专题06 阅读理解说明文 【期末必刷10篇】-2024-2025学年高二英语下学期期末考点大串讲（上海）

2024-2025学年高二下学期期末考点大串讲（上海） 专题06 阅读理解说明文 01 【来源】上海市杨浦区2023-2024学年高二下学期期末英语调研卷 When would you say “old age” begins? It’s possible that the closer you think you are to that threshold (起始点), the later you’ll put it, but people’s general perceptions of old age have been changing over time. New research finds that nowadays, we think of old age starting later than we used to — but that trend may not continue forever. Scientists from Germany, the USA, and Luxembourg analyzed data from over 14,000 individuals participating in a decades-long study called the German Ageing Survey. These participants, born between 1911 and 1974, covering several generations, provided up to eight responses over a 25-year span, when they were aged between 40 and 100. One of the main questions, and the subject of the new paper, was “At what age would you describe someone as old?” When they were asked this question at the age of 65, people born in 1911 said that old age begins, on average, at the age of 71. When the question was repeated to people born in 1956 once they also hit 65 years old, they instead put the threshold three years later, at 74. In a statement, first author Markus Wettstein gave some suggestions as to why this might be: “Life expectancy has increased, which might contribute to a later perceived onset (开始) of old age. Also, some aspects of health have improved over time, so that people of a certain age who were regarded as old in the past may no longer be considered old nowadays.” The same trend was observed at the individual level too. On average, as each participant aged by four or five years themselves, their estimate for the onset of old age increased by a year. Women put the threshold for old age about two years later than men on average. There were some other factors that were found to impact someone’s individual estimate too — for example, people in poorer health, who were lonelier, or who “felt” older generally believed old age begins earlier. “It is unclear to what extent the trend towards postponing old age reflects a trend towards more views on older people and aging, or rather the opposite — perhaps the onset of old age is postponed because people consider being old to be an undesirable state,” Wettstein said. What’s evident is that this postponement trend won’t last forever. In fact, it’s already slowing down. The study has some limitations, in that participants were all from one country. The researchers say future studies should seek to address this, as well as examining whether the trend towards postponing the perception of the onset of old age is continuing to decelerate. 1．What is the main finding of the new research mentioned in the article? A．People’s perceptions of old age have remained constant over time. B．Improvements in certain health aspects help increase life expectancy. C．The threshold for considering someone as “old” has been shifting earlier. D．Nowadays people tend to think of old age as starting later than in the past. 2．Which of the following is TRUE about the research? A．The 14,000 participants were from Germany, the US, and Luxembourg. B．The participants provided at most eight responses during the 25-year period. C．Future studies will explore factors affecting the estimated onset of old age. D．Some participants cover several generations but are from the same family. 3．Which of the following is NOT included in the postponement trend? A．Women set the starting point of old age around two years later than men. B．One’s closeness to this threshold could delay their perception of old age. C．People’s perception of a later onset of old age justifies delaying retirement. D．Individuals once labeled as old at a certain age may not be considered so now. 4．What can be inferred from the passage? A．Poorer people generally see old age starting earlier than the wealthier. B．Postponing the onset of old age reflects a growing respect for the elderly. C．People may delay the onset of old age because of their negative views of it. D．Whether the postponement trend is slowing down needs further observation. 02 【来源】上海市闵行区2023-2024学年高二下学期期末英语试题 Conventionally, being overweight is bad for health. This may not always be the case. The latest evidence comes from a study in which people classed as overweight, but not extremely fat, had a lower death rate within a certain period than people with a supposedly ideal weight. This suggests that the threshold (阈值) for classifying individuals as overweight may have been set too low. It is uncontroversial that being very heavy is bad for health, but it is unclear at what point health risks begin. Doctors usually ad vise people to lose weight if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is high, which is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. In most countries, a healthy weight is defined as a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. Having a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is classed as overweight and 30 and above as extremely fat. Previous research made waves when it found that people whose BMI was somewhat over the “healthy” threshold of 25 may have a slightly lower death rate than slimmer individuals. But many of the studies are fairly old and were done when people were mostly slimmer, and subjects weren’t racially diverse, says Aayush Visaria, a researcher in New Jersey. To address those issues, Visaria tracked the survival of about 500,000 racially diverse US adults of known height and weight for up to 20 years. Having a BMI between 25 and 27.4 carried a 5 percent lower risk of death in this period than a BMI within the healthy category of 22.5 to 24.9. A slightly higher BMI, of 27.5 to 29.9, seemed even better, linked with a 7 percent lower risk of death. One criticism is that the apparent benefit of being overweight could be a misconception, as people who lose weight due to illness are more likely to die. However, in the new research, the pattern persisted even if people who died within two years of entering the study were ruled out from the figures. Visaria says it’s too early to conclude that having an “overweight” BMI outperforms being in the healthy category, because population studies may be prejudiced and lead to misinterpretation of the results. “We aren’t certain if this is truly interpretable,” he says. “A more appropriate message is that BMI isn’t a good indicator of death risk—other factors, like body fat distribution, also play a role.” 1．The purpose of the first paragraph is to ______. A．put forward a controversial issue B．discuss reasons for a lower death rate C．reveal a finding that questions a common belief D．justify the traditional “overweight” threshold 2．According to paragraph 3 and 4, Visaria resolved the limitations of previous research by ______. A．arriving at a more specific finding B．tracking the research for another 20 years C．calming down a wave of criticism from the crowd D．adopting a large, diverse sample over an extended period 3．According to the passage, “the pattern” in paragraph 5 refers to ______. A．the misconception about the benefit of being overweight B．the increased likelihood of death for individuals losing weight due to illness C．the changing perception of BMI classification over time D．the lower risk of death for slightly heavier persons in a set time compared to slimmer ones 4．Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? A．Weight and blood pressure are two primary factors related to BMI. B．To accurately reflect someone’s health risk, a broader view is necessary. C．Visaria will continue to figure out a more scientific BMI threshold. D．Visaria is confident of the reliability of his research. 03 【来源】上海市宝山区2023-2024学年高二下学期期末教学质量监测英语试卷 The ancient Egyptians thought so little of the brain that when a king died, they removed the brain from his body and threw it away. The Egyptians assumed, like many people before and after them, that consciousness — your mind and your thoughts existed in the heart. Now we know that the mind is a product of the brain, but how exactly does this 1.5-kilo piece of matter create a mind that allows you to think about yourself, experience happiness and anger, or remember events that happened 20 minutes or 20 years ago? This isn’t a new question. Today, however, powerful new techniques for visualizing the sources of thought, emotion, behavior, and memory are transforming the way we understand the brain and the mind it creates. Have you ever stopped and thought, “What’s wrong with me today? I just don’t feel like myself”? Perhaps you were more tired or worried than usual — but somehow, you knew that something was different about you. This self-awareness - the ability to think about yourself and how you’re feeling-is an important part of being human. This part of of your mind has its origins in the prefrontal cortex — a region of your brain just behind your forehead that extends to about your ears. Before this area began to function (around age two), you didn’t understand that you were a separate individual with your own identity. As this part of your brain developed, you became more aware of yourself and your thoughts and feelings. Though humans may share certain emotions and recognize them in others, we don’t all have the same emotional response to every situation. In fact, most emotional responses are learned and stored in our memories. The smell of freshly cut grass, for example, will generate happy feelings in someone who spent enjoyable childhood summers in the countryside, but not in someone who was forced to work long hours on a farm. Once an emotional association like this is made, it is very difficult to reverse it. “Emotion is the least flexible part of the brain,” says psychologist Paul Ekman. But we can learn to control our emotions by becoming consciously aware of their underlying causes and by not reacting automatically to things in our environment. For centuries, people have studied the brain, but it is only in recent years that we have really started to learn how it works. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before we understand our mind’s many complexities. 1．What is the passage mainly about? A．How we create and control emotions. B．How the mind works. C．How human beings are distinct. D．How emotions are processed. 2．Why does the author mention the ancient Egyptians’ practice in the very beginning? A．To illustrate the importance of the heart in ancient Egyptian culture. B．To introduce the core theme of the mind-body connection and evolution. C．To provide an example of how the brain has been misunderstood throughout history. D．To contrast the ancient Egyptians’ views on the brain with the modern one. 3．Which of the following statement is NOT true? A．Self-awareness develops before the age of two. B．The prefrontal cortex affects a person’s emotions. C．The prefrontal cortex is located at the front of the brain. D．Self-awareness strengthens with the development of the brain. 4．What does the passage suggest about the flexibility of emotions? A．Emotions are universal and do not change over time or with individual experiences. B．Emotions are generally learned and stored in our memories, making them quite flexible. C．Emotions are influenced by our personal experiences and can vary from person to person. D．Emotions are the least flexible part of the mind, and they cannot be controlled. 04 【来源】上海市宝山区2023-2024学年高二下学期期末教学质量监测英语试卷 The coast of the State of Maine is one of the most irregular in the world. A straight line running from the southernmost coastal city to the northernmost coastal city would measure about 225 miles. If you followed the coastline between these points, you would travel more than ten times as far. This irregularity is the result of what is called a drowned coastline. The term comes from the glacial (冰川的) activity of the Ice Age. At that time, the whole area that is now Maine was part of a mountain range that towered above the sea. As the glacier declined, however, it applied enormous force on those mountains, and they sank into the sea. As the mountains sank, ocean water charged over the lowest parts of the remaining land. And the highest parts of the former mountain range, nearest the shore, remained as islands. Marine fossils found here are 225 feet above sea level indicating the level of the shoreline prior to the glacier. The 2,500-mile-long rocky and jagged (锯齿状的) coastline of Maine keeps watching over nearly 2,000 islands. Many of these islands are tiny and uninhabited, but many are home to blooming communities. Mt. Desert Island is one of the largest, most beautiful of the Maine coast islands left behind by the glacier. Measuring 16 miles by 12 miles, Mt. Desert was very nearly formed as two distinct islands. It is split almost in half by Somes Sound, a very deep and very narrow stretch of water seven miles long. For years, Mt. Desert Island, particularly its major settlement, Bar Harbor, has afforded summer homes for the wealthy. Recently, though, Bar Harbor has become a new arts community as well. But the best part of the island is the unspoiled forest land known as Acadia National Park. Since the island sits on the border between two different geographical zones, the park supports the plants and animals of both zones. It also lies in a major bird migration lane and is a resting spot for many birds. 1．The large number of small islands along the coast of Maine is the result of ______. A．the drowning of the Maine coastline B．glacier’s forcing mountains into the sea C．the irregularity of the Maine coastline D．ocean water’s flooding the mountain range 2．What does the underlined word “charge” mean in paragraph 2? A．To ask an amount of money. B．To accuse someone publicly of doing something wrong. C．To rush in a particular direction. D．To pass electricity through something. 3．Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of paragraph 4 of the selection? A．The wealthy residents of Mt. Desert Island selfishly kept it to themselves. B．Acadia National Park is one of the best national parks. C．On Mt. Desert Island, there is great tension between the residents and tourists. D．Mt. Desert Island supports an incredibly diverse animal and plant life. 4．From the passage, we learn that ________. A．the coastline of Maine is ten times longer after the Ice Age B．there are more than 2,500 islands along the Maine coastline C．Mt. Desert Island has been broken apart by a 7-mile-long water stretch D．an arts community gave way to the summer homes on Mt. Desert Island 05 【来源】上海市进才中学2023-2024学年高二期末英语试题 In the fog of uncertainty about how new technology will change the way we work, policymakers around the world say confidently that we will need to upskill the workforce in order to cope. The view sounds reassuringly sensible: if computers are growing smarter, humans will need to learn to use them or be replaced by them. But the truth is, the people who are being “upskilled” in today’s economy are the ones who need it the least. Research shows that workers with degrees are over three times more likely to participate in training as adults than workers with no qualifications. That creates a virtuous circle for those who did well at school, and a vicious circle for those who did not. If the robots are coming for both the accountants and the taxi drivers, you can bet it is those working with money that will be more able to retrain themselves out of danger, because the better educated tend to have more confidence and money to pay for their own training. Employers also invest in these workers more. In the UK, a surprising number of employers send their senior managers to business schools. It is no good blaming employers for directing investments at their highly-skilled workers. They are simply aiming for the highest return they can get. And, for some types of lower-paid work, it is not always true that technological progress requires more skills. Sometimes, technology can de-skill a job. Just look at Uber drivers who follow the driving routes set by their app, rather than expanding their own knowledge of the streets. The UK’s latest Employment and Skills Survey suggests the use of literacy and numeracy skills at work has fallen since 2012, even as the use of computers has increased. However, the trouble is, when the computer makes your job easier one day, it might make it redundant the next. Many of those affected by automation will need to switch occupations, or even industries. But a retailer or warehouse company is not going to retrain its staff to help them move to a different sector. It is time to revisit older ideas. The UK once had a vibrant culture of night schools, for adults to attend after their day jobs. A revival of it could be exactly what the 21st century needs. Rather than just “upskilling” in a narrow way, people could choose to learn an entirely new skill or trade, or explore interests they never had a chance to nurture before. It is still not clear whether the impact of new technology on the labour market will come in a trickle or a flood. But in an already unequal world, continuing to reserve all the lifeboats for the better-off would be a dangerous mistake. 1．According to the writer, policymakers’ belief in upskilling the workforce __________. A．is contrary to popular belief B．is helpful in coping with new technology C．is too difficult to put it into practice D．is not beneficial to those who need it most 2．It can be inferred that workers without qualifications are less likely to __________. A．have confidence in outperforming those with degrees at school B．persuade their employers to make an investment in them C．minimize the risk of job loss caused by new technology D．assess how new technology will change the way they work 3．The word “redundant” (Para. 3) probably means __________. A．unnecessary B．undesirable C．unskilled D．unrewarding 4．According to the passage, which of the following conclusion is True? A．Workers’ literacy and numeracy skills should be enhanced without delay. B．Night schools can help to eliminate skill gaps among workers. C．Companies should attach much importance to retraining of workers. D．Those lower-skilled workers deserve giving more chances of retraining. 06 【来源】上海市复旦大学附属中学2022-2023学年高二下学期期末考试英语试题 When we think about lives filled with meaning, we often focus on people whose grand contributions benefited humanity. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela surely felt they had a worthwhile life. But how about us ordinary people, toiling away in a typical existence? Many scholars agree that a subjectively meaningful existence often boils down to three factors: the feeling that one’s life is coherent and “makes sense,” the possession of clear and satisfying long-term goals and the belief that one’s life matters in the grand scheme of things. Psychologists call these three things coherence, purpose and existential mattering. But we believe there is another element to consider. Think about the first butterfly you stop to admire after a long winter or imagine the scenery atop a hill after a fresh hike. Sometimes existence delivers us small moments of beauty. When people are open to appreciating such experiences, these moments may enhance how they view their life. We call this element experiential appreciation. The phenomenon reflects the feeling of a deep connection to events as they happen and the ability to extract value from that link. It represents the detection of and admiration for life’s inherent beauty. We recently set out to better understand this form of appreciation in a series of studies, published in Nature Human Behaviour, that involved more than 3,000 participants. Across these studies, we were interested in whether experiential appreciation was related to a person’s sense of meaning even when we accounted for the effects of the classic trio of coherence, purpose and existential mattering. If so, experiential appreciation could be a unique contributor to meaningfulness and not simply a product of these other variables. As an initial test of our idea, during the early stages of the COVID pandemic, we had participants rate their endorsement of different coping strategies to relieve their stress. We found that people who managed stress by focusing on their appreciation for life’s beauty also reported experiencing life as highly meaningful. In the next study, we asked participants to rate the extent to which they agreed with various statements, such as “I have a great appreciation for the beauty of life” as well as other statement related to coherence, purpose, existential mattering and a general sense of meaning in life. Our results showed that the more people indicated that they were “appreciating life” and its many experiences, the more they felt their existence was valuable. In fact, these two elements related strongly to each other even when we controlled for other aspects of a meaningful life. Finally, we conducted a series of experiments in which we gave people specific tasks and, once more, asked them to report how strongly they identified with statements linked to purpose, mattering, etc.. The results confirmed our original theory: appreciating small things can make life feel more meaningful. But applying that insight can be difficult. Our modern, fast-paced, project-oriented lifestyles fill the day with targets and goals. We are on the go, and we attempt to maximize output both at work and at leisure. This focus on future outcomes makes it all too easy to miss what is happening right now. Yet life happens in the present moment. We should slow down, let life surprise us and embrace the significance in the everyday. 1．What factor accounts for the life meaning of ordinary people besides coherence, purpose and existential mattering? A．Contribution. B．Possession. C．Experiential appreciation. D．Inherent beauty. 2．We can infer from the passage that _________. A．Experiential appreciation is a product of existential mattering. B．Focusing on future outcome can help maximize output. C．The following experiments in the study are opposed to the result of the initial test. D．We’d better appreciate small things in daily life despite the fast-paced lifestyles. 3．The underlined word “endorsement”(PSL2) is closest in meaning to _________. A．enjoyment B．approval C．rejection D．comment 4．Which of the following is the author most likely to agree with? A．During the COVID pandemic, it’s difficult to find coping strategies to relieve stress. B．Maximizing output motivates people to catch what is happening right now. C．Appreciating life and its experiences can enhance the feeling of valuable existence. D．In modern society, it’s common practice to appreciate small things to make life more meaningful. 07 【来源】华东师范大学第二附属中学2022-2023学年高二下学期期末考试英语试题 When to trust your gut (直觉) Humans have been practicing over millions of years of evolution to respond to certain situations without thinking too hard. If your ancestors spotted movement in the wild forest, they would run first and ask questions later. At the same time, the capacity to analyse and to plan is part of what distinguishes people from other animals. The question of when to trust your gut and when to test your assumptions — whether to think fast or slow, in the language of Daniel Kahneran, a psychologist — matters in the office as much as it does in the flat grassland. Deliberative thinking is the feature of a well-managed workplace. Strategic maintenance and budget discussions are built on rounds of meetings, memos, formulas and presentations. Processes are increasingly designed to rule out instinctive responses. From blind screening of job applicants to using “red-teaming” techniques to pick apart a firm’s plans, deliberation beats instinct. Yet instinct also has its place. Some decisions are more connected to emotional responses and inherently less tractable to analysis. Does a marketing campaign capture the essence of your company, say, or would this person work well with other people in a team? In tricky customer-service situations, intuition is often a better guide to how to behave than a script. Gut instincts can also be improved (call it “probiotic management”). Plenty of research has shown that intuition becomes more accurate with experience. In one well-known experiment, conducted in 2012, volunteers were asked to assess whether a selection of designer handbags were fake or real. Some were instructed to operate on instinct and others to deliberate over their decision. Intuition worked better for those who owned at least three designer handbags; indeed, it outperformed analysis. The more expert you become, the better your instincts tend to be. However, the real reason to embrace fast thinking is that it is, well, fast. Instinctive decision-making is often the only way to get through the day. Researchers at Cornell University once estimated that people make over 200 decisions a day about food alone. The workplace is nothing but a succession of choices, a few big and many small: what to prioritise, when to intervene, whom to avoid in the lifts and, now, where to work each day. When to use intuition in the workplace rests on its own form of pattern recognition. Does the decision-maker have real expertise in this area? Is this a field in which emotion matters more than reasoning? Above all, is it worth delaying the decision? Slow thinking is needed to get the big calls right. But fast thinking is the way to stop deliberation turning to hesitation. 1．Which of the following situations may NOT be suitable for people to trust their gut? A．The market responses are hard to predict. B．The working mechanism is perfectly organized. C．The time window for making decision is limited. D．The relationship with customers is somewhat complex. 2．What’s the function of the second paragraph? A．To clearly state the main idea of the article. B．To critically include the other side of viewpoint. C．To introduce examples to support the main idea. D．To support the main idea from the opposite perspective. 3．Which of the following can be implied from the passage? A．The ability to trust your gut matters more nowadays. B．Gut instincts can be improved by owning designer products. C．Gut instincts are more advisable in screening job applicants. D．Experience plays a vital role in cultivating gut instincts. 4．Which of the following might be the best sub-title of the passage? A．Deliberation is not always the best option. B．Instinctive decision-making beats all. C．Instinctive decision-making has both pros and cons. D．Deliberation is more important than gut instincts. 08 【来源】上海市嘉定区2023-2024学年高二期末检测英语试卷 “That’s great,” said NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, after he ate a piece of red lettuce that was grown in a special box. “Tastes good,” agreed the U. S. astronaut Scott Kelly, who is spending one year at the research station. “Kind of like arugula,” Scott added, then used small bottles to spread extra virgin olive oil and vinegar on his leaf, much as one might spread mustard on a hot dog. NASA says that if space explorers can grow their own food while they are away from the earth, they would be more likely to survive the deep space exploration, which can last months or even years. With no way to resupply a spacecraft making a long journey to and from Mars, the ability to grow food during the trip will be key to survive. “For us, having the ability to grow our own food is a big step in that direction, he said. Ray Wheeler, NASA’s lead scientist for advanced life support activities at Kennedy Space Center in Florida also said fresh foods such as tomatoes, blueberries and red lettuce could have a positive impact on people’s moods and also could provide some protection against radiation in space. The red romaine lettuce was grown in a special plant-growing box called a Veggie unit that was built by Orbital Technologies Corporation in Madison, Wisconsin, and was flown to space aboard the Space-X Dragon cargo ship. The seeds are contained in rooting pillows, which come complete with soil and fertilizer.Since water cannot be poured in space, a special irrigation system delivers moisture to the plant pillows from below. The seeds were ”activated“ by Scott on July 8 and grew for 33 days. On Monday, Lindgren used tongs to harvest the lettuce from its growing box, before attaching the leaves carefully to a tray. He cleaned them and handed them, in a food-safe bag, to Scott and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui. They saved a couple of leaves for Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka, who were outside the station doing a spacewalk. A previous crop of lettuce was grown in space last year but was not eaten by astronauts. Instead, it underwent - and passed food safety tests back on earth. 1．How did Scott do with the space-grown lettuce? A．He cooked it in a special box. B．He ate it with a kind of arugula. C．He put some mustard on it. D．He put the virgin olive oil on it. 2．The underlined words “that direction” in the second paragraph may refer to _________. A．the journey to and from Mars B．the way to grow food C．the building of research station D．the ability to fly in space 3．What Ray Wheeler said means _________. A．the lettuce is a great step enabling human travel to Mars B．humans are not able to arrive at Mars without the lettuce C．tomatoes are obviously better than the blueberries in size D．radiation would be reduced if people don’t eat some lettuce 4．What is the main idea of the passage? A．The significance of growing food in space for deep space exploration. B．The challenges of resupplying a spacecraft during long space journeys to and from Mars. C．The process of growing red romaine lettuce in a special plant-growing box in space. D．The importance of food safely tests for crops grown in space. 09 【来源】上海市育才中学2023-2024学年高二期末英语试卷 A study by French researchers that was published last month in the Journal Animal Cognition found that not only do cats react to what scientists call cat-directed speech ---- a high-pitched voice similar to how we talk to babies ---- they react to who is doing the talking “We found that when cats heard their owners using a high-pitched voice, they reacted more than when they heard their owner speaking normally to another human adult,” said Charlotte de Mouzon, an author of the study and cat behavior expert at the Université Paris Nanterre. “But what was very surprising in our results was that it actually didn’t work when it came from a stranger’s voice.” Unlike with dogs, cat behavior is difficult to study, which is part of why humans understand them less. Cats are often so stressed by being in a lab that meaningful behavioral observations become impossible. And forget about trying to get a cat to sit still for an M.R.I. scan to study its brain function. So the researchers for the latest study went to the cats’ homes and played recordings of different types of speech and different speakers. At first, Dr. de Mouzon and her team were worried that the cats weren’t reacting at all. But then they studied film recordings of the encounters. “Their reactions were very subtle,” Dr. de Mouzon said. “It could be just moving an ear or turning the head towards the speaker or even freezing what they were doing.” In a few cases, the cats in the study would approach the speaker playing a voice and meow. “In the end, we had really clear gains in the cat’s attention when the owner was using cat-directed speech,” Dr. de Mouzon said. The findings showed that “cats are paying close attention to their caretakers, down to not only what they are saying, but how they are saying it,” said Kristyn Vitale, an assistant professor of animal health an behavior at Unity College in Maine who was not involved in the new study. The new study complements Dr. Vitale’s own research into relationships between a cat and its owner. This relationship is so important, Dr. Vitale’s research has found, that it replicates (复制) the connection between a kitten and its mother. “It is possible that attachment behaviors originally intended for interactions with their mother have now been modified for interactions with their new caretakers, humans.” “For years, scientists didn’t ask the right questions about cats,” Dr. de Mouzon said. Now those who are convinced of the X of cats won’t like the answers that are emerging. Cats don’t hate us after all, Dr. Vitale said, adding that “a growing body of work supports the idea that social interaction with humans is key in the life of a cat.” 1．What kind of voice will attract cats’ attention most according to the article? A．Their owners’ ordinary voice. B．A high-pitched voice from a baby. C．A high-pitched voice from a stranger. D．The cat-directed speech from their owners. 2．What does the underlined “X” in last paragraph probably stand for? A．disloyalty B．cuteness C．naughtiness D．enthusiasm 3．Which of the following can be inferred from the article? A．Cats pay as much attention to their owners as dogs do. B．A cat’s attachment to its owner probably resembles that to its mother. C．People understand dogs more than cats because the former are more loyal. D．Many believe and appreciate the fact that cats are somewhat indifferent to humans. 4．What is the passage mainly about? A．The social interaction between cats and humans is important to cats’ life. B．Those convinced that cats are cold disapprove of the opposing evidence. C．Cats actually pay close attention to their owners when treated properly. D．Cats actually treat their owners in a similar way as they treat their mothers. 10 【来源】上海市华东师范大学第二附属中学2023-2024学年高二下学期期末英语试卷 Cook’s last tour Until recently Captain James Cook was not a particularly controversial figure. But in January a statue of the 18th-century British explorer was pushed over in Melbourne and the words “The colony will fall” painted on the base. In Hawaii a monument in Cook’s memory has been covered with red paint and the message “You are on native land.” Cook has joined Edward Colston and Cecil Rhodes as a focus of anti-colonialist anger. Yet Cook was neither a slave trader nor much of an imperialist. He was, first and foremost, a brilliant navigator and mapmaker. Acting under government orders, he undertook three pioneering voyages in the Pacific between 1768 and 1779. His map-making transformed Europeans knowledge of the world’s largest ocean. An excellent new book draws on Cook’s letters and notebooks to tell the story of his third and final trip. Cook was almost 50 when he set off on HMS Resolution in July 1776. Cook had secret instructions from the government not only to claim new territory for Britain, but to search for a north west passage via the Bering Strait, a task even someone with his navigational experience found impossible. The author, Hampton Sides, focuses on Cook’s return to Australia and New Zealand — countries the explorer had first encountered almost a decade earlier — his discovery of the Society Islands and his time in Hawaii. It was there, in February 1779, that he was killed after a failed attempt to kidnap a local chief in response to the theft of a longboat. Cook was a man of his era. He believed Europe would have a civilising influence on many benighted (愚昧无知的) folk in the Pacific. He was cruel when carrying out punishments to his own crew as well as to any native people who opposed him. At the same time, Cook admired many of the people and places he encountered in the South Pacific. Unlike the Spanish, he had no interest in religious conversion. He tried hard to stop his men from spreading disease. For the most part, his land claims were aimed not at promoting a British empire but preventing grabs by its rivals, France and Spain. As the author makes clear, there is a balance to be struck between justified admiration for Cook’s seamanship and a justifiable hatred for the colonialism that followed native peoples’ first contact with Europeans. Today many Western countries are divided over how to think about such vexed legacies (棘手的后遗症). In 2020 half of Britons thought it was right that Colston’s statue was removed. Cook’s statue still stands in London, as does Rhodes’s in Oxford. The question is whether they will enjoy their high positions much longer. 1．How do the public regard Cook currently? A．He is nobler than Colston and Rhodes. B．He is not a controversial historic figure. C．They blame the fall of the colony on him. D．Some people regard Cook as a colonialist. 2．During Cook’s first voyage in the Pacific Ocean, he _________. A．landed the Society Islands and New Zealand B．commanded a warship called HMS Resolution C．searched for a route by way of the Bering Strait D．was revenged on a local chief for stealing a boat 3．Cook’s behaviour can be described as ________. A．patriotic and religious B．well-intentioned and iron-handed C．charitable and moral D．rebellious and awe-inspiring 4．Which of the following does Hampton Sides, the author of a book on Cook agree with? A．It is justifiable to remove Colston’s, Cook’s and Rhodes’s statue. B．Cook mainly aimed to expand domains by grabbing land from Spain. C．We should view Cook’s adventure and British colonialism objectively. D．The vexed legacies result from division in whether to remove the statues. 4 / 14 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$ 2024-2025学年高二下学期期末考点大串讲（上海） 专题06 阅读理解说明文 01 【来源】上海市杨浦区2023-2024学年高二下学期期末英语调研卷 When would you say “old age” begins? It’s possible that the closer you think you are to that threshold (起始点), the later you’ll put it, but people’s general perceptions of old age have been changing over time. New research finds that nowadays, we think of old age starting later than we used to — but that trend may not continue forever. Scientists from Germany, the USA, and Luxembourg analyzed data from over 14,000 individuals participating in a decades-long study called the German Ageing Survey. These participants, born between 1911 and 1974, covering several generations, provided up to eight responses over a 25-year span, when they were aged between 40 and 100. One of the main questions, and the subject of the new paper, was “At what age would you describe someone as old?” When they were asked this question at the age of 65, people born in 1911 said that old age begins, on average, at the age of 71. When the question was repeated to people born in 1956 once they also hit 65 years old, they instead put the threshold three years later, at 74. In a statement, first author Markus Wettstein gave some suggestions as to why this might be: “Life expectancy has increased, which might contribute to a later perceived onset (开始) of old age. Also, some aspects of health have improved over time, so that people of a certain age who were regarded as old in the past may no longer be considered old nowadays.” The same trend was observed at the individual level too. On average, as each participant aged by four or five years themselves, their estimate for the onset of old age increased by a year. Women put the threshold for old age about two years later than men on average. There were some other factors that were found to impact someone’s individual estimate too — for example, people in poorer health, who were lonelier, or who “felt” older generally believed old age begins earlier. “It is unclear to what extent the trend towards postponing old age reflects a trend towards more views on older people and aging, or rather the opposite — perhaps the onset of old age is postponed because people consider being old to be an undesirable state,” Wettstein said. What’s evident is that this postponement trend won’t last forever. In fact, it’s already slowing down. The study has some limitations, in that participants were all from one country. The researchers say future studies should seek to address this, as well as examining whether the trend towards postponing the perception of the onset of old age is continuing to decelerate. 1．What is the main finding of the new research mentioned in the article? A．People’s perceptions of old age have remained constant over time. B．Improvements in certain health aspects help increase life expectancy. C．The threshold for considering someone as “old” has been shifting earlier. D．Nowadays people tend to think of old age as starting later than in the past. 2．Which of the following is TRUE about the research? A．The 14,000 participants were from Germany, the US, and Luxembourg. B．The participants provided at most eight responses during the 25-year period. C．Future studies will explore factors affecting the estimated onset of old age. D．Some participants cover several generations but are from the same family. 3．Which of the following is NOT included in the postponement trend? A．Women set the starting point of old age around two years later than men. B．One’s closeness to this threshold could delay their perception of old age. C．People’s perception of a later onset of old age justifies delaying retirement. D．Individuals once labeled as old at a certain age may not be considered so now. 4．What can be inferred from the passage? A．Poorer people generally see old age starting earlier than the wealthier. B．Postponing the onset of old age reflects a growing respect for the elderly. C．People may delay the onset of old age because of their negative views of it. D．Whether the postponement trend is slowing down needs further observation. 【答案】1．D 2．B 3．C 4．C 【导语】本文的体裁是说明文。文章基于一项关于人们对老年年龄认知变化的科学研究，分析了数据，探讨了影响人们将某一年龄视为“老年”起点的因素，并讨论了这一趋势的社会和心理动因以及其未来走向。 1．细节理解题。根据文章第一段中的“New research finds that nowadays, we think of old age starting later than we used to — but that trend may not continue forever.(新的研究发现，现在我们认为老年开始的时间比以前晚了，但这种趋势可能不会永远持续下去。)”可知，人们现在倾向于认为老年期开始得比过去晚。故选D。 2．细节理解题。根据第二段中的“These participants, born between 1911 and 1974, covering several generations, provided up to eight responses over a 25-year span, when they were aged between 40 and 100. (这些参与者出生于1911年至1974年之间，跨越几代人，在40岁至100岁的25年时间里提供了多达8次回答。)”可知，参与者在25年间最多提供了8次回答。故选B。 3．推理判断题。根据倒数第四段中的“Women put the threshold for old age about two years later than men on average.(女性的老年门槛平均比男性晚两年左右。)”可知，女性比男性晚两年左右开始步入老年，故选项A被提及了。根据文章第一段“When would you say “old age” begins? It’s possible that the closer you think you are to that threshold (起始点), the later you’ll put it, but people’s general perceptions of old age have been changing over time.(你认为“老年”从什么时候开始？有可能你越认为自己接近这个起始点，你就会越晚提出，但人们对老年的普遍看法一直在随着时间的推移而改变。)”可知，当个人接近他们认为的老年期起点时，他们可能会将这个起点推后，故选项B被提及了。根据文章第五段中的“Also, some aspects of health have improved over time, so that people of a certain age who were regarded as old in the past may no longer be considered old nowadays(此外，随着时间的推移，健康的某些方面也有所改善，因此，过去被认为是老年人的某一年龄的人，现在可能不再被认为是老年人了。”)”可知，曾经在某个年龄被贴上老年人标签的人，现在可能就不这么认为了，故选项D被提及了。选项C“People’s perception of a later onset of old age justifies delaying retirement.(人们对老年期开始较晚的认识证明了延迟退休是合理的)”并未在文中提及。故选C。 4．推理判断题。根据倒数第三段““It is unclear to what extent the trend towards postponing old age reflects a trend towards more views on older people and aging, or rather the opposite — perhaps the onset of old age is postponed because people consider being old to be an undesirable state,” Wettstein said.(韦特斯坦说：“目前还不清楚，推迟衰老的趋势在多大程度上反映了人们对老年人和老龄化有更多看法的趋势，或者恰恰相反——也许人们认为老年是一种不受欢迎的状态，所以推迟了老年的到来。”)”可知，由于对老年的负面看法，人们可能会推迟认为老年期开始的时间。故选C。 02 【来源】上海市闵行区2023-2024学年高二下学期期末英语试题 Conventionally, being overweight is bad for health. This may not always be the case. The latest evidence comes from a study in which people classed as overweight, but not extremely fat, had a lower death rate within a certain period than people with a supposedly ideal weight. This suggests that the threshold (阈值) for classifying individuals as overweight may have been set too low. It is uncontroversial that being very heavy is bad for health, but it is unclear at what point health risks begin. Doctors usually ad vise people to lose weight if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is high, which is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. In most countries, a healthy weight is defined as a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. Having a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is classed as overweight and 30 and above as extremely fat. Previous research made waves when it found that people whose BMI was somewhat over the “healthy” threshold of 25 may have a slightly lower death rate than slimmer individuals. But many of the studies are fairly old and were done when people were mostly slimmer, and subjects weren’t racially diverse, says Aayush Visaria, a researcher in New Jersey. To address those issues, Visaria tracked the survival of about 500,000 racially diverse US adults of known height and weight for up to 20 years. Having a BMI between 25 and 27.4 carried a 5 percent lower risk of death in this period than a BMI within the healthy category of 22.5 to 24.9. A slightly higher BMI, of 27.5 to 29.9, seemed even better, linked with a 7 percent lower risk of death. One criticism is that the apparent benefit of being overweight could be a misconception, as people who lose weight due to illness are more likely to die. However, in the new research, the pattern persisted even if people who died within two years of entering the study were ruled out from the figures. Visaria says it’s too early to conclude that having an “overweight” BMI outperforms being in the healthy category, because population studies may be prejudiced and lead to misinterpretation of the results. “We aren’t certain if this is truly interpretable,” he says. “A more appropriate message is that BMI isn’t a good indicator of death risk—other factors, like body fat distribution, also play a role.” 1．The purpose of the first paragraph is to ______. A．put forward a controversial issue B．discuss reasons for a lower death rate C．reveal a finding that questions a common belief D．justify the traditional “overweight” threshold 2．According to paragraph 3 and 4, Visaria resolved the limitations of previous research by ______. A．arriving at a more specific finding B．tracking the research for another 20 years C．calming down a wave of criticism from the crowd D．adopting a large, diverse sample over an extended period 3．According to the passage, “the pattern” in paragraph 5 refers to ______. A．the misconception about the benefit of being overweight B．the increased likelihood of death for individuals losing weight due to illness C．the changing perception of BMI classification over time D．the lower risk of death for slightly heavier persons in a set time compared to slimmer ones 4．Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? A．Weight and blood pressure are two primary factors related to BMI. B．To accurately reflect someone’s health risk, a broader view is necessary. C．Visaria will continue to figure out a more scientific BMI threshold. D．Visaria is confident of the reliability of his research. 【答案】1．C 2．D 3．D 4．B 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了最新研究表明，超重但不是特别胖的人在一定时期内的死亡率低于所谓理想体重的人。文章介绍了研究开展的经过以及研究的发现。 1．推理判断题。根据第一段“Conventionally, being overweight is bad for health. This may not always be the case. The latest evidence comes from a study in which people classed as overweight, but not extremely fat, had a lower death rate within a certain period than people with a supposedly ideal weight. This suggests that the threshold (阈值) for classifying individuals as overweight may have been set too low.(一般来说，超重对健康有害。情况可能并非总是如此。最新的证据来自一项研究，该研究表明，超重但不是特别胖的人在一定时期内的死亡率低于所谓理想体重的人。这表明，将个体划分为超重的阈值可能设置得太低了)”可知，第一段的目的是揭示一个对共同信念提出质疑的发现。故选C。 2．细节理解题。根据第三段“But many of the studies are fairly old and were done when people were mostly slimmer, and subjects weren’t racially diverse, says Aayush Visaria, a researcher in New Jersey.(但新泽西州的研究人员Aayush Visaria说，许多研究都是相当古老的，而且是在人们大多比较苗条的时候进行的，而且研究对象的种族也不是多样化的)”和第四段中“To address those issues, Visaria tracked the survival of about 500,000 racially diverse US adults of known height and weight for up to 20 years.(为了解决这些问题，Visaria在长达20年的时间里追踪了大约50万名身高和体重已知的不同种族的美国成年人的生存状况)”可知，Visaria通过在较长时间内采用大量不同的样本，解决了以前研究的局限性。故选D。 3．词句猜测题。根据第二段“In most countries, a healthy weight is defined as a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. Having a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is classed as overweight and 30 and above as extremely fat.(在大多数国家，健康体重的定义是BMI在18.5到24.9之间。BMI在25到29.9之间被归类为超重，30及以上被归类为极度肥胖)”；倒数第三段“Having a BMI between 25 and 23.4 carried a 5 percent lower risk of death in this period than a BMI within the healthy category of 22.5 to 24.9. A slightly higher BMI, of 23.5 to 29.9, seemed even better, linked with a 3 percent lower risk of death.(在此期间，BMI在25至23.4之间的人的死亡风险比BMI在22.5至24.9之间的健康人群低5%。BMI稍微高一点，在23.5到29.9之间，似乎效果更好，与死亡风险降低3%有关)”以及划线词后文“persisted even if people who died within two years of entering the study were ruled out from the figures(即使在参与研究的两年内死亡的人被排除在数据之外)”可知，在新的研究中，即使在研究开始后两年内死亡的人被排除在数据之外，较重的人在一定时间内的死亡风险比较瘦的人低这种模式仍然存在。故划线词指的是“较重的人在一定时间内的死亡风险比较瘦的人低”。故选D。 4．推理判断题。根据最后一段“Visaria says it’s too early to conclude that having an “overweight” BMI outperforms being in the healthy category, because population studies may be prejudiced and lead to misinterpretation of the results. “We aren’t certain if this is truly interpretable,” he says. “A more appropriate message is that BMI isn’t a good indicator of death risk—other factors, like body fat distribution, also play a role.”(维萨里亚说，现在下结论说体重指数“超重”的人比健康的人表现更好还为时过早，因为人口研究可能会有偏见，导致对结果的误解。“我们不确定这是否真的可以解释，”他说。“更恰当的信息是，BMI并不是死亡风险的良好指标——其他因素，如体脂分布，也起着作用。”)”可知，为了准确地反映某人的健康风险，一个更广泛的观点是必要的。故选B。 03 【来源】上海市宝山区2023-2024学年高二下学期期末教学质量监测英语试卷 The ancient Egyptians thought so little of the brain that when a king died, they removed the brain from his body and threw it away. The Egyptians assumed, like many people before and after them, that consciousness — your mind and your thoughts existed in the heart. Now we know that the mind is a product of the brain, but how exactly does this 1.5-kilo piece of matter create a mind that allows you to think about yourself, experience happiness and anger, or remember events that happened 20 minutes or 20 years ago? This isn’t a new question. Today, however, powerful new techniques for visualizing the sources of thought, emotion, behavior, and memory are transforming the way we understand the brain and the mind it creates. Have you ever stopped and thought, “What’s wrong with me today? I just don’t feel like myself”? Perhaps you were more tired or worried than usual — but somehow, you knew that something was different about you. This self-awareness - the ability to think about yourself and how you’re feeling-is an important part of being human. This part of of your mind has its origins in the prefrontal cortex — a region of your brain just behind your forehead that extends to about your ears. Before this area began to function (around age two), you didn’t understand that you were a separate individual with your own identity. As this part of your brain developed, you became more aware of yourself and your thoughts and feelings. Though humans may share certain emotions and recognize them in others, we don’t all have the same emotional response to every situation. In fact, most emotional responses are learned and stored in our memories. The smell of freshly cut grass, for example, will generate happy feelings in someone who spent enjoyable childhood summers in the countryside, but not in someone who was forced to work long hours on a farm. Once an emotional association like this is made, it is very difficult to reverse it. “Emotion is the least flexible part of the brain,” says psychologist Paul Ekman. But we can learn to control our emotions by becoming consciously aware of their underlying causes and by not reacting automatically to things in our environment. For centuries, people have studied the brain, but it is only in recent years that we have really started to learn how it works. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before we understand our mind’s many complexities. 1．What is the passage mainly about? A．How we create and control emotions. B．How the mind works. C．How human beings are distinct. D．How emotions are processed. 2．Why does the author mention the ancient Egyptians’ practice in the very beginning? A．To illustrate the importance of the heart in ancient Egyptian culture. B．To introduce the core theme of the mind-body connection and evolution. C．To provide an example of how the brain has been misunderstood throughout history. D．To contrast the ancient Egyptians’ views on the brain with the modern one. 3．Which of the following statement is NOT true? A．Self-awareness develops before the age of two. B．The prefrontal cortex affects a person’s emotions. C．The prefrontal cortex is located at the front of the brain. D．Self-awareness strengthens with the development of the brain. 4．What does the passage suggest about the flexibility of emotions? A．Emotions are universal and do not change over time or with individual experiences. B．Emotions are generally learned and stored in our memories, making them quite flexible. C．Emotions are influenced by our personal experiences and can vary from person to person. D．Emotions are the least flexible part of the mind, and they cannot be controlled. 【答案】1．B 2．C 3．A 4．C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了大脑如何创造意识、情绪及自我认知等心理活动的现代理解与研究进展。 1．主旨大意题。根据全文内容及第二段中“Today, however, powerful new techniques for visualizing the sources of thought, emotion, behavior, and memory are transforming the way we understand the brain and the mind it creates.(然而，如今，用于可视化思维、情感、行为及记忆源头的强大新技术正在彻底改变我们对大脑及其创造的心智的理解)”和最后一段中“For centuries, people have studied the brain, but it is only in recent years that we have really started to learn how it works.(几个世纪以来，人们一直在研究大脑，但直到最近几年，我们才真正开始了解它是如何工作的)”可知，文章主要探讨了大脑如何创造意识以及我们如何控制情绪，B选项“心智是如何工作的”最能概括文章主题。故选B。 2．推理判断题。根据第二段中“Now we know that the mind is a product of the brain, but how exactly does this 1.5-kilo piece of matter create a mind that allows you to think about yourself, experience happiness and anger, or remember events that happened 20 minutes or 20 years ago?(现在我们已经知道，心智是大脑的产物，但这个重约1.5公斤的物质究竟是如何创造出一个能让你思考自我、体验快乐与愤怒，或是回忆起20分钟乃至20年前事件的心智呢？)”可知，作者在开头提到古埃及人处理大脑的方式是为了展示历史上人们对于大脑的误解，以此引出后文对大脑功能的现代理解，引入关于大脑如何创造意识的讨论。故选C。 3．细节理解题。根据第四段中“Before this area began to function (around age two), you didn’t understand that you were a separate individual with your own identity. As this part of your brain developed, you became more aware of yourself and your thoughts and feelings.(在这一区域开始发挥作用之前(大约两岁左右)，你并不理解自己是一个拥有独立身份的个体。随着大脑这一部分的发展，你变得对自己、自己的思想和情感更加有意识)”可知，自我意识是在两岁左右开始发展的，而不是之前，A选项的说法是错误的。故选A。 4．推理判断题。根据第五段中“Though humans may share certain emotions and recognize them in others, we don’t all have the same emotional response to every situation. In fact, most emotional responses are learned and stored in our memories.(尽管人类可能共有一些情感，并能在他人身上识别它们，但我们并非对每种情境都有相同的情感反应。事实上，大多数情感反应都是习得的，并存储在我们的记忆中)”及“Once an emotional association like this is made, it is very difficult to reverse it. “Emotion is the least flexible part of the brain,” says psychologist Paul Ekman. . (一旦形成这样的情感联系，就很难逆转。“情感是大脑中最不灵活的部分，”心理学家保罗·埃克曼说)”可知，情绪反应大多源于个人经历并存储于记忆中，且一旦形成很难改变，说明情绪在个体间可能因个人经历而有所不同，且具有相对不灵活性。故选C。 04 【来源】上海市宝山区2023-2024学年高二下学期期末教学质量监测英语试卷 The coast of the State of Maine is one of the most irregular in the world. A straight line running from the southernmost coastal city to the northernmost coastal city would measure about 225 miles. If you followed the coastline between these points, you would travel more than ten times as far. This irregularity is the result of what is called a drowned coastline. The term comes from the glacial (冰川的) activity of the Ice Age. At that time, the whole area that is now Maine was part of a mountain range that towered above the sea. As the glacier declined, however, it applied enormous force on those mountains, and they sank into the sea. As the mountains sank, ocean water charged over the lowest parts of the remaining land. And the highest parts of the former mountain range, nearest the shore, remained as islands. Marine fossils found here are 225 feet above sea level indicating the level of the shoreline prior to the glacier. The 2,500-mile-long rocky and jagged (锯齿状的) coastline of Maine keeps watching over nearly 2,000 islands. Many of these islands are tiny and uninhabited, but many are home to blooming communities. Mt. Desert Island is one of the largest, most beautiful of the Maine coast islands left behind by the glacier. Measuring 16 miles by 12 miles, Mt. Desert was very nearly formed as two distinct islands. It is split almost in half by Somes Sound, a very deep and very narrow stretch of water seven miles long. For years, Mt. Desert Island, particularly its major settlement, Bar Harbor, has afforded summer homes for the wealthy. Recently, though, Bar Harbor has become a new arts community as well. But the best part of the island is the unspoiled forest land known as Acadia National Park. Since the island sits on the border between two different geographical zones, the park supports the plants and animals of both zones. It also lies in a major bird migration lane and is a resting spot for many birds. 1．The large number of small islands along the coast of Maine is the result of ______. A．the drowning of the Maine coastline B．glacier’s forcing mountains into the sea C．the irregularity of the Maine coastline D．ocean water’s flooding the mountain range 2．What does the underlined word “charge” mean in paragraph 2? A．To ask an amount of money. B．To accuse someone publicly of doing something wrong. C．To rush in a particular direction. D．To pass electricity through something. 3．Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of paragraph 4 of the selection? A．The wealthy residents of Mt. Desert Island selfishly kept it to themselves. B．Acadia National Park is one of the best national parks. C．On Mt. Desert Island, there is great tension between the residents and tourists. D．Mt. Desert Island supports an incredibly diverse animal and plant life. 4．From the passage, we learn that ________. A．the coastline of Maine is ten times longer after the Ice Age B．there are more than 2,500 islands along the Maine coastline C．Mt. Desert Island has been broken apart by a 7-mile-long water stretch D．an arts community gave way to the summer homes on Mt. Desert Island 【答案】1．A 2．C 3．D 4．C 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章先介绍美国缅因州海岸线的地质特点和形成原因，接着着重描述了其中一个最大的岛屿——Mt. Desert岛。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段“This irregularity is the result of what is called a drowned coastline. At that time, the whole area that is now Maine was part of a mountain range that towered above the sea. As the glacier declined, however, it applied enormous force on those mountains, and they sank into the sea.( 这种不规则性是被称为溺水海岸的结果。那时，现在是缅因州的整个地区是一座高耸在海面之上的山脉的一部分。然而，随着冰川消退，它对那些山脉施加了巨大的力量，它们沉入了海中)”和第二段“And the highest parts of the former mountain range, nearest the shore, remained as islands.(而最靠近海岸的原山脉的最高部分则保留为岛屿)”可知，缅因州海岸线的不规则性是通过“淹没的海岸线”形成的，这是冰川活动造成的结果。冰川退却时，山脉的部分沉入海底，留下高耸的部分成为岛屿。因此，许多小岛的形成是由于海岸线被淹没的结果。故选A。 2．词句猜测题。根据第二段“As the mountains sank, ocean water charged over the lowest parts of the remaining land.(随着山脉的沉没，海洋水charged了剩余陆地的最低部分)”可知，随着山脉的沉没，海洋水涌入淹没了剩余陆地的最低部分，因此划线词词义为：淹没、（水）冲向某个特定的地方，故选C。 3．主旨大意题。根据第四段内容，特别是“But the best part of the island is the unspoiled forest land known as Acadia National Park. Since the island sits on the border between two different geographical zones, the park supports the plants and animals of both zones.(但岛上最好的部分是被称为阿卡迪亚国家公园的未受破坏的森林土地。由于该岛位于两个不同地理区域的交界处，公园支持着这两个区域的植物和动物)”可知，本段主要介绍该岛具有极其丰富的动植物多样性。故选D。 4．细节理解题。根据第三段“Mt. Desert was very nearly formed as two distinct islands. It is split almost in half by Somes Sound, a very deep and very narrow stretch of water seven miles long.(巴港岛几乎形成了两个明显不同的岛屿。它几乎被索姆斯海峡一分为二，这是一条非常深且非常狭窄的七英里长的水域)”可知，岛屿被一段7英里的水域隔开。故选C。 05 【来源】上海市进才中学2023-2024学年高二期末英语试题 In the fog of uncertainty about how new technology will change the way we work, policymakers around the world say confidently that we will need to upskill the workforce in order to cope. The view sounds reassuringly sensible: if computers are growing smarter, humans will need to learn to use them or be replaced by them. But the truth is, the people who are being “upskilled” in today’s economy are the ones who need it the least. Research shows that workers with degrees are over three times more likely to participate in training as adults than workers with no qualifications. That creates a virtuous circle for those who did well at school, and a vicious circle for those who did not. If the robots are coming for both the accountants and the taxi drivers, you can bet it is those working with money that will be more able to retrain themselves out of danger, because the better educated tend to have more confidence and money to pay for their own training. Employers also invest in these workers more. In the UK, a surprising number of employers send their senior managers to business schools. It is no good blaming employers for directing investments at their highly-skilled workers. They are simply aiming for the highest return they can get. And, for some types of lower-paid work, it is not always true that technological progress requires more skills. Sometimes, technology can de-skill a job. Just look at Uber drivers who follow the driving routes set by their app, rather than expanding their own knowledge of the streets. The UK’s latest Employment and Skills Survey suggests the use of literacy and numeracy skills at work has fallen since 2012, even as the use of computers has increased. However, the trouble is, when the computer makes your job easier one day, it might make it redundant the next. Many of those affected by automation will need to switch occupations, or even industries. But a retailer or warehouse company is not going to retrain its staff to help them move to a different sector. It is time to revisit older ideas. The UK once had a vibrant culture of night schools, for adults to attend after their day jobs. A revival of it could be exactly what the 21st century needs. Rather than just “upskilling” in a narrow way, people could choose to learn an entirely new skill or trade, or explore interests they never had a chance to nurture before. It is still not clear whether the impact of new technology on the labour market will come in a trickle or a flood. But in an already unequal world, continuing to reserve all the lifeboats for the better-off would be a dangerous mistake. 1．According to the writer, policymakers’ belief in upskilling the workforce __________. A．is contrary to popular belief B．is helpful in coping with new technology C．is too difficult to put it into practice D．is not beneficial to those who need it most 2．It can be inferred that workers without qualifications are less likely to __________. A．have confidence in outperforming those with degrees at school B．persuade their employers to make an investment in them C．minimize the risk of job loss caused by new technology D．assess how new technology will change the way they work 3．The word “redundant” (Para. 3) probably means __________. A．unnecessary B．undesirable C．unskilled D．unrewarding 4．According to the passage, which of the following conclusion is True? A．Workers’ literacy and numeracy skills should be enhanced without delay. B．Night schools can help to eliminate skill gaps among workers. C．Companies should attach much importance to retraining of workers. D．Those lower-skilled workers deserve giving more chances of retraining. 【答案】1．D 2．C 3．A 4．D 【导语】本文为一篇说明文。文章针对通常看法“需提升劳动人口技能以应对自动化浪潮”指出，现实中技能提升的机会往往向高学历者倾斜，应为真正面临危机的低学历者提供再培训机会。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段“In the fog of uncertainty about how new technology will change the way we work, policymakers around the world say confidently that we will need to upskill the workforce in order to cope. The view sounds reassuringly sensible: if computers are growing smarter, humans will need to learn to use them or be replaced by them. But the truth is, the people who are being “upskilled” in today’s economy are the ones who need it the least.(在新技术将如何改变我们工作方式的不确定性迷雾中，世界各地的政策制定者自信地表示，我们需要提高劳动力的技能，以应对这一挑战。这种观点听起来合情合理，令人放心：如果计算机变得越来越智能，人类将需要学会使用它们，否则就会被它们取代。但事实是，在当今的经济环境下，那些“技能提升”的人恰恰是最不需要技能提升的人)”可知，作者认为，政策制定者对提高劳动力技能的信念不利于那些最需要技能的人。故选D项。 2．推理判断题。根据第二段“Research shows that workers with degrees are over three times more likely to participate in training as adults than workers with no qualifications. That creates a virtuous circle for those who did well at school, and a vicious circle for those who did not. If the robots are coming for both the accountants and the taxi drivers, you can bet it is those working with money that will be more able to retrain themselves out of danger, because the better educated tend to have more confidence and money to pay for their own training.(研究表明，有学历的工人成年后参加培训的可能性是没有学历的工人的三倍多。这为那些在学校表现好的人创造了一个良性循环，而为那些表现不好的人创造了一个恶性循环。如果机器人正在取代会计和出租车司机，你可以打赌，那些有钱的人将更有能力重新培训自己以摆脱危险，因为受过更好教育的人往往更有信心，也更有钱来支付自己的培训费用)”可推知，没有资格的工人不太可能将新技术带来的失业风险降到最低。故选C项。 3．词句猜测题。根据后文“Many of those affected by automation will need to switch occupations, or even industries.(许多受自动化影响的人将需要转换职业，甚至行业)”可知，科技进步让工作变的更容易的同时，也可能会让人失去工作，推知redundant意为“不需要的”之意，和A项意思相近。故选A项。 4．推理判断题。根据最后一段“It is still not clear whether the impact of new technology on the labour market will come in a trickle or a flood. But in an already unequal world, continuing to reserve all the lifeboats for the better-off would be a dangerous mistake.(目前尚不清楚新技术对劳动力市场的影响是涓涓细流还是洪流。但在一个已经不平等的世界里，继续把所有的救生艇都留给富人将是一个危险的错误)”可知，作者认为把所有的救生艇都留给富人将是一个危险的错误，所以是那些低技能工人应该得到更多再培训的机会。故选D项。 06 【来源】上海市复旦大学附属中学2022-2023学年高二下学期期末考试英语试题 When we think about lives filled with meaning, we often focus on people whose grand contributions benefited humanity. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela surely felt they had a worthwhile life. But how about us ordinary people, toiling away in a typical existence? Many scholars agree that a subjectively meaningful existence often boils down to three factors: the feeling that one’s life is coherent and “makes sense,” the possession of clear and satisfying long-term goals and the belief that one’s life matters in the grand scheme of things. Psychologists call these three things coherence, purpose and existential mattering. But we believe there is another element to consider. Think about the first butterfly you stop to admire after a long winter or imagine the scenery atop a hill after a fresh hike. Sometimes existence delivers us small moments of beauty. When people are open to appreciating such experiences, these moments may enhance how they view their life. We call this element experiential appreciation. The phenomenon reflects the feeling of a deep connection to events as they happen and the ability to extract value from that link. It represents the detection of and admiration for life’s inherent beauty. We recently set out to better understand this form of appreciation in a series of studies, published in Nature Human Behaviour, that involved more than 3,000 participants. Across these studies, we were interested in whether experiential appreciation was related to a person’s sense of meaning even when we accounted for the effects of the classic trio of coherence, purpose and existential mattering. If so, experiential appreciation could be a unique contributor to meaningfulness and not simply a product of these other variables. As an initial test of our idea, during the early stages of the COVID pandemic, we had participants rate their endorsement of different coping strategies to relieve their stress. We found that people who managed stress by focusing on their appreciation for life’s beauty also reported experiencing life as highly meaningful. In the next study, we asked participants to rate the extent to which they agreed with various statements, such as “I have a great appreciation for the beauty of life” as well as other statement related to coherence, purpose, existential mattering and a general sense of meaning in life. Our results showed that the more people indicated that they were “appreciating life” and its many experiences, the more they felt their existence was valuable. In fact, these two elements related strongly to each other even when we controlled for other aspects of a meaningful life. Finally, we conducted a series of experiments in which we gave people specific tasks and, once more, asked them to report how strongly they identified with statements linked to purpose, mattering, etc.. The results confirmed our original theory: appreciating small things can make life feel more meaningful. But applying that insight can be difficult. Our modern, fast-paced, project-oriented lifestyles fill the day with targets and goals. We are on the go, and we attempt to maximize output both at work and at leisure. This focus on future outcomes makes it all too easy to miss what is happening right now. Yet life happens in the present moment. We should slow down, let life surprise us and embrace the significance in the everyday. 1．What factor accounts for the life meaning of ordinary people besides coherence, purpose and existential mattering? A．Contribution. B．Possession. C．Experiential appreciation. D．Inherent beauty. 2．We can infer from the passage that _________. A．Experiential appreciation is a product of existential mattering. B．Focusing on future outcome can help maximize output. C．The following experiments in the study are opposed to the result of the initial test. D．We’d better appreciate small things in daily life despite the fast-paced lifestyles. 3．The underlined word “endorsement”(PSL2) is closest in meaning to _________. A．enjoyment B．approval C．rejection D．comment 4．Which of the following is the author most likely to agree with? A．During the COVID pandemic, it’s difficult to find coping strategies to relieve stress. B．Maximizing output motivates people to catch what is happening right now. C．Appreciating life and its experiences can enhance the feeling of valuable existence. D．In modern society, it’s common practice to appreciate small things to make life more meaningful. 【答案】1．C 2．D 3．B 4．C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章讲述了有意义的人生除了体现在连贯性、目的性、存在性，活在当下，享受慢下来的生活，享受生活给我们的惊喜，拥抱每一天也同样是有意义的人生。 1．细节理解题。根据第三段“But we believe there is another element to consider.（但我们认为还有另一个因素需要考虑。）”以及“When people are open to appreciating such experiences, these moments may enhance how they view their life. We call this element experiential appreciation.（当人们乐于欣赏这样的经历时，这些时刻可能会增强他们对生活的看法。我们称这种元素为体验性欣赏。）”可知，除了连贯性，目的性和存在性是外，有意义的生活还需要考虑体验式欣赏生活中的经历。故选C。 2．细节理解题。根据第六段“The results confirmed our original theory: appreciating small things can make life feel more meaningful.（结果证实了我们最初的理论：欣赏小事能让生活更有意义。）”以及“Yet life happens in the present moment. We should slow down, let life surprise us and embrace the significance in the everyday.（然而，生活就发生在当下。我们应该慢下来，让生活给我们惊喜，拥抱每一天的意义。）”可知，体验欣赏生活中的小事可以让生活更有意义，因此，尽管我们生活节奏快，但依然要珍惜欣赏生活中的小事。故选D。 3．词义猜测题。根据第五段“In the next study, we asked participants to rate the extent to which they agreed with various statements（在接下来的研究中，我们要求参与者对他们对各种陈述的同意程度进行评分）”可知，两次实验分别对不同的内容进行同意程度进行评分，因此可以推断出划线单词的含义是“同意，认可”。故选B。 4．推理判断题。根据第五段“Our results showed that the more people indicated that they were “appreciating life” and its many experiences, the more they felt their existence was valuable.（我们的研究结果表明，越多人表示他们“欣赏生活”和生活中的许多经历，他们就越觉得自己的存在是有价值的。）”可知，作者的研究结果表明“体验生活，欣赏生活及其经历可以增强人们对于存在的价值感”。故选C。 07 【来源】华东师范大学第二附属中学2022-2023学年高二下学期期末考试英语试题 When to trust your gut (直觉) Humans have been practicing over millions of years of evolution to respond to certain situations without thinking too hard. If your ancestors spotted movement in the wild forest, they would run first and ask questions later. At the same time, the capacity to analyse and to plan is part of what distinguishes people from other animals. The question of when to trust your gut and when to test your assumptions — whether to think fast or slow, in the language of Daniel Kahneran, a psychologist — matters in the office as much as it does in the flat grassland. Deliberative thinking is the feature of a well-managed workplace. Strategic maintenance and budget discussions are built on rounds of meetings, memos, formulas and presentations. Processes are increasingly designed to rule out instinctive responses. From blind screening of job applicants to using “red-teaming” techniques to pick apart a firm’s plans, deliberation beats instinct. Yet instinct also has its place. Some decisions are more connected to emotional responses and inherently less tractable to analysis. Does a marketing campaign capture the essence of your company, say, or would this person work well with other people in a team? In tricky customer-service situations, intuition is often a better guide to how to behave than a script. Gut instincts can also be improved (call it “probiotic management”). Plenty of research has shown that intuition becomes more accurate with experience. In one well-known experiment, conducted in 2012, volunteers were asked to assess whether a selection of designer handbags were fake or real. Some were instructed to operate on instinct and others to deliberate over their decision. Intuition worked better for those who owned at least three designer handbags; indeed, it outperformed analysis. The more expert you become, the better your instincts tend to be. However, the real reason to embrace fast thinking is that it is, well, fast. Instinctive decision-making is often the only way to get through the day. Researchers at Cornell University once estimated that people make over 200 decisions a day about food alone. The workplace is nothing but a succession of choices, a few big and many small: what to prioritise, when to intervene, whom to avoid in the lifts and, now, where to work each day. When to use intuition in the workplace rests on its own form of pattern recognition. Does the decision-maker have real expertise in this area? Is this a field in which emotion matters more than reasoning? Above all, is it worth delaying the decision? Slow thinking is needed to get the big calls right. But fast thinking is the way to stop deliberation turning to hesitation. 1．Which of the following situations may NOT be suitable for people to trust their gut? A．The market responses are hard to predict. B．The working mechanism is perfectly organized. C．The time window for making decision is limited. D．The relationship with customers is somewhat complex. 2．What’s the function of the second paragraph? A．To clearly state the main idea of the article. B．To critically include the other side of viewpoint. C．To introduce examples to support the main idea. D．To support the main idea from the opposite perspective. 3．Which of the following can be implied from the passage? A．The ability to trust your gut matters more nowadays. B．Gut instincts can be improved by owning designer products. C．Gut instincts are more advisable in screening job applicants. D．Experience plays a vital role in cultivating gut instincts. 4．Which of the following might be the best sub-title of the passage? A．Deliberation is not always the best option. B．Instinctive decision-making beats all. C．Instinctive decision-making has both pros and cons. D．Deliberation is more important than gut instincts. 【答案】1．B 2．C 3．D 4．C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章讲述了人类在生活中何时该相信自己的直觉，即何时需要快思考，何时需要慢思考，以及快慢思考各自的优势。 1．细节理解题。根据第二段“Strategic maintenance and budget discussions are built on rounds of meetings, memos, formulas and presentations. Processes are increasingly designed to rule out instinctive responses. From blind screening of job applicants to using “red-teaming” techniques to pick apart a firm’s plans, deliberation beats instinct.”（战略维护和预算讨论建立在一轮又一轮的会议、备忘录、公式和演示之上。过程越来越多地被设计为排除本能反应。从盲目筛选求职者到使用“红队”技术来拆解公司的计划，深思熟虑胜过直觉。）以及第三段“Yet instinct also has its place. Some decisions are more connected to emotional responses and inherently less tractable to analysis. Does a marketing campaign capture the essence of your company, say, or would this person work well with other people in a team? In tricky customer-service situations, intuition is often a better guide to how to behave than a script.”（然而，本能也有它的作用。有些决定更多地与情绪反应有关，本质上不太容易被分析。比如说，营销活动是否抓住了你公司的精髓，或者这个人是否能与团队中的其他人合作良好？在棘手的客户服务情况下，直觉往往是比脚本更好的行为指南。）可知，对于战略维护和预算讨论等涉及到组织架的完善即分析时适用于深思熟虑的慢思考，而在进行市场营销活动，处理棘手的客户关系，或是与团队成员合作等这些需要即时做出决策的情况，适用于快思考，即相信自己的知觉，“工作机制组织完善”不适合人们相信自己的直觉。故选B。 2．推理判断题。根据第二段“Deliberative thinking is the feature of a well-managed workplace. Strategic maintenance and budget discussions are built on rounds of meetings, memos, formulas and presentations. Processes are increasingly designed to rule out instinctive responses. From blind screening of job applicants to using “red-teaming” techniques to pick apart a firm’s plans, deliberation beats instinct.”（深思熟虑是管理得当的工作场所的特征。战略维护和预算讨论建立在一轮又一轮的会议、备忘录、公式和演示之上。过程越来越多地被设计为排除本能反应。从盲目筛选求职者到使用“红队”技术来拆解公司的计划，深思熟虑胜过直觉。）可知，本段主要通过列举维护公司战略，建立预算，筛选求职者，拆解公司计划等不同情境，论述深思熟虑的适用时机，即介绍支持主要观点的例子。故选C。 3．推理判断题。根据第四段“Plenty of research has shown that intuition becomes more accurate with experience.”（大量研究表明，直觉随着经验的增加而变得更加准确。）可得出，经验在培养直觉方面起着至关重要的作用。故选D。 4．主旨大意题。根据最后一段“When to use intuition in the workplace rests on its own form of pattern recognition.”（何时在工作场所使用直觉取决于它自己的模式识别形式。）以及“Slow thinking is needed to get the big calls right. But fast thinking is the way to stop deliberation turning to hesitation.”（要做出正确的重大决策，需要缓慢思考。但快速思考是阻止深思熟虑变成犹豫的方法。）可知，文章结尾作者指出慢思考很重要，同时快思考也有自己的优势。因此可知，由于自身的模式不同，本能决策既有好处也有坏处，“本能决策既有优点也有缺点”可能是这篇文章最好的副标题。故选C。 08 【来源】上海市嘉定区2023-2024学年高二期末检测英语试卷 “That’s great,” said NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, after he ate a piece of red lettuce that was grown in a special box. “Tastes good,” agreed the U. S. astronaut Scott Kelly, who is spending one year at the research station. “Kind of like arugula,” Scott added, then used small bottles to spread extra virgin olive oil and vinegar on his leaf, much as one might spread mustard on a hot dog. NASA says that if space explorers can grow their own food while they are away from the earth, they would be more likely to survive the deep space exploration, which can last months or even years. With no way to resupply a spacecraft making a long journey to and from Mars, the ability to grow food during the trip will be key to survive. “For us, having the ability to grow our own food is a big step in that direction, he said. Ray Wheeler, NASA’s lead scientist for advanced life support activities at Kennedy Space Center in Florida also said fresh foods such as tomatoes, blueberries and red lettuce could have a positive impact on people’s moods and also could provide some protection against radiation in space. The red romaine lettuce was grown in a special plant-growing box called a Veggie unit that was built by Orbital Technologies Corporation in Madison, Wisconsin, and was flown to space aboard the Space-X Dragon cargo ship. The seeds are contained in rooting pillows, which come complete with soil and fertilizer.Since water cannot be poured in space, a special irrigation system delivers moisture to the plant pillows from below. The seeds were ”activated“ by Scott on July 8 and grew for 33 days. On Monday, Lindgren used tongs to harvest the lettuce from its growing box, before attaching the leaves carefully to a tray. He cleaned them and handed them, in a food-safe bag, to Scott and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui. They saved a couple of leaves for Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka, who were outside the station doing a spacewalk. A previous crop of lettuce was grown in space last year but was not eaten by astronauts. Instead, it underwent - and passed food safety tests back on earth. 1．How did Scott do with the space-grown lettuce? A．He cooked it in a special box. B．He ate it with a kind of arugula. C．He put some mustard on it. D．He put the virgin olive oil on it. 2．The underlined words “that direction” in the second paragraph may refer to _________. A．the journey to and from Mars B．the way to grow food C．the building of research station D．the ability to fly in space 3．What Ray Wheeler said means _________. A．the lettuce is a great step enabling human travel to Mars B．humans are not able to arrive at Mars without the lettuce C．tomatoes are obviously better than the blueberries in size D．radiation would be reduced if people don’t eat some lettuce 4．What is the main idea of the passage? A．The significance of growing food in space for deep space exploration. B．The challenges of resupplying a spacecraft during long space journeys to and from Mars. C．The process of growing red romaine lettuce in a special plant-growing box in space. D．The importance of food safely tests for crops grown in space. 【答案】1．D 2．A 3．A 4．A 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了太空中种植出了莴苣，这是太空旅程的重要一步。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段““Kind of like arugula,” Scott added, then used small bottles to spread extra virgin olive oil and vinegar on his leaf, much as one might spread mustard on a hot dog.(“有点像芝麻菜，”斯科特补充说，然后用小瓶把特级初榨橄榄油和醋涂在他的叶子上，就像人们在热狗上涂芥末一样)”可知，斯科特在把初榨橄榄油涂在太空种植的莴苣上面。故选D。 2．词句猜测题。根据第二段“NASA says that if space explorers can grow their own food while they are away from the earth, they would be more likely to survive the deep space exploration, which can last months or even years. With no way to resupply a spacecraft making a long journey to and from Mars, the ability to grow food during the trip will be key to survive.(美国国家航空航天局表示，如果太空探险者能够在远离地球的时候自己种植食物，他们将更有可能在持续数月甚至数年的深空探索中生存下来。由于没有办法为往返火星的长途旅行的航天器提供补给，在旅途中种植食物的能力将是生存的关键)”可知，有能力种植自己的食物是往返火星的旅程的重要一步。故划线词指的是“往返火星的旅程”。故选A。 3．推理判断题。根据第三段“Ray Wheeler, NASA’s lead scientist for advanced life support activities at Kennedy Space Center in Florida also said fresh foods such as tomatoes, blueberries and red lettuce could have a positive impact on people’s moods and also could provide some protection against radiation in space.(美国宇航局在佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心负责高级生命支持活动的首席科学家雷·惠勒还说，西红柿、蓝莓和红生菜等新鲜食物对人的情绪有积极影响，还能在一定程度上防止太空辐射)”可知，雷·惠勒的话意味着莴苣是人类前往火星的重要一步。故选A。 4．主旨大意题。根据第一段““That’s great,” said NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, after he ate a piece of red lettuce that was grown in a special box. “Tastes good,” agreed the U. S. astronaut Scott Kelly, who is spending one year at the research station. “Kind of like arugula,” Scott added, then used small bottles to spread extra virgin olive oil and vinegar on his leaf, much as one might spread mustard on a hot dog. (“太棒了，”美国宇航局宇航员谢尔·林格伦吃了一片种在一个特殊盒子里的红生菜后说。“味道很好，”在研究站待了一年的美国宇航员斯科特·凯利表示赞同。“有点像芝麻菜，”斯科特补充说，然后用小瓶把特级初榨橄榄油和醋涂在他的叶子上，就像人们在热狗上涂芥末一样)”结合文章主要说明了太空中种植出了莴苣，这是太空旅程的重要一步。可知，这篇文章的主旨是在太空中种植食物对深空探索的意义。故选A。 09 【来源】上海市育才中学2023-2024学年高二期末英语试卷 A study by French researchers that was published last month in the Journal Animal Cognition found that not only do cats react to what scientists call cat-directed speech ---- a high-pitched voice similar to how we talk to babies ---- they react to who is doing the talking “We found that when cats heard their owners using a high-pitched voice, they reacted more than when they heard their owner speaking normally to another human adult,” said Charlotte de Mouzon, an author of the study and cat behavior expert at the Université Paris Nanterre. “But what was very surprising in our results was that it actually didn’t work when it came from a stranger’s voice.” Unlike with dogs, cat behavior is difficult to study, which is part of why humans understand them less. Cats are often so stressed by being in a lab that meaningful behavioral observations become impossible. And forget about trying to get a cat to sit still for an M.R.I. scan to study its brain function. So the researchers for the latest study went to the cats’ homes and played recordings of different types of speech and different speakers. At first, Dr. de Mouzon and her team were worried that the cats weren’t reacting at all. But then they studied film recordings of the encounters. “Their reactions were very subtle,” Dr. de Mouzon said. “It could be just moving an ear or turning the head towards the speaker or even freezing what they were doing.” In a few cases, the cats in the study would approach the speaker playing a voice and meow. “In the end, we had really clear gains in the cat’s attention when the owner was using cat-directed speech,” Dr. de Mouzon said. The findings showed that “cats are paying close attention to their caretakers, down to not only what they are saying, but how they are saying it,” said Kristyn Vitale, an assistant professor of animal health an behavior at Unity College in Maine who was not involved in the new study. The new study complements Dr. Vitale’s own research into relationships between a cat and its owner. This relationship is so important, Dr. Vitale’s research has found, that it replicates (复制) the connection between a kitten and its mother. “It is possible that attachment behaviors originally intended for interactions with their mother have now been modified for interactions with their new caretakers, humans.” “For years, scientists didn’t ask the right questions about cats,” Dr. de Mouzon said. Now those who are convinced of the X of cats won’t like the answers that are emerging. Cats don’t hate us after all, Dr. Vitale said, adding that “a growing body of work supports the idea that social interaction with humans is key in the life of a cat.” 1．What kind of voice will attract cats’ attention most according to the article? A．Their owners’ ordinary voice. B．A high-pitched voice from a baby. C．A high-pitched voice from a stranger. D．The cat-directed speech from their owners. 2．What does the underlined “X” in last paragraph probably stand for? A．disloyalty B．cuteness C．naughtiness D．enthusiasm 3．Which of the following can be inferred from the article? A．Cats pay as much attention to their owners as dogs do. B．A cat’s attachment to its owner probably resembles that to its mother. C．People understand dogs more than cats because the former are more loyal. D．Many believe and appreciate the fact that cats are somewhat indifferent to humans. 4．What is the passage mainly about? A．The social interaction between cats and humans is important to cats’ life. B．Those convinced that cats are cold disapprove of the opposing evidence. C．Cats actually pay close attention to their owners when treated properly. D．Cats actually treat their owners in a similar way as they treat their mothers. 【答案】1．D 2．A 3．B 4．C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文，主要讲述了如果被对待得当，猫实际上会密切关注它们的主人。 1．细节理解题。根据文章第二段“We found that when cats heard their owners using a high-pitched voice, they reacted more than when they heard their owner speaking normally to another human adult,” said Charlotte de Mouzon, an author of the study and cat behavior expert at the Université Paris Nanterre.”（我们发现，当猫听到主人用高音调说话时，它们的反应比听到主人正常对另一个成年人说话时更强烈。）可知，猫主人用高音调对猫说话时，最吸猫的注意力。故选D。 2．词句猜测题。根据文章最后一段“For years, scientists didn’t ask the right questions about cats,”Dr. de Mouzon said. Now those who are convinced of the X of cats won’t like the answers that are emerging. Cats don’t hate us after all, Dr. Vitale said, adding that “a growing body of work supports the idea that social interaction with humans is key in the life of a cat.”（多年来，科学家们没有对猫提出正确的问题，德穆宗博士说。现在，那些坚信猫的X的人不会喜欢正在出现的答案。猫毕竟不讨厌我们，Vitale博士说，他补充说，“越来越多的工作支持这样一个观点，即与人类的社交互动是猫生活的关键。”）可推知，X可能指的是猫的不忠诚，故选A。 3．推理判断题。根据文章倒数第二段“It is possible that attachment behaviors originally intended for interactions with their mother have now been modified for interactions with their new caretakers, humans.”（可能，最初用于与母亲互动的依恋行为现在已经被修改为与新的照顾者，人类的互动。）可推知，猫对主人的依恋可能类似于对母亲的依恋，故选B。 4．主旨大意题。根据第六段“The findings showed that “cats are paying close attention to their caretakers, down to not only what they are saying, but how they are saying it,” said Kristyn Vitale, an assistant professor of animal health an behavior at Unity College in Maine who was not involved in the new study.”（缅因州联合学院动物健康与行为学助理教授克里斯汀·维塔尔(Kristyn Vitale)没有参与这项新研究，她说，研究结果表明，“猫对照顾它们的人非常关注，不仅关注它们在说什么，还关注它们说话的方式。）可知，文章主要讲述了如果被对待得当，猫实际上会密切关注它们的主人。故选C项。 10 【来源】上海市华东师范大学第二附属中学2023-2024学年高二下学期期末英语试卷 Cook’s last tour Until recently Captain James Cook was not a particularly controversial figure. But in January a statue of the 18th-century British explorer was pushed over in Melbourne and the words “The colony will fall” painted on the base. In Hawaii a monument in Cook’s memory has been covered with red paint and the message “You are on native land.” Cook has joined Edward Colston and Cecil Rhodes as a focus of anti-colonialist anger. Yet Cook was neither a slave trader nor much of an imperialist. He was, first and foremost, a brilliant navigator and mapmaker. Acting under government orders, he undertook three pioneering voyages in the Pacific between 1768 and 1779. His map-making transformed Europeans knowledge of the world’s largest ocean. An excellent new book draws on Cook’s letters and notebooks to tell the story of his third and final trip. Cook was almost 50 when he set off on HMS Resolution in July 1776. Cook had secret instructions from the government not only to claim new territory for Britain, but to search for a north west passage via the Bering Strait, a task even someone with his navigational experience found impossible. The author, Hampton Sides, focuses on Cook’s return to Australia and New Zealand — countries the explorer had first encountered almost a decade earlier — his discovery of the Society Islands and his time in Hawaii. It was there, in February 1779, that he was killed after a failed attempt to kidnap a local chief in response to the theft of a longboat. Cook was a man of his era. He believed Europe would have a civilising influence on many benighted (愚昧无知的) folk in the Pacific. He was cruel when carrying out punishments to his own crew as well as to any native people who opposed him. At the same time, Cook admired many of the people and places he encountered in the South Pacific. Unlike the Spanish, he had no interest in religious conversion. He tried hard to stop his men from spreading disease. For the most part, his land claims were aimed not at promoting a British empire but preventing grabs by its rivals, France and Spain. As the author makes clear, there is a balance to be struck between justified admiration for Cook’s seamanship and a justifiable hatred for the colonialism that followed native peoples’ first contact with Europeans. Today many Western countries are divided over how to think about such vexed legacies (棘手的后遗症). In 2020 half of Britons thought it was right that Colston’s statue was removed. Cook’s statue still stands in London, as does Rhodes’s in Oxford. The question is whether they will enjoy their high positions much longer. 1．How do the public regard Cook currently? A．He is nobler than Colston and Rhodes. B．He is not a controversial historic figure. C．They blame the fall of the colony on him. D．Some people regard Cook as a colonialist. 2．During Cook’s first voyage in the Pacific Ocean, he _________. A．landed the Society Islands and New Zealand B．commanded a warship called HMS Resolution C．searched for a route by way of the Bering Strait D．was revenged on a local chief for stealing a boat 3．Cook’s behaviour can be described as ________. A．patriotic and religious B．well-intentioned and iron-handed C．charitable and moral D．rebellious and awe-inspiring 4．Which of the following does Hampton Sides, the author of a book on Cook agree with? A．It is justifiable to remove Colston’s, Cook’s and Rhodes’s statue. B．Cook mainly aimed to expand domains by grabbing land from Spain. C．We should view Cook’s adventure and British colonialism objectively. D．The vexed legacies result from division in whether to remove the statues. 【答案】1．D 2．A 3．B 4．C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章概述了詹姆斯·库克船长的历史形象和现代争议。库克是一位杰出的航海家和制图师，但因殖民主义背景而受到现代反殖民情绪的冲击。文章通过库克的信件和作家的分析，展示了他的复杂性：既是探险家也是殖民者。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段中“But in January a statue of the 18th-century British explorer was pushed over in Melbourne and the words “The colony will fall” painted on the base. In Hawaii a monument in Cook’s memory has been covered with red paint and the message “You are on native land.” Cook has joined Edward Colston and Cecil Rhodes as a focus of anti-colonialist anger. (但今年1月，这位18世纪英国探险家的雕像在墨尔本被推倒，底座上写着“殖民地将沦陷”的字样。在夏威夷，一座纪念Cook的纪念碑被涂上了红漆，上面写着“你在原住民土地上”。Cook与Edward Colston和Cecil Rhodes一样，成为反殖民主义愤怒的焦点)”可知，目前有些人认为Cook是殖民主义者。故选D项。 2．细节理解题。根据第四段中“The author, Hampton Sides, focuses on Cook’s return to Australia and New Zealand—countries the explorer had first encountered almost a decade earlier—his discovery of the Society Islands and his time in Hawaii. (作者Hampton Sides将重点放在库克回到澳大利亚和新西兰——这位探险家在近10年前第一次遇到这两个国家——他发现了社会群岛，并在夏威夷度过了一段时间)”可知，Cook在太平洋的第一次航行中，登陆了社会群岛和新西兰。故选A项。 3．推理判断题。根据第五段中“He was cruel when carrying out punishments to his own crew as well as to any native people who opposed him. (他在惩罚自己的船员和任何反对他的土著人时都很残忍)”可知，Cook有残忍的一面；根据第六段中“Unlike the Spanish, he had no interest in religious conversion. He tried hard to stop his men from spreading disease. (与西班牙人不同，他对宗教皈依不感兴趣。他竭力阻止部下传播疾病)”可知，他在航海中也有善意的一面，阻止部下传播疾病。因此，他的行为可以用善意和铁腕来形容。故选B项。 4．推理判断题。根据最后一段中“As the author makes clear, there is a balance to be struck between justified admiration for Cook’s seamanship and a justifiable hatred for the colonialism that followed native peoples’ first contact with Europeans. (正如作者明确指出的那样，在对Cook航海技术的合理钦佩和对原住民与欧洲人第一次接触后出现的殖民主义的合理仇恨之间，需要找到一个平衡)”可推知，该书的作者认为我们应该客观地看待Cook的冒险和英国殖民主义。故选C项。 1 / 22 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$