课时测评21 Section Ⅰ Starting out & Understanding ideas—Comprehending-【金版新学案】2025-2026学年高中英语必修第二册同步课堂高效讲义配套练习（外研版）

课时测评21　Section Ⅰ　Starting out & Understanding ideas—Comprehending (时间：30分钟　满分：26分) (本栏目内容，在学生用书中以独立形式分册装订！) [素能提升练] Ⅰ.阅读理解(每小题2分，共16分) A (2024·河北邯郸期末) Scientists have reported that the sea ice in Antarctica (南极) is at a record low level.Antarctica is a great, icy land, surrounded (围绕) by the huge Southern Ocean.The ice in Antarctica doesn't just cover the land.There's also a large area of sea ice on the ocean's surface. Every year, the sea ice at the South Pole goes through a cycle.In the summer, the huge sea ice melts (融化) to its smallest point.Over the colder winter months, the sea ice grows and grows until it covers a wide area.Usually, the sea ice covers the greatest area around September 23, as winter ends at the South Pole. Scientists have been measuring the area of the sea ice in Antarctica since 1979.For most of this time, Antarctica has seemed to be almost unaffected by the changing weather conditions experienced in other parts of the globe.That began to change around 2016.Now, for several years, the area of Antarctica's sea ice has been shrinking． This year, the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) reported that Antarctica's sea ice covered its greatest area on September 10 — almost two weeks earlier than normal.And the sea ice was at a new record low—not just by a little bit, but by a lot. The last time Antarctica's low sea ice set a record at the end of winter was in 1986.And this year, there's about 398, 000 square miles less sea ice than in 1986. Scientists are still trying to understand what is driving the change in Antarctica.One likely direct cause for the change is the rising temperatures of the world's oceans.Ted Scambos, a research scientist at the University of Colorado, says Antarctica's ice levels have always changed some, but the sharp loss this year is “pointing towards warmer ocean conditions around the continent”． The new low record has concerned the scientists.Scientists are working hard to better understand Antarctica.They don't know yet if this is just a short-term problem, or part of a long-term shift (转变) towards less sea ice in Antarctica. 语篇解读　本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了南极的海冰不断消融，海冰面积减少创下新纪录。 1．What does the underlined word “shrinking” mean in Paragraph 3? A．Getting smaller. B．Being flat. C．Observed. D．Measured. 答案：A 解析：词义猜测题。根据第一段“Scientists have reported that the sea ice in Antarctica (南极) is at a record low level.”以及第三段“Scientists have been measuring...change around 2016.”可知，大部分时间南极的海冰没有受到全球其他地区天气变化的影响。但是从2016年往后出现了变化，说明海冰开始减少，变得更小了。故画线词意思是“变得更小”。故选A项。 2．Why does the author mention the record in 1986? A．To give an example. B．To make a comparison. C．To make a summary. D．To offer an argument. 答案：B 解析：推理判断题。根据第五段“The last time Antarctica's...less sea ice than in 1986.”可推知，作者提到1986年的记录是为了拿现在和之前的数据作对比。故选B项。 3．What is the possible direct reason for the change in Antarctica's sea ice? A．The changing weather conditions. B．Human activities in Antarctica. C．Increased volcanic activities in the area. D．The increasing temperatures of the global oceans. 答案：D 解析：细节理解题。根据第六段“One likely direct cause for the change is the rising temperatures of the world's oceans.”可知，一个可能的直接原因是全球海洋的温度上升。故选D项。 4．How do scientists feel about the low record? A．Worried. B．Annoyed. C．Excited. D．Satisfied. 答案：A 解析：推理判断题。根据最后一段“The new low record has concerned the scientists.”可推知，科学家对此感到非常担忧。故选A项。 B Whale communication has long been a puzzle for scientists，with their underwater sound — “click...click...click” — remaining largely unexplained.However，thanks to the surprising abilities of artificial intelligence (AI)，researchers from a program can interpret the sounds of these amazing sea animals. The program is called the Whale Translation Project (WTP)，whose meaning is to know what whales are saying.Its goal is clear but very difficult to achieve.Understanding the communication of whales and other animals could inspire conservation (保护) efforts.For example，the discovery that humpback whales sing to each other in the 1960s led to successful conservation activities and laws. The WTP started when Gruber，a biologist at Harvard University，turned to a computer scientist for help about dealing with a large amount of data on whale sounds.They thought of applying machine learning，used for improving human language translations，to whales.The sound of click，similar to a binary code (二进制)，is easy for AI to analyze. Scientists once presented the sounds of a whale using a series of lines to show the number of clicks per second.Now，with the help of AI，Gruber can quickly turn the thousands of whale sounds from hours of recordings into a new kind of pictures that look like musical notes.This method helps to find tiny differences in the sounds.Gruber can use AI to analyze the differences and the specific context，like the behavior of moving to the surface and hunting for food，and thus understand the meaning of the whale sound easily.He can also discover how whales interact，getting 99% right in predicting (预测) the next click. This kind of work isn't limited to whales.Suresh Neethirajan，a computer science and agriculture professor，studies how farmers can use real-time observation to explain animal behaviors.He collects data，such as body temperature，paired with recorded sounds and videos，to understand whether animals are comfortable or not.With AI，he can recognise sick animals quickly，improving their well-being. 语篇解读　本文是一篇说明文。本文主要介绍了鲸鱼的神秘性以及科学家如何利用人工智能技术来解读鲸鱼的声音。 5．What is the purpose of mentioning the discovery in the 1960s? A．To show the success of protecting the environment. B．To explain the difficulty of saving humpback whales. C．To stress the value of studying animal communication. D．To introduce the challenge of understanding whale language. 答案：C 解析：推理判断题。根据文章第二段“For example，the discovery that humpback whales sing to each other in the 1960s led to successful conservation activities and laws.(例如，20世纪60年代座头鲸互相唱歌的发现导致了成功的保护活动和法律)”可知，提到20世纪60年代的发现的目的是为了强调研究动物交流的价值。故选C项。 6．How can AI help according to paragraph 4? A．It records whale sound quickly. B．It processes sound data effectively. C．It reads musical notes correctly. D．It promotes whale interactions directly. 答案：B 解析：推理判断题。根据文章第四段“Now，with the help of AI，Gruber can quickly turn the thousands of whale sounds from hours of recordings into a new kind of pictures that look like musical notes.This method helps to find tiny differences in the sounds.(现在，在人工智能的帮助下，格鲁伯可以迅速将数千条鲸鱼的声音从数小时的录音中转化为一种看起来像音符的新型图片。这种方法有助于发现声音中的细微差别)”可知，人工智能可以有效地处理声音数据。故选B项。 7．What can we learn about AI according to the last paragraph? A．It cures diseases of animals. B．It improves farmers' well-being. C．It aims to change animal behavior. D．It helps to understand animals' needs. 答案：D 解析：细节理解题。根据文章最后一段“He collects data，such as body temperature，paired with recorded sounds and videos，to understand whether animals are comfortable or not.With AI，he can recognise sick animals quickly，improving their well-being.(他收集体温等数据，并将其与录制的声音和视频相结合，以了解动物是否感到舒适。有了人工智能，他可以快速识别生病的动物，改善它们的健康状况)”可知，根据最后一段，关于人工智能我们可以了解到的是它有助于理解动物的需求。故选D项。 8．What is the main idea of the passage? A．Scientists develop machine learning. B．Scientists discover a new whale sound. C．AI creates a unique type of musical note. D．AI unlocks the secrets of animal language. 答案：D 解析：主旨大意题。根据文章第一段“Whale communication has long been a puzzle for scientists，with their underwater sound—“click...click...click” — remaining largely unexplained.However，thanks to the surprising abilities of artificial intelligence (AI)，researchers from a program can interpret the sounds of these amazing sea animals.(长期以来，鲸鱼交流一直是科学家们的一个难题，它们在水下发出的声音——“咔嚓……咔嚓……咔嚓”——基本上没有解释。然而，由于人工智能(AI)的惊人能力，一个项目的研究人员可以解读这些神奇的海洋动物的声音)”可知，本文主要介绍了鲸鱼的神秘性以及科学家如何利用人工智能技术来解读鲸鱼的声音，所以本文的主旨是人工智能揭开了动物语言的秘密。故选D项。 Ⅱ.阅读七选五(每小题2分，共10分) (2024·金华高一检测) Be a Green Child What does it mean to be green？“Green” is more than just a colour. 1 Why green？Plants are green，and without them the Earth wouldn't be such a lovely home for us human beings.Every day，people make choices that affect the amount of rubbish and pollution produced in our world.What can we do？Here's a four-step guide to being green： Reduce It! 2 For example，a shorter shower means you use less water and less fuel since your house uses fuel to run the water heater that warms up the water. Reuse It! Sometimes people call ours a “throwaway society”．That means that we're a little too willing to throw away old things and buy new ones. 3 For example，if your baby brother outgrows his plastic basketball hoop，why not give it to another family who has a little kid? Recycle It! Recycling has never been easier.Many communities will pick it up right in front of your house and some towns even require it.Recycled goods go to a recycling centre，where they can be turned into new cans，bottles，and paper. Enjoy It! It's true that rubbish and pollution are problems，but the Earth remains a huge and beautiful place that's ready for you to explore. 4 Go for a hike，visit local nature centres and gardens，and climb up mountains.But before you travel the globe，take a look at your own backyard.Is there a place where you could plant a tree or put in a little fruit or vegetable garden？ 5 A．If so，get out there and get your hands dirty. B．Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth. C．You can watch with pride as your garden plants grow. D．It also means taking special steps to protect the environment. E．When you use less of something，you do a good thing for the Earth. F．You can start locally by visiting the naturally beautiful places in your cities. G．Many times，even if you no longer need something，someone else just might. 语篇解读　本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了环保的四个步骤。 1．答案：D 解析：根据上文“‘Green’ is more than just a colour.”可知，Green不仅仅指颜色，设空处应表示它还有其他的含义，D项“它还意味着采取特殊措施保护环境。”符合语境。故选D。 2．答案：E 解析：根据本段小标题“Reduce It！”和下文内容可知，本段主要讲述了通过节约来做到环保，E项“当你少用一些东西，你就为地球做了一件好事。”符合语境，E项中的use less of something与小标题中的Reduce和下文中的use less water and less fuel相照应。故选E。 3．答案：G 解析：根据本段小标题“Reuse It！”可知，本段主要讲述了通过再利用物品来做到环保，G项“很多时候，即使你不再需要某个东西，但别人可能会需要。”讲述了你不需要的东西可能是别人需要的，建议将闲置物品送给有需要的人，承接下文，符合语境。故选G。 4．答案：F 解析：根据上文“It's true that rubbish and pollution are problems，but the Earth remains a huge and beautiful place that's ready for you to explore.”可知，地球上仍然有美丽的地方供你探索，空处应讲述可探索的地方，F项“你可以从当地开始，参观你所在城市中自然美丽的地方。”符合语境。故选F。 5．答案：A 解析：根据上文“Is there a place where you could plant a tree or put in a little fruit or vegetable garden？”可知，询问了是否有种树、水果或蔬菜的地方，空处应进行回答，A项“如果有，那就出去把你的手弄脏吧。”符合语境，建议行动起来去种植。故选A。 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $