专题11 阅读理解说明文、议论文-【好题汇编】5年（2020-2024）高考真题+1年模拟英语分类汇编（北京专用）

【好题汇编】五年（2020-2024）高考英语 真题分类汇编（北京专用）解析版 专题11阅读理解说明文和议论文 年份 体裁 词数 话题 考点分布 细节 理解 推理 判断 主旨大意 词义猜测 2024 议论文 408 人与社会：讨论科学问题：宇宙是否是由计算机模拟生成的 0 3 0 1 说明文 384 人与社会：人类道德准则的形成过程及人类建立道德准则的标准 1 1 1 0 2023 说明文 366 人与社会：人类社会发展中人们的短视现象 0 3 0 0 说明文 429 人与社会：AI 对现代生活的影响 0 2 1 1 2022 说明文 415 人与社会：解决全球挑战的重要方法——系统思维 1 2 0 0 议论文 400 人与社会：量子计算真的会像它的宣传那样成功吗？ 1 1 1 1 2021 说明文 354 人与社会：全球崩塌（global collapse）的概念 0 2 0 1 议论文 480 人与社会/自然：文章通过讨论时间的定义，讲述了人们应该和大自然和谐相处，保护环境。 1 2 1 0 2020 说明文 360 人与自然：om Hunt设计的安装在狗狗项圈上的监测器 1 3 0 0 议论文 433 人与社会：通用人工智能技术 1 2 0 1 【2024北京卷】 The notion that we live in someone else’s video game is irresistible to many. Searching the term “simulation hypothesis” (模拟假说) returns numerous results that debate whether the universe is a computer simulation —— a concept that some scientists actually take seriously. Unfortunately, this is not a scientific question. We will probably never know whether it’s true. We can, instead, use this idea to advance scientific knowledge. The 18th-century philosopher Kant argued that the universe ultimately consists of things-in-themselves that are unknowable. While he held the notion that objective reality exists, he said our mind plays a necessary role in structuring and shaping our perceptions. Modern sciences have revealed that our perceptual experience of the world is the result of many stages of processing by sensory systems and cognitive (认知的) functions in the brain. No one knows exactly what happens within this black box. If empirical (实证的) experience fails to reveal reality, reasoning won’t reveal reality either since it relies on concepts and words that are contingent on our social, cultural and psychological histories. Again, a black box. So, if we accept that the universe is unknowable, we also accept we will never know if we live in a computer simulation. And then, we can shift our inquiry from “Is the universe a computer simulation?” to “Can we model the universe as a computer simulation? ” Modelling reality is what we do. To facilitate our comprehension of the world, we build models based on conceptual metaphors (隐喻) that are familiar to us. In Newton’s era, we imagined the universe as a clock. In Einstein’s, we uncovered the standard model of particle (粒子) physics. Now that we are in the information age, we have new concepts such as the computer, information processing, virtual reality, and simulation. Unsurprisingly, these new concepts inspire us to build new models of the universe. Models are not the reality, however. There is no point in arguing if the universe is a clock, a set of particles or an output of computation. All these models are tools to deal with the unknown and to make discoveries. And the more tools we have, the more effective and insightful we can become. It can be imagined that comparable to the process of building previous scientific models, developing the “computer simulation” metaphor-based model will also be a hugely rewarding exercise. 28. What does the author intend to do by challenging a hypothesis? A. Make an assumption. B. Illustrate an argument. C. Give a suggestion. D. Justify a comparison. 29. What does the phrase “contingent on” underlined in Paragraph 2 probably mean? A. Accepted by. B. Determined by. C. Awakened by. D. Discovered by. 30. As for Kant’s argument, the author is _________. A. appreciative B. doubtful C. unconcerned D. disapproving 31. It is implied in this passage that we should _________. A. compare the current models with the previous ones B. continue exploring the classical models in history C. stop arguing whether the universe is a simulation D. turn simulations of the universe into realities up. 【答案】28. C 29. B 30. A 31. C 【解析】 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章主要讨论了哲学家对于宇宙的认知和信息时代下的作者对于宇宙争论的看法。 【28题详解】 推理判断题。根据第一段“Searching the term “simulation hypothesis” (模拟假说) returns numerous results that debate whether the universe is a computer simulation —— a concept that some scientists actually take seriously. Unfortunately, this is not a scientific question. We will probably never know whether it’s true. We can, instead, use this idea to advance scientific knowledge.(搜索“模拟假说”这一术语会得到许多关于宇宙是否是计算机模拟的争论结果——一些科学家实际上认真对待这个概念。不幸的是，这不是一个科学问题。我们可能永远都不知道这是不是真的。相反，我们可以利用这个想法来推进科学知识)”可知，作者对于模拟假说提出质疑，是为了提出自己的建议，建议使用这一想法来推进科学知识。故选C项。 【29题详解】 词句猜测题。根据第二段“If empirical (实证的) experience fails to reveal reality, reasoning won’t reveal reality either since it relies on concepts and words that are contingent on our social, cultural and psychological histories. Again, a black box.(如果经验不能揭示现实，推理也不会揭示现实，因为它依赖于contingent on我们的社会、文化和心理历史的概念和词语)”可知，句中that引导限制性定语从句，指代先行词concepts and words，且结合常识，概念和词语取决于我们的社会、文化和心理历史，推测划线短语表示“取决于”，与determined by意义相近。故选B项。 【30题详解】 推理判断题。根据第二段“The 18th-century philosopher Kant argued that the universe ultimately consists of things-in-themselves that are unknowable. While he held the notion that objective reality exists, he said our mind plays a necessary role in structuring and shaping our perceptions. (18世纪的哲学家康德认为，宇宙最终由不可知的事物本身组成。虽然他认为客观现实是存在的，但他说，我们的大脑在构建和塑造我们的感知方面发挥着必要的作用)”以及第三段“So, if we accept that the universe is unknowable, we also accept we will never know if we live in a computer simulation.(因此，如果我们接受宇宙是不可知的，我们也接受我们永远不会知道我们是否生活在计算机模拟中)”可知，作者引用康德的观点，并在客观陈述后利用该观点来构建自己的论述，由此可知，作者对康德的论点持欣赏的态度。故选A项。 【31题详解】 推理判断题。根据第四段“There is no point in arguing if the universe is a clock, a set of particles or an output of computation. All these models are tools to deal with the unknown and to make discoveries. And the more tools we have, the more effective and insightful we can become. (争论宇宙是否是一个时钟、一组粒子还是计算输出的产物是没有意义的。所有这些模型都是处理未知事物和发现事物的工具。我们拥有的工具越多，我们就能变得越有效、越有洞察力)”以及第五段“It can be imagined that comparable to the process of building previous scientific models, developing the “computer simulation” metaphor-based model will also be a hugely rewarding exercise.(可以想象，与之前构建科学模型的过程相比，开发基于“计算机模拟”隐喻的模型也将是一项非常有益的工作)”可知，作者认为争论宇宙是否是虚拟的，这是没有意义的，我们应该停止争论宇宙是否为模拟，而应该着手于将其作为一个模型来探索和理解，这样会更有助于科学的进步。故选C项。 【2024北京卷】 Franz Boas’s description of Inuit (因纽特人) life in the 19th century illustrates the probable moral code of early humans. Here, norms (规范) were unwritten and rarely expressed clearly, but were well understood and taken to heart. Dishonest and violent behaviours were disapproved of; leadership, marriage and interactions with other groups were loosely governed by traditions. Conflict was often resolved in musical battles. Because arguing angrily leads to chaos, it was strongly discouraged. With life in the unforgiving Northern Canada being so demanding, the Inuit’s practical approach to morality made good sense. The similarity of moral virtues across cultures is striking, even though the relative ranking of the virtues may vary with a social group’s history and environment. Typically, cruelty and cheating are discouraged, while cooperation, humbleness and courage are praised. These universal norms far pre-date the concept of any moralising religion or written law. Instead, they are rooted in the similarity of basic human needs and our shared mechanisms for learning and problem solving. Our social instincts (本能) include the intense desire to belong. The approval of others is rewarding, while their disapproval is strongly disliked. These social emotions prepare our brains to shape our behaviour according to the norms and values of our family and our community. More generally, social instincts motivate us to learn how to behave in a socially complex world. The mechanism involves a repurposed reward system originally used to develop habits important for self-care. Our brains use the system to acquire behavioural patterns regarding safe routes home, efficient food gathering and dangers to avoid. Good habits save time, energy and sometimes your life. Good social habits do something similar in a social context. We learn to tell the truth, even when lying is self-serving; we help a grandparent even when it is inconvenient. We acquire what we call a sense of right and wrong. Social benefits are accompanied by social demands: we must get along, but not put up with too much. Hence self-discipline is advantageous. In humans, a greatly enlarged brain boosts self-control, just as it boosts problem-solving skills in the social as well as the physical world. These abilities are strengthened by our capacity for language, which allows social practices to develop in extremely unobvious ways. 32. What can be inferred about the forming of the Inuit’s moral code? A. Living conditions were the drive. B. Unwritten rules were the target. C. Social tradition was the basis. D. Honesty was the key. 33. What can we learn from this passage? A. Inconveniences are the cause of telling lies. B. Basic human needs lead to universal norms. C. Language capacity is limited by self-control. D. Written laws have great influence on virtues. 34. Which would be the best title for this passage? A. Virtues: Bridges Across Cultures B. The Values of Self-discipline C. Brains: Walls Against Chaos D. The Roots of Morality 【答案】32. C 33. B 34. D 【解析】 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。主要围绕人类道德规范的起源进行讨论，介绍了早期人类道德准则的形成过程及其如何根植于人类基本需求及共同的社会学习和问题解决机制中。 【32题详解】 推理判断题。根据第一段“Here, norms (规范) were unwritten and rarely expressed clearly, but were well understood and taken to heart. Dishonest and violent behaviours were disapproved of; leadership, marriage and interactions with other groups were loosely governed by traditions. Conflict was often resolved in musical battles. Because arguing angrily leads to chaos, it was strongly discouraged. With life in the unforgiving Northern Canada being so demanding, the Inuit’s practical approach to morality made good sense. (在这里，规范是不成文的，很少明确表达，但被很好地理解和铭记。不赞成不诚实和暴力行为；领导、婚姻以及与其他群体的互动都受到传统的松散控制。冲突往往通过音乐斗争来解决。因为愤怒的争论会导致混乱，所以强烈反对。在无情的加拿大北部，生活的要求如此之高，因纽特人对待道德的务实态度很有道理)”可知，因纽特人的生活中，规范是不成文的，因纽特人的道德准则的形成是以社会传统为基础的。故选C项。 【33题详解】 细节理解题。根据第二段“These universal norms far pre-date the concept of any moralising religion or written law. Instead, they are rooted in the similarity of basic human needs and our shared mechanisms for learning and problem solving.(这些普遍规范远远早于任何道德化宗教或成文法律的概念。相反，它们植根于人类基本需求的相似性以及我们学习和解决问题的共同机制)”可知，普遍的道德规范植根于人类基本需求的相似性以及我们学习和解决问题的共同机制，即人类的基本需求导致普遍的道德规范形成。故选B项。 【34题详解】 主旨大意题。根据第一段“Franz Boas’s description of Inuit (因纽特人) life in the 19th century illustrates the probable moral code of early humans.(弗朗兹·博厄斯对19世纪因纽特人生活的描述说明了早期人类可能的道德准则)”以及文章内容可知，本文围绕人类道德规范的起源进行讨论，主要介绍了早期人类道德准则的形成过程及其如何根植于人类基本需求及共同的社会学习和问题解决机制中，所以“道德的起源”适合作为文章标题。故选D项。 【2023北京卷】 In recent years, researchers from diverse fields have agreed that short-termism is now a significant problem in industrialised societies. The inability to engage with longer-term causes and consequences leads to some of the world’s most serious problems: climate change, biodiversity collapse, and more. The historian Francis Cole argues that the West has entered a period where “only the present exists, a present characterised at once by the cruelty of the instant and by the boredom of an unending now”. It has been proved that people have a bias (偏向) towards the present, focusing on loud attractions in the moment at the expense of the health, well-being and financial stability of their future selves or community. In business, this bias surfaces as short-sighted decisions. And on slow-burning problems like climate change, it translates into the unwillingness to make small sacrifices (牺牲) today that could make a major difference tomorrow. Instead, all that matters is next quarter’s profit, or satisfying some other near-term desires. These biased perspectives cannot be blamed on one single cause. It is fair to say, though, that our psychological biases play a major role. People’s hesitancy to delay satisfaction is the most obvious example, but there are others. One of them is about how the most accessible information in the present affects decisions about the future. For instance, you might hear someone say: “It’s cold this winter, so I needn’t worry about global warming.”Another is that loud and urgent matters are given too much importance, making people ignore longer-term trends that arguably matter more. This is when a pop star draws far more attention than, say, gradual biodiversity decline. As a psychologist once joked, if aliens (外星人) wanted to weaken humanity, they wouldn’t send ships; they would invent climate change. Indeed, when it comes to environmental transformations, we can develop a form of collective “poor memory”, and each new generation can believe the state of affairs they encounter is nothing out of the ordinary. Older people today, for example, can remember a time with insect-covered car windscreens after long drives. Children, on the other hand, have no idea that insect population has dropped dramatically. 28．The author quotes Francis Cole mainly to ________. A．draw a comparison B．introduce a topic C．evaluate a statement D．highlight a problem 29．What can be inferred from the last paragraph? A．Climate change has been forgotten. B．Lessons of history are highly valued. C．The human mind is bad at noting slow change. D．Humans are unwilling to admit their shortcomings. 30．What does the author intend to tell us? A．Far-sighted thinking matters to humans. B．Humans tend to make long-term sacrifices. C．Current policies facilitate future decision-making. D．Bias towards the present helps reduce near-term desires. 【答案】28．D 29．C 30．A 【导语】本文是说明文。近年来，来自不同领域的研究人员一致认为，短期主义现在是工业化社会的一个重大问题。事实证明，人们对现在有偏见，以牺牲健康为代价，专注于当下有吸引力的事物，而牺牲了未来自己或社区的健康、幸福和财务稳定。 28．推理判断题。第一段首句“In recent years, researchers from diverse fields have agreed that short-termism is now a significant problem in industrialised societies.(近年来，来自不同领域的研究人员一致认为，短期主义现在是工业化社会的一个重大问题。)”提出一个问题——短期主义，接着下文“The historian Francis Cole argues that the West has entered a period where “only the present exists, a present characterised at once by the cruelty of the instant and by the boredom of an unending now”.(历史学家弗朗西斯•科尔（Francis Cole）认为，西方已经进入了一个“只有现在存在的时代，现在的特点是瞬间的残酷和无休止的现在的无聊”。)”引用历史学家Francis Cole的话来强调只注重现在的这种短期主义的危害，由此可推知，文章引用Francis Col的话是为了强调一个问题，故选D。 29．推理判断题。根据最后一段中“As a psychologist once joked, if aliens (外星人) wanted to weaken humanity, they wouldn’t send ships; they would invent climate change. Indeed, when it comes to environmental transformations, we can develop a form of collective “poor memory”, and each new generation can believe the state of affairs they encounter is nothing out of the ordinary.(一位心理学家曾经开玩笑说，如果外星人想削弱人类，他们不会派出飞船；他们会发明气候变化。的确，在环境变化的问题上，我们可以形成一种集体的“记忆不良”，每一代人都会认为他们所遇到的情况并没有什么不同寻常的)”可知，一位心理学家曾经开玩笑说，如果外星人想要削弱人类，他们会发明气候变化，通过这种方式来削弱人类，因为人们对于气候变化形成一种集体的“记忆不良”，认为他们所遇到的情况没什么异常的，由此可推知人们不擅长察觉出缓慢的变化，故选C。 30．推理判断题。通读全文，尤其是第一段“In recent years, researchers from diverse fields have agreed that short-termism is now a significant problem in industrialised societies.(近年来，来自不同领域的研究人员一致认为，短期主义现在是工业化社会的一个重大问题。)”提出一个问题——短期主义，和第二段“It has been proved that people have a bias(偏向) towards the present, focusing on loud attractions in the moment at the expense of the health, well-being and financial stability of their future selves or community. In business, this bias surfaces as short-sighted decisions. And on slow-burning problems like climate change, it translates into the unwillingness to make small sacrifices(牺牲) today that could make a major difference tomorrow.(事实证明人们对现在有偏见，以牺牲健康为代价，只专注于当下引人注目的事物，而牺牲了未来自己或社区的健康、幸福和稳定。在商业中，这种偏见表现为短视决策。在气候变化等缓慢燃烧的问题上，这意味着不愿意今天做出小的牺牲，而这些牺牲可能会在明天产生重大影响。)”可知，文章主要讲述了短视决策的危害，呼吁我们要做出有远见的思考。由此可推知，作者的写作目的是告诉我们有远见的思考对人类的重要性，故选A。 【2023北京卷】 What is life? Like most great questions, this one is easy to ask but difficult to answer. The reason is simple: we know of just one type of life and it’s challenging to do science with a sample size of one. The field of artificial life-called ALife for short — is the systematic attempt to spell out life’s fundamental principles. Many of these practitioners, so-called ALifers, think that somehow making life is the surest way to really understand what life is. So far no one has convincingly made artificial life. This track record makes ALife a ripe target for criticism, such as declarations of the field’s doubtful scientific value. Alan Smith, a complexity scientist, is tired of such complaints. Asking about “the point” of ALife might be, well, missing the point entirely, he says. “The existence of a living system is not about the use of anything.” Alan says. “Some people ask me, ‘So what’s the worth of artificial life?’ Do you ever think, ‘What is the worth of your grandmother?’” As much as many ALifers hate emphasizing their research’s applications, the attempts to create artificial life could have practical payoffs. Artificial intelligence may be considered ALife’s cousin in that researchers in both fields are enamored by a concept called open-ended evolution (演化). This is the capacity for a system to create essentially endless complexity, to be a sort of “novelty generator”. The only system known to exhibit this is Earth’s biosphere. If the field of ALife manages to reproduce life’s endless “creativity” in some virtual model, those same principles could give rise to truly inventive machines. Compared with the developments of Al, advances in ALife are harder to recognize. One reason is that ALife is a field in which the central concept — life itself — is undefined. The lack of agreement among ALifers doesn’t help either. The result is a diverse line of projects that each advance along their unique paths. For better or worse, ALife mirrors the very subject it studies. Its muddled (混乱的) progression is a striking parallel (平行线) to the evolutionary struggles that have shaped Earth biosphere. Undefined and uncontrolled, ALife drives its followers to repurpose old ideas and generated novelty. It may be, of course, that these characteristics aren’t in any way surprising or singular. They may apply universally to all acts of evolution. Ultimately ALife may be nothing special. But even this dismissal suggests something：perhaps, just like life itself throughout the universe, the rise of ALife will prove unavoidable. 31．Regarding Alan Smith’s defence of ALife, the author is . A．supportive B．puzzled C．unconcerned D．doubtful 32．What does the word “enamored” underlined in Paragraph 3 most probably mean? A．Shocked. B．Protected. C．Attracted. D．Challenged. 33．What can we learn from this passage? A．ALife holds the key to human future. B．ALife and AI share a common feature. C．AI mirrors the developments of ALife. D．AI speeds up the process of human evolution. 34．Which would be the best title for the passage? A．Life Is Undefined. Can AI Be a Way Out? B．Life Evolves. Can AI Help ALife Evolve, Too? C．Life Is Undefined. Can ALife Be Defined One Day? D．Life Evolves. Can Attempts to Create ALife Evolve, Too? 【答案】31．A 32．C 33．B 34．D 【导语】本文为说明文。文章主要探讨了ALife是否也在不断地进化的问题。 31．推理判断题。根据第三段“As much as many ALifers hate emphasizing their research’s applications, the attempts to create artificial life could have practical payoffs. (尽管许多ALifer讨厌强调他们研究的应用，但创造人工生命的尝试可能会有实际的回报)”可知，作者认为创造人工生命的尝试是会有回报的；再结合第二段“So far no one has convincingly made artificial life. This track record makes ALife a ripe target for criticism, such as declarations of the field’s doubtful scientific value. Alan Smith, a complexity scientist, is tired of such complaints. Asking about “the point” of ALife might be, well, missing the point entirely, he says. “The existence of a living system is not about the use of anything.” Alan says. “Some people ask me, ‘So what’s the worth of artificial life?’ Do you ever think, ‘What is the worth of your grandmother?’”(到目前为止，还没有人能令人信服地制造出人工生命。这一记录使生命科学成为批评的成熟目标，比如对该领域可疑科学价值的声明。复杂性科学家艾伦•史密斯厌倦了这样的抱怨。他说，询问ALife的“意义”可能完全没有抓住要点。“一个生命系统的存在与任何东西的使用无关。”Alan说。“有人问我，‘那么人工生命的价值是什么？’你有没有想过，‘你祖母的价值是多少？’”)”可推知，因为还没有人能令人信服地制造出人工生命，才导致使生命科学成为批评（认为其没有科学价值）的成熟目标，作者认为这是不合理的，所以后文引用了Alan Smith的话语对这种观点进行反驳，即关于Alan Smith对ALife的辩护，作者表示支持。故选A。 32．词句猜测题。根据划线词上文“Artificial intelligence may be considered ALife’s cousin in that researchers in both fields are enamored by a concept called open-ended evolution (演化).(人工智能可能被认为是ALife的表亲，因为这两个领域的研究人员都被一个叫做开放进化的概念enamored)”可知，人工智能可能被认为是ALife的表亲，说明人工智能和ALife二者间有共同之处，可推测是因为这两个领域的研究人员都被一个叫做开放进化的概念所吸引，所以才有了这种观点。故划线词意为“吸引”。故选C。 33．推理判断题。根据第三段“Artificial intelligence may be considered ALife’s cousin in that researchers in both fields are enamored by a concept called open-ended evolution (演化).(人工智能可能被认为是ALife的表亲，因为这两个领域的研究人员都被一个叫做开放进化的概念所吸引)”可知，ALife和AI有一个共同的特点。故选B。 34．主旨大意题。根据最后一段“They may apply universally to all acts of evolution. Ultimately ALife may be nothing special. But even this dismissal suggests something: perhaps, just like life itself throughout the universe, the rise of ALife will prove unavoidable.(它们可能普遍适用于所有进化行为。最终，ALife可能没有什么特别的。但即使是这种否定也表明了一些事情：也许，就像整个宇宙中的生命本身一样，ALife的崛起将被证明是不可避免的)”结合文章主要探讨了ALife是否也在不断地进化。D选项“生命在进化。创造ALife的尝试也能进化吗？”是最合适的标题。故选D。 【2022年北京卷】 “What would the world be if there were no hunger?” It’s a question that Professor Crystal would ask her students. They found it hard to answer, she wrote later, because imagining something that isn’t part of real life—and learning how to make it real—is a rare skill. It is taught to artists and engineers, but much less often to scientists. Crystal set out to change that, and helped to create a global movement. The result—an approach known as systems thinking—is now seen as essential in meeting global challenges. Systems thinking is crucial to achieving targets such as zero hunger and better nutrition because it requires considering the way in which food is produced, processed, delivered and consumed, and looking at how those things intersect (交叉 ) with human health, the environment, economics and society. According to systems thinking, changing the food system—or any other network—requires three things to happen. First, researchers need to identify all the players in that system; second, they must work out how they relate to each other; and third, they need to understand and quantify the impact of those relationships on each other and on those outside the system. Take nutrition. In the latest UN report on global food security, the number of undernourished (营养不良 )people in the world has been rising, despite great advances in nutrition science. Tracking of 150 biochemicals in food has been important in revealing the relationships between calories, sugar, fat and the occurrence of common diseases. But using machine learning and artificial intelligence, some scientists propose that human diets consist of at least 26,000 biochemicals—and that the vast majority are not known.This shows that we have some way to travel before achieving the first objective of systems t hinking - which,in this example, is to identify more constituent parts of the nutrition system. A systems approach to creating change is also built on the assumption that everyone in the system has equal power. But as some researchers find, the food system is not an equal one. A good way to redress (修正 ) such power imbalance is for more universities to do what Crystal did and teach students how to think using a systems approach. More researchers, policymakers and representatives from the food industry must learn to look beyond their direct lines of responsibility and adopt a systems approach. Crystal knew that visions alone don’t produce results, but concluded that “we’ll never produce results that we can’t envision”. 28. The author uses the question underlined in Paragraph 1 to ________. A. illustrate an argument B. highlight an opinion C. introduce the topic D. predict the ending 29. What can be inferred about the field of nutrition? A. The first objective of systems thinking hasn’t been achieved. B. The relationships among players have been clarified. C. Machine learning can solve the nutrition problem. D. The impact of nutrition cannot be quantified. 30. As for systems thinking, which would the author agree with? A. It may be used to justify power imbalance. B. It can be applied to tackle challenges. C. It helps to prove why hunger exists. D. It goes beyond human imagination. 【答案】28. C 29. A 30. B 【解题导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了解决全球挑战的重要方法——系统思维。 28.【解析】 推理判断题。由文章第一段““What would the world be if there were no hunger?” It’s a question that Professor Crystal would ask her students. They found it hard to answer, she wrote later, because imagining something that isn’t part of real life—and learning how to make it real—is a rare skill. It is taught to artists and engineers, but much less often to scientists. Crystal set out to change that, and helped to create a global movement. The result—an approach known as systems thinking—is now seen as essential in meeting global challenges. (“如果没有饥饿，世界会是什么样子？”这是 Crystal教授会问学生的问题。她后来写道，他们发现很难回答这个问题，因为想象一些不属于现实生活的东西，并学习如何将其变成现实是一项罕见的技能。它被教授给艺术家和工程师，但很少教授给科学家。Crystal着手改变这种状况，并帮助创建了一个全球运动。结果，一种被称为系统思维的方法现在被视为应对全球挑战的关键。)”可知，文章开头提出问题是为了引出话题-系统思维的方法被视为应对全球挑战的关键。故选C项。 29.【解析】 细节理解题。由文章第三段“This shows that we have some way to travel before achieving the first objective of systems t hinking - which,in this example, is to identify more constituent parts of the nutrition system.(这表明，在实现系统思考的第一个目标之前，我们还有一段路要走——在本例中，这是为了确定营养系统的更多组成部分。)”可知，实现系统思维的第一个目标还有一段路需要走，现尚未实现。故选A项。 30.【解析】 推理判断题。由文章第一段“Crystal set out to change that, and helped to create a global movement. The result—an approach known as systems thinking—is now seen as essential in meeting global challenges.(Crystal着手改变这种状况，并帮助创建了一个全球运动。结果，一种被称为系统思维的方法现在被视为应对全球挑战的关键。)”可知，作者认为该系统能应用于解决挑战。故选B项。 【2022年北京卷】 Quantum ( 量子 ) computers have been on my mind a lot lately. A friend has been sending me articles on how quantum computers might help solve some of the biggest challenges we face as humans. I’ve also had exchanges with two quantum-computing experts. One is computer scientist Chris Johnson who I see as someone who helps keep the field honest. The other is physicist Philip Taylor. For decades, quantum computing has been little more than a laboratory curiosity. Now, big tech companies have invested in quantum computing, as have many smaller ones. According to Business Weekly, quantum machines could help us “cure cancer, and even take steps to turn climate change in the opposite direction.” This is the sort of hype ( 炒作 ) that annoys Johnson. He worries that researchers are making promises they can’t keep. “What’s new,” Johnson wrote, “is that millions of dollars are now potentially available to quantum computing researchers.” As quantum computing attracts more attention and funding, researchers may mislead investors, journalists, the public and, worst of all, themselves about their work’s potential. If researchers can’t keep their promises, excitement might give way to doubt, disappointment and anger, Johnson warns. Lots of other technologies have gone through stages of excitement. But something about quantum computing makes it especially prone to hype, Johnson suggests, perhaps because “‘quantum’ stands for something cool you shouldn’t be able to understand.” And that brings me back to Taylor, who suggested that I read his book Q for Quantum. After I read the book, Taylor patiently answered my questions about it. He also answered my questions about PyQuantum, the firm he co-founded in 2016. Taylor shares Johnson’s concerns about hype, but he says those concerns do not apply to PyQuantum. The company, he says, is closer than any other firm “by a very large margin ( 幅度 )” to building a “useful” quantum computer, one that “solves an impactful problem that we would not have been able to solve otherwise.” He adds, “People will naturally discount my opinions, but I have spent a lot of time quantitatively comparing what we are doing with others.” Could PyQuantum really be leading all the competition “by a wide margin”, as Taylor claims? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to advise my friend or anyone else to invest in quantum computers. But I trust Taylor, just as I trust Johnson. 31. Regarding Johnson’s concerns, the author feels ________. A. sympathetic B. unconcerned C. doubtful D. excited 32. What leads to Taylor’s optimism about quantum computing? A. His dominance in physics. B. The competition in the field. C. His confidence in PyQuantum. D. The investment of tech companies. 33. What does the underlined word “prone” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean? A. Open. B. Cool. C. Useful. D. Resistant. 34. Which would be the best title for the passage? A. Is Johnson More Competent Than Taylor? B. Is Quantum Computing Redefining Technology? C. Will Quantum Computers Ever Come into Being? D. Will Quantum Computing Ever Live Up to Its Hype? 【答案】31 A 32. C 33. A 34. D 【解题导语】本文是一篇议论文。主要论述了“量子计算真的会像它的宣传那样成功吗？”，计算机科学家克里斯·约翰逊和物理学家菲利普·泰勒分别阐明了自己的观点。 31.【解析】 推理判断题。根据第三自然段“As quantum computing attracts more attention and funding, researchers may mislead investors, journalists, the public and, worst of all, themselves about their work’s potential. If researchers can’t keep their promises, excitement might give way to doubt, disappointment and anger, Johnson warns. （随着量子计算吸引了更多的关注和资金，研究人员可能会误导投资者、记者、公众，最糟糕的是，他们自己的工作潜力。约翰逊警告说，如果研究人员不能兑现承诺，兴奋可能会让位于怀疑、失望和愤怒）”根据最后一段“ But I trust Taylor, just as I trust Johnson.”（但我相信泰勒，就像我相信约翰逊一样）可知，关于约翰逊的担忧，作者是支持的。A. sympathetic同情的，赞同的；B. unconcerned不关心的；C. doubtful怀疑的；D. excited激动的。故选A。 32.【解析】 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段“The company, he says, is closer than any other firm “by a very large margin ( 幅度 )” to building a “useful” quantum computer, one that “solves an impactful problem that we would not have been able to solve otherwise.” He adds, “People will naturally discount my opinions, but I have spent a lot of time quantitatively comparing what we are doing with others.”（ 他说，这家公司比其他任何公司都“在很大程度上”接近于制造出“有用的”量子计算机，它“解决了一个有影响力的问题，否则我们无法解决这个问题”。他补充说:“人们自然会不相信我的观点，但我已经花了很多时间来定量地比较我们与他人的做法）”可知，泰勒对量子计算的乐观来源于他对PyQuantum的信心。故选C。 33.【解析】 词义猜测题。根据第三自然段“But something about quantum computing makes it especially prone to hype, Johnson suggests, perhaps because “‘quantum’ stands for something cool you shouldn’t be able to understand.”（ 但约翰逊表明，量子计算的某些方面使得它特别 prone被炒作，可能是因为“量子”代表了一些你不应该理解的酷东西。”）”可知，本句中含有一个原因状语从句，因为““量子”代表了一些你不应该理解的酷东西”，所以它特别容易被炒作。故prone意为“易于……的”。A. Open.开放的；易受损害的；B. Cool. 酷的；C. Useful. 有用的；D. Resistant. 有抵抗力的。故选A。 34.【解析】 主旨大意题。根据第二自然段“Now, big tech companies have invested in quantum computing, as have many smaller ones. According to Business Weekly, quantum machines could help us “cure cancer, and even take steps to turn climate change in the opposite direction. This is the sort of hype ( 炒作 ) that annoys Johnson.”（ 现在，大型科技公司和许多小型公司都在量子计算领域进行了投资。据《商业周刊》报道，量子机器可以帮助我们“治愈癌症，甚至采取措施将气候变化转向相反的方向。这种炒作让约翰逊感到恼火。”）”以及最后一段“Could PyQuantum really be leading all the competition “by a wide margin”, as Taylor claims? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to advise my friend or anyone else to invest in quantum computers.（PyQuantum真的能像泰勒所说的那样“以巨大的优势”领先所有竞争对手吗？我不知道。我当然不会建议我的朋友或其他人投资量子计算机。但我信任泰勒，就像我信任约翰逊一样。）”可知，本文主要论述了“量子计算真的会像它的宣传那样成功吗？”，计算机科学家克里斯·约翰逊和物理学家菲利普·泰勒分别阐明了自己的观点。所以短文的最佳标题为“量子计算真的会像它的宣传那样成功吗？”。故选D。 【2021北京卷】 Hundreds of scientists, writers and academics sounded a warning to humanity in an open letter published last December: Policymakers and the rest of us must engage openly with the risk of global collapse. Researchers in many areas have projected the widespread collapse as “a credible scenario(情景) this century”. A survey of scientists found that extreme weather events, food insecurity, and freshwater shortages might create global collapse. Of course, if you are a non-human species, collapse is well underway. The call for public engagement with the unthinkable is especially germane in this moment of still-uncontrolled pandemic and economic crises in the world's most technologically advanced nations. Not very long ago, it was also unthinkable that a virus would shut down nations and that safety nets would be proven so disastrously lacking in flexibility. The international scholars’ warning letter doesn't say exactly what collapse will look like or when it might happen. Collapseology, the study of collapse, is more concerned with identifying trends and with them the dangers of everyday civilization. Among the signatories(签署者) of the warning was Bob Johnson, the originator of the “ecological footprint” concept, which measures the total amount of environmental input needed to maintain a given lifestyle. With the current footprint of humanity, “it seems that global collapse is certain to happen in some form, possibly within a decade, certainly within this century,” Johnson said in an email. “Only if we discuss the consequences of our biophysical limits,” the December warning letter says, “can we have the hope to reduce their speed, severity and harm”. And yet messengers of the coming disturbance are likely to be ignored. We all want to hope things will turn out fine. As a poet wrote, Man is a victim of dope(麻醉品) In the incurable form of hope. The hundreds of scholars who signed the letter are intent(执着) on quieting hope that ignores preparedness. “Let's look directly into the issue of collapse,” they say, “and deal with the terrible possibilities of what we see there to make the best of a troubling future.” 28. What does the underlined word “germane” in Paragraph 3 probably mean? A. Scientific. B. Credible. C. Original. D. Relevant. 29. As for the public awareness of global collapse, the author is________. A. worried B. puzzled C. surprised D. scared 30. What can we learn from this passage? A. The signatories may change the biophysical limits. B. The author agrees with the message of the poem. C. The issue of collapse is being prioritized. D. The global collapse is well underway. 【答案】28. D 29. A 30. B 【解析】 【分析】这是一篇说明文，文章阐述了全球崩塌（global collapse）的概念。数百名科学家、作家和学者在去年12月发表的一封公开信中向全人类发出了警告：政策制定者和我们每个人必须直面“全球崩塌”的风险。文章具体阐释了学者们对这一概念的定义、理解和它的现实意义。 【28题详解】 词义猜测题。根据该词所在的具体语境，第三段第一句“The call for public engagement with the unthinkable is especially germane in this moment of still-uncontrolled pandemic and economic crises in the world's most technologically advanced nations.”（呼吁公众对世界不确定性的关注，尤其与此时此刻的情况密切相关：此时此刻，在世界上技术最先进的国家，仍处于无法控制流行病和经济危机的泥潭中），下文也提到，一场病毒肆虐，一个国家社会停止了运转，大流行无法控制，经济下行，这样的事情在不久之前都是无法想象，不可思议（unthinkable）的，即世界充满了不确定性。而此时此刻呼吁人们对这种unthinkable加以关注，正是和此时此刻的世界实况密切相关。A. Scientific科学的；B. Credible可信的，可靠的；C. Original原来的，原创的；D. Relevant相关的，有重大关系的。根据上面的分析，仅有D符合语境，故选D。 【29题详解】 推理判断题。本题要求判断作者的情感态度，根据原文第五段“yet messengers of the coming disturbance are likely to be ignored. We all want to hope things will turn out fine.”（然而未来崩溃的先行信号很可能被忽略，我们都希望事情在未来会变好）和倒数最后一段的呼吁，例如“Let's look directly into the issue of collapse,” they say, “and deal with the terrible possibilities of what we see there to make the best of a troubling future.”（他们说，“让我们直面全球崩塌的议题，真正去解决我们看到的可能的糟糕情况，以便使未来没那么糟。”）可知，作者认为公众对“全球崩塌”的重视意识不够，比较担心，A. worried担忧的；B. puzzled困惑的，茫然的；C. surprised惊讶的；D. scared害怕的，综合以上的分析，可见作者对此是“担忧的”，故选A。 【30题详解】 推理判断题。原文诗歌“Man is a victim of dope; In the incurable form of hope.”（人类是麻醉品的受害者；沉迷于无可救药的幻想中）表达的是，人类无视未来全球崩塌的巨大危险，把头埋进沙子里，假装不知道，充满不切实际的幻想和希望。而诗歌前面的段落就提到“yet messengers of the coming disturbance are likely to be ignored. We all want to hope things will turn out fine.”（然而未来崩溃的先行信号很可能被忽略，我们都希望事情在未来会变好），结合上下文，这里指的是人们都幻想着未来就会变好。诗歌之后的最后一段则提到执着于“quieting hope that ignores preparedness.”（掐灭不做准备的空有幻想），接着又借学者之口，提到“Let's look directly into the issue of collapse,” they say, “and deal with the terrible possibilities of what we see there to make the best of a troubling future.”（他们说，“让我们直面全球崩塌的议题，真正去解决我们看到的可能的糟糕情况，以便使未来没那么糟。”）可见，上下文一脉相承，表达相同的一方观点，未对另一方的观点有任何呈现，理解文章后可知，作者有明显的态度倾向，作者对于这首诗表达的信息是赞同的，故选B。 【2021年北京卷】 Early fifth-century philosopher St．Augustine famously wrote that he knew what time was unless someone asked him．Albert Einstein added another wrinkle when he theorized that time varies depending on where you measure it．Today's state-of-the-art atomic（原子的） clocks have proven Einstein right．Even advanced physics can't decisively tell us what time is, because the answer depends on the question you're asking． Forget about time as an absolute．What if，instead of considering time in terms of astronomy,we related time to ecology？What if we allowed environmental conditions to set the tempo（节奏） of human life？We're increasingly aware of the fact that we can't control Earth systems with engineering alone，and realizing that we need to moderate（调节）our actions if we hope to live in balance．What if our definition of time reflected that？ Recently，I conceptualized a new approach to timekeeping that's connected to circumstances on our planet，conditions that might change as a result of global warming．We're now building a clock at the Anchorage Museum that reflects the total flow of several major Alaskan rivers，which are sensitive to local and global environmental changes．We've programmed it to match an atomic clock if the waterways continue to flow at their present rate．If the rivers run faster in the future on average，the clock will get ahead of standard time．If they run slower，you'll see the opposite effect． The clock registers both short-term irregularities and long-term trends in river dynamics．It's a sort of observatory that reveals how the rivers are behaving from their own temporal frame（时间框架），and allows us to witness those changes on our smartwatches or phones．Anyone who opts to go on Alaska Mean River Time will live in harmony with the planet．Anyone who considers river time in relation to atomic time will encounter a major imbalance and may be motivated to counteract it by consuming less fuel or supporting greener policies． Even if this method of timekeeping is novel in its particulars，early agricultural societies also connected time to natural phenomena．In pre-Classical Greece，for instance，people“corrected”official calendars by shifting dates forward or backward to reflect the change of season．Temporal connection to the environment was vital to their survival．Likewise，river time and other timekeeping systems we're developing may encourage environmental awareness． When St．Augustine admitted his inability to define time， he highlighted one of time 's most noticeable qualities：Time becomes meaningful only in a defined context．Any timekeeping system is valid，and each is as praiseworthy as its purpose． 31 What is the main idea of Paragraph 1？ A. Timekeeping is increasingly related to nature． B. Everyone can define time on their own terms． C. The qualities of time vary with how you measure it． D. Time is a major concern of philosophers and scientists． 32. The author raises three questions in Paragraph 2 mainly to________． A. present an assumption B. evaluate an argument C. highlight an experiment D. introduce an approach 33. What can we learn from this passage？ A. Those who do not go on river time will live an imbalanced life． B. New ways of measuring time can help to control Earth systems． C. Atomic time will get ahead of river time if the rivers run slower． D. Modern technology may help to shape the rivers’ temporal frame． 34. What can we infer from this passage？ A. It is crucial to improve the definition of time． B. A fixed frame will make time meaningless． C. We should live in harmony with nature． D. History is a mirror reflecting reality． 【答案】31. B 32. D 33. C 34. C 【解析】 【分析】本文是议论文。文章通过讨论时间的定义，讲述了人们应该和大自然和谐相处，保护环境。 【31题详解】 主旨大意题。根据第一段最后一句“Even advanced physics can't decisively tell us what time is, because the answer depends on the question you're asking．(即使是先进的物理学也不能决定性地告诉我们时间是什么，因为答案取决于你要问的问题)”以及上文列举的哲学家St．Augustine和爱因斯坦对于时间的定义可推断，第一段主要讲述每个人都可以用自己的话来定义时间。故选B项。 【32题详解】 推理判断题。根据第二段的“We're increasingly aware of the fact that we can't control Earth systems with engineering alone，and realizing that we need to moderate（调节）our actions if we hope to live in balance．(我们越来越意识到，我们不能只是用工程学来控制地球系统，意识到，如果我们希望保持平衡，我们就需要调节我们的行动。)”进而提出问题“What if our definition of time reflected that？(如果时间的定义反映那些会怎么样呢)”，结合前两个问题“What if，instead of considering time in terms of astronomy, we related time to ecology？What if we allowed environmental conditions to set the tempo（节奏） of human life？(如果我们不考虑天文学方面的时间，而是将时间与生态学联系起来呢？如果我们允许环境条件来设定人类生活的节奏呢)”可推断，第二段提出的三个问题是为了介绍方法。故选D项。 【33题详解】 细节理解题。根据第三段的“We've programmed it to match an atomic clock if the waterways continue to flow at their present rate．If the rivers run faster in the future on average，the clock will get ahead of standard time．If they run slower，you'll see the opposite effect．（如果水道继续以目前的速度流动，我们对它进行了编程，匹配了一个原子时间。如果河流在未来的平均运行速度更快，时间就会超过标准时间。如果它们的运行速度较慢，你就会看到相反的效果。）”可知，如果河流运行速度得较慢，原子时间将超过河流时间。故选C项。 【34题详解】 推理判断题。根据第二段的“We're increasingly aware of the fact that we can't control Earth systems with engineering alone，and realizing that we need to moderate（调节）our actions if we hope to live in balance．(我们越来越意识到，我们不能只是用工程学来控制地球系统，意识到，如果我们希望保持平衡，我们就需要调节我们的行动。)”和倒数第二段的“Temporal connection to the environment was vital to their survival．Likewise，river time and other timekeeping systems we're developing may encourage environmental awareness(时间与环境的暂时联系对它们的生存至关重要。同样，河流时间和我们正在开发的其他时间保护系统也可能会鼓励人们提高环境意识)”可推断，从这篇文章中我们知道我们应该与自然和谐共处，保护环境。故选C。 【2020北京卷】 Baggy has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by recording pollutant levels near the ground. Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Her monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, which has helped highlight concerns that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems. Conventional air pollution monitors are normally fixed on lampposts at about nine feet in the air. However, since Baggy stands at about the same height as a child in a pushchair（婴儿车）, she frequently records pollution levels which are much higher than the data gathered by the Environment A gency. The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy's 13-year-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt. The English youngster noticed that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the height where they are recorded by the agency. Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma（哮喘）. Matt Hunt said he was "very proud" of his son because “when the boy gets an idea, he keeps his head down and gets on with it, and he really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma." “Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age," Matt added. “He became very interested in gadgets（小装置）. About one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, why don't we put it on Baggy's collar and let her monitor the pollution？'So we did it." Tom said, "Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and we are all really proud of her." 34. With a monitor on her collar, Baggy can ____________. A. take pollutant readings B. record pollutant levels C. process collected data D. reduce air pollution 35. What can we learn from the Baggy data? A. High places are free of air pollution. B. Higher pushchairs are more risky for kids. C. Conventional monitors are more reliable. D. Air is more polluted closer to the ground. 36. What is Tom's purpose of doing the research? A. To warn of a health risk. B. To find out pollution sources. C. To test his new monitor. D. To prove Baggy's abilities. 37. According to the passage, which word can best describe Tom Hunt? A. Modest. B. Generous. C. Creative. D. Outgoing. 【答案】34. B 35. D 36. A 37. C 【解析】 【分析】本文是一篇说明文。主要讲述了13岁的孩子Tom Hunt和他的爸爸通过在自己的宠物狗的脖子上戴污染监测器来记录地面附近的污染物水平；监测仪显示，接近地面的空气污染水平更高，这有助于强调婴儿和幼儿可能面临更高风险发展肺部问题的担忧。 【34题详解】 细节理解题。本题题干意为：她的衣领上戴着监视器，Baggy 可以…。根据文章第二段Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Baggy在她的衣领上戴着污染监测器，这样她就可以在接近地面的地方进行数据测量。可知戴着污染监测器可以记录污染物的水平。故答案为B项。 【35题详解】 推理判断题。本题题干意为：我们从Baggy收集到的数据中可以了解到什么？根据文章第二段 Her monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, which has helped highlight concerns that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems.她的监测仪显示，接近地面的空气污染水平更高，这有助于突显婴儿和幼童罹患肺部疾病的风险更高的担忧。可知接近地面的空气污染水平更高。故答案为D项。 【36题详解】 推理判断题。本题题干意为：进行这项研究Tom的意图是？根据文章第四段Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasize that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma（哮喘）.汤姆已经令人震惊的发现报告给政府,试图强调,婴儿患哮喘的风险更高。可知Tom研究的目的是对健康风险提出警告。故答案为A项。 【37题详解】 推理判断题。本题题干意为：根据文章，哪个词最能描述汤姆·亨特?根据文章倒数第二段“Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age," Matt added. “He became very interested in gadgets（小装置）.About one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, why don't we put it on Baggy's collar and let her monitor the pollution？'So we did it."汤姆在很小的时候就对环境保护产生了热情，马特补充说。他非常感兴趣的产品(小装置)。大约一年前，他得到了一个类似试管的新技术。一个星期天的下午，我们出去做一些监测，他说，为什么我们不把它戴在Baggy的衣领上，让她监测污染?于是我们就这么做了。可知Tom是非常的有创造力的。故答案为C项。 【2020年北京卷】 Certain forms of AI are indeed becoming ubiquitous. For example, algorithms (算法) carry out huge volumes of trading on our financial markets, self-driving cars are appearing on city streets, and our smartphones are translating from one language into another. These systems are sometimes faster and more perceptive than we humans are. But so far that is only true for the specific tasks for which the systems have been designed. That is something that some AI developers are now eager to change. Some of today’s AI pioneers want to move on from today’s world of “weak” or “narrow” AI, to create “strong” or “full” AI, or what is often called artificial general intelligence (AGI). In some respects, today’s powerful computing machines already make our brains look weak. A GI could, its advocates say, work for us around the clock, and drawing on all available data, could suggest solutions to many problems. DM, a company focused on the development of AGI, has an ambition to “solve intelligence”. “If we’re successful,” their mission statement reads, “we believe this will be one of the most important and widely beneficial scientific advances ever made.” Since the early days of AI, imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable. In 1965, an imaginative mathematician called Irving Good predicted the eventual creation of an “ultra-intelligent machine…that can far surpass all the intellectual (智力的) activities of any man, however clever.” Good went on to suggest that “the first ultra-intelligent machine” could be “the last invention that man need ever make.” Fears about the appearance of bad, powerful, man-made intelligent machines have been reinforced (强化) by many works of fiction — Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Terminator film series, for example. But if AI does eventually prove to be our downfall, it is unlikely to be at the hands of human-shaped forms like these, with recognisably human motivations such as aggression (敌对行为). Instead, I agree with Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes that the heaviest risks from A GI do not come from a decision to turn against mankind but rather from a dogged pursuit of set objectives at the expense of everything else. The promise and danger of true A GI are great. But all of today’s excited discussion about these possibilities presupposes the fact that we will be able to build these systems. And, having spoken to many of the world’s foremost AI researchers, I believe there is good reason to doubt that we will see A GI any time soon, if ever. 42. What does the underlined word “ubiquitous” in Paragraph I probably mean? A. Enormous in quantity. B. Changeable daily. C. Stable in quality. D. Present everywhere. 43. What could AGI do for us, according to its supporters? A. Help to tackle problems. B. Make brains more active. C. Benefit ambitious people. D. Set up powerful databases. 44. As for Irving Good’s opinion on ultra-intelligent machines the author is ____________. A. supportive B. disapproving C. fearful D. uncertain 45. What can be inferred about AGI from the passage? A. It may be only a dream. B. It will come into being soon. C. It will be controlled by humans. D. It may be more dangerous than ever. 【答案】42. D 43. A 44. B 45. A 【解析】 【分析】这是一篇议论文。文章主要就通用人工智能(AGI)实现的可能性进行了论述。 【42题详解】 词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句后面的For example, algorithms (算法) carry out huge volumes of trading on our financial markets, self-driving cars are appearing on city streets, and our smartphones are translating from one language into another(例如，算法在我们的金融市场上进行大量交易，自动驾驶汽车出现在城市街道上，我们的智能手机正在从一种语言翻译成另一种语言)可知，人工智能在我们生活中用处十分广泛。由此推知，划线词所在句意为“某些形式的人工智能确实正在变得无处不在”，即划线词与D选项“Present everywhere.(在任何地方存在)”意思接近。故选D项。 【43题详解】 细节理解题。根据第二段AGI could, its advocates say, work for us around the clock, and drawing on all available data, could suggest solutions to many problems(AGI的倡导者说，AGI可以24小时为我们工作，并利用所有可用的数据，可以提出许多问题的解决方案)可知，AGI(通用人工智能)的倡导者认为，AGI(通用人工智能)可以提出许多问题的解决方案，帮助我们解决问题。因此，A选项“Help to tackle problems(帮助解决问题)”符合题意。故选A项。 【44题详解】 推理判断题。根据第三段Since the early days of AI, imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable. In 1965, an imaginative mathematician called Irving Good predicted the eventual creation of an “ultra-intelligent machine…that can far surpass all the intellectual (智力的) activities of any man, however clever.”(自从人工智能的早期，想象力已经超过了可能。1965年，一位富有想象力的数学家欧文·古德预言，最终将创造出一台“超智能机器……它将远远超过任何一个人的智力活动，无论他有多聪明。”)可知，作者认为Irving Good对“超智能机器”的想象力超出了实现的可能，作者并不赞成他的观点，因此B项“disapproving(不赞成)”符合题意。故选B项。 【45题详解】 推理判断题。根据文章最后一句And, having spoken to many of the world's foremost AI researchers, I believe there is good reason to doubt that we will see A GI any time soon, if ever. (而且，在与世界上许多顶尖的人工智能研究人员交谈后，我相信有充分的理由怀疑我们是否会很快看到AGI)可推断出，通用人工智能（AGI）或许只是一个梦想，A选项“It may be only a dream(它也许仅仅是一个梦想)”符合题意。故选择A项。 Passage 01 （2024·北京朝阳·二模）Science begins with mystery. Arguably, the two greatest mysteries are the universe and awareness-the vast world out there and the powerful world within. Scientists attracted by one can be called to study the other, led by the thought that these mysteries are connected. Science writer George Musser’s book Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation (方程) reviews their progress: Can physics unlock the mystery of awareness? Does awareness form the basis of fundamental physics? The result is an ambitious but ultimately disappointing tour, filled with breathless encounters with well-known scientists. Representative of the cast is MIT’s Max Tegmark, who tells Musser, “If you look at the problems that were still difficult to answer in fundamental physics, pretty much all of them trace back to awareness.” The book shows how physicists are contributing to understanding the mind, continuing a long history of physicists exploring other fields. Musser integrates physics with neuroscience, economies, mathematics and more. Yet a key source of local knowledge is obviously absent — psychology. An early example: Musser rightly applauds physicists’ contributions to artificial neural networks but is overly trustful of their implications, declaring that “ChatGPT” is already starting to demonstrate a generalized intelligence like that of humans. Interviewing more psychologists could have exposed the considerable gap remaining. What about awareness itself? Why are some states associated with felt experience, such as the pain of a headache and the sight of a sunset, but others not? Musser’s focus is integrated information theory(IIT). IIT begins with five self-evident principles of awareness: awareness exists, and it is structured, specific, unified, and definite. It then concludes assumptions concerning the causal structure of awareness systems, identifying awareness with integrated information. Finally, IIT offers a mathematical measure of this quantity: an equation for awareness. However, despite its enthusiasts, IIT has significant problems. Its working basis is unfounded, and serious doubts surround its testability and definability. Of course, a theory of awareness must detail when, why, and to what degree we are aware of ourselves. Here, psychology’s absence is most obvious. Over the last century, psychological research has revealed countless phenomena of awareness, from models that alter awareness to methods that stimulate unawareness; from extraordinary disorders of awareness to careful studies of metacognition (元认知). Although questionable, such phenomena are the data that any scientific theory of awareness must account for. Yet these phenomena and ideas are almost nowhere in the book. Of course, psychology has not solved awareness, but one cannot hope to explain awareness without confronting these data. Awareness is genuinely mysterious. So is fundamental physics. But hoping that physics can solve awareness while excluding other approaches is only a recipe for more mystery, not less. 28．What can we learn from Musser’s book? A．IIT is acknowledged for its testability and definability. B．Musser underestimates the impact of artificial intelligence. C．Using psychology is a trend for physicists exploring other fields. D．Musser highlights physicists’ efforts to uncover the secret of awareness. 29．What can be inferred from the passage? A．The link between physics and awareness has been established. B．There is no doubt about the principles of an equation for awareness. C．A multidisciplinary approach is essential to understanding awareness. D．Study of awareness needs to ignore related psychological phenomena. 30．Regarding Musser’s view in his book, the author is . A．neutral B．disapproving C．supportive D．uncertain 【答案】28．D 29．C 30．B 【导语】本文体裁为说明文。文本主要介绍了科学作家George Musser的书籍《Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation》及其探讨的主题——物理学与意识之谜的关系。文中提到了物理学家对意识研究的贡献，以及Musser在书中如何整合了物理学、神经科学、经济学、数学等多个领域的知识来探讨这个问题。 28．细节理解题。根据文章第一段中的“Science writer George Musser’s book Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation (方程) reviews their progress: Can physics unlock the mystery of awareness? Does awareness form the basis of fundamental physics? (科学作家George Musser的书《Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation》回顾了他们的进展：物理学能解开意识之谜吗？意识构成了基础物理学的基础吗？)”和第三段中的“The book shows how physicists are contributing to understanding the mind, continuing a long history of physicists exploring other fields. (这本书展示了物理学家如何为理解心灵做出贡献，延续了物理学家探索其他领域的悠久历史。)”可知，Musser的书《Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation》探讨了物理学是否能解开意识的谜团，以及意识是否构成了基础物理的基础，这本书展示了物理学家如何为理解心灵做出贡献，物理学家在揭开意识之谜方面的努力。故选D项。 29．推理判断题。根据文章第三段中的“Musser integrates physics with neuroscience, economies, mathematics and more. Yet a key source of local knowledge is obviously absent—psychology. An early example: Musser rightly applauds physicists’ contributions to artificial neural networks but is overly trustful of their implications, declaring that “ChatGPT” is already starting to demonstrate a generalized intelligence like that of humans. Interviewing more psychologists could have exposed the considerable gap remaining. (Musser将物理学与神经科学、经济学、数学等相结合。然而，当地知识的一个关键来源显然是缺失的——心理学。)”可知，虽然Musser的书尝试将物理学与神经科学、经济学、数学等多领域结合来探讨意识，但明显缺少心理学这一关键领域的参与。这暗示了理解意识需要一个多学科的方法。故选C项。 30．推理判断题。通读全文，结合最后一段“Awareness is genuinely mysterious. So is fundamental physics. But hoping that physics can solve awareness while excluding other approaches is only a recipe for more mystery, not less. (意识是真正神秘的。基础物理学也是如此。但是，希望物理学能够在排除其他方法的情况下解决意识问题，只会带来更多的谜团，而不是更少。)”可知，作者尽管肯定了其探索意识秘密的雄心和物理学家跨领域研究的努力，但同时也指出了其问题：强调用物理学来解决意识之谜的方法，而忽视了其他学科，特别是心理学的贡献和见解是不可行的。因此，作者对于Musser在书中的观点持不赞同的态度。故选B项。 Passage 02 （2024·北京海淀·二模）The idea that aging reduces adults’ ability to imagine, a common theme in children’s literature, is contradicted by psychological research. While children are often portrayed as more imaginative, research indicates that adults not only keep this ability but sometimes surpass children in imaginative thinking. Children are frequently celebrated for boundless imagination. Yet, research reveals that their make-believe games often center around realistic scenarios, such as cooking and cleaning, as demonstrated in a 2020 study published in Journal of Cognition and Development. Another study, lasting for four decades, also suggests that children are not naturally more imaginative than adults; their limitations result from a lack of knowledge and expertise to effectively use their imaginative capacity as adults. Imagination may have evolved for considering alternatives to reality, but we use it most naturally to explore close alternatives, like preparing a different meal, rather than far alternatives, like riding on clouds. When we use imagination to envision far alternatives — to innovate or invent — we’re not digging into an inborn appreciation of the extraordinary; we’re using a tool designed to explore the ordinary. When considering alternatives to reality, we fix our attention on possibilities that are physically reasonable, statistically probable, socially conventional and morally permissible. When told about possibilities that violate such regularities, we usually deny they could happen. Generally speaking, our ideas about what could happen are firmly rooted in what we expect to happen. This mindset is also particularly apparent in young children. In a 2018 study I co-designed with psychologist Jonathan Phillips, 4-year-olds were asked to help a distressed girl who disliked going to school due to missing her mother. Among all the solutions given, they perceived the only possible solution was for her mother to do something special after school to ease her concerns. Unexpected alternatives, such as snapping fingers and making it Saturday, wearing pajamas to school or lying about school being closed, were all regarded impossible. From this, we can conclude that children’s earliest intuitions (直觉力) about possibility confuse what could happen with what should happen. Historically, the improbable event of traveling faster than a horse was considered impossible, as was traveling by air or traveling into space. Before the arrival of trains and planes, there were good reasons to think that people could travel only so far and only so fast. But these reasons were empirical (经验主义的), not logical. Imagination, on its own, lumps the improbable with the impossible, but we can combine imagination with other abilities — namely, knowledge and reflection — to separate the two. While imagination in children often subjects to expectation, adults can control their imaginative capacity for innovation by integrating it with accumulated knowledge and reflective thinking. 31．According to the first two paragraphs, we know that _________. A．children develop imagination through games B．children face limitations in acquiring knowledge C．adults are as good as children in imaginative thinking D．adults’ imaginative ability is likely to stay constant with age 32．We can infer from the passage that _________. A．expectation results from imaginative capacity B．certain practical concerns can limit imagination C．breaking regularities may lead to close alternatives D．far alternatives are more important than close alternatives 33．The 2018 study shows that children _________. A．came up with a wide range of alternatives B．were quicker to figure out solutions C．took what should happen as possibilities D．used imagination in a reasonable way 34．The underlined word “lumps” in the last paragraph probably means _________. A．mix B．match C．compare D．replace 【答案】31．D 32．B 33．C 34．A 【导语】这是一篇说明文。这篇短文主要指出心理学研究反驳了老年人想象力下降的观点，实际上成年人在某些方面可能比儿童更有想象力。研究表明，儿童的想象游戏通常围绕现实场景，并非天生比成人更具想象力，而是受限于知识和经验。人们倾向于用想象力探索与现实相近的可能性，而非遥远的不切实际的事物。研究还显示，儿童对可能性的理解容易与期望混淆。最后，文章强调成人可以通过结合知识和反思来控制想象力，从而进行创新。 31．推理判断题。由第一段中“While children are often portrayed as more imaginative, research indicates that adults not only keep this ability but sometimes surpass children in imaginative thinking. (虽然儿童通常被描绘成更有想象力，但研究表明，成年人不仅保持了这种能力，而且有时在想象力思维方面超过了儿童)”和第二段中“Another study, lasting for four decades, also suggests that children are not naturally more imaginative than adults (另一项持续四十年的研究也表明，儿童天生并不比成年人更有想象力)”可知，儿童天生并不比成年人更有想象力，人成年后也更有想象力，成年人不仅保持了这种能力，而且有时在想象力思维方面超过了儿童，可得出成年人的想象力可能会随着年龄的增长而保持不变。故选D项。 32．推理判断题。由第三段中“When we use imagination to envision far alternatives — to innovate or invent — we’re not digging into an inborn appreciation of the extraordinary; we’re using a tool designed to explore the ordinary. When considering alternatives to reality, we fix our attention on possibilities that are physically reasonable, statistically probable, socially conventional and morally permissible. When told about possibilities that violate such regularities, we usually deny they could happen. Generally speaking, our ideas about what could happen are firmly rooted in what we expect to happen. (当我们用想象力来设想创新或发明的遥远替代方案时，我们并不是在挖掘与生俱来的非凡鉴赏力；我们正在使用一种旨在探索普通事物的工具。在考虑现实的替代方案时，我们将注意力集中在物理上合理、统计上可能、社会传统和道德上允许的可能性上。当被告知违反这种规律的可能性时，我们通常否认它们可能发生。一般来说，我们对可能发生的事情的想法深深植根于我们所期望的事情)”可得出，某些实际问题会限制想象力。故选B项。 33．细节理解题。由第四段中“From this, we can conclude that children’s earliest intuitions (直觉力) about possibility confuse what could happen with what should happen. (由此，我们可以得出结论，孩子们最早对可能性的直觉混淆了可能发生的事情和应该发生的事情)”可知，2018年的研究表明，儿童把应该发生的事情视为可能。故选C项。 34．词句猜测题。由最后一段中“But these reasons were empirical (经验主义的), not logical. Imagination, on its own, lumps the improbable with the impossible, but we can combine imagination with other abilities — namely, knowledge and reflection — to separate the two. (但这些原因都是经验的，而非逻辑的。想象力本身就lumps不大可能（还有机会实现）和大不可能（绝无可能实现），但我们可以把想象力与其他能力——即知识和反思——结合起来，把两者分开)”可知，but后讲人们可以通过将想象力与其他能力，即知识和反思相结合，将不大可能（还有机会实现）和大不可能（绝无可能实现）分开，说明想象力本身会将不大可能（还有机会实现）和大不可能（绝无可能实现）混为一谈，划线词lumps意为“混合”。故选A项。 Passage 03 【2024年人大附中高三三模】From Smells to Soundtracks When a young sawfly, a bee-like insect, is threatened by its attackers like ants, it emits a mixture of unpleasant smells to defend itself. These emissions can seriously annoy a potential enemy. Scientists wanting to study these smelly compounds—to understand which aspects of them discourage attackers and why—face great challenges. Meetups between sawflies and ants in a lab are difficult to carry out. There are also a very limited quantity of the insects’ emissions. On the side, Jean-Luc Boevé, a zoologist who studies insects, from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, is an amateur musician and composer. He decided to try a different way—the sound approach. “To be honest, I considered this project so unpractical myself that I set it aside,” he said. It was months before Boevé and his partner, Rudi Giot, finally made a resolution to get started on it. They chose 16 sawfly species’ emissions to translate into sounds. First, they figured out which molecules (分子) were present in each smelly compound and in what amounts. Then they assigned various characteristics of those molecules matching properties of sound. For example, smaller molecules like a kind of acid found in vinegar, a sour-tasting liquid, evaporate (挥发) quickly, so Boevé and Giot assigned them sounds with higher pitch ( 音 高 ). Larger molecules were given lower-pitched sounds. In all, the scientists created individual audio descriptions for 20 molecules. Then they combined the sounds of each molecule present in a sawfly’s smell to construct the insect’s soundtrack. If a molecule was of higher proportion in an emission, they assigned it a higher volume. In such a case, the smaller a molecule is, the higher its pitch will be; and the higher the proportion of a molecule is, the higher its volume will be. To test out the audio descriptions they created, Boevé and Giot examined people’s reactions to the soundtracks and compared them to ants’ reactions to the original smells. They played the 16 emission soundtracks and the 20 molecule sounds through speakers to about 50 study participants. Then the scientists measured how far people backed up to get to a “comfortable position” away from the noise. Most of the study volunteers told the researchers that the high pitch, as well as the high volume, was what made them withdraw. “Ants and volunteers moved away from a chemical and its matching soundtrack respectively,” the researchers wrote. Boevé said he hoped the process would give other zoologists a new way to compare sawflies’ chemical defenses with those from other insects. It may also offer researchers clues about which molecules fight off enemies most. 27．What do we know about Boevé from paragraph 2? A．He was devoted to the research for several months. B．He started a new approach after months’ hesitation. C．He came up with a creative idea thanks to a composer. D．He was faced with difficulties in studying rare sawflies. 28．What can be concluded in terms of the sound approach? A．The volume of sounds is based on the proportion of molecules. B．Smaller molecules and lower pitch share similar characteristics. C．Audio descriptions of the molecules can be divided into 16 kinds. D．Participants were required to compare the sounds with the smells. 29．From paragraphs 4 and 5, we can learn that ________. A．the soundtracks are more than what humans are likely to bear B．the ants dislike the sounds as much as humans hate the smells C．humans’ reactions to the sounds resemble ants’ responses to the smells D．other zoologists are looking for innovative ways of studying molecules 30．This passage is mainly intended to ________. A．explain ways to transfer smells into soundtracks B．introduce research on sawfly’s effect on humans C．demonstrate a scientific study on insects’smells D．test out people’s reaction to various soundtracks 【答案】27．B 28．A 29．C 30．C 【分析】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了对昆虫气味的科学研究。 27．细节理解题。根据第二段““To be honest, I considered this project so unpractical myself that I set it aside,” he said. It was months before Boevé and his partner, Rudi Giot, finally made a resolution to get started on it. ”(“说实话，我自己认为这个项目太不切实际了，所以我把它搁置了，”他说。几个月后，Boevé和他的搭档鲁迪·乔特(Rudi Giot)终于下定决心开始这项工作。)说明犹豫了几个月后，他开始采用新的方法。故选B项。 28．细节理解题。根据第三段“If a molecule was of higher proportion in an emission, they assigned it a higher volume.”（如果一个分子在任务中所占比例更高，他们就会给它分配更高的音量。）说明声音的大小取决于分子的比例。故选A项。 29．推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“Most of the study volunteers told the researchers that the high pitch, as well as the high volume, was what made them withdraw. “Ants and volunteers moved away from a chemical and its matching soundtrack respectively,” the researchers wrote. ”（大多数参与研究的志愿者告诉研究人员，高音和高音量是他们退缩的原因。研究人员写道:“蚂蚁和志愿者分别远离了一种化学物质及其匹配的音乐。”）说明人类对声音的反应类似于蚂蚁对气味的反应。故选C项。 30．推理判断题。根据最后一段“Boevé said he hoped the process would give other zoologists a new way to compare sawflies’ chemical defenses with those from other insects. It may also offer researchers clues about which molecules fight off enemies most.”（Boevé说，他希望这一过程能给其他动物学家提供一种新的方法来比较锯叶蜂与其他昆虫的化学防御能力。它还可能为研究人员提供线索，说明哪些分子最能击退敌人。）结合标题“From Smells to Soundtracks”，说明这篇文章主要是为了演示对昆虫气味的科学研究。故选C项。 Passage 04 【2024年北京交通大学附中高三三模】Vaccines (疫苗) may soon make their first film appearance. Led by expert Maria A．Croyle, researchers have developed a thin sheet that preserves vaccines for long periods without refrigeration. This means the carefully cooled small bottles now used to ship vaccines could potentially be replaced by lightweight films that can be mailed in an envelope and stored on a shelf. Croyle’s laboratory began developing the technology in 2007. Inspired by amber’s ability to preserve the DNA of insects, the researchers set out to create their own version of the substance by mixing “a lot of sugar and a little bit of salt, much like hard candy”, Croyle explains. The vaccine-containing film is administered by mouth — sweet news for many who dislike needles. The film is tailored to suit each specific vaccine candidate and provide a protective coating. “We’ve learned over time that the key to really stabilizing whatever the film holds is to have it intermixed with all the components,” Croyle says, adding that the process is quick and uses affordable, standard equipment. “We really wanted to come up with something that would be transferable to developing countries.” Immunization (免疫) programs depend heavily on keeping vaccines cold (2℃ — 8℃) as they are transported, sometimes over thousands of kilometers to far-away locations. Delivery can be difficult and costly, and transport disruptions can cause the vaccines to be ineffective. But this new product can store live viruses, bacteria and antibodies for several months at 20℃. In a paper published in Science Advances, the scientists show that the live viruses in one vaccine were preserved in the film even after 36 months. They also find that a flu vaccine suspended in their film compares favourably with a traditional flu shot (流感预防针). “The study demonstrates early proof of concept for an exciting platform for vaccine product development,” says Lisa Rohan, a pharmacologist, who was not involved in the study. She also notes that each vaccine type would need a custom formulation (配方) for future stages of development. Finding partners to mass-produce for clinical trials is the researchers’ most pressing problem, Croyle says. They are also exploring packaging methods to keep their films stable up to 40℃. Size is a major advantage — a letter-sized sheet of the film can carry more than 500 doses (剂) of vaccine, about 1/900 the weight of the same amount of traditional doses. By making it easier and cheaper to ship and preserve vaccines efficiently, Croyle says, the technology could vastly improve immunization rates the world over, particularly in middle- to low-income countries. 28．What can we learn about the film? A．It contains animal’s DNA． B．It will replace vaccines. C．It comes in different flavours. D．It can hold bio-products. 29．The author mentions Lisa Rohan’s words to ______. A．advise personalizing vaccines B．suggest the product is promising C．prove the study is supported widely D．stress the functions of a new platform 30．What will be the next urgent task for Croyle’s team? A．Advertising the film worldwide. B．Improving the film’s capacity. C．Reducing the shipping cost. D．Seeking ideal manufacturers. 【答案】28．D 29．B 30．D 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了研究人员开发出一种无需冷藏即可长时间保存疫苗的薄片。 28．细节理解题。根据第一段中“Led by expert Maria A. Croyle, researchers have developed a thin sheet that preserves vaccines for long periods without refrigeration.（在专家Maria A. Croyle的带领下，研究人员已经开发出一种无需冷藏即可长时间保存疫苗的薄片。）”可知，这种薄片可以容纳疫苗这种生物制品。故选D项。 29．推理判断题。根据倒数第三段中Lisa Rohan的话“The study demonstrates early proof of concept for an exciting platform for vaccine product development（这项研究为一个令人兴奋的疫苗产品开发平台的概念提供了前期证明）”可知，Lisa Rohan非常看好这项研究，认为可以为未来疫苗产品开发平台铺路。由此推知，作者提到Lisa Rohan的话是为了展示这款产品非常有前景。故选B项。 30．细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中“Finding partners to mass-produce for clinical trials is the researchers’ most pressing problem, Croyle says.（Croyle说，为临床试验寻找大规模生产的合作伙伴是研究人员最紧迫的问题。）”可知，Croyle团队下面的紧急任务是寻找理想的生产商。故选D项。 Passage 05 【2024年北京市朝阳区高三一模】The streets and roofs of cities all absorb heat, making some urban areas hotter than rural ones. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground as city heat spreads downward, and subway tracks and other subsurface infrastructure(基础设施) also constantly radiate warmth into the surrounding earth. A new study of downtown Chicago shows underground hotspots may threaten the very same structures that give off the heat in the first place. “Without anyone realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was deforming,” says study author Rotta Loria, an environmental engineer. Humans aren’t the only potentially affected. “For a lot of things in the subsurface, it’s kind of ‘out of sight, out of mind’,” says Grant Ferguson, a geologist. But the underground world is full of creatures that have adapted to subsurface existence such as insects and snails. As the temperature rises because of climate change and underground urban development, scientists are keeping eyes on the potential implications for underground ecosystems. But the question of how underground hotspots could affect infrastructure has gone largely unstudied. Because materials expand and contract with temperature change, Rotta suspected that heat coming from underground could be contributing to wear and tear on various structures. To understand how underground temperature difference has affected the ground’s physical properties, he used a computer model to simulate(模拟) the underground environment from the 1950s to now—and then to 2050. He found that by the middle of this century, some areas may lift upward by as much as 0.50 inch or settle by as much as 0.32 inch, depending on the soil makeup of the area involved. Though these may sound like small displacements, Rotta says they could cause cracks in the foundations of some buildings, causing buildings to fall. Kathrin Menberg, a geoscientist in Germany, says these displacement predictions are far beyond her guesses and could be linked to the soft, clay-heavy soils. “Clay material is particularly sensitive,” she says, “It would be a big issue in all cities worldwide that are built on such material.” Like climate change above the surface, underground changes occur gradually. “These effects took decades to develop,” Ferguson says, adding that increased underground temperatures would likewise take a long time to dissipate on their own. “We could basically turn everything off, and it’s going to remain there, the temperature signal, for quite a while.” But Ferguson says this wasted heat energy could also be reused, presenting an opportunity to both cool the subsurface and save on energy costs. Still, this assumption could fail as aboveground climate change continues to boost underground warming. However slowly, this heat will gather beneath our feet. “It’s like climate change,” Rotta Loria says. “Maybe we don’t see it always, but it’s happening.” 28．The author quotes Rotta Loria in Paragraph 2 mainly to _______. A．make a prediction B．highlight a finding C．draw a conclusion D．raise an assumption 29．What can we learn from this passage? A．“Urban heat islands” extend underground to spare ecosystems. B．Surface climate change contributes to the reuse of underground heat. C．Underground temperatures mirror the ground’s physical characteristics. D．Buildings may collapse as a potential consequence of underground heat. 30．What does the underlined word “dissipate” in Paragraph 6 probably mean? A．Show. B．Stay. C．Develop. D．Disappear. 31．What does the author intend to tell us? A．Underground climate change is a silent danger. B．Humans fail to notice the dramatic climate change. C．Cooling the subsurface helps control urban heat rises. D．Researching underground heat helps save on energy costs. 【答案】28．B 29．D 30．D 31．A 【导语】本文为一篇说明文，介绍了城市的热量正在向地下传播，这会影响到一些地面建筑材料，且这种变化是不易察觉的，是一种无声的危险。 28．推理判断题。根据文章第一段“The streets and roofs of cities all absorb heat, making some urban areas hotter than rural ones. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground as city heat spreads downward, and subway tracks and other subsurface infrastructure(基础设施) also constantly radiate warmth into the surrounding earth.(城市的街道和屋顶都会吸收热量，这使得一些城市地区比农村地区更热。随着城市热量向下传播，这些“城市热岛”也会在地下发展，地铁轨道和其他地下基础设施也会不断向周围的地球辐射热量)”说明城市热量在向地下发展，第二段““Without anyone realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was deforming,” says study author Rotta Loria, an environmental engineer.(“在没有人意识到的情况下，芝加哥市中心正在变形，”研究报告的作者、环境工程师罗塔·洛里亚说)”引用Rotta Loria的话突出了这一发现。故选B。 29．细节理解题。根据文章第四段“Because materials expand and contract with temperature change, Rotta suspected that heat coming from underground could be contributing to wear and tear on various structures.(由于材料会随着温度的变化而膨胀和收缩，罗塔怀疑来自地下的热量可能会导致各种结构的磨损)”及“He found that by the middle of this century, some areas may lift upward by as much as 0.50 inch or settle by as much as 0.32 inch, depending on the soil makeup of the area involved. Though these may sound like small displacements, Rotta says they could cause cracks in the foundations of some buildings, causing buildings to fall.(他发现，到本世纪中叶，一些地区可能会向上抬升0.50英寸或下沉0.32英寸，这取决于该地区的土壤构成。虽然这些听起来像是很小的位移，但罗塔说，它们可能会导致一些建筑物的地基出现裂缝，导致建筑物倒塌)”可知，地下热量的潜在后果是建筑物可能倒塌。故选D。 30．词义猜测题。根据划线词前文“adding that increased underground temperatures would likewise take a long time to(他补充说，地下温度的升高同样需要很长时间才能)”及后文“We could basically turn everything off, and it’s going to remain there, the temperature signal, for quite a while.(我们基本上可以把所有的东西都关掉，温度信号会在那里停留很长一段时间)”可推知，关掉开关，也不会导致地下温度升高立即消失，因此，地下温度升高需要很长时间才能消失，划线词与disappear意思一致。故选D。 31．推理判断题。根据文章第一段“The streets and roofs of cities all absorb heat, making some urban areas hotter than rural ones. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground as city heat spreads downward, and subway tracks and other subsurface infrastructure(基础设施) also constantly radiate warmth into the surrounding earth.(城市的街道和屋顶都会吸收热量，这使得一些城市地区比农村地区更热。随着城市热量向下传播，这些“城市热岛”也会在地下发展，地铁轨道和其他地下基础设施也会不断向周围的地球辐射热量)”及第二段“A new study of downtown Chicago shows underground hotspots may threaten the very same structures that give off the heat in the first place.(一项针对芝加哥市中心的新研究表明，地下热点可能会威胁到最初散发热量的相同结构)”结合最后一段““It’s like climate change,” Rotta Loria says. “Maybe we don’t see it always, but it’s happening.”(“这就像气候变化，”罗塔·洛里亚说。“也许我们并不总是看到这种情况，但它正在发生。”)”可知，本文介绍了城市的热量正在向地下传播，这会影响到一些地面建筑材料，且这种变化是不易察觉的，因此，作者想要告诉我们“地下气候变化是一种无声的危险”。故选A。 Passage 06 【2024年北京市房山区高三一模】A good meal has a positive impact on one’s mood. Those who feast on Christmas buffet almost enjoy an immediate rise in their blood sugar. That will prompt a flood of chemicals that act as happy hormones to rush through their brains. But the pleasure goes deeper. Tyrosine and tryptophan are needed for the production, respectively, of dopamine, a neurotransmitter (神经传递素) that controls feelings of pleasure and reward, and serotonin, another such, which helps regulate mood. And cranberries are high in vitamin C, which is involved in converting dopamine to noradrenaline, another neurotransmitter, and a lack of which seems to be associated with depression. With mental-health disorders rising, a growing number of scientists are investigating how food or nutritional supplements affect the mind. But separating the brain’s nutritional needs from those of the rest of the body is difficult. Not possible for now, at least. And, compared with other fields, nutritional science is understudied. That is partly because it is hard to do well. Randomised controlled trials (rcts), used to test drugs, are tricky. Few people want to stick to an experimental diet for years. Instead, most nutritional science is based on observational studies that try to establish associations between particular foods or nutrients and diseases. They cannot be used to definitively prove a causal ( 因 果 关 系 的 ) connection between a disease and a particular contributing factor in a diet. But as with smoking and lung cancer, put together enough of these kinds of trials and causal narratives begin to emerge. It is now clear that some diets are particularly good for the brain. One recent study concludes that sticking to the “Mediterranean diet”, high in vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains, low in red and processed meats and saturated fats, decreases the chances of experiencing strokes, cognitive impairment and depression. Other recent work looking at a “green” Mediterranean diet high in polyphenols found it reduced age-related brain atrophy. Another version, the mind diet, emphasises, among other things, eating berries over other kinds of fruit and seems to lessen the risk of dementia. Scientists think such diets may work by reducing inflammation in the brain. This, in turn, may affect areas such as the hippocampus, which is associated with learning, memory and mood regulation—and where new neurons grow in adults. Studies in animals show that when they are fed a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (from walnuts, for example), flavonoids (consumed mainly via tea and wine), antioxidants (found in berries) and resveratrol (found in red grapes), neuron growth is stimulated and inflammatory processes are reduced. This fits with research suggesting that those who regularly eat ultra-processed, fried and sugary foods, which increase inflammation in the brain, heighten their risk of developing depression. 31．Which of the following words can replace “tricky” in Paragraph 3? A．Rare. B．Tough. C．Traditional. D．Contradictory. 32．How do researchers do observational studies in nutritional science? A．By keeping at an experimental diet for years. B．By carrying out randomized controlled trials. C．By identifying a particular contributing factor. D．By comparing findings of certain kinds of trials. 33．What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs? A．A diet rich in fruit is good for cognitive abilities. B．People fond of sugary foods may be a risk lover. C．Red grapes add fuel to inflammation in the brain. D．Drinking tea can solve age-related brain problems. 34．What is mainly discussed in the passage? A．The links between diets and diseases. B．The significance of Mediterranean diet. C．The function of various neurotransmitters. D．The influence of nutrients on mental health. 【答案】31．B 32．D 33．A 34．D 【导语】本文是一篇说明文，主要讲的是食物中的营养素对心理健康的影响。 31．词句猜测题。根据第三段“Few people want to stick to an experimental diet for years. Instead, most nutritional science is based on observational studies that try to establish associations between particular foods or nutrients and diseases. They cannot be used to definitively prove a causal (因果关系的) connection between a disease and a particular contributing factor in a diet.(很少有人愿意多年坚持实验性饮食。相反，大多数营养科学是建立在观察性研究的基础上的，这些研究试图建立特定食物或营养素与疾病之间的联系。它们不能被用来明确地证明某种疾病与饮食中某一特定因素之间的因果关系。)”可知，用于测试药物的随机对照试验是很难进行的，划线词tricky的意思是“困难的”，和tough意思相近，故选B。 32．推理判断题。根据第三段“Instead, most nutritional science is based on observational studies that try to establish associations between particular foods or nutrients and diseases.(相反，大多数营养科学是建立在观察性研究的基础上的，这些研究试图建立特定食物或营养素与疾病之间的联系。)”和“But as with smoking and lung cancer, put together enough of these kinds of trials and causal narratives, it begin to emerge.(但就像吸烟和肺癌一样，把足够多的这类试验和因果叙述放在一起，它就会开始出现。)”可知，研究人员通过比较不同试验的结果在营养科学中进行观察性研究。故选D。 33．推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“One recent study concludes that sticking to the “Mediterranean diet”, high in vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains, low in red and processed meats and saturated fats, decreases the chances of experiencing strokes, cognitive impairment and depression.(最近的一项研究得出结论，坚持“地中海饮食”，多吃蔬菜、水果、豆类和全谷物，少吃红肉、加工肉类和饱和脂肪，可以降低患中风、认知障碍和抑郁症的几率。)”可知，富含水果的饮食对认知能力有好处。故选A。 34．主旨大意题。通读全文，尤其是第三段“With mental-health disorders rising, a growing number of scientists are investigating how food or nutritional supplements affect the mind.(随着心理疾病的增加，越来越多的科学家正在研究食物或营养补充剂是如何影响心理的。)”可知，本文主要讲的是食物中的营养素对心理健康的影响，即“The influence of nutrients on mental health.(营养素对心理健康的影响。)”。故选D。 Passage 07 【2024年北京市东城区高三一模】Research spanning several decades demonstrates that you are more likely to think the information that is repeated to be true than the information you hear only once. You usually assume that if people put in effort to repeat a statement, this reflects the truth of the statement. This tendency-also called the truth effect-is a bias (偏见) that can lead you to draw incorrect conclusions. To what degree are people aware of the truth effect? This question was addressed in a paper in the journal Cognition early this year. In the critical study in this paper, participants did two sessions. In one session, they read about a hypothetical (虚构的) study in which they were exposed to some statements and then were asked whether both statements they had heard before as well as these new statements were true. They were asked to predict the proportion (比例) of each statement that would be judged as true. They did this both as a prediction of other people’s performance as well as a prediction of how they would do in this study. At another session a few days later, participants actually performed this study, reading a set of 20 statements in the hypothetical study again and then judging the truth of altogether 40 statements, half of which were from the hypothetical study and the other half of which were new. This study did replicate the well known truth effect. People were more likely to judge statements they had seen before as true than statements that were new. Two interesting findings emerged from the prediction. First, participants tended to underestimate the size of the truth effect for everyone. T hat is, while they did expect some difference in judgments between the statements seen before and those that were new, they thought this difference would be smaller than it actually was. Second, participants more significantly underpredicted the truth effect for themselves compared to that for other people.   This study is particularly important in light of the amount of misinformation present in social media. Many people have the power to influence public opinion about important matters. Flooding social media feeds with misinformation will lead people to believe this information is true just because it is stated. Recognizing that we are all susceptible to this influence of repeated information should lead us to mistrust our intuition (直觉) about what is true and to look up important information prior to using it to make important judgments and decisions. 28．In the first paragraph, the author intends to ______. A．clarify a misconception B．present a phenomenon C．challenge a statement D．confirm a theory 29．What can we learn from the study? A．Impacts of the truth effect require further studies. B．Making predictions before judgments is significant. C．People have hardly any awareness of the truth effect. D．People tend to believe they can make wiser judgments. 30．What does the word “susceptible” underlined in the last paragraph most probably mean? A．Critical. B．Subject. C．Opposed. D．Adapted. 【答案】28．B 29．D 30．B 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要讨论了一种被称作“真实效应”的心理偏见现象，即人们更容易相信被重复表述的信息，而不是只听到一次的信息，呼吁人们应该更加警惕重复信息的影响，以及在做出重要判断和决策之前查证重要信息的真实性。 28．推理判断题。根据第一段的“Research spanning several decades demonstrates that you are more likely to think the information that is repeated to be true than the information you hear only once. You usually assume that if people put in effort to repeat a statement, this reflects the truth of the statement. This tendency-also called the truth effect-is a bias that can lead you to draw incorrect conclusions.(几十年的研究表明，与只听到一次的信息相比，你更有可能认为重复的信息是真实的。你通常认为，如果人们努力重复一句话，这就反映了这句话的真实性。这种倾向——也被称为真实效应——是一种偏见，它会导致你得出错误的结论。)”可知，作者的意图是阐明一个现象，即“真实效应”，这是一种偏见，可能导致人们得出不正确的结论。故选B。 29．推理判断题。根据第五段的“Second, participants more significantly underpredicted the truth effect for themselves compared to that for other people. (第二，与他人相比，参与者对自己真实效应的低估更为显著。) ”可知，人们在对“真实效应”的认识上存在一些偏差，尤其是对于他们自己而言。他们往往低估了这种效应的影响，认为自己能够做出更明智的判断。故选D。 30．词句猜测题。根据最后一段的“This study is particularly important in light of the amount of misinformation present in social media. Many people have the power to influence public opinion about important matters. Flooding social media feeds with misinformation will lead people to believe this information is true just because it is stated.(鉴于社交媒体上存在大量错误信息，这项研究尤为重要。许多人有能力在重要问题上影响公众舆论。充斥在社交媒体上的错误信息会让人们相信这些信息是真实的，仅仅因为它是陈述出来的。)”可知，人们容易受到重复信息的影响，从而误导人们的判断，因此划线词意为“易受影响的”，subject(易遭受……的，受……支配的，可能受……影响的)与其是同义词。故选B。 Passage 08 【2024年北京市海淀区高三一模】Researchers hope brain implants will one day help people with aphasia(失语症) to get their voice back—and maybe even to sing. Now, for the first time, scientists have demonstrated that the brain’s electrical activity can be decoded and used to reconstruct music. A new study analyzed data from 29 people monitored for epileptic seizures(癫痫发作), using electrodes(电极) on the surface of their brain. As participants listened to a selected song, electrodes captured brain activity related to musical elements, such as tone, rhythm, and lyrics. Employing machine learning, Robert Knight from UC Berkeley and his colleagues reconstructed what the participants were hearing and published their study results. The paper is the first to suggest that scientists can “listen secretly to” the brain to synthesize(合成) music. To turn brain activity data into musical sound, researchers trained an artificial intelligence (AI)model to decode data captured from thousands of electrodes that were attached to the participants as they listened to the song while undergoing surgery. Once the brain data were fed through the model, the music returned. The model also revealed some brain parts responding to different musical features of the song. Although the findings focused on music, the researchers expect their results to be most useful for translating brain waves into human speech. Ludovic Bellier, the study’s lead author, explains that speech, regardless of language, has small melodic differences—tempo, stress, accents, and intonation—known as prosody(韵律). These elements carry meaning that we can’t communicate with words alone. He hopes the model will improve brain-computer interfaces (BCI), assistive devices that record speech-associated brain waves and use algorithms to reconstruct intended messages. This technology, still in its infancy, could help people who have lost the ability to speak because of aphasia. Future research should investigate whether these models can be expanded from music that participants have heard to imagined internal speech. If a brain-computer interface could recreate someone’s speech with the prosody and emotional weight found in music, it could offer a richer communication experience beyond mere words. Several barriers remain before we can put this technology in the hands—or brains— of patients. The current model relies on surgical implants. As recording techniques improve, the hope is to gather data non-invasively, possibly using ultrasensitive electrodes. However, under current technologies, this approach might result in a lower speed of decoding into natural speech. The researchers also hope to improve the playback clarity by packing the electrodes closer together on the brain’s surface, enabling an even more detailed look at the electrical symphony the brain produces. 28．What can we learn from the study? A．Electrodes can analyze musical elements. B．The decoding of brain data helps recreate music. C．Machine learning greatly enhances brain activity. D．The AI model monitors music-responsive brain regions. 29．What hopefully makes it possible to expand the model to speech? A．The prosody of speech. B．The collection of brain waves. C．The emotional weight of music. D．The reconstruction of information. 30．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A．Unlocking the Secrets of Melodic Mind B．Brain Symphony: Synthesized Human Speech C．BCI Brings Hope to People with Aphasia D．Remarkable Journey: Decoding Brain with AI 【答案】28．B 29．A 30．C 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲科学家首次证明大脑电活动可解码并用于重构音乐，他们还期望该研究成果能助失语症患者恢复说话能力，未来需克服一些障碍才能将此技术应用于患者。 28．细节理解题。根据第三段的“To turn brain activity data into musical sound, researchers trained an artificial intelligence (AI) model to decode data captured from thousands of electrodes that were attached to the participants as they listened to the song while undergoing surgery.(为了将大脑活动数据转化为音乐声音，研究人员训练了一个人工智能模型来解码从数千个电极捕获的数据，这些电极是在参与者接受手术时听歌曲时连接到他们身上的)”可知，解码大脑数据有助于重新创造音乐。故选B。 29．推理判断题。根据第四段的“Although the findings focused on music, the researchers expect their results to be most useful for translating brain waves into human speech. Ludovic Bellier, the study’s lead author, explains that speech, regardless of language, has small melodic differences—tempo, stress, accents, and intonation—known as prosody. These elements carry meaning that we can’t communicate with words alone. He hopes the model will improve brain-computer interfaces (BCI), assistive devices that record speech-associated brain waves and use algorithms to reconstruct intended messages.(尽管研究结果主要集中在音乐上，但研究人员希望他们的结果在将脑电波转换为人类语言方面最有用。该研究的主要作者Ludovic Bellier解释说，无论语言是什么，语音都有小的旋律差异——节奏、重音、口音和语调——被称为韵律。这些元素所承载的意义是我们无法仅用语言交流的。他希望这个模型能够改善脑机接口，这是一种辅助设备，可以记录与语音相关的脑电波，并使用算法来重建预期的信息)”可知，是语音的韵律使得将模型扩展到语音成为可能。故选A。 30．主旨大意题。通读全文，根据第一段的“Researchers hope brain implants will one day help people with aphasia to get their voice back — and maybe even to sing. Now, for the first time, scientists have demonstrated that the brain’s electrical activity can be decoded and used to reconstruct music.(研究人员希望大脑植入物有一天能帮助失语症患者恢复声音，甚至可能唱歌。现在，科学家们第一次证明，大脑的电活动可以被解码并用于重建音乐)”可知，文章主要讲科学家首次证明大脑电活动可解码并用于重构音乐，他们还期望该研究成果能助失语症患者恢复说话能力，未来需克服一些障碍才能将此技术应用于患者。由此可知，C选项“脑机接口为失语症患者带来希望”能够很好地概括文章主旨，适合作为标题。故选C。 Passage 09 （2024·北京海淀·二模）We are a social animal. Indeed, it is our sociality — such as the ability to make sense of each other, to communicate, to work cooperatively and, finally, to create culture — that marks us off from other animal species. But then why are we everywhere striving to increase our isolation and limit our contact with others? As musician David Byrn e argues in an essay published last month, it is a striking fact about the new technologies that have so come to shape our lives, that they have precisely this effect: they limit our need for human contact. Online shopping? Check. Automated checkout? Check. Ride hail apps? Check. Efficiency is the key. We purchase efficiency by limiting the human aspect, known as “autonomous operation”. This is perhaps even more pronounced with new technologies on the horizon. Take the MOOC, the teacher-less virtual classroom. As Byrn e notes, this is meant to deliver the values of a learning environment without, well, without the environment — you get to stay at home — no teacher, but also, no fellow students. Byrne isn’t claiming we are consciously choosing to isolate ourselves. We shop online because it is convenient. The absence of contact with others is a side-effect. Maybe even an unavoidable one, as one of the things that makes online shopping so easy is precisely the absence of contact with other people. But Bryne’s thought is that whatever our intention, the tendency of our tech to isolate us may be a feature, not a bug. His hypothesis is that we actually, at some level, crave (渴望) the increased isolation and we are actually making technologies to satisfy impulses that, in some way, go beyond or against our social nature. But I wonder, is this really new? Even if we are social by nature, and do everything we can to embed ourselves socially, the need to find ways to be alone is, well, nothing new. It’s also striking that the very activities that risk separating us — in the old days, books, newspapers, TV; nowadays, the latest apps also connect us. We read about each other. What we read gives us information to share with each other. I am well aware of the data that shows the more time you spend on social media, the sadder and more isolated and envious you feel of others. But how novel is the isolating effect of social media? Being there reminds me a lot of what it was like to be social in high school — you have a vivid sense of your status and your standing in relation to others, and you have to deal with that. This may be isolating, sure. But it’s the isolating face of the social lives we’ve always had. It is isolating because of the ways technology brings us into real contact with others, not because it removes that contact. I wonder whether more isolation is a real option, after all. 28．Which of the following best reflects “autonomous operation”? A．Getting a toothbrush via a hotel delivery robot. B．Teaching mom how to establish a smart home. C．Seeking help by calling human customer services. D．Having an online meeting at home with colleagues. 29．Which of the following might the author agree? A．Technology offers fresh insights into our social status. B．Actions seemingly isolating can bond people. C．Social platforms help bring people closer. D．Social media has come to define our life. 30．What would be the best title for the passage? A．What Technologies Do to Human Nature B．Do Technologies Shape Our Lives? C．How Isolation Changes with Connection D．Can We Erase Human Element? 【答案】28．A 29．B 30．D 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章讨论了在线购物和社交媒体如何可能无意中导致人们感到孤独，但同时强调这些活动也提供了与他人建立联系的机会，反映了现代社会中人们在追求便利与社交之间的平衡。 28．推理判断题。由文章第三段中“Efficiency is the key. We purchase efficiency by limiting the human aspect, known as “autonomous operation”. This is perhaps even more pronounced with new technologies on the horizon. Take the MOOC, the teacher-less virtual classroom. As Byrn e notes, this is meant to deliver the values of a learning environment without, well, without the environment — you get to stay at home — no teacher, but also, no fellow students. (效率是关键。我们通过限制人的方面来获得效率，被称为“自主操作”。随着新技术的出现，这一点可能更加明显。以MOOC为例，即没有教师的虚拟课堂。正如伯恩所指出的，这意味着在没有环境的情况下，传递学习环境的价值——你可以呆在家里——没有老师，也没有同学)”可知，通过限制人为因素（即自主操作）来提高效率。由此推知，通过酒店送货机器人获取牙刷正好符合“自主操作”的定义，因为这一过程中没有人为的参与，完全由机器人自主完成。故选A。 29．推理判断题。由文章第六段中“Even if we are social by nature, and do everything we can to embed ourselves socially, the need to find ways to be alone is, well, nothing new. It’s also striking that the very activities that risk separating us — in the old days, books, newspapers, TV; nowadays, the latest apps — also connect us. We read about each other. What we read gives us information to share with each other. (即使我们天生具有社交性，并尽我们所能融入社会，寻找独处方式的需求也不是什么新鲜事。同样令人吃惊的是，那些有可能把我们分开的活动——在过去，书籍、报纸、电视；如今，最新的应用程序也连接着我们。我们互相了解对方。我们所读的东西给我们提供信息，让我们彼此分享)” 可推知，作者认为看似孤立的行为实际上可以让人们产生联系。故选B。 30．主旨大意题。通读全文，尤其是由文章第二段“But then why are we everywhere striving to increase our isolation and limit our contact with others? As musician David Byrn e argues in an essay published last month, it is a striking fact about the new technologies that have so come to shape our lives, that they have precisely this effect: they limit our need for human contact. Online shopping? Check. Automated checkout? Check. Ride hail apps? Check. (但是，为什么我们到处都在努力增加我们的孤立，限制我们与他人的接触呢？正如音乐家David Byrn在上月发表的一篇文章中所指出的那样，新技术如此塑造了我们的生活，一个令人震惊的事实是，它们恰恰具有这样的效果：它们限制了我们对人际交往的需求。)”可知，文章主语讨论了在线购物和社交媒体如何可能无意中导致人们感到孤独，但同时强调这些活动也提供了与他人建立联系的机会，反映了现代社会中人们在追求便利与社交之间的平衡。由此可知，D项“Can We Erase Human Element? (我们能抹去人类元素吗？)”适合作本文最佳标题。故选D。 ( 6 )原创精品资源学科网独家享有版权，侵权必究！ 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$ 【好题汇编】五年（2020-2024）高考英语 真题分类汇编（北京专用）原卷版 专题11阅读理解说明文和议论文 年份 体裁 词数 话题 考点分布 细节 理解 推理 判断 主旨大意 词义猜测 2024 议论文 408 人与社会：讨论科学问题：宇宙是否是由计算机模拟生成的 0 3 0 1 说明文 384 人与社会：人类道德准则的形成过程及人类建立道德准则的标准 1 1 1 0 2023 说明文 366 人与社会：人类社会发展中人们的短视现象 0 3 0 0 说明文 429 人与社会：AI 对现代生活的影响 0 2 1 1 2022 说明文 415 人与社会：解决全球挑战的重要方法——系统思维 1 2 0 0 议论文 400 人与社会：量子计算真的会像它的宣传那样成功吗？ 1 1 1 1 2021 说明文 354 人与社会：全球崩塌（global collapse）的概念 0 2 0 1 议论文 480 人与社会/自然：文章通过讨论时间的定义，讲述了人们应该和大自然和谐相处，保护环境。 1 2 1 0 2020 说明文 360 人与自然：om Hunt设计的安装在狗狗项圈上的监测器 1 3 0 0 议论文 433 人与社会：通用人工智能技术 1 2 0 1 【2024北京卷】 The notion that we live in someone else’s video game is irresistible to many. Searching the term “simulation hypothesis” (模拟假说) returns numerous results that debate whether the universe is a computer simulation —— a concept that some scientists actually take seriously. Unfortunately, this is not a scientific question. We will probably never know whether it’s true. We can, instead, use this idea to advance scientific knowledge. The 18th-century philosopher Kant argued that the universe ultimately consists of things-in-themselves that are unknowable. While he held the notion that objective reality exists, he said our mind plays a necessary role in structuring and shaping our perceptions. Modern sciences have revealed that our perceptual experience of the world is the result of many stages of processing by sensory systems and cognitive (认知的) functions in the brain. No one knows exactly what happens within this black box. If empirical (实证的) experience fails to reveal reality, reasoning won’t reveal reality either since it relies on concepts and words that are contingent on our social, cultural and psychological histories. Again, a black box. So, if we accept that the universe is unknowable, we also accept we will never know if we live in a computer simulation. And then, we can shift our inquiry from “Is the universe a computer simulation?” to “Can we model the universe as a computer simulation? ” Modelling reality is what we do. To facilitate our comprehension of the world, we build models based on conceptual metaphors (隐喻) that are familiar to us. In Newton’s era, we imagined the universe as a clock. In Einstein’s, we uncovered the standard model of particle (粒子) physics. Now that we are in the information age, we have new concepts such as the computer, information processing, virtual reality, and simulation. Unsurprisingly, these new concepts inspire us to build new models of the universe. Models are not the reality, however. There is no point in arguing if the universe is a clock, a set of particles or an output of computation. All these models are tools to deal with the unknown and to make discoveries. And the more tools we have, the more effective and insightful we can become. It can be imagined that comparable to the process of building previous scientific models, developing the “computer simulation” metaphor-based model will also be a hugely rewarding exercise. 28. What does the author intend to do by challenging a hypothesis? A. Make an assumption. B. Illustrate an argument. C. Give a suggestion. D. Justify a comparison. 29. What does the phrase “contingent on” underlined in Paragraph 2 probably mean? A. Accepted by. B. Determined by. C. Awakened by. D. Discovered by. 30. As for Kant’s argument, the author is _________. A. appreciative B. doubtful C. unconcerned D. disapproving 31. It is implied in this passage that we should _________. A. compare the current models with the previous ones B. continue exploring the classical models in history C. stop arguing whether the universe is a simulation D. turn simulations of the universe into realities up. 【2024北京卷】 Franz Boas’s description of Inuit (因纽特人) life in the 19th century illustrates the probable moral code of early humans. Here, norms (规范) were unwritten and rarely expressed clearly, but were well understood and taken to heart. Dishonest and violent behaviours were disapproved of; leadership, marriage and interactions with other groups were loosely governed by traditions. Conflict was often resolved in musical battles. Because arguing angrily leads to chaos, it was strongly discouraged. With life in the unforgiving Northern Canada being so demanding, the Inuit’s practical approach to morality made good sense. The similarity of moral virtues across cultures is striking, even though the relative ranking of the virtues may vary with a social group’s history and environment. Typically, cruelty and cheating are discouraged, while cooperation, humbleness and courage are praised. These universal norms far pre-date the concept of any moralising religion or written law. Instead, they are rooted in the similarity of basic human needs and our shared mechanisms for learning and problem solving. Our social instincts (本能) include the intense desire to belong. The approval of others is rewarding, while their disapproval is strongly disliked. These social emotions prepare our brains to shape our behaviour according to the norms and values of our family and our community. More generally, social instincts motivate us to learn how to behave in a socially complex world. The mechanism involves a repurposed reward system originally used to develop habits important for self-care. Our brains use the system to acquire behavioural patterns regarding safe routes home, efficient food gathering and dangers to avoid. Good habits save time, energy and sometimes your life. Good social habits do something similar in a social context. We learn to tell the truth, even when lying is self-serving; we help a grandparent even when it is inconvenient. We acquire what we call a sense of right and wrong. Social benefits are accompanied by social demands: we must get along, but not put up with too much. Hence self-discipline is advantageous. In humans, a greatly enlarged brain boosts self-control, just as it boosts problem-solving skills in the social as well as the physical world. These abilities are strengthened by our capacity for language, which allows social practices to develop in extremely unobvious ways. 32. What can be inferred about the forming of the Inuit’s moral code? A. Living conditions were the drive. B. Unwritten rules were the target. C. Social tradition was the basis. D. Honesty was the key. 33. What can we learn from this passage? A. Inconveniences are the cause of telling lies. B. Basic human needs lead to universal norms. C. Language capacity is limited by self-control. D. Written laws have great influence on virtues. 34. Which would be the best title for this passage? A. Virtues: Bridges Across Cultures B. The Values of Self-discipline C. Brains: Walls Against Chaos D. The Roots of Morality 【2023北京卷】 In recent years, researchers from diverse fields have agreed that short-termism is now a significant problem in industrialised societies. The inability to engage with longer-term causes and consequences leads to some of the world’s most serious problems: climate change, biodiversity collapse, and more. The historian Francis Cole argues that the West has entered a period where “only the present exists, a present characterised at once by the cruelty of the instant and by the boredom of an unending now”. It has been proved that people have a bias (偏向) towards the present, focusing on loud attractions in the moment at the expense of the health, well-being and financial stability of their future selves or community. In business, this bias surfaces as short-sighted decisions. And on slow-burning problems like climate change, it translates into the unwillingness to make small sacrifices (牺牲) today that could make a major difference tomorrow. Instead, all that matters is next quarter’s profit, or satisfying some other near-term desires. These biased perspectives cannot be blamed on one single cause. It is fair to say, though, that our psychological biases play a major role. People’s hesitancy to delay satisfaction is the most obvious example, but there are others. One of them is about how the most accessible information in the present affects decisions about the future. For instance, you might hear someone say: “It’s cold this winter, so I needn’t worry about global warming.”Another is that loud and urgent matters are given too much importance, making people ignore longer-term trends that arguably matter more. This is when a pop star draws far more attention than, say, gradual biodiversity decline. As a psychologist once joked, if aliens (外星人) wanted to weaken humanity, they wouldn’t send ships; they would invent climate change. Indeed, when it comes to environmental transformations, we can develop a form of collective “poor memory”, and each new generation can believe the state of affairs they encounter is nothing out of the ordinary. Older people today, for example, can remember a time with insect-covered car windscreens after long drives. Children, on the other hand, have no idea that insect population has dropped dramatically. 28．The author quotes Francis Cole mainly to ________. A．draw a comparison B．introduce a topic C．evaluate a statement D．highlight a problem 29．What can be inferred from the last paragraph? A．Climate change has been forgotten. B．Lessons of history are highly valued. C．The human mind is bad at noting slow change. D．Humans are unwilling to admit their shortcomings. 30．What does the author intend to tell us? A．Far-sighted thinking matters to humans. B．Humans tend to make long-term sacrifices. C．Current policies facilitate future decision-making. D．Bias towards the present helps reduce near-term desires. 【2023北京卷】 What is life? Like most great questions, this one is easy to ask but difficult to answer. The reason is simple: we know of just one type of life and it’s challenging to do science with a sample size of one. The field of artificial life-called ALife for short — is the systematic attempt to spell out life’s fundamental principles. Many of these practitioners, so-called ALifers, think that somehow making life is the surest way to really understand what life is. So far no one has convincingly made artificial life. This track record makes ALife a ripe target for criticism, such as declarations of the field’s doubtful scientific value. Alan Smith, a complexity scientist, is tired of such complaints. Asking about “the point” of ALife might be, well, missing the point entirely, he says. “The existence of a living system is not about the use of anything.” Alan says. “Some people ask me, ‘So what’s the worth of artificial life?’ Do you ever think, ‘What is the worth of your grandmother?’” As much as many ALifers hate emphasizing their research’s applications, the attempts to create artificial life could have practical payoffs. Artificial intelligence may be considered ALife’s cousin in that researchers in both fields are enamored by a concept called open-ended evolution (演化). This is the capacity for a system to create essentially endless complexity, to be a sort of “novelty generator”. The only system known to exhibit this is Earth’s biosphere. If the field of ALife manages to reproduce life’s endless “creativity” in some virtual model, those same principles could give rise to truly inventive machines. Compared with the developments of Al, advances in ALife are harder to recognize. One reason is that ALife is a field in which the central concept — life itself — is undefined. The lack of agreement among ALifers doesn’t help either. The result is a diverse line of projects that each advance along their unique paths. For better or worse, ALife mirrors the very subject it studies. Its muddled (混乱的) progression is a striking parallel (平行线) to the evolutionary struggles that have shaped Earth biosphere. Undefined and uncontrolled, ALife drives its followers to repurpose old ideas and generated novelty. It may be, of course, that these characteristics aren’t in any way surprising or singular. They may apply universally to all acts of evolution. Ultimately ALife may be nothing special. But even this dismissal suggests something：perhaps, just like life itself throughout the universe, the rise of ALife will prove unavoidable. 31．Regarding Alan Smith’s defence of ALife, the author is . A．supportive B．puzzled C．unconcerned D．doubtful 32．What does the word “enamored” underlined in Paragraph 3 most probably mean? A．Shocked. B．Protected. C．Attracted. D．Challenged. 33．What can we learn from this passage? A．ALife holds the key to human future. B．ALife and AI share a common feature. C．AI mirrors the developments of ALife. D．AI speeds up the process of human evolution. 34．Which would be the best title for the passage? A．Life Is Undefined. Can AI Be a Way Out? B．Life Evolves. Can AI Help ALife Evolve, Too? C．Life Is Undefined. Can ALife Be Defined One Day? D．Life Evolves. Can Attempts to Create ALife Evolve, Too? 【2022年北京卷】 “What would the world be if there were no hunger?” It’s a question that Professor Crystal would ask her students. They found it hard to answer, she wrote later, because imagining something that isn’t part of real life—and learning how to make it real—is a rare skill. It is taught to artists and engineers, but much less often to scientists. Crystal set out to change that, and helped to create a global movement. The result—an approach known as systems thinking—is now seen as essential in meeting global challenges. Systems thinking is crucial to achieving targets such as zero hunger and better nutrition because it requires considering the way in which food is produced, processed, delivered and consumed, and looking at how those things intersect (交叉 ) with human health, the environment, economics and society. According to systems thinking, changing the food system—or any other network—requires three things to happen. First, researchers need to identify all the players in that system; second, they must work out how they relate to each other; and third, they need to understand and quantify the impact of those relationships on each other and on those outside the system. Take nutrition. In the latest UN report on global food security, the number of undernourished (营养不良 )people in the world has been rising, despite great advances in nutrition science. Tracking of 150 biochemicals in food has been important in revealing the relationships between calories, sugar, fat and the occurrence of common diseases. But using machine learning and artificial intelligence, some scientists propose that human diets consist of at least 26,000 biochemicals—and that the vast majority are not known.This shows that we have some way to travel before achieving the first objective of systems t hinking - which,in this example, is to identify more constituent parts of the nutrition system. A systems approach to creating change is also built on the assumption that everyone in the system has equal power. But as some researchers find, the food system is not an equal one. A good way to redress (修正 ) such power imbalance is for more universities to do what Crystal did and teach students how to think using a systems approach. More researchers, policymakers and representatives from the food industry must learn to look beyond their direct lines of responsibility and adopt a systems approach. Crystal knew that visions alone don’t produce results, but concluded that “we’ll never produce results that we can’t envision”. 28. The author uses the question underlined in Paragraph 1 to ________. A. illustrate an argument B. highlight an opinion C. introduce the topic D. predict the ending 29. What can be inferred about the field of nutrition? A. The first objective of systems thinking hasn’t been achieved. B. The relationships among players have been clarified. C. Machine learning can solve the nutrition problem. D. The impact of nutrition cannot be quantified. 30. As for systems thinking, which would the author agree with? A. It may be used to justify power imbalance. B. It can be applied to tackle challenges. C. It helps to prove why hunger exists. D. It goes beyond human imagination. 【2022年北京卷】 Quantum ( 量子 ) computers have been on my mind a lot lately. A friend has been sending me articles on how quantum computers might help solve some of the biggest challenges we face as humans. I’ve also had exchanges with two quantum-computing experts. One is computer scientist Chris Johnson who I see as someone who helps keep the field honest. The other is physicist Philip Taylor. For decades, quantum computing has been little more than a laboratory curiosity. Now, big tech companies have invested in quantum computing, as have many smaller ones. According to Business Weekly, quantum machines could help us “cure cancer, and even take steps to turn climate change in the opposite direction.” This is the sort of hype ( 炒作 ) that annoys Johnson. He worries that researchers are making promises they can’t keep. “What’s new,” Johnson wrote, “is that millions of dollars are now potentially available to quantum computing researchers.” As quantum computing attracts more attention and funding, researchers may mislead investors, journalists, the public and, worst of all, themselves about their work’s potential. If researchers can’t keep their promises, excitement might give way to doubt, disappointment and anger, Johnson warns. Lots of other technologies have gone through stages of excitement. But something about quantum computing makes it especially prone to hype, Johnson suggests, perhaps because “‘quantum’ stands for something cool you shouldn’t be able to understand.” And that brings me back to Taylor, who suggested that I read his book Q for Quantum. After I read the book, Taylor patiently answered my questions about it. He also answered my questions about PyQuantum, the firm he co-founded in 2016. Taylor shares Johnson’s concerns about hype, but he says those concerns do not apply to PyQuantum. The company, he says, is closer than any other firm “by a very large margin ( 幅度 )” to building a “useful” quantum computer, one that “solves an impactful problem that we would not have been able to solve otherwise.” He adds, “People will naturally discount my opinions, but I have spent a lot of time quantitatively comparing what we are doing with others.” Could PyQuantum really be leading all the competition “by a wide margin”, as Taylor claims? I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to advise my friend or anyone else to invest in quantum computers. But I trust Taylor, just as I trust Johnson. 31. Regarding Johnson’s concerns, the author feels ________. A. sympathetic B. unconcerned C. doubtful D. excited 32. What leads to Taylor’s optimism about quantum computing? A. His dominance in physics. B. The competition in the field. C. His confidence in PyQuantum. D. The investment of tech companies. 33. What does the underlined word “prone” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean? A. Open. B. Cool. C. Useful. D. Resistant. 34. Which would be the best title for the passage? A. Is Johnson More Competent Than Taylor? B. Is Quantum Computing Redefining Technology? C. Will Quantum Computers Ever Come into Being? D. Will Quantum Computing Ever Live Up to Its Hype? 【2021北京卷】 Hundreds of scientists, writers and academics sounded a warning to humanity in an open letter published last December: Policymakers and the rest of us must engage openly with the risk of global collapse. Researchers in many areas have projected the widespread collapse as “a credible scenario(情景) this century”. A survey of scientists found that extreme weather events, food insecurity, and freshwater shortages might create global collapse. Of course, if you are a non-human species, collapse is well underway. The call for public engagement with the unthinkable is especially germane in this moment of still-uncontrolled pandemic and economic crises in the world's most technologically advanced nations. Not very long ago, it was also unthinkable that a virus would shut down nations and that safety nets would be proven so disastrously lacking in flexibility. The international scholars’ warning letter doesn't say exactly what collapse will look like or when it might happen. Collapseology, the study of collapse, is more concerned with identifying trends and with them the dangers of everyday civilization. Among the signatories(签署者) of the warning was Bob Johnson, the originator of the “ecological footprint” concept, which measures the total amount of environmental input needed to maintain a given lifestyle. With the current footprint of humanity, “it seems that global collapse is certain to happen in some form, possibly within a decade, certainly within this century,” Johnson said in an email. “Only if we discuss the consequences of our biophysical limits,” the December warning letter says, “can we have the hope to reduce their speed, severity and harm”. And yet messengers of the coming disturbance are likely to be ignored. We all want to hope things will turn out fine. As a poet wrote, Man is a victim of dope(麻醉品) In the incurable form of hope. The hundreds of scholars who signed the letter are intent(执着) on quieting hope that ignores preparedness. “Let's look directly into the issue of collapse,” they say, “and deal with the terrible possibilities of what we see there to make the best of a troubling future.” 28. What does the underlined word “germane” in Paragraph 3 probably mean? A. Scientific. B. Credible. C. Original. D. Relevant. 29. As for the public awareness of global collapse, the author is________. A. worried B. puzzled C. surprised D. scared 30. What can we learn from this passage? A. The signatories may change the biophysical limits. B. The author agrees with the message of the poem. C. The issue of collapse is being prioritized. D. The global collapse is well underway. 【2021年北京卷】 Early fifth-century philosopher St．Augustine famously wrote that he knew what time was unless someone asked him．Albert Einstein added another wrinkle when he theorized that time varies depending on where you measure it．Today's state-of-the-art atomic（原子的） clocks have proven Einstein right．Even advanced physics can't decisively tell us what time is, because the answer depends on the question you're asking． Forget about time as an absolute．What if，instead of considering time in terms of astronomy,we related time to ecology？What if we allowed environmental conditions to set the tempo（节奏） of human life？We're increasingly aware of the fact that we can't control Earth systems with engineering alone，and realizing that we need to moderate（调节）our actions if we hope to live in balance．What if our definition of time reflected that？ Recently，I conceptualized a new approach to timekeeping that's connected to circumstances on our planet，conditions that might change as a result of global warming．We're now building a clock at the Anchorage Museum that reflects the total flow of several major Alaskan rivers，which are sensitive to local and global environmental changes．We've programmed it to match an atomic clock if the waterways continue to flow at their present rate．If the rivers run faster in the future on average，the clock will get ahead of standard time．If they run slower，you'll see the opposite effect． The clock registers both short-term irregularities and long-term trends in river dynamics．It's a sort of observatory that reveals how the rivers are behaving from their own temporal frame（时间框架），and allows us to witness those changes on our smartwatches or phones．Anyone who opts to go on Alaska Mean River Time will live in harmony with the planet．Anyone who considers river time in relation to atomic time will encounter a major imbalance and may be motivated to counteract it by consuming less fuel or supporting greener policies． Even if this method of timekeeping is novel in its particulars，early agricultural societies also connected time to natural phenomena．In pre-Classical Greece，for instance，people“corrected”official calendars by shifting dates forward or backward to reflect the change of season．Temporal connection to the environment was vital to their survival．Likewise，river time and other timekeeping systems we're developing may encourage environmental awareness． When St．Augustine admitted his inability to define time， he highlighted one of time 's most noticeable qualities：Time becomes meaningful only in a defined context．Any timekeeping system is valid，and each is as praiseworthy as its purpose． 31 What is the main idea of Paragraph 1？ A. Timekeeping is increasingly related to nature． B. Everyone can define time on their own terms． C. The qualities of time vary with how you measure it． D. Time is a major concern of philosophers and scientists． 32. The author raises three questions in Paragraph 2 mainly to________． A. present an assumption B. evaluate an argument C. highlight an experiment D. introduce an approach 33. What can we learn from this passage？ A. Those who do not go on river time will live an imbalanced life． B. New ways of measuring time can help to control Earth systems． C. Atomic time will get ahead of river time if the rivers run slower． D. Modern technology may help to shape the rivers’ temporal frame． 34. What can we infer from this passage？ A. It is crucial to improve the definition of time． B. A fixed frame will make time meaningless． C. We should live in harmony with nature． D. History is a mirror reflecting reality． 【2020北京卷】 Baggy has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by recording pollutant levels near the ground. Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Her monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, which has helped highlight concerns that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems. Conventional air pollution monitors are normally fixed on lampposts at about nine feet in the air. However, since Baggy stands at about the same height as a child in a pushchair（婴儿车）, she frequently records pollution levels which are much higher than the data gathered by the Environment A gency. The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy's 13-year-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt. The English youngster noticed that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the height where they are recorded by the agency. Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma（哮喘）. Matt Hunt said he was "very proud" of his son because “when the boy gets an idea, he keeps his head down and gets on with it, and he really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma." “Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age," Matt added. “He became very interested in gadgets（小装置）. About one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, why don't we put it on Baggy's collar and let her monitor the pollution？'So we did it." Tom said, "Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and we are all really proud of her." 34. With a monitor on her collar, Baggy can ____________. A. take pollutant readings B. record pollutant levels C. process collected data D. reduce air pollution 35. What can we learn from the Baggy data? A. High places are free of air pollution. B. Higher pushchairs are more risky for kids. C. Conventional monitors are more reliable. D. Air is more polluted closer to the ground. 36. What is Tom's purpose of doing the research? A. To warn of a health risk. B. To find out pollution sources. C. To test his new monitor. D. To prove Baggy's abilities. 37. According to the passage, which word can best describe Tom Hunt? A. Modest. B. Generous. C. Creative. D. Outgoing. 【2020年北京卷】 Certain forms of AI are indeed becoming ubiquitous. For example, algorithms (算法) carry out huge volumes of trading on our financial markets, self-driving cars are appearing on city streets, and our smartphones are translating from one language into another. These systems are sometimes faster and more perceptive than we humans are. But so far that is only true for the specific tasks for which the systems have been designed. That is something that some AI developers are now eager to change. Some of today’s AI pioneers want to move on from today’s world of “weak” or “narrow” AI, to create “strong” or “full” AI, or what is often called artificial general intelligence (AGI). In some respects, today’s powerful computing machines already make our brains look weak. A GI could, its advocates say, work for us around the clock, and drawing on all available data, could suggest solutions to many problems. DM, a company focused on the development of AGI, has an ambition to “solve intelligence”. “If we’re successful,” their mission statement reads, “we believe this will be one of the most important and widely beneficial scientific advances ever made.” Since the early days of AI, imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable. In 1965, an imaginative mathematician called Irving Good predicted the eventual creation of an “ultra-intelligent machine…that can far surpass all the intellectual (智力的) activities of any man, however clever.” Good went on to suggest that “the first ultra-intelligent machine” could be “the last invention that man need ever make.” Fears about the appearance of bad, powerful, man-made intelligent machines have been reinforced (强化) by many works of fiction — Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Terminator film series, for example. But if AI does eventually prove to be our downfall, it is unlikely to be at the hands of human-shaped forms like these, with recognisably human motivations such as aggression (敌对行为). Instead, I agree with Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes that the heaviest risks from A GI do not come from a decision to turn against mankind but rather from a dogged pursuit of set objectives at the expense of everything else. The promise and danger of true A GI are great. But all of today’s excited discussion about these possibilities presupposes the fact that we will be able to build these systems. And, having spoken to many of the world’s foremost AI researchers, I believe there is good reason to doubt that we will see A GI any time soon, if ever. 42. What does the underlined word “ubiquitous” in Paragraph I probably mean? A. Enormous in quantity. B. Changeable daily. C. Stable in quality. D. Present everywhere. 43. What could AGI do for us, according to its supporters? A. Help to tackle problems. B. Make brains more active. C. Benefit ambitious people. D. Set up powerful databases. 44. As for Irving Good’s opinion on ultra-intelligent machines the author is ____________. A. supportive B. disapproving C. fearful D. uncertain 45. What can be inferred about AGI from the passage? A. It may be only a dream. B. It will come into being soon. C. It will be controlled by humans. D. It may be more dangerous than ever. Passage 01 （2024·北京朝阳·二模）Science begins with mystery. Arguably, the two greatest mysteries are the universe and awareness-the vast world out there and the powerful world within. Scientists attracted by one can be called to study the other, led by the thought that these mysteries are connected. Science writer George Musser’s book Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation (方程) reviews their progress: Can physics unlock the mystery of awareness? Does awareness form the basis of fundamental physics? The result is an ambitious but ultimately disappointing tour, filled with breathless encounters with well-known scientists. Representative of the cast is MIT’s Max Tegmark, who tells Musser, “If you look at the problems that were still difficult to answer in fundamental physics, pretty much all of them trace back to awareness.” The book shows how physicists are contributing to understanding the mind, continuing a long history of physicists exploring other fields. Musser integrates physics with neuroscience, economies, mathematics and more. Yet a key source of local knowledge is obviously absent — psychology. An early example: Musser rightly applauds physicists’ contributions to artificial neural networks but is overly trustful of their implications, declaring that “ChatGPT” is already starting to demonstrate a generalized intelligence like that of humans. Interviewing more psychologists could have exposed the considerable gap remaining. What about awareness itself? Why are some states associated with felt experience, such as the pain of a headache and the sight of a sunset, but others not? Musser’s focus is integrated information theory(IIT). IIT begins with five self-evident principles of awareness: awareness exists, and it is structured, specific, unified, and definite. It then concludes assumptions concerning the causal structure of awareness systems, identifying awareness with integrated information. Finally, IIT offers a mathematical measure of this quantity: an equation for awareness. However, despite its enthusiasts, IIT has significant problems. Its working basis is unfounded, and serious doubts surround its testability and definability. Of course, a theory of awareness must detail when, why, and to what degree we are aware of ourselves. Here, psychology’s absence is most obvious. Over the last century, psychological research has revealed countless phenomena of awareness, from models that alter awareness to methods that stimulate unawareness; from extraordinary disorders of awareness to careful studies of metacognition (元认知). Although questionable, such phenomena are the data that any scientific theory of awareness must account for. Yet these phenomena and ideas are almost nowhere in the book. Of course, psychology has not solved awareness, but one cannot hope to explain awareness without confronting these data. Awareness is genuinely mysterious. So is fundamental physics. But hoping that physics can solve awareness while excluding other approaches is only a recipe for more mystery, not less. 28．What can we learn from Musser’s book? A．IIT is acknowledged for its testability and definability. B．Musser underestimates the impact of artificial intelligence. C．Using psychology is a trend for physicists exploring other fields. D．Musser highlights physicists’ efforts to uncover the secret of awareness. 29．What can be inferred from the passage? A．The link between physics and awareness has been established. B．There is no doubt about the principles of an equation for awareness. C．A multidisciplinary approach is essential to understanding awareness. D．Study of awareness needs to ignore related psychological phenomena. 30．Regarding Musser’s view in his book, the author is . A．neutral B．disapproving C．supportive D．uncertain Passage 02 （2024·北京海淀·二模）The idea that aging reduces adults’ ability to imagine, a common theme in children’s literature, is contradicted by psychological research. While children are often portrayed as more imaginative, research indicates that adults not only keep this ability but sometimes surpass children in imaginative thinking. Children are frequently celebrated for boundless imagination. Yet, research reveals that their make-believe games often center around realistic scenarios, such as cooking and cleaning, as demonstrated in a 2020 study published in Journal of Cognition and Development. Another study, lasting for four decades, also suggests that children are not naturally more imaginative than adults; their limitations result from a lack of knowledge and expertise to effectively use their imaginative capacity as adults. Imagination may have evolved for considering alternatives to reality, but we use it most naturally to explore close alternatives, like preparing a different meal, rather than far alternatives, like riding on clouds. When we use imagination to envision far alternatives — to innovate or invent — we’re not digging into an inborn appreciation of the extraordinary; we’re using a tool designed to explore the ordinary. When considering alternatives to reality, we fix our attention on possibilities that are physically reasonable, statistically probable, socially conventional and morally permissible. When told about possibilities that violate such regularities, we usually deny they could happen. Generally speaking, our ideas about what could happen are firmly rooted in what we expect to happen. This mindset is also particularly apparent in young children. In a 2018 study I co-designed with psychologist Jonathan Phillips, 4-year-olds were asked to help a distressed girl who disliked going to school due to missing her mother. Among all the solutions given, they perceived the only possible solution was for her mother to do something special after school to ease her concerns. Unexpected alternatives, such as snapping fingers and making it Saturday, wearing pajamas to school or lying about school being closed, were all regarded impossible. From this, we can conclude that children’s earliest intuitions (直觉力) about possibility confuse what could happen with what should happen. Historically, the improbable event of traveling faster than a horse was considered impossible, as was traveling by air or traveling into space. Before the arrival of trains and planes, there were good reasons to think that people could travel only so far and only so fast. But these reasons were empirical (经验主义的), not logical. Imagination, on its own, lumps the improbable with the impossible, but we can combine imagination with other abilities — namely, knowledge and reflection — to separate the two. While imagination in children often subjects to expectation, adults can control their imaginative capacity for innovation by integrating it with accumulated knowledge and reflective thinking. 31．According to the first two paragraphs, we know that _________. A．children develop imagination through games B．children face limitations in acquiring knowledge C．adults are as good as children in imaginative thinking D．adults’ imaginative ability is likely to stay constant with age 32．We can infer from the passage that _________. A．expectation results from imaginative capacity B．certain practical concerns can limit imagination C．breaking regularities may lead to close alternatives D．far alternatives are more important than close alternatives 33．The 2018 study shows that children _________. A．came up with a wide range of alternatives B．were quicker to figure out solutions C．took what should happen as possibilities D．used imagination in a reasonable way 34．The underlined word “lumps” in the last paragraph probably means _________. A．mix B．match C．compare D．replace Passage 03 【2024年人大附中高三三模】From Smells to Soundtracks When a young sawfly, a bee-like insect, is threatened by its attackers like ants, it emits a mixture of unpleasant smells to defend itself. These emissions can seriously annoy a potential enemy. Scientists wanting to study these smelly compounds—to understand which aspects of them discourage attackers and why—face great challenges. Meetups between sawflies and ants in a lab are difficult to carry out. There are also a very limited quantity of the insects’ emissions. On the side, Jean-Luc Boevé, a zoologist who studies insects, from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, is an amateur musician and composer. He decided to try a different way—the sound approach. “To be honest, I considered this project so unpractical myself that I set it aside,” he said. It was months before Boevé and his partner, Rudi Giot, finally made a resolution to get started on it. They chose 16 sawfly species’ emissions to translate into sounds. First, they figured out which molecules (分子) were present in each smelly compound and in what amounts. Then they assigned various characteristics of those molecules matching properties of sound. For example, smaller molecules like a kind of acid found in vinegar, a sour-tasting liquid, evaporate (挥发) quickly, so Boevé and Giot assigned them sounds with higher pitch ( 音 高 ). Larger molecules were given lower-pitched sounds. In all, the scientists created individual audio descriptions for 20 molecules. Then they combined the sounds of each molecule present in a sawfly’s smell to construct the insect’s soundtrack. If a molecule was of higher proportion in an emission, they assigned it a higher volume. In such a case, the smaller a molecule is, the higher its pitch will be; and the higher the proportion of a molecule is, the higher its volume will be. To test out the audio descriptions they created, Boevé and Giot examined people’s reactions to the soundtracks and compared them to ants’ reactions to the original smells. They played the 16 emission soundtracks and the 20 molecule sounds through speakers to about 50 study participants. Then the scientists measured how far people backed up to get to a “comfortable position” away from the noise. Most of the study volunteers told the researchers that the high pitch, as well as the high volume, was what made them withdraw. “Ants and volunteers moved away from a chemical and its matching soundtrack respectively,” the researchers wrote. Boevé said he hoped the process would give other zoologists a new way to compare sawflies’ chemical defenses with those from other insects. It may also offer researchers clues about which molecules fight off enemies most. 27．What do we know about Boevé from paragraph 2? A．He was devoted to the research for several months. B．He started a new approach after months’ hesitation. C．He came up with a creative idea thanks to a composer. D．He was faced with difficulties in studying rare sawflies. 28．What can be concluded in terms of the sound approach? A．The volume of sounds is based on the proportion of molecules. B．Smaller molecules and lower pitch share similar characteristics. C．Audio descriptions of the molecules can be divided into 16 kinds. D．Participants were required to compare the sounds with the smells. 29．From paragraphs 4 and 5, we can learn that ________. A．the soundtracks are more than what humans are likely to bear B．the ants dislike the sounds as much as humans hate the smells C．humans’ reactions to the sounds resemble ants’ responses to the smells D．other zoologists are looking for innovative ways of studying molecules 30．This passage is mainly intended to ________. A．explain ways to transfer smells into soundtracks B．introduce research on sawfly’s effect on humans C．demonstrate a scientific study on insects’smells D．test out people’s reaction to various soundtracks Passage 04 【2024年北京交通大学附中高三三模】Vaccines (疫苗) may soon make their first film appearance. Led by expert Maria A．Croyle, researchers have developed a thin sheet that preserves vaccines for long periods without refrigeration. This means the carefully cooled small bottles now used to ship vaccines could potentially be replaced by lightweight films that can be mailed in an envelope and stored on a shelf. Croyle’s laboratory began developing the technology in 2007. Inspired by amber’s ability to preserve the DNA of insects, the researchers set out to create their own version of the substance by mixing “a lot of sugar and a little bit of salt, much like hard candy”, Croyle explains. The vaccine-containing film is administered by mouth — sweet news for many who dislike needles. The film is tailored to suit each specific vaccine candidate and provide a protective coating. “We’ve learned over time that the key to really stabilizing whatever the film holds is to have it intermixed with all the components,” Croyle says, adding that the process is quick and uses affordable, standard equipment. “We really wanted to come up with something that would be transferable to developing countries.” Immunization (免疫) programs depend heavily on keeping vaccines cold (2℃ — 8℃) as they are transported, sometimes over thousands of kilometers to far-away locations. Delivery can be difficult and costly, and transport disruptions can cause the vaccines to be ineffective. But this new product can store live viruses, bacteria and antibodies for several months at 20℃. In a paper published in Science Advances, the scientists show that the live viruses in one vaccine were preserved in the film even after 36 months. They also find that a flu vaccine suspended in their film compares favourably with a traditional flu shot (流感预防针). “The study demonstrates early proof of concept for an exciting platform for vaccine product development,” says Lisa Rohan, a pharmacologist, who was not involved in the study. She also notes that each vaccine type would need a custom formulation (配方) for future stages of development. Finding partners to mass-produce for clinical trials is the researchers’ most pressing problem, Croyle says. They are also exploring packaging methods to keep their films stable up to 40℃. Size is a major advantage — a letter-sized sheet of the film can carry more than 500 doses (剂) of vaccine, about 1/900 the weight of the same amount of traditional doses. By making it easier and cheaper to ship and preserve vaccines efficiently, Croyle says, the technology could vastly improve immunization rates the world over, particularly in middle- to low-income countries. 28．What can we learn about the film? A．It contains animal’s DNA． B．It will replace vaccines. C．It comes in different flavours. D．It can hold bio-products. 29．The author mentions Lisa Rohan’s words to ______. A．advise personalizing vaccines B．suggest the product is promising C．prove the study is supported widely D．stress the functions of a new platform 30．What will be the next urgent task for Croyle’s team? A．Advertising the film worldwide. B．Improving the film’s capacity. C．Reducing the shipping cost. D．Seeking ideal manufacturers. Passage 05 【2024年北京市朝阳区高三一模】The streets and roofs of cities all absorb heat, making some urban areas hotter than rural ones. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground as city heat spreads downward, and subway tracks and other subsurface infrastructure(基础设施) also constantly radiate warmth into the surrounding earth. A new study of downtown Chicago shows underground hotspots may threaten the very same structures that give off the heat in the first place. “Without anyone realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was deforming,” says study author Rotta Loria, an environmental engineer. Humans aren’t the only potentially affected. “For a lot of things in the subsurface, it’s kind of ‘out of sight, out of mind’,” says Grant Ferguson, a geologist. But the underground world is full of creatures that have adapted to subsurface existence such as insects and snails. As the temperature rises because of climate change and underground urban development, scientists are keeping eyes on the potential implications for underground ecosystems. But the question of how underground hotspots could affect infrastructure has gone largely unstudied. Because materials expand and contract with temperature change, Rotta suspected that heat coming from underground could be contributing to wear and tear on various structures. To understand how underground temperature difference has affected the ground’s physical properties, he used a computer model to simulate(模拟) the underground environment from the 1950s to now—and then to 2050. He found that by the middle of this century, some areas may lift upward by as much as 0.50 inch or settle by as much as 0.32 inch, depending on the soil makeup of the area involved. Though these may sound like small displacements, Rotta says they could cause cracks in the foundations of some buildings, causing buildings to fall. Kathrin Menberg, a geoscientist in Germany, says these displacement predictions are far beyond her guesses and could be linked to the soft, clay-heavy soils. “Clay material is particularly sensitive,” she says, “It would be a big issue in all cities worldwide that are built on such material.” Like climate change above the surface, underground changes occur gradually. “These effects took decades to develop,” Ferguson says, adding that increased underground temperatures would likewise take a long time to dissipate on their own. “We could basically turn everything off, and it’s going to remain there, the temperature signal, for quite a while.” But Ferguson says this wasted heat energy could also be reused, presenting an opportunity to both cool the subsurface and save on energy costs. Still, this assumption could fail as aboveground climate change continues to boost underground warming. However slowly, this heat will gather beneath our feet. “It’s like climate change,” Rotta Loria says. “Maybe we don’t see it always, but it’s happening.” 28．The author quotes Rotta Loria in Paragraph 2 mainly to _______. A．make a prediction B．highlight a finding C．draw a conclusion D．raise an assumption 29．What can we learn from this passage? A．“Urban heat islands” extend underground to spare ecosystems. B．Surface climate change contributes to the reuse of underground heat. C．Underground temperatures mirror the ground’s physical characteristics. D．Buildings may collapse as a potential consequence of underground heat. 30．What does the underlined word “dissipate” in Paragraph 6 probably mean? A．Show. B．Stay. C．Develop. D．Disappear. 31．What does the author intend to tell us? A．Underground climate change is a silent danger. B．Humans fail to notice the dramatic climate change. C．Cooling the subsurface helps control urban heat rises. D．Researching underground heat helps save on energy costs. Passage 06 【2024年北京市房山区高三一模】A good meal has a positive impact on one’s mood. Those who feast on Christmas buffet almost enjoy an immediate rise in their blood sugar. That will prompt a flood of chemicals that act as happy hormones to rush through their brains. But the pleasure goes deeper. Tyrosine and tryptophan are needed for the production, respectively, of dopamine, a neurotransmitter (神经传递素) that controls feelings of pleasure and reward, and serotonin, another such, which helps regulate mood. And cranberries are high in vitamin C, which is involved in converting dopamine to noradrenaline, another neurotransmitter, and a lack of which seems to be associated with depression. With mental-health disorders rising, a growing number of scientists are investigating how food or nutritional supplements affect the mind. But separating the brain’s nutritional needs from those of the rest of the body is difficult. Not possible for now, at least. And, compared with other fields, nutritional science is understudied. That is partly because it is hard to do well. Randomised controlled trials (rcts), used to test drugs, are tricky. Few people want to stick to an experimental diet for years. Instead, most nutritional science is based on observational studies that try to establish associations between particular foods or nutrients and diseases. They cannot be used to definitively prove a causal ( 因 果 关 系 的 ) connection between a disease and a particular contributing factor in a diet. But as with smoking and lung cancer, put together enough of these kinds of trials and causal narratives begin to emerge. It is now clear that some diets are particularly good for the brain. One recent study concludes that sticking to the “Mediterranean diet”, high in vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains, low in red and processed meats and saturated fats, decreases the chances of experiencing strokes, cognitive impairment and depression. Other recent work looking at a “green” Mediterranean diet high in polyphenols found it reduced age-related brain atrophy. Another version, the mind diet, emphasises, among other things, eating berries over other kinds of fruit and seems to lessen the risk of dementia. Scientists think such diets may work by reducing inflammation in the brain. This, in turn, may affect areas such as the hippocampus, which is associated with learning, memory and mood regulation—and where new neurons grow in adults. Studies in animals show that when they are fed a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (from walnuts, for example), flavonoids (consumed mainly via tea and wine), antioxidants (found in berries) and resveratrol (found in red grapes), neuron growth is stimulated and inflammatory processes are reduced. This fits with research suggesting that those who regularly eat ultra-processed, fried and sugary foods, which increase inflammation in the brain, heighten their risk of developing depression. 31．Which of the following words can replace “tricky” in Paragraph 3? A．Rare. B．Tough. C．Traditional. D．Contradictory. 32．How do researchers do observational studies in nutritional science? A．By keeping at an experimental diet for years. B．By carrying out randomized controlled trials. C．By identifying a particular contributing factor. D．By comparing findings of certain kinds of trials. 33．What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs? A．A diet rich in fruit is good for cognitive abilities. B．People fond of sugary foods may be a risk lover. C．Red grapes add fuel to inflammation in the brain. D．Drinking tea can solve age-related brain problems. 34．What is mainly discussed in the passage? A．The links between diets and diseases. B．The significance of Mediterranean diet. C．The function of various neurotransmitters. D．The influence of nutrients on mental health. Passage 07 【2024年北京市东城区高三一模】Research spanning several decades demonstrates that you are more likely to think the information that is repeated to be true than the information you hear only once. You usually assume that if people put in effort to repeat a statement, this reflects the truth of the statement. This tendency-also called the truth effect-is a bias (偏见) that can lead you to draw incorrect conclusions. To what degree are people aware of the truth effect? This question was addressed in a paper in the journal Cognition early this year. In the critical study in this paper, participants did two sessions. In one session, they read about a hypothetical (虚构的) study in which they were exposed to some statements and then were asked whether both statements they had heard before as well as these new statements were true. They were asked to predict the proportion (比例) of each statement that would be judged as true. They did this both as a prediction of other people’s performance as well as a prediction of how they would do in this study. At another session a few days later, participants actually performed this study, reading a set of 20 statements in the hypothetical study again and then judging the truth of altogether 40 statements, half of which were from the hypothetical study and the other half of which were new. This study did replicate the well known truth effect. People were more likely to judge statements they had seen before as true than statements that were new. Two interesting findings emerged from the prediction. First, participants tended to underestimate the size of the truth effect for everyone. T hat is, while they did expect some difference in judgments between the statements seen before and those that were new, they thought this difference would be smaller than it actually was. Second, participants more significantly underpredicted the truth effect for themselves compared to that for other people.   This study is particularly important in light of the amount of misinformation present in social media. Many people have the power to influence public opinion about important matters. Flooding social media feeds with misinformation will lead people to believe this information is true just because it is stated. Recognizing that we are all susceptible to this influence of repeated information should lead us to mistrust our intuition (直觉) about what is true and to look up important information prior to using it to make important judgments and decisions. 28．In the first paragraph, the author intends to ______. A．clarify a misconception B．present a phenomenon C．challenge a statement D．confirm a theory 29．What can we learn from the study? A．Impacts of the truth effect require further studies. B．Making predictions before judgments is significant. C．People have hardly any awareness of the truth effect. D．People tend to believe they can make wiser judgments. 30．What does the word “susceptible” underlined in the last paragraph most probably mean? A．Critical. B．Subject. C．Opposed. D．Adapted. Passage 08 【2024年北京市海淀区高三一模】Researchers hope brain implants will one day help people with aphasia(失语症) to get their voice back—and maybe even to sing. Now, for the first time, scientists have demonstrated that the brain’s electrical activity can be decoded and used to reconstruct music. A new study analyzed data from 29 people monitored for epileptic seizures(癫痫发作), using electrodes(电极) on the surface of their brain. As participants listened to a selected song, electrodes captured brain activity related to musical elements, such as tone, rhythm, and lyrics. Employing machine learning, Robert Knight from UC Berkeley and his colleagues reconstructed what the participants were hearing and published their study results. The paper is the first to suggest that scientists can “listen secretly to” the brain to synthesize(合成) music. To turn brain activity data into musical sound, researchers trained an artificial intelligence (AI)model to decode data captured from thousands of electrodes that were attached to the participants as they listened to the song while undergoing surgery. Once the brain data were fed through the model, the music returned. The model also revealed some brain parts responding to different musical features of the song. Although the findings focused on music, the researchers expect their results to be most useful for translating brain waves into human speech. Ludovic Bellier, the study’s lead author, explains that speech, regardless of language, has small melodic differences—tempo, stress, accents, and intonation—known as prosody(韵律). These elements carry meaning that we can’t communicate with words alone. He hopes the model will improve brain-computer interfaces (BCI), assistive devices that record speech-associated brain waves and use algorithms to reconstruct intended messages. This technology, still in its infancy, could help people who have lost the ability to speak because of aphasia. Future research should investigate whether these models can be expanded from music that participants have heard to imagined internal speech. If a brain-computer interface could recreate someone’s speech with the prosody and emotional weight found in music, it could offer a richer communication experience beyond mere words. Several barriers remain before we can put this technology in the hands—or brains— of patients. The current model relies on surgical implants. As recording techniques improve, the hope is to gather data non-invasively, possibly using ultrasensitive electrodes. However, under current technologies, this approach might result in a lower speed of decoding into natural speech. The researchers also hope to improve the playback clarity by packing the electrodes closer together on the brain’s surface, enabling an even more detailed look at the electrical symphony the brain produces. 28．What can we learn from the study? A．Electrodes can analyze musical elements. B．The decoding of brain data helps recreate music. C．Machine learning greatly enhances brain activity. D．The AI model monitors music-responsive brain regions. 29．What hopefully makes it possible to expand the model to speech? A．The prosody of speech. B．The collection of brain waves. C．The emotional weight of music. D．The reconstruction of information. 30．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A．Unlocking the Secrets of Melodic Mind B．Brain Symphony: Synthesized Human Speech C．BCI Brings Hope to People with Aphasia D．Remarkable Journey: Decoding Brain with AI Passage 09 （2024·北京海淀·二模）We are a social animal. Indeed, it is our sociality — such as the ability to make sense of each other, to communicate, to work cooperatively and, finally, to create culture — that marks us off from other animal species. But then why are we everywhere striving to increase our isolation and limit our contact with others? As musician David Byrn e argues in an essay published last month, it is a striking fact about the new technologies that have so come to shape our lives, that they have precisely this effect: they limit our need for human contact. Online shopping? Check. Automated checkout? Check. Ride hail apps? Check. Efficiency is the key. We purchase efficiency by limiting the human aspect, known as “autonomous operation”. This is perhaps even more pronounced with new technologies on the horizon. Take the MOOC, the teacher-less virtual classroom. As Byrn e notes, this is meant to deliver the values of a learning environment without, well, without the environment — you get to stay at home — no teacher, but also, no fellow students. Byrne isn’t claiming we are consciously choosing to isolate ourselves. We shop online because it is convenient. The absence of contact with others is a side-effect. Maybe even an unavoidable one, as one of the things that makes online shopping so easy is precisely the absence of contact with other people. But Bryne’s thought is that whatever our intention, the tendency of our tech to isolate us may be a feature, not a bug. His hypothesis is that we actually, at some level, crave (渴望) the increased isolation and we are actually making technologies to satisfy impulses that, in some way, go beyond or against our social nature. But I wonder, is this really new? Even if we are social by nature, and do everything we can to embed ourselves socially, the need to find ways to be alone is, well, nothing new. It’s also striking that the very activities that risk separating us — in the old days, books, newspapers, TV; nowadays, the latest apps also connect us. We read about each other. What we read gives us information to share with each other. I am well aware of the data that shows the more time you spend on social media, the sadder and more isolated and envious you feel of others. But how novel is the isolating effect of social media? Being there reminds me a lot of what it was like to be social in high school — you have a vivid sense of your status and your standing in relation to others, and you have to deal with that. This may be isolating, sure. But it’s the isolating face of the social lives we’ve always had. It is isolating because of the ways technology brings us into real contact with others, not because it removes that contact. I wonder whether more isolation is a real option, after all. 28．Which of the following best reflects “autonomous operation”? A．Getting a toothbrush via a hotel delivery robot. B．Teaching mom how to establish a smart home. C．Seeking help by calling human customer services. D．Having an online meeting at home with colleagues. 29．Which of the following might the author agree? A．Technology offers fresh insights into our social status. B．Actions seemingly isolating can bond people. C．Social platforms help bring people closer. D．Social media has come to define our life. 30．What would be the best title for the passage? A．What Technologies Do to Human Nature B．Do Technologies Shape Our Lives? C．How Isolation Changes with Connection D．Can We Erase Human Element? ( 6 )原创精品资源学科网独家享有版权，侵权必究！ 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$