专题16 阅读理解说明文
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目录
1. 高考真题练
2. 创新基础练
3. 高考模拟练
一 高考真题练
1.（2025·北京·高考真题）The call to “know yourself” has been there since ancient times, but our
sense of self doesn’t always match what others perceive. Considering the stories we tell about ourselves
can help us to change our minds for better.
For many years, psychologists saw identity as a combination of someone’s values, beliefs, goals and
social roles. Then, in the 1980s, Bob Johnson created the life story model of identity, in which he proposes
that, as we go through life, these core features are built in with our memories to create a personal story
through which we understand our lives.
Our life story is something that starts coming together in our teenage years, when we begin to
organise our lives into chapters around key events or life changes, and begin to see ourselves as both the
central character and, to a varying extent, the story’s author. People with more consistent stories tend to
have a stronger sense of identity, and they feel their life has more meaning, direction and sense of purpose.
Such people show greater overall life satisfaction, too.
Johnson has also investigated the link between well-being and certain story themes. He discovered
that whether someone describes having had some control over events in their past is an important predictor
of a person’s mental health. Another key theme involves finding some kind of positive meaning after
stressful events. “People could talk about gaining knowledge or personal growth,” says Johnson. His
research shows that this is often missing for people with mental health conditions. The good news is that
there is evidence we can learn to change our own story.
Lisa Green, another researcher, sounds a few notes of caution (谨慎). For instance, hearing about the
power of redemptive (拯救性的) stories, many people may feel forced to find a positive angle on horrible
events. She says that Western culture already pushes people to look for the silver lining behind every cloud.
If you want to turn over a new leaf, though, one top tip is that it helps to choose a significant date
that signals the start of a new “chapter”. Contrary to popular doubt, resolutions made on I January are more
effective for this reason. So, whether your goal is saving money or getting fit, there is no better time to
become the author of our own destiny (命运).
1．What can be inferred about personal stories?
A．They are unrelated to health.
B．Consistent ones lead to stress.
C．They are relevant to happiness.
D．Thematic ones hold back change.
2．What can we learn from this passage?
A．Talking about gains from failure is negative. B．New Year resolutions are well received.
C．The West tends to overvalue optimism.
D．Social roles fail to be highlighted.
3．What does the author mainly do in this passage?
A．Clarify a goal.
B．Analyse an event.
C．Make a comparison.
D．Illustrate an approach.
4．What is the passage mainly about?
A．How self-identity works.
B．How story-tellers are made.
C．How personal stories raise doubts.
D．How timing affects personal identity.
2.（2025·全国二卷·高考真题）Does your soul die a little every time you throw away unused
food? Mine does. Maybe that feeling comes from growing up in South Africa, where the phrase “there are
children starving in Africa” was more of an uncomfortable reminder of fact than a prayer at dinner time.
Food waste is a growing concern in the restaurant, supermarket, and supply chain industries. From
technological solutions to educational campaigns, food producers and sellers are looking for ways to use
more of what we’re already growing. But last month, one popular New York City restaurant tried a
different way: It changed its menu to exclusively (专门) offer food that would otherwise be thrown away.
For two weeks in March, Greenwich Village’s Blue Hill restaurant was renamed wastED, and served
items like fried skate cartilage, a juice pulp burger, and a dumpster diver’s vegetable salad. Each dish was
tailor-made to raise awareness regarding food waste.
A study by the Food Waste Alliance determined that the average restaurant generates 33 pounds of
food waste for every $1,000 in revenue (收入), and of that waste only 15.7% is donated or recycled. Up to
84.3% is simply thrown out. Restaurants like Silo in the UK have experimented with zero-waste systems,
but wastED took the concept to its logical conclusion.
It should be noted that none of the items on wastED’s menu was technically made from garbage.
Instead, all the ingredients ( 配料) used were examples of meat cuts and produce that most restaurants
would never consider serving. Things like kale ribs, fish collars, rejected sweet potatoes, and cucumber
butts were all re-appropriated and, with the help of a number of good chefs, turned into excellent cuisine.
Though wastED received enthusiastic reviews, it was designed from the start as a short-lived
experiment; Blue Hill has since returned to its regular menu. Nevertheless, it serves as a reminder that
there are many ways to address problems of sustainability, and that you can make an amazing meal out of
almost anything.
5．What can be inferred about the author’s early life?
A．He witnessed food shortage.
B．He enjoyed the local cuisine.
C．He donated food to Africans.
D．He helped to cook at home.
6．Why did Blue Hill carry out the experiment?
A．To customize dishes for guests.
B．To make the public aware of food waste.
C．To test a food processing method.
D．To improve the UK’s zero-waste systems.
7．What is paragraph 5 mainly about?
A．Why the ingredients were used.
B．Which dishes were best liked.
C．What the dishes were made of.
D．Where the ingredients were bought.
8．What can we learn about wastED?
A．It has ended as planned.
B．It is creating new jobs.
C．It has regained popularity.
D．It is criticized by top chefs.
3.（2025·全国一卷·高考真题）Microplastics have become a common source of pollution across
the Earth — they have settled in the deep sea and on the Himalayas, stuck inside volcanic rocks, filled the
stomachs of seabirds and even fallen in fresh Antarctic snow. They are even appearing inside humans.
Now, new research suggests that a simple, cheap measure may significantly reduce the level of
microplastics in water from your tap ( 水龙头): boiling and filtering ( 过滤) it. In a study published
Wednesday in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, researchers from China found that boiling tap
water for just five minutes — then filtering it after it cools — could remove at least 80 percent of its
microplastics.
Crucially, this process relies on the water containing enough calcium carbonate (碳酸钙) to trap the
plastics. In the study, boiling hard water containing 300 milligrams of calcium carbonate led to an almost
90 percent drop in plastics. But in samples with less than 60 milligrams of calcium carbonate, boiling
reduced the level of plastics by just 25 percent. Additionally, the research didn’t include all types of
plastics. The team focused only on three common types — polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene —
and they didn’t study other chemicals previously found in water such as vinyl chloride.
Still, the findings show a potential path forward for reducing microplastic exposure — a task that’s
becoming increasingly difficult. Even bottled water, scientists found earlier this year, contains 10 to 1,000
times more microplastics than originally thought.
Scientists are still trying to determine how harmful microplastics are — but what they do know has
raised concerns. The new study suggests boiling tap water could be a tool to limit intake. “The way they
demonstrated how microplastics were trapped through the boiling process was nice,” Caroline Gauchotte-
Lindsay, an environmental engineer of the University of Glasgow in Scotland who was not involved in the
research, tells New Scientist. “We should be looking into upgrading drinking water treatment plants so
they remove microplastics.”
9．How does the author present the issue in the first paragraph?
A．By quoting an expert.
B．By defining a concept.
C．By giving examples.
D．By providing statistics.
10．What determines the effectiveness of trapping microplastics in water?
A．The hardness of water.
B．The length of cooling time.
C．The frequency of filtering.
D．The type of plastic in water.
11．What does the author try to illustrate by mentioning bottled water in paragraph 4?
A．The importance of plastic recycling.
B．The severity of the microplastic problem.
C．The danger in overusing pure water.
D．The difficulty in treating polluted water.
12．What is Gauchotte-Lindsay’s suggestion about?
A．Choice of new research methods.
B．Possible direction for further study.
C．Need to involve more researchers.
D．Potential application of the findings.
4.（2023·上海·高考真题）The universe expands with every passing second, stretching the space
between galaxies like dough rising in an oven. But just how fast is this expansion happening? As
telescopes like Hubble strive to answer this fundamental question, they encounter a perplexing gap
between theoretical predictions and observed data.
Hubble’s measurements indicate a faster rate of expansion in the modern universe compared to what
was expected based on observations of the universe more than 13 billion years ago by the European Space
Agency’s Planck satellite. This inconsistency has been a subject of scientific inquiry for several years.
However, it remains uncertain whether differences in measurement techniques or chance variations are
responsible for this disparity.
Recent data from the Hubble telescope have significantly reduced the possibility that this
discrepancy is merely a statistical fluke, with the chances now estimated at only 1 in 100,000. This marks a
substantial improvement from previous estimates, which placed the odds at 1 in 3,000 less than a year ago.
These precise measurements from Hubble lend weight to the hypothesis that new physics may be necessary
to reconcile the observed mismatch.
Lead researcher Adam Riess, a Nobel laureate from the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns
Hopkins University, describes the tension between the early and late universe as one of the most exciting
developments in cosmology in decades. He emphasizes that the growing disparity cannot be dismissed as a
random occurrence and suggests that it may signal the need for a deeper understanding of the cosmos.
To determine distances in the universe, scientists rely on a “cosmic distance ladder” method. This
involves accurately measuring distances to nearby galaxies and then using progressively distant galaxies as
reference points. By observing stars like Cepheid variables, astronomers can calibrate this distance ladder.
Riess and his team have been refining these measurements since 2005, aiming to improve our
understanding of cosmic distances.
In their latest study, astronomers used Hubble to observe 70 Cepheid variables in the Large
Magellanic Cloud. By comparing these stars with their more distant counterparts in galaxies hosting
supernovae, they refined their measurement of the Hubble constant, reducing its uncertainty from 2.2% to
1.9%. Despite this increased precision, their calculated Hubble constant remains at odds with the value
predicted by observations of the early universe conducted by Planck.
The Planck satellite, which maps the cosmic microwave background – a remnant of the universe’s
early stages – provides crucial data for understanding the universe’s expansion. However, the discrepancy
between these measurements and those from Hubble underscores the need for further investigation and the
potential for new discoveries in cosmology.
13．Where do measurements of the early universe come from?
A．The space between galaxies.
B．Measurements from Hubble and other telescopes
C．European Space Agency’s Planck satellite.
D．The latest Hubble data.
14．Which of the following statements is in line with Adam Riess’ opinion?
A．The expansion speed of the modern universe is faster than expected
B．New physics may be needed to explain this mismatch.
C．It is unlikely that this discrepancy occurred by chance.
D．Hubble’s tension is the most exciting development in cosmology in decades.
15．What do scientists use to determine the distance of things in the universe?
A．A cosmic distance ladder.
B．Accurate measurements of distances.
C．Milepost markers.
D．The Hubble constant.
16．What did Riess’ team do?
A．They used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe pulsating stars
B．They improved the comparison between
C．They raised the uncertainty of the Hubble constant to 2.2%
D．They reduced the uncertainty in their Hubble constant value to 1.9.
5.（2024·浙江·高考真题）On September 7, 1991, the costliest hailstorm ( 雹暴) in Canadian
history hit Calgary’s southern suburbs. As a result, since 1996 a group of insurance companies have spent
about $2 million per year on the Alberta Hail Suppression Project. Airplanes seed threatening storm cells
with a chemical to make small ice crystals ( 冰晶) fall as rain before they can grow into dangerous
hailstones. But farmers in east-central Alberta — downwind (下风处) of the hail project flights — worry
that precious moisture (水分) is being stolen from their thirsty land by the cloud seeding.
Norman Stienwand, who farms in that area has been addressing public meetings on this issue for
years. “Basically, the provincial government is letting the insurance companies protect the Calgary-
Edmonton urban area from hail,” Mr Stienwand says, “but they’re increasing drought risk as far east as
Saskatchewan.”
The Alberta hail project is managed by Terry Krauss, a cloud physicist who works for Weather
Modification Inc. of Fargo, North Dakota. “We affect only a very small percentage of the total moisture in
the air, so we cannot be causing drought,” Dr. Krauss says. “In fact, we may be helping increase the
moisture downwind by creating wetter ground.”
One doubter about the safety of cloud seeding is Chuck Doswell, a research scientist who just retired
from the University of Oklahoma. “In 1999, I personally saw significant tornadoes (龙卷风) form from a
seeded storm cell in Kansas,” Dr. Doswell says. “Does cloud seeding create killer storms or reduce
moisture downwind? No one really knows, of course, but the seeding goes on.”
Given the degree of doubt, Mr. Stienwand suggests, “It would be wise to stop cloud seeding.” In
practice, doubt has had the opposite effect. Due to the lack of scientific proof concerning their impacts, no
one has succeeded in winning a lawsuit ( 官司) against cloud-seeding companies. Therefore, private
climate engineering can continue in relative legal safety.
17．What does the project aim to do?
A．Conserve moisture in the soil.
B．Prevent the formation of hailstones.
C．Forecast disastrous hailstorms.
D．Investigate chemical use in farming.
18．Who are opposed to the project?
A．Farmers in east-central Alberta.
B．Managers of insurance companies.
C．Provincial government officials.
D．Residents of Calgary and Edmonton.
19．Why does Dr. Doswell mention the tornadoes he saw in 1999?
A．To compare different kinds of seeding methods.
B．To illustrate the development of big hailstorms.
C．To indicate a possible danger of cloud seeding.
D．To show the link between storms and moisture.
20．What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A．Scientific studies have proved Stienwand right.
B．Private climate engineering is illegal in Canada.
C．The doubt about cloud seeding has disappeared.
D．Cloud-seeding companies will continue to exist.
二 创新基础练
Passage 1
If you were a Plutonian and knew just when to look up a few weeks ago, you would have seen an
amazing sight. There, in the eternally black sky, a shiny metal machine the size of a small car would have
suddenly appeared near the tiny sun, flashed swiftly from horizon to horizon, and then, just as suddenly,
disappeared into the darkness.
You might have raised an alien tentacle (触手) and scratched your ET head at this UFO encounter.
You would have asked your Plutonian friends, “What was that?” and “Are we not alone in the universe?”
And you would have looked back at the sky with renewed curiosity.
That shiny machine was the New Horizons research probe, and the information it has beamed (定向
传送) back to us since, clear across the solar system, makes intelligent life on Pluto highly unlikely. But
here on Earth, the builders of that small craft ( 航空器) have been asking those same questions for
thousands of years.
Space travel has enabled us to see the entire world with unprecedented clarity. However, New
Horizons’ successful high-speed fly-by of Pluto has inspired us once more to ask: “What’s next?” And,
perhaps, an even more fundamental question: “Why is it that we even explore space at all?”
Exploration is a fundamental, necessary part of being human. It’s natural for babies to gain the
ability to walk, well before we can talk. The following experience of tottering ( 跌跌撞撞) around and
directly stimulating our senses with endless unexpected new information, enables our development. Teens
are naturally driven to rebel and leave home for the same reason.
As adults, we have extended those initial steps to explore our entire planet. Our earliest ancestors,
on foot first and then by cart and boat, pursued their curiosity out of Africa 60, 000 years ago. They
explored, settled the farthest reaches of Australia, and made it to the last continent, Antarctica, in the
mid-1800s. And with the innovative experimentation of the Wright brothers, we finally started directly
exploring the third dimension (维度) in l903, just one long lifetime ago.
There is nothing sacred (不可侵犯的) about space exploration. It is just the latest version of an
ancient pattern: using our most advanced technology to discover and then push back the edges of our
experience and imagination.
As people with just ten fingers and ten toes, we are not good at imagining large numbers. We speak
easily of “billions” and “light years,” but the vastness of space and the length of time make the actual
chances of finding alien life right now incredibly slim. But so it was with each new major step of
exploration before we took it. Yet the accumulation of knowledge has allowed an unprecedented number
of us to live in all corners of the Earth.
Lunar and Martian exploration and settlement are just the inevitable continuation of the ancient
nature of human exploration itself. And there is no hurry. We will get there.
1．Which of the following statements about the New Horizons research probe is NOT true?
A．It was a car-sized piece of metal machinery.
B．It accomplished its mission after its visit to Pluto.
C．It successfully collected new information about Pluto.
D．It was circling around Pluto at great speed on its mission.
2．The real reason why there is “nothing sacred” about space exploration is that ________.
A．human imagination has no limits
B．it’s human nature to explore the unknown
C．it’s an inevitable stage of technological development
D．we have seen the entire world with unprecedented clarity
3．The author was ________ the possibility of finding alien life right now but he remained ________
about the future of space exploration.
A．open to. . . uncertain
B．curious about… negative
C．doubtful about… confident
D．excited about… indifferent
4．Which of the following best shows the development of the article?
A．①②③—④⑤⑥⑦—⑧⑨
B．①②③—④⑤⑥—⑦⑧—⑨
C．①②—③④—⑤⑥⑦—⑧⑨
D．①②—③④—⑤⑥—⑦⑧⑨
Passage 2
You are in middle school again and can’t find your schedule.
Your friend falls into a pool, and you have to swim to the bottom to save him.
Your house is on fire, and you can’t find your way out.
In times of intense stress, sleep can be hard to come by. And when you finally convince your brain
to slow down and drift off, suddenly you are having nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat. What
gives?
“Dreams serve a very important purpose,” says Michael Howell, an associate professor in the
University of Minnesota Medical School’s Department of Neurology. “They’re your brain’s way of
consolidating memories.” In REM (or rapid eye movement) sleep, the phase in which dreams occur, the
brain is busy doing “file compression (压缩)”, Howell explains. It gets rid of information from the day that
is not important and hangs on to the information that is in some way relevant over the long term.
Dreams originate from the brain’s limbic system ( 边缘系统), which controls both memory and
emotion. So perhaps not surprisingly, most dreams are centred on primitive ( 原始的) human emotions.
“Joy, laughter, terror, embarrassment — all of these are your brain’s way of saying, ‘Okay, it’s really
important that you remember this for your survival and your connection with your family and
neighbours,’” Howell says. “Dreams have a nice way of distilling ( 提炼) down the essence of what
matters.”
When stress plays an important role in a person’s daily life — during a global pandemic or in times
of civil unrest (国内动乱), for example — the brain is processing a lot of emotions and new worries.
Couple that with unusual sleep patterns and the dream pump is primed (使启动) for memorable and often
vivid dreaming. If you wake up in the middle of a dream, you are more likely to recall it in detail, too.
Howell himself has dreamt about his daughter riding her bike into traffic. In his waking life, he
merely saw her get close to the edge of the sidewalk as a car passed by. “As far as your brain is concerned,
that’s enough,” Howell says. “Your brain will take that experience and replay that memory while you’re
dreaming.” There is no need to spend time psychoanalyzing (对……进行心理分析) the content of your
dreams. It is just the brain processing information from the day — and trying to prepare you, should you
encounter these scenarios in the future.
Sleep serves many important purposes, besides giving your brain a chance to consolidate memories
and process emotions through dreams. Keeping a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends, sets your
body’s internal clock. Avoid digital screens within a couple of hours of your bedtime. More sleep can help
you manage stress more effectively, which may ward off some of those annoying nightmares.
5．Which of the following statements is true?
A．Most dreams are associated with painful memories.
B．People who suffer from sleep loss have fewer nightmares.
C．The limbic system plays a big role in the formation of dreams.
D．The more information we get from the day, the more we dream at night.
6．Paragraph 7 mainly explains why people under stress are more likely to ________.
A．suffer from sleep loss
B．have vivid dreaming
C．wake up from nightmares
D．recall their dreams after they wake up
7．According to Howell, he dreamt about his daughter riding her bike into traffic because ________.
A．he had a very stressful day
B．he saw his daughter do it during the day
C．he is concerned about the possibility of the event
D．he wanted to be prepared for the situation consciously
8．According to the article, an effective way to prevent nightmares is to ________.
A．maintain a healthy sleep pattern
B．reduce our stress during the daytime
C．sleep whenever you have the opportunity
D．create an ideal sleep environment for ourselves
Passage 3
On a pleasant fall morning last year, a group of freshmen from The Greene School hiked a thin path
along the edge of a pond in the woodland, chatting cheerfully as they moved through rocks, fallen leaves,
and outgrowths of native trees. Every so often, the group took in natural features that most teenagers might
overlook, like a massive beaver (海狸) dam across a bend in the pond.
Pressed by the group advisor, Damaris Borden, to explain its significance in the ecosystem, a girl
offered that the dams “create new water sources,” recalling what she’d learned about how the dam
improves water quality by creating slow-moving wetlands, acting as natural filters (过滤).
It wasn’t the students’ first attempt into the woods. In the previous weeks, they had studied the
campus’s natural wetlands and sharpened arguments they’d present in mock (模拟) debates — roleplaying
as government officials, environmentalists, and solar company managers — about the balance between
protecting forest land or destroying it in favor of developing more renewable sources of energy. “It’s an
imaginary scene,” Borden said, “but it’s also one that’s playing out across the state and the country.”
It is also rich ground for study at The Greene School where students learn to work cooperatively.
Over the course of the next four years, Borden’s freshmen will learn about teamwork and risk-taking in
both academic (学术的) and social contexts, cheering each other on in the wilderness — before they head
inside to design and build functioning water filters or work on a months-long project to study local soil
quality.
“We are showing kids that they have an opportunity to step into their learning in a different way.
Getting students to solve challenging, real-world problems is central to the school mission,” said
Headmaster Alex Edelmann of the school’s unique philosophy.
“It’s not about doing things because they have to, it’s about doing things because they can see that
it’s meaningful and they can see its value and they understand that the work they’re doing is contributing to
a better school and a better world.”
9．What does the author stress by mentioning the beaver dam?
A．The cause of hiking.
B．The right way of learning.
C．The natural function of dam.
D．The application of knowledge.
10．What does Borden think of mock debates?
A．They are meaningful.
B．They are arguable.
C．They are imaginary.
D．They are challenging.
11．What can we learn about education from Alex Edelmann?
A．Students have to do things as required.
B．Students learn to solve real-world problems.
C．Classroom learning contributes to a better school.
D．Classroom learning is related to the school mission.
12．What can be a suitable title for the text?
A．Explorations in Nature.
B．Education into Nature.
C．Introduction to The Greene School.
D．Outdoor Adventures for Teenagers.
Passage 4
I am going to start with a challenge. I want you to imagine each of these two scenes in as much
detail as you can.
Scene number one: “They gave us a hearty welcome.” Who are these people? What are they
wearing? What are they drinking?
Scene number two: “They gave us a cordial reception.” What expressions are on their faces? What
are they wearing and drinking?
Fix these pictures in your mind's eye and then jot down a sentence or two to describe them. We will
come back to them later. Now, on to our story.
In the year 400 AD, the Celts in Britain were ruled by Romans. This had one benefit for the Celts:
The Romans protected them from the barbarian Saxon tribes (撒克逊部落) of Northern Europe. But then
the Roman Empire began to crumble, and with the Romans gone, the Germanic tribes (日耳曼部落) — the
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians — quickly sailed across the water, did away with the Celts (凯尔特人),
and formed kingdoms in the British Isles (不列颠群岛).
For several centuries, these tribes lived in Britain, and their Germanic language, Anglo Saxon,
became the region's common language, what would later come to be called Old English. In the 700s,
however, a series of Viking (维京人) invasions began, which continued until a treaty (条约) split the island
in half: on one side were the Saxons; on the other were the Danes (丹麦日耳曼人), who spoke Old Norse
(古诺斯语). As Saxons fell in love with their Danish neighbours, marriages blurred the boundaries and
Old Norse mixed with Old English. Many Old Norse words like “leg”, “root”, “skin” and “want” are still
part of modern English.
In 1066, the Norman Conquest brought war again to the British Isles. The Normans were Vikings
who had settled in France and abandoned their Viking culture in favour of a French lifestyle. They placed a
Norman king on the English throne, and for three centuries, French was the language of the British royalty.
Society in Britain came to have two levels: French-speaking aristocracy (贵族) and Old English-speaking
peasants (农民). Speakers quickly came to realize what it is that they should do if they wanted to sound
sophisticated: use words that had come from French.
Let’s go back to the two sentences you thought about earlier. When you pictured the hearty
welcome, did you see an earthy scene with relatives hugging and talking loudly? Were they drinking beer?
Were they wearing lumberjack (伐木工) shirts and jeans? What about the cordial reception? I bet you
pictured a far more refined crowd: suits and wine.
How is it that phrases that are considered synonymous by the dictionary can evoke such different
pictures? “Hearty” and “welcome” are both Saxon words, while “cordial” and “reception” come from
French. The connotation of nobility and authority has persisted around words of French origin. And the
connotation of peasantry, the salt of the Earth, has persisted around Saxon words. Even if you have never
heard this history before, the memory of it persists in the feelings evoked by the words you speak. Whether
we realize it consciously or only subconsciously, our history lives in the words we speak and hear.
13．The speaker started the speech with a challenge to ________.
A．test the audience’s command of English
B．show the audience how to memorize words fast
C．show the speaker’s strong command of large vocabulary
D．engage the audience to have a better understanding of the topic
14．Over the periods of history mentioned in the article, the British Isles were successively ruled by
________.
the Romans
①
the Celts
②
the Normans
③
the Germanic tribes
④
A．①③②
B．①②④
C．①④③
D．②③④
15．According to the article, which of the following statements about the Normans, who were of Viking
origin, is true?
A．They fully embraced a French lifestyle.
B．They signed a treaty to split the British Isles in half.
C．They spread the Viking language across the British Isles.
D．They maintained their Viking language and culture after settling in France.
16．What can we learn from the article?
A．Languages continue to die out all the time.
B．Language is a reflection of history and culture.
C．A language is bound to die if it remains unchanged.
D．Languages constantly change to meet the needs of their users.
Passage 5
Have you ever had take-out delivered by a delivery robot? If so, what did you think of the
experience? Were the robots smart enough?
UCLA professor Sean Hecht was walking across his school’s campus one recent night when he
stopped to photograph an interesting scene. In his picture, four robots have lined up, appearing to have
been stopped in their way as the leading one was “stuck behind a carelessly discarded scooter”.
Bystanders tried to help by moving the scooters but became annoyed at the leading robot’s lack of
response to their efforts, according to Hecht. People probably didn’t realize that the Starship Technologies
bots were loyal to their AMD Ryzen cores (锐龙核心处理器). They weren’t going to budge until the
humans stopped crossing back and forth in front of them.
“This is our future, I guess,” Hecht wrote in his tweet about the situation.
It’s not easy being a delivery bot. In America, they have been kicked by angry pedestrians, peed on
by dogs, and impacted by heavy glass doors, among other misfortunes. They’ve become popular subjects
of online fail videos. In these videos they can be seen falling down stairs, bumping into a fire hydrant ( 消
防栓)and shooting up a ramp (斜坡)much too quickly. And, of course, crashing.
There are also some potential challenges to overcome before delivery robots can be widely adopted.
The ban on robots in such cities as New York and San Francisco is a perfect example of the concerns with
their safety that many still have. A senator from Michigan expressed similar doubts in an interview with
WIRED. He pointed out the danger the robots would pose to the public if they were to malfunction while
on the job.
That’s why, with the rapid increase in delivery bots and with all of the new robot startups entering
the field, companies are now going out of their way to seek approvals to operate their delivery bots. Many
of these companies have started to join up with urban planning groups. They are offering their help to cities
by reporting problems such as dangerous sidewalks.
Additionally, delivery robots are not the same thing as autonomous delivery vans. They have a fairly
low carrying capacity, which limits the number and type of deliveries that they can complete.
Under current circumstances, the robots need to remain within a certain radius ( 半径)of a hub or
charging station, so they are also limited in their potential range. This could make their adoption slow,
especially in those areas which are located farther from the country's major city centres.
It is also worth noting that even if the delivery robots themselves are powered by electricity, the
source of the electricity may not be environmentally friendly. These robots need to be powered by clean
electricity in order to maximize their ability to reduce emissions. This is one main concern that will need to
be addressed as their usage grows.
Society’s growing preference for contactless delivery services has helped drive up demand for
delivery bots. It seems, however, that these machines still have a long way to go before they can prove that
they have what it truly takes to face the unpredictable realities of the real world.
17．What Professor Sean Hecht saw on the UCLA campus revealed that _________.
A．UCLA students are kind and warm-hearted
B．roads on the UCLA campus are in poor condition
C．delivery robots still face many obstacles to their wide adoption
D．universities don’t have enough street space for people and vehicles to use
18．According to the article, delivery robots are banned in many cities because of _________.
A．safety concerns
B．the huge cost
C．public opposition
D．urban planning rules
19．Based on information from the article, the concerns that stand in the way of the wide adoption of
delivery robots include _________.
their impact on the environment
①
unexpected risks and road conditions
②
their limited carrying capacity and range of motion
③
the danger they could potentially pose to the public
④
A．①②③
B．①③④
C．②③④
D．①②③④
20．Which of the following sentences best sums up the main idea of this article?
A．People are ready to embrace delivery robots.
B．The reality of delivery robots is further away than many think.
C．The convenience and accessibility of delivery robots is incomparable.
D．Delivery robots on college campuses are becoming increasingly popular.
三 高考模拟练
1.【2026 届江苏省如皋中学高三摸底试题】
Power often boosts an employee’s creativity because being powerful liberates the individual from
restrictions. However, new research shows that employees who are not in positions of power can become
more creative when given time to “warm up” to a task by engaging in the creative task more than once.
“This is important because when people with more power are able to express their creative ideas
more than those with less power, which leads to a rich-get-richer dynamic that strengthens these power
imbalances,” said Brian Lucas, assistant professor in the Cornell University. “Understanding ways to boost
the creativity of lower power workers can help them find the right way to deal with this low-power
disadvantage,” Lucas said.
Lucas and his colleagues conducted two studies to reach their conclusion ．In the first study, they
divided the creative idea generation session into two rounds consisting of a one-minute “warm up”
followed by a second round in which the participants could take as long as they wanted．Participants were
randomly assigned to a high-power condition or a low-power condition, and feelings of power were
generated with a role manipulation (操纵) where participants were given a leadership role and control over
resources (high power) or an employee role with no control over resources (low power). The study found
that high-power individuals were more creative than low-power individuals in the warm-up round．There
was no difference, though, in creativity in the second round.
In the second study, the researchers gave them a different creative task and increased the number of
rounds from two sessions to five, taking as long as they like to complete the task. Similar to the first study,
the study found that high-power individuals were more creative than low-power individuals in the first
round ．But the creativity of low-power individuals caught up to the creativity of the high-power
individuals after the first round.
“The low-power warm-up effect suggests a simple intervention that empowers all employees to tap
their creative potential and overcomes power imbalances in the workplace: when pursuing creative work,
let employees warm up first,” Lucas said.
1．Why does Locus think it important to boost the creativity of lower power workers?
A．It maintains power imbalances.
B．It motivates their ambition to catch up.
C．It creates a competitive work environment.
D．It encourages a workplace with more equality.
2．How did Lucas and his co-authors stimulate feelings of power in the participants?
A．Through a creative task with time limits.
B．Through providing them with different positions.
C．Through a competition between leaders and employees.
D．Through assigning them to different conditions intentionally.
3．How did the second study differ from the first study?
A．It had fewer rounds.
B．It involved more participants.
C．Participants had a changed task.
D．Participants’ creativity gap became wider.
4．Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A．Power tends to encourage creative ideas.
B．Changing tasks boosts all the employees’ creativity.
C．Warm-up time corrects creativity power imbalances.
D．Low-power individuals outperform the high-power ones.
2.【2025 届江苏省前黄中学高三试题】
Go to any movie theater or sports venue, and it’s obvious there’s an invisible bond that forms from
laughing, crying, and simply feeling while brushing shoulders with others. Researches have long backed up
this sense of connection, but some aspects of the phenomenon remained unclear. Now, a new study is
offering insight.
Writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science, Victor Chung of the École Normale Supérieure
in France and his team reported how they examined the matter by inviting strangers to watch videos
together in same sex pairs.
Pairs of strangers watched three types of videos together: positive, negative, and neutral (中性的)
with a curtain between them that was either open or closed. At the start of the experiment the researchers
asked each participant whether they’d like to meet the other member of their pair again. After watching
each video, participants reported their emotions and feelings of connectedness, and after seeing all three
videos they were asked once again about their feelings towards the other participant.
The results showed the emotional films generated stronger responses than the neutral film. Crucially,
the team said participants’ feelings of connectedness within the pairs was boosted when they experienced
more intense emotions. However, this was only the case when participants watched the films with the
curtain between them open. The researchers said that whether or not the pairs could see each other had no
impact on how positively or negatively they felt about the films.
“We found that silently watching emotional films together with another individual is associated with
social bonding, even when this person is a stranger and without any verbal (口头的) communication,” said
Chung, the study author.
The team added that the findings may help explain why people seek out group activities that
generate strong emotions, “even participating in sad memorials that cause negative emotions.” In other
words, because emotion bonds us, and humans have a fundamental desire to belong, we’re up for
experiences one might think we’d naturally want to avoid.
5．What does “the phenomenon” in paragraph 1 refer to?
A．Shared emotions bond people.
B．Physical touch helps tackle stress.
C．A chance encounter leads to a friendship.
D．Entertainment is a crucial part of human life.
6．How did the researchers get their findings?
A．By analyzing participants’ emotions.
B．By comparing participants’ self-reports.
C．By documenting participants’ video responses.
D．By stimulating participants’ desire for interaction.
7．The study found that strong bonds were indeed created between pairs only when ______.
A．they were familiar with each other
B．they watched neutral films together
C．they were aware of the presence of each otherD．they could see each other while watching the films
8．What is presented in the last paragraph of the text?
A．An interpretation of the findings.
B．Potential implication of the findings.
C．Supporting evidence for the findings.
D．The underlying logic behind the findings.
3.【福建省永春第一中学2024-2025 学年高三试卷】
In the cutthroat world of artificial intelligence, long dominated by Silicon Valley, DeepSeek has
emerged as an impressive new player. Since its debut in late 2023, this Chinese AI has stirred global
attention, representing more than just another technological innovation. It’s a complex phenomenon that
reflects the shifting landscape of innovation, power and cultural influence in the AI-driven era.
Developed by QuantumThink Labs in Shenzhen, DeepSeek was created by a team of ex-Google
Brain engineers and Peking University experts. DeepSeek is not your average chatbot. Trained on an
astonishing 20 trillion tokens, this multimodal model showcases linguistic proficiency, code generation
capabilities and reasoning skills that rival or surpass its Western counterparts. What truly sets DeepSeek
apart is its remarkable efficiency, delivering GPT-4-level performance with 30 percent less computational
power.
In a strategic move, QuantumThink made a “lite” version of DeepSeek open source, a decision that
has sparked widespread adoption across the globe. Developers from cities like Lagos to Jakarta have
quickly embraced it to create poetry generators and AI-powered farm management tools for rural India.
However, DeepSeek’s growing influence is not without challenges. There are concerns that US
government may block American firms from using DeepSeek, mentioning data security concerns. Tariff
(关税) war could also be on the cards. Yet, such moves might backfire, potentially harming US startups
that benefit from DeepSeek’s cost advantages.
The future of AI, with DeepSeek at the center, remains a mystery. Will it trigger a tech battle
between the US and China, or will its open-source roots foster global collaboration? DeepSeek’s story is
not just about technology; it’s about the power of innovation and agency.
For too long, the AI narrative has been dominated by Western powers. Now, a Chinese lab has
shown that innovation is not exclusive to the West. Whether we enter an AI arms race or begin a new era of
global cooperation depends on how we choose to use and share this technology. As a Brazilian coder said,
the future of AI must speak the language of both the developed and developing world to truly succeed.
9．What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A．The creation of DeepSeek.
B．The definition of DeepSeek.
C．The strengths of DeepSeek.
D．The efficiency of DeepSeek.
10．What might be a challenge DeepSeek faces?
A．Involvement in tariff war.
B．The possibility of data leaking.
C．A decline in its competitiveness.
D．A ban on its use from US government.
11．Which of the following best describes the future of AI?
A．Uncertain.
B．Secure.
C．Promising.
D．Depressing.
12．What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A．AI should prioritize Western languages.
B．We will enter a new era of global AI cooperation.
C．Considering global needs is required to ensure AI’s success.
D．Developing countries will eventually dominate AI innovation.
4.【2025 年河南省实验中学高三模拟试卷】
After 20 years of efforts, a 26-foot-tall statue of Atlas is once again standing guard at the ancient
Temple of Zeus in the city of Agrigento in Sicily. The statue, created in the fifth century B ．C．E., was
one of 38 similar Atlas monuments built into the temple. They stood in a line between columns with their
arms raised, appearing to hold the structure upright.
In Greek mythology (神话), Atlas ignored orders from Zeus, the ruler of the universe, in a war. So,
he was forced to hold up the sky on his shoulders. Unlike the mythological Atlas, however, the stone
likenesses were unable to hold up Zeus’ temple forever. Ultimately, earthquakes and other events caused
the structure to collapse.
For many years, pieces of the statues were spread out around the site amongst other ancient ruins. In
1812, Charles Robert Cockerell, a British architect, first identified one of these sandstone heads during a
visit to Agrigento. A century later, in 1920, archaeologist Pirro Marconi became the first person to attempt
to reconstruct one of the Atlases, which is now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Agrigento. The
seeds of the current project began in 2004, when the Valley of the Temples Park conducted a research
campaign at the site.
But restoring Atlas in a standing position was particularly challenging, as researchers couldn’t
simply pile the pieces of the statue on top of one another. Instead, they attached them to metal shelves,
which are supported by a larger metal structure.
The restoration has faced scrutiny (审查) ever since officials first announced it several years ago.
“No archaeologist would agree on the use of ancient sculpture even if the purpose is to highlight the site’s
antiquity,” said C ． Brian Rose, an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania. But offcials like
Renato Schifani, the Sicilian governor, think that the statue’s restoration is a substantial and impressive
achievement.
“This statue of ancient Agrigento, which after many years of studies and research we can observe in
its natural position, is the heart of an important museum project of the entire area of the Temple of Zeus,”
Schifani said.
13．Why did Atlas stand with his arms upright?
A．It was a tradition in Greek mythology.
B．It was a sign of celebration in a war.
C．It was a punishment from Zeus.
D．It was a symbol of strength.
14．What can be inferred about Marconi?
A．He was a famous architect and archaeologist.
B．He made a new discovery at the Temple of Zeus.
C．He once worked with Cockerell for over a decade.
D．He was committed to restoring historical treasures.
15．Which of the following best describes Rose’s tone?
A．Optimistic.
B．Disapproving.
C．Tolerant.
D．Uncaring.
16．What is the main idea of the text?
A．A towering statue of Atlas rises again.
B．Sicily is known for its ancient temples.
C．The existence of Atlas in history proves true.
D．The Archaeological Museum of Agrigento reopens.
5.【2025 届湖北省襄阳市第五中学高三试题】
A psychological concept called “false consensus effect” helps explain why kind people sometimes
harm the environment. In psychology, the false consensus effect is a cognitive bias (偏见) where a person
tends to overestimate how much other people agree with him or her. There is a tendency for people to
assume that their own improper habits or acts are “normal”. And most importantly, they believe others
think the same way that they do. Put simply, if you’re doing something (even if you secretly know you
probably shouldn’t), you’re more likely to think plenty of other people do it too.
This bias allows people to justify socially unacceptable or illegal behaviors. Researchers have
observed the false consensus effect in drug use and illegal hunting. More recently, conservationists are
beginning to reveal how this effect contributes to environmental damage. In Australia, people who
admitted poaching, a way of fishing in no-take zones, thought it was much more common in society than it
really was. They also believed others viewed it as socially acceptable. However, in reality, more than 90%
of fishers held the opposite view.
Just as concepts from psychology can help explain some forms of environmental damage, so can
they help address it. For example, research shows people are more likely to litter in areas where there’s
already a lot of trash scattered around, so making sure the ground around a bin is clean may help.
Factual information on how other people think and behave can be very powerful. Electricity
companies have substantially reduced household energy use simply by showing people how their
electricity use compares to that of their neighbors. Encouragingly, stimulating people’s natural desire for
status has also been successful in getting people to publicly buy eco-friendly products.
17．Which example best illustrates “false consensus effect”?
A．A driver thinks illegal parking is common.
B．A blogger assumes many people dislike his posts.
C．A student figures most people spend long hours online.
D．A smoker believes people generally approve of smoking.
18．What was most Australian fishers’ attitude to poaching?
A．Unacceptable.
B．Widespread.
C．Controversial.
D．Complex.
19．How have electricity companies reduced energy consumption?
A．By comparing power consumption. C． By offering financial rewards.
B．By doing round-the-clock monitoring. D．By promoting renewable energy.
20．What is the primary purpose of this article?
A．To encourage people to reduce energy consumption.
B．To link a psychological concept to environmental issues.
C．To emphasize the importance of environmental protection.
D．To describe different types of environmentally harmful behaviors.
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