small river; someone called-Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The
Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith,
which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers
in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart;
Potter — a person who made pots and pans. The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their
neighbors in theır natıve village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John
in the same village, John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or
a good dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added “-
s” or “-son”. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish
people added “Mac” or “Mc” or “O”. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are
descendants of the same Donnell.
1．What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A．The history of family first names.
B．The meaning of popular first names.
C．The role of family traditions in choosing first names.
D．The different ways parents choose their children’s first names.
2．Where did Donald Greenwood probably live?
A．Close to a small river.
B．Near a long, paved road.
C．In or near a green, wooded area.
D．In a village where people made tools.
3．What was the most likely occupation of the ancestors of the Potter family?
A．Making kitchen tools.
B．Making things with metals.
C．Owning or driving a cart.
D．Building houses and furniture.
4．What does the underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph mean?
A．Friends.
B．Supporters.
C．Coworkers.
D．Later generations.
（三）
（2025 年青海省部分学校二模）
Tiny black-capped chickadees (黑顶山雀) have good memories. They store food in many different locations
in the wild, and then return to these places when other food sources are low. Some researchers thought that neurons
called “place cells” would explain these birds’ ability to remember their hidden food. These cells encode
information about where things are. But recently, a team of researchers found that each time a black-capped
chickadee hides a seed in a specific location, a unique brain pattern appears in the hippocampus ( 海马体) —
separate from place cells. Selmaan Chettih, a neuroscientist from Columbia University, compared it to a barcode
(条形码).
“The hippocampus was like a flipped switch. This new pattern of activity was different from the place cells,”
Chettih says. To observe this, Chettih built a special area with feeders full of sunflower seeds in the corners. He put
wooden perches (栖息处) all over the place with small flaps where birds could hide seeds. The scientists put tiny
probes into the chickadees’ brains and tracked activity in their memory areas. Each time a bird hid a seed under a
flap, a special brain pattern appeared, like a barcode. Each bird had its own unique brain pattern for each time it hid
a seed.
When the birds revisited these sites and recovered the hidden seeds, the same barcode-like pattern
materialized again, as though all the information about each location and seed was linked to a unique brain pattern.
The researchers compared these memories to humans’ memories of specific events or personal experiences.
They are essential to how humans define themselves and bind together moments in time, people, places and sensory
information. But the mechanism for how this binding happens is still unclear.
Chettih says it’s difficult to know exactly when an animal is forming a memory. However, the fact that this
seed-hiding behavior follows a clear pattern may help scientists to understand how the brain makes and stores
memories.
1．What can we know about the chickadees from paragraph 1?
A．They are able to find their hidden food.
B．They are good at remembering barcodes.
C．They have better memories than humans. D．They lack the hippocampi in their brains.
2．Which aspect of the research does paragraph 2 mainly talk about?
A．Its function.
B．Its application.
C．Its theory.
D．Its process.
3．What does the underlined word “materialized” in paragraph 3 mean?
A．Changed.
B．Appeared.
C．Decreased.
D．Failed.
4．What does the author express in the last paragraph?
A．The secret of chickadees’ memories.
B．The difficulty in doing the research.
C．The need to further research birds’ memories.
D．The meaning of studying the seed-hiding behavior.
（四）
（2025 年陕西省商洛市二模）
Humpback whales are known, among other things, for their lengthy migrations. Much to the surprise of a
group of researchers, though, one of these creatures seems to have broken a record. After being spotted in the
Pacific Ocean off Colombia in 2017, a male whale popped up near Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean in 2022, making it
one of the longest and most unusual whale migrations ever recorded for an individual whale.
The two sightings were reported 8,106.4 miles apart. The distance is almost twice the typical migration for
whales, who travel in a north-south pattern every year from their feeding grounds in cooler waters to their warmer
breeding grounds. Instead, this particular male whale traveled in an east-west pattern from one breeding area to
another.
The researchers have two theories as to what may have caused the whale to go on this lengthy journey. The
first has to do with climate change, as the abundance of the krill they feed on may have been damaged. The other
has to do with mating. Conservation efforts in the Indian Ocean have led to new thriving communities of young
whales. There may have been heightening competition for mates in the whale’s old neighborhood, inspiring it to
look for a mating partner in another area.
Ekaterina Kalashnikova, co-author of the study, said the journey was “truly impressive and unusual even for
this highly migratory species”. The researcher also shared that humpback whales navigate with remarkable
precision. And since this one is a full-grown whale, it’s unlikely he could have simply gotten lost.
The finding was made possible by Happy Whale, an observation platform where researchers and amateur
whale watchers submit thousands of photographs of the creatures they spot, helping scientists keep track of them.
Using a technology similar to facial recognition, researchers can identify the whales by the patterns on their tails —
an identifier so unique that has long been compared to human fingerprints.
Ultimately, beyond the shock caused by the whale, these resources will help scientists better understand
whale behavior, especially in the face of challenging conditions due to global warming.
1．What does the underlined phrase “popped up” mean in paragraph 1?
A．Made a return.
B．Became hard to notice.
C．Came to a sudden stop.
D．Made an unexpected appearance.
2．Why is the male whale’s migration considered unusual?
A．It traveled in an east-west pattern.
B．It failed to navigate its way around.
C．It discovered an unfamiliar feeding ground.
D．It moved from cooler waters to warmer waters.
3．What is one potential impact of climate change on humpback whales?
A．More breeding grounds are getting lost. B．The competition for mates is increasing.
C．Their migration distances are becoming longer.
D．The food sources fall short of their needs.
4．What does paragraph 5 mainly talk about?
A．The importance of joint conservation efforts.
B．The unique tail patterns of humpback whales.
C．Happy Whale’s role in tracking and studying humpback whales.
D．New technology’s application to identifying humpback whales.
（五）
（2025 年陕西省安康市二模）
Meat cultivated(培植)from cells — with no need to raise and kill animals—is now a reality. The process of
cultivating meat uses the basic elements needed to build muscle and fat and enables the same biological process
that happens inside an animal. Cultivated meat is identical(完全相同的) to conventional meat at the cellular level.
But can it be made cheaply enough to replace animal agriculture?
More than 150 startups are pursuing an ambitious goal: meat that doesn’t require raising and killing animals
and that is affordable and tastes and feels like the meat we eat now. They are part of a young industry aiming to use
cell biology to reduce the environmental impact of the world’s ever-increasing demand for meat and change global
protein production the way electric cars are shaking up the auto industry.
“We are addicted to meat as a species. It’s part of our culture,” said Believer founder Yaakov Nahmias. “But
we thought about quantity rather than the environment, rather than sustainability.”
Although there are dozens of companies making this meat, none has yet reached commercial-level
production in terms of scale or cost. From cell line development to bio-processor design, there are a number of
scientific challenges to meet before cultivated meat is widely available at the market. Government policy is another
challenge. Only Singapore and the U. S. allow sales of cultivated meat.
And while many people who have tried it say they like it, others find the idea distasteful. A recent survey
from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that half of U. S. adults would be
unlikely to try it. When they were asked why, about half said they didn’t think it would be safe. Even Nahmias’10-
year-old son Oren said he would only eat traditional meat. “I feel bad” for the animals, he said, “but they are
yummy!”
“Until this meat costs and tastes the same as traditional meat, it will remain a specialized product,” said
Bruce Friedrich, president of the Good Food Institute.
1．Why does the writer ask a question in the first paragraph?
A．To indicate an opinion.
B．To present a worry.
C．To make an assumption.
D．To start a discussion.
2．What does the cultivated meat industry aim to do?
A．Study cell biology.
B．Provide sustainable protein.
C．End world hunger.
D．Help the traditional food industry.
3．What can we infer about cultivated meat?
A．It is not ready for mass production.
B．It is as popular as traditional meat.
C．It is safer than traditional meat.
D．It is competitive in price and quantity.
4．What is Bruce Friedrich’s attitude to the future of cultivated meat?
A．Enthusiastic.
B．Indifferent.
C．Unclear.
D．Conservative.
（五）
（2025 年陕西省安康市二模）
The international merchant fleet of more than 100, 000 cargo ( 货物) ships transports more than 80% of
global trade. But it’s also responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions (排放). Without a quick
switch from dirty fuels to cleaner energies, its pollution is forecast to increase. So sails make a comeback in
shipping.
Mariners (水手) pushing for wind power say investors used to view them as something of a joke. But as they
pioneer a comeback for sail-powered cargo ships, they’re having the last laugh. “It’s our job to prove that it’s
possible,” Jourdan, a mariner, said aboard the new Grain de Sail II as it sailed off the French port of Saint-Malo.
“We want to reduce and even remove the carbon footprint,” said Jourdan. They made their first sail-powered
cargo ship, Grain de Sail I. Later, with its latest techniques and materials, Grain de Sail II comes a supercharged
modern advanced replacement to the former sail-powered cargo ship.
In the European Union(EU), larger cargo ships have to start paying for some of their emissions from 2025
and follow new EU regulations that aim to promote low-carbon fuels. Such pressure could strengthen wind’s
appeal.
What happens when the wind doesn’t blow? A French shipper is open about the fact that when its new ship
begins sailing in 2025, it will use its fuel system when winds alone can’t meet its target of 13-day crossings. “We
accept and recognize the fact that about 30% of our energy will come from a fuel system.” a manager of the shipper
said.
“We are going to learn and improve. And we’ll build ships that are bigger, that are more specialized for
certain goods, and more efficient at every level,” the manager added. The bigger ship will also use only wind
power, except for operation in ports. That will reduce its ships’ carbon footprint to just a small part of the emissions
from fuel-powered ships.
1．What is the main reason for sails returning to shipping?
A．To lower shipping coats.
B．To reduce carbon footprint.
C．To increase trade efficiency.
D．To improve shipping capacity.
2．What was investors’ attitude to the sail-powered cargo ships?
A．Confident.
B．Unclear.
C．Objective.
D．Negative.
3．How does the French shipper deal with insufficient wind power for its new ship?
A．By adopting extra power system.
B．By relying completely on wind.
C．By stopping the operations.
D．By using alternative energy.
4．What can be a suitable title for the text?
A．The Extinction of Fuel-powered Ships. B．The New Pioneer of Carbon Reduction.
C．The Regeneration of Sail-powered Ships.D．The Rise of Low-carbon Shipping Technologies.
（七）
（2025 年宁夏回族自治区石嘴山市二模）
A study conducted by Branching Minds, an ed-tech company, found that 60-70 percent of students who were
identified as needing additional social-emotional support were also identified as needing additional academic
support.
To understand the links between social-emotional learning (SEL) and academic outcomes, the study
analyzed student screening assessments for social-emotional skills and reading and math performance of nearly 4,
000K-8 students in the 2021—2022 school year.
The study shows social-emotional skills are positively correlated with students' reading and math
performance. However, there’s still a gap in understanding how those pieces of data should be integrated and used
together to create intervention plans for students.
The study also found that social-emotional skills may act as “a protective factor” for some students
performing below academic standards, meaning that students’ social-emotional strengths could be used to boost
their academic achievement. Therefore, it would be beneficial for educators to think about more integrated support
plans for struggling students.
For example, if students struggling with reading are very social, “How can we build that into a support plan,
and perhaps make these targeted or individualized reading support groups more social and play to that strength that
they have? ” asked Essie Sutton, the director of learning science at Branching Minds. “Perhaps the students could
take on the role of teachers and explain something to their peers in order to help them practice reading
comprehension, as well as social skills,” Sutton added.
The study recommended that results from academic, social-emotional, and behavioral screeners should be
used for developing intervention plans for students. “It’s really important to look at students’ strengths and needs
comprehensively,” Sutton said. To achieve this, district and school leaders should ensure that their academic,
behavioral, and social-emotional support teams work together and that all stakeholders — students, parents, and
teachers — are part of the process of creating intervention plans.
1．How did Branching Minds obtain the links between students’ academic performances and SEL skills?
A．By giving students tests.
B．By interviewing students.
C．By conducting data analysis.
D．By carrying out experiments.
2．What can we infer from Paragraphs 3 and 4?
A．Academic achievement is critical to intervention plans.
B．Students with strong SEL skills might do well academically.
C．The data have been integrated into effective intervention plans.
D．There’s a long way to go before the data are understood.
3．What could be done for sociable students with reading problems according to Sutton?
A．Making the most of their social strengths.
B．Providing them with additional reading materials.
C．Organizing more reading support groups for them.
D．Encouraging them to consult their peers about reading.
4．Which of the following is essential for the establishment of intervention plans?
A．Technology.
B．Flexibility.
C．Assessment.
D．Cooperation.
（八）
（2025 年陕西省西安市部分学校二模）
A good night’s sleep does more than just help you feel rested — it might literally clear your mind. A new
study shows how deep sleep may wash away waste build-up in the brain during waking hours, an essential process
for maintaining brain health.
Scientists have known that the brain has a built-in waste removal system, called the glymphatic (胶质淋巴
的) system, which circulates fluid in the brain and spinal cord to clear out waste. This process helps remove
poisonous proteins that form sticky plaques ( 斑块) linked to neurological disorders. However, what drives this
system has remained unclear, until now.
Danish scientists found that a molecule called norepinephrine (去甲肾上腺素) plays a key role in the brain’s
cleaning in mice. During deep sleep, the brainstem releases tiny waves of norepinephrine about once every 50
seconds. Norepinephrine causes blood vessels (血管) to contract, generating slow pulsations that create a rhythmic
flow in the surrounding fluid to carry waste away.
“It’s like turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed and waking up with a clean brain,” says senior
author Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Copenhagen. “We’re essentially asking what drives this process and
trying to define restorative sleep based on glymphatic clearance.”
To find clues, Nedergaard and her team looked into what happens in mice when the brain sleeps.
Specifically, they focused on the relationship between norepinephrine and blood flow during deep slumber. They
found that norepinephrine waves relate to variations in brain blood volume, suggesting norepinephrine causes a
rhythmic pulsation in the blood vessels.
Researchers have observed similar norepinephrine waves, blood flow patterns, and brain fluid flux in
humans. Their findings may offer insights into how poor sleep may contribute to neurological disorders like
Alzheimer’s disease.
“Now that we know norepinephrine is driving the cleaning of the brain, we may figure out how to get people
a long and restorative sleep,” says Nedergaard.
1．What is the function of the glymphatic system?
A．To regulate blood flow.
B．To clear brain waste.
C．To control brain volume.
D．To release norepinephrine.
2．How did Nedergaard state the process of brain cleaning?
A．By analyzing data.
B．By citing prior study.
C．By asking questions.
D．By making a comparison.
3．What is paragraph 5 mainly about?
A．Blood volume variations.
B．Norepinephrine waves’ discovery.
C．The research process and findings.
D．The importance of sleep for the brain.
4．What will researchers do next?
A．Figure out how to improve sleep quality.
B．Study the role of norepinephrine in humans.
C．Identify the causes of neurological disorders.
D．Explore the link between sleep and brain health.
（九）
（2025 年陕西省西安市临潼区二模）
DeepSeek, an AI tool developed in China, has become a global hit with over 100 million users in just six
months. Within weeks, the number of its users increased dramatically, reaching more than 100M users across over
100 countries. From students to engineers, people use it to solve math problems, write reports, and even create art.
Adopted by education, healthcare, and finance sectors, it topped app stores in 35 nations globally.
AI has been widely applied in all the walks of our lives. For instance, a hospital used it to analyze patient
data and find the best treatment plans 10 times faster than before. Researchers even accelerated cancer drug
discovery by analyzing 50 million chemical compounds in weeks instead of years with the aid of AI. Another case
showed how farmers in a pilot project in Kenya, used AI to increase farm yields by 25% through smart farming
strategies.
DeepSeek’s adopted a unique algorithm (算法) which is designed to be fast and efficient, using advanced but
lightweight models that work quickly without needing a lot of resources. They focus on specific tasks, like coding
or solving technical problems, and adapt to learn from detailed data. This makes it more competitive than general-
purpose models like ChatGPT in specialized areas.
However, Dr. Li Stevia, an AI safety researcher, warns about risks. “If AI grows too fast without rules, it
might make mistakes or be used improperly,” she said. She worries that rapid development could lead to issues like
false information or privacy leaks.
To address these concerns, DeepSeek’s team announced a new “Safety Check” feature. This tool will
automatically review AI suggestions for accuracy and safety before showing them to users. “We want AI to help,
not harm,” said project leader Zhang Wei.
1．What is the first paragraph mainly telling us about DeepSeek?
A．Its target users.
B．Its sales ranking.
C．Its powerful uses.
D．Its wide popularity.
2．What is the author’s purpose in mentioning hospitals and farmers?
A．To show AI can solve real problems.
B．To compare different AI tools.
C．To explain how to use smartphones.
D．To criticize AI’s high cost.
3．Why does DeepSeek outperform ChatGPT in special tasks?
A．Because it uses more computational resources for training.
B．Because it focuses on broad applications to ensure adaptability.
C．Because it uses a specialized model to learn from detailed data.
D．Because it prioritizes slower processing to guarantee accuracy.
4．How will DeepSeek’s team remove Dr. Li Stevia’s concern?
A．By raising service prices.
B．By adding a “Safety Check” tool.
C．By stopping free services.
D．By using expensive computers.
（十）
（2025 年陕西省安康市二模）
Climate change is already having impacts like soaring temperatures, stronger hurricanes, intensified floods
and a longer and more severe wildfire season. Scientists warn ignoring it will bring “untold suffering” to humanity.
But will it lead to humans extinction?
If we just consider the direct impacts, it’s unlikely to cause our extinction. However, climate change can still
endanger hundreds of millions of lives. It may cause food and water shortage, potentially leading to a societal
collapse and global conflict.
Humans are increasing the amount of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, in the atmosphere
through the burning of fossil fuels and other activities. These gases trap and hold heat from the sun, causing global
temperatures to rise and the climate to change much faster than it otherwise would, putting humanity on a
dangerous path.
A runaway (失温)greenhouse effect is probably the only way climate change impacts could directly cause
human extinction, according to Luke Kemp, a research associate at the Centre at the University of Cambridge in the
United Kingdom. Fortunately, the runaway green-house effect is unlikely to occur on Earth. For the effect to occur,
a planet needs carbon dioxide levels of a couple of thousand parts per million (Earth has a little over 400 parts per
million) or a huge release of methane, and there isn’t evidence for that at this time, Brian Kahn, a research scientist
told NASA in 2018.
Michael Mann, an atmospheric science professor, says a global temperature increase of 3℃or more could
lead to a collapse of societal infrastructure (社会基础设施)and massive conflict, similar to Hollywood films.
Climate change could cause a societal collapse by creating food insecurity. Planet warming negatively
impacts food production, like increasing water shortage and reducing food harvests, Live Science reported. Food
production losses can increase human deaths, drive economic loss and socio-political instability.
While avoiding complete extinction doesn’t appear to be a very promising aspect of climate change, there is
reason for hope. Experts say it isn’t too late to avoid the worst-case scenarios ( 情况)with significant cuts to
greenhouse gas emissions.
“It is up to us,” Mann said. “If we fail to reduce carbon emissions substantially in the decade ahead, we are
likely committed to a worsening of already dangerous extreme weather events, coastlines inundation (淹没)due to
melting ice and rising sea level, more pressure on limited resources as a growing global population competes for
less food, water and space due to climate change impacts. If we act boldly now, we can avoid the worst impacts.”
1．What are the current impacts of climate change mentioned in the passage?
A．Lower sea-levels, fewer wildfires, and stable climate.
B．More rainfall, cooler summers, and shorter wildfire seasons.
C．Rising temperatures, stronger hurricanes, and intensified floods.
D．Decreasing temperatures, weaker hurricanes, and less severe floods.
2．What is required for a runaway greenhouse effect to occur?
A．An enormous amount of methane emissions.
B．A decrease in the amount of methane in the atmosphere.
C．An increase in the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere.
D．Carbon dioxide levels of a few hundred parts per million.
3．What is the main idea of the passage?
A．To describe the possible solutions to climate change.
B．To explain how climate change is caused by human activities.
C．To discuss whether climate change could lead to human extinction.
D．To introduce the main impacts of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere.
4．What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Humans will not be affected by climate change in the future.
B．Scientists have found a way to completely stop climate change.
C．The runaway greenhouse effect is likely to happen on Earth in the future.
D．Climate change doesn’t directly cause human extinction but brings serious problems.
（十一）
（2025 年陕西省渭南市二模）
In a new study, researchers used artificial intelligence (AI) to confirm that an app can identify poison ivy (毒
藤).
Poison ivy ranks among the most medically problematic plants. Up to 50 million people worldwide suffer
annually from rashes ( 皮疹) caused by contact with the plant, a climbing, woody vine native to America and
several areas in Asia.
It’s found on farms, in woods, landscapes, fields, hiking trails, and other open spaces. So, if you go to those
places, poison ivy can lead to reactions that require medical attention. Worse, most people don’t know poison ivy
when they see it.
The new app could help change that.
“We were the first to do this, and it was designed as a tool for hikers or others working outdoors,” says
Nathan Boyd, a professor at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. “The app uses a camera to
identify in real time if poison ivy is present and provides you with a measure of certainty for the detection. It also
functions even if you are not connected with the Internet.”
The next step is to make the app commercially available, and there’s no timetable for that yet, Boyd says.
For the study, researchers collected thousands of images of poison ivy from five locations.
They labeled images, and in each image, scientists put boxes around the leaves and stems of the plant. The
boxed images were critical because poison ivy has a unique leaf arrangement and shape. Scientists use those
characteristics to identify the plant.
They then ran the images through AI programs and taught a computer to recognize which plants are poison
ivy. They also included images of plants that are not poison ivy or plants that look like poison ivy to be certain the
computer learns to distinguish them.
“We believe that by integrating an object-detection algorithm, public health, and plant science, our research
can encourage and support further investigations to understand poison ivy distribution and minimize health
concerns,” Boyd says.
1．Who needs this app most?
A．Wendy, a medical science student.
B．George, an adventurous game lover.
C．Mr. Johnathan, a computer engineer.
D．Ben James, an outdoor hiking enthusiast.
2．What can we know about the app from the passage?
A．It can work offline.
B．It’s already come into the market.
C．It is supported by the genetic algorithm.
D．It applies sound waves to identify poison ivy.
3．The last four paragraphs mainly talk about ______.
A．the profit contribution made by the app B．the steps to develop the app
C．the reason for inventing the app
D．the disadvantage of the app
4．What is the suitable title for the passage?
A．Good News to Rash Patients.
B．An App Saves Poison Ivy.
C．An AI-powered Poison Ivy Detector.
D．Good Tools to Eliminate Poison Ivy.
（十二）
（2025 年山西省临汾市二模）
A green belt that stretches for 2,000 hectares (公顷) now completely rings the city of Ouagadougou. It began
life back in the 1970s and its original aim is to reforest 2,100 hectares at an annual rate of 100 hectares against the
desert that lies beyond the greenery, just a few steps away.
But a new stimulus has recently been given to the project, which seeks, beyond holding back the desert, to
fight the heat and promote urban agriculture to help feed a city that has doubled its population in just 14 years. The
deadly heat wave that hit the country in 2024 hammered home the urgency of what is now a vital project for the
city.
“One of the objectives of the greenbelt is to lower the city’s temperature; that’s why we’re also planting
trees”, said Moumini Sawadogo of the Spanish-Red Cross, which financed a 2-hectare garden as part of the belt,
including the construction of two water wells and training in agroecology. Research has shown that botanical
gardens are the green spaces with the greatest capacity to lower city temperatures and that sites such as Royal
Botanical Garden in London reduced ai r temperature during the heatwaves in the city streets by an average of 5℃.
City residents can have a plot of six béds. Cabbage, onion, mint, lettuce and papaya are now found in the
plots. “My suffering has decreased because I have food and earn money,” said Ibundo, 55, who has lived his entire
life collecting stones to sell — a job for those seeking to earn a daily living by any means. The belt can also offer a
solution to people fleeing rural areas, who are accustomed to working the land, like Lassina Kahoré, 54, who used
to work as a cereal farmer, but had to give up his farm. He now looks after six beds of lettuce. “Where deserts once
stole our hope, these leaves now write new stories,” he said.
1．What is the initial goal of the green belt?
A．To increase vegetable output.
B．To expand forest coverage.
C．To prevent land desertification.
D．To conserve water resources.
2．What does the underlined words “hammered home” probably mean?
A．Hit.
B．Emphasized.
C．Addressed.
D．Ignored.
3．Why is Royal Botanical Garden in London mentioned?
A．To demonstrate the aid of Red Cross.
B．To prove the success of the green belt.
C．To illustrate the concept of designing gardens.
D．To show the cooling effect of botanical gardens.
4．What does Lassina Kaboré’s statement imply?
A．The benefits of global cooperation.
B．Improved quality of life by the project.
C．The necessity of training in agriculture.
D．Collective efforts made by local residents.
（十三）
（2025 年山西省晋中市二模）
The Internet is often criticized as a source of many modern-day challenges, from comparison traps and
information overload to negativity biases. These issues are closely associated with our digital culture, raising
concerns about its impact on mental health and social well-being. However, a new study by the Oxford Internet
Institute suggests that the Internet’s role in our lives is not entirely negative. In fact, it may also be a significant
driver of life satisfaction and social well-being for many people.
The study, which analyzed data from 168 countries between 2006 and 2021, involved over two million
participants aged 15 to 99. Researchers examined eight indicators of well-being, including life satisfaction, daily
positive and negative experiences, and community well-being. The findings revealed that in 85% of cases, Internet
access and active Internet use were associated with higher levels of well-being. For the majority of individuals, the
Internet serves as a powerful tool for connection, education, and personal growth. It enables people to access
valuable resources, maintain relationships, and engage with communities, all of which contribute to a sense of
fulfillment and happiness.
However, the study also identified a notable exception. In 5% of cases, Internet use was linked to negative
outcomes, particularly among young women aged 15 to 24. They reported lower levels of well-being, a finding
congruent with previous research that linked increased Internet usage to depression in young women and teenage
girls. The reasons for this are complex but may include factors such as cyberbullying, social media-induced
comparison, and the pressure to follow unrealistic online standards.
The timing of this research is significant, as governments worldwide are considering new laws and
guidelines to address concerns about online safety. The researchers ask policymakers to carefully consider the data
before carrying out new laws, emphasizing that while the Internet can have negative effects, it also has the potential
to be a positive force. With proper guidance, education, and safety measures, the Internet can continue to enhance
well-being for many.
In conclusion, while the Internet is not without its challenges, its impact on society is multifaceted (多方面
的). For most, it is a source of connection, knowledge, and empowerment. By addressing its downsides and making
use of its benefits, we can create a digital environment that supports and enriches lives globally.
1．What do the findings of the new study mainly show?
A．Young people are the main users of the Internet.
B．The Internet is criticized for information overload.
C．Adults benefit more from the Internet than other age groups.
D．Internet access is linked to higher levels of well-being in most cases.
2．What does the underlined part “congruent with” in paragraph 3 probably mean?
A．Unrelated to.
B．Different from.
C．Consistent with.
D．Independent of.
3．What do the researchers suggest policymakers do?
A．Give careful consideration to their findings.
B．Underline the advantages of the Internet more.
C．Make strict laws to monitor the Internet companies.
D．Carry out new laws instantly to ensure online safety.
4．Which is the most suitable title for the text?
A．The Dark Side of Internet Usage.
B．How the Internet Benefits the Youth.
C．The Decline of Social Well-Being in the Digital Age.
D．Internet’s Positive Impact on Well-Being Despite Concerns.
（十四）
（2025 年陕西省渭南市二模）
first glance, a dead tree might just look like a lifeless, fallen log. But look closer: beneath the rotting bark (树
皮), the wood is full of life. Upon its death, the tree’s tightly sealed tube system, previously used to transport
nutrients and water, becomes empty and allows some creatures to pass through, according to Matteo Garbelotto, a
professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
These empty trunks, still standing upright, are also called snags or wildlife trees. Because of their verticality,
they can host a high diversity of species that varies from top to bottom. Fallen trees, often called logs, are also
valuable habitats, though for smaller species, Garbelotto says. Both types attract all sorts of life, starting with fungi
(真菌).
Fungi do much of the hard work of speeding up the decomposition process, softening the hard trunk into
something with many small holes. This allows in a whole host of species seeking food and shelter: beetles get in to
lay egg, amphibians nestle under the bark, and birds feeding on insects build nests within the trunk itself.
The collection of wildlife changes over the course of the tree’s decay ( 腐烂), with each new species
contributing to and profiting from the process. Logs generally increase opportunities for insects, amphibians, and
reptiles and make a good combination with snags, Garbelotto says.
While some species like bark beetles and woodpeckers strongly prefer dead or rotting wood for nesting,
others, including wood-decaying fungi, can only survive in deadwood.
And it’s not just the animals that benefit from decaying trees. They provide natural protection and support
for young seedlings to grow. As trees decompose, carbon and nitrogen stores are slowly reabsorbed into the soil, a
critical step in nutrient recycling, both for young trees and for the larger ecosystem.
From a climate perspective, letting trees rot is critical. Large trees in particular act as significant carbon
sinks, which can absorb the carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, and allowing them to decompose naturally
reduces the amount of carbon dioxide — and, thus, heat — in the atmosphere.
Whenever possible, forestry experts prefer to leave dead trees untouched.
1．What is the main function of dead trees according to paragraph 1?
A．They block the growth of young seedlings.
B．They provide food and shelter for large animals.
C．They support species and maintain biodiversity.
D．They have little ecological impact when decaying.
2．What does the underlined word “verticality” most likely mean?
A．The age of a tree.
B．The height of a tree.
C．The empty structure of a tree.
D．The upright position of a tree.
3．Which of the following about fungi is true?
A．They prefer wildlife trees to fallen logs. B．They provide nesting spaces for insects.
C．They seal the tube system of dead trees. D．They accelerate the breakdown of dead trees.
4．What is the best title of the passage?
A．The Afterlife of a Dead Tree.
B．The Silent Power of Nature.
C．The Quite Decay of Fallen Leaves.
D．The Battle Against a Tree’s Decay.
（十五）
（2025 年陕西省山西省宁夏青海省四省二模）
Are you afraid of answering the phone?
A topic that has emerged on the Internet recently is why young people dislike answering phone calls, leading
to heated discussions.
“Once the phone rings, I become anxious. I put it aside and wait for the other person to hang up,” an Internet
user shared her reaction to the phone ringing, one of the most popular ways young people deal with phone calls.
However, it was different in the past, when everyone waited in line in front of telephone booths to make calls.
As technology has developed, phones have gained more functions, changing how we communicate. A 2023
report from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that people in China talked on their
mobile phones for a total of 2.24 trillion minutes. This is 22.8 percent less than a decade ago, reflecting a shift from
talking to texting.
“What’s more, compared with text communication, talking on the phone doesn’t give people enough time to
think and breathe,” Liu Shuangqing, a cognitive psychologist at China University of Political Science and Law, told
Beijing Youth Daily. “This immediate forced participation can make people feel stressed. The initiative to
participate is also taken away by the caller, making the person answering the phone feel passive. What’s more,
people can’t see the facial expressions and body language, but only hear tones and words, which makes the person
answering the call overthink the caller’s real meaning.”
Unlike texting, where people can show their feelings through memes (表情包), phone calls miss out on a lot
of key information. Albert Mehrabian, a psychologist and communication researcher, found that 55 percent of
meaning is communicated through body language, 38 percent through tone of voice and 7 percent through spoken
words.
Moreover, answering the phone is like opening a blind box. It can ring at any time and can bring good news
or bad news, which creates a sense of uncertainty.
1．What do young people usually think of phone calls?
A．They are a primary approach to communication.
B．They strengthen their bond with others.
C．They can remove their anxiety in life.
D．They put them under great pressure.
2．What may account for people’s attitude to phone calls?
A．The increasing desire for being alone.
B．The high pressure from study and work.
C．The effectiveness of face-to-face communication.
D．The accessibility to various ways of communication.
3．What do Liu Shuangqing’s words imply?
A．Talking on the phone will make people too nervous to breathe.
B．The callers may not express their meaning clearly on the phone.
C．The person answering the phone has to respond immediately and passively.
D．People usually pay little attention to their tones and words when making calls.
4．What can be known from Mehrabian’s discovery?
A．Body language plays a vital role in communication.
B．People generally have different ways of communication.
C．Spoken words are of little value in getting across messages.
D．People prefer communicating through body language to words.
（十六）
（2025 年山西省吕梁市二模）
If the other paintings in the room that houses Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris could talk, they
might be whispering “Good riddance (解脱) !” to one another right now. That’s owing to the French government’s
announcement that the world’s most famous painting is to be removed from the Salle des Etats and rehoused in its
own space in the Louvre with a dedicated entrance.
This particular space, accessible independently from the rest of the museum, will allow Mona Lisa’s
conditions of exhibition, presentation and interpretation it deserves. The move that aims to relieve the Louvre’s
overcrowding problem isn’t just great for Mona Lisa. It could also allow the dozens of other artworks in the Salle
des Etats by the likes of Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese to finally receive their due.
“People have just been coming to check their ‘I paid a visit to Mona Lisa’s box’ ”, said Souleymane, a
professor of French and philosophy at Columbia University who was appointed by the museum in 2024 to give a
series of lectures about its art collection. “And even if you go to that room with the intention of looking at the other
paintings, you would be distracted (分散注意力) by Mona Lisa.” The other major paintings in the space include
Titian’s Pastoral Concert, Tintoretto’s The Coronation of the Virgin, and Veronese’s The Wedding Feast at Cana,
which is a huge painting that people don’t look at because it’s on the wall that faces Mona Lisa.
“The Wedding Feast at Cana is one of the treasures of the Louvre,” said Compagnon, a professor at the
College de France and at Columbia University. Compagnon is also excited for visitors to be able to pay attention to
his favorite painting in the room, Titian’s Man with a Glove.
1．Why is Mona Lisa being moved to a new space in the Louvre?
A．To make room for an exhibition.
B．To make it convenient for experts to study it.
C．To improve its exhibition conditions and reduce overcrowding.
D．To highlight its importance as the world's most famous artwork.
2．What is Souleymane’s attitude towards the government’s announcement?
A．Doubtful.
B．Approving.
C．Cooperative.
D．Dismissive.
3．Which of the following paintings is exhibited opposite to Mona Lisa?
A．Pastoral Concert.
B．The Coronation of the Virgin.
C．The Wedding Feast at Cana.
D．Man with a Glove.
4．What does Compagnon imply about Mona Lisa?
A．It deserves better protection.
B．It fails to live up to its fame.
C．It should be promoted through lectures.
D．It takes visitors’ attention away from other exhibits.
（十七）
（2025 年陕西省汉中市二模）
Encouraging bilingualism (双语能力) at home can have many cognitive benefits, which may be particularly
helpful to kids with autism spectrum disorder (孤独症谱系障碍) or ASD, new research from the University of
Miami’s College of Arts and Sciences indicates.
A team of researchers led by Celia Romero, a graduate student in clinical psychology, explored the role of
bilingualism in 112 children, including typically developing children and children with autism, between the ages of
7 to 12 years old. Overall, they found that children who spoke two or more languages often had stronger executive
(执行的) functioning skills. This means they are able to control impulses (冲动) and to switch between different
tasks more easily than children who only spoke one language.
The results are significant because executive functioning skills are a key challenge for children on the
spectrum but are important for all kids to thrive in school and later in the workplace. Yet, the team found the
benefits of speaking more than one language were not limited to children with autism.
The study also looked at the impact of multilingualism on core symptoms of autism, including perspective
taking, restricted and repetitive behaviors and social communication.
“We also found that multilingual children have enhanced perspective taking skills, or the ability to
understand someone else’s thoughts or point of view,” Romero said.
An idea called joint activation from the field of neuroscience can help explain the results. Prior research
suggests that the bilingual brain has two languages constantly active and competing. As a result, the daily
experience of shifting between these languages is associated with enhanced executive control. This concept is also
known as the “bilingual advantage”, according to the researchers.
“If you have to juggle two languages, you have to suppress one in order to use the other. That’s the idea that
inhibition — or the ability to stop yourself from doing something — might be enhanced by knowing two
languages,” said another researcher.
1．What benefit does bilingualism bring to children with ASD?
A．Social skill enhancement.
B．Academic performance boost.
C．Cognitive ability improvement.
D．Language learning acceleration.
2．What can we say about executive functioning skills?
A．They contribute to better leadership skills.
B．They affect children’s future work life.
C．They determine children’s language level.
D．They enhance children’s physical abilities.
3．What may happen when speaking two languages?
A．Learning delay.
B．Language confusion.
C．Delayed multitasking.
D．Brain language competition.
4．What does the underlined word “juggle” in the last paragraph mean?
A．Employ.
B．Switch.
C．Adapt.
D．Explore.
（十八）
（2025 年山西省晋城市二模）
It’s impossible to predict when we’re going to die. But if we’re aiming for a long and healthy life, it pays to
worry less about our genes ( 基因) — which we can’t change anyway — and more about our lifestyle and
surroundings. That’s the conclusion of a new study published in Nature Medicine.
The study was based on data from more than 490,000 people, all of whom are registered with the UK
Biobank, a massive collection of participants’ detailed medical histories. The researchers used this rich data to
study the influence of genes and more than 100 environmental and socioeconomic factors on the risk of 22 diseases
that make up most of the major causes of death.
To do that, they focused especially closely on a subset of 45,000 people whose blood samples had been
subjected to what is known as proteomic profiling: an analysis of thousands of proteins or genes that help
determine physical age compared to calendar age.
“We can get an estimation of how quickly or slowly each participant is aging biologically compared to their
calendar age,” says lead author Austin Argentieri from Massachusetts General Hospital. “This is referred to as the
‘proteomic age gap’, since it’s the gap in years between protein-predicted age and calendar age.”
Just knowing that age gap, of course, is only part of the picture. Equally important is the cause of that gap.
To help determine that, the researchers analyzed people’s many environmental and behavioral exposures that
contribute to disease and biological age. These factors include income, neighborhood, employment status, diet, as
well as whether people smoke or exercise regularly. To cover the genetic side, researchers looked for genetic
markers associated with the 22 key diseases.
The results were striking. Environment and lifestyle accounted for 17% of people’s disease-related risk of
dying, compared to just 2% for genetics. Of the various environmental exposures, smoking was the riskiest
behavior, linked to 21 diseases; socioeconomic factors such as income, neighborhood were associated with 19
diseases; and a lack of physical activity was linked to 17 diseases.
1．What did the researchers do in their study?
A．They analyzed the causes of 22 diseases.
B．They focused on 100 environmental factors.
C．They interviewed more than 490,000 people.
D．They collected blood samples from 45,000 people.
2．Which of the following is the so-called proteomic age gap?
A．Protein-predicted age + calendar age.
B．Calendar age-Proteomic age gap.
C．Protein-predicted age - calendar age.
D．Proteomic age gap - calendar age.
3．Which factor has the biggest effect on our health?
A．Diet.
B．Income.
C．Physical activity.
D．Smoking.
4．What can we learn from the new research?
A．Our genes determine our intelligence.
B．Our lifestyles matter more than our genes.
C．It is easy to control the environmental factors.
D．It is vital to monitor some diseases in advance.
（十九）
（2025 年山西省部分学校二模）
A machine can now not only play a perfect game of chess but also write poetry that matches the greats. Last
month, in a poetry competition in New York City, an AI named Poet Bot impressed the judges, outperforming
several well-known poets, including Sarah Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. This showed the remarkable
advancements in artificial intelligence.
Brilliant as it is, Poet Bot has limitations. It constructs lines by selecting phrases from its database of poems
and combining them in ways that follow poetic forms. This method can sometimes produce meaningless lines that
no human poet would write. For example, Poet Bot might put together phrases that sound poetic but lack clear
emotional depth. These issues will likely be fixed over time, but they highlight a deeper challenge.
As Dr. Emily Rivera, a professor at Yale University, explained, “The system lacks an understanding of the
emotions and experiences behind the words.” She noted that while Poet Bot can generate structurally sound poetry,
it often misses the slight details that make human poetry impactful.
What Dr. Rivera refers to is the essence of human creativity, which separates even the least skilled human
poet from the most advanced AI. A computer processes symbols according to programmed rules, transforming
inputs into outputs without understanding their significance. For humans, however, writing poetry is an expression
of emotion. The arrangement of words in a poem is not just about their order but about the feelings they convey.
This is why human poets can bring out deep emotions and connect with readers on a personal level, something that
Poet Bot, despite its technical skills, struggles to achieve.
Creativity arises from emotional interactions, not just computational processes. These experiences shape
symbols in our minds, and the cultural and social contexts in which we live give them depth. This difference
ensures that, despite Poet Bot’s abilities, the art of poetry — rooted in the times of Homer and Li Bai — will
remain a unique human effort. As technology advances, AI may assist human creativity but will never replace the
richness of human experience that fuels artistic expression.
1．Why does the author mention Sarah Johnson in paragraph 1?
A．To discuss the design of Poet Bot.
B．To highlight the success of Poet Bot.
C．To explain the competition’s rules.
D．To introduce a judge of the competition.
2．What does the underlined word “limitations” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A．Features.
B．Strengths.
C．Shortcomings.
D．Goals.
3．What is Poet Bot unable to do according to Dr. Rivera?
A．Understand emotions.
B．Select phrases.
C．Follow poetic forms.
D．Stick to rules.
4．What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A．Cultural contexts are irrelevant to poetry.
B．AI will soon overtake human poets in creativity.
C．Machines will eventually understand human emotions.
D．Human creativity is deeply rooted in personal experiences.
（二十）
（2025 年青海省西宁市大通县二模）
With a desktop 3D printer, you can do anything. From making prosthetic legs or wheelchairs for immobile
animals to stylish pieces of decorations—this technology is proposing a faster and more efficient method that you
can take advantage of to create things in the comfort of your home.
In spite of the recent craze for 3D printers, this groundbreaking technology is actually older than you think.
Desktop 3D printers have been made use of by designers and engineers for more than 30 years, but only recently
have these multifunctional machines made their way into homes and become increasingly popular. Today, 3D
printing has enabled freedom and creativity for everyone to create almost anything without the need for a
storehouse or expensive machinery. French designer, Rémy Vicarini pioneered 3D-printed helmets (头盔) for his
adventure-loving cat, Cathode.
Vicarini’s journey began with advanced CAD software like Fusion 360 to ensure the safety of his cat during
outdoor activities such as cycling and skiing, where he mapped Cathode’s unique head dimensions to make a
helmet tailored to it. During the design process, he employed Boolean operations to generate honeycomb-shaped
ventilation (通风) holes on the helmet’s surface and integrated adjustable buckle (锁扣) structures, balancing safety
and comfort. This digital-to-physical workflow reduced the trial-and-error costs of traditional handcrafting.
The future of 3D printing holds huge potential, driven by advancements in materials, speed and accessibility.
As the technology improves, we can expect printers to become faster, more affordable, and capable of handling a
wider range of materials, including biodegradable (可生物降解的)plastics and even metals. This will revolutionize
industries like healthcare, enabling on-demand production of prosthetics and implants tailored to individual
patients. In homes, 3D printers could become as common as microwaves, allowing people to create everything
from custom furniture to replacement parts. Moreover, AI integration may streamline design processes, making 3D
printing even more user-friendly.
1．What can we know from paragraph 2?
A．The popularity of 3D printing.
B．The complexity of 3D printing.
C．The role model of 3D printers.
D．The origin of 3D printers.
2．What does the text say about Vicarini’s design process?
A．It needs to be mechanized.
B．It is cost-saving.
C．It used advanced materials.
D．It is time-consuming.
3．What can be concluded about the future 3D printing?
A．It will rarely benefit the healthcare industry.
B．Biodegradable plastics will make it more affordable.
C．The employment of AI will be the most crucial factor.
D．It will lead to a significant transformation in daily life.
4．What’s the best title for the text?
A．A Cat Makes Its Owner Popular
B．3D-Printed Helmets Prove Practical
C．3D Printing Brings Creation
D．Technology Development Is the Key
D 篇
（一）
（2025 年山西省名校联考二模）
Tracee Herbaugh lives in the Boston area of Massachusetts. She thought she was alone in her backyard
recently when she used the Merlin Bird ID app. She learned by listening that she was surrounded by more than 12
kinds of birds.
“Two birds identified by the app, veery (画眉鸟) and great homed owl, even had a red dot next to their
names. The red dot means it is an unusual sighting.” Herbaugh wrote, “Who knew these birds could be in one
yard?”
Cornell Lab of Ornithology is the maker of Merlin Bird ID．The app was released in 2014. At first, the app
only identified birds by their photos through Photo ID．The user answered a series of questions about the photo to
help identify the bird, such as date, area, color, and size. The app became popular during the pandemic, when
people increasingly wanted to be outdoors.
In 2021, Cornell Lab added Sound ID to identify birds by their sound. In the United States alone, Merlin’s
Sound ID can identify over 700 kinds of birds. More than 7 million people now use the Merlin Bird ID worldwide.
Alli Smith works on the Merlin project at Cornell Lab. Smith said bird watching by sound “opens up a whole
new world” “Even if you cannot see the birds,” he added, “you can hear their beautiful songs and know they’re
sharing your neighborhood.”
More than birds, Herbaugh said the app also helped her reconnect with people across the country. When
Herbaugh shared her bird list on social media, two childhood friends who also used the app messaged her about it.
Her relative in Montana shared a list of birds. And even her young children now quickly go for the app when they
hear an unfamiliar bird call.
Herbaugh has identified 45 birds on her list so far. She said now her children are the ones driving her to get
more on the bird list.
1．What does a red dot next to a bird’s name mean?
A．The bird is rarely seen.
B．The bird is endangered.
C．This bird is a new species.
D．The bird is beneficial to crops.
2．How did the app perform its functions initially?
A．By recording bird sounds.
B．By recognizing images of birds.
C．By asking experts online.
D．By tracking movements of birds.
3．What does the author intend to tell us in paragraph 6?
A．Another way of protecting birds.
B．The popularity of recording bird calls.
C．The enjoyment of listening to birds.
D．Another benefit of the Merlin Bird ID app.
4．Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A．App Identifies Birds by Sound
B．App Gets Kids Interested in Birds
C．Old App Gains New Reputation
D．Birds May Hide in Your Yard
（二）
（2025 年青海省西宁市二模）
In a British writer’s essay written in 1891, he imagined a future, not unlike the one we are imagining today
in the age of artificial intelligence, where machines would undertake all forms of labour. And humankind would
enjoy a leisured life, with people spending their days painting, composing and writing poetry.
Idealistic as it is, the writer’s fantasy captures the core of the humanities(人文学科) to our existence. People
turned to music, art and literature to fill their time, to relieve loneliness, and to provide distractions from the fears.
Therefore, the humanities are worthy of scholarly attention and research funding, although this is not the case right
now.
The humanities are at the heart of the ways we respond to every situation, from relationships and illness to
the horrors of global warming. Scholars working in the environmental humanities do essential research that informs
scientific thinking. For example, by looking at Anthony Trollope’s record of his visit to Australia and New Zealand
in the early 1870s, we can learn a lot about how European farming techniques began a process of ecological
damage, whose effects are ongoing.
Researchers also used to examine literary responses to bush fires. Surprisingly, this caught the interest of fire
scientists and historians because the stories the researchers unearthed offered direct evidence of changing fire
management systems. Fire-affected communities were also drawn to the work because it reflected their own
experiences. More broadly, working on the history, literature and emotional responses to natural disasters is
essential in an earthquake-prone nation like ours.
Humanities research can be vital during times of crisis. The work of musicologist colleagues, whose research
with dementia choirs is of huge significance in identifying strategies to slow the effects of conditions such as
Alzheimer’s disease. The medical humanities have been important in understanding the cultural effects and
representations of disease. The humanities help us understand identity and conflict, and they promote empathy and
well-being.
The humanities have been lacking fund for decades, yet the field still produces world-class research. Just
imagine the contribution researchers could make if their work was more highly valued.
1．How does the author introduce the topic of the text?
A．By giving a definition.
B．By explaining some reasons.
C．By describing a phenomenon.
D．By quoting a writer’s imagination.
2．What is the core of the humanities?
A．Assisting us to develop farming techniques.
B．Enhancing our academic research capability.
C．Helping us cope with various tricky situations.
D．Improving our ability to deal with natural disasters.
3．What does the author think of the humanities research in natural disasters?
A．It’s significant. B．It’s challenging.
C．It’s costly.
D．It’s advanced.
4．What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A．To give some examples of the humanities.
B．To call for more attention to the humanities.
C．To tell us the history of humanities research.
D．To show the research findings of the humanities.
（三）
（2025 年陕西省商洛市二模）
A new study uses artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the timing of a pediatric ( 儿科的) language
milestone: Children are able to say something novel that they have not heard before by using a language rule. “A
difficult problem in describing language acquisition ( 习得) is knowing when children go beyond their input to
produce novel, structured utterances (话语) — that is to say, to achieve linguistic productivity, the hallmark of
human language,” wrote one of the study’s researchers.
When do children go beyond imitating what they have heard and start producing their own original
structured utterances? In other words, at what moment do children attain linguistic productivity? This question is a
challenging one to answer scientifically as it requires knowing every utterance a child has encountered. To solve
this, the researchers used massive real-world behavioral data gained over an extended period of time and a
complicated AI model to make sense of the data.
The behavioral data used contains audio scripts of over a million autonomous utterances of 90-minute
interactions between 64 English-learning children and their parents at home gained every four months during the
ages of 14 months to 58 months. From this massive database of utterances, the team aimed to use AI models to
determine the onset and development pathways of when the children started using determiner-noun combinations in
English, such as “a book”, “the book” and more.
“Our behavioral data gave us a rich picture of when children begin to productively combine determiners ‘a’
and ‘the’ with the same noun. On average, children begin to make productive determiner-noun combinations at 30
months old, which is approximately nine months after saying their first determiner,” wrote the researchers.
The researchers proved that they could computationally model the onset and pathways of linguistic
productivity with AI. As for next steps, the researchers say that they can use the same model to understand the
possible contributing factors that lead to the different timing and rate of language productivity in the future.
1．What’s the main goal of the new study?
A．To track the language acquisition.
B．To know when children get linguistic productivity.
C．To introduce the language milestone.
D．To analyze how AI plays a role in pediatric language.
2．What is paragraph 3 mainly about?
A．The styles and quality of audio scripts.
B．The ways and theories of language acquisition.
C．The sources and functions of behavioral data.
D．The effects and consequences of linguistic productivity.
3．When do children probably start speaking their first determiner?
A．At about 30 months old.
B．At about 21 months old.
C．At about 39 months old.
D．At about 42 months old.
4．What can we infer about the AI model from the last paragraph?
A．It can meet potential research needs.
B．It can predict language decline.
C．It can forecast economic trends.
D．It can improve linguistic productivity.
（四）
（2025 年陕西省安康市二模）
Scientists often compare coral reefs(珊瑚礁) to underwater rainforests, yet unlike the leafy plant base of a
forest, corals are animals. The soft creatures are naturally half-transparent and get their brilliant color from algae(藻
类) living inside them. When corals experience stress from hot temperatures or pollution, they halt the
interdependent relationship with algae, typically pushing them out and turning white. Corals are still alive when
they are white, but they're at risk and many eventually die, turning dark brown.
Scientists around the world are looking for means to protect and maybe increase corals. One common option
is to create more protected areas — essentially national parks in the ocean. Beyond nature preserves, some
conservationists are looking to more hands-on methods. One research center in the Florida Keys is exploring a form
of natural selection to keep corals remaining. The reef system in the Keys has been hit hard by climate change and
pollution, which is especially tough, because corals there help support fisheries worth $ 100 million every year.
To keep the wild ecosystem alive, Erinn Muller, the center's director, and her team are harvesting samples of
the corals that survived the environmental stress naturally, keeping them to make them reproduce, and then
reattaching them to the reef. They have 46,000 corals on plastic frames under the sea. So far, the center has regrown
over 70,000 corals from five different species on damaged reefs.
In The Bahamas, Ross Cunning, a research biologist at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, focuses on corals with
genes that could make them natural candidates for restoration projects. He published a study of two Bahamian
reefs, one that survived an extreme 2015 heat wave, and one that didn't. "We think their ability to deal with these
higher temperatures is built into their genes," says Cunning. There's evidence of corals evolving more quickly to
resist rapidly warming climate. The big question scientists need investigate, adds Gunning, is how much more heat
corals can adapt to.
1．What does the underlined word "halt" in the first paragraph mean?
A．End.
B．Develop.
C．Strengthen.
D．Weaken.
2．What do Muller and her team do to save corals?
A．Restore the damaged reefs.
B．Grow corals by hand underwater.
C．Create more protected areas.
D．Move corals to unpolluted areas.
3．What do Gunning's words suggest?
A．Many corals have been genetically improved. B．Cooling down the waters is key to rescuing corals.
C．Reasons for corals surviving heat waves are shocking.
D．The highest temperature corals can survive is
unclear.
4．Which can be a suitable title for the text?
A．Relationship between corals and algae
B．Efforts made to save corals
C．Impact of climate warming on corals
D．Survival crisis faced by coral reefs
（五）
（2025 年青海省海东市第二中学二模）
Mars may be around 140 million miles away from Earth, but the red planet is influencing our deep oceans by
helping drive “giant whirlpools” according to new research.
Scientists analyzed sediments (沉积物), drilled from hundreds of deep-sea sites over the past half century, to
look back tens of millions of years into Earth’s past, in order to better understand the strength of deep ocean
currents.
What they found surprised them. The sediments revealed that deep-sea currents weakened and strengthened
over 2. 4 million-year climate cycles. “These cycles are linked to the interactions of Mars and Earth orbiting the
sun,” said Adriana Dutkiewicz, the study’s co-author.
The two planets affect each other through a phenomenon called “resonance” which is when two orbiting
bodies apply a gravitational ( 重力的) push and pull on each other — sometimes described as a kind of
harmonization between distant planets. This interaction changes the shape of their orbits, affecting how close they
are to each other and their distance from the sun. For Earth, this interaction with Mars translates to periods of
increased solar energy — meaning a warmer climate — and this is related to more strong ocean currents.
These currents, described as “giant whirlpools”, could reach the bottom of the deep ocean, eroding (侵蚀)
the seafloor and causing large accumulations of sediments, like snowdrifts. Deep-sea sediments build in continuous
layers during calm conditions while strong ocean currents disrupt this, leaving a visible stamp of their existence.
“This geological record provides us with valuable insights about how the oceans operate in a warmer world,
especially nowadays when global warming is heating up oceans,” added Adriana.
Joel Hirschi, associate head of the National Oceanography Centre in the UK, who was not involved in the
research, said the finding of a 2. 4 million-year cycle in sea sediments was noteworthy. However, he added, “The
link with the ocean circulation is speculative and the evidence that deep ocean circulation is stronger in warm
climates is thin.”
1．The interaction between Mars and Earth directly affects ________.
A．the distance between them
B．their shapes and sizes
C．their gravitational forces
D．the sediments on them
2．What happens on Earth in warmer climates?
A．More sediments build on the seashore.
B．Deeper ocean currents are weekend.
C．The way sediments accumulate changes.D．Warm currents change their directions.
3．What does Adriana think of the finding?
A．It’s valuable to the research of planet relations.
B．It’s inspiring to the study of warming oceans.
C．It’s beneficial to help prevent climate change. D．It’s helpful to our effort of saving ocean life.
4．What does the underlined word “speculative” in the last paragraph mean?
A．Valuable.
B．Conservative.
C．Believable.
D．Assumed.
（六）
（2025 年宁夏回族自治区石嘴山市二模）
Natural disasters can have a significant impact on the mental health of individuals and their communities at
large. There’s no doubt that seeing homes wiped away and city infrastructure ( 基础设施) in a mess right after a
disaster would be a severe blow. New research by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
showed that survivors of natural disasters often experience worsening mental health effect many months or years
later.
Surprisingly, the first few weeks after a natural disaster can be a time of emotional highs for a community. It
includes a “heroic phase”, when people witness and perform rescues that inspire a sense of altruism (利他主义) .
That’s followed by the “honeymoon phase”, during which the arrival of large amounts of assistance encourages
optimism and bonding within a community.
However, the support gradually decreases over time due to limited resources and lack of recognition of the
lasting mental health impact of a disaster. That’s when communities enter the “disillusionment phase”. Recovery
workers have packed up and moved on, and people feel abandoned. Many community members become physically
exhausted and substance use disorders surface during this period, which can last months or even years. And trigger
events, like the anniversary of the disaster, can cause dramatic increases in mental health problems.
The study indicates that emergency preparedness plans should find ways to extend mental health services
throughout the long-term recovery phase. “Focusing on people with limited financial resources, increasing the
visibility of mental health services during anticipated emotional lows, and suicide prevention strategies should be
priorities,” said Dr Gary Small, chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Regardless of the strategy used, providing long-term mental health support is critical to helping disaster
victims get back on their feet and recover from trauma (创伤). It’s a reminder that the natural disaster isn’t just an
environmental concern — it’s a mental health issue as well.
1．What mainly contributes to the community’s high spirits after a natural disaster?
A．Reconstruction work.
B．Thankfulness for surviving.
C．Rescue efforts and support.
D．Increased community participation.
2．What does the underlined word “disillusionment” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．Disappointment.
B．Confusion.
C．Disbelief. D．Indifference.
3．Which group of people might be the center of attention according to Small?
A．The young.
B．The poor.
C．The female.
D．The sick.
4．What is the author’s main purpose in writing the text?
A．To promote natural disaster response plans.
B．To highlight the shortage of mental health services.
C．To emphasize the damaging power of natural disasters.
D．To advocate long-term post-disaster mental health care.
（七）
（2025 年陕西省西安市部分学校二模）
A team of marine scientists from the University of Sydney has published the first peer-reviewed study
documenting the shocking coral bleaching (白化) events that occurred on the southern Great Barrier Reef in early
2024.
Led by Professor Maria Byrne from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, the research highlights
the alarming impact of unprecedented marine heatwaves on coral ecosystems, raising urgent concerns for marine
biodiversity and the communities that depend on these vital ecosystems.
The study provides critical insights into the extent of coral bleaching and mortality ( 死亡率) during the
2023-2024 global marine heatwave. The research team carefully tracked the health of 462 coral colonies at the
University of Sydney’s Great Barrier Reef research station at One Tree Island over a period of 161 days.
The results revealed that 66 percent of the colonies were bleached by February 2024 and 80 per cent by
April. By July, 44 percent of the bleached colonies had died, with some coral genera, such as Acropora,
experiencing a shocking 95 percent mortality rate.
“This research is a wake-up call for policymakers and conservationists. The resilience ( 恢复力) of coral
reefs is being tested like never before, and we must prioritise strategies that enhance their ability to withstand
climate change. Our findings underscore the need for immediate and effective management interventions to
safeguard these ecosystems,” said Byrne.
The research also highlights the complex interplay between heat stress, disease onset and coral mortality.
Notably, Goniopora corals developed black band disease, contributing to the high mortality rates observed. The
study emphasises that the rapid onset of bleaching and disease in corals previously considered resilient poses
significant challenges for predicting the future composition of coral reef ecosystems in a warming world.
The implications of this research extend beyond the ecology and conservation. Coral reefs offer essential
services to human communities, including fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection. As the Great Barrier Reef faces
increasing threats from climate change, the study calls for a collaborative approach to conservation that involves
local communities, scientists, and policymakers.
1．How may marine scientists react to the result of the research?
A．Alarmed.
B．Surprised.
C．Indifferent.
D．Disappointed.
2．What did Byrne want to convey in paragraph 5?
A．The need for more research on coral bleaching.
B．The importance of coral reefs for marine biodiversity.
C．The urgency for immediate management interventions.
D．The resilience of coral reefs in the face of climate change.
3．What does the research suggest about the future of coral reefs?
A．They will recover quickly.
B．Their fate will count on human protection.
C．They will be free from climate change.
D．They will benefit from human activities.
4．What can be the best title for the text?
A．The Beauty of the Great Barrier Reef
B．Strategies for Coral Reef Conservation
C．A New Method for Studying Coral Bleaching
D．Cycle of Coral Bleaching at Dangerous levels
（八）
（2025 年陕西省西安市临潼区二模）
Americans’ waistlines have grown relentlessly for decades: a costly, debilitating and deadly trend that
prompted observers to wonder if and when they would finally stop expanding. Well, the federal government
released data Sept. 24 showing that the obesity epidemic, one of the most terrible public health crises, might have
stopped worsening. And there is the reason to imagine the numbers will get better from here.
Obesity has been linked to asthma, heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers and severe outcomes
from respiratory ( 呼吸的) illnesses. The latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which
interviewed nearly 6,000 individuals between August 2021 and August 2023, showed that the epidemic of obesity
among adults was 40.3 percent — down from 41.9 percent in the previous survey, conducted between 2017 and
2020. It is the first such decline in more than a decade, and it could mean that, at long last, “obesity epidemic is
potentially balancing in the United States,” as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official told us.
Multiple caveats (警告) apply. Even if it has plateaued, the obesity rate is still far too high, having more
than tripled since the early 1960s, when it stood at 13 percent; a decade ago, in 2013—2014, it was 37.7 percent.
The CDC report indicates that the “severe” obesity rate is up from 7.7 percent a decade ago to 9.7 percent in the
latest survey. The statistical tool CDC uses to define obesity, body mass index (BMI), which measures neither body
fat nor its distribution within a given individual. And as of yet, there is no precise explanation for the encouraging
new data. Factors such as genes, certain medications, sleep quality, gut fauna, stress, nutrition and access to health
care all affect obesity.
In a 2023 study, scientists at the National Kapodistrian University in Athens hypothesized (假设) that obesity
might be peaking worldwide because it has reached “a biological limit”. That is, nearly all the people genetically
susceptible (易受影响的) to obesity are obese already. Another possibility: production of highly processed foods
has maxed out relative to the world’s ability to consume it. Also, public health campaigns might have had their
intended effects: increased awareness, promoting healthier food choices and more opportunities for physical
activity.
The decline in the obesity rate was not quite as dramatic as the one in teen vaping (电子烟); the data might
not even suggest a permanent plateau in obesity rates. Still, the numbers give reason for hope — and more hard
work.
1．What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?
A．There are less fat people than ever before.
B．There are more fat people than ever before.
C．Americans are worried about their waistlines.
D．Americans don’t know when they will be thin.
2．What can be known from the passage?
A．The obesity rate is not so high any more according to the recent survey.
B．Obesity will not exist in the United States according to the recent survey.
C．Obesity epidemic decreases a little within twenty years for the first time.
D．BMI measures both body fat and its distribution within a given individual.
3．What does the underlined word “plateaued” in the third paragraph mean?
A．Reached the peak.
B．Reached the balance.
C．Reached the bottom.
D．Reached the standard.
4．In which column of the newspaper can we read the passage?
A．Culture.
B．Biography.
C．Literature.
D．Health.
（九）
（2025 年陕西省安康市二模）
As a child, Molly Easterlin loved playing sports. Sports, Easterlin believes, underlie most of her greatest
successes. They taught her discipline and teamwork, helped her make friends and enabled her to navigate the many
challenges of growing up.
When Easterlin became a doctor, she started seeing a lot of children suffering from trauma ( 心理创伤).
Many of these kids didn’t respond fully to traditional treatment for trauma. Depressed and searching for answers,
Easterlin turned to her own past. “I suspected that sports might have a powerful impact,” she says.
Her research, published Tuesday, finds that, in short, yes: Participation in team sports as a young person can
significantly reduce the long-term likelihood of depression and anxiety for people with childhood trauma.
To analyze how team sports impact the health of people who have experienced childhood adversity (逆境).
Easterlin and her colleagues analyzed data from 9,668 teens who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of
Adolescent to Adult Health. They homed in on about 5,000 teens who had reported one or more adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs).
The kids were assessed first in 1994–1995 when they were in seventh to 12th grade and asked whether they
participated in team sports. Fourteen years later, in 2008, these same people, now adults, were asked whether they
had ever received a diagnosis (诊断) of depression or anxiety. They were also tested for depressive symptoms in
case they just hadn’t been diagnosed.
Easterlin found that kids who had participated in team sports were significantly less likely to receive a
diagnosis of depression or anxiety and less likely to test positive for depressive symptoms. The study also doesn’t
point out exactly why sports may help, but. Easterlin thinks teamwork may be a key.
However, Easterlin says, it’s important to consider additional factors, like emotional connection with
relatives and a sense of safety and support. Easterlin also notes that the study did not distinguish between kids with
one ACE and those with multiple ACEs: For kids with more ACEs, she thinks the effect of team sports would very
likely have been even more powerful, but it remains to be further studied.
1．What does the underlined word “underlie” mean in Paragraph 1?
A．Stabilize.
B．Facilitate.
C．Relieve.
D．Dismiss.
2．How was the National Longitudinal Study mainly conducted?
A．By doing questionnaire surveys.
B．By setting up experimental and control groups.
C．By referring to and comparing with other research data.
D．By conducting long-term tracking of research subjects.
3．What might play a key role in sports’ impact according to Easterlin?
A．Time management.
B．Teamwork.
C．Exercise intensity.
D．Gender.
4．What does the last paragraph focus on?
A．The illustration of the research’s possible limitations.
B．The methodology of the research on adolescent health.
C．The significance of sports in treating childhood trauma.
D．The connection between team sports and reduced depression.
（十一）
（2025 年陕西省渭南市二模）
Situated Learning Theory (SLT), first presented by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, explains the process and
development of learning when individuals have the opportunity to participate in a community of practice. In such a
community, new learners have more opportunities to practice within the context of learning. In this light, learning is
unintentional. This unintentional nature of learning is what the authors call Legitimate Peripheral Participation
(LPP) (合法的边缘性参与). In LPP, the learner moves from the edge of the community to the center. At first, they
participate around the edge and gain expertise until they become more skilled and become experts.
A similar theory is Situated Cognition ( 认知), proposed by John Seely Brown, Allan Collins and Paul
Duguid. Their understanding goes deeper into the social nature of learning and argues that learning cannot be
removed from the situations in which expertise is gained and merely be applied in school. The culture of
conventional schooling influences what is learned, and decontextualized instruction does not lead to effective
learning.
SLT has been used in school settings to improve teaching and learning. It’s important, however, to notice that
although the school offers the social context for learning, it sometimes falls short in the use of this theory. The
construction of knowledge needs to be put in a proper and accurate context where learners can participate and apply
what is learned. The nature of situated learning and the emphasis on LPP as a way to understand how learning
develops can be applied in instruction to understand and design learning processes.
SLT is of great value in many ways. It brings to the table the importance of recognizing learning as a series
of activities going beyond just sharing content. The interaction of the learner and the expert in the community of
practice and the development of the former into a level of expertise together in a contextualized setting are what
finally supports knowledge construction.
1．What can we learn from Paragraph 1?
A．Students must study under the guidance of experts.
B．Participating around the edge is crucial to learning.
C．Special communities are harmful to unintentional learning.
D．Learners can be experts by acquiring knowledge through LPP.
2．What is the common ground of SLT and Situated Cognition?
A．Expertise is merely from content-sharing.
B．Learning should happen in a related setting.
C．Effective learning is the result of decontextualization.
D．Conventional schooling influences the way of learning.
3．What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?
A．School needs to lower the expectations of SLT.
B．Learners must be taught the theoretical nature of SLT.
C．School should focus on the accurate application of SLT.
D．Teaching process relies on the academic instruction of SLT.
4．Why is SLT of great significance according to the last paragraph?
A．Because it helps enrich the learning process.
B．Because it reveals the importance of expertise.
C．Because it stresses the necessity of learning.
D．Because it explains the internal logic of teaching.
（十二）
（2025 年山西省临汾市二模）
Constant city noise is hard to keep out of homes and businesses, as low-frequency sounds like traffic and
constructions easily spread through walls. Expensive, specialized paneling can help, but a new study in the Journal
of Applied Physics shows how everyday materials and clever physics can also do the trick, creating a kind of sound
insulator (隔音材料) from ping-pong balls.
Robine Sabat, a researcher at the University of Lille in France, has been trying to improve noise insulation
by studying how sound waves bounce around in cavities (腔). When a sound wave passes over a cavity, the wave
squeezes and releases the air inside. This makes the air vibrate at a particular frequency depending on the cavity’s
size, shape and any holes it might have. And if the cavities are constructed in just the right way, the bouncing sound
waves inside will cancel one another out.
Sabat chose ping-pong balls as a low cost option with geometric properties that create resonance (共振) in
the right low-frequency range. By drilling five holes in each ball, her team turned them into resonant cavities that
each filter one frequency band out of the surrounding noise. But combining the resonating balls to weaken large
ranges of sound is tricky because the sound waves interact and affect which frequencies get reduced. To find the
right arrangement, the researchers placed microphones inside two balls and adjusted the holes’ positions and sizes
until the combination captured multiple frequency bands. They added and adjusted more balls until the structure
absorbed a wide range of frequencies.
“The design gives excellent sound reduction”, says Olga Umnova, a researcher at the University of Salford.
She adds that a systematic real-world comparison with simpler options, such as g lass sheets separated by an air
gap, would be an important next step. Computer simulations have estimated that the ping-pong paneling improves
sound reduction by 30 percent compared with an air gap alone.
Sabat’s team hopes low-tech adjustments to the new technique could also help with other aims, such as
focusing sound waves to improve sound quality in concert halls.
1．What is paragraph 2 mainly about?
A．The source of noise pollution.
B．The design of sound insulator.
C．The process of sound wave transmission.
D．The principle of sound reduction in cavities.
2．What is critical for achieving multi-frequency bands absorption?
A．The number of the balls used.
B．The placement of microphones.
C．The location and dimension of holes.
D．The material properties of glass sheets.
3．What is Olga Umnova’s attitude to the ping-pong ball-based insulator?
A．Favorable.
B．Disapproving.
C．Neutral.
D．Dismissive.
4．Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A．Ping-pong Balls: New Sound Blocker.
B．Hole-Bouncing Sound: A Clever Trick.
C．Geometric Resonance: The Key to Silence.
D．Sound Waves: Their Mysterious Interactions.
（十三）
（2025 年山西省晋中市二模）
A recent study published in Cell offers insights into how the brain clears waste during sleep. The research
suggests that regular contractions of blood vessels ( 血管), driven by a chemical, play an important role. This
mechanism, observed in mice, could have important effects on understanding sleep diseases and improving sleep
aids.
Unlike other parts of the body, the brain lacks a typical waste-removal system. It depends on the glymphatic
(胶质淋巴) system, which uses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (脑脊液) to clear away waste. Scientists were aware that
the glymphatic system was more active during sleep, but the exact mechanism remained unclear.
To uncover it, a team led by Maiken Nedergaard at the University of Rochester Medical Center conducted an
experiment. They put tiny devices into mice’s brains to monitor elements such as blood volume and chemical levels
as the mice slept. During non-REM sleep, a stage when the brain undergoes self-repair, they found that a chemical
named norepinephrine (去甲肾上腺素) was released. Norepinephrine causes blood vessels to contract. Its release
and the corresponding change in blood volume occurred in a cycle, about every 50 seconds. Moreover, the team
discovered that CSF flow also varied with norepinephrine levels.
To confirm this relationship, the scientists artificially increased the frequency of norepinephrine release in
the mice’s brains. As a result, the CSF was able to move deeper into the brain. This proved that the regular
movement of blood vessels drives the flow of CSF.
The research also examined the impact of the sleep drug zolpidem. It was found that zolpidem made the
release of norepinephrine less regular and damaged the CSF’s waste-clearing ability. Despite its widespread use, the
researchers emphasize the need for further human studies to fully understand its effects.
This study provides a clearer understanding of the brain’s self-cleaning process during sleep. Future work
can focus on developing new sleep aids that preserve this essential brain-cleaning function. They will have a bright
future.
1．What is the function of the glymphatic system?
A．To help the brain grow.
B．To produce cerebrospinal fluid.
C．To remove waste from the brain.
D．To monitor blood volume in the brain.
2．Why did Nedergaard’s team do the research on mice?
A．To develop new treatments for brain disorders.
B．To investigate a certain mechanism in the brain.
C．To study the effects of norepinephrine on blood vessels.
D．To understand the function of chemical levels in humans.
3．What is paragraph 5 mainly about?
A．A further human study for a sleep drug.
B．A new method to reduce waste-clearing ability.
C．An effective sleep aid to improve the brain activities.
D．The impact of zolpidem on brain waste-clearing functions.
4．What is the author’s attitude towards the future development of sleep aids?
A．Positive.
B．Uncaring.
C．Doubtful.
D．Negative.
（十四）
（2025 年陕西省渭南市二模）
Recently, Earth grabbed itself a second moon in the form of a newly discovered asteroid (小行星) named
2024 PT5. Unlike the moon, Earth’s primary companion which has accompanied our planet for around 4.5 billion
years, this “new mini-moon” will stick around for just two months before it heads back to its home in an asteroid
belt following our planet and orbiting the sun.
A team of scientists spotted 2024 PT5 as they routinely monitored newly discovered objects around Earth.
“The asteroid paying us a visit belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt made of space rocks
that follow the orbit very similar to that of Earth at an average distance to the sun of about 150 million kilometers,”
said research lead author Carlos de la Fuente Marcos.
Marcos explained that some of these asteroids in the Arjuna asteroid belt can approach Earth at a close range
of around 4.5 million kilometers and at low speeds of around 3,540 kilometers per hour. “Under these conditions,
one of these asteroids may be captured by Earth’s gravity and become a temporary moon of Earth. The asteroid
2024 PT5 will undergo this process for about two months,” Marcos added. “It will not follow a full orbit around
Earth.”
Mini-moon events come in two flavors. The first is about long episodes during which the asteroid completes
one or more revolutions about our planet, with these gravitational engagements (引力作用) lasting one or more
years. The second type of episodes is short engagements in which the small body does not complete one full
revolution. These temporary captures can last just days, weeks or even a few months. Short mini-moon events are
relatively frequent, with several events happening per decade. Long mini-moon events, on the other hand, are rare
with Earth experiencing one around every ten or twenty years.
Unfortunately, during its occupation around Earth, 2024 PT5 won’t be visible to the vast majority of sky
watchers. “The asteroid is too small and dark for typical amateur telescopes. However, it is well within the
brightness range of typical telescopes by professional astronomers,” Marcos said.
1．How long will the asteroid 2024 PT5 stay near Earth?
A．Over a decade.
B．About two months.
C．Less than a week.
D．Around 4.5 billion years.
2．What makes 2024 PT5 a “mini moon” rather than a true moon?
A．It lacks a stable orbit around Earth.
B．It is smaller than other asteroids.
C．It moves faster than Earth’s moon.
D．It reflects too little light to be seen.
3．What writing technique is used to explain mini-moon events?
A．Definition.
B．Classification.
C．Comparison.
D．Illustration.
4．What can we infer from Marcos’ words from the last paragraph?
A．The asteroid 2024 PT5 is unusually bright.
B．Sky watchers should purchase advanced telescopes.
C．Professional knowledge is needed for asteroid observation.
D．Amateur telescopes are not powerful to observe 2024 PT5.
（十五）
（2025 年陕西省山西省宁夏青海省四省二模）
Some great apes ( 猿) realize when a human partner doesn’t know something and are capable of
communicating information to him to change his behavior, a new study shows. Researchers from Johns Hopkins
University studying a species of apes, bonobos, found that they would point to where treats were hidden if they saw
their human partner didn’t know where they were.
Working with three male bonobos, study co-author Luke Townrow would sit across a table from one of the
animals as another person placed a treat under one of three cups. In some cases, Townrow would be allowed to see
which cup the treat was under, and the bonobo would wait for him to pass it the food. At other times, he would not
be able to see where the treat was, and the bonobo would point to the right cup to help him find the food. The
seemingly simple experiment demonstrated for the first time that apes will communicate unknown information in
the name of teamwork.
Chris Krupenye, another co-author, said that the study “is one of the clearest pieces of evidence that a non-
human primate (灵长类动物) understands when someone else is ignorant.” This ability to discover gaps in others’
knowledge is known as theory of mind. “As humans, we have theory of mind,” Krupenye said. “It’s a key feature
of human psychology,” he added, explaining that it allows us to cooperate with each other and teach people things
that we understand they do not know.
Theory of mind has previously been considered unique to humans, but the study shows that bonobos share
this capability. “The evidence we have is a good indication that they do have theory of mind,” said Krupenye.
The team plans to explore the bonobos’ motivations for sharing information and the way that they think
about other individuals’ minds. “What we’ve shown here is that apes will communicate with a partner to change
their behavior,” Townrow said, “but a key open question for further research is whether apes are also pointing to
change their partner’s mental state or their beliefs.”
1．What can be learned about the experiment?
A．The number of cups wasn’t fixed.
B．The bonobos fixed their attention on the treat.
C．The researchers guided the bonobos to find the treat.
D．The bonobos got rewards for sharing information with the researchers.
2．Which of the following can be defined as “theory of mind”?
A．Completing complex tasks.
B．Understanding others’ views.
C．Hiding one’s true feelings.
D．Communicating with animals.
3．What is the next target for the researchers in their study?
A．The bonobos’ motivations to find the treat.
B．The bonobos’ method of delivering messages.
C．The bonobos’ way of perceiving others’ minds.
D．The bonobos’ differences from humans.
4．What can be the best title for the text?
A．Apes Can Recognize Ignorance in Humans
B．Bonobos Have Mastered Teamwork in the Wild
C．Primates Can Be Taught to Read Human Minds
D．Apes Prove Themselves to Be Better Partners
（十七）
（2025 年宁夏银川市第二中学二模）
Bacteria (细菌) know how to rough it out all over the earth. Ask most of them where they’d truly prefer to
settle through, and a kitchen sponge (海绵) would probably top the list. Yes, it turns out that the very tool we use to
clean our plates, which is warm, damp, and full of nutritious food pieces, is packed of tiny life.
Lingchong You, a biologist at Duke University, along with his team, used computers to model the complex
environment of a sponge for a 2022 study. He found that sponges featuring pockets of varying sizes are something
that really matters for promoting bacterial growth. This holds significance as certain bacteria tend to grow
independently while others demand the companionship of others. Within a sponge filled with holes and pockets,
there exist such an abundance of diverse structures that everyone attains a state of satisfaction.
Nevertheless, it does not necessarily follow that these tools present a health risk to us as well. Bacteria exist
everywhere and not all are harmful; in fact, many perform vital jobs. The important question is, therefore, are the
bacteria found in sponges even worth worrying about?
In 2017, Jennifer Quinlan, a professor of food safety, and her colleagues, collected kitchen sponges from 100
homes, finding that only 1 – 2% of those sponges contained bacteria linked to food poisoning in humans and the
ones that did contained only small amounts of harmful bacteria. “The vast majority of bacteria on sponges do not
cause illness, and they’re just going to make them smell.” says Quinlan. “Having said that, there is a possibility that
if you use a sponge to wipe up raw meat that you could have some of those disease-causing bacteria on there, and
studies have found that those bacteria can be separated from kitchen sponges.”
This is not the whole story yet. If dangerous bacteria happen to arrive on the scene, the sponge’s special
make-up makes it an ideal place for them to grow and multiply. And there’s evidence this is the case.
1．What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A．Sponges are perfect tools in the kitchen.
B．Bacteria prefer to live in dry environment.
C．Kitchen sponges are good home for bacteria.
D．Bacteria affect kitchen sponges’ performance.
2．What did Lingchong You find in his study?
A．How sponges are exactly structured.
B．What encourages bacterial growth.
C．How bacteria react to the environment. D．Why bacteria keep company with each other.
3．What does Quinlan think of bacteria on sponges?
A．Relatively harmless.
B．Poorly adaptive,
C．Surprisingly unpleasant.
D．Widely distributed.
4．What will be probably discussed in the following paragraph?
A．Proofs of bacterial threat.
B．The classification of bacteria.
C．Methods to control bacterial growth.
D．Research into applications of bacteria.
（十八）
（2025 年山西省二模）
Rise with the sun and rest at sunset — this was the way of life for our ancestors. Thanks to artificial light,
which improves visibility at night, we can enjoy a much safer society and around-the-clock productivity. For
wildlife, however, studies have shown it disturbs animals’ natural sleep cycles, affects amphibian ( 两栖的)
reproduction and throws migrating birds off course.
New research in Frontiers in Plant Science investigated how artificial light impacts plant-insect
relationships. Researchers from Chinese Academy of Sciences noticed tree leaves in cities typically showed fewer
signs of insect damage than those outside of cities, so they analyzed 5,500 leaf samples from two tree species
throughout Beijing. Researchers found more artificial light in a given area meant tougher leaves. And the tougher
the leaf, the less evidence of hungry insects. They don’t fully understand why, but assume that trees under artificial
light at night might be extending their photosynthesis (光合作用) time.
“Plants distribute their limited resources, such as nutrients, water and energy, among various functions like
growth, reproduction and defense, depending on the environment. Light can affect how plants use resources,” says
Ellen Cieraad, a plant ecologist from New Zealand. “Since plants use light for growth, artificial night light could be
unnaturally increasing the time trees spend on photosynthesis, allocating more resources to chemical compounds
that make leaves tougher.”
“If the same applied to leaves of other species, this would be bad news for insects,” researchers said.
Changes in plants, and in interactions between plants and animals, can significantly impact the entire urban
ecosystem. Herbivorous insects, which rely on leaves for food, may struggle to survive, disrupting the food chain.
Fewer herbivorous insects could lead to declines in predators like birds, affecting biodiversity. Insects also play
vital roles as pollinators (传粉媒介) and eat decaying plants, helping to break down leaves and returning nutrients
to soil. In cities, healthy soil and healthy plant life supported by insects are good for humans, as plants provide
shade and reduce heat trapped in cities. Moving forward, researchers are committed to refining their discovery,
aiming to guide people to take corresponding actions.
1．What influence does artificial light bring according to the text?
A．It toughens tree leaves.
B．It shortens animals’ sleep hours.
C．It illuminates birds’ migrating routes.
D．It increases amphibian reproduction rates.
2．Why is Ellen Cieraad quoted in paragraph 3?
A．To raise a concern.
B．To introduce a concept.
C．To support an assumption.
D．To clarify a misunderstanding.
3．Which of the following best summarizes the phenomenon in paragraph 4?
A．Time heals all wounds.
B．Nature always finds a way.
C．A chain is as strong as its weakest link. D．A small move may affect the bigger picture.
4．What will the following research probably focus on?
A．Approaches to enhancing soil quality.
B．Ways of improving urban biodiversity.
C．Standards for selecting plant species in cities.
D．Solutions to reducing impacts of nighttime light.
（十九）
（2025 年山西省吕梁市二模）
When Philip Sontag first visited Antarctica as a Ph. D ．student, he collected a bag of penguin ( 企鹅)
feathers. A decade later, Sontag and his team have discovered how to use these feathers to map mercury ( 汞)
pollution in the Southern Hemisphere, a growing threat to wildlife.
Mercury, a poisonous by-product of gold mining, becomes more and more in the food chain and affects
animals’ nervous systems. While sampling rocks or soil for mercury provides limited insight, tracking its presence
in the food web is crucial for ecosystem monitoring.
Penguins have a way to dispose of mercury through their feathers, which they molt ( 换羽) regularly.
Sontag, now a polar researcher at Rutgers University, and his team analyzed these molted feathers to determine
where penguins were exposed to mercury. They found a clear relationship between mercury levels and carbon-13,
which varies geographically and acts as a marker for where penguins feed or breed (繁殖). The study confirmed
this pattern across seven penguin species in the Southern Ocean, revealing higher mercury exposure in northern,
warmer regions with higher carbon-13 levels.
The findings suggest that penguins could serve as bioindicators, living trackers of environmental pollutants.
By measuring mercury in feathers, scientists can track the metal’s movement through the oceanic food web over
time, rather than just at a single moment. For example, penguin species living near each other showed different
mercury and carbon-13 levels due to varying migration and feeding patterns. These data could be modeled into a
map-like database to aid conservation and polar research.
Marine scientist Miriam Gimeno Castells notes that penguins are mid-level predators ( 捕食性动物), and
undergo dramatic molts, making it easy to collect feathers from many individuals. The molted feathers contain
mercury that gets into their body during the nonbreeding season.
Sontag plans to collect newer feathers from different species and compare mercury levels in penguins’ blood
and their food with those in their feathers. As for the penguins’ health, senior author John Reinfelder makes it clear
that they have not yet been exposed to poisonous mercury levels. “The penguins will be okay,” he says.
1．How did Sontag use the penguin feathers he collected?
A．He kept them as a reminder of his trip.
B．He studied the content of a chemical in them.
C．He observed their changes in different environments.
D．He classified them to identify different species of penguins.
2．What does the underlined part “dispose of” in paragraph 3 mean?
A．Recognize.
B．Consume.
C．Remove.
D．Combine.
3．What do we know about penguins from the text?
A．They are ideal bioindicators.
B．They are sensitive to carbon-13.
C．They are top-level predators in the food chain.
D．They are free from the effects of human activities.
4．What is a suitable title for the text?
A．The Life Cycle of Penguins in Antarctica.
B．Gold Mining and Its Effects on Penguins.
C．The Impact of Climate Change on Penguin Populations.
D．Penguins Help Map Antarctica’s Growing Mercury Threat.
（二十）
（2025 年宁夏回族自治区银川市兴庆区银川一中二模）
Until recently, gravitational waves could have been the stuff of Einstein’s imagination. Before they were
detected, these waves in space time existed only in the physicist’s general theory of relativity, as far as scientists
knew. Now, researchers are on the hunt for more ways to detect the waves. “The study of gravitational waves is
booming,” says astrophysicist Karan Jani of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “This is just remarkable. No field I
can think of in fundamental physics has seen progress this fast.”
Just as light comes in a variety of wavelengths, so do gravitational waves. Different wave lengths point to
different types of origins of the universe and require different kinds of detectors. Gravitational waves with
wavelengths of a few thousand kilometers — like those detected by the United States, Italy and Japan — come
mostly from pairs of black holes 10 or so times the mass of the sun, or from collisions of dense cosmic blocks
called neutron stars (中子星). These detectors could also spot waves from certain types of exploding stars and
rapidly moving neutron stars.
In contrast, huge waves that span light-years are thought to be created by orbiting pairs of bigger black holes
with masses billions of times that of the sun. In June, scientists reported the first strong evidence of these types of
waves by turning the entire galaxy (星系) into a detector, watching how the waves make slight changes to the
timing of regular blinks from neutron stars throughout the Milky Way.
Physicists now hope to dive into a vast, cosmic ocean of gravitational waves of all sorts of sizes. These
waves could reveal new details about the secret lives of exotic objects such as black holes and unknown parts of the
universe.
Physicist Jason Hogan of Stanford University thinks there are still a lot of gaps in the coverage of
wavelengths. “But it makes sense to cover all the bases. Who knows what else we may find?” he says. The search
for capturing the full complement of the universe’s gravitational waves exactly could take observatories out into the
moon, to the atomic area and elsewhere.
1．What does Karan Jani think of the current study on gravitational waves?
A．It is rapid and pioneering.
B．It is slow but steadily increasing.
C．It is interrupted due to limited detectors.
D．It is progressing as fast as any other field.
2．What do the detected gravitational waves mostly indicate?
A．The creation of different kinds of detectors.
B．Collisions of planets outside the solar system.
C．The presence of light in different wavelengths.
D．Activities involving black holes and neutron stars.
3．How did scientists manage to find huge waves’ evidence?
A．By analyzing sunlight.
B．By locating the new galaxy.
C．By using the whole galaxy as a tool.
D．By observing the sun’s regular movement.
4．What can be inferred about the future study according to the last paragraph?
A．It’ll exclude the atomic field.
B．It’ll focus exactly on the mapping of the galaxy.
C．It’ll require prioritizing certain wavelengths on the moon.
D．It’ll explore potential places to detect gravitational waves.
（二十一）
（2025 年陕西省汉中市二模）
McGill University researchers have discovered that changes in clouds are slightly relieving global warming.
While greenhouse gases continue to cause temperatures to rise, a reduction in low-cloud cover over land has
brought about a modest reduction of the amount of heat being trapped close to ground level.
“We started this research to observationally confirm the increase of greenhouse effect of the Earth
atmosphere,” said Yi Huang, associate professor in McGill University’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic
Sciences. “We indeed confirm that, although to our surprise we also found an offsetting ( 抵消的) effect due to
changes in clouds.”
“Without these cloud changes, the surface would warm even faster,” said Lei Liu, graduate student in McGill
University’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and the first author of this study. “This work offers
observational truth about how clouds affect warming, which can be used to improve climate models and guide
environmental policies,” Liu added.
To discover this surprising effect, the team used the measurements of a key radiative instrument, the
Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI), along with satellite data, climate models and a technique
called “optimal spectral fingerprinting” co-designed by Yi Huang and Lei Liu to isolate the effects of clouds from
other atmospheric processes.
The researchers focused on longwave radiation, the heat energy the Earth emits back into the atmosphere.
Usually, clouds trap some of this heat and send it back to the ground. But as the climate warms, there are fewer low
clouds in some areas, which means less heat is returned to the surface.
The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences of the university looks to continue using their critical
data for understanding regional climate dynamics and enhancing climate modelling.
“Our research emphasizes the value of precise, long-term climate observations,” said John Gyakum, a
professor. “This is essential for understanding the Earth’s response to global warming and making informed
decisions for future generations.”
The researchers cautioned that their discovery does not throw doubt on global warming. “It’s like having a
heater that adjusts itself a little,” the researchers explained. “But even with this adjustment, the room is still heating
up.”
1．What does the reduction in low-cloud cover over land lead to?
A．An increase in global warming.
B．A significant rise in temperature.
C．A slight decrease of ground-level heat.
D．A complete stop in the greenhouse effect.
2．According to Lei Liu, what can their findings apply to?
A．Improving cloud coverage globally.
B．Lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
C．Forecasting short-term weather patterns. D．Improving climate prediction models.
3．Why did the researchers mention the heater?
A．To caution the public.
B．To prove their discovery useful but little.
C．To praise their findings.
D．To emphasize its importance.
4．What can be a suitable title for the text?
A．The Role of Clouds in Relieving Global Warming
B．The Importance of Long-term Climate Observations
C．The Impact of Greenhouse Gases on Global Warming
D．The Accuracy of Climate Models in Predicting Warming
（二十二）
（2025 年山西省部分学校二模）
A plant-based material from pine (松树) could serve as a replacement for petrol-based chemicals in foam (泡
沫) products, potentially leading to more environmentally friendly versions of materials used in products like
kitchen cleaning cloth and packaging.
A research team led by Washington State University used an eco-friendly method to prepare lignin (a natural
material found in plants, especially wood) as a replacement for 20% of the petrol-based chemicals in the foam. The
new bio-based foam was found to be as strong and flexible as regular foam.
Petrol-based plastics are a growing environmental problem. They take centuries to break down and are costly
and hard to recycle, often resulting in lower-quality second-hand products. Because it costs more to recycle than to
make new plastic, the recycling rate of plastic has remained below 20%. The best solution is to replace these
materials with natural alternatives.
Lignin, the second most common renewable carbon source, makes up about 30% of the non-fossil carbon on
Earth. However, it is challenging to extract (提炼) from plants. It is usually obtained during paper-making and bio-
processing, but these processes often damage its chemical and physical properties, lowering its value. As a result,
most lignin is either burned for energy or used in lower-value products like building materials or as a substance to
hold together animal feed.
In their study, the researchers used a mild, environmentally friendly solution to separate high-quality lignin
from pine. Their method produced a consistent mixture with good heat resistance, similar to that of native lignin,
which is crucial for producing high-value products. When tested, the bio-based foam was stable and performed as
well mechanically as conventional foam.
“This work shows that our lignin material has great potential for producing flexible, natural foam,” said Xiao
Zhang, professor at the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering. Zhang’s team will now work
with industrial partners to improve and expand the production of lignin-based foam.
1．What is the main purpose of the research described in the text?
A．To find a more cost-effective material for foam production.
B．To enhance the performance of foam in extreme conditions.
C．To explore plant-based alternatives to traditional foam ingredients.
D．To develop a new type of foam for specific industrial applications.
2．Which is the ultimate solution to the environmental problem of plastic waste?
A．Replacing plastics with natural alternatives.
B．Reducing the use of plastics in daily life.
C．Developing biodegradable plastics.
D．Improving recycling technology.
3．Why is lignin not widely used as a replacement for petrol-based plastics?
A．It is too expensive to extract from plants.
B．It is not a renewable resource like plastic.
C．The processes to extract it often degrade its qualities.
D．There is insufficient demand for natural alternatives to plastic.
4．What was the main result of the researchers’ study?
A．The method resulted in low-quality lignin.
B．The bio-based foam was less stable than regular foam.
C．The bio-based plastic can replace all conventional one.
D．Their method produced lignin with good heat resistance.
（二十三）
（2025 年青海省西宁市大通县二模）
Experts believe that earthquakes may become more intense and closer together as a result of climate change.
The melting (融化) of glaciers is speeding up due to global warming. The land that was beneath the melted glacier
water rises when it runs off land and into the sea.
Among the most terrible of all natural disasters are earthquakes. While experts can prepare when the major
ones will strike, smaller ones can strike seemingly at any time, destroying entire cities and causing smaller disasters
like fires, landslides and tsunamis (海啸).
An upcoming rise in sea level along with glacier melt may make future earthquakes more frequent,
according to John Cassidy, an earthquake seismologist. The risk of earthquakes caused by glacial retreat (退缩) is
less than that of what may be associated with rising sea levels. An increase in sea level results in an increase in
underwater pressure on the seabed and therefore on the fault lines near the shore.
According to researchers, many earthquakes that are anticipated soon close to San Francisco and Los
Angeles still have late earthquake cycles. Consequently, the geological clock can be moved faster with slightly
higher temperatures. It could cause earthquakes in several regions. The stop in sea level rise could take up to a
thousand years, even in the event that we immediately stopped using greenhouse gases.
Cassidy is unsure if, at least during our lifetimes, the sea level rise would result in a significant enough
change in pressure to precipitate these massive earthquakes. Cassidy underlined that the effects of climate change
will increase their risk when they occur. As sea level rises, earthquake-caused tsunamis will extend farther inland.
Increased rainfall brought on by warmer waters will enhance the likelihood of landslides caused by earthquakes. As
any vibration ( 震动) in wet ground is far more intensified than in dry ground, rainfall will likewise highlight
earthquake shaking. “It’s an important topic, one that I’m sure we’ll see a lot of information coming out on in the
coming months and years,” Cassidy said.
1．What aspect of earthquakes is stressed in paragraph 2?
A．Their universality.
B．Their predictability.
C．Their suddenness.
D．Their intensity.
2．What does the text imply about stopping using greenhouse gases right away?
A．Earthquakes will be prevented.
B．The sea level rise will stop at once.
C．The geological clock will move faster.
D．Coastal earthquakes may be fewer in the future.
3．What does the underlined word “precipitate” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A．Reduce.
B．Quicken.
C．Predict.
D．Prevent.
4．What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A．Cassidy is concerned about changes in sea level.
B．Disastrous earthquakes surely suffer from sea level rises.
C．Climate change has no impact on earthquake occurrences.
D．The chance of the secondary effects from earthquakes is low.
