Unit 4 Natural Disasters 同步话题真题检测-2025-2026学年高中英语人教版必修第一册

Unit 4　NATURAL DISASTERS同步话题真题检测 一、阅读理解 1.[2024·浙江1月考C] On September 7, 1991, the costliest hailstorm (雹暴) in Canadian history hit Calgary's southern suburbs. As a result, since 1996 a group of insurance companies have spent about $2 million per year on the Alberta Hail Suppression Project. Airplanes seed threatening storm cells with a chemical to make small ice crystals fall as rain before they can grow into dangerous hailstones. But farmers in east-central Alberta—downwind of the hail project flights—worry that precious moisture (水分) is being stolen from their thirsty land by the cloud seeding. Norman Stienwand, who farms in that area, has been addressing public meetings on this issue for years. “Basically, the provincial government is letting the insurance companies protect the Calgary-Edmonton urban area from hail,” Mr Stienwand says, “but they're increasing drought risk as far east as Saskatchewan.” The Alberta hail project is managed by Terry Krauss, a cloud physicist who works for Weather Modification Inc. of Fargo, North Dakota. “We affect only a very small percentage of the total moisture in the air, so we cannot be causing drought,” Dr Krauss says. “In fact, we may be helping increase the moisture downwind by creating wetter ground.” One doubter about the safety of cloud seeding is Chuck Doswell, a research scientist who just retired from the University of Oklahoma. “In 1999, I personally saw significant tornadoes (龙卷风) form from a seeded storm cell in Kansas,” Dr Doswell says. “Does cloud seeding create killer storms or reduce moisture downwind? No one really knows, of course, but the seeding goes on.” Given the degree of doubt, Mr Stienwand suggests, “It would be wise to stop cloud seeding.” In practice, doubt has had the opposite effect. Due to the lack of scientific proof concerning their impacts, no one has succeeded in winning a lawsuit against cloud-seeding companies. Hence, private climate engineering can proceed in relative legal safety. (　)28.What does the project aim to do? A.Conserve moisture in the soil. B.Prevent the formation of hailstones. C.Forecast disastrous hailstorms. D.Investigate chemical use in farming. (　)29.Who are opposed to the project? A.Farmers in east-central Alberta. B.Managers of insurance companies. C.Provincial government officials. D.Residents of Calgary and Edmonton. (　)30.Why does Dr Doswell mention the tornadoes he saw in 1999? A.To compare different kinds of seeding methods. B.To illustrate the development of big hailstorms. C.To indicate a possible danger of cloud seeding. D.To show the link between storms and moisture. (　)31.What can we infer from the last paragraph? A.Scientific studies have proved Stienwand right. B.Private climate engineering is illegal in Canada. C.The doubt about cloud seeding has disappeared. D.Cloud-seeding companies will continue to exist. 2.[2023·重庆育才中学高考适应性检测B ] Earthquake forecasting is one of the most ancient skills known to mankind. From ancient Greece to the present day, countless scientists have tried to develop tools to predict earthquakes. Their attempts usually focused on searching for reliable evidence of coming quakes. However, there are many reasons why predicting quakes is so hard. “We don’t understand some basic physics of earthquakes,” said Egill, a research professor at the California Institute of Technology. Scientists have also attempted to create mathematical models of movement, but precisely predicting would require great mapping and analysis of the Earth’s crust. Other challenges include a lack of data on the early warning signs, given that these warning signs are not yet entirely understood. Actually, real earthquake prediction is very similar to the diagnosis of potential human illnesses based on observing and analysing each patient’s signs and symptoms. As it turns out, quake prediction is extremely difficult. Many sources show that earthquake forecasting was a recognized science in ancient Greece. Ancient Greeks lived very close to nature and were able to detect unusual phenomena and forecast earthquakes. The first known forecast was made by Pherecydes of Syros about 2,500 years ago: he made it as he scooped water from a well and noticed that usually very clean water had suddenly become muddy. Indeed, an earthquake occurred two days later, making Pherecydes famous. Nowadays, seismic and remote-sensing methods are considered to have the greatest potential in terms of solving the earthquake prediction problem. Currently, Terra Seismic can identify a forthcoming earthquake with a high level of confidence. Generally, Terra Seismic does not predict a quake if the earthquake’s epicentre is located beyond a depth of 40 km. Fortunately, such quakes are almost always harmless, since quake’s energy reduces before reaching the Earth’s surface. “Scientists have tried every possible method to try to predict earthquakes,” Bruneau said. “Nobody has been able to crack it and make a believable prediction.” (　)5.What do we know about earthquake forecasting? A.Scientists have been passionate about accurately predicting earthquakes. B.As long as enough data is collected, earthquakes can be predicted. C.Mathematical models of motion can simulate and predict earthquakes. D.Scientists have not yet fully studied the structure of earthquakes. (　)6.How did Pherecydes successfully predict earthquakes? A.By seismic and remote-sensing methods. B.By observing unusual natural phenomena. C.By living in seismic zones throughout the year. D.By looking into data on the early warning signs. (　)7.What was Bruneau’s opinion about the current methods of earthquake prediction? A.He strongly believed the Terra Seismic can solve the difficult problem. B.He was sure that humans could accurately predict earthquakes in the future. C.He considered it harmless to humans for an earthquake deeper than 40 km. D.He thought that scientists had no reliable method to predict earthquakes. (　)8.Which question does this article focus on? A.Why do humans predict earthquakes? B.How to protect oneself during an earthquake? C.What methods can be used to forecast earthquakes? D.When to achieve accurate earthquake forecasting? 3.[2023·河北省部分高中高三第三次模拟七选五 ] Unlike other natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes are very hard to see coming, even for scientists. 1.　　　　Thus, specific practices for earthquake preparedness are necessary. Here are four steps you can take to prepare yourself in advance.  Drop, cover and hold If you feel the ground start to shake, drop, take cover under a stable piece of furniture, and hold on. You can hide under something like a desk or table, with one arm holding onto a leg of the table and your other arm protecting your neck and head. 2.　　　　In modern homes, it is no stronger than any other part of the house and will not protect you from injury.  Make a family plan 3.　　　　Create a meeting point—somewhere easy for everyone to remember, or you could also meet at home. Whatever plan you decide on, don’t rely on your phone as your main form of communication. Technology fails all the time in disasters. A major earthquake in California, for example, damaged cell towers and knocked out communication services for days.  Secure your furniture Those hanging shelves above your bed could be a danger during an earthquake. People often get injured from “flying or falling objects” like furniture or glass during earthquakes. So examine your home and ask yourself, “What could be a potential danger to my safety?” 4.　　　  Make digital copies of important documents Important documents may get destroyed during earthquakes. Therefore, scan or take photos of your important documents, such as your licence, financial records and insurance policy information.5.　　　　This step can help ensure your documents will be available even if your computer is lost in a quake.  A.Then send them to your mailbox. B.These are all important personal documents. C.Make sure your household has a plan of action. D.Whatever you do, do not stand in a doorframe. E.If you find the answer, you need to run away immediately. F.Nowadays early detection systems can only give seconds of warning ahead. G.If possible, remove those heavy and big objects above your bed immediately. 二、读后续写 1.[2023·广东韶关市高三二模] 阅读下面材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。 Friend or foe? Last year, at a day camp, my friend Ollie and I were on the same obstacle-course (障碍赛) team and had a great time. This year, Scotty, the captain of Team Panda, insisted we pick sticks to decide which team we belonged to. At the beginning, we just wished we’d be on the same team again. But to our disappointment, Ollie had picked a short stick for Team Grizzly, while I had a long stick for Team Panda. My heart sank as something was definitely going to be different. We all played a name game together, and then were divided into two groups to make team flags. “Could you please pass that paint?” asked a boy named Ben. “We’re going to destroy the Grizzlies! Right, Arizona?” “But Ollie, my best friend, is in Grizzly. How come I destroy him?” I asked myself shyly. Then at lunchtime, I planned to sit with Ollie at the same table as last year, cracking each other up the way good friends do. “What are you doing? Having lunch with our enemy is not OK!!!” claimed a girl in my team. Only then did I realize there was an invisible dividing line. All of the Grizzlies sat together, and all of the Pandas sat together. I had no other alternative but to say goodbye to Ollie and concentrate on my lunch. That night I hardly fell asleep. Ben’s voice was saying “Destroy the Grizzlies!” repeatedly. I was wondering if being a good team member meant I was supposed to put my friendship with Ollie aside. One of my best friends was a Grizzly, and it just didn’t seem fun to treat him as an enemy. I woke up with zero energy for our first competition the next morning. We each had two tries to race through an obstacle course. My first try was a disaster! I did OK with the monkey bars, the tunnel, and the slide. But when I did the rope swing over the sandpit(沙坑), I went too slow and got stuck in the middle. I felt pretty frustrated. 注意:续写词数应为150个左右。 Paragraph 1: When I finished the course, Ollie came over. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Paragraph 2: On my second time through the obstacle course, Ollie stood up for me. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $ Unit 4　NATURAL DISASTERS同步话题真题检测 一、阅读理解 1.[2024·浙江1月考C] 【文章大意】 这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了加拿大阿尔伯塔省防雹干预项目,以及不同利益相关方对该项目所持的不同态度。 28.B　细节理解题。根据第一段中“As a result, since 1996 a group of insurance companies have spent about $2 million per year on the Alberta Hail Suppression Project. Airplanes seed threatening storm cells with a chemical to make small ice crystals fall as rain before they can grow into dangerous hailstones.”可知,这个项目的目标是防止冰雹形成。故选B项。 29.A　细节理解题。根据第一段中“But farmers in east-central Alberta—downwind of the hail project flights—worry that precious moisture (水分) is being stolen from their thirsty land by the cloud seeding.”可知,阿尔伯塔省中东部的农民反对这个项目。故选A项。 30.C　推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“One doubter about the safety of cloud seeding is Chuck Doswell, a research scientist who just retired from the University of Oklahoma. ‘In 1999, I personally saw significant tornadoes (龙卷风) form from a seeded storm cell in Kansas,’ Dr Doswell says. ‘Does cloud seeding create killer storms or reduce moisture downwind? No one really knows, of course, but the seeding goes on.’”可推知,多斯韦尔博士提到他在1999年看到的龙卷风是为了暗示人工降雨可能带来的危险。故选C项。 31.D　推理判断题。根据最后一段“Given the degree of doubt, Mr Stienwand suggests, ‘It would be wise to stop cloud seeding.’ In practice, doubt has had the opposite effect. Due to the lack of scientific proof concerning their impacts, no one has succeeded in winning a lawsuit against cloud-seeding companies. Hence, private climate engineering can proceed in relative legal safety.”可推知,人工降雨公司将继续存在。故选D项。 2.[2023·重庆育才中学高考适应性检测B ] 【文章大意】 本文是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了地震预测是古老的技能,解释了地震预测困难的原因以及地震预测的历史和方法等。 5.A　细节理解题。根据第一段“Earthquake forecasting is one of the most ancient skills known to mankind. From ancient Greece to the present day, countless scientists have tried to develop tools to predict earthquakes.”可知,从古希腊到今天,科学家们一直热衷于准确预测地震。故选A项。 6.B　细节理解题。根据第三段“The first known forecast was made by Pherecydes of Syros about 2,500 years ago: he made it as he scooped water from a well and noticed that usually very clean water had suddenly become muddy. Indeed, an earthquake occurred two days later, making Pherecydes famous.”可推知,Pherecydes是通过观察到井水变浑浊的自然异象预测的地震。故选B项。 7.D　推理判断题。根据第四段中“‘Scientists have tried every possible method to try to predict earthquakes,’ Bruneau said. ‘Nobody has been able to crack it and make a believable prediction.’”可推知,Bruneau认为科学家没有可靠的方法来预测地震。故选D项。 8.C　主旨大意题。通读全文,尤其是第一段可知,文章说明了地震预测是古老的技能,解释了地震预测困难的原因以及地震预测的历史和方法等,故本文的主旨是预测地震的方法。故选C项。 3.[2023·河北省部分高中高三第三次模拟七选五 ] 【文章大意】 本文是一篇说明文,主要介绍了地震防范的四个重要的方法。 1.F　前文“Unlike other natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes are very hard to see coming, even for scientists.”提到地震很难预测。后文“Thus, specific practices for earthquake preparedness are necessary.”说提前做防范措施很有必要。F项(如今,早期探测系统只能提前几秒发出预警。)承上启下,衔接前句,同时解释“防范措施有必要”的原因,符合语境。故选F。 2.D　根据后文“In modern homes, it is no stronger than any other part of the house and will not protect you from injury.”中的it可知,空处有it的指代对象。D项(无论你做什么,都不要站在门框里。)符合语境,it指代doorframe。故选D。 3.C　小标题“Make a family plan”为中心句。根据后文“Create a meeting point—somewhere easy for everyone to remember, or you could also meet at home.”可知,本段主要探讨应该做一个家庭计划与预案。C项(确保你的家庭有一个行动计划。)照应标题,符合本段的中心主旨。故选C。 4.G　结合小标题“Secure your furniture”以及前文“People often get injured from ‘flying or falling objects’ like furniture or glass during earthquakes.”可知,本段主要讲的是房间中的易掉落物品可能会在地震中伤到人。G 项(如果可能的话,立即移走床上方那些又重又大的东西。)符合文意,逻辑一致。故选G。 5.A　根据后文“This step can help ensure your documents will be available even if your computer is lost in a quake.”可知,空处应该有this step的具体所指,故A项(然后把它们发到你的邮箱。)符合语境。故选A。 二、读后续写 1.[2023·广东韶关市高三二模] 【思路点拨】 本文以事件的发展为线索展开,讲述了作者和自己的好朋友Ollie在今年的障碍赛中被分到了不同的队伍中,现在的队友不允许作者对对方的成员表示友好,作者非常难过,导致作者晚上没有休息好,在第二天的比赛中,作者表现不佳,作者很是沮丧。 【详解】 1.段落续写: ①由第一段首句内容“当我完成比赛时,Ollie走了过来。”可知,第一段可描写Ollie是如何安慰作者的以及作者听到朋友鼓励后的感受。 ②由第二段首句内容“在我第二次通过障碍赛时,Ollie为我加油。”可知,第二段可描写作者的表现、两个队比赛的结果及作者的感悟。 2.续写线索:作者第一次失败—Ollie鼓励—作者的感想—第二次比赛的表现—两队打平—感悟 One possible version: When I finished the course, Ollie came over.“It doesn’t matter. You made it last year. I know you can make your second run a good one.” He tapped me on the shoulder gently, and said in an encouraging voice. How come he cheered on me, the “enemy”? I raised my head and stared into his eyes with confusion. “You are my best friend! You will be the best!” These simple words, spoken from the heart, found their way straight into mine. I realized that being on the competing team shouldn’t get in the way of our friendship. On my second time through the obstacle course, Ollie stood up for me. I took a deep breath, toed the line and was ready to run. With the cheers of Ollie and my teammates, I ended up with the fastest time on my team. And to my surprise, Ollie also got the fastest time on his team. The entire Panda VS Grizzly match ended in a tie. From then on, I decided not to take the “enemy” comments too seriously. It’s possible to do your best for your team and to remain friends with someone on the other team. 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $