考前押题05 阅读理解说明文常考话题（期中复习专项训练）高一英语下学期沪教版

考前押题05 阅读理解说明文常考话题 话题1 科学研究 话题4 环境保护 话题2 文学艺术 话题5 研究发现 话题3 科学技术 话题6 社会生活 话题1 科学研究 Passage 1 Geology, the study of the structure and formation of the Earth, is the baby of all the other sciences. Until comparatively recently, scholars paid little attention to rocks and rock formations. Indeed, the word geology only appeared in the English language in 1735 and took another seventy or so years to enter general usage. Geology made its first appearance in the Encyclopedia Britannica (大英百科全书) in the 1810 edition. Despite this inclusion, the science of geology remained largely ignored until much later in the century. Nowadays the mystery of the Earth and its formation fascinates geologists across the world. However, few people know that the whole modern discipline of geology and the way we look at our world owes its inspiration to a single man with an extraordinary passion for landscape and rocks. That man was William Smith, who was born in 1769 in the small village of Churchill in the south of England. From an early age, William showed a strong interest in the world about him and asked questions about the landscape that no one could properly answer. As a young boy William picked up strange-looking stones that lay in the fields around his home and felt that some of the most common patterns in these stones looked like animals found living in the sea. He asked the men of knowledge and science in the district how these stones came to find themselves here. No one, it seemed, had answers to his questions or even thought it remotely interesting to ask the questions in the first place. A chance meeting with a man called Edward Webb led to William being offered a position to work down the mines. He came to realize that different types of rock lay at different levels as he went deeper underground. This led William to suggest that older rocks lay deeper than newer rocks. Armed with his newfound insight into the birth of rocks, William walked the length and breadth of Great Britain with the intention of surveying and categorizing all the wonderfully different types of rocks that he found. It took William many years of frustration and hardship to draw a huge map of Great Britain by hand. The map, on display today at Burlington House in London, uses beautiful colors to show every layer of rock below in the most precise detail. Unique in its time, William’s map gave birth to every geological survey that we take for granted in the world today. 1. The author mentions the late inclusion of “geology” in the Encyclopedia Britannica primarily to ________. A. question the accuracy of earlier editions of the encyclopedia B. highlight the slow academic acceptance of geology as a discipline C. emphasize the pioneering contribution of the Encyclopedia Britannica to science D. provide a precise birth date for the formal study of Earth’s structure 2. William Smith’s key contribution to geology was the realization that ________. A. mining operations were crucial for accessing complete rock orders B. the entire British landscape could be represented in a detailed map C. fossils provided the only reliable means for classifying rock types D. the order of rock layers preserved a record of past geological time 3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph? A. Smith’s extensive travels were the most important part of his work. B. The main value of Smith’s map today is as a piece of displayed art. C. Smith’s work laid the foundation for modern geological surveys. D. Smith’s map was immediately recognized as a major scientific breakthrough. 4. Which of the following might be the best title for this passage? A. How Fossil Patterns Revealed Ancient Seas B. The Man Who Uncovered the Earth’s Story C. The Encyclopedia Britannica and the Rise of Geology D. William Smith:From Miner to Master of Mapping Passage 2 Technology is never a neutral tool for achieving human ends. Technological innovations reshape people as they use these innovations to control their environment. Artificial intelligence, for example, is altering humanity. While the term AI brings about anxieties about killer robots or catastrophic levels of unemployment, there are other, deeper implications. As AI increasingly shapes the human experience, how does this change what it means to be human? Central to the problem is a person’s capacity to make choices, particularly judgments that have moral implications. Aristotle argued that the capacity for making practical judgments depends on regularly making them on habit and practice. We see the emergence of machines as substitute judges in a variety of everyday contexts as a potential threat to people learning how to effectively exercise judgment themselves. In the workplace, managers routinely make decisions about who to hire or fire and which loan to approve, to name a few. These are areas where algorithmic (算法的) prescription is replacing human judgment, and so people who might have had the chance to develop practical judgment in these areas no longer will. Recommendation engines, which are increasingly prevalent intermediaries in people’s consumption of culture, may serve to constrain choice and minimize luck. By presenting consumers with algorithmically selected choices of what to watch, read, stream and visit next, companies are replacing human taste with machine taste. In one sense, this is helpful. After all, machines can survey a wider range of choices than any individual is likely to have the time or energy to do on their own. At the same time, though, this selection is optimizing for what people are likely to prefer based on what they’ve preferred in the past. We think there is some risk that people’s options will be constrained by their past in a new and unanticipated way. As machine learning algorithms improve and as they train on more extensive data sets, larger parts of everyday life are likely to become utterly predictable. The predictions are going to get better and better, and they will ultimately make common experiences more efficient and pleasant. Algorithms could soon-if they don’t already-have a better idea about which show you’d like to watch next and which job candidate you should hire than you do. One day, humans may even find a way for machines to make these decisions without some of the biases that humans typically display. But to the extent that unpredictability is part of how people understand themselves and part of what people like about themselves, humanity is in the process of losing something significant. As they become more and more predictable, the creatures inhabiting the increasingly AI-mediated world will become less and less like us. 1．What do we learn about the deeper implications of AI? A．It is causing great levels of unemployment. B．It is doing physical harm to human operators. C．It is altering moral judgments. D．It is reshaping humanity. 2．What is the consequence of algorithmic prescription replacing human judgment? A．People lose the chance to cultivate the ability to make practical judgments. B．People are prevented from participating in making major decisions in the workplace. C．Managers no longer have the chance to decide which loan to approve. D．Managers do not need to take the trouble to determine who to hire or fire. 3．What is likely to happen to larger parts of our daily life as machine learning algorithms improve? A．They will turn out to be more extensive. B．They will repeat our past experience. C．They can be vastly anticipated. D．They may become more commonly found. 4．Why does the author say the creatures living in the more and more Al-mediated world will become increasingly unlike us? A．They will have lost the most significant human element of being intelligent. B．They will no longer possess the human characteristic of being unpredictable. C．They will not be able to understand themselves as we can do today. D．They will be deprived of what their predecessors were proud of about themselves. Passage 3 In the old days — say, the 1980s — if you bought a piece of technology, a paperback user guide came with it. It was the manufacturer’s one big chance to explain its engineers’ thinking to you, to communicate what the designers and marketers had in mind. Supplying documentation seemed, at the time, like a good idea all around. Mastery made customers happy, and happy customers meant repeat sales. But there were other forces at play. Printing and binding took time and money — and customers didn’t seem to be reading user manuals. Over time, therefore, physical manuals began disappearing from our hardware and software boxes. Maybe you’d get a Quick Start leaflet, but the rest was online. Online, you can search for certain terms, find topics faster and post questions for other people. Online communities and answer sites sprang up. Mini tutorials on the Internet began showing you how to perform a task. And it’s all free. Meanwhile the kind of technologies we use has changed. “People increasingly spend time in apps and social sites that have a fairly simple interface (界面),” Tim O’Reilly told me. (He’s founder of O’Reilly Media, which publishes my own how-to books. )You don’t need a manual to use Google. That was the beginning of the end for physical manuals. In principle, the death of professionally prepared support materials shouldn’t be any cause for concern. It’s just another big change caused by the Internet, another in the list of casualties, such as printed encyclopedias, newspaper classified ads and music on discs. In reality, though, none of the tech industry’s teaching channels, whether physical or online, is universal and effective. To this day, it’s astonishing how little we know about our phones, computers and software. A Microsoft product manager once told me that most feature requests the company gets for Microsoft Office are, in fact, already features of Microsoft Office. Hardware and software makers still operate with their traditional business model: Every year or so they sell us a new version, whose appeal is supposed to be more features. And so, as time goes by, our devices and apps become more and more complex — but access to documentation remains limited and incomplete. In the fantasy version of our world, designers would make our tech products simple enough, their important features obvious enough, for the masses to figure out on their own. Until then, there will be a growing information gap between the features we want and the engineering work that’s already been done. 1．The word “casualties” (paragraph 6) is closest in meaning to___________. A．causes B．manuals C．industries D．victims 2．Why did the author mention what a Microsoft product manager once told him? A．To criticize the lack of access that we have to complete documentation. B．To reveal the traditional business model that software makers operate with. C．To emphasize that it is a pity that physical manuals are no longer available. D．To illustrate that people actually know little about the tech products they use. 3．What can be inferred from the passage? A．Tech companies’ teaching channels are shrinking as time goes by. B．There is little chance that tech products will soon be simple enough. C．Printed manuals worked better than online versions. D．Consumers of the 1980s loved to read user manuals. 4．Which of the following might be the best title of the passage? A．What Happened to User Manuals? B．How Did Physical Manuals Prosper? C．How Simple Will Our Tech Products Be? D．What Change Has the Internet Brought About? Passage 4 We are all explorers. Our desire to discover, and then share that new-found knowledge, is part of what makes us human. Indeed, this has played an important part in our success as a species. Long before the first caveman sat beside the fire and grunted news that there were plenty of wildebeest (羚羊) out there, our ancestors had learned the value of sending out pioneers to investigate the unknown. This questing nature of ours undoubtedly helped our species spread around the globe, just as it nowadays no doubt helps the last nomadic Penan maintain their existence in the depleted forests of Borneo, and a visitor navigate the subways of New York. Over the years, we’ve come to think of explorers as a peculiar breed — different from the rest of us, different from those of us who are merely “well-travelled”, even; and perhaps there is a type of person more suited to seeking out the new, a type of caveman more inclined to risk venturing out. That, however, doesn’t take away from the fact that we all have this enquiring instinct, even today; and that in all sorts of professions — whether artist, marine biologist or astronomer — borders of the unknown are being tested each day. Thomas Hardy set some of his novels in Egdon Heath, a fictional area of uncultivated land, and used the landscape to suggest the desires and fears of his characters. He is delving into matters we all recognize because they are common to humanity. This is surely an act of exploration, and into a world as remote as the author chooses. Explorer and travel writer Peter Fleming talks of the moment when the explorer returns to the existence he has left behind with his loved ones. The traveller “who has for weeks or months seen himself only as a puny and irrelevant alien crawling laboriously over a country in which he has no roots and no background, suddenly encounters his other self, a relatively solid figure, with a place in the minds of certain people”. Here is how some of today’s ‘explorers’ define the word. Ran Fiennes, dubbed the “greatest living explorer”, said, “An explorer is someone who has done something that no human has done before — and also done something scientifically useful.” Chris Bonington, a leading mountaineer, felt exploration was to be found in the act of physically touching the unknown: “You have to have gone somewhere new.” Then Robin Hanbury Tenison, a campaigner on behalf of remote so-called “tribal” peoples, said, “A traveller simply records information about some far-off world, and reports back; but an explorer changes the world.” Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed Arabia’s Empty Quarter in 1946, and belongs to an era of unmechanised travel now lost to the rest of us, told me, “If I’d gone across by camel when I could have gone by car, it would have been a stunt.” To him, exploration meant bringing back information from a remote place regardless of any great self-discovery. Each definition is slightly different and tends to reflect the field of endeavour of each pioneer. It was the same whoever I asked: the prominent historian would say exploration was a thing of the past, the cutting-edge scientist would say it was of the present. And so on. They each set their own particular criteria the common factor in their approach being that they all had, unlike many of us who simply enjoy travel o discovering new things, both a very definite objective from the outset and also a desire to record their findings. 1．The writer refers to visitors to New York to illustrate the point that A．exploration is an inner element of being human. B．most people are not enthusiastic about exploring. C．exploration fails to lead to surprising results. D．most people find exploration frustrating. 2．According to the passage, what is the writer’s view of explorers? A．Their discoveries have brought both benefits and disadvantages. B．Their main value is in teaching others. C．They act on an urge that is common to everyone. D．They tend to be more attracted to certain professions than to others. 3．The writer refers to a description of Egdon Heath to suggest that A．Hardy was writing about his own experience of exploration. B．Hardy was mistaken about the nature of exploration. C．Hardy’s aim was to investigate people’s emotional states. D．Hardy’s aim was to show the attraction of isolation. 4．When discussing the definition of exploration, the writer argues that A．people tend to relate exploration to their own professional interests. B．certain people are likely to misunderstand the nature of exploration. C．the generally accepted definition has changed over time. D．historians and scientists have more valid definitions than the general public. Passage 5 When we experience something painful, our brain produces natural painkillers that are chemically similar to powerful drugs such as morphine. Now research suggests these natural painkillers, also called endogenous opioids, play another role: helping regulate the body’s energy. Lauri Nummenmaa, a brain-imaging scientist at the University of Turku in Finland and his colleagues measured endogenous opioid release in the brains of 10 healthy men. The subjects were injected with a radioactive substance that binds to opioid receptors, making it possible to visualize the receptors’ activity using positron-emission tomography (正电子放射断层造影术). The study found evidence of natural painkillers in the men’s brains after they ate a satisfying meal of pizza. Surprisingly, their brains released even more of the endogenous opioids after they ate a far less pleasant — but nutritionally similar — liquid meal of what Nummenmaa called “nutritional goo.” Although the subjects rated the pizza as tastier than the goo, opioid release did not appear to relate to their enjoyment of the meal, the researchers reported earlier this year in the Journal of Neuroscience. “I would’ve expected the opposite result,” says Paul Burghardt, an investigator at Wayne State University, who was not involved in the work. After all, previous human and animal studies led researchers to believe that endogenous opioids helped to convey the pleasure of eating. Nummenmma, too, was surprised. His group earlier research showed that obese (肥胖的) people’s brains had fewer opioid receptors — but that receptor levels recover with weight loss. “Maybe when people overeat, endogenous opioids released in the brain constantly attack the receptors, so they decrease in number, ” he says. Why more opioids flooded the brain after the goo versus the pizza remains a mystery, but then researchers guess that faster digestion of the liquid meal may have produced more of the chemicals at the time of the scan, 15 minutes after eating. The new results may indicate that opioids play a wider role in energy metabolism (新陈代谢) than scientists previously thought. One possibility is that the opioid system is activated by the satisfaction of a full stomach and refreshed energy, Nummenmma says. “If you take a step back and look at conditions that activate opioid release — pain, feeding, pleasure — they are all related to homeostasis,” or keeping the body’s energy in balance, he explains. “The most interesting thing is that eating activated the system even in the absence of sensory pleasure. ” 1．What does Paul Burghardt mean by “the opposite result” (in paragraph 4)? A．The body’s energy balance plays an unexpectedly important role in killing pain. B．The more you enjoy your meal, the more the endogenous opioids are released. C．It is the nutrition rather than the taste that give people the pleasure of eating. D．Dissatisfying meals call for brains to produce more natural painkillers. 2．What did Numnenmna’s group find in their earlier research? A．How many opioid receptors people have in their brain is related to their weight. B．Overeating is a major problem people have if they have fewer opioid receptors. C．Faster digestion can help the body to absorb more endogenous opioid. D．The goo is more effective in activating people’s opioid release. 3．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________. A．people need to eat less to keep their body’s energy in good balance B．opioids are released when there is an imbalance in the body’s energy C．eating can repair a person’s opioid system as long as there is sensory pleasure D．conditions that activate opioid release should be rechecked to confirm the findings 4．What is the main idea of the passage? A．The absence of sensory pleasure affects how well opioids work. B．Natural painkillers work better than powerful drugs like morphine. C．The brain releases feel-good chemicals even after unpleasant meals. D．Pain plays the same role as pleasure in giving people a good appetite. 话题2 文学艺术 Passage 1 What makes a genius? We might say it’s a combination of extraordinary talent and drive, often accompanied by madness. Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso all made pioneering breakthroughs in their respective fields while living legendary lives. Helen Lewis’s The Genius Myth, however, argues that society wrongly admires figures like them. She claims the “genius” label excuses immoral behaviours — alcoholism, abandonment, drug abuse. But does her criticism really make sense? In her book, Lewis links the idea of innate (天生的) genius to the harmful history of intelligence testing. This field, started by figures like Francis Galton, is connected to racism. She criticises his later following thinkers, like Hans Eysenck and William Shockley, for their ignoring social factors affecting success for supporting racial rankings. For them, she suggests, “genius” becomes a cover on extreme or even evil thinking, a characteristic increasingly seen in some online fans. Her solution? Stop admiring individuals. Call specific works genius, not people. But I question whether the public really believes this “genius myth” as desperately as Lewis insists. Her sweeping statements about “our” blind love for “troublesome individuals” feel forced — like she’s projecting her own views on everyone else. The book has significant drawbacks. Lewis essentially invents a term “weak model of genius” to dress up a long-known obvious point — imperfect people can be talented — as new insight. It feels like she’s selling a cure for a disease she invented. Besides, her attempts at a friendly, TED-Talk-inspired style feel awkward rather than genuine. The heavy use of italics (斜体字) makes the writing feel struggled, as if she is trying too hard to convince both readers and herself. More troubling is the disrespectful attitude towards complex art that surfaces in Lewis’s writing. Her rude view on Joyce’s literature (“what-if novels, but harder to read”), her dislike for pioneering films, and her confession of finding the Beatles music “boring” imply that her problem with “genius” might partly be a personal hate for difficult art and its creators. Worse still, these dislikes go without strong proof. Her unjust claim that Picasso is admired because of his imperfection, not despite them, reads more like an angry opinion than reasoned argument. While some online fans might admire some superstars uncritically, true faith in innate genius has been weaker since the 1960s. Lewis jumps on a train that is already slowing. 1. According to The Genius Myth, Helen Lewis would most likely agree that ______. A. people like Picasso have never made any real achievements B. some figures’ evil behaviors are excused by the word “genius” C. many so-called geniuses cannot pass intelligence testing D. nothing in this world is worth the genius label 2. What does the writer think of the Genius Myth? A. Its writing style is engaging, sincere and humble. B. “The weak model of genius” is an innovative term. C. Its criticism of the “genius myth” lacks evidence. D. It fails to explain the root cause of people’s passion for genius. 3. What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph imply? A. Lewis is criticizing an idea that is no longer influential. B. Lewis’s book is thoughtful despite some drawbacks. C. Lewis’s criticism is fresh but faces the public’s resistance. D. Lewis is aware that the public’s faith in genius is declining. 4. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Society’s admiration for geniuses is dangerous. B. Lewis criticism of “the genius myth” is unconvincing. C. The public should hold a critical view on geniuses. D. Specific works instead of people should be admired. Passage 2 Saved or Stolen? The British Museum has a well-earned reputation as an “encyclopaedic” museum, with a global story told through eight million objects. Inside, a wide-ranging collection includes everything from prehistoric pottery to precious handmade jewellery from India and Ming Dynasty vases from China. The museum helps us understand how events that happened at different times and in different places were connected, and how they influenced each other. Indeed, this was the vision of its founder, Sir Hans Sloane, who tried setting up cross-cultural comparisons in his original collection in 1753. As you walk around the British Museum today, it’s clear that Sloane’s broad-minded vision is very much alive and well. What’s less clear is how the museum acquired many of the objects on display and whether they should remain there. The collection has an obvious political dimension: while some objects have a well-documented history, others were added during Britain’s colonial period, so it’s possible they were stolen from famous archaeological sites or acquired in the war. Imagine having an important national monument from your country kept permanently in another country. How would you feel? Would you try to get the country to return it? It’s not surprising that many countries have gone on to ask for their treasures back. However; where they should be kept is a question that is still heatedly debated. The Rosetta Stone is a well-known exhibit that illustrates this problem. Carved in 196BCE, the stone was the key to unlocking the language of the ancient Egyptians. It was first discovered in 1799 near the town of el-Rashid (Rosetta) by soldiers in Napoleon’s army, but on Napoleon’s defeat in 1801, it became the property of the British. Many of the museum’s treasures were acquired in a similar way, but unsurprisingly, the British Museum is reluctant to let the Rosetta Stone go. It argues that more people see the Stone in London than they would in Cairo, the location is more secure and the exhibit is a critical part of its global collection. The Egyptian government has other ideas and is trying to persuade the museum to return it. They claim that it’s important for their nation’s history and identity, and that many Egyptians can’t afford to go to London to see it. But the British Museum won’t let the Rosetta Stone go, even as a loan, as they fear it won’t be returned. The British Museum is a place dedicated to international understanding, and the advantages of an encyclopaedic museum are clear to see: “We need to explore common ground, how people perceive their relationship to each other...and (to) see human history as an ongoing joint project,” explains MacGregor, former director of the British Museum. But this attempt to bring different cultures together has been self-defeating, ultimately having the opposite effect: taking treasures from other countries has resulted in never-ending international arguments and frosty relations with foreign governments. So as you admire the breathtaking objects on display at the museum, think about their heritage. Remember to ask yourself: Does the end justify the means? Is taking an object for a museum different from theft? And shouldn’t important objects be exhibited where they were originally made? 1．Which of the following words is similar in meaning to “encyclopaedic” (paragraph 1) ? A．being famous for its modern exhibitions. B．focusing only on ancient artifacts. C．containing a wide range of knowledge or information. D．owned by a private collector for personal use. 2．Why does the British Museum refuse to return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt? A．Because Egypt lacks the financial resources to protect it. B．Because more visitors can see it in London and its location is safer. C．Because the stone was legally purchased during colonial times. D．Because the Egyptian government has not formally requested its return. 3．The author’s attitude toward the British Museum’s argument is ______. A．strongly supportive B．completely neutral C．slightly skeptical D．openly against 4．What can be inferred about the “encyclopaedic museum” vision? A．It ignores the historical context of artifact acquisition. B．It successfully promotes global cultural harmony. C．It intentionally worsen international tensions. D．It prioritizes scientific research over national heritage. Passage 3 To say that the child learns by imitation and that the way to teach is to set a good example oversimplifies. No child imitates every action he sees. Sometimes, the example the parent wants him to follow is ignored while he takes over contrary patterns from some other example. Therefore, we must turn to a more subtle theory than “Monkey see, monkey do”. Look at it from the child’s point of view. Here he is in a new situation, lacking a ready response. He is seeking a response which will gain certain ends. If he lacks a ready response for the situation, and cannot reason out what to do, he observes a model who seems able to get the right result. The child looks for an authority or expert who can show what to do. There is a second element at work in this situation. The child may be able to achieve his immediate goal only to find that his method brings criticism from people who observe him. When shouting across the house achieves his immediate end of delivering a message, he is told emphatically that such a screaming is unpleasant, that he should walk into the next room and say his say quietly. Thus, the desire to solve any objective situation is overlaid with the desire to solve it properly. One of the early things the child learns is that he gets more affection and approval when his parents like his response. Then other adults award some actions and criticize others. If one is to maintain the support of others and his own self-respect, he must adopt responses his social group approves. In finding trial responses, the learner does not choose models at random. He imitates the person who seems a good person to be like, rather than a person whose social status he wished to avoid. If the pupil wants to be good violinist, he will observe and try to copy the techniques of capable players. Admiration of one quality often leads us to admire a person as a whole, and he becomes an identifying figure. We use some people as models over a wide range of situations, imitating much that they do. We learn that they are dependable and rewarding models because imitating them leads to success. 1．According to the passage, to teach a child to learn something, parents should _________. A．follow the theory of imitation B．set a good example for the child to copy C．simplify each action shown to the child D．view from the child’s perspective 2．Which of the following situation will lead a child to seek for a model? A．The child is blamed by parents for his/her wrongdoing. B．The child is in trouble and cannot figure out an approach. C．The child encounters a professional who can get the right result. D．The child comes up with a solution to an issue. 3．It can be inferred that children usually imitate people _________. A．whose actions are consistent with theirs B．who enjoy a high social status C．whose talent and skill are extraordinary D．whom they want to be shaped into 4．What is the passage mainly about? A．The factors determining children’s imitation. B．The significance of learning by imitation. C．The way children choose models. D．The reason for parenting by imitation. Passage 4 Every year, thousands of teenagers take part in programs at their local art museums. But do any of them remember their time at museum events later in life? A new report suggests that the answer is yes - and finds that graduates of arts-based museum programs credit them with changing the course of their lives, even years after the fact. The Whitney Museum of American Art the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles recently asked researchers to carry out a study to find out how effective their long-standing teen art programs really are. They involved over 300 former members of four programs for teens that have been in existence since the 1990s. Graduates, whose current ages are from 18 to 36, were invited to be the subjects (对象) of the study to find out how they viewed their participation years after the fact. Among the graduates surveyed, 75 percent of graduates rated (排名) die teen program experience as the most favorable impact on their own lives, beating family, school and their neighborhoods. Nearly 55 percent thought that it was one of the most important experiences they’ d ever had, regardless of (不管) age and two-thirds said that they were often in situations where then experience in museums affected their actions or thoughts. It turns out that taking part in art programs also helps keep teens enthusiastic (热情的) about arts even after they reach adulthood: 96 percent of participants (参与者) had visited an art museum within the last two years, and 68 percent had visited an art museum five or more times within the last two years. Thirty-two percent of program graduates work in the arts as adults. Though the study is the first of its kind to explore the impact (影响) of teen-specific art programs in museums, it reflects other research on the important benefits of engaging with the arts. A decade of surveys the National Endowment for the Arts found that childhood experience with the arts have linked arts education to everything from lower drop-out rates to improvement in critical thinking skills. 1．What does the underlined phrase “the fact” in Paragraph 1 refer to? A．Changing the course of children’s life. B．Taking part in childhood art programs. C．Organizing arts-based museum programs. D．Remembering the time at museum events. 2．What does Paragraph 2 mainly tell us? A．The content of the study. B．The result of the study. C．The process of the study. D．The way of the study. 3．What can be inferred of the study mentioned in the text? A．Passion for arts may remain long in kids’ whole life. B．No other studies exist about the benefits of arts. C．Age matters in how people view their art experiences. D．Most children taking part in art programs will work in arts. 4．Which of the following can be the best title for the text? A．How is Art Connected to Our Life? B．Can Art Education Affect Our Income? C．What Should Art Museums do for Kids? D．Should Children Walk into Art Museums? Passage 5 You may be surprised to learn that English gets 30 to 45 percent of its words from French. The reason goes back to the year 1066, when Norman forces invaded (入侵) Britain. The Normans were from northern France and spoke French. During the Norman occupation, French became the language of England’s rulers and wealthy class. This lasted for more than 300 years. Other people in England continued to speak English during this period. Over time, the two languages combined and shared words. Some researchers believe that about 10,000 French words eventually entered the English language. However, although English took many French words, their meanings have not always stayed the same. Sometimes the differences in meanings can be very important, and lead to funny or strange situations if the words are used in the wrong way. Take the French word college for example. In English, college can often be used in place of the word university, or sometimes as a school within a university. However, in French, college actually means “middle school”, or the level of schooling for students in grades five or six through eight. There are many other similar words in the two languages with completely different meanings. In English, the word chat means “to talk casually (随意)”; but in French, the word chat is the word for an animal: a cat. If an English speaker says someone is jolly, that means he is cheerful or friendly. But in French, jolie means someone is good-looking or pleasant to look at. In any case, both are nice things to say to someone. 1．What is the purpose of the first paragraph? A．To show the influence of the Normans on England. B．To present the relationship between Britain and France. C．To introduce how English and French combined together. D．To explain why so many French words entered the English language. 2．What does the author stress about similar words in English and French? A．Their funny stories. B．Their changes in history. C．Their spelling forms. D．Their different meanings. 3．What does an Englishman mean if he says he’d like to have a chat? A．He likes a kind of pet. B．He wants to have a small talk. C．He prefers to talk in public. D．He’d like to have an interview. 4．What is the text mainly about? A．Development of English. B．Difficulties in learning English. C．French words in English. D．Similarities between English and French. 话题3 科学技术 Passage 1 Even if you don’t worry that artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy the human race, you might fear its huge appetite for electricity will damage the environment. Asking an AI chatbot a question is equivalent to using ten times more energy than an old-fashioned internet search. As the AI boom took off, you may think that emissions(排放)from tech giants evidently rise. With huge investments in new data centers planned, more rises seem inevitable. But the worry is on shaky ground. In absolute terms, AI may be less energy-hungry than assumed. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that electricity consumption by data centers could more than double in five years. Even if energy usage increases sharply, the basic is still low. Data centers currently account for only about 1.5% of global electricity consumption — and the vast majority of that is due to streaming, social media and online shopping, not AI. Handled in a smart way, some of AI’s electricity use will help with greening the economy. AI is highly capable of identifying complex patterns and improving systems, which can help reduce emissions. It is already helping improve the efficiency of electrical networks with real-time balance of supply and demand. Besides, it has assisted in reducing petrol consumption in shipping through adjusting routes and speeds to the fittest, and spotting leaks of methane (a greenhouse gas) by cooperating with satellites and ground sensors. The task for policymakers and industry bosses is to maximize AI’s advantages in saving energy, thus minimizing its climate impacts. The most elegant solution would be for governments to set a proper price on carbon. But because a global carbon price remains a distant dream, it would be more realistic to focus on other measures. The first is greater openness. From August 2026, the EU will require some AI developers to report their energy use in detail, which can be copied elsewhere. A second is to rethink how data centers operate. The IEA notes that arranging to shift volume of work among data centers at different times could reduce pressure and help balance energy networks, making them better matched to renewable power. Third, tech firms should live up to their environmental promises. Many now rely heavily on buying renewable-energy credits, a problematic way of balancing their emissions. A better one is to use their influence to promote the decarbonization of the energy networks by pushing for planning reform and supporting alternatives like nuclear power. Doubling down on these would help transform AI from climate suspect to climate hero. 1. The reason why the author says “the worry is on shaky ground” is that________. A. tech companies have already achieved their carbon goals B. future data centers will be powered by renewable energy C. the current energy use by AI is small within global context D. AI’s environmental benefits can make up for its energy cost 2. We can learn from paragraph 3 that________. A. energy used by AI would otherwise realize a green economy B. energy saving in shipping is partly due to AI-improved routes C. AI’s real-time management has raised electricity consumption D. methane leak detection done by AI can be sensed by satellites 3. Which of the following is recommended to handle AI’s climate impacts? A. Setting a global carbon price for tech industries. B. Scheduling data centers’ workloads dynamically. C. That tech firms balance emissions through credit exchange. D. That AI developers stay open to others’ reporting approaches 4. What would be the best title for the passage? A. Technology’s Impact on Climate Change B. Government Regulations on AI and Energy C. AI’s Energy Demand and Tech Innovation D. AI’s Energy Consumption and Conservation Passage 2 I love the way clouds float above my head. These ever-shifting sculptures of vapor (蒸气) and light are among nature’s least appreciated marvels. How exactly cloud cover will shift in a warming world is anyone’s guess. Clouds don’t just look different from one another; they also have very different effects on temperatures at the surface of the land or water below. These differences have to do with how much of the sun’s heat they allow through and how much of Earth’s heat they trap in. Low clouds typically have a cooling effect. Much of the sun’s rays are reflected off their white tops back up into space. And they are heavy enough to cast shadows, cooling the surface below. Since their water drops are warmer, they’re as good at giving off Earth’s heat up into space as they are at absorbing it from below. High clouds do the opposite, warming Earth’s surface. Contrary to common belief, this is because the ice crystals (冰晶) in these clouds are cold. High clouds are often not as heavy, so they can let in more of the sun’s rays. But since they are cold, they don’t send out as much of Earth’s heat into space — more like blankets than umbrellas, resulting in a warming effect. The mix of cloud types over our planet ensures they have an overall cooling effect because the shade from the low clouds outweighs the warming effect of the high ones. Yet as temperatures rise, low clouds may decline while high clouds persist, creating a climate feedback loop — a self-enhancing cycle similar to a classic feedback mechanism. In a recent paper in the journal Science, reduced low cloud cover contributed about 0.2℃ to 2023’s record-breaking average global temperatures. In other words, the reduction in Earth’s low clouds helped explain some of the extreme heat that year. Climate feedback loops brought on by clouds have been identified as one of the largest unknowns in projections of warming. As we learn more about the potential tipping points of our climate — irreversible changes in the system — we may find ourselves approaching one too quickly for decarbonization efforts alone to prevent it. Some understanding of the likely effects of geoengineering projects such as cloud brightening will then be invaluable, no matter how misguided such interventions might seem. If clouds are changing, then so should the way we study them. It requires all of us to look up and take notice. 1. According to the passage, which of the following statements correctly describes clouds? A. Low clouds are not as heavy as high clouds. B. Thick white clouds warm the ground by trapping heat. C. Warm water drops of high clouds release and absorb heat equally. D. Clouds differ in how they let in the sun’s heat and trap Earth’s heat. 2. According to the passage, a climate feedback loop is a cycle that_________. A. speeds up the very warming that activated it B. enhances cooling by promoting low cloud formation C. reduces high cloud cover to boost sunlight reflection D. balances warming and cooling effects at the same time 3. What can be inferred from the passage about the writer’s opinion? A. Decarbonization may influence how clouds form. B. Clouds may offer a way to address global warming. C. Cloud-based geoengineering projects may be worthless. D. Studying clouds can tell us when the tipping point arrives. 4. What is the passage mainly about? A. Actionable climate solutions. B. Changes in how low and high clouds move. C. Links between clouds and global warming. D. Approaches to appreciating cloud beauty. Passage 3 The technology for speech-recognition systems has advanced greatly since its appearance in the1950s. Many voice systems can understand the language when spoken at a normal conversational rate. But even the advanced human-machine interfaces (人机交互) used today are unable to trick the listeners into thinking a computer is a human. Why is this? Simply put, it’s because human beings rely on more than words to convey ideas or interpret messages, such as tones, facial expressions, body movements, and objects in the world around them. One significant recent achievement in the field of talking computers is virtual personal assistants(VPAs) on mobile phones. If you tell a mobile phone VPA that you want to schedule a lunch with a friend, it can set the appointment in your phone in seconds. The VPA can also hold a basic “conversation” and has earned fame for its elementary sense of humour. Still, the humour is preprogrammed and can be triggered only when human users speak certain key words. While the potential for “real” communication between a human and a machine may seem exciting, this possibility concerns some people. Some experts worry about people’s attachment to these machines and fear that the art of successful human-to-human conversation will be undeveloped in younger generations. They worry that people won’t be able to display the right emotion or tone in conversations because they haven’t been practising those skills. Others fear that machines will take over functions that were traditionally performed by humans, such as customer service. Another concern often associated with the development of new technology is the invasion of privacy (侵犯隐私). When people use certain speech-recognition applications, they leave behind an audio track of their speech. When you ask a VPA for directions, your speech is sent and saved to a remote server for processing. This digital trail may lead to data mining, or the collection of large quantities of personal data. For now, however, the continuing evolution of speech-recognition software is worth expecting. Leading companies in the field hope to make human communication with machines as seamless as possible, just like communicating with another human. 1. According to the text, what can a VPA do? A. Entertain users with its original jokes. B. Enable people to regard it as a human. C. Hold preprogrammed conversations. D. Display the right tones in conversations. 2. Which situation reflects the concerns mentioned in the text? A. One VPA service was priced higher for protecting users’ privacy. B. An airline bore high costs for applying VPAs to its online service. C. An app failed to offer the right direction when given spoken instructions. D. Some teenagers became more socially awkward due to the addiction to VPAs. 3. What is the purpose of the text? A. To inform readers of the double-edged quality of a new technology. B. To inspire readers to explore the future of a new technology. C. To promote the application of a new technology. D. To stress the convenience of a new technology. 4. What might be the best title of the text? A. The worries over VPAs. B. Listening to“a real person”. C. The world of technology. D. Talking to technology. Passage 4 An artificial intelligence (人工智能) system has shown it can save lives by warning doctors to check on patients whose heart test results show a high risk of dying. In a test with almost 16,000 patients, the AI helped reduce the total deaths by 31% among people who were at high risk. “This is actually quite amazing,” says Eric Topol at the Scripps Research TranslationalInstitute in California. “It is quite uncommon for any drug to result in a 31% reduction in the number of deaths, and then even more unusual for a non-drug — this is just monitoring people with AI.” Chin Lin at Texas Medical Center and his colleagues trained their AI on more than 450,000 electrocardiogram (ECG) (心电图) tests, which measure the heart’s electrical activity, along with the survival data of the ECG subjects. The AI learned to produce a percentile (百分位) score representing each patient’s risk of death, whose score in the 95th percentile or higher would be considered high risk. The researchers then tested the AI warning system with 39 doctors at two different hospitals. As nurses transmitted each new patient’s ECG tests to a computer server, the AI system would analyse the results and warn doctors if it identified someone as being high risk. In addition to reducing the risk of death from all causes, the AI system also reduced the death rate from heart issues in high-risk patients by more than 90%. Lin and his colleagues say the AI warnings may help focus attention on the highest risk group. During the research, doctors usually followed up warnings with more tests and treatment. The system is already being used across 14 hospitals in Texas. “This can be put into effect in every hospital around the world,” says Topol. “It should be the standard of care when you see such a significant benefit.” 1．What made the AI system stand out in the test? A．Its speed in analyzing ECG tests. B．Its function of testing heart diseases. C．Its application in hospitals nationwide. D．Its ability to reduce deaths without drugs. 2．What could the AI system do according to paragraph 3? A．Train doctors and nurses. B．Record patients’ survival data. C．Analyse each patient’s risk of cancer. D．Provide patients’ death-risk percentiles. 3．What did the doctors tend to do after receiving AI warnings? A．Identify high-risk patients. B．Transmit the data. C．Conduct further tests and treatment. D．Study the results of tests. 4．What is Topol’s attitude to the AI system? A．Confident. B．Uncertain. C．Doubtful. D．Objective. Passage 5 GROW, Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde’s latest project, involved installing (安装) thousands of blue, red and purple LED lights in a 2-hectare field of leek (韭菜) for both artistic and practical purposes. People driving by the town of Lelystad, in central Netherlands, at night, this time of year are treated to a fantastic sight-a 20,000 square meters field of leek glowing blue, red and purple. Thought up by Studio Roosegaarde, the unique artistic installation is designed both as an honor to Dutch farmers and as an inspiration for them to experiment with artificial light in outdoor farming. Daan Roosegaarde also wants GROW to send a hopeful light to people in these trying times, giving new meaning to the word "agriculture" as a living cultural artwork. Nighttime ultraviolet (紫外线的) light has been used in glasshouse agriculture for a while now, especially in places where direct sunlight is scarce, but its outdoor use has so far been very limited. Ultraviolet light is known to help plants grow better, but Studio Roosegaarde is also testing a theory according to which certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light could reduce the need for pesticides by up to 50%. “So we started to scan the plants with these wavelengths of light and then suddenly it started to dance, the light,” Daan Roosegaarde said. “You had these huge fields of fireflies, as if they were, and we were testing it and the magic started kicking in, so I think that’s when the worlds of science, art and design meet and enhance each other.” Solar-powered LEDs give ultraviolet light onto the leek plants, thus adding the effect of natural sunlight after sunset, and creating a wonderful sight at the same time. GROW is currently only visible near Lelystad, but Roosegaarde plans to take the visually-impressive installation on the road to over 40 countries. Each country will have its own local or national crop and its own unique light recipe. Over the years, Studio Roosegaarde has created a number of fascinating installations, like the glow-in-the-dark bicycle path powered directly by the sun. 1．What does GROW probably refer to? A．A project creating artworks. B．A project installing LED lights. C．A project producing pesticides. D．A project building glasshouses. 2．What does the underlined word "scarce" in paragraph 2 probably mean? A．Sufficient. B．Strong. C．Steady. D．Lacking. 3．What is the third paragraph mainly about? A．What artistic effects were caused by the project. B．Why the project GROW was conducted. C．How Roosegaarde’s design idea came up. D．How Roosegaarde’s theory was tested. 4．What does Roosegaarde think of the future of GROW? A．Promising. B．Pressing. C．Challenging. D．Demanding. 话题4 环境保护 Passage 1 Over the past few years, areas in East Asia, North America and northern Europe have been colder than normal during some periods of winter. This has left many debating whether Earth is experiencing global warming or not, but scientists have shown that Earth’s warming trends are responsible. When people in the Northern Hemisphere hear North Pole or Arctic region, they automatically think of the hemisphere’s northernmost area, the home of extremely cold weather during late fall and winter. During this time, very little, if any, sunlight reaches the Arctic’s stratosphere, one layer of Earth’s atmosphere that exists six to 20 kilometers above Earth’s surface. To balance the temperature difference with that of the warm equatorial region, an area of low pressure called the polar vortex forms and flows in a complete circle around the pole. This occurs inside the stratosphere about 10 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. While this belt of strong winds is usually stable and able to keep the cold air contained, it can be destroyed by loss of sea ice, due to global warming. This results in surface temperatures changing, changes which make them less stable. If this happens, the polar vortex may shift, slipping off the North Pole and moving south, or it can separate into two or three rings that form in multiple places far south of the pole. This stretching or distortion of the polar vortex also makes influences on the path of the polar jet stream, which is responsible for Earth’s weather. This jet stream, along with three other primary jet streams in different parts of the world, is located in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer just below the stratosphere. The polar jet stream’s air currents blow from 177 kilometers an hour to over 400 kilometers an hour and from west to east between 50 degrees and 60 degrees latitude — think from France to Norway. The differences in cold polar air and warm mid-latitude air form the polar jet stream, and its movement prolongs periods of cold or warm weather in different regions. Large temperature differences between the Arctic and mid-latitudes cause the polar jet stream to be strong and move straight, keeping the cold in the north. Because the Arctic is warming at a fast pace, the temperature difference between it and mid-latitudes is decreasing, making the polar jet stream slower and weaker. That, in turn, makes the stream more likely to bend north and south. When it bends far enough, the barrier between Arctic and mid-latitude air can dive down to Mexico, taking Arctic temperatures along for the ride. Although heat and cold are considered opposites, in the case of climate, the former can cause the latter. 1. The word “prolong” (para 5) is closest in meaning to ________. A. extend B. regulate C. control D. shorten 2. What is suggested in the passage? A. Heat and cold are opposite but they can change each other. B. The air layers above the earth are responsible for climate change. C. The extreme cold in some areas originated from other areas’ heat. D. The Warming Earth is actually caused by the Colder Winters. 3. What can be inferred from the passage? A. The streams in the Northern Hemisphere have to move to the South. B. It is certain that the Earth will become warmer and warmer. C. The temperature difference between day and night will decrease. D. The colder areas might gradually become larger and larger in the future. 4. What is the main focus of the passage? A. The Relationship between Warming Earth and Colder Winters B. The Strange Phenomenon of Warming Earth with Colder Winters C. The Temperature Differences between the Arctic and Mid-latitude Areas D. The Potential Reasons for Earth Becoming Warmer and Warmer Passage 2 You may have seen white-faced capuchin monkeys (卷尾猴) before, whether at a zoo or in a popular movie. These medium-sized monkeys are found in Central America and northern South America. They have a mostly black-haired body and white hair on their face and shoulders. The cap of black fur on their head resembles the hoods(兜帽) that Capuchin monks in Italy wore, and that’s where the name came from. Another fascinating feature of these monkeys is their long tail, which acts like a third hand. Capuchin monkeys use their tail to hang on to tree branches to support their body weight while looking for food. While they eat fruit and nuts, they also enjoy insects, frogs, and lizards. Since they spread various fruit seeds through their feces(粪便) and eat insects that are harmful to trees, they contribute a lot to the preservations of forests. Capuchin monkeys are very social and live in groups of 20 members or so. A group of capuchins is known as a troop or a barrel. Troops are mainly made up of females, who remain in the same troop their whole lives, while males change troops about every four years. Communication and social activities play a significant role among monkeys in a troop because they help form social bonds. A curious example is “hand sniffing,” where the monkeys stick their fingers in front of each other’s nose. Outside the forests, capuchin monkeys are not only used by humans for their acting abilities. These intelligent animals have small fingers and are gifted with fine motor skills. They can be trained to do many tasks that humans with disabilities cannot do, like turning the pages of a book or picking up dropped objects. Therefore, the white-faced capuchin can be important assistants and companions for some disabled people. 1．How did white-faced capuchin monkeys get their name? A．They appeared in popular films with Capuchin monks. B．Their fur crowns look like the hoods of Capuchin monks. C．They are found in regions where Capuchin monks live. D．They used to be kept by Capuchin monks as pets. 2．According to the passage, what contribution do white-faced capuchins make to forests? A．They help keep the trees healthy. B．They make forest soil more fertile. C．They reduce the risk of forest fires. D．They eat plants that damage forests. 3．Which of the following aspect is NOT mentioned in the passage? A．Diet. B．Behavior. C．Threats. D．Appearance. 4．Why are white-faced capuchin monkeys used as human helpers? A．They are very friendly and loyal to humans. B．They are strong enough to carry heavy things. C．They are smart and can perform different tasks. D．They are good at making faces and acting. Passage 3 Many scientists are making greater effort to study ocean currents (洋流) for the moment. Most do it using satellites and other high-tech equipment. However, ocean expert Curtis Esmeyer does it in a special way — by studying movements of random floating garbage. A scientist with many years' experience, he started this type of research in the early 1990s when he heard about hundreds of athletic shoes washing up on the shores of the northwest coast of the United States. There were so many shoes that people were setting up swap meets to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear. Esmeyer found out in his researches that the shoes — about 60,000 in total — fell into the ocean in a shipping accident. He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back. As expected, the company told him that they didn't. Esmeyer realized this could be a great experiment. If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed, he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents. The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's best areas for beachcombing (海滩搜寻) because winds and currents join here, and as a result, there is a group of serious beachcombers in the area. Esmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed. In a year he collected reliable information on 1,600 shoes. With this data, he and a colleague were able to test and improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents, and publish the findings of their study. As the result of his work, Esmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean. He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts, with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand. They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves. 1．The underlined phrase swap meets in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______. A．repair rooms B．trading fairs C．business talks D．group meetings 2．Esmeyer phoned the shoe company to find out ______. A．what caused the shipping accident B．when and where the shoes went missing C．whether it was all right to use their shoes D．how much they lost in the shipping accident 3．Esmeyer is most famous for ______. A．traveling widely the coastal cities of the world B．making records for any lost objects on the sea C．running a global currents research association D．phoning about any doubtful objects on the sea 4．What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage? A．To call people's attention to ocean pollution. B．To warn people of shipping safety in the ocean. C．To explain a unique way of studying ocean currents. D．To give advice on how to search for lost objects on the beach. Passage 4 Buying organic (有机的) food may not always be better for the planet or for human health than cheaper options grown with artificial pesticides, according to researchers. There tend to be more birds and bees on organic farms but the benefits may be cancelled out because they produce an average of 19 to 25 perent less food per acre than conventional farms. This means that more land is needed to produce the same amount of food, and land being changed for agriculture is one of the greatest threats to wildlife, researchers at the University of British Columbia said. Organic farms tend to use less energy and produce lower emissions, but “when lower organic yields are taken into account, greenhouse gas emissions might actually be higher under organic management.” The authors of the study, published in Science Advances, said: “We don’t know whether organic agriculture provides any benefits for biodiversity if lower organic yields are taken into account.” Organic farms tend to cause less nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of water systems, but the lower yields could mean that nitrogen loss per unit of food produced is higher than on conventional farms. The authors argued that in countries such as Canada, where pesticide regulations are strict and diets are rich in micronutrients, the health benefits of choosing organic might be marginal. They said organically grown food probably contained slightly more micronutrients but it was not clear whether this provided “any actual health benefits to consumers”. The team analyzed organic crop farming across 17 criteria including yield, impact on climate change, farmer livelihood and consumer health. “Organic is often proposed as a good solution to current environmental and food scarcity problems, but we found that the costs and benefits will vary heavily depending on the context,” Verena Seufert, one of the authors, said. They concluded that organic farming is not the only solution to providing a sustainable source of food for an ever-growing global population, but does have an important role to play. “We need to stop the perception of organic and conventional agriculture as two ends of the spectrum. Instead, consumers should demand better practices for both so that we can achieve the world’s food needs in a sustainable way,” Ms. Seufert said. The study, which involved a review of the scientific literature on the environmental and economic performance of organic farms, also found that they were highly dependent on animal manure (排泄物) from conventional farms and added: “It is not clear whether we would have enough organic fertilizers to feed everyone in the world with organic food” Organic food is more expensive and “therefore less accessible to consumers with low income, they said. 1．What does the study find about organic farms? A．They are less than efficient. B．They rely on wildlife species. C．They used to produce added emission. D．They use high-quality pesticides. 2．The word “marginal” (in paragraph 6) is closest in meaning to __________. A．irregular B．unlimited C．unimportant D．irrelevant 3．What can be inferred from the passage about organic agriculture? A．Its benefits are yet to be confirmed by review of scientific literature. B．It is perceived as reaching the end of its development like conventional agriculture. C．It is regarded as the opposite of conventional agriculture. D．Its drawbacks outweigh the benefits it yields in most cases. 4．Which of the following might be the best title of the passage? A．Organic Farming: Balancing Costs and Benefits B．Organic Farming: Winner in Sustainable Agriculture C．Organic Farming: A Cost-Effective Path to a Healthier Planet D．Organic Farming: The Answer to Global Food Scarcity Passage 5 In 2015, the world’s countries signed the “Paris Agreement” to work together to try to limit global warming to 1. 5℃. In recent years, world leaders have held follow-up meetings like COP26 and COP27. The meetings are meant to check in on how the world is doing in its fight against the climate crisis (气候危机) , and to reach agreements on next steps. This year’s meeting, COP28, is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) . One of the big questions about COP28 is whether countries will agree to stop producing oil and gas (called a “phase-out”) , or will simply agree to produce less (a “phase-down”) . Most experts agree that to control global warming as much as possible, the world needs to end the use of coal and oil. Over 100 countries say that COP28 should lead to a deal to phase out fossil fuels (化石燃料) . “The science is clear,” said UN leader Antonio Guterres, “The 1. 5 degree goal is only possible if we finally stop burning fossil fuels. ” But the UAE is a major oil producer. And the president of this year’s meeting, Sultan Al Jaber, leads the UAE’s largest oil company. Many people say that, because of his connections, Mr. Jaber isn’t the right choice to lead the meeting. Even before the meeting began, there were reports that the UAE was using COP28 to try to make deals to sell more oil. Even though there are disagreements, some progress is being made. One important step is a deal to set aside a large amount of money to help the countries being hit hardest by climate change. Most of the money would come from richer countries, which have created a lot of the pollution that led to the climate crisis. Progress on controlling the dangerous greenhouse gas methane (甲烷) is probablyCOP28’s biggest success so far. The US has made a plan to cut methane pollution by 80% over the next 15 years. 1．What is the key to achieving the 1. 5 degree goal according to the text? A．Developing fossil fuels. B．Phasing out fossil fuels. C．Paris Agreement. D．COP26. 2．Why is Mr. Jaber unfit to lead COP28 in many people’s opinion? A．He is against the new deal. B．He has no good leadership. C．He may speak for oil producers. D．He is not world-famous. 3．What progress has been made in COP28? A．Controlling methane pollution. B．Helping the poor countries. C．Stopping producing oil and coal. D．Ending the use of fossil fuels. 4．What will be discussed in the following paragraph? A．The trouble of cutting methane pollution. B．The advantage of controlling global warming. C．The discussion about whether to stop methane. D．The actions taken by other countries to cut methane. 话题5 研究发现 Passage 1 When you were a kid, you most likely had more friends than you do now. As you grew up, your friendship circle most likely grew smaller. You now have just a few really important friendships. One idea suggests that we become more selective about our friends because we become increasingly aware of our own mortality (生命的有限). In other words, we have future-oriented cognition (认知). However, a recent study suggests that our friendships may not actually be tied to thinking about the future. In this study, a team of researchers analyzed 78,000 hours of observations of 21 male chimpanzees (黑猩猩) made between 1995 and 2016. A unique feature of this study is the value that exists in the long-term collection of data. Like humans, as these chimpanzees grew older, they increased the number of mutual friendships and decreased the number of one-sided friendships. In these mutual friendships, aged chimpanzees were more likely to groom (理毛) each other, and they engaged in grooming for longer, which suggests these friendships were of high value to the chimpanzees. These results question some aspects of the socioemotional selectivity theory. While humans have a sense of mortality, it is widely believed that chimpanzees do not. Because we are so closely related to chimpanzees, these findings in the wild chimps might also apply to people. But if future-orientated cognition isn’t the source of this shift in social behavior seen in both humans and chimpanzees, what is? Now, the researchers are using the same data set to investigate whether changes in emotional reactivity explain the recent findings from the male chimpanzees. Joan Silk, a professor not involved in the study, explained that it could be emotional reactivity, but that’s just a possible explanation, distinct from a complete explanation of how something works. Does emotional reactivity also explain human shifts in friendship selection? These are questions that deserve further study. Anyway, the new study gives valuable insight into how natural selection shapes social relationship strategies as we age, and it is also stimulating because it makes one reconsider the nature of how humans think and behave. Answering questions like this is difficult because humans live such a long time, but what’s important about this study is that it provides long-term data on known individuals that live a long time. By studying our evolutionary cousins, we can learn more about our own behavior. 1. What social change occurs in both humans and chimpanzees as they age? A. They avoid all forms of social grooming. B. Their friendship circles expand significantly. C. They prioritize quantity over quality in friendships. D. They focus on fewer but deeper mutual relationships. 2. The chimpanzee study challenges the socioemotional selectivity theory because_________ A. young chimpanzees exhibitcd stronger future-oriented cognition B. human friendships were proven unrelated to emotional reactivity C. chimpanzees were found to have a human-like understanding of death D. the social shift occurs in chimpanzees despite their lack of mortality awareness 3. What did Joan Silk imply about the chimpanzee study? A. Its approach is innovative. B. Its findings remain incomplete. C. Its explanation is reasonable. D. Its conclusions are unbelievable. 4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage? A. Aging and Friendship: A New Insight from Chimpanzees B. Future-Oriented Cognition: The Key to Friendships C. The Emotional Reactivity of Male Chimpanzees D. How Mortality Shapes Human Friendship Passage 2 When a fire at a supplier’s factory forced a temporary shutdown at the plant of a large European manufacturer of consumer goods, Tim Schweisfurth and his colleagues at the Technical University of Munich found a surprising upside: The idleness (闲散) led to an outpouring of ideas for improvements. The conclusion: Unexpected Interruptions Can Boost Creativity. We discovered this when we looked at the online system the company used to collect plant workers’ ideas and suggestions. People could enter submissions whenever they were on-site. Some proposed small changes like replacing worn tools; others, major ones, such as a new paint-ordering system that saved the firm €280, 000 a year. The 8,500 employees in the part of the plant that shut down were sent home for four days. In the three weeks after they returned to work, they produced 58%more ideas than uninterrupted employees did. In addition, their ideas were higher quality: Managers rated the accepted submissions and determined that those from sidelined employees were roughly three percentage points better than those from other workers. We also studied an unexpected interruption at the plant that didn’t lead to idle time: a flood that required employees to clean up the damage. That incident lowered creative performance because workers had to switch their attention to the new task. A similar thing happens when your focus immediately shifts after a social media app beeps to signal a new post. There are many good reasons to take a vacation, but our research doesn’t suggest it will improve your creativity at work, because it wouldn’t be an unexpected interruption. When we looked at a third kind of interruption at the plant — extended weekends — we found no increase in employee suggestions after people returned to work. We think the reason has to do with so-called attention residue — the sweet spot for creativity. It’s when our minds continue to think over something that’s important to us even after we’ve moved on to another activity. Think of all the times you’ve had a breakthrough moment in the shower or while pushing a cart around the grocery store. Those insights all resulted from your brain’s behind-the-scenes perseveration. When we do something that allows us to totally disengage, such as taking a long weekend or a vacation, we don’t experience the same attention residue, so we don’t have the same kinds of breakthroughs. 1. What did the study find about employees who experienced a 4-day shutdown? A. Their creativity decreased significantly. B. They submitted mostly minor tool suggestions. C. Most of their ideas were approved by managers. D. They produced more and better ideas after returning. 2. What conclusion can be drawn concerning unexpected interruptions based on the_________. A. Idle time has a negative impact on the generation of creative ideas. B. Creativity depends upon how much attention remains on the original task. C. Creativity is determined by how focused an individual person is. D. Employees are motivated to be more creative in the face of a challenge. 3. The underlined words “attention residue” in the last paragraph means_________. A. persistent mental engagement B. fundamental spiritual basis C. temporary psychological refreshment D. habitual task-switching routine 4. Which of the following situations is most likely to boost creativity? A. An extended weekend at home. B. A five-day planned trip to a scenic spot. C. A short, unexpected break from work. D. An unexpected work-related assignment. Passage 3 Nothing compares with the joy of coming home to a lovely pet. Besides keeping one company, pets may also decrease stress, improve heart health, and even help children with their social skills. Over the past 10 years, researchers have been looking at what the possible effects are. Animals can offer comfort and support. Dogs are especially good at this. They’re sometimes brought into hospitals or nursing homes. Ann Berger, a researcher at the NIH Clinical Center, teaches the patients with serious diseases about mindfulness to help decrease stress and manage pain. “Mindfulness includes attention, awareness, etc.,” Berger says, “all those are things that animals bring to the table. People kind of have to learn it, while animals do this innately.” Researchers are also studying the safety of bringing animals into hospital settings because animals may bring people more germs (病菌). A current study is looking at the safety of bringing dogs to visit children with a certain kind of illness. Scientists will be testing the children’s hands to see if there are dangerous levels of germs brought by the dog after the visit. Dogs may also help in the classroom. One study found that dogs can help children with ADHD, a disease related to attention. Researchers divided children with ADHD into two groups. The first group of kids read to dogs once a week for 30 minutes. The second group read to toys like dogs. After 12 weeks, kids who read to the real animals showed better social skills. They also had fewer behavioral problems. “Animals can become a way of building a bridge for the social communication,” says Griffin, a child development expert at NIH. He adds that researchers are trying to better understand these effects and whom they might help. While pets may bring many health advantages, an animal may not work for everyone. Recent studies suggest that living with pets at an early age may help protect young children from developing allergies (过敏), but for people who are allergic to certain animals, having pets in the home can do more harm than good. Researchers will continue to explore the many effects of having a pet. They are trying to find out what’s working, what’s not working, and what’s safe. 1．When the author says “animals do this innately” in paragraph 2, he probably means ______. A．animals learn from humans to do this B．animals teach people to stop doing it C．animals are born to be able to do this D．animals learn to do this as humans do 2．What does the study about dogs in the classroom tell us? A．Reading to real dogs could help kids improve behavior. B．Researchers brought dogs there to attract kids’ attention. C．Dogs have poorer social skills than the kids with ADHD． D．Toy dogs work as well as real dogs in accompanying kids. 3．What can we learn about the researchers in the passage? A．They still have a long way to go in exploring pets’ effect. B．They don’t doubt the safety of using animals in hospitals. C．Berger helps patients to gain the ability to cure themselves. D．Griffin doesn’t agree that dogs improve children’s reading. 4．What might be the best title for the passage? A．Pets’ Various Work B．The Power of Pets C．Pets as Assistants in School D．Patients’ Call for Pets Passage 4 Children are more creative when they learn in natural surroundings, according to new research from Curtin University. Primary school students in Australia and England were put to the test to see whether writing poetry in a natural outdoor setting produced more creative outcomes than writing in a classroom, and the answer was yes. Dr Paul Gardner and Sonja Kuzich from Curtin’s School of Education ran comparative trials with 10-year-old students in both countries and the results, recently published in the Cambridge Journal of Education, gave a big thumbs-up to the positive influence of natural settings. “We found that students who had direct contact with nature by engaging themselves in a bush or forest setting were much more descriptive and vivid in the language they used than the classroom-based writers who ‘imagined’ being in nature through photos,” Dr Gardner said. In total, 97 students took part in the study, split across four classrooms, including two based at an English primary school and two from a primary school in Western Australia. In each country one class visited a natural bush or forest before writing a poem based on what they saw, smelt and felt. The other class viewed a pile of images of the same bush or forest setting. Ms Kuzich said the difference in creative language used between the classes was obvious with twice as many UK forest students using figurative (比喻的) language compared with the students in class. In Australia that figure rose to more than four times when comparing the poetry of the bush-based students with those who remained at school. The researchers say further studies of larger groups are now recommended to gain greater understanding of the influence of natural spaces and “green learning” in schools. Future research may also be needed to examine if the green learning can be translated into other learning themes or context to see if there is a flow on effect in different environments. 1．Why were the students placed outdoors in nature? A．To get more outdoor exercise. B．To experience nature in depth. C．To understand poems about nature better. D．To prove nature’s effect on creativity. 2．What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about? A．The steps of training the children. B．The purpose of performing the test. C．New findings about students’ writing. D．The detailed steps of the experiment. 3．What can we infer about the result of the study? A．Students indoors are not good at poetry. B．Students in Australia prefer to study poetry. C．Students are more creative in a natural environment. D．Students in UK have different writing skill preferences. 4．What does the last paragraph imply? A．Green learning is becoming a trend. B．Further studies are to be carried out. C．Green learning has been applied in school. D．Future research is of little significance. Passage 5 Since 10 a.m. this morning, I’ve been staring at my computer screen in an attempt to squeeze an interesting article out of myself. Up until an hour ago, I only had 50 words and a dry title to show for eight hours of ‘work’. But as the sun set, I had about one hundred ideas pop into my head – like guests showing up too late to a party. Bursts of inspiration like this at night are frequent within the creative community. Writers, artists, and inventors throughout history have all said they’ve been most inspired during night-time. In the light of psychology, we write at night with less distractions (干扰). Kids put to bed and the world outside quiet, there’s very little that can pull us away from our writing. Also, most of the day’s tasks are complete by the evening. This means we have a whole day’s worth of inspiration and experience to reflect on, most of which comes out in our writing. Another factor is that the dark hours tend to be more relaxing: lighting is softer, we’re spending less time on social media, and the overall setting is quieter. This makes it ten times easier to focus on our writing. Chemically, our brains change too. When we sleep, certain parts of the brain shut down in preparation for it as the sun sets. In particular, much of the frontal lobe (前额叶) becomes inactive, so less energy is spent on decision-making and more is directed into other parts of the brain, specifically to the right hemisphere. Despite some debate surrounding the subject, scientists generally believe the creative control-centre of the brain is in the right hemisphere, which concerns itself with everything from emotions and intuition to the way we dream. When we reach night time, this side of our brain becomes more active because less energy is being used to power the rest of our brain. This is partly what allows creative surges to happen. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enter a creative state during the day. If you can mirror night-time conditions, you stand the best chance of beating your writer’s block and letting words flow through you. 1．Why does the author mention his experience? A．To lead to his point. B．To prove his efforts. C．To display his routine life. D．To show off his writing talent. 2．What does Para 3 mainly talk about? A．The distractions at night. B．The way to relax at night. C．The mental advantages at night. D．The tasks to be done at night. 3．In our brains, creative thoughts increase sharply when ________. A．the frontal lobe functions well B．energy goes to decision-making C．emotions and dreams are absent D．the right hemisphere becomes active 4．Which of the following can be the best title? A．What Shall We Write at Night? B．When Do We Need to Write Most? C．Why Are We Most Creative at Night? D．How Can We Become A Creative Writer? 话题6 社会生活 Passage 1 It all adds up Whether it’s enemy tanks in battle, animals in the wild or cutlery (餐具) in a busy canteen, it is difficult to count objects that are moving around. Luckily, there is a technique that can estimate how many there are of something without requiring you to count every single one. The capture-recapture method involves getting a sample — waiting for some animals to wander by, for instance, then collecting some — marking the individuals distinctively, then releasing them back into the population. After some time has passed, you repeat the process to pick another group of animals and count how many of them are already marked. If you captured, say, 50 animals initially and marked them all, then on your recapture step you found half the animals you saw were marked, this tells you something about the whole population. Since half the sample is marked, this implies that half of the whole population is marked — so there must be about 100 individuals. This can give a reasonably accurate estimate of a population, without having to find and count every single member of it. During the second world war, some statisticians wanted to determine how many tanks the German army was producing. Captured tanks couldn’t be re-released, but, as tank components are marked with serial numbers, another approach allowed them to make an estimate. They logged the serial numbers of all captured tanks, working on the assumption that they were numbered in a fixed order and randomly distributed. If the largest serial number in your data is L and the number of captured tanks is n, one estimate for the total number of tanks is given by L+L/n. This is known as the German tank problem in statistics. One of my favourite population estimation stories was told to me by a teacher friend, who tasked her students with estimating the number of forks in the school canteen — impossible to count as, at any given time, a number will be in use and others will be in the wash. Her class “captured” a set of forks and marked each one with a drop of nail polish, then released them back into the population. A week later, they recaptured another sample population and used it to make an estimate of the total number of forks. Researchers performed a similar experiment 20 years ago to shame people into returning lab property. A worrying number of teaspoons were going missing in their lab, so they marked a set of spoons before releasing them, studying their movements and publishing the results. It turns out science is effective thanks to the publication of the paper. 1. Which of the following graph best illustrates the capture-recapture method?（marked ） A. B. C. D. 2. In order to estimate the production of German tanks, statisticians need to know the _________. A. fixed order in which German tanks were numbered B. smallest and largest serial numbers of captured tanks C. average of the serial numbers of all the tanks in a battle D. total of the captured tanks and their largest serial number 3. What can you infer about the final result of the teaspoon experiment? A. The missing teaspoons were equal to the released teaspoons. B. Scientists proposed an effective technique to count numbers. C. Missing teaspoons were sheepishly returned by spoon stealers. D. Researcher worked out the total of the missing forks in the lab. 4. What is the passage mainly about? A. Mysteries solved by capturing animals. B. The origin of a mathematical technique. C. A trick helping you count moving objects. D. Distinct occasions adding to difficulty in life. Passage 2 In some Western parts, children of healthy weight have long become the exception. Now even in poor countries, childhood obesity (肥胖) is spreading faster than ever before. The problem is not new: the percentage of overweight children around the world went up in the 1980s, as junk food became a dietary staple. But the trend today is alarming. A report by UNICEF found that the number of school-aged children who are obese is, for the first time, higher than those who do not get enough food to stay healthy. In Niue and the Cook Islands, nearly 40% of 5 — 19-year-olds are obese — the highest rates in the world. The south Pacific also has some of the worst adult obesity rates, fueled by shifting diets and a culture that prizes size. America ranks in the top 20 countries for childhood obesity, with a rate of 20%. In Europe, Hungary leads with 15%. Poor countries are particularly ill-equipped to tackle this issue. Health systems there were built to fight hunger not obesity. Many babies are born underweight because of poor diets when their mothers are expecting them. That alters their metabolism (新陈代谢) and makes rapid weight gain and other long-term health problems more likely in adulthood. In South America and parts of Africa and the Middle East, the share of overweight children is already higher than in western Europe and is nearing the 45% seen in North America. The reason is simple: cheap, heavily processed foods are dominating children’s diets worldwide, crowding out fresh fruits, vegetables and proteins. A UNICEF survey of 20 low- and middle-income countries found that more than half of babies aged 6 — 23 months in 13 countries had consumed sweet drinks or sugary foods the previous day. Even in Britain many ready-to-eat baby foods marketed as healthy are far from it. In countries with lax regulation, the meals are worse. A study of hundreds of baby foods sold in seven South-East Asian countries found that half were ultra-processed. A third contained additives that are not permitted under the Codex Alimentarius, the UN’s food-standards code. But changing diets is hard. Ultra-processed foods are about 50% cheaper than fresh or minimally processed foods, according to the UN’s report on food systems. A global survey of school meals in 2024 found that 25% of schools served processed meats, 21% served sweets, 19% served deep-fried food and 14% provided sugar-sweetened drinks. Stronger rules that restrict the advertising and sales of unhealthy foods could help. So could financial aid to make good food cheaper. What children eat early shapes their tastes for life. Adult diets are habits fixed in childhood. Once formed, those tastes are hard to shift. 1. The author cites the specific obesity rates of Niue and the Cook Islands, America, and Hungary in Paragraph 2 primarily ________. A. to argue that European policies are the most effective B. to show the problem is global, affecting diverse regions C. to rank the economic development levels of these places D. to suggest the issue is most severe in Pacific Island nations 2. Which of the following is a major concern regarding childhood obesity in poor countries according to the passage? A. Parents are not aware of the risks of obesity at all. B. Children refuse to eat any fresh fruits or vegetables. C. There is a complete lack of regulations on food advertising. D. Health systems are not designed to deal with such problems. 3. The underlined word “lax” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________. A. strict B. effective C. loose D. detailed 4. What is the main purpose of the passage? A. To criticize the food industry for promoting unhealthy foods. B. To recommend specific lifestyle programs for obese children. C. To analyze the global trend and challenges of childhood obesity. D. To compare obesity rates between developed and poor countries. Passage 3 On 27 September 1825, Robert Stephenson and Co’s Locomotion No.1 arrived in Stockton, England. As the first rail vehicle to carry passengers, it was greeted with a seven-gun salute and an astonished crowd. “It was found to be quite impossible to contain the enthusiasm of the crowd,” reported a journalist. This weekend the celebrations are likely to be slightly less wild, as the 200th anniversary of the pioneering Stockton and Darlington railway line(S&DR) is marked. But they will undoubtedly be heartfelt. A replica (复制品) of the pioneering engine is to recreate the original journey, with viewing tickets sold out along the route and a big screen following its progress in the town centre. A set of stamps in memory of the event is being issued, which feels appropriately old school. The businessmen who invested in the S&DR back in the 19th century were motivated by the functional benefits of transporting coal more efficiently. But their project eventually unlocked far wider human possibilities, transforming the sense of distance and changing the way the nation lived. Trains carried Victorian working-class families to the seaside and back, and reunited lovers on windswept platforms. Crowded 20th-century passenger trains ran regularly between satellite towns and cities. A railway station became part of the identity of a place, as well as a point of departure from it. These days the railways are journeying with difficulty towards a new era. The short-sighted railway cuts of the 1960s, and the needless, failed privatization (私有化) of the 1990s, were avoidable political errors whose legacy is still felt today. Extremely high-ticket prices and long-term mismanagement in the north, where the story began, harm the contemporary network. As the government gradually takes more train operators back under public ownership, a much-needed strategic reset is required. The rail industry should become a key force of green sustainable growth. Sadly, plans for high-speed rail in northern England are to be delayed again. This does not inspire confidence. For train lovers though, this weekend is about the past not the future. Locomotion No. 1 launched a journey that meant far more than travelling from A to B. From E Nesbit’s description of a rural childhood to WH Auden’s poem, the trip has left a lasting mark on our literature. Carnforth in Lancashire still celebrates its station’s role in the cinema classic Brief Encounter, where a tragic romance is brought to a close by a guard’s whistle, and the rhythmic sound of wheels beginning to move on track. 1. According to the passage, Locomotion No.1 referred to _________ A. a project founded by businessmen in the Victorian era B. a replica built to celebrate the railway’s 200th anniversary C. a machine dedicated to carrying coal out more efficiently D. a vehicle marking the beginning of passenger transport by rail 2. It can be inferred from the passage that the rail development_________ A. holds cultural significance beyond being a means of transportation B. has undergone a successful transition to meet modern-day demands C. is focusing on the construction and expansion of high-speed rail networks D. has suffered a decline due to the rise of more sustainable transport modes 3. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 most probably means _________ A. decisions intended for reforms have led to long-lasting damage B. increases in ticket price were meant for a potential service upgrade C. railway cuts in the 1960s once thought short-sighted prove necessary D. political errors in the past have ended the railway network for good 4. What’s the author’s attitude towards the changes in the railway over the past two centuries? A. disappointed but optimistic B. hateful and critical C. respectful yet regretful D. confident and admiring Passage 4 When you step on an escalator, do you stand to one side to let others pass? When someone in the room fans himself with a piece of paper, do you open a window? If you ask someone to hang out with you and they stare at you blankly, do you withdraw the invitation? If you don’t do any of these things, I have some unfortunate news: you cannot “read the air.” Knowing the unspoken rules governing social life requires a comprehensive understanding of your environment, whatever its setting. It’s a skill that’s valuable anywhere in the world, but in Japan, it is elevated to another level. Reading the air — “kuuki o yomu” in Japanese — is a constant exercise. Misreading the air can blow business deals or ruin relationship. Rochelle Kopp, who runs cross-cultural training firm Japan Intercultural Consulting, says that while all nations have varying degrees of indirect communication, in Japan the phenomenon is more prominent in society. For example, if you’re speaking loudly in an otherwise silent train car or talking to a client who has long since lost interest, you risk being labeled KY. It’s a pejorative (贬义的) Japanese slang term that stands for “kuuki ga yomenai,” or “unable to read the air.” A big part of “reading the air” is picking up on non-verbal cues. David Matsumoto, a psychology professor at San Francisco State University, studies micro expressions: tiny involuntary facial expressions that can give away a person’s true emotions. When, for example, a client at work says they’re happy with the job you’re doing, a very subtle lip twitch or eyebrow raise could mean they’re not telling you the truth. Noticing micro expressions, along with other non-verbal communication, is important in any situation, no matter where you are. “Silence is one non-verbal cue. So is shifting of posture. A social smile could be yet another cue,” says Matsumoto. “All of these are part of the non-verbal package that contributes to that contextual meaning.” Matsumoto runs Humintell, a company that provides workshops on how to get better at reading micro expressions and other non-verbal signals. Others provide such services, too; in Tokyo’s Toranomon business district, researcher Kenji Shimizu runs the Institute for Science and Being Sensitive to the Situation. Unlike Matsumoto, Shimizu teaches people how to master micro expressions. Shimizu uses a system developed by U. S. psychologist Paul Ekman, who coined the term and describes the subtle facial changes as “involuntary emotional leakage.” “If you notice someone’s disgust wrinkling around the nose — or anger-brows lowering, eyes widening, lips pressing — and yet those expressions are masked by smiles, you may want to figure out their actual thoughts,” Shimizu says, “and ask them what they really want you to do.” 1．Which of the following is Not the example of “reading the air”? A．When your partner sneezes, you take out a tissue and offer it to him. B．When your boss is about to leave, you hold the door open for him. C．If you invite a friend to a party, he declines in a low voice, so you withdraw the invitation. D．If you assign a task to a coworker, his eyebrows are lowering, so you encourage him. 2．According to the passage, what is the most important contribution factor to “reading the air”? A．Words and physical activities. B．Micro expressions and non-verbal cues. C．Cross-cultural understanding and communication. D．Voluntary facial expressions and emotional leakage. 3．What can you infer from the passage, based on what you have read? A．“Reading the air” is a skill necessary and popular in some parts of the world such as Japan. B．David Matsumoto not only demonstrates the importance of reading the air, but also offers tips to have a good command of it. C．If you take notice of the micro expressions and interpret them in a correct way, it will be easy to figure out people’s real thought. D．Words and actions can be reliable in most cases and help us to make sound judgment. Passage 5 For many years, ships that wanted to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific or from the Pacific to the Atlantic had to sail around South America. The trip took weeks and was very dangerous. To make the route shorter and safter, it was decided to build a canal (运河). Panama was chosen because it is the narrowest country in the Americas. The French started building the canal as early as 1880, but their attempt failed after 21,900 people died of diseases and accidents. The Americans finally completed the project, and the Panama Canal opened in 1914. When the Panama Canal opened in 1914, ships were able to make the trip between oceans in approximately 10 hours. The locks in the canal have been called$考前押题05 阅读理解说明文常考话题 话题1 科学研究 话题4 环境保护 话题2 文学艺术 话题5 研究发现 话题3 科学技术 话题6 社会生活 1 / 1 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 话题1 科学研究 Passage 1 Geology, the study of the structure and formation of the Earth, is the baby of all the other sciences. Until comparatively recently, scholars paid little attention to rocks and rock formations. Indeed, the word geology only appeared in the English language in 1735 and took another seventy or so years to enter general usage. Geology made its first appearance in the Encyclopedia Britannica (大英百科全书) in the 1810 edition. Despite this inclusion, the science of geology remained largely ignored until much later in the century. Nowadays the mystery of the Earth and its formation fascinates geologists across the world. However, few people know that the whole modern discipline of geology and the way we look at our world owes its inspiration to a single man with an extraordinary passion for landscape and rocks. That man was William Smith, who was born in 1769 in the small village of Churchill in the south of England. From an early age, William showed a strong interest in the world about him and asked questions about the landscape that no one could properly answer. As a young boy William picked up strange-looking stones that lay in the fields around his home and felt that some of the most common patterns in these stones looked like animals found living in the sea. He asked the men of knowledge and science in the district how these stones came to find themselves here. No one, it seemed, had answers to his questions or even thought it remotely interesting to ask the questions in the first place. A chance meeting with a man called Edward Webb led to William being offered a position to work down the mines. He came to realize that different types of rock lay at different levels as he went deeper underground. This led William to suggest that older rocks lay deeper than newer rocks. Armed with his newfound insight into the birth of rocks, William walked the length and breadth of Great Britain with the intention of surveying and categorizing all the wonderfully different types of rocks that he found. It took William many years of frustration and hardship to draw a huge map of Great Britain by hand. The map, on display today at Burlington House in London, uses beautiful colors to show every layer of rock below in the most precise detail. Unique in its time, William’s map gave birth to every geological survey that we take for granted in the world today. 1. The author mentions the late inclusion of “geology” in the Encyclopedia Britannica primarily to ________. A. question the accuracy of earlier editions of the encyclopedia B. highlight the slow academic acceptance of geology as a discipline C. emphasize the pioneering contribution of the Encyclopedia Britannica to science D. provide a precise birth date for the formal study of Earth’s structure 2. William Smith’s key contribution to geology was the realization that ________. A. mining operations were crucial for accessing complete rock orders B. the entire British landscape could be represented in a detailed map C. fossils provided the only reliable means for classifying rock types D. the order of rock layers preserved a record of past geological time 3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph? A. Smith’s extensive travels were the most important part of his work. B. The main value of Smith’s map today is as a piece of displayed art. C. Smith’s work laid the foundation for modern geological surveys. D. Smith’s map was immediately recognized as a major scientific breakthrough. 4. Which of the following might be the best title for this passage? A. How Fossil Patterns Revealed Ancient Seas B. The Man Who Uncovered the Earth’s Story C. The Encyclopedia Britannica and the Rise of Geology D. William Smith:From Miner to Master of Mapping 【答案】1. B 2. D 3. C 4. B 【导语】本文是一篇说明文，主要讲述了地质学的发展历程以及威廉・史密斯对现代地质学的贡献，包括他从小对岩石的兴趣、在矿井中的发现以及绘制地图等经历。 【1题详解】 推理判断题。根据第一段“Until comparatively recently, scholars paid little attention to rocks and rock formations. Indeed, the word geology only appeared in the English language in 1735 and took another seventy or so years to enter general usage. Geology made its first appearance in the Encyclopedia Britannica (大英百科全书) in the 1810 edition. Despite this inclusion, the science of geology remained largely ignored until much later in the century.(直到相对较近的时期，学者们对岩石和岩层都鲜少关注。事实上，geology一词直到1735年才出现在英语中，又过了大约七十年才被广泛使用。地质学首次被收录进《大英百科全书》是在1810年版中。尽管被收录其中，但地质学这门科学在19世纪的大部分时间里仍基本被忽视。)”可知，作者提及《大英百科全书》较晚才收录“地质学”一词，主要是为了突出地质学作为一门学科在学术界获得认可的进程十分缓慢。故选B。 【2题详解】 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段“He came to realize that different types of rock lay at different levels as he went deeper underground. This led William to suggest that older rocks lay deeper than newer rocks.(随着他深入地下，他逐渐意识到不同类型的岩石在不同的层次上。这使威廉提出，较老的岩石比新岩石埋得更深。)”可知，威廉·史密斯对地质学的主要贡献在于他意识到岩石层的顺序保存了过去地质时期的记录。故选D。 【3题详解】 推理判断题。根据最后一段“Unique in its time, William’s map gave birth to every geological survey that we take for granted in the world today.(威廉绘制的这幅地图在当时独一无二，催生了如今我们习以为常的每一项地质调查。)”可知，史密斯的工作为现代地质调查奠定了基础。故选C。 【4题详解】 主旨大意题。通读全文，尤其是最后一段“Armed with his newfound insight into the birth of rocks, William walked the length and breadth of Great Britain with the intention of surveying and categorizing all the wonderfully different types of rocks that he found. It took William many years of frustration and hardship to draw a huge map of Great Britain by hand. The map, on display today at Burlington House in London, uses beautiful colors to show every layer of rock below in the most precise detail. Unique in its time, William’s map gave birth to every geological survey that we take for granted in the world today.(凭借对岩石形成的新见解，威廉走遍大不列颠，打算对他所发现的各种各样奇妙的岩石进行勘测和分类。威廉耗费多年，历经无数挫折与艰辛，亲手绘制了一幅巨大的英国地图。这幅如今陈列于伦敦伯灵顿宫的地图，用精美的色彩精确细致地展现了地下每一层岩石。威廉绘制的这幅地图在当时独一无二，催生了如今我们习以为常的每一项地质调查。)”可知，本文主要讲述了地质学的发展历程，重点介绍了威廉·史密斯（William Smith）对地质学的开创性贡献，因此本文最好的题目是B选项“The Man Who Uncovered the Earth’s Story(揭开地球故事的人)”。故选B。 Passage 2 Technology is never a neutral tool for achieving human ends. Technological innovations reshape people as they use these innovations to control their environment. Artificial intelligence, for example, is altering humanity. While the term AI brings about anxieties about killer robots or catastrophic levels of unemployment, there are other, deeper implications. As AI increasingly shapes the human experience, how does this change what it means to be human? Central to the problem is a person’s capacity to make choices, particularly judgments that have moral implications. Aristotle argued that the capacity for making practical judgments depends on regularly making them on habit and practice. We see the emergence of machines as substitute judges in a variety of everyday contexts as a potential threat to people learning how to effectively exercise judgment themselves. In the workplace, managers routinely make decisions about who to hire or fire and which loan to approve, to name a few. These are areas where algorithmic (算法的) prescription is replacing human judgment, and so people who might have had the chance to develop practical judgment in these areas no longer will. Recommendation engines, which are increasingly prevalent intermediaries in people’s consumption of culture, may serve to constrain choice and minimize luck. By presenting consumers with algorithmically selected choices of what to watch, read, stream and visit next, companies are replacing human taste with machine taste. In one sense, this is helpful. After all, machines can survey a wider range of choices than any individual is likely to have the time or energy to do on their own. At the same time, though, this selection is optimizing for what people are likely to prefer based on what they’ve preferred in the past. We think there is some risk that people’s options will be constrained by their past in a new and unanticipated way. As machine learning algorithms improve and as they train on more extensive data sets, larger parts of everyday life are likely to become utterly predictable. The predictions are going to get better and better, and they will ultimately make common experiences more efficient and pleasant. Algorithms could soon-if they don’t already-have a better idea about which show you’d like to watch next and which job candidate you should hire than you do. One day, humans may even find a way for machines to make these decisions without some of the biases that humans typically display. But to the extent that unpredictability is part of how people understand themselves and part of what people like about themselves, humanity is in the process of losing something significant. As they become more and more predictable, the creatures inhabiting the increasingly AI-mediated world will become less and less like us. 1．What do we learn about the deeper implications of AI? A．It is causing great levels of unemployment. B．It is doing physical harm to human operators. C．It is altering moral judgments. D．It is reshaping humanity. 2．What is the consequence of algorithmic prescription replacing human judgment? A．People lose the chance to cultivate the ability to make practical judgments. B．People are prevented from participating in making major decisions in the workplace. C．Managers no longer have the chance to decide which loan to approve. D．Managers do not need to take the trouble to determine who to hire or fire. 3．What is likely to happen to larger parts of our daily life as machine learning algorithms improve? A．They will turn out to be more extensive. B．They will repeat our past experience. C．They can be vastly anticipated. D．They may become more commonly found. 4．Why does the author say the creatures living in the more and more Al-mediated world will become increasingly unlike us? A．They will have lost the most significant human element of being intelligent. B．They will no longer possess the human characteristic of being unpredictable. C．They will not be able to understand themselves as we can do today. D．They will be deprived of what their predecessors were proud of about themselves. 【答案】1．D 2．A 3．C 4．B 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章主要探讨了人工智能如何重塑人类，影响人类的判断和选择能力，让人类丧失其不可预测性，变得不再像自己。 1．推理判断题。根据第一段中“Artificial intelligence, for example, is altering humanity. (例如，人工智能正在改变人类)”和第二段中“As AI increasingly shapes the human experience, how does this change what it means to be human? Central to the problem is a person’s capacity to make choices, particularly judgments that have moral implications. (随着人工智能越来越多地塑造人类体验，这将如何改变作为人类的意义？问题的核心是一个人做出选择的能力，尤其是具有道德含义的判断)”可推知，人工智能的深层含义是它正在改变人类的意义，即重塑人类。故选D项。 2．细节理解题。根据第四段中“These are areas where algorithmic (算法的) prescription is replacing human judgment, and so people who might have had the chance to develop practical judgment in these areas no longer will. (在这些领域，算法正在取代人类的判断，因此，那些本有机会在这些领域发展实践判断的人将不再有机会)”可知，算法替代人类判断会导致人们失去培养实践判断能力的机会。故选A项。 3．细节理解题。根据文章第七段“As machine learning algorithms improve and as they train on more extensive data sets, larger parts of everyday life are likely to become utterly predictable.(随着机器学习算法的改进和更广泛数据集的训练，日常生活中的大部分都可能变得完全可预测)”可知，我们的日常生活的很大部分可能变得可以广泛预测。故选C。 4．推理判断题。根据最后一段“But to the extent that unpredictability is part of how people understand themselves and part of what people like about themselves, humanity is in the process of losing something significant. As they become more and more predictable, the creatures inhabiting the increasingly AI-mediated world will become less and less like us. (但在某种程度上，不可预测性是人们理解自己的一部分，也是人们喜欢自己的一部分，人类正在失去一些重要的东西。随着它们变得越来越可预测，生活在日益以人工智能为媒介的世界中的生物将变得越来越不像我们)”可推知，不可预测性是人类的重要特性，而人工智能可能会导致这种不可预测性的丧失。由此推知，作者认为生活在越来越以人工智能为媒介的世界里的生物将越来越不像我们。故选B项。 Passage 3 In the old days — say, the 1980s — if you bought a piece of technology, a paperback user guide came with it. It was the manufacturer’s one big chance to explain its engineers’ thinking to you, to communicate what the designers and marketers had in mind. Supplying documentation seemed, at the time, like a good idea all around. Mastery made customers happy, and happy customers meant repeat sales. But there were other forces at play. Printing and binding took time and money — and customers didn’t seem to be reading user manuals. Over time, therefore, physical manuals began disappearing from our hardware and software boxes. Maybe you’d get a Quick Start leaflet, but the rest was online. Online, you can search for certain terms, find topics faster and post questions for other people. Online communities and answer sites sprang up. Mini tutorials on the Internet began showing you how to perform a task. And it’s all free. Meanwhile the kind of technologies we use has changed. “People increasingly spend time in apps and social sites that have a fairly simple interface (界面),” Tim O’Reilly told me. (He’s founder of O’Reilly Media, which publishes my own how-to books. )You don’t need a manual to use Google. That was the beginning of the end for physical manuals. In principle, the death of professionally prepared support materials shouldn’t be any cause for concern. It’s just another big change caused by the Internet, another in the list of casualties, such as printed encyclopedias, newspaper classified ads and music on discs. In reality, though, none of the tech industry’s teaching channels, whether physical or online, is universal and effective. To this day, it’s astonishing how little we know about our phones, computers and software. A Microsoft product manager once told me that most feature requests the company gets for Microsoft Office are, in fact, already features of Microsoft Office. Hardware and software makers still operate with their traditional business model: Every year or so they sell us a new version, whose appeal is supposed to be more features. And so, as time goes by, our devices and apps become more and more complex — but access to documentation remains limited and incomplete. In the fantasy version of our world, designers would make our tech products simple enough, their important features obvious enough, for the masses to figure out on their own. Until then, there will be a growing information gap between the features we want and the engineering work that’s already been done. 1．The word “casualties” (paragraph 6) is closest in meaning to___________. A．causes B．manuals C．industries D．victims 2．Why did the author mention what a Microsoft product manager once told him? A．To criticize the lack of access that we have to complete documentation. B．To reveal the traditional business model that software makers operate with. C．To emphasize that it is a pity that physical manuals are no longer available. D．To illustrate that people actually know little about the tech products they use. 3．What can be inferred from the passage? A．Tech companies’ teaching channels are shrinking as time goes by. B．There is little chance that tech products will soon be simple enough. C．Printed manuals worked better than online versions. D．Consumers of the 1980s loved to read user manuals. 4．Which of the following might be the best title of the passage? A．What Happened to User Manuals? B．How Did Physical Manuals Prosper? C．How Simple Will Our Tech Products Be? D．What Change Has the Internet Brought About? 【答案】1．D 2．D 3．B 4．A 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章围绕用户手册展开，阐述其发展历程与影响。往昔购买科技产品会配备纸质手册，用于传达设计理念、促进销售，却因成本及用户阅读习惯问题，逐渐被在线资料替代，同时产品界面简化也减少对手册依赖。但当下，无论是纸质还是在线教学渠道都难以有效帮助用户了解产品。制造商不断推出复杂新产品，却缺乏完整说明，致使用户需求与产品实际功能间信息鸿沟渐大，尽管理想是产品简单易用，但目前尚未达成。 1．词义猜测题。根据第六段中“In principle, the death of professionally prepared support materials shouldn’t be any cause for concern.( 原则上，专业准备的支持材料的死亡不应该引起任何担忧)”以及划线单词句中“It’s just another big change caused by the Internet, another in the list of casualties, such as printed encyclopedias, newspaper classified ads and music on discs.( 这不过是互联网带来的又一个巨大变化，是印刷版百科全书、报纸分类广告和光盘音乐等诸多casualties中的又一个)”可知，printed encyclopedias（纸质百科全书）、newspaper classified ads（报纸分类广告）和music on discs（光盘音乐）都因互联网而受到影响，这里的casualties该指的是受互联网影响而受损或消失的事物，即“受害者，牺牲品”，与D选项“victims(受害者)”意思最接近。故选D项。 2．推理判断题。根据第七段“To this day, it’s astonishing how little we know about our phones, computers and software. A Microsoft product manager once told me that most feature requests the company gets for Microsoft Office are, in fact, already features of Microsoft Office.( 直到今天，我们对自己的手机、电脑和软件所知甚少，令人惊讶。一位微软的产品经理曾经告诉我，公司收到的关于微软Office的大多数功能要求实际上已经是微软Office的功能了)”可知，很多用户向微软提出的功能需求，其实在微软办公软件中已经存在，这说明人们对自己使用的科技产品了解甚少，作者提及此事是为了阐述这一点。故选D项。 3．推理判断题。根据最后一段“In the fantasy version of our world, designers would make our tech products simple enough. their important features obvious enough, for the masses to figure out on their own. Until then, there will be a growing information gap between the features we want and the engineering work that’s already been done.( 在我们幻想的世界里，设计师会让我们的科技产品足够简单。它们的重要特征足够明显，大众可以自己弄清楚。在那之前，我们想要的功能和已经完成的工程工作之间的信息差距将会越来越大)”可知，使科技产品足够简单只是一种幻想，在那之前，人们想要的功能和已完成的工程工作之间的信息差距会越来越大。由此可推断出科技产品短期内不太可能变得足够简单。故选B项。 4．主旨大意题。根据文章大意，以及第一段中“In the old days—say, the 1980s—if you bought a piece of technology, a paperback user guide came with it.( 在过去，比如20世纪80年代，如果你买了一项技术，就会附带一本平装本的用户指南)”和第三段“Over time, therefore, physical manuals began disappearing from our hardware and software boxes. Maybe you’d get a Quick Start leaflet, but the rest was online.( 因此，随着时间的推移，物理手册开始从我们的硬件和软件盒中消失。也许你会得到一份快速入门的传单，但其余的都在网上)”可知，文章开篇讲述过去购买科技产品会附带纸质用户手册，接着阐述随着时间推移，纸质手册逐渐消失的原因，以及现在无论是纸质还是在线的技术支持资料都存在不足，围绕用户手册展开讨论，A选项“What Happened to User Manuals?（用户手册怎么了？）”能很好地概括文章内容，作为标题最合适。故选A项。 Passage 4 We are all explorers. Our desire to discover, and then share that new-found knowledge, is part of what makes us human. Indeed, this has played an important part in our success as a species. Long before the first caveman sat beside the fire and grunted news that there were plenty of wildebeest (羚羊) out there, our ancestors had learned the value of sending out pioneers to investigate the unknown. This questing nature of ours undoubtedly helped our species spread around the globe, just as it nowadays no doubt helps the last nomadic Penan maintain their existence in the depleted forests of Borneo, and a visitor navigate the subways of New York. Over the years, we’ve come to think of explorers as a peculiar breed — different from the rest of us, different from those of us who are merely “well-travelled”, even; and perhaps there is a type of person more suited to seeking out the new, a type of caveman more inclined to risk venturing out. That, however, doesn’t take away from the fact that we all have this enquiring instinct, even today; and that in all sorts of professions — whether artist, marine biologist or astronomer — borders of the unknown are being tested each day. Thomas Hardy set some of his novels in Egdon Heath, a fictional area of uncultivated land, and used the landscape to suggest the desires and fears of his characters. He is delving into matters we all recognize because they are common to humanity. This is surely an act of exploration, and into a world as remote as the author chooses. Explorer and travel writer Peter Fleming talks of the moment when the explorer returns to the existence he has left behind with his loved ones. The traveller “who has for weeks or months seen himself only as a puny and irrelevant alien crawling laboriously over a country in which he has no roots and no background, suddenly encounters his other self, a relatively solid figure, with a place in the minds of certain people”. Here is how some of today’s ‘explorers’ define the word. Ran Fiennes, dubbed the “greatest living explorer”, said, “An explorer is someone who has done something that no human has done before — and also done something scientifically useful.” Chris Bonington, a leading mountaineer, felt exploration was to be found in the act of physically touching the unknown: “You have to have gone somewhere new.” Then Robin Hanbury Tenison, a campaigner on behalf of remote so-called “tribal” peoples, said, “A traveller simply records information about some far-off world, and reports back; but an explorer changes the world.” Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed Arabia’s Empty Quarter in 1946, and belongs to an era of unmechanised travel now lost to the rest of us, told me, “If I’d gone across by camel when I could have gone by car, it would have been a stunt.” To him, exploration meant bringing back information from a remote place regardless of any great self-discovery. Each definition is slightly different and tends to reflect the field of endeavour of each pioneer. It was the same whoever I asked: the prominent historian would say exploration was a thing of the past, the cutting-edge scientist would say it was of the present. And so on. They each set their own particular criteria the common factor in their approach being that they all had, unlike many of us who simply enjoy travel o discovering new things, both a very definite objective from the outset and also a desire to record their findings. 1．The writer refers to visitors to New York to illustrate the point that A．exploration is an inner element of being human. B．most people are not enthusiastic about exploring. C．exploration fails to lead to surprising results. D．most people find exploration frustrating. 2．According to the passage, what is the writer’s view of explorers? A．Their discoveries have brought both benefits and disadvantages. B．Their main value is in teaching others. C．They act on an urge that is common to everyone. D．They tend to be more attracted to certain professions than to others. 3．The writer refers to a description of Egdon Heath to suggest that A．Hardy was writing about his own experience of exploration. B．Hardy was mistaken about the nature of exploration. C．Hardy’s aim was to investigate people’s emotional states. D．Hardy’s aim was to show the attraction of isolation. 4．When discussing the definition of exploration, the writer argues that A．people tend to relate exploration to their own professional interests. B．certain people are likely to misunderstand the nature of exploration. C．the generally accepted definition has changed over time. D．historians and scientists have more valid definitions than the general public. 【答案】1．A 2．C 3．C 4．A 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章论述了探索是人类的本能，不同职业的人对“探索”有不同定义，且往往与自身职业相关。 1．推理判断题。根据第一段中“This questing nature of ours undoubtedly helped our species spread around the globe, just as it nowadays no doubt helps the last nomadic Penan maintain their existence in the depleted forests of Borne, and a visitor navigate the subways of New York.(我们这种探索的天性无疑帮助我们人类遍布全球，就像如今它无疑帮助最后的游牧民族彭南人在婆罗洲资源枯竭的森林中生存下来，也帮助游客在纽约的地铁中穿梭一样)”可知，前文提出探索是人类的天性，然后列举了游牧民族彭南人在婆罗洲资源枯竭的森林中生存下来和游客在纽约的地铁中穿梭两个例子。由此推知，作者提及游客在纽约的地铁中穿梭是为了证明探索是人类的天性。故选A项。 2．推理判断题。根据第二段中“That, however, doesn’t take away from the fact that we all have this enquiring instinct, even today; and that in all sorts of professions — whether artist, marine biologist or astronomer — borders of the unknown are being tested each day.(然而，这并不能改变一个事实：即使在今天，我们所有人都有这种探索的本能；而且在各种职业中——无论是艺术家、海洋生物学家还是天文学家——每天都在挑战未知的边界)”可知，所有人都有探索的本能，各种职业的人每天都在挑战未知的边界。由此推知，作者认为探险家的行为冲动是每个人都具有的。故选C项。 3．推理判断题。根据第三段中“Thomas Hardy set some of his novels in Egdon Heath, a fictional area of uncultivated land, and used the landscape to suggest the desires and fears of his characters. He is delving into matters we all recognize because they are common to humanity. This is surely an act of exploration, and into a world as remote as the author chooses.(Thomas Hardy将他的一些小说背景设定在埃格敦荒原，一个虚构的未开垦地区，并利用这片风景来暗示他笔下人物的欲望和恐惧。他在探究我们都能理解的事情，因为这些是人类共有的。这无疑是一种探索行为，进入作者选择的遥远世界。)”可知，埃格敦荒原是一个虚构的未开垦地区，象征着他笔下人物的欲望和恐惧，表明Hardy的目的是探究人们的情感状态，这也是一种探索。由此可知，作者提到哈代对荒原的描述是为了表明哈代旨在研究人类的情感状态。故选C项。 4．推理判断题。根据第五段中“Each definition is slightly different and tends to reflect the field of endeavour of each pioneer. It was the same whoever I asked: the prominent historian would say exploration was a thing of the past, the cutting edge scientist would say it was of the present.(每个定义都略有不同，并且往往反映了每个先驱者的努力领域。无论我问谁都是如此：著名的历史学家会说探索是过去的事情，前沿的科学家会说探索是当下的事情)”可知，不同的人对探索有不同的定义，作者认为不同领域的人会根据自己的职业兴趣定义探索的含义。由此可知，作者认为人们倾向于将探索与自己的职业兴趣联系起来。故选A项。 Passage 5 When we experience something painful, our brain produces natural painkillers that are chemically similar to powerful drugs such as morphine. Now research suggests these natural painkillers, also called endogenous opioids, play another role: helping regulate the body’s energy. Lauri Nummenmaa, a brain-imaging scientist at the University of Turku in Finland and his colleagues measured endogenous opioid release in the brains of 10 healthy men. The subjects were injected with a radioactive substance that binds to opioid receptors, making it possible to visualize the receptors’ activity using positron-emission tomography (正电子放射断层造影术). The study found evidence of natural painkillers in the men’s brains after they ate a satisfying meal of pizza. Surprisingly, their brains released even more of the endogenous opioids after they ate a far less pleasant — but nutritionally similar — liquid meal of what Nummenmaa called “nutritional goo.” Although the subjects rated the pizza as tastier than the goo, opioid release did not appear to relate to their enjoyment of the meal, the researchers reported earlier this year in the Journal of Neuroscience. “I would’ve expected the opposite result,” says Paul Burghardt, an investigator at Wayne State University, who was not involved in the work. After all, previous human and animal studies led researchers to believe that endogenous opioids helped to convey the pleasure of eating. Nummenmma, too, was surprised. His group earlier research showed that obese (肥胖的) people’s brains had fewer opioid receptors — but that receptor levels recover with weight loss. “Maybe when people overeat, endogenous opioids released in the brain constantly attack the receptors, so they decrease in number, ” he says. Why more opioids flooded the brain after the goo versus the pizza remains a mystery, but then researchers guess that faster digestion of the liquid meal may have produced more of the chemicals at the time of the scan, 15 minutes after eating. The new results may indicate that opioids play a wider role in energy metabolism (新陈代谢) than scientists previously thought. One possibility is that the opioid system is activated by the satisfaction of a full stomach and refreshed energy, Nummenmma says. “If you take a step back and look at conditions that activate opioid release — pain, feeding, pleasure — they are all related to homeostasis,” or keeping the body’s energy in balance, he explains. “The most interesting thing is that eating activated the system even in the absence of sensory pleasure. ” 1．What does Paul Burghardt mean by “the opposite result” (in paragraph 4)? A．The body’s energy balance plays an unexpectedly important role in killing pain. B．The more you enjoy your meal, the more the endogenous opioids are released. C．It is the nutrition rather than the taste that give people the pleasure of eating. D．Dissatisfying meals call for brains to produce more natural painkillers. 2．What did Numnenmna’s group find in their earlier research? A．How many opioid receptors people have in their brain is related to their weight. B．Overeating is a major problem people have if they have fewer opioid receptors. C．Faster digestion can help the body to absorb more endogenous opioid. D．The goo is more effective in activating people’s opioid release. 3．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________. A．people need to eat less to keep their body’s energy in good balance B．opioids are released when there is an imbalance in the body’s energy C．eating can repair a person’s opioid system as long as there is sensory pleasure D．conditions that activate opioid release should be rechecked to confirm the findings 4．What is the main idea of the passage? A．The absence of sensory pleasure affects how well opioids work. B．Natural painkillers work better than powerful drugs like morphine. C．The brain releases feel-good chemicals even after unpleasant meals. D．Pain plays the same role as pleasure in giving people a good appetite. 【答案】1．B 2．A 3．B 4．C 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了大脑会产生天然的止痛药，这些天然止痛药，也被称为内源性阿片类药物，最新的研究发现即使吃了不那么好吃的东西，大脑也会释放这种物质。解释了研究开展的经过以及发现。 1．推理判断题。根据第三段“Although the subjects rated the pizza as tastier than the goo, opioid release did not appear to relate to their enjoyment of the meal, the researchers reported earlier this year in the Journal of Neuroscience.(研究人员在今年早些时候的《神经科学杂志》上报告说，尽管受试者认为披萨比营养黏液更美味，但阿片类药物的释放似乎与他们对这顿饭的享受无关)”以及第四段“After all, previous human and animal studies led researchers to believe that endogenous opioids helped to convey the pleasure of eating.(毕竟，之前的人类和动物研究让研究人员相信，内源性阿片类药物有助于传递进食的乐趣)”可知，新的研究发现阿片类药物的释放似乎与他们对这顿饭的享受无关，而之前的研究发现的是内源性阿片类药物有助于传递进食的乐趣，故推测保罗·伯格哈特所说的“相反的结果”意思是你吃得越尽兴，内源性阿片类物质就释放得越多。故选B。 2．细节理解题。根据第四段“His group earlier research showed that obese (肥胖的) people’s brains had fewer opioid receptors — but that receptor levels recover with weight loss.(他的研究小组早期的研究表明，肥胖者大脑中的阿片受体较少，但这种受体水平会随着体重减轻而恢复)”可知，努曼纳的团队在他们早期的研究中发现人的大脑中有多少阿片受体与体重有关。故选A。 3．推理判断题。根据最后一段““If you take a step back and look at conditions that activate opioid release — pain, feeding, pleasure — they are all related to homeostasis,” or keeping the body’s energy in balance, he explains. “The most interesting thing is that eating activated the system even in the absence of sensory pleasure.”(他解释说：“如果你退后一步，看看激活阿片类药物释放的条件——疼痛、进食、快乐——它们都与体内平衡有关。最有趣的是，即使在没有感官愉悦的情况下，吃东西也能激活该系统。”)”可知，阿片类药物在身体能量不平衡时被释放。故选B。 4．主旨大意题。根据第三段“The study found evidence of natural painkillers in the men’s brains after they ate a satisfying meal of pizza. Surprisingly, their brains released even more of the endogenous opioids after they ate a far less pleasant — but nutritionally similar — liquid meal of what Nummenmaa called “nutritional goo.”(研究发现，在男性吃了一顿满意的披萨后，他们的大脑中出现了天然止痛药。令人惊讶的是，在他们吃了Nummenmaa称之为“营养黏液”的液体餐后，他们的大脑释放了更多的内源性阿片类物质，这种食物远没有那么令人愉快，但营养成分相似)”结合文章主要说明了大脑会产生天然的止痛药，这些天然止痛药，也被称为内源性阿片类药物，最新的研究发现即使吃了不那么好吃的东西，大脑也会释放这种物质。解释了研究开展的经过以及发现。可知，这篇文章的主旨是即使在不愉快的用餐后，大脑也会释放让人感觉良好的化学物质。故选C。 话题2 文学艺术 Passage 1 What makes a genius? We might say it’s a combination of extraordinary talent and drive, often accompanied by madness. Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso all made pioneering breakthroughs in their respective fields while living legendary lives. Helen Lewis’s The Genius Myth, however, argues that society wrongly admires figures like them. She claims the “genius” label excuses immoral behaviours — alcoholism, abandonment, drug abuse. But does her criticism really make sense? In her book, Lewis links the idea of innate (天生的) genius to the harmful history of intelligence testing. This field, started by figures like Francis Galton, is connected to racism. She criticises his later following thinkers, like Hans Eysenck and William Shockley, for their ignoring social factors affecting success for supporting racial rankings. For them, she suggests, “genius” becomes a cover on extreme or even evil thinking, a characteristic increasingly seen in some online fans. Her solution? Stop admiring individuals. Call specific works genius, not people. But I question whether the public really believes this “genius myth” as desperately as Lewis insists. Her sweeping statements about “our” blind love for “troublesome individuals” feel forced — like she’s projecting her own views on everyone else. The book has significant drawbacks. Lewis essentially invents a term “weak model of genius” to dress up a long-known obvious point — imperfect people can be talented — as new insight. It feels like she’s selling a cure for a disease she invented. Besides, her attempts at a friendly, TED-Talk-inspired style feel awkward rather than genuine. The heavy use of italics (斜体字) makes the writing feel struggled, as if she is trying too hard to convince both readers and herself. More troubling is the disrespectful attitude towards complex art that surfaces in Lewis’s writing. Her rude view on Joyce’s literature (“what-if novels, but harder to read”), her dislike for pioneering films, and her confession of finding the Beatles music “boring” imply that her problem with “genius” might partly be a personal hate for difficult art and its creators. Worse still, these dislikes go without strong proof. Her unjust claim that Picasso is admired because of his imperfection, not despite them, reads more like an angry opinion than reasoned argument. While some online fans might admire some superstars uncritically, true faith in innate genius has been weaker since the 1960s. Lewis jumps on a train that is already slowing. 1. According to The Genius Myth, Helen Lewis would most likely agree that ______. A. people like Picasso have never made any real achievements B. some figures’ evil behaviors are excused by the word “genius” C. many so-called geniuses cannot pass intelligence testing D. nothing in this world is worth the genius label 2. What does the writer think of the Genius Myth? A. Its writing style is engaging, sincere and humble. B. “The weak model of genius” is an innovative term. C. Its criticism of the “genius myth” lacks evidence. D. It fails to explain the root cause of people’s passion for genius. 3. What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph imply? A. Lewis is criticizing an idea that is no longer influential. B. Lewis’s book is thoughtful despite some drawbacks. C. Lewis’s criticism is fresh but faces the public’s resistance. D. Lewis is aware that the public’s faith in genius is declining. 4. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Society’s admiration for geniuses is dangerous. B. Lewis criticism of “the genius myth” is unconvincing. C. The public should hold a critical view on geniuses. D. Specific works instead of people should be admired. 【答案】1. B 2. C 3. A 4. B 【导语】这是一篇说明文。本文介绍《天才神话》对“天才”标签的批判，却指出该书观点主观、缺依据、文风生硬，其批判的观念已无强影响力，整体论证缺乏说服力。 【1题详解】 细节理解题。根据第一段“Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso all made pioneering breakthroughs in their respective fields while living legendary lives. Helen Lewis’s The Genius Myth, however, argues that society wrongly admires figures like them. She claims the “genius” label excuses immoral behaviours — alcoholism, abandonment, drug abuse.(托马斯·爱迪生、阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦和巴勃罗·毕加索在各自的领域都取得了开创性的突破，同时他们的人生也充满了传奇色彩。然而，海伦·刘易斯所著的《天才的神话》却认为，社会错误地推崇了像他们这样的人物。她声称，“天才”这一称号会为不道德的行为开脱——比如酗酒、遗弃、吸毒)”可知，根据《天才神话》一书，海伦·刘易斯很可能会认同这样的观点：某些人物的恶劣行为之所以会被原谅，是因为他们具有“天才”这一特质。故选B。 【2题详解】 细节理解题。根据最后一段“Worse still, these dislikes go without strong proof. Her unjust claim that Picasso is admired because of his imperfection, not despite them, reads more like an angry opinion than reasoned argument.(更糟糕的是，这些不满并没有充分的证据支持。她那种毫无根据地声称毕加索之所以受到喜爱是因为他的不完美之处，而非尽管有这些不完美之处才受到喜爱的观点，更像是愤怒的言论而非理性的论证)”可知，作者认为这本书对“天才神话”的批判缺乏依据。故选C。 【3题详解】 句意猜测题。根据划线词上文“While some online fans might admire some superstars uncritically, true faith in innate genius has been weaker since the 1960s.(虽然一些网络粉丝会不加批判地追捧某些巨星，但自 20 世纪 60 年代以来，人们对 “天赋型天才” 的盲目崇拜已经有所减弱。)”可知，自20世纪60年代起，人们对‘天赋型天才’的笃信已大幅减弱”，即说明刘易斯是在批评一种已不再具有影响力的观念。故划线意思是“刘易斯是在批评一种已不再具有影响力的观念”。故选A。 【4题详解】 主旨大意题。根据最后一段“Worse still, these dislikes go without strong proof. Her unjust claim that Picasso is admired because of his imperfection, not despite them, reads more like an angry opinion than reasoned argument.(更糟糕的是，这些不满并没有充分的证据支持。她那种毫无根据地声称毕加索之所以受到喜爱是因为他的不完美之处，而非尽管有这些不完美之处才受到喜爱的观点，更像是愤怒的言论而非理性的论证)”以及文章先引出 Lewis《天才神话》的核心观点（批判“天才”标签、否定对天才个体的崇拜），再从观点主观性（将自身看法强加于人）、术语无创新性（包装旧观点）、文风生硬（刻意说服读者）、批判无依据（对艺术和天才的评价缺乏论证）、批判对象过时（所批判的观念已无强影响力）等多维度，论证其观点缺乏说服力。故这篇文章的主要观点是刘易斯关于“天才神话”的批评缺乏说服力。故选B。 Passage 2 Saved or Stolen? The British Museum has a well-earned reputation as an “encyclopaedic” museum, with a global story told through eight million objects. Inside, a wide-ranging collection includes everything from prehistoric pottery to precious handmade jewellery from India and Ming Dynasty vases from China. The museum helps us understand how events that happened at different times and in different places were connected, and how they influenced each other. Indeed, this was the vision of its founder, Sir Hans Sloane, who tried setting up cross-cultural comparisons in his original collection in 1753. As you walk around the British Museum today, it’s clear that Sloane’s broad-minded vision is very much alive and well. What’s less clear is how the museum acquired many of the objects on display and whether they should remain there. The collection has an obvious political dimension: while some objects have a well-documented history, others were added during Britain’s colonial period, so it’s possible they were stolen from famous archaeological sites or acquired in the war. Imagine having an important national monument from your country kept permanently in another country. How would you feel? Would you try to get the country to return it? It’s not surprising that many countries have gone on to ask for their treasures back. However; where they should be kept is a question that is still heatedly debated. The Rosetta Stone is a well-known exhibit that illustrates this problem. Carved in 196BCE, the stone was the key to unlocking the language of the ancient Egyptians. It was first discovered in 1799 near the town of el-Rashid (Rosetta) by soldiers in Napoleon’s army, but on Napoleon’s defeat in 1801, it became the property of the British. Many of the museum’s treasures were acquired in a similar way, but unsurprisingly, the British Museum is reluctant to let the Rosetta Stone go. It argues that more people see the Stone in London than they would in Cairo, the location is more secure and the exhibit is a critical part of its global collection. The Egyptian government has other ideas and is trying to persuade the museum to return it. They claim that it’s important for their nation’s history and identity, and that many Egyptians can’t afford to go to London to see it. But the British Museum won’t let the Rosetta Stone go, even as a loan, as they fear it won’t be returned. The British Museum is a place dedicated to international understanding, and the advantages of an encyclopaedic museum are clear to see: “We need to explore common ground, how people perceive their relationship to each other...and (to) see human history as an ongoing joint project,” explains MacGregor, former director of the British Museum. But this attempt to bring different cultures together has been self-defeating, ultimately having the opposite effect: taking treasures from other countries has resulted in never-ending international arguments and frosty relations with foreign governments. So as you admire the breathtaking objects on display at the museum, think about their heritage. Remember to ask yourself: Does the end justify the means? Is taking an object for a museum different from theft? And shouldn’t important objects be exhibited where they were originally made? 1．Which of the following words is similar in meaning to “encyclopaedic” (paragraph 1) ? A．being famous for its modern exhibitions. B．focusing only on ancient artifacts. C．containing a wide range of knowledge or information. D．owned by a private collector for personal use. 2．Why does the British Museum refuse to return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt? A．Because Egypt lacks the financial resources to protect it. B．Because more visitors can see it in London and its location is safer. C．Because the stone was legally purchased during colonial times. D．Because the Egyptian government has not formally requested its return. 3．The author’s attitude toward the British Museum’s argument is ______. A．strongly supportive B．completely neutral C．slightly skeptical D．openly against 4．What can be inferred about the “encyclopaedic museum” vision? A．It ignores the historical context of artifact acquisition. B．It successfully promotes global cultural harmony. C．It intentionally worsen international tensions. D．It prioritizes scientific research over national heritage. 【答案】1．C 2．B 3．D 4．A 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章围绕大英博物馆展品来源及归属问题展开讨论，以罗塞塔石碑为例，指出该馆拒绝归还他国文物引发争议，质疑其做法的合理性。 1．词句猜测题。根据第一段中“The British Museum has a well-earned reputation as an “encyclopaedic” museum, with a global story told through eight million objects. Inside, a wide ranging collection includes everything from prehistoric pottery to precious handmade jewellery from India and Ming Dynasty vases from China. (大英博物馆作为一座“encyclopaedic”博物馆实至名归，馆藏八百万件文物向世人述说着全球文明的故事。其浩瀚馆藏包罗万象，从史前陶器到印度手工精制珠宝，再到中国明代瓷器，无不尽收其中)”可知，大英博物馆的藏品范围广泛，涵盖了不同时期和不同地区的物品，包罗万象。所以“encyclopaedic”意思应是包含广泛的知识或信息，与C项“containing a wide range of knowledge or information”意思相近。故选C项。 2．细节理解题。根据第三段中“Many of the museum’s treasures were acquired in a similar way, but unsurprisingly, the British Museum is reluctant to let the Rosetta Stone go. It argues that more people see the Stone in London than they would in Cairo, the location is more secure and the exhibit is a critical part of its global collection. (博物馆的许多宝藏都是以类似的方式获得的，但不出所料，大英博物馆不愿让罗塞塔石碑离开。它辩称，在伦敦看到这块石头的人比在开罗看到的人更多，存放地点更安全，而且该展品是其全球藏品的重要组成部分)”可知，大英博物馆拒绝将罗塞塔石碑归还给埃及是因为在伦敦有更多人能看到它，且存放地点更安全。故选B项。 3．推理判断题。根据最后一段中“But this attempt to bring different cultures together has been self-defeating, ultimately having the opposite effect: taking treasures from other countries has resulted in never ending international arguments and frosty relations with foreign governments. (但这种将不同文化汇聚在一起的尝试适得其反，最终产生了相反的效果：从其他国家拿走珍宝导致了无休止的国际争论和与外国政府的冷淡关系)”可知，作者认为大英博物馆拿走他国珍宝的行为带来了负面结果，说明作者对大英博物馆拒绝归还文物的理由是公开反对的。故选D项。 4．推理判断题。根据第二段中“What’s less clear is how the museum acquired many of the objects on display and whether they should remain there. The collection has an obvious political dimension: while some objects have a well-documented history, others were added during Britain’s colonial period, so it’s possible they were stolen from famous archaeological sites or acquired in the war. (不太清楚的是，博物馆是如何获得许多展出物品的，以及这些物品是否应该继续留在那里。这些藏品具有明显的政治层面：虽然有些物品有详细的历史记录，但其他一些是在英国殖民时期增加的，所以它们有可能是从著名的考古遗址被盗走或在战争中获得的)”可知，大英博物馆所谓的“百科全书式博物馆”愿景忽略了文物获取的历史背景。故选A项。 Passage 3 To say that the child learns by imitation and that the way to teach is to set a good example oversimplifies. No child imitates every action he sees. Sometimes, the example the parent wants him to follow is ignored while he takes over contrary patterns from some other example. Therefore, we must turn to a more subtle theory than “Monkey see, monkey do”. Look at it from the child’s point of view. Here he is in a new situation, lacking a ready response. He is seeking a response which will gain certain ends. If he lacks a ready response for the situation, and cannot reason out what to do, he observes a model who seems able to get the right result. The child looks for an authority or expert who can show what to do. There is a second element at work in this situation. The child may be able to achieve his immediate goal only to find that his method brings criticism from people who observe him. When shouting across the house achieves his immediate end of delivering a message, he is told emphatically that such a screaming is unpleasant, that he should walk into the next room and say his say quietly. Thus, the desire to solve any objective situation is overlaid with the desire to solve it properly. One of the early things the child learns is that he gets more affection and approval when his parents like his response. Then other adults award some actions and criticize others. If one is to maintain the support of others and his own self-respect, he must adopt responses his social group approves. In finding trial responses, the learner does not choose models at random. He imitates the person who seems a good person to be like, rather than a person whose social status he wished to avoid. If the pupil wants to be good violinist, he will observe and try to copy the techniques of capable players. Admiration of one quality often leads us to admire a person as a whole, and he becomes an identifying figure. We use some people as models over a wide range of situations, imitating much that they do. We learn that they are dependable and rewarding models because imitating them leads to success. 1．According to the passage, to teach a child to learn something, parents should _________. A．follow the theory of imitation B．set a good example for the child to copy C．simplify each action shown to the child D．view from the child’s perspective 2．Which of the following situation will lead a child to seek for a model? A．The child is blamed by parents for his/her wrongdoing. B．The child is in trouble and cannot figure out an approach. C．The child encounters a professional who can get the right result. D．The child comes up with a solution to an issue. 3．It can be inferred that children usually imitate people _________. A．whose actions are consistent with theirs B．who enjoy a high social status C．whose talent and skill are extraordinary D．whom they want to be shaped into 4．What is the passage mainly about? A．The factors determining children’s imitation. B．The significance of learning by imitation. C．The way children choose models. D．The reason for parenting by imitation. 【答案】1．D 2．B 3．D 4．A 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章指出，孩子并非盲目模仿，而是有选择地学习。他们倾向于模仿能带来正确结果的权威或专家，考虑社会接受度，并选择模仿看起来不错的人物。 1．细节理解题。根据第二段中“Look at it from the child’s point of view. (从孩子的角度看问题)”可知，要教孩子学东西，父母应该站在孩子的角度看问题。故选D项。 2．细节理解题。根据第二段中“Here he is in a new situation, lacking a ready response. He is seeking a response which will gain certain ends. If he lacks a ready response for the situation, and cannot reason out what to do, he observes a model who seems able to get the right result. The child looks for an authority or expert who can show what to do. (现在他处在一个新的环境中，缺乏现成的回应。他正在寻求一种能达到某种目的的回应。如果他对这种情况缺乏现成的回应，无法推理出该怎么做，他会观察一个似乎能够得到正确结果的榜样。孩子们会寻找权威或专家来告诉他们该怎么做)”可知，当孩子遇到困难，想不出办法时，他就会寻找一个榜样。故选B项。 3．推理判断题。根据第四段中“In finding trial responses, the learner does not choose models at random. He imitates the person who seems a good person to be like, rather than a person whose social status he wished to avoid. (在寻找试验回应时，学习者并不是随机选择榜样的。他模仿那些看起来不错的人，而不是模仿那些他希望避免其社会地位的人)”可推知，孩子选择模仿他们想要被塑造成的人。故选D项。 4．主旨大意题。通读全文，尤其是第二段中“Look at it from the child’s point of view. (从孩子的角度看问题)”、第三段中“There is a second element at work in this situation. (在这种情况下，还有第二个因素在起作用)”和第四段中“In finding trial responses, the learner does not choose models at random. (在寻找试验回应时，学习者并不是随机选择榜样的)”可知，文章指出传统的“模仿学习”观点过于简化，实际上孩子不会盲目模仿所有行为，为此向读者介绍了决定儿童模仿行为的因素，包括他们倾向于模仿能带来正确结果的权威或专家，考虑社会接受度，并选择模仿看起来不错的人物。故选A项。 Passage 4 Every year, thousands of teenagers take part in programs at their local art museums. But do any of them remember their time at museum events later in life? A new report suggests that the answer is yes - and finds that graduates of arts-based museum programs credit them with changing the course of their lives, even years after the fact. The Whitney Museum of American Art the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles recently asked researchers to carry out a study to find out how effective their long-standing teen art programs really are. They involved over 300 former members of four programs for teens that have been in existence since the 1990s. Graduates, whose current ages are from 18 to 36, were invited to be the subjects (对象) of the study to find out how they viewed their participation years after the fact. Among the graduates surveyed, 75 percent of graduates rated (排名) die teen program experience as the most favorable impact on their own lives, beating family, school and their neighborhoods. Nearly 55 percent thought that it was one of the most important experiences they’ d ever had, regardless of (不管) age and two-thirds said that they were often in situations where then experience in museums affected their actions or thoughts. It turns out that taking part in art programs also helps keep teens enthusiastic (热情的) about arts even after they reach adulthood: 96 percent of participants (参与者) had visited an art museum within the last two years, and 68 percent had visited an art museum five or more times within the last two years. Thirty-two percent of program graduates work in the arts as adults. Though the study is the first of its kind to explore the impact (影响) of teen-specific art programs in museums, it reflects other research on the important benefits of engaging with the arts. A decade of surveys the National Endowment for the Arts found that childhood experience with the arts have linked arts education to everything from lower drop-out rates to improvement in critical thinking skills. 1．What does the underlined phrase “the fact” in Paragraph 1 refer to? A．Changing the course of children’s life. B．Taking part in childhood art programs. C．Organizing arts-based museum programs. D．Remembering the time at museum events. 2．What does Paragraph 2 mainly tell us? A．The content of the study. B．The result of the study. C．The process of the study. D．The way of the study. 3．What can be inferred of the study mentioned in the text? A．Passion for arts may remain long in kids’ whole life. B．No other studies exist about the benefits of arts. C．Age matters in how people view their art experiences. D．Most children taking part in art programs will work in arts. 4．Which of the following can be the best title for the text? A．How is Art Connected to Our Life? B．Can Art Education Affect Our Income? C．What Should Art Museums do for Kids? D．Should Children Walk into Art Museums? 【答案】1．B 2．B 3．A 4. D 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了博物馆艺术项目对青少年的长远积极影响，研究表明这种影响可延续至成年时期，甚至一生。 1．词句猜测题。根据第一段中“Every year, thousands of teenagers take part in programs at their local art museums. But do any of them remember their time at museum events later in life? A new report suggests that the answer is yes - and finds that graduates of arts-based museum programs credit them with changing the course of their lives, even years after the fact. (每年，成千上万的青少年参加当地艺术博物馆的项目。但是，他们中是否有人在日后还记得在博物馆活动中的时光呢？一份新的报告表明，答案是肯定的——并且发现，基于艺术的博物馆项目的毕业生认为这些项目改变了他们的生活轨迹，甚至在这个事实多年之后仍然如此。)”可知，参加艺术博物馆项目的毕业生认为这些项目改变了他们的生活轨迹，甚至在参加童年时期的艺术项目多年之后仍然受到影响，故划线词the fact指的是“参加童年时期的艺术项目”。故选B项。 2．主旨大意题。根据第二段中“The Whitney Museum of American Art the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles recently asked researchers to carry out a study to find out how effective their long-standing teen art programs really are. (美国惠特尼美术馆、沃克艺术中心以及洛杉矶当代艺术博物馆最近要求研究者进行研究，以了解他们长期存在的青少年艺术项目到底有多有效。)”可知，第二段主要讲述了研究者进行研究的内容。故选A项。 3．推理判断题。根据第四段中“It turns out that taking part in art programs also helps keep teens enthusiastic about arts even after they reach adulthood: 96 percent of participants had visited an art museum within the last two years, and 68 percent had visited an art museum five or more times within the last two years. Thirty-two percent of program graduates work in the arts as adults. (事实证明，参加艺术项目也有助于让青少年即使在成年后仍然对艺术保持热情：96%的参与者在过去两年内参观过艺术博物馆，68%的参与者在过去两年内参观过艺术博物馆五次或更多次。32%的项目毕业生成年后从事艺术工作。)”可知，参加艺术项目可以让青少年对艺术的热情可能会持续一生。故选A项。 4．主旨大意题。通读全文，文章主要介绍了博物馆艺术项目对青少年的长远积极影响，研究表明这种影响可延续至成年时期，甚至一生，故D项“孩子们应该走进艺术博物馆吗？”适合作为文章的标题。故选D项。 Passage 5 You may be surprised to learn that English gets 30 to 45 percent of its words from French. The reason goes back to the year 1066, when Norman forces invaded (入侵) Britain. The Normans were from northern France and spoke French. During the Norman occupation, French became the language of England’s rulers and wealthy class. This lasted for more than 300 years. Other people in England continued to speak English during this period. Over time, the two languages combined and shared words. Some researchers believe that about 10,000 French words eventually entered the English language. However, although English took many French words, their meanings have not always stayed the same. Sometimes the differences in meanings can be very important, and lead to funny or strange situations if the words are used in the wrong way. Take the French word college for example. In English, college can often be used in place of the word university, or sometimes as a school within a university. However, in French, college actually means “middle school”, or the level of schooling for students in grades five or six through eight. There are many other similar words in the two languages with completely different meanings. In English, the word chat means “to talk casually (随意)”; but in French, the word chat is the word for an animal: a cat. If an English speaker says someone is jolly, that means he is cheerful or friendly. But in French, jolie means someone is good-looking or pleasant to look at. In any case, both are nice things to say to someone. 1．What is the purpose of the first paragraph? A．To show the influence of the Normans on England. B．To present the relationship between Britain and France. C．To introduce how English and French combined together. D．To explain why so many French words entered the English language. 2．What does the author stress about similar words in English and French? A．Their funny stories. B．Their changes in history. C．Their spelling forms. D．Their different meanings. 3．What does an Englishman mean if he says he’d like to have a chat? A．He likes a kind of pet. B．He wants to have a small talk. C．He prefers to talk in public. D．He’d like to have an interview. 4．What is the text mainly about? A．Development of English. B．Difficulties in learning English. C．French words in English. D．Similarities between English and French. 【答案】1．D 2．D 3．B 4. C 【导语】这是一篇说明文。本文讲述了英语中许多词汇来源于法语的历史背景及其演变过程，并强调了英法语中相似词汇的不同含义。 1．推理判断题。根据文章第一段“You may be surprised to learn that English gets 30 to 45 percent of its words from French. The reason goes back to the year 1066, when Norman forces invaded (入侵) Britain.(你可能会惊讶地发现，英语中有30%到45%的单词来自法语。这个原因可以追溯到1066年，当时诺曼军队入侵了英国。)”可知，英语中很多词汇来源于法语，并且解释了其历史原因，即诺曼军队入侵英国，所以第一段的目的是解释为什么这么多法语词汇进入了英语语言。故选D。 2．细节理解题。根据文章第二段“However, although English took many French words, their meanings have not always stayed the same. Sometimes the differences in meanings can be very important, and lead to funny or strange situations if the words are used in the wrong way.(然而，尽管英语吸收了许多法语单词，但它们的含义并不总是一样的。有时意义的差异可能非常重要，如果错误地使用这些单词，可能会导致有趣或奇怪的情况。)”可知，作者强调英语和法语中相似单词的不同含义。故选D。 3．细节理解题。根据文章第四段“In English, the word chat means ‘to talk casually (随意)’.(在英语中，chat这个词的意思是‘随意地交谈’。)”可知，如果一个英国人说他想“have a chat”，他的意思是他想闲聊一下。故选B。 4．主旨大意题。文章第一段提到英语中30%到45%的单词来自法语，并解释了历史原因；第二段讲述英法两种语言结合的过程以及词汇的演变；第三、四、五段则通过举例说明了英语和法语中相似词汇的不同含义。由此可知，文章主要讲的是英语中的法语单词。故选C。 话题3 科学技术 Passage 1 Even if you don’t worry that artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy the human race, you might fear its huge appetite for electricity will damage the environment. Asking an AI chatbot a question is equivalent to using ten times more energy than an old-fashioned internet search. As the AI boom took off, you may think that emissions(排放)from tech giants evidently rise. With huge investments in new data centers planned, more rises seem inevitable. But the worry is on shaky ground. In absolute terms, AI may be less energy-hungry than assumed. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that electricity consumption by data centers could more than double in five years. Even if energy usage increases sharply, the basic is still low. Data centers currently account for only about 1.5% of global electricity consumption — and the vast majority of that is due to streaming, social media and online shopping, not AI. Handled in a smart way, some of AI’s electricity use will help with greening the economy. AI is highly capable of identifying complex patterns and improving systems, which can help reduce emissions. It is already helping improve the efficiency of electrical networks with real-time balance of supply and demand. Besides, it has assisted in reducing petrol consumption in shipping through adjusting routes and speeds to the fittest, and spotting leaks of methane (a greenhouse gas) by cooperating with satellites and ground sensors. The task for policymakers and industry bosses is to maximize AI’s advantages in saving energy, thus minimizing its climate impacts. The most elegant solution would be for governments to set a proper price on carbon. But because a global carbon price remains a distant dream, it would be more realistic to focus on other measures. The first is greater openness. From August 2026, the EU will require some AI developers to report their energy use in detail, which can be copied elsewhere. A second is to rethink how data centers operate. The IEA notes that arranging to shift volume of work among data centers at different times could reduce pressure and help balance energy networks, making them better matched to renewable power. Third, tech firms should live up to their environmental promises. Many now rely heavily on buying renewable-energy credits, a problematic way of balancing their emissions. A better one is to use their influence to promote the decarbonization of the energy networks by pushing for planning reform and supporting alternatives like nuclear power. Doubling down on these would help transform AI from climate suspect to climate hero. 1. The reason why the author says “the worry is on shaky ground” is that________. A. tech companies have already achieved their carbon goals B. future data centers will be powered by renewable energy C. the current energy use by AI is small within global context D. AI’s environmental benefits can make up for its energy cost 2. We can learn from paragraph 3 that________. A. energy used by AI would otherwise realize a green economy B. energy saving in shipping is partly due to AI-improved routes C. AI’s real-time management has raised electricity consumption D. methane leak detection done by AI can be sensed by satellites 3. Which of the following is recommended to handle AI’s climate impacts? A. Setting a global carbon price for tech industries. B. Scheduling data centers’ workloads dynamically. C. That tech firms balance emissions through credit exchange. D. That AI developers stay open to others’ reporting approaches 4. What would be the best title for the passage? A. Technology’s Impact on Climate Change B. Government Regulations on AI and Energy C. AI’s Energy Demand and Tech Innovation D. AI’s Energy Consumption and Conservation 【答案】1. C 2. B 3. B 4. D 【导语】这是一篇议论文。文章介绍了AI能耗担忧被夸大：IEA称数据中心用电仅占全球1.5%，AI占比更小，且AI可优化电网、航运与甲烷监测助减排。关键在透明报告、分时负载与清洁电源，辅以碳价，可使AI成为气候英雄而非元凶。 【1题详解】 推理判断题。根据第二段“In absolute terms, AI may be less energy-hungry than assumed. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that electricity consumption by data centers could more than double in five years. Even if energy usage increases sharply, the basic is still low. Data centers currently account for only about 1.5% of global electricity consumption—and the vast majority of that is due to streaming, social media and online shopping, not AI.(从绝对意义上讲，人工智能可能不像人们想象的那么耗能。国际能源署（IEA）估计，数据中心的用电量将在五年内增加一倍以上。即使能源使用急剧增加，基本价格仍然很低。目前，数据中心的用电量仅占全球用电量的1.5%左右，其中绝大部分用电量来自流媒体、社交媒体和在线购物，而不是人工智能)”可知，数据中心仅占全球电力消耗的1.5%，且大部分来自流媒体、社交媒体等非AI活动，所以第一段中提到AI对电力的巨大需求会破坏环境这一担心是站不住脚的。短语on shaky ground意为“站不住脚，令人质疑的”。故选C项。 【2题详解】 细节理解题。根据第三段“Besides, it has assisted in reducing petrol consumption in shipping through adjusting routes and speeds to the fittest, and spotting leaks of methane (a greenhouse gas) by cooperating with satellites and ground sensors.(此外，它还通过调整航线和航速来帮助减少航运中的汽油消耗，并通过与卫星和地面传感器合作来发现甲烷的泄漏)”可知，航运业节约了很多能源部分原因是由于人工智能改善了航线。故选B项。 【3题详解】 细节理解题。根据最后一段“A second is to rethink how data centers operate. The IEA notes that arranging to shift volume of work among data centers at different times could reduce pressure and help balance energy networks, making them better matched to renewable power.(第二是重新思考数据中心的运作方式。国际能源署指出，在不同时间安排数据中心之间的工作量可以减轻压力，并有助于平衡能源网络，使其更好地与可再生能源相匹配)”可知，为解决AI对气候的影响，文中建议可以动态安排数据中心的工作量。故选B项。 【4题详解】 主旨大意题。根据第一段“Even if you don’t worry that artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy the human race, you might fear its huge appetite for electricity will damage the environment. Asking an AI chatbot a question is equivalent to using ten times more energy than an old-fashioned internet search. As the AI boom took off, ou may think that emissions(排放)from tech giants evidently rise. With huge investments in new data centers planned, more rises seem inevitable. But the worry is on shaky ground.(即使你不担心人工智能（AI）会毁灭人类，你也可能担心它。向人工智能聊天机器人提问，相当于使用比老式互联网搜索多10倍的能量。随着人工智能的蓬勃发展，你可能会认为科技巨头的排放量明显上升。随着对新数据中心的巨额投资计划，更多的上涨似乎是不可避免的。但这种担忧是站不住脚的)”并纵观全文可知，文章开头提到人工智能耗能巨大有可能危害气候引发担忧，下文否定了这一担忧，并指出人工智能的一些电力使用将有助于绿色经济，在节约能源方面的优势，有关部门的加倍努力将有助于人工智能从气候嫌疑犯转变为气候英雄。由此可知，D项概括主旨，适合用作标题。故选D项。 Passage 2 I love the way clouds float above my head. These ever-shifting sculptures of vapor (蒸气) and light are among nature’s least appreciated marvels. How exactly cloud cover will shift in a warming world is anyone’s guess. Clouds don’t just look different from one another; they also have very different effects on temperatures at the surface of the land or water below. These differences have to do with how much of the sun’s heat they allow through and how much of Earth’s heat they trap in. Low clouds typically have a cooling effect. Much of the sun’s rays are reflected off their white tops back up into space. And they are heavy enough to cast shadows, cooling the surface below. Since their water drops are warmer, they’re as good at giving off Earth’s heat up into space as they are at absorbing it from below. High clouds do the opposite, warming Earth’s surface. Contrary to common belief, this is because the ice crystals (冰晶) in these clouds are cold. High clouds are often not as heavy, so they can let in more of the sun’s rays. But since they are cold, they don’t send out as much of Earth’s heat into space — more like blankets than umbrellas, resulting in a warming effect. The mix of cloud types over our planet ensures they have an overall cooling effect because the shade from the low clouds outweighs the warming effect of the high ones. Yet as temperatures rise, low clouds may decline while high clouds persist, creating a climate feedback loop — a self-enhancing cycle similar to a classic feedback mechanism. In a recent paper in the journal Science, reduced low cloud cover contributed about 0.2℃ to 2023’s record-breaking average global temperatures. In other words, the reduction in Earth’s low clouds helped explain some of the extreme heat that year. Climate feedback loops brought on by clouds have been identified as one of the largest unknowns in projections of warming. As we learn more about the potential tipping points of our climate — irreversible changes in the system — we may find ourselves approaching one too quickly for decarbonization efforts alone to prevent it. Some understanding of the likely effects of geoengineering projects such as cloud brightening will then be invaluable, no matter how misguided such interventions might seem. If clouds are changing, then so should the way we study them. It requires all of us to look up and take notice. 1. According to the passage, which of the following statements correctly describes clouds? A. Low clouds are not as heavy as high clouds. B. Thick white clouds warm the ground by trapping heat. C. Warm water drops of high clouds release and absorb heat equally. D. Clouds differ in how they let in the sun’s heat and trap Earth’s heat. 2. According to the passage, a climate feedback loop is a cycle that_________. A. speeds up the very warming that activated it B. enhances cooling by promoting low cloud formation C. reduces high cloud cover to boost sunlight reflection D. balances warming and cooling effects at the same time 3. What can be inferred from the passage about the writer’s opinion? A. Decarbonization may influence how clouds form. B. Clouds may offer a way to address global warming. C. Cloud-based geoengineering projects may be worthless. D. Studying clouds can tell us when the tipping point arrives. 4. What is the passage mainly about? A. Actionable climate solutions. B. Changes in how low and high clouds move. C. Links between clouds and global warming. D. Approaches to appreciating cloud beauty. 【答案】43. D 44. A 45. B 46. C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了云的类型不同对地球表面温度的影响不同，以及云引发的气候反馈循环与全球变暖的关系。 【1题详解】 细节理解题。根据第二段中“Clouds don’t just look different from one another; they also have very different effects on temperatures at the surface of the land or water below. These differences have to do with how much of the sun’s heat they allow through and how much of Earth’s heat they trap in.(云不仅看起来彼此不同；它们对下面陆地或水体表面的温度也有非常不同的影响。这些差异与它们允许多少太阳的热量通过以及它们捕获多少地球的热量有关。)”可知，云在允许太阳热量进入和捕获地球热量方面存在差异。故选D。 【2题详解】 推理判断题。根据第五段中“Yet as temperatures rise, low clouds may decline while high clouds persist, creating a climate feedback loop—a self-enhancing cycle similar to a classic feedback mechanism.(然而，随着气温上升，低云可能会减少，而高云则会持续存在，形成一个气候反馈循环——一个类似于经典反馈机制的自增强循环。)”以及“In other words, the reduction in Earth’s low clouds helped explain some of the extreme heat that year.(换句话说，地球低云的减少，在一定程度上解释了当年的极端高温现象。)”可知，气候反馈循环是一种自我强化的循环，会加速引发它的变暖过程。故选A。 【3题详解】 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“Climate feedback loops brought on by clouds have been identified as one of the largest unknowns in projections of warming. As we learn more about the potential tipping points of our climate — irreversible changes in the system — we may find ourselves approaching one too quickly for decarbonization efforts alone to prevent it. Some understanding of the likely effects of geoengineering projects such as cloud brightening will then be invaluable, no matter how misguided such interventions might seem.(云层引发的气候反馈循环，被视为气候变暖预测中最大的未知因素之一。随着我们对气候潜在临界点（即气候系统中不可逆转的变化）的了解不断加深，可能会发现人类正过快逼近这一临界点，仅靠脱碳努力或许难以阻止。届时，即便诸如 “云层增亮” 等地球工程方案的干预方式看似存有争议，对其潜在效果的深入了解也将变得至关重要。)”可知，作者认为云可能为解决全球变暖提供一种方法。故选B。 【4题详解】 主旨大意题。通读全文，尤其是根据第二段“Clouds don’t just look different from one another; they also have very different effects on temperatures at the surface of the land or water below. These differences have to do with how much of the sun’s heat they allow through and how much of Earth’s heat they trap in.(云不仅看起来彼此不同；它们对下面陆地或水体表面的温度也有非常不同的影响。这些差异与它们允许多少太阳的热量通过以及它们捕获多少地球的热量有关。)”以及后文对云引发的气候反馈循环与全球变暖的关系的阐述可知，本文主要讲述了云与全球变暖之间的联系。故选C。 Passage 3 The technology for speech-recognition systems has advanced greatly since its appearance in the1950s. Many voice systems can understand the language when spoken at a normal conversational rate. But even the advanced human-machine interfaces (人机交互) used today are unable to trick the listeners into thinking a computer is a human. Why is this? Simply put, it’s because human beings rely on more than words to convey ideas or interpret messages, such as tones, facial expressions, body movements, and objects in the world around them. One significant recent achievement in the field of talking computers is virtual personal assistants(VPAs) on mobile phones. If you tell a mobile phone VPA that you want to schedule a lunch with a friend, it can set the appointment in your phone in seconds. The VPA can also hold a basic “conversation” and has earned fame for its elementary sense of humour. Still, the humour is preprogrammed and can be triggered only when human users speak certain key words. While the potential for “real” communication between a human and a machine may seem exciting, this possibility concerns some people. Some experts worry about people’s attachment to these machines and fear that the art of successful human-to-human conversation will be undeveloped in younger generations. They worry that people won’t be able to display the right emotion or tone in conversations because they haven’t been practising those skills. Others fear that machines will take over functions that were traditionally performed by humans, such as customer service. Another concern often associated with the development of new technology is the invasion of privacy (侵犯隐私). When people use certain speech-recognition applications, they leave behind an audio track of their speech. When you ask a VPA for directions, your speech is sent and saved to a remote server for processing. This digital trail may lead to data mining, or the collection of large quantities of personal data. For now, however, the continuing evolution of speech-recognition software is worth expecting. Leading companies in the field hope to make human communication with machines as seamless as possible, just like communicating with another human. 1. According to the text, what can a VPA do? A. Entertain users with its original jokes. B. Enable people to regard it as a human. C. Hold preprogrammed conversations. D. Display the right tones in conversations. 2. Which situation reflects the concerns mentioned in the text? A. One VPA service was priced higher for protecting users’ privacy. B. An airline bore high costs for applying VPAs to its online service. C. An app failed to offer the right direction when given spoken instructions. D. Some teenagers became more socially awkward due to the addiction to VPAs. 3. What is the purpose of the text? A. To inform readers of the double-edged quality of a new technology. B. To inspire readers to explore the future of a new technology. C. To promote the application of a new technology. D. To stress the convenience of a new technology. 4. What might be the best title of the text? A. The worries over VPAs. B. Listening to“a real person”. C. The world of technology. D. Talking to technology. 【答案】1. C 2. D 3. A 4. D 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要围绕语音识别系统和虚拟个人助手（VPA）展开，讨论了人与机器之间的“真实”交流的可能性及其带来的担忧。 【1题详解】 细节理解题。根据第二段“Still, the humour is preprogrammed and can be triggered only when human users speak certain key words.(尽管如此，幽默是预先编程的，只有当人类用户说出某些关键词时才会被触发。)”可知，VPA可以进行预先编程的对话。故选C。 【2题详解】 细节理解题。根据第三段“Some experts worry about people’s attachment to these machines and fear that the art of successful human-to-human conversation will be undeveloped in younger generations. They worry that people won’t be able to display the right emotion or tone in conversations because they haven’t been practising those skills.(一些专家担心人们对这些机器的依赖，并担心年轻一代不会发展成功的人际交流技巧。他们担心人们在对话中无法表现出正确的情绪或语气，因为他们一直没有练习这些技能。)”可知，文中提到的担忧是人们过于依赖VPA而导致社交技能退化。故选D。 【3题详解】 推理判断题。通读全文可知，文章主要围绕语音识别系统和虚拟个人助手（VPA）展开，讨论了人与机器之间的“真实”交流的可能性及其带来的担忧。由此可知，这篇文章的目的是告知读者一项新技术的双刃剑特性。故选A。 【4题详解】 主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章主要围绕语音识别系统和虚拟个人助手（VPA）展开，讨论了人与机器之间的“真实”交流的可能性及其带来的担忧。选项D“与技术对话”直接概括了文章的核心内容。故选D。 Passage 4 An artificial intelligence (人工智能) system has shown it can save lives by warning doctors to check on patients whose heart test results show a high risk of dying. In a test with almost 16,000 patients, the AI helped reduce the total deaths by 31% among people who were at high risk. “This is actually quite amazing,” says Eric Topol at the Scripps Research TranslationalInstitute in California. “It is quite uncommon for any drug to result in a 31% reduction in the number of deaths, and then even more unusual for a non-drug — this is just monitoring people with AI.” Chin Lin at Texas Medical Center and his colleagues trained their AI on more than 450,000 electrocardiogram (ECG) (心电图) tests, which measure the heart’s electrical activity, along with the survival data of the ECG subjects. The AI learned to produce a percentile (百分位) score representing each patient’s risk of death, whose score in the 95th percentile or higher would be considered high risk. The researchers then tested the AI warning system with 39 doctors at two different hospitals. As nurses transmitted each new patient’s ECG tests to a computer server, the AI system would analyse the results and warn doctors if it identified someone as being high risk. In addition to reducing the risk of death from all causes, the AI system also reduced the death rate from heart issues in high-risk patients by more than 90%. Lin and his colleagues say the AI warnings may help focus attention on the highest risk group. During the research, doctors usually followed up warnings with more tests and treatment. The system is already being used across 14 hospitals in Texas. “This can be put into effect in every hospital around the world,” says Topol. “It should be the standard of care when you see such a significant benefit.” 1．What made the AI system stand out in the test? A．Its speed in analyzing ECG tests. B．Its function of testing heart diseases. C．Its application in hospitals nationwide. D．Its ability to reduce deaths without drugs. 2．What could the AI system do according to paragraph 3? A．Train doctors and nurses. B．Record patients’ survival data. C．Analyse each patient’s risk of cancer. D．Provide patients’ death-risk percentiles. 3．What did the doctors tend to do after receiving AI warnings? A．Identify high-risk patients. B．Transmit the data. C．Conduct further tests and treatment. D．Study the results of tests. 4．What is Topol’s attitude to the AI system? A．Confident. B．Uncertain. C．Doubtful. D．Objective. 【答案】1．D 2．D 3．C 4.A 【导语】本文是一篇说明文，主要讲述了人工智能系统在医疗领域的应用，特别是如何通过分析心电图测试结果来预测患者的心脏死亡风险，并向医生发出预警，从而帮助挽救生命。 1．推理判断题。根据第一段“An artificial intelligence (人工智能) system has shown it can save lives by warning doctors to check on patients whose heart test results show a high risk of dying. In a test with almost 16,000 patients, the AI helped reduce the total deaths by 31% among people who were at high risk.(一种人工智能系统表明，它可以通过警告医生检查心脏检查结果显示死亡风险高的患者来挽救生命。在对近1.6万名患者进行的一项测试中，人工智能帮助高风险人群的总死亡人数减少了31%。)”可知，让AI系统在测试中脱颖而出的是它能够在没有药物的情况下减少死亡。故选D。 2．细节理解题。根据第三段“The AI learned to produce a percentile (百分位) score representing each patient’s risk of death, whose score in the 95th percentile or higher would be considered high risk.(人工智能学会了生成一个百分位数分数，代表每个病人的死亡风险，分数在第95个百分位数或更高的人被认为是高风险。)”可知，AI系统能提供患者死亡风险百分位数。故选D。 3．细节理解题。根据最后一段“During the research, doctors usually followed up warnings with more tests and treatment.(在研究期间，医生通常会在警告之后进行更多的检查和治疗。)”可知，医生在收到人工智能警告后往往会进行进一步的检查和治疗。故选C。 4．推理判断题。根据最后一段“This can be put into effect in every hospital around the world(这可以在世界各地的每一家医院实施)”和“It should be the standard of care when you see such a significant benefit.(当你看到如此显著的益处时，这应该成为治疗的标准。)”可知，Topol对AI系统的态度是有信心的，故选A。 Passage 5 GROW, Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde’s latest project, involved installing (安装) thousands of blue, red and purple LED lights in a 2-hectare field of leek (韭菜) for both artistic and practical purposes. People driving by the town of Lelystad, in central Netherlands, at night, this time of year are treated to a fantastic sight-a 20,000 square meters field of leek glowing blue, red and purple. Thought up by Studio Roosegaarde, the unique artistic installation is designed both as an honor to Dutch farmers and as an inspiration for them to experiment with artificial light in outdoor farming. Daan Roosegaarde also wants GROW to send a hopeful light to people in these trying times, giving new meaning to the word "agriculture" as a living cultural artwork. Nighttime ultraviolet (紫外线的) light has been used in glasshouse agriculture for a while now, especially in places where direct sunlight is scarce, but its outdoor use has so far been very limited. Ultraviolet light is known to help plants grow better, but Studio Roosegaarde is also testing a theory according to which certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light could reduce the need for pesticides by up to 50%. “So we started to scan the plants with these wavelengths of light and then suddenly it started to dance, the light,” Daan Roosegaarde said. “You had these huge fields of fireflies, as if they were, and we were testing it and the magic started kicking in, so I think that’s when the worlds of science, art and design meet and enhance each other.” Solar-powered LEDs give ultraviolet light onto the leek plants, thus adding the effect of natural sunlight after sunset, and creating a wonderful sight at the same time. GROW is currently only visible near Lelystad, but Roosegaarde plans to take the visually-impressive installation on the road to over 40 countries. Each country will have its own local or national crop and its own unique light recipe. Over the years, Studio Roosegaarde has created a number of fascinating installations, like the glow-in-the-dark bicycle path powered directly by the sun. 1．What does GROW probably refer to? A．A project creating artworks. B．A project installing LED lights. C．A project producing pesticides. D．A project building glasshouses. 2．What does the underlined word "scarce" in paragraph 2 probably mean? A．Sufficient. B．Strong. C．Steady. D．Lacking. 3．What is the third paragraph mainly about? A．What artistic effects were caused by the project. B．Why the project GROW was conducted. C．How Roosegaarde’s design idea came up. D．How Roosegaarde’s theory was tested. 4．What does Roosegaarde think of the future of GROW? A．Promising. B．Pressing. C．Challenging. D．Demanding. 【答案】1．B 2．D 3．D 4. A 【导语】这是一篇说明文。主要介绍了丹麦艺术家Daan Roosegaarde最新的一个项目——安装数千个LED灯在2公顷的韭菜地里，创造出艺术和实用效果。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段中“GROW, Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde’s latest project, involved installing (安装) thousands of blue, red and purple LED lights in a 2-hectare field of leek (韭菜) for both artistic and practical purposes.(荷兰艺术家Daan Roosegaarde的最新项目GROW是在一块2公顷的韭菜地里安装了数千盏蓝色、红色和紫色的LED灯，兼具艺术性和实用性。)”可知，GROW可能指的是一个安装LED灯的项目。故选B项。 2．词句猜测题。根据划线单词句中“Nighttime ultraviolet (紫外线的) light has been used in glasshouse agriculture for a while now, especially in places where direct sunlight is…, but its outdoor use has so far been very limited.( 夜间紫外线灯已经在温室农业中使用了一段时间，特别是在直射阳光……的地方，但到目前为止，它的户外使用非常有限。)”由此可知， 此处为夜间紫外线灯在直射阳光缺乏的地方尤其需要。故可猜测划线单词scarce为“缺乏的，不足的”意思，和D选项Lacking“缺乏的”意思一致。故选D项。 3．主旨大意题。根据第三段““So we started to scan the plants with these wavelengths of light and then suddenly it started to dance, the light,” Daan Roosegaarde said. “You had these huge fields of fireflies, as if they were, and we were testing it and the magic started kicking in, so I think that’s when the worlds of science, art and design meet and enhance each other.” Solar-powered LEDs give ultraviolet light onto the leek plants, thus adding the effect of natural sunlight after sunset, and creating a wonderful sight at the same time.(“所以我们开始用这些波长的光扫描植物，然后突然它开始跳舞，光，” Daan Roosegaarde说。“你有这些巨大的萤火虫领域，就好像它们一样，我们正在测试它，魔法开始发挥作用，所以我认为这是科学，艺术和设计世界相遇并相互增强的时候。”太阳能LEDs将紫外线照射到韭菜植物上，从而增加了日落后自然阳光的效果，同时创造了一个美妙的景象。)”可知，第三段主要讲的是Roosegaarde的理论是如何被检验的。故选D项。 3．推理判断题。根据最后一段“GROW is currently only visible near Lelystad, but Roosegaarde plans to take the visually-impressive installation on the road to over 40 countries. Each country will have its own local or national crop and its own unique light recipe.( GROW目前只在莱利斯塔德附近可见，但Roosegaarde计划将这个视觉上令人印象深刻的装置带到40多个国家。每个国家都有自己的地方或国家作物和自己独特的光配方。)”可知，Roosegaarde要把这个装置安装在多个国家，由此可推知，他认为这个项目是有前途的。故选A项。 话题4 环境保护 Passage 1 Over the past few years, areas in East Asia, North America and northern Europe have been colder than normal during some periods of winter. This has left many debating whether Earth is experiencing global warming or not, but scientists have shown that Earth’s warming trends are responsible. When people in the Northern Hemisphere hear North Pole or Arctic region, they automatically think of the hemisphere’s northernmost area, the home of extremely cold weather during late fall and winter. During this time, very little, if any, sunlight reaches the Arctic’s stratosphere, one layer of Earth’s atmosphere that exists six to 20 kilometers above Earth’s surface. To balance the temperature difference with that of the warm equatorial region, an area of low pressure called the polar vortex forms and flows in a complete circle around the pole. This occurs inside the stratosphere about 10 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. While this belt of strong winds is usually stable and able to keep the cold air contained, it can be destroyed by loss of sea ice, due to global warming. This results in surface temperatures changing, changes which make them less stable. If this happens, the polar vortex may shift, slipping off the North Pole and moving south, or it can separate into two or three rings that form in multiple places far south of the pole. This stretching or distortion of the polar vortex also makes influences on the path of the polar jet stream, which is responsible for Earth’s weather. This jet stream, along with three other primary jet streams in different parts of the world, is located in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer just below the stratosphere. The polar jet stream’s air currents blow from 177 kilometers an hour to over 400 kilometers an hour and from west to east between 50 degrees and 60 degrees latitude — think from France to Norway. The differences in cold polar air and warm mid-latitude air form the polar jet stream, and its movement prolongs periods of cold or warm weather in different regions. Large temperature differences between the Arctic and mid-latitudes cause the polar jet stream to be strong and move straight, keeping the cold in the north. Because the Arctic is warming at a fast pace, the temperature difference between it and mid-latitudes is decreasing, making the polar jet stream slower and weaker. That, in turn, makes the stream more likely to bend north and south. When it bends far enough, the barrier between Arctic and mid-latitude air can dive down to Mexico, taking Arctic temperatures along for the ride. Although heat and cold are considered opposites, in the case of climate, the former can cause the latter. 1. The word “prolong” (para 5) is closest in meaning to ________. A. extend B. regulate C. control D. shorten 2. What is suggested in the passage? A. Heat and cold are opposite but they can change each other. B. The air layers above the earth are responsible for climate change. C. The extreme cold in some areas originated from other areas’ heat. D. The Warming Earth is actually caused by the Colder Winters. 3. What can be inferred from the passage? A. The streams in the Northern Hemisphere have to move to the South. B. It is certain that the Earth will become warmer and warmer. C. The temperature difference between day and night will decrease. D. The colder areas might gradually become larger and larger in the future. 4. What is the main focus of the passage? A. The Relationship between Warming Earth and Colder Winters B. The Strange Phenomenon of Warming Earth with Colder Winters C. The Temperature Differences between the Arctic and Mid-latitude Areas D. The Potential Reasons for Earth Becoming Warmer and Warmer 【答案】1. A 2. C 3. D 4. B 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了全球变暖致使北极海冰消融、极涡变形，进而影响极地急流，引发北半球部分地区冬季异常寒冷，揭示了气候变暖与局部寒冬的关联。 【1题详解】 词句猜测题。根据划线词上文“The differences in cold polar air and warm mid-latitude air form the polar jet stream, and its movement(冷的极地空气和暖的中纬度空气之间的差异形成了极地急流，其移动……)”以及后文“periods of cold or warm weather in different regions(不同地区寒冷或温暖的天气持续时间)”可知，极地急流的移动会延长不同地区寒冷或温暖天气的持续时间。故划线词意思是“延长”。故选A。 【2题详解】 推理判断题。根据最后一段“Although heat and cold are considered opposites, in the case of climate, the former can cause the latter.(尽管热与冷被视为相反的两种状态，但在气候方面，前者却能够导致后者出现)”可知，某些地区的极度寒冷是由其他地区过热所导致的。故选C。 【3题详解】 推理判断题。根据第六段“Large temperature differences between the Arctic and mid-latitudes cause the polar jet stream to be strong and move straight, keeping the cold in the north. Because the Arctic is warming at a fast pace, the temperature difference between it and mid-latitudes is decreasing, making the polar jet stream slower and weaker. That, in turn, makes the stream more likely to bend north and south. When it bends far enough, the barrier between Arctic and mid-latitude air can dive down to Mexico, taking Arctic temperatures along for the ride.(北极与中纬度地区的巨大温差，会让极地急流强劲且呈直线运动，从而将冷空气封锁在北方。由于北极变暖速度加快，它与中纬度地区的温差正在缩小，这使得极地急流变得更缓、更弱。而这一变化反过来又会让急流更容易向南北方向弯曲。当急流弯曲幅度足够大时，分隔北极气团与中纬度气团的屏障就会向南延伸至墨西哥一带，同时裹挟着北极的冷空气一路南下)”可知，随着北极变暖趋势持续，急流弯曲的频率和幅度可能增加，南下的冷空气会影响更多区域，因此未来寒冷区域的范围可能逐渐扩大。故选D。 【4题详解】 主旨大意题。根据第一段“Over the past few years, areas in East Asia, North America and northern Europe have been colder than normal during some periods of winter. This has left many debating whether Earth is experiencing global warming or not, but scientists have shown that Earth’s warming trends are responsible.(在过去几年里，东亚、北美洲和北欧的一些地区在冬季的某些时段气温比往年要低。这使得许多人争论地球是否正在经历全球变暖，但科学家们已经表明，地球的变暖趋势才是原因所在)”可知，文章主要说明了全球变暖致使北极海冰消融、极涡变形，进而影响极地急流，引发北半球部分地区冬季异常寒冷，揭示了气候变暖与局部寒冬的关联。由此可知，这篇文章的主要关注点是地球变得越来越热的潜在原因。故选B。 Passage 2 You may have seen white-faced capuchin monkeys (卷尾猴) before, whether at a zoo or in a popular movie. These medium-sized monkeys are found in Central America and northern South America. They have a mostly black-haired body and white hair on their face and shoulders. The cap of black fur on their head resembles the hoods(兜帽) that Capuchin monks in Italy wore, and that’s where the name came from. Another fascinating feature of these monkeys is their long tail, which acts like a third hand. Capuchin monkeys use their tail to hang on to tree branches to support their body weight while looking for food. While they eat fruit and nuts, they also enjoy insects, frogs, and lizards. Since they spread various fruit seeds through their feces(粪便) and eat insects that are harmful to trees, they contribute a lot to the preservations of forests. Capuchin monkeys are very social and live in groups of 20 members or so. A group of capuchins is known as a troop or a barrel. Troops are mainly made up of females, who remain in the same troop their whole lives, while males change troops about every four years. Communication and social activities play a significant role among monkeys in a troop because they help form social bonds. A curious example is “hand sniffing,” where the monkeys stick their fingers in front of each other’s nose. Outside the forests, capuchin monkeys are not only used by humans for their acting abilities. These intelligent animals have small fingers and are gifted with fine motor skills. They can be trained to do many tasks that humans with disabilities cannot do, like turning the pages of a book or picking up dropped objects. Therefore, the white-faced capuchin can be important assistants and companions for some disabled people. 1．How did white-faced capuchin monkeys get their name? A．They appeared in popular films with Capuchin monks. B．Their fur crowns look like the hoods of Capuchin monks. C．They are found in regions where Capuchin monks live. D．They used to be kept by Capuchin monks as pets. 2．According to the passage, what contribution do white-faced capuchins make to forests? A．They help keep the trees healthy. B．They make forest soil more fertile. C．They reduce the risk of forest fires. D．They eat plants that damage forests. 3．Which of the following aspect is NOT mentioned in the passage? A．Diet. B．Behavior. C．Threats. D．Appearance. 4．Why are white-faced capuchin monkeys used as human helpers? A．They are very friendly and loyal to humans. B．They are strong enough to carry heavy things. C．They are smart and can perform different tasks. D．They are good at making faces and acting. 【答案】1．B 2．A 3．C 4．C 【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了白脸卷尾猴这种动物的特征、习性等情况。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段“The cap of black fur on their head resembles the hoods(兜帽) that Capuchin monks in Italy wore, and that’s where the name came from.(他们头上的黑色毛皮帽类似于意大利卷尾猴僧侣戴的兜帽，这就是这个名字的由来)”可知，白脸卷尾猴的名字由来是因为它们的毛皮王冠看起来像卷尾猴僧侣的兜帽。故选B。 2．细节理解题。根据第二段“Since they spread various fruit seeds through their feces(粪便) and eat insects that are harmful to trees, they contribute a lot to the preservations of forests.(由于它们通过粪便传播各种水果种子，并吃对树木有害的昆虫，它们对保护森林做出了很大贡献)”可知，白面卷尾猴对森林的贡献是帮助保持树木健康。故选A。 3．细节理解题。根据第一段“They have a mostly black-haired body and white hair on their face and shoulders.(他们的身体大多是黑色的毛发，脸上和肩膀上有白色的毛发)”提到了外貌；第二段“While they eat fruit and nuts, they also enjoy insects, frogs, and lizards.(虽然它们吃水果和坚果，但它们也喜欢昆虫、青蛙和蜥蜴)”提到了饮食；最后一段“These intelligent animals have small fingers and are gifted with fine motor skills. They can be trained to do many tasks that humans with disabilities cannot do, like turning the pages of a book or picking up dropped objects. (这些聪明的动物有细小的手指，具有精细的运动技能。通过训练，它们可以完成许多残疾人无法完成的任务，比如翻页或捡起掉在地上的东西)”提到了行为。可知，文章中没有提到威胁。故选C。 4．细节理解题。根据最后一段“These intelligent animals have small fingers and are gifted with fine motor skills. They can be trained to do many tasks that humans with disabilities cannot do, like turning the pages of a book or picking up dropped objects. Therefore, the white-faced capuchin can be important assistants and companions for some disabled people.(这些聪明的动物有细小的手指，具有精细的运动技能。通过训练，它们可以完成许多残疾人无法完成的任务，比如翻页或捡起掉在地上的东西。因此，白面卷尾猴可以成为一些残疾人的重要助手和同伴)”可知，白脸卷尾猴被用作人类的帮手因为他们很聪明，可以执行不同的任务。故选C。 Passage 3 Many scientists are making greater effort to study ocean currents (洋流) for the moment. Most do it using satellites and other high-tech equipment. However, ocean expert Curtis Esmeyer does it in a special way — by studying movements of random floating garbage. A scientist with many years' experience, he started this type of research in the early 1990s when he heard about hundreds of athletic shoes washing up on the shores of the northwest coast of the United States. There were so many shoes that people were setting up swap meets to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear. Esmeyer found out in his researches that the shoes — about 60,000 in total — fell into the ocean in a shipping accident. He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back. As expected, the company told him that they didn't. Esmeyer realized this could be a great experiment. If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed, he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents. The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's best areas for beachcombing (海滩搜寻) because winds and currents join here, and as a result, there is a group of serious beachcombers in the area. Esmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed. In a year he collected reliable information on 1,600 shoes. With this data, he and a colleague were able to test and improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents, and publish the findings of their study. As the result of his work, Esmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean. He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts, with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand. They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves. 1．The underlined phrase swap meets in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______. A．repair rooms B．trading fairs C．business talks D．group meetings 2．Esmeyer phoned the shoe company to find out ______. A．what caused the shipping accident B．when and where the shoes went missing C．whether it was all right to use their shoes D．how much they lost in the shipping accident 3．Esmeyer is most famous for ______. A．traveling widely the coastal cities of the world B．making records for any lost objects on the sea C．running a global currents research association D．phoning about any doubtful objects on the sea 4．What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage? A．To call people's attention to ocean pollution. B．To warn people of shipping safety in the ocean. C．To explain a unique way of studying ocean currents. D．To give advice on how to search for lost objects on the beach. 【答案】1．B 2．C 3．D 4．C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章讲述海洋专家Curtis Ebbesmeyer通过一种特殊的方式来研究洋流,即通过追踪随机漂浮垃圾的运动轨迹来研究洋流。 1．词义猜测题，根据第一段划线句下文“to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear.(以试图匹配左右鞋子来出售或穿着)”可推断，有这么多的鞋，人们设立了旧物交换会尝试匹配的左、右鞋出售或穿着。可知swap meets意为贸易交换所。故选B。 2．细节理解题，根据第二段的“He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back. As expected, the company told him that they didn't. Esmeyer realized this could be a great experiment.(他打电话给鞋业公司，问他们是否想要回鞋子。不出所料，该公司告诉他，他们不要。埃斯迈耶意识到这可能是一个伟大的实验)”可知，Ebbesmeye打电话的目的是为了确定自己是否有权使用这些鞋子。故选C。 3．推理判断题。根据文章最后一段“As the result of his work, Esmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean. He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts, with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand. They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves.(由于他的工作成果，埃斯迈耶已经成为著名的科学家，会有人打电话询问在海洋中发现的任何不寻常的漂浮物。他甚至成立了一个由海滩拾荒者和海洋专家组成的协会，从西非到新西兰，已有500名会员。他们记录了从土豆到高尔夫手套的所有失物)”可知，Ebbesmeyer已经成为一位知名科学家，一旦发现海上有不寻常的漂浮物时，人们都会打电话咨询他，故选D。 4．推理判断题，根据第一段“Many scientists are making greater effort to study ocean currents(洋流) for the moment. Most do it using satellites and other high-tech equipment. However, ocean expert Curtis Esmeyer does it in a special way --- by studying movements of random floating garbage.(现在科学家们正在努力研究洋流。大多数人使用卫星和其他高科技设备。然而,海洋专家Curtis Ebbesmeyer一采用种特殊的方式来研究洋流,即通过追踪随机漂浮垃圾的运动轨迹来研究洋流)”可知,作者写这篇文章的目的是阐述一种特殊的研究海洋洋流的方式。故选C。 Passage 4 Buying organic (有机的) food may not always be better for the planet or for human health than cheaper options grown with artificial pesticides, according to researchers. There tend to be more birds and bees on organic farms but the benefits may be cancelled out because they produce an average of 19 to 25 perent less food per acre than conventional farms. This means that more land is needed to produce the same amount of food, and land being changed for agriculture is one of the greatest threats to wildlife, researchers at the University of British Columbia said. Organic farms tend to use less energy and produce lower emissions, but “when lower organic yields are taken into account, greenhouse gas emissions might actually be higher under organic management.” The authors of the study, published in Science Advances, said: “We don’t know whether organic agriculture provides any benefits for biodiversity if lower organic yields are taken into account.” Organic farms tend to cause less nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of water systems, but the lower yields could mean that nitrogen loss per unit of food produced is higher than on conventional farms. The authors argued that in countries such as Canada, where pesticide regulations are strict and diets are rich in micronutrients, the health benefits of choosing organic might be marginal. They said organically grown food probably contained slightly more micronutrients but it was not clear whether this provided “any actual health benefits to consumers”. The team analyzed organic crop farming across 17 criteria including yield, impact on climate change, farmer livelihood and consumer health. “Organic is often proposed as a good solution to current environmental and food scarcity problems, but we found that the costs and benefits will vary heavily depending on the context,” Verena Seufert, one of the authors, said. They concluded that organic farming is not the only solution to providing a sustainable source of food for an ever-growing global population, but does have an important role to play. “We need to stop the perception of organic and conventional agriculture as two ends of the spectrum. Instead, consumers should demand better practices for both so that we can achieve the world’s food needs in a sustainable way,” Ms. Seufert said. The study, which involved a review of the scientific literature on the environmental and economic performance of organic farms, also found that they were highly dependent on animal manure (排泄物) from conventional farms and added: “It is not clear whether we would have enough organic fertilizers to feed everyone in the world with organic food” Organic food is more expensive and “therefore less accessible to consumers with low income, they said. 1．What does the study find about organic farms? A．They are less than efficient. B．They rely on wildlife species. C．They used to produce added emission. D．They use high-quality pesticides. 2．The word “marginal” (in paragraph 6) is closest in meaning to __________. A．irregular B．unlimited C．unimportant D．irrelevant 3．What can be inferred from the passage about organic agriculture? A．Its benefits are yet to be confirmed by review of scientific literature. B．It is perceived as reaching the end of its development like conventional agriculture. C．It is regarded as the opposite of conventional agriculture. D．Its drawbacks outweigh the benefits it yields in most cases. 4．Which of the following might be the best title of the passage? A．Organic Farming: Balancing Costs and Benefits B．Organic Farming: Winner in Sustainable Agriculture C．Organic Farming: A Cost-Effective Path to a Healthier Planet D．Organic Farming: The Answer to Global Food Scarcity 【答案】1．A 2．C 3．C 4．A 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了有机食品的优点以及其缺点。 1．细节理解题。根据第二段“There tend to be more birds and bees on organic farms but the benefits may be cancelled out because they produce an average of 19 to 25 per cent less food per acre than conventional farms. This means that more land is needed to produce the same amount of food, and land being changed for agriculture is one of the greatest threats to wildlife, researchers at the University of British Columbia said.(有机农场往往有更多的鸟类和蜜蜂，但这些好处可能会被抵消，因为它们每英亩生产的食物平均比传统农场少19%至25%。英属哥伦比亚大学的研究人员说，这意味着需要更多的土地来生产同样数量的食物，而土地被改变为农业是对野生动物的最大威胁之一)”可知，研究发现有机农场效率不高。故选A。 2．词句猜测题。根据划线词后句“They said organically grown food probably contained slightly more micronutrients but it was not clear whether this provided “any actual health benefits to consumers”.(他们表示，有机食品可能含有更少量的微量元素，但尚不清楚这是否“对消费者的健康有任何实际好处”)”可知，选择有机食品对健康的好处可能微乎其微的。所以marginal为“微小的，不重要的”之意。故选C。 3．推理判断题。根据倒数第三段““We need to stop the perception of organic and conventional agriculture as two ends of the spectrum. Instead, consumers should demand better practices for both so that we can achieve the world’s food needs in a sustainable way,” Ms. Seufert said.(“我们需要停止认为有机农业和传统农业是两个极端。相反，消费者应该要求两方面都采取更好的做法，这样我们才能以可持续的方式满足世界粮食需求，”苏弗特女士说)”可推断，有机农业被认为是传统农业的对立面。故选C。 4．主旨大意题。根据第一段“Buying organic (有机的) food may not always be better for the planet or for human health than cheaper options grown with artificial pesticides, according to researchers.(研究人员称，购买有机食品可能并不总是比使用人工杀虫剂种植的廉价食品对地球或人类健康更好)”结合文章主要介绍了有机食品的优点以及其缺点。故A选项“有机农业：平衡代价和好处”最符合文章标题。故选A。 Passage 5 In 2015, the world’s countries signed the “Paris Agreement” to work together to try to limit global warming to 1. 5℃. In recent years, world leaders have held follow-up meetings like COP26 and COP27. The meetings are meant to check in on how the world is doing in its fight against the climate crisis (气候危机) , and to reach agreements on next steps. This year’s meeting, COP28, is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) . One of the big questions about COP28 is whether countries will agree to stop producing oil and gas (called a “phase-out”) , or will simply agree to produce less (a “phase-down”) . Most experts agree that to control global warming as much as possible, the world needs to end the use of coal and oil. Over 100 countries say that COP28 should lead to a deal to phase out fossil fuels (化石燃料) . “The science is clear,” said UN leader Antonio Guterres, “The 1. 5 degree goal is only possible if we finally stop burning fossil fuels. ” But the UAE is a major oil producer. And the president of this year’s meeting, Sultan Al Jaber, leads the UAE’s largest oil company. Many people say that, because of his connections, Mr. Jaber isn’t the right choice to lead the meeting. Even before the meeting began, there were reports that the UAE was using COP28 to try to make deals to sell more oil. Even though there are disagreements, some progress is being made. One important step is a deal to set aside a large amount of money to help the countries being hit hardest by climate change. Most of the money would come from richer countries, which have created a lot of the pollution that led to the climate crisis. Progress on controlling the dangerous greenhouse gas methane (甲烷) is probablyCOP28’s biggest success so far. The US has made a plan to cut methane pollution by 80% over the next 15 years. 1．What is the key to achieving the 1. 5 degree goal according to the text? A．Developing fo$