专题05 阅读理解（说明文）（期末真题汇编，北京专用）高二英语下学期

**基本信息** 精选北京各区高二下期末说明文阅读真题，聚焦科技前沿（如蚂蚁交通、镜像生命）、社会热点（多代共居、AI气候影响）、文化传承（数字文化遗产）等主题，考查语言理解与逻辑思维能力。 **题型特征** |题型|题量/分值|知识覆盖|命题特色| |----|-----------|----------|----------| |阅读理解（选择题）|约40题|细节理解、词义猜测（如“analogous”“elusive”）、推理判断、主旨大意|以真实情境（如瑞典Sallbo社区、刚果雨林bais）设题，问题梯度分明，基础题（如24题选D）与深层推理题（如34题选A）结合，适配高二期末能力要求。|

专题05 阅读理解（说明文） 参考答案 Passage 1 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） 【答案】24. D 25. A 26. B Passage 2 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） 【答案】27. B 28. C 29. C 30. D Passage 3 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） 【答案】31. D 32. B 33. A 34. A Passage 4 （24-25高二下·北京西城·期末） 【答案】18. C 19. B 20. A 21. B Passage 5 （24-25高二下·北京海淀·期末） 【答案】25. D 26. D 27. B 28. C Passage 6 （24-25高二下·北京朝阳·期末） 【答案】38. B 39. D 40. D Passage 7 （24-25高二下·北京石景山·期末） 【答案】31. D 32. A 33. B 34. B Passage 8 （24-25高二下·北京大兴·期末） 【答案】28. B 29. A 30. D Passage 9 （24-25高二下·北京大兴·期末） 【答案】31. D 32. B 33. C 34. C Passage 10 （24-25高二下·北京房山·期末） 【答案】28. C 29. B 30. A 31. C Passage 11 （24-25高二下·北京房山·期末） 【答案】32. B 33. D 34. A Passage 12 （24-25高二下·北京通州·期末） 【答案】28. C 29. A 30. C 31. D 1 / 2 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $ 专题05 阅读理解（说明文） Passage 1 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） Erik Ahlsten says firmly, “This is the best accommodation I’ve ever had.” His friend and neighbour Manfred Bachrach is equally enthusiastic. “I really like this way of living,” he says. “It’s very much my cup of tea.” The two are referring to their new home, Sallbo, an experiment in multigenerational living in southern Sweden. Sallbo consists of 51 apartments spread over four floors of a retirement home. More than half of the 72 residents are in their 70s, like Ahlsten and Bachrach; the rest are aged 18-25. All were selected after an extensive interview process to ensure a mix of personalities, backgrounds and values, and all had to sign a contract promising to spend at least two hours a week socialising with their neighbours. The project is organised by Helsingborgshem, a housing company, and results from an idea they had in 2016 due to concern about loneliness among older groups. Swedes are extremely independent-young people start living alone earlier than anywhere in Europe-a characteristic that continues into old age, with many elderly people choosing to remain in their own homes. Yet a sense of isolation (孤立) poses a real danger to health and remains common among retirees. “Our research showed that elderly people were feeling isolated from society and were very lonely in their everyday life. They were only mixing with others of the same age,” says Dragana Curovic, the project manager of Sallbo. The arrangement of Sallbo seems to be working for young and old. Ahlsten and Bachrach have been cooking dinners, doing repairs, and driving people around. In return, the younger residents help with modern technology and social media. “It’s a real community, and the mix of people works very well,” says Ahlsten. Since moving in, he’s joined the gardening group, the Sunday night movie club and learnt to play card games. “The whole building is like a family,” says Ali Soroush, a young man from Afghanistan. “There are parties all the time — every weekend it’s someone’s birthday or some celebration.” With loneliness on the rise and considered a genuine health risk, projects such as Sallbo are seen increasingly as a solution to isolation. “We hope people can have totally normal relationships between youngsters, the elderly and other people,” says Curovic. “We want to enhance people’s willingness to integrate, and it doesn’t merely start with housing.” 24. What can we learn about Sallbo? A. Its residents have similar backgrounds. B. Free accommodation is offered in Sallbo. C. It’s most Swedish retirees’ residential choice. D. Social communication is required of its residents 25. What led to the project of Sallbo? A. The worry over loneliness problem among the elderly. B The profit from investing in housing the isolated people. C. The hope to balance the relationship between young and old. D. The traditional culture of individual independence in Sweden. 26. What does Ali Soroush think about Sallbo? A. Contribution-valued. B. Heart-warming. C. Duty-balanced. D. Cost-effective. 【答案】24. D 25. A 26. B 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了瑞典南部一个多代同堂居住的实验项目Sallbo，该项目旨在解决老年人孤独问题，通过让年轻人和老年人共同居住，促进社交互动，目前该项目取得了良好的效果。 24. 细节理解题。根据第二段中“All were selected after an extensive interview process to ensure a mix of personalities, backgrounds and values, and all had to sign a contract promising to spend at least two hours a week socialising with their neighbours. (所有人都是经过广泛的面试程序后被选中的，以确保他们的性格、背景和价值观多样化，并且所有人都必须签署一份合同，承诺每周至少花两个小时与邻居交往)”可知，Sallbo的居民需要签署合同，承诺每周至少花两个小时与邻居交往，即要求居民进行社交。故选D。 25. 细节理解题。根据第三段中“The project is organised by Helsingborgshem, a housing company, and results from an idea they had in 2016 due to concern about loneliness among older groups. (该项目由住房公司Helsingborgshem组织，源于他们2016年对老年群体孤独问题的担忧)”可知，对老年人孤独问题的担忧导致了Sallbo项目的产生。故选A。 26. 推理判断题。根据第四段“‘The whole building is like a family,’ says Ali Soroush, a young man from Afghanistan. ‘There are parties all the time — every weekend it’s someone’s birthday or some celebration.’ (‘整栋楼就像一个家庭，’来自阿富汗的年轻人Ali Soroush说。‘总是有聚会——每个周末都有人过生日或庆祝什么。’)”可知，Ali Soroush认为Sallbo总是有聚会，每个周末都有人过生日或庆祝，这让人感到温暖。由此可知，Ali Soroush认为Sallbo是暖心的。故选B。 Passage 2 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） From an airplane, cars crawling down the highway look like ants. But actual ants-unlike cars-somehow manage to avoid the problem of stop-and-go traffic. Researchers are now studying these insects’ cooperative strategies to learn how to program self-driving cars that don’t jam up. The free flow of traffic becomes chaotic as the density (密度) of cars increases on a highway. At 15 vehicles per mile per lane, one driver tapping their brakes (刹车) can cause a continuous wave of crowding. “It’s a kind of phase transition, like water turning from a liquid to a solid form,” says Katsuhiro Nishinari, a mathematical physicist at the University of Tokyo, who studies these jamming transitions. Nishinari’s previous research had shown that ants searching for food can maintain their flow even at high densities. So what’s their secret? In a recent study, researchers recorded the routes of the ants searching for food and used traffic-engineering models to analyze their movement. They found that the ants don’t jam because they travel in groups of 3 to 20 that move at nearly constant rates while keeping good distances between one another-and they don’t speed up to pass others. Human drivers at rush hour are hardly likely to follow such rules. “We’re maximizing the interests of individuals, which is why, at a given point, you start to have a traffic jam,” says Nicola Pugno, who studies sustainable engineering at the University of Trento in Italy. But self-driving cars, if they one day become universal, could have more cooperative programming. In one vision of this future, autonomous vehicles would share information with nearby cars to optimize traffic flow-perhaps, Pugno suggests, by prioritizing constant speeds and headways or by not passing others on the road. This vehicle network would be analogous to ants searching for food, which use smell to adjust behavior while interacting with one another. “There is no leader, but this organization emerges anyway,” says Pugno. Today’s drivers can learn at least one thing from ants to avoid causing a traffic jam, as Nishinari says: don’t tailgate. By leaving room between their car and the one ahead of them, drivers can absorb a wave of braking in dense traffic conditions that would otherwise result in a traffic jam with no obvious cause. “Just keeping away,” Pugno says, “can help traffic flow smoothly.” 27. What are the best words to describe ants’ group movement? A. Free and independent. B. Disciplined and orderly. C. Complex and invariable. D. Random and uncompetitive. 28. Why does Nishinari mention water in Paragraph 2? A. To confirm the existence of a phenomenon. B. To express agreement with a viewpoint. C. To explain an abstract concept. D. To present a research finding. 29. What does the underlined word “analogous” in Paragraph 5 mean? A. Accustomed. B. Adaptable. C. Similar. D. Preferable. 30. Which would Nishinari and Pugno both agree with? A. Insects have less self-centered behavior. B. Leaderless interaction may relieve traffic pressure. C. Technology development will regulate human conduct. D. The study of biological functions helps better social behavior. 【答案】27. B 28. C 29. C 30. D 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了研究人员通过研究蚂蚁的合作策略，来学习如何编程自动驾驶汽车以避免交通堵塞，同时探讨了人类驾驶与蚂蚁行为以及未来自动驾驶汽车之间的联系。 27. 推理判断题。根据第三段中“They found that the ants don’t jam because they travel in groups of 3 to 20 that move at nearly constant rates while keeping good distances between one another-and they don’t speed up to pass others. (研究人员发现，蚂蚁不会陷入拥堵，是因为它们以3到20只为一组行进，行进速度几乎保持不变，同时彼此之间保持良好距离，而且它们不会加速超越其他蚂蚁)”可知，蚂蚁以有序的群体形式移动，保持恒定速度和良好间距，这体现了它们群体移动的纪律性和有序性。故选B。 28. 推理判断题。根据第二段中“At 15 vehicles per mile per lane, one driver tapping their brakes can cause a continuous wave of crowding. ‘It’s a kind of phase transition, like water turning from a liquid to a solid form,’ says Katsuhiro Nishinari, a mathematical physicist at the University of Tokyo, who studies these jamming transitions. (在每车道每英里15辆车的情况下，一个司机踩刹车就会引发连续的拥堵波。东京大学的数学物理学家Katsuhiro Nishinari研究这些拥堵转变，他说：‘这是一种相变，就像水从液态变成固态。’)”可知，Katsuhiro Nishinari用水从液态变为固态的相变来类比交通拥堵的形成，其目的是为了解释“交通拥堵的形成”这个抽象的概念，让读者更易理解。故选C。 29. 词句猜测题。根据第四段中“But self-driving cars, if they one day become universal, could have more cooperative programming. In one vision of this future, autonomous vehicles would share information with nearby cars to optimize traffic flow-perhaps, Pugno suggests, by prioritizing constant speeds and headways or by not passing others on the road. (但自动驾驶汽车，如果有一天变得普遍，可能会有更多的合作程序。在未来的一个愿景中，自动驾驶汽车将与附近的汽车共享信息，以优化交通流量——也许，Pugno建议，通过优先考虑恒定的速度和前进，或者在路上不超过其他车辆)”以及第五段中“This vehicle network would be analogous to ants searching for food, which use smell to adjust behavior while interacting with one another. (这个车辆网络将analogous于蚂蚁觅食，蚂蚁在相互交流时利用气味来调整行为)”可知，这里是将车辆网络和蚂蚁寻找食物进行类比，说明车辆网络与蚂蚁觅食在行为调整和信息交互方面有相似之处，所以“analogous”意思是“相似的”。故选C。 30. 推理判断题。根据最后一段“This vehicle network would be analogous to ants searching for food, which use smell to adjust behavior while interacting with one another. “There is no leader, but this organization emerges anyway,” says Pugno. Today’s drivers can learn at least one thing from ants to avoid causing a traffic jam, as Nishinari says: don’t tailgate. By leaving room between their car and the one ahead of them, drivers can absorb a wave of braking in dense traffic conditions that would otherwise result in a traffic jam with no obvious cause. “Just keeping away,” Pugno says, “can help traffic flow smoothly.” (这种交通网络类似于蚂蚁寻找食物，它们在相互作用时利用气味来调整行为。Pugno说：“没有领导者，但这个组织无论如何都会出现。”今天的司机至少可以从蚂蚁身上学到一件事，以避免造成交通堵塞，正如Nishinari说的那样：不要追尾。通过在自己的车和前面的车之间留出空间，司机可以在交通拥挤的情况下吸收一波刹车，否则会导致没有明显原因的交通堵塞。“只要保持距离，”Pugno说，“就可以帮助交通顺畅。”)”可知，Nishinari和Pugno都认为研究蚂蚁等生物的行为模式和功能，有助于改善人类社会中的交通行为等社会行为，比如通过模仿蚂蚁的无领导合作模式来优化自动驾驶汽车的交通流。故选D。 Passage 3 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） Cultural heritage is the symbol of our shared human history, including artifacts, traditions, languages, and knowledge that have been passed down through generations. Preserving and safeguarding cultural heritage has always been a critical mission. In the digital era, the mission has become a vital concern. Digitization of cultural content, such as museum collections or libraries, digital broadcasting of artistic performances, or digital born art and heritage are happening at a fast pace. While experiencing remarkable growth, the digital transformation presents unique challenges, such as the concerns about the cases where digital files may become unreadable or unusable due to outdated formats or hardware. However, this is not the biggest issue we encounter. The emergence of new digital cultural content has highlighted the limitations of existing intellectual property rights (IPR) systems in effectively handling the challenges posed by the digital era. In Europe, for instance, with the booming development of the digital gaming industry, some culture-related cases have raised specific IPR questions. Experts wonder if user-generated content from. digital games creates new copyright. The game itself is most often protected by copyright, but user-generated content, such as avatars (虚拟角色) created by players, is not necessarily covered by existing copyright laws. Another example is the inking culture of tattooing. In UK laws, an original tattoo is copyrightable work; however, it seems not to be the case for AI-generated tattoos. Both cases may lead to debates over ownership. As a result, museums often avoid sharing collections online due to a “chilling effect” — the fear of facing legal problems, like being responsible for breaking copyright laws, contract laws, or data protection rules. Cultural heritage preservation lies in striking a delicate balance between conservation of the past and transition to the future. The rapid advancements in technology offer exciting opportunities for digitizing, documenting, and preserving cultural heritage, providing broader access and immersive (沉浸式) experiences for global audiences, present and future. Furthermore, in the face of climate change, protecting cultural heritage becomes urgent as the world faces increasingly severe environmental challenges. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and temperature fluctuations threaten to destroy cultural artifacts and heritage sites. Since digital copies can serve as disaster backups (备份) to address climate-related damage, protecting cultural sites from climate change goes hand in hand with safeguarding heritage’s digital copies. All of these call for a balance between innovation and the preservation of cultural heritage’s authenticity and integrity, which necessitates respect for the variety of copyrights, management of rights and authorizations, and clear usage and access policies. Only by tackling the complex challenges posed by digitization can we ensure technology enriches rather than endangers our shared history. 31. What is the biggest challenge digitization poses to cultural heritage protection? A. The misinterpretation of the digital transformation. B. The potential failure of digital culture’s long-term sustainability. C. The difficulty in connecting culture digitization to cultural integrity. D. The insufficiency of intellectual property policies for digital culture. 32. What situation may result from the “chilling effect” mentioned in the passage? A. Museums refuse to display the original items of cultural artifacts. B. Galleries tighten the policies for e-format culture exchanges. C. Libraries restrict access to digital books on culture relics. D. Schools offer less cultural heritage-related courses. 33. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about? A. The necessity of protecting cultural heritage in digital forms. B. The significance of protecting cultural relics from natural damage. C. The possibility of using technology in cultural heritage preservation. D. The barrier of achieving both conservation and transition at the same time. 34. What is the main purpose of the passage? A. To advocate addressing existing issues. B. To promote the use of modern technology. C. To analyse the origins of current challenges. D. To explore the impact of innovation on tradition. 【答案】31. D 32. B 33. A 34. A 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。主要探讨数字时代文化遗产保护面临的挑战及平衡创新与保护的必要性。 31. 细节理解题。根据第二段中的“However, this is not the biggest issue we encounter. The emergence of new digital cultural content has highlighted the limitations of existing intellectual property rights (IPR) systems in effectively handling the challenges posed by the digital era.(然而，这并不是我们遇到的最大问题。新的数字文化内容的出现凸显了现有知识产权体系在有效应对数字时代带来的挑战方面的局限性。)”可知，数字化给文化遗产保护带来的最大挑战是知识产权政策无法满足数字文化的需求。故选D项。 32. 推理判断题。根据第三段中的“As a result, museums often avoid sharing collections online due to a “chilling effect” — the fear of facing legal problems, like being responsible for breaking copyright laws, contract laws, or data protection rules.(因此，由于“寒蝉效应”——害怕面临法律问题，如对违反版权法、合同法或数据保护规则负责，博物馆往往避免在网上分享藏品。)”可知，“寒蝉效应”可能导致美术馆收紧电子形式文化交流的政策。故选B项。 33. 主旨大意题。根据第四段中的“The rapid advancements in technology offer exciting opportunities for digitizing, documenting, and preserving cultural heritage, providing broader access and immersive (沉浸式) experiences for global audiences, present and future.(技术的快速发展为数字化、记录和保护文化遗产提供了令人兴奋的机会，为全球观众、现在和未来提供了更广泛的访问和沉浸式体验)”和“Since digital copies can serve as disaster backups to address climate-related damage, protecting cultural sites from climate change goes hand in hand with safeguarding heritage’s digital copies.(由于数字副本可以作为应对气候相关损害的灾难备份，保护文化遗址免受气候变化影响与保护遗产的数字副本相辅相成。)”可知，第四段主要讲述以数字形式保护文化遗产的必要性。故选A项。 34. 推理判断题。通读全文，尤其是最后一段中的“All of these call for a balance between innovation and the preservation of cultural heritage’s authenticity and integrity, which necessitates respect for the variety of copyrights, management of rights and authorizations, and clear usage and access policies. Only by tackling the complex challenges posed by digitization can we ensure technology enriches rather than endangers our shared history.(所有这些都要求在创新与保护文化遗产的真实性和完整性之间取得平衡，这需要尊重各种版权，管理权利和授权，并制定明确的使用和获取政策。只有应对数字化带来的复杂挑战，我们才能确保技术丰富而不是危害我们共同的历史。)”可知，文章的主要目的是倡导解决当前数字时代文化遗产保护存在的问题。故选A项。 Passage 4 （24-25高二下·北京西城·期末） Elephants and gorillas in the Republic of the Congo’s rainforests spend a lot of time hiding in the shadows — or so we thought. Using drone (无人机) surveys and AI processing, scientists have discovered an extensive network of mysterious open clearings among the trees. Animals like elephants, gorillas visit these muddy areas, called bais, in the languages of the Indigenous Ba’Aka, to search for vital nutrition and maintain their complex social networks. The numerous playgrounds are visible in satellite images, and AI analysis is helping researchers find them more effectively. The discovery began in 2021 when Sylvain Ngouma and Evan Hockridge came upon a massive clearing during fieldwork in Odzala-Kokoua National Park and found a trail (踪迹) of wet, pot-sized footprints leading through the woods to the open roundabout. Hockridge, who had thought bais were abnormal, says, “I had it backward. It kind of hit me when I was there. You can’t understand animal interactions without first understanding bais.” For the next three summers, the team investigated the clearings. They analyzed camera-trap images, confirming what local people had told them — that these natural clearings are crucial gathering grounds for some of the world’s most endangered mammals. The bais, they realized, are big melting pots, big playgrounds, for a collection of forest animals. During the initial surveys, the team followed elephant trails to move through the rainforest from bai to bai. This process led Hockridge to wonder about a network. Although previous studies documented animal behavior in selected bais, no one had counted them or had the means to map their distribution. The team partnered with African Parks, using drones to scan known sites. They trained an AI algorithm (算法) to identify bais in satellite imagery, revealing 2,176 clearings in one park — 10 times more than previously recorded. Bais are always near rivers or streams. Most are smaller than a city block, but few, at more than 100 acres, are bigger than some college campuses. “Bais are ultimately islands of resources, and animals produce these networks of trails to essentially navigate to and from a network of bais,” Hockridge says. The researchers’ map of bais, the first of its kind, is also a map of conservation priorities. “We find that a huge portion of the animal community depends on this unique ecosystem. These species don’t have alternative habitats other than bais,” Hockridge says. The study is also a step toward solving the ultimate mystery: How did bais form? Many ecologists have argued that a combination of hydrology (水文学) and animal landscaping is at play. But definitive proof remains elusive. Now, with a map in hand and camera traps still in place, the research team is tracking long-term changes, which have implications for the maintenance of these crucial animal habitats. “We have hypotheses (假说),” Andrew Davies, an ecologist in Harvard, says, “but the short answer is: we don’t know.” 18. For rainforest animals, bais are places for ________. A. fun and safety B. water and shelter C. food and connection D. shade and entertainment 19. What can we learn about Ngouma and Hockridge’s research? A. It discovered how bais formed. B It was the first to map the network of bais. C. It analyzed images of bais provided by local people. D. It concluded bais were spots intended for endangered species. 20. What does the underlined word “elusive” in Paragraph 6 probably mean? A. Difficult to find. B. Simple to clarify. C. Possible to overestimate. D. Unlikely to question. 21. Which would be the best title for this passage? A. Conservation Priorities in Rainforests B. Hidden Playgrounds Revealed in Rainforests C. Secrets of Rainforest Animals’ Social Networks D. Modern Tools Adopted for Rainforest Exploration 【答案】18. C 19. B 20. A 21. B 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。主要介绍科学家借助无人机调查和人工智能处理，在刚果共和国雨林中发现众多神秘开阔空地“bais”，这些空地对大象、大猩猩等动物意义重大，研究团队还绘制出首张“bais”网络地图，但“bais”的形成原因仍有待探索。 18. 细节理解题。根据第一段中的“Animals like elephants, gorillas visit these muddy areas, called bais... to search for vital nutrition and maintain their complex social networks.(像大象、大猩猩这样的动物会来到这些被称为bais的泥泞区域……寻找重要的营养物质，并维持它们复杂的社会网络)”可知，对于雨林动物来说，bais是获取食物（营养物质）和建立联系（维持社会网络）的地方。故选C项。 19. 细节理解题。根据第五段中的“The researchers’ map of bais, the first of its kind, is also a map of conservation priorities.(研究人员绘制的bais地图，是此类地图中的首张，也是一张保护优先级地图)”可知，Ngouma和Hockridge的研究首次绘制出了bais网络地图。故选B项。 20. 词义猜测题。根据第六段中的“The study is also a step toward solving the ultimate mystery: How did bais form? Many ecologists have argued that a combination of hydrology(水文学) and animal landscaping is at play. But definitive proof remains elusive.(这项研究也是朝着解开最终谜团迈出的一步：bais是如何形成的？许多生态学家认为水文学和动物景观的结合在起作用。但确凿的证据仍然elusive)”以及最后一段““We have hypotheses(假说),” Andrew Davies, an ecologist in Harvard, says, “but the short answer is: we don’t know.”(哈佛大学的生态学家安德鲁·戴维斯说：“我们有一些假设，但简短的答案是：我们不知道”)”可知，虽然有一些观点，但仍不确定bais的形成原因，所以确凿证据难以找到，“elusive”意思是“Difficult to find（难以找到）”故选A项。 21. 主旨大意题。主要介绍科学家借助无人机调查和人工智能处理，在刚果共和国雨林中发现众多神秘开阔空地“bais”，这些空地对大象、大猩猩等动物意义重大，研究团队还绘制出首张“bais”网络地图，但“bais”的形成原因仍有待探索。B选项“雨林中揭示的隐藏游乐场”，准确概括文章内容，为最佳标题。故选B项。 Passage 5 （24-25高二下·北京海淀·期末） A category of synthetic organisms termed “mirror life”, whose component molecules (分子) are mirror images of their natural counterpart, could pose huge risks to human life and ecosystems, according to a recent article in Science. Mirror life has to do with the universal phenomenon in the natural world in which a molecule or another object cannot simply be superimposed (重叠) on another. For example, your left hand can’t simply be turned over to match your right hand. This handedness is hugely important in biology because interactions between biomolecules rely on them having the expected form. For example, if a protein’s handedness is reversed, it cannot interact with partner molecules. The authors are worried about mirror bacteria, the simplest life-form their concerns apply to. The capability to create mirror bacteria does not yet exist and is “at least a decade away”, but progress is underway. Katarzyna Adamala, one co-author of the article, fears that mirror bacteria could lead to permanent ecological damage and loss of life. The initial enthusiasm for creating mirror versions of bacteria began with simpler imaginings. Researchers explored the use of mirror-image proteins and other molecules that are the building blocks of such an organism. One application is in drugs. Some drugs must be taken repeatedly because the body breaks them down. Mirror molecules resist this process, allowing drugs made from them to last longer. Many immune system mechanisms also rely on handedness. T cells, responsible for recognizing foreign invaders, for example, might fail to bind to something with the wrong handedness, which could help therapies made from mirror molecules avoid triggering immune reactions in patients. Another potential application of mirror bacteria might be bioreactors (生物反应器), biological factories that use cells or microorganisms to produce various compounds like antibiotics and other medicines. Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) can wipe out bacteria-based bioreactors, costing huge amounts of time and money, but it is likely they wouldn’t infect mirror bacteria, because they wouldn’t recognize their molecules. It is these supposedly advantageous properties that gave rise to the scientists’ concerns. The ability to avoid immune responses could allow bacteria to cause deadly infections as they multiply uncontrollably. Unlike viruses, bacteria don’t require specific molecular interactions to infect hosts, and mirror bacteria could affect a wide range of organisms, including humans, animals, and plants. And a lack of natural enemies could enable mirror bacteria to spread widely through ecosystems. 25. Why is “handedness” important in biology? A. It helps biomolecules to change functions when needed. B. It ensures biomolecules to recognize their reversed forms. C. It enables biomolecules to be superimposed on each other. D. It allows biomolecules to interact correctly with each other. 26. What is Adamala’s attitude towards the development of mirror bacteria? A. Defensive. B. Enthusiastic. C. Neutral. D. Worried. 27. What can we learn about the application of mirror life technology? A. Mirror molecules help to activate immune reactions. B. Mirror molecules can extend the effect of some drugs. C. Mirror bacteria can be used to cure some rare diseases. D. Mirror bacteria have the potential to damage bioreactors. 28. What is the passage mainly about? A. Process and challenges of mirror life research. B. Applications and benefits of mirror molecules. C. The concept and potential impacts of mirror life. D. Replacement of natural bacteria by mirror bacteria. 【答案】25. D 26. D 27. B 28. C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。主要介绍了“镜像生命”这一合成生物类别的概念，以及其可能对人类生命和生态系统带来的巨大风险，同时探讨了镜像生命技术的潜在应用。 25. 细节理解题。根据第二段中“This handedness is hugely important in biology because interactions between biomolecules rely on them having the expected form. For example, if a protein’s handedness is reversed, it cannot interact with partner molecules. (这种手性在生物学中非常重要，因为生物分子之间的相互作用依赖于它们具有预期的形式。例如，如果蛋白质的手性颠倒，它就不能与配体分子相互作用。)”可知，手性在生物学中很重要是因为它允许生物分子之间正确地相互作用。故选D项。 26. 推理判断题。根据第三段中“Katarzyna Adamala, one co-author of the article, fears that mirror bacteria could lead to permanent ecological damage and loss of life. (这篇文章的一位合著者Katarzyna Adamala担心，镜像细菌可能会对生态造成永久性破坏，并导致生命损失。)”可知，Adamala对镜像细菌的发展持担忧态度。故选D项。 27. 细节理解题。根据第四段中“Some drugs must be taken repeatedly because the body breaks them down. Mirror molecules resist this process, allowing drugs made from them to last longer. (有些药物必须反复服用，因为身体会分解它们。镜像分子可以抵抗这一过程，使由它们制成的药物持续时间更长。)”可知，镜像分子可以延长某些药物的效果。故选B项。 28. 主旨大意题。纵观全文，尤其是根据第一段中“A category of synthetic organisms termed “mirror life”, whose component molecules (分子) are mirror images of their natural counterpart, could pose huge risks to human life and ecosystems, according to a recent article in Science. (根据最近发表在《科学》杂志上的一篇文章，一类被称为“镜像生命”的合成生物，其组成分子是自然界对应分子的镜像，可能对人类生命和生态系统构成巨大风险。)”可知，本文主要介绍了“镜像生命”的概念以及其可能对人类生命和生态系统带来的巨大风险，即镜像生命的潜在影响。故选C项。 Passage 6 （24-25高二下·北京朝阳·期末） A National Institutes of Health (NIH) project that studied over a hundred young people as they grew up during the 1990s showed that our brains undergo a massive reorganization between our 12th and 25th years. The brain doesn’t actually grow very much during this period. It has already reached 90 percent of its full size by the time a person is six. But as we move through adolescence, the brain undergoes extensive remodeling, resembling a network and wiring upgrade. Beatriz Luna, professor of University of Pittsburgh, used neuroimaging to study the teen brain. Luna scanned the brains of children, teens, and twentysomethings while they performed a specific task. They view a screen on which the red crosshairs at the center occasionally disappear just as a light flashes elsewhere on the screen. The instructions are to not look at the light and instead to look in the opposite direction. A sensor detects any eye movement. Ten-year-olds fail about 45 percent of the time. Teens do much better. What Luna found most interesting, however, was not those scores. It was the brain scans she took while people took the test. Compared with adults, teens tended to make less use of brain regions that spot errors, plan, and stay focused — areas the adults seemed to bring online automatically. This let the adults use a variety of brain resources and better resist distractions, while the teens used those areas less often and more readily gave in to the impulse to look at the flashing light. This helps explain why teens behave with such annoying inconsistency: attracting at breakfast, disgusting at dinner; masterful on Monday, sleepwalking on Saturday. Meanwhile, take inspiration in one last distinction of the teen brain — a final key to both its awkwardness and its remarkable adaptability. This is the lasting plasticity of those late-developing frontal areas as they slowly mature. And at first glance this seems like bad news: If we need these areas for the complex task of entering the world, why aren’t they running at full speed when the challenges are most discouraging? The answer is that speed comes at the price of flexibility. According to Douglas Fields, an NIH neuroscientist, “This means the period when a brain area is getting upgraded is a sort of crucial period of learning — once that’s done it’s harder to change.” The long, slow, back-to-front developmental wave, completed only in the mid-20s, appears to be a uniquely human adaptation. It may be one of our most sequential. It can seem a bit crazy that we humans don’t wise up a bit earlier in life. But if we smartened up sooner, we’d end up more stupid. 38. What does the underlined word “resembling” in Paragraph 1 probably mean? A. Building up. B. Looking like. C Breaking down. D. Connecting to. 39. What can we learn from the passage? A. Be patient and teams can still be smarter. B. Be focused and we will face the world better. C. Brains have the tendency to level up when needed. D. Brains’ processing speed is compromised as they mature. 40. What is the main purpose of the passage? A. To analyse the composition of human brains. B. To find reason for teens’ inconsistent behaviours. C. To make a contrast between teen and adult brains. D. To explain human brains develop at a reasonable pace. 【答案】38. B 39. D 40. D 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了人类大脑在12岁到25岁之间经历大规模重组，解释了青少年行为特点及大脑发育的合理性。 38. 词句猜测题。根据第一段“But as we move through adolescence, the brain undergoes extensive remodeling, resembling a network and wiring upgrade. (但是，当我们进入青春期时，大脑会经历广泛的重塑，就像网络和线路升级一样。)”可知，大脑经历重塑，类似于网络和线路的升级，故resembling意为“像，类似于”。选项B“Looking like. (看起来像。)”符合题意。故选B。 39. 推理判断题。根据倒最后一段的“The long, slow, back-to-front developmental wave, completed only in the mid-20s, appears to be a uniquely human adaptation. It may be one of our most sequential. It can seem a bit crazy that we humans don’t wise up a bit earlier in life. But if we smartened up sooner, we’d end up more stupid.(这一漫长而缓慢、倒序发展的成长过程，直到 25 岁左右才完成，似乎是人类独有的适应方式。这可能是我们最循序渐进的一种适应方式。或许会让人觉得有些不可思议，那就是我们人类为何在生命早期没有更早地变得明智起来。但如果我们更早地变得明智，结果可能会更糟糕，因为我们可能会变得更加愚蠢。)”可知，青少年大脑发展是一个漫长的缓慢的倒序发展的过程，到25岁才能完成，是循序渐进的方式，如果更早变得明智，结果可能会更糟糕，因此推断要有耐心，最终团队会变得更聪明，与文章讲述一致，故选A。 40. 主旨大意题。通读全文，尤其是根据第一段中“A National Institutes of Health (NIH) project that studied over a hundred young people as they grew up during the 1990s showed that our brains undergo a massive reorganization between our 12th and 25th years. (美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）的一项项目对上世纪90年代成长起来的100多名年轻人进行了研究，结果显示，我们的大脑在12岁到25岁之间会经历大规模的重组。)”以及最后一段中“The long, slow, back-to-front developmental wave, completed only in the mid-20s, appears to be a uniquely human adaptation. (这种漫长、缓慢、从后到前的发展浪潮，直到20多岁中期才完成，似乎是人类独有的适应方式。)”可知，文章主要解释了人类大脑在青少年时期到成年早期的发育过程，以及这一发育过程的合理性和必要性，即人类大脑以合理的速度发育。选项D“To explain human brains develop at a reasonable pace. (解释人类大脑以合理的速度发育。)”符合题意。故选D。 Passage 7 （24-25高二下·北京石景山·期末） Throughout history, humans have dreamed of controlling the weather. From ancient ceremonies (仪式) to modern science, the idea of influencing rain, storms, and temperature has fascinated cultures across the globe. Today, with advancements in climate science, weather modification is no longer just a fantasy — it is becoming a reality. One of the most well-known techniques is cloud seeding, a process where small particles (粒子), such as silver iodide (碘化银), are released into clouds to encourage the formation of raindrops. Countries like China and the United States have used cloud seeding to increase rainfall in dry regions and reduce the impact of droughts. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China famously used this technique to prevent rain from disturbing the opening ceremony. Beyond increasing rainfall, scientists are also exploring ways to weaken storms. Some researchers believe that hurricanes could be controlled by changing ocean temperatures or releasing substances into the atmosphere to limit their intensity. However, these ideas remain largely experimental, as changing one part of the climate system could have unexpected consequences elsewhere. Another approach being studied is geoengineering (地球工程学), which involves large-scale efforts to control the Earth’s climate to counteract global warming. One debatable idea is to release reflective particles into the upper atmosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface. Supporters argue that this could help cool the planet, but critics warn that such actions might disturb weather patterns in unpredictable ways. The ability to modify (调整) weather comes with ethical (伦理的) and political challenges. If one country increases its rainfall, could it unintentionally cause droughts in another region? Could weather modification be used as a weapon, affecting food production or water supplies? These concerns have led to international debates on the regulation of weather control technologies. Some scientists argue that while weather modification holds promise, it should only be used under strict guidelines to avoid unintended environmental damage. Moreover, weather modification raises a deeper question: should humans get involved in natural systems on such a large scale? Climate change is already a major global challenge, with human activities significantly affecting temperature patterns and ecosystems. Some critics worry that using technology to change weather could give people a false sense of control over nature, leading to risky decisions. Others, however, believe that with careful research and ethical considerations, these advancements could help address the growing challenges of climate change and water shortage. Despite the controversies, one thing is clear: the desire to control the weather is not going away. As technology continues to develop, the line between natural weather patterns and human influence will become increasingly blurred. Whether this will lead to a safer, more stable climate or unintended environmental consequences remains to be seen. While scientists are making progress, only time will tell if weather modification will be a useful tool or a dangerous experiment. 31. What is one concern about weather modification? A. It has no proven scientific basis. B. It requires expensive technology. C. It makes weather forecasting more difficult. D. It could create unexpected environmental issues. 32. What does the word “blurred” in the last paragraph most likely mean? A. Confusing. B. Exciting. C. Disappointing. D. Encouraging. 33. What can we learn from the passage? A. Humans have the ability to control nature. B. Weather modification has put into practice. C. Geoengineering is widely accepted by scientists. D. Cloud seeding has replaced traditional methods of farming. 34. Which would be the best title for the passage? A. How Humans Control the Weather B. Weather Modification: Dream or Disaster C. Geoengineering and the Future of the Planet D. Cloud Seeding: An Effective Solution to Climate 【答案】31. D 32. A 33. B 34. B 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了人类探索控制天气的技术实践，如人工增雨、削弱风暴和地球工程等，以及由此引发的伦理、环境争议和未来挑战。 31. 细节理解题。根据第三段中“However, these ideas remain largely experimental, as changing one part of the climate system could have unexpected consequences elsewhere.(然而，这些想法在很大程度上仍处于实验阶段，因为改变气候系统的一部分可能在其他地方产生意想不到的后果)”以及第五段中“These concerns have led to international debates on the regulation of weather control technologies. Some scientists argue that while weather modification holds promise, it should only be used under strict guidelines to avoid unintended environmental damage.(这些担忧引发了国际上对天气控制技术监管的辩论。一些科学家认为，尽管天气调整有希望取得成效，但它只能在严格的指导方针下使用，以避免意外的环境破坏)”可知，天气调整可能引发意外环境问题。故选D。 32. 词句猜测题。根据最后一段中“As technology continues to develop, the line between natural weather patterns and human influence will become increasingly blurred.(随着技术的不断发展，自然天气模式和人类影响之间的界限将变得越来越blurred)”可知，随着技术的发展，自然天气模式和人类影响之间的界限变得不再清晰，变得“难以区分、令人困惑”（Confusing）。故选A。 33. 推理判断题。根据第二段中“Countries like China and the United States have used cloud seeding to increase rainfall in dry regions and reduce the impact of droughts. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China famously used this technique to prevent rain from disturbing the opening ceremony.(中国和美国等国家已经使用人工增雨技术来增加干旱地区的降雨量并减少干旱的影响。在2008年北京奥运会期间，中国著名地使用了这项技术来防止雨水干扰开幕式)”可知，天气调整技术（如人工增雨）已投入实际应用。故选B。 34. 主旨大意题。文章围绕人工影响天气展开，既介绍了其技术应用（如人工增雨、尝试减弱风暴等），也详细阐述了其引发的争议（如可能带来意想不到的环境后果、伦理和政治问题等），探讨了这一技术究竟是有用的工具还是危险的实验。B项“Weather Modification: Dream or Disaster(人工影响天气：梦想还是灾难)”能够概括文章的核心内容，适合作为标题。故选B。 Passage 8 （24-25高二下·北京大兴·期末） A new study has found that a child’s reading speed can be improved by simply increasing the space between letters within a piece of text. The research, led by Dr. Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), examined the benefits of letter spacing and coloured overlays (颜色标注) among children. Two groups of children, dyslexic (诵读困难) and non-dyslexic children, were asked to read four texts with either standard or extra-large letter spacing, both with and without a coloured overlay. They were instructed to read the text out loud while being recorded. The recording was used to measure the number of errors they made — specifically missed words, added words, wrong words, and pronunciation — as well as the participants’ reading time. The study discovered that text with increased space between letters provided a benefit for both groups. On average, the dyslexia group showed a 13% increase in reading speed, while the group of non-dyslexic children showed a 5% increase. In addition to improving reading speed, it also resulted in a significant decline in the number of words missed by the children with dyslexia. However, the study found that coloured overlays had no significant impact on reading speed or the reduction of errors for either group. Dr. Stagg, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at ARU, said, “We believe extra-large letter spacing works by reducing what is known as the ‘crowding effect’, which can hamper the recognition of letters and reduce reading speed.” “Our findings strongly suggest that teachers can be confident that all children would be helped by increased letter spacing in reading materials,” Dr. Stagg added. “While we found that coloured overlays provided little benefit, we suggest children should be encouraged to use overlays if they find these help their reading. Coloured overlays may not increase reading speeds, but they may extend reading stamina (持久力). Previous research suggests their benefits may not become apparent if reading time is less than 10 minutes and the short reading duration of the tests in our study may have put coloured overlays at a disadvantage.” 28. What can we learn about the research? A. Non-dyslexic children did not benefit from increased letter spacing at all. B. The study found that both groups read faster with extra-large letter spacing. C. Reading errors of non-dyslexic children increased with larger letter spacing. D. Coloured overlays significantly improved the reading speed of dyslexic children. 29. What does the word “hamper” underlined in Paragraph 4 probably mean? A. Prevent. B. Obtain. C. Involve. D. Change. 30. What does Dr. Stagg emphasise regarding coloured overlays? A. Their benefits for reading stamina are immediate within short tests. B. They are equally effective as increased letter spacing for all children. C. They should be abandoned since they provide no reading speed benefits. D. Their potential advantages may require longer reading sessions to emerge. 【答案】28. B 29. A 30. D 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了一项研究发现增加文本字母间距能提高儿童阅读速度，而颜色标注作用不显著。 28. 细节理解题。根据文章第三段内容“On average, the dyslexia group showed a 13% increase in reading speed, while the group of non-dyslexic children showed a 5% increase.(平均而言，患有阅读障碍的儿童组的阅读速度提高了 13%，而未患阅读障碍的儿童组则提高了 5%)”可知，字母间距增大后，两组儿童（诵读困难组和非诵读困难组）的阅读速度均提升。故选B项。 29. 词句猜测题。分析句子语法结构可知，画线词所在定语从句的先行词为“crowding effect(拥挤效应)”，结合先行词含义“拥挤效应”，以及后文“reduce reading speed(降低阅读速度)”可推知知，阅读速度低的原因应是字母拥挤在一起，从而使字母识别有困难，阅读有困难，由此推知，“hamper the recognition of letters”应是“（拥挤效应）妨碍字母的识别”含义。因此，“hamper”应是“prevent(妨碍)”含义。故选A项。 30. 细节理解题。根据文章末尾段内容“Coloured overlays may not increase reading speeds, but they may extend reading stamina (持久力). Previous research suggests their benefits may not become apparent if reading time is less than 10 minutes and the short reading duration of the tests in our study may have put coloured overlays at a disadvantage.(彩色覆盖膜可能不会提高阅读速度，但可能会延长阅读耐力。之前的研究表明，如果阅读时间少于10分钟，它们的好处可能不会显现，而我们研究中测试的短阅读时间可能会使彩色覆盖膜处于不利地位)”可知，Dr. Stagg强调彩色覆盖膜在短时测试（低于10分钟）中效果不显著，但可能提升长期阅读的持久力，即，其潜在的优势可能需要更长的阅读时间才能显现出来。故选D项。 Passage 9 （24-25高二下·北京大兴·期末） For 75 years, astronomers have been searching for extraterrestrial (地球外的) intelligence, often shortened to SETI. SETI involves listening for radio or optical signals sent by intelligent civilizations, but, so far, no artificial signals have been detected. The failure of SETI is called “The Great Silence”, but despite this, many scientists are confident that intelligent aliens do exist. There are thought to be at least 10 billion habitable worlds in our galaxy, and billions of years have passed in which any life on them could have developed intelligence and technology. METI, or messaging extraterrestrial intelligence, has been less common. It involves talking rather than listening. To some, it is a controversial activity. The first attempts at communication were unrealistic “messages in a bottle”. In 1972, NASA launched the Pioneer 10 spacecraft towards Jupiter, which carried a board with a line drawing of a man and a woman as well as symbols to show where the craft originated. In 1977, NASA followed this up with a golden record attached to the Voyager I craft. The 12-inch record held sounds and images chosen to convey the diversity of life on Earth. Both spacecrafts have since left the solar system. At their current speeds, it will be tens of thousands of years before they reach another star system. In the immensity of space, the odds that they will be found are extremely small. Now, an international team of astronomers plans to use the world’s largest radio telescope, FAST, located in China, to beam a message towards millions of stars that are 10,000 to 20,000 light years away. The new message is a combination of previous ones. NASA signals to its remote spacecraft, meanwhile, have reached four nearby stars. But perhaps we have already betrayed our existence to aliens. Radio and television have been leaking into space for nearly a century, in an expanding bubble of communications that spans millions of stars-in theory, at least. The ethical question raised by METT is: Should we be sending a message at all? Scientists are divided. Before he died, Stephen Hawking was outspoken about the danger of communicating with aliens. If they have superior technology and are malign, they might destroy us. Others see no problem, given that the signals take millennia (一千年) to reach their destination. No international rules govern METI, so the experiments will continue. My own take is that the risk is abstract when the message will take millennia to be received. We have more direct and existential threats than evil alien empires. My guess is that extraterrestrial intelligence and tech are so advanced that they are hard to comprehend. After all, we share 99% of our DNA with chimps and can’t communicate with them. 31. What is “The Great Silence” in the context of SETI? A. The absence of sound in outer space. B. The quietness of habitable worlds in the galaxy. C. The lack of communication between different space agencies. D. The failure to detect artificial signals from intelligent civilizations. 32. Which of the following statements might the author agree with? A. It’s unwise to continue METI without international rules. B. Scientists should prioritize addressing immediate threats. C. We may establish connection with aliens in the near future. D. Communication with aliens may lead to humanity’s destruction. 33. What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph? A. We should give up looking for aliens for the moment. B. We should first learn how to communicate with our closest relative. C. Communication with aliens from other intelligent civilizations is unlikely. D. Genetic similarity is no guarantee of successful communication with aliens. 34. What is mainly discussed in the passage? A. The significance of SETT and METI projects. B. The possibility of finding habitable planets in the universe. C. The efforts made to search for intelligent life beyond the earth. D. The challenges in detecting artificial signals from other planets. 【答案】31. D 32. B 33. C 34. C 【导语】这是一篇说明文。主要讲述人类搜寻外星智慧生命（SETI）的失败以及向外星智慧生命发送信息（METI）的尝试、伦理争议和作者观点。文章涵盖SETI和METI的定义、历史努力（如先驱者和旅行者号任务）、当前计划（使用FAST望远镜）及相关挑战，包括信号传播的漫长性和潜在风险。全文围绕地外智慧生命的探索展开，强调科学界的努力和分歧。 31. 细节理解题。根据第一段第二句“SETT involves listening for radio or optical signals sent by intelligent civilizations, but, so far, no artificial signals have been detected. (SETT涉及监听智能文明发出的无线电或光信号，但到目前为止，还没有检测到任何人工信号。)”可知，SETT想要的便是获得智能文明发出的信号，那它的失败就是没有获得这些信号。故选D项。 32. 推理判断题。根据最后一段一二句“My own take is that the risk is abstract when the message will take millennia to be received. We have more direct and existential threats than evil alien empires. (我自己的看法是，当信息需要数千年才能被接收时，风险是抽象的。我们面临的威胁比邪恶的外星帝国更直接、更存在。)”可知，作者认为METI的风险是抽象的，尚未实际成形，但是我们面临其他的更直接存在的风险，言外之意便是与外星帝国相比，我们需要先解决这些更直接存在的风险。故选B项。 33. 词句猜测题。根据最后一段第三句“My guess is that extraterrestrial intelligence and tech are so advanced that they are hard to comprehend. (我的猜测是，外星智能和技术是如此先进，以至于很难理解。)”可知，作者觉得外星的智能和技术会很难理解，画线句“After all, we share 99% of our DNA with chimps and can’t communicate with them.(毕竟，我们与黑猩猩共享99%的DNA，无法与它们交流)”是对“难以理解的程度”做了一个比喻，即使人和黑猩猩在基因上如此相似，我们和黑猩猩之间的互相理解沟通也是无法达成，不可能的，故可推断这个比喻暗含的语义为我们与外星智能文明的交流不太可能。故选C项。 34. 主旨大意题。文章通篇讨论SETI监听失败、METI发送信息的努力（如先驱者号、旅行者号）、当前计划（使用FAST望远镜）及信号传播挑战和伦理争议，核心是总结人类为搜寻地球外智慧生命所做的各种尝试，选项C“为寻找地球外智慧生命所做的努力”全面涵盖这一主题。故选C项。 Passage 10 （24-25高二下·北京房山·期末） Humans are not the only fashionistas. Even small birds like tits (山雀) can follow colour trends. A study published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology shows that, given the chance, they decorate their nests with this season’s must-have colour. Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin were following up the work published in 1934 by Henry Smith Williams, an American naturalist. He noticed that when he put various coloured balls of yarn (纱线) out in his garden, almost always one and only one became popular that season for incorporation into local birds’ nests. But which particular colour was favoured varied from season to season. This suggested that the colour chosen by one of the early birds was spotted and copied by others. Williams’s work was, however, forgotten until Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin came across it while following up on a different study. The birds they followed were part of a well-monitored population of blue, great and marsh tits in a wood near the institute. Most birds in this wood carry transponders fitted to them. That allows the institute’s researchers to keep track of a vast number of individuals by logging their arrival at dispensers (分配器). One day in March 2021, Dr. Wild, Dr. Aplin and their collaborators deployed five RFID-enabled dispensers loaded with wool rather than food. Each contained strands of two colours — either orange and pink or blue and purple — but all were set to dispense only one of these. This remained so until at least one local nest was seen to include wool from a dispenser. At that moment, the other colour was made available, too. As a control, Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin set up, in a separate area, four further wool-dispensers, each of which provided two colours from the start. Of 68 tits’ nests built that season in the experimental areas, 26 included wool from a dispenser. Of these, 18 were constructed after both colours had become available from all dispensers. Even so, ten of those 18 included only the colour of wool first chosen by a nest-builder. By contrast, all eight wool-bearing nests in the control zone contained a mixture of colours — a statistically significant difference. Tits, then, do seem to be “on trend” when it comes to nest-building materials. Why that should happen remains obscure. Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin suspect the trendsetters are older birds, and that evolution favours younger ones copying their elders, since those elders have evidently survived what fortune has to throw at a tit. Williams’s original work, though, suggests such initial choices are arbitrary. A bit like those of the leaders of human fashions. 28. How did Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin build their study upon Williams’s earlier work? A. By focusing on purple nest decoration materials. B. By observing the same tit species in Williams’s garden. C. By using tracking technology to test Williams’s finding. D. By copying his experiment with the same coloured yarns. 29. What can be learned from the research of Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin? A. They used RFID-enabled dispensers to observe the living habits of the birds. B. They conducted a controlled experiment on the birds’ colour preferences. C. Multicoloured wool strands were released together from the start. D. Food was supplied to the birds through the dispensers. 30. What does the word “obscure” underlined in the last paragraph probably mean? A. Unclear. B. Apparent. C. Unexpected. D. Reasonable. 31. What is the purpose of this passage? A. To call on people to protect the diverse species of tits. B. To suggest that younger tits set the fashion for the season. C. To inform that tits can be fashion followers just like humans. D. To present some effective methods applied in scientific research. 【答案】28. C 29. B 30. A 31. C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了山雀也会像人类一样追随色彩潮流，科学家通过实验对此进行了研究。 28. 推理判断题。根据第三段“Williams’s work was, however, forgotten until Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin came across it while following up on a different study. The birds they followed were part of a well-monitored population of blue, great and marsh tits in a wood near the institute. Most birds in this wood carry transponders fitted to them. That allows the institute’s researchers to keep track of a vast number of individuals by logging their arrival at dispensers (分配器). (威廉姆斯的工作被遗忘了，直到怀尔德博士和阿普林博士在跟进另一项研究时发现了它。他们跟踪的鸟类是研究所附近一片树林中受监测的蓝山雀、大山雀和沼泽山雀种群的一部分。这片树林里的大多数鸟都装有应答器。这使得研究所的研究人员能够通过记录它们到达分配器的时间来追踪大量个体)”可知，怀尔德博士和阿普林博士利用追踪技术来追踪鸟类，进而测试威廉姆斯的发现。故选C。 29. 推理判断题。根据第四段“One day in March 2021, Dr. Wild, Dr. Aplin and their collaborators deployed five RFID-enabled dispensers loaded with wool rather than food. Each contained strands of two colours — either orange and pink or blue and purple — but all were set to dispense only one of these. This remained so until at least one local nest was seen to include wool from a dispenser. At that moment, the other colour was made available, too. As a control, Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin set up, in a separate area, four further wool-dispensers, each of which provided two colours from the start. (2021年3月的一天，怀尔德博士、阿普林博士和他们的合作者部署了五个装有毛线而非食物的射频识别 (RFID) 分配器。每个分配器包含两种颜色的毛线——橙色和粉色或者蓝色和紫色——但所有的分配器都只分配其中一种颜色。当至少看到有一个当地的巢穴中包括从分配器来的毛线时，那么只分发一种毛线的持续状态结束。就在这时，另一种颜色也可以从分配器获得。作为对照，怀尔德博士和阿普林博士在另一个区域设置了另外四个毛线分配器，每个从一开始就提供两种颜色)”可知，他们设置了带有不同颜色毛线的分配器，一部分先提供一种颜色，等有巢包含这种颜色的羊毛后再提供另一种颜色；另一部分同时提供两种颜色作为对照，由此可知，他们针对鸟类的颜色偏好进行了对照实验。故选B。 30. 词句猜测题。根据最后一段“Why that should happen remains obscure. Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin suspect the trendsetters are older birds, and that evolution favours younger ones copying their elders, since those elders have evidently survived what fortune has to throw at a tit. Williams’s original work, though, suggests such initial choices are arbitrary. (为什么会出现这种情况仍obscure。怀尔德博士和阿普林博士怀疑引领潮流的是年长的鸟，而且进化有利于年轻的鸟模仿年长的鸟，因为那些年长的鸟显然在山雀可能遭遇的各种命运中存活了下来。不过，威廉姆斯最初的研究表明，这种最初的选择是任意的)”可知，怀尔德博士和阿普林博士怀疑了产生这种潮流的原因，说明他们认为山雀追随潮流的原因还不明确，obscure意为“不清楚的”，与“Unclear”意思相符。故选A。 31. 推理判断题。根据第一段中提到“Humans are not the only fashionistas. Even small birds like tits (山雀) can follow colour trends. (人类并不是唯一追求时尚的。即使是像山雀这样的小鸟也能追随色彩潮流)”接着详细介绍了科学家为研究山雀是否会追随色彩潮流所做的实验及结果，最后提到山雀在筑巢材料颜色选择上跟随潮流的原因尚不清楚，但这种现象与人类时尚引领者的选择有些相似。由此可知，文章主要是为了告知读者山雀可以像人类一样成为时尚追随者。故选C。 Passage 11 （24-25高二下·北京房山·期末） Even if you don’t worry that artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy the human race, you might worry that its fearsome appetite for electricity will destroy the environment. Asking ChatGPT a question means using ten times more energy than an old-fashioned search query. But the fear of disaster is unnecessary. In absolute terms, AI may be less energy-hungry than many people assume. Better still, AI can help decarbonise the industries that have proved hardest to clean up. Consider AI’s appetite for energy first. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that electricity consumption by data centres could as much as treble in the next five years. Even if energy usage soars, though, the base is still low. Data centres today account for about 1.5% of the world’s electricity consumption—and the vast majority of that is due to streaming, social media and online shopping, not AI. Moreover, some of AI’s electricity use will help with greening the economy. AI excels at identifying complex patterns, processing giant data sets and perfecting systems, all of which can help reduce emissions. AI is already helping improve the efficiency of electrical grids (电网), cut fuel use in shipping and spot otherwise invisible leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The task for policymakers and industry bosses is to maximise such benefits while minimising the climate impacts. The first is to rethink how data centres operate. The IEA notes that being able to shift workloads between different data centres at different times could reduce strain and help balance energy grids. More flexible data centres would also be a better match for the intermittent power produced by renewables such as wind and solar. Second, tech firms should hold themselves to their own environmental promises. Microsoft, for instance, aims to become “carbon negative” by 2030. A better approach would be for the tech firms to use the influence that their large demand for energy gives them to accelerate the decarbonisation of grids. They could help unblock the deployment (部署) of clean energy more widely by pushing for planning reform, and go further in supporting the development and expansion of alternative sources such as geothermal and nuclear power. Doubling down on such approaches would help transform AI from climate suspect to climate hero. 32. Why can AI contribute to reducing emissions? A. Because it can increase the use of renewable energy. B. Because it can handle large data sets and improve systems. C. Because it consumes only about 1.5% of the world’s electricity. D. Because it reduces energy consumption by streaming and social media. 33. According to the passage, what should tech companies do? A. Reduce data center energy use by using less AI technology. B. Establish specialized data centers for climate impact prediction. C. Develop their own power supply systems to support their operations. D. Use their energy demand influence to promote clean energy deployment. 34. Which would be the best title for this passage? A. How AI Could Help the Climate B. How AI Could Improve Shipping C. Can Al Boost Economic Development? D. Can AI Promote Electrical Grid Construction? 【答案】32. B 33. D 34. A 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要探讨了人工智能 (AI) 对环境的影响，指出尽管AI耗电量大，但它也能通过提高效率和促进清洁能源的部署来助力减少排放。 32. 细节理解题。根据第三段中“Moreover, some of AI’s electricity use will help with greening the economy. AI excels at identifying complex patterns, processing giant data sets and perfecting systems, all of which can help reduce emissions. (此外，人工智能使用的一些电力将有助于经济绿色化。人工智能擅长识别复杂的模式、处理庞大的数据集和完善系统，所有这些都有助于减少排放)”可知，AI能够处理大型数据集并优化系统，这有助于减少排放。故选B。 33. 推理判断题。根据最后一段中“They could help unblock the deployment (部署) of clean energy more widely by pushing for planning reform, and go further in supporting the development and expansion of alternative sources such as geothermal and nuclear power. (他们可以通过推动规划改革，帮助更广泛地解除清洁能源的部署障碍，并进一步支持地热和核能等替代能源的开发和扩展)”可知，科技公司可以通过推动规划改革助力更广泛地部署清洁能源，进一步支持地热能和核能等替代能源的开发和推广，即使用它们对能源需求的影响推广清洁能源。故选D。 34. 主旨大意题。根据第一段中“But the fear of disaster is unnecessary. In absolute terms, AI may be less energy-hungry than many people assume. Better still, AI can help decarbonise the industries that have proved hardest to clean up. (但对灾难的恐惧是没有必要的。从绝对意义上讲，人工智能的耗电量可能没有很多人想象的那么高。更好的是，人工智能可以帮助那些最难清理的行业实现脱碳)”以及全文内容可知，文章主要讨论了AI如何帮助减少排放和促进清洁能源的使用，从而对气候产生积极影响。因此，最合适的标题是“AI如何帮助气候”。故选A。 Passage 12 （24-25高二下·北京通州·期末） How does an organism like fungi (真菌) without a brain exhibit signs of intelligence? The answer lies in their complex network of mycelium (菌丝体) — long and thin threads that fungi use to grow. Most people only see the tiny mushrooms above the ground and don’t know the extensive network that lies beneath. The researchers engaged in a curious experiment. They wanted to see how a mycelial network would respond to two different situations: woodblocks placed in a circle versus a cross arrangement. The question was simple — how would the fungi behave? In the cross arrangement, the further most four blocks were the most populated. The researchers believe this is because the fungi see these outer blocks as outposts (前哨站), helping the mycelial network branch out into further areas. Hence, thick connections were noticed here. When it came to the circle arrangement, there was equal connection at all blocks, but the center remained untouched. The fungi did not see a benefit in extending its network into an area that already had plenty of company. These actions suggest that fungi communicate information across the entire mycelial network, adjusting their growth direction depending on their surrounding shape. Fungi exhibit remarkable efficiency when it comes to resource allocation, a skill essential for their survival and growth. This ability to optimize resources is a result of complex feedback mechanisms and environmental assessments conducted by the mycelial network. Researchers claim that fungi prioritize areas with abundant resources, indicating an advanced understanding of their surroundings. In resource-rich zones, mycelium growth accelerates, capturing nutrients and storing them for future use. This practice not only ensures the fungi thrive in unstable environments but also highlights their ecological significance as decomposers (分解器) and nutrient recyclers. The unique problem-solving abilities and efficient networking strategies of fungi have inspired innovations in human technology. Scientists are exploring mycelial algorithms (算法) to develop more efficient networks, such as urban planning and telecommunications systems. The fungi’s extraordinary capacity to communicate and coordinate across their networks offers insights into creating sustainable systems. By imitating their resource allocation methods, researchers a I m to create solutions that enhance human infrastructure (基础建设) leading to smarter and more adaptive frameworks. 28. What can we learn about fungi? A. They are an indicator of their ecological surroundings. B. They can make use of all available resources around them. C. They display their unique ability to respond to the environment. D. They can adjust their growth rate based on their surrounding shape. 29. What does the underlined word “optimize” probably mean in Paragraph 3? A. Make the best of. B. Figure out. C. Pay attention to. D. Look for. 30. What does the last paragraph mainly focus on? A. Unfound capabilities of fungi. B. The potential market for fungi. C. Fungi’s inspiration for human technology. D. The limitation of the experiment on fungi. 31. What would be a suitable title for this text? A. Nature: An Outdoor Classroom B. A Glimpse into the World of Fungi C. Networking challenge of Fungi in Nature D. An Intelligent Ability Discovered in Fungi 【答案】28. C 29. A 30. C 31. D 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了真菌没有大脑却展现出智能迹象，包括其应对环境、分配资源的能力及对人类科技的启发。 28. 细节理解题。根据第二段中“These actions suggest that fungi communicate information across the entire mycelial network, adjusting their growth direction depending on their surrounding shape.(这些行为表明，真菌在整个菌丝网络中传递信息，并根据周围的形状调整其生长方向)”可知，真菌能根据环境做出反应，展现出其独特的能力。故选C。 29. 词句猜测题。根据划线词上文“Fungi exhibit remarkable efficiency when it comes to resource allocation, a skill essential for their survival and growth.(真菌在资源分配方面表现出非凡的效率，这是它们生存和生长所必需的技能。)”以及下文“Researchers claim that fungi prioritize areas with abundant resources, indicating an advanced understanding of their surroundings. In resource-rich zones, mycelium growth accelerates, capturing nutrients and storing them for future use.(研究人员称，真菌会优先考虑资源丰富的地区，这表明它们对周围环境有深入的了解。在资源丰富的区域，菌丝体的生长加速，捕获营养物质并储存起来供将来使用)”可知，此处阐述真菌最大化利用资源以实现高效分配的能力是进行复杂反馈和环境评估的结果；划线词optimize意为“充分利用”，与“Make the best of”意思一致。故选A。 30. 主旨大意题。根据最后一段“The unique problem-solving abilities and efficient networking strategies of fungi have inspired innovations in human technology. Scientists are exploring mycelial algorithms (算法) to develop more efficient networks, such as urban planning and telecommunications systems. The fungi’s extraordinary capacity to communicate and coordinate across their networks offers insights into creating sustainable systems. By imitating their resource allocation methods, researchers aim to create solutions that enhance human infrastructure (基础建设) leading to smarter and more adaptive frameworks.(真菌独特的问题解决能力和高效的网络策略激发了人类技术的创新。科学家们正在探索菌丝算法，以开发更高效的网络，如城市规划和电信系统。真菌在其网络中进行交流和协调的非凡能力，为创造可持续系统提供了见解。通过模仿它们的资源分配方法，研究人员旨在创造提高人类基础设施的解决方案，从而实现更智能、更具适应性的框架)”可知，最后一段主要讲了真菌对人类科技的启发。故选C。 31. 主旨大意题。根据第一段“How does an organism like fungi (真菌) without a brain exhibit signs of intelligence? The answer lies in their complex network of mycelium (菌丝体) — long and thin threads that fungi use to grow. Most people only see the tiny mushrooms above the ground and don’t know the extensive network that lies beneath.(像真菌这样没有大脑的生物是如何表现出智能迹象的呢？答案在于它们复杂的菌丝网络——真菌用来生长的长而细的丝。大多数人只看到地面上的小蘑菇，却不知道地下有一个庞大的网络)”结合下文详细阐述可知，文章主要介绍了真菌没有大脑却展现出智能迹象，包括其应对环境、分配资源的能力及对人类科技的启发，D选项“在真菌中发现的一种智能能力”最符合文章标题。故选D。 1 / 2 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $ 专题05 阅读理解（说明文） Passage 1 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） Erik Ahlsten says firmly, “This is the best accommodation I’ve ever had.” His friend and neighbour Manfred Bachrach is equally enthusiastic. “I really like this way of living,” he says. “It’s very much my cup of tea.” The two are referring to their new home, Sallbo, an experiment in multigenerational living in southern Sweden. Sallbo consists of 51 apartments spread over four floors of a retirement home. More than half of the 72 residents are in their 70s, like Ahlsten and Bachrach; the rest are aged 18-25. All were selected after an extensive interview process to ensure a mix of personalities, backgrounds and values, and all had to sign a contract promising to spend at least two hours a week socialising with their neighbours. The project is organised by Helsingborgshem, a housing company, and results from an idea they had in 2016 due to concern about loneliness among older groups. Swedes are extremely independent-young people start living alone earlier than anywhere in Europe-a characteristic that continues into old age, with many elderly people choosing to remain in their own homes. Yet a sense of isolation (孤立) poses a real danger to health and remains common among retirees. “Our research showed that elderly people were feeling isolated from society and were very lonely in their everyday life. They were only mixing with others of the same age,” says Dragana Curovic, the project manager of Sallbo. The arrangement of Sallbo seems to be working for young and old. Ahlsten and Bachrach have been cooking dinners, doing repairs, and driving people around. In return, the younger residents help with modern technology and social media. “It’s a real community, and the mix of people works very well,” says Ahlsten. Since moving in, he’s joined the gardening group, the Sunday night movie club and learnt to play card games. “The whole building is like a family,” says Ali Soroush, a young man from Afghanistan. “There are parties all the time — every weekend it’s someone’s birthday or some celebration.” With loneliness on the rise and considered a genuine health risk, projects such as Sallbo are seen increasingly as a solution to isolation. “We hope people can have totally normal relationships between youngsters, the elderly and other people,” says Curovic. “We want to enhance people’s willingness to integrate, and it doesn’t merely start with housing.” 24. What can we learn about Sallbo? A. Its residents have similar backgrounds. B. Free accommodation is offered in Sallbo. C. It’s most Swedish retirees’ residential choice. D. Social communication is required of its residents 25. What led to the project of Sallbo? A. The worry over loneliness problem among the elderly. B The profit from investing in housing the isolated people. C. The hope to balance the relationship between young and old. D. The traditional culture of individual independence in Sweden. 26. What does Ali Soroush think about Sallbo? A. Contribution-valued. B. Heart-warming. C. Duty-balanced. D. Cost-effective. Passage 2 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） From an airplane, cars crawling down the highway look like ants. But actual ants-unlike cars-somehow manage to avoid the problem of stop-and-go traffic. Researchers are now studying these insects’ cooperative strategies to learn how to program self-driving cars that don’t jam up. The free flow of traffic becomes chaotic as the density (密度) of cars increases on a highway. At 15 vehicles per mile per lane, one driver tapping their brakes (刹车) can cause a continuous wave of crowding. “It’s a kind of phase transition, like water turning from a liquid to a solid form,” says Katsuhiro Nishinari, a mathematical physicist at the University of Tokyo, who studies these jamming transitions. Nishinari’s previous research had shown that ants searching for food can maintain their flow even at high densities. So what’s their secret? In a recent study, researchers recorded the routes of the ants searching for food and used traffic-engineering models to analyze their movement. They found that the ants don’t jam because they travel in groups of 3 to 20 that move at nearly constant rates while keeping good distances between one another-and they don’t speed up to pass others. Human drivers at rush hour are hardly likely to follow such rules. “We’re maximizing the interests of individuals, which is why, at a given point, you start to have a traffic jam,” says Nicola Pugno, who studies sustainable engineering at the University of Trento in Italy. But self-driving cars, if they one day become universal, could have more cooperative programming. In one vision of this future, autonomous vehicles would share information with nearby cars to optimize traffic flow-perhaps, Pugno suggests, by prioritizing constant speeds and headways or by not passing others on the road. This vehicle network would be analogous to ants searching for food, which use smell to adjust behavior while interacting with one another. “There is no leader, but this organization emerges anyway,” says Pugno. Today’s drivers can learn at least one thing from ants to avoid causing a traffic jam, as Nishinari says: don’t tailgate. By leaving room between their car and the one ahead of them, drivers can absorb a wave of braking in dense traffic conditions that would otherwise result in a traffic jam with no obvious cause. “Just keeping away,” Pugno says, “can help traffic flow smoothly.” 27. What are the best words to describe ants’ group movement? A. Free and independent. B. Disciplined and orderly. C. Complex and invariable. D. Random and uncompetitive. 28. Why does Nishinari mention water in Paragraph 2? A. To confirm the existence of a phenomenon. B. To express agreement with a viewpoint. C. To explain an abstract concept. D. To present a research finding. 29. What does the underlined word “analogous” in Paragraph 5 mean? A. Accustomed. B. Adaptable. C. Similar. D. Preferable. 30. Which would Nishinari and Pugno both agree with? A. Insects have less self-centered behavior. B. Leaderless interaction may relieve traffic pressure. C. Technology development will regulate human conduct. D. The study of biological functions helps better social behavior. Passage 3 （24-25高二下·北京东城·期末） Cultural heritage is the symbol of our shared human history, including artifacts, traditions, languages, and knowledge that have been passed down through generations. Preserving and safeguarding cultural heritage has always been a critical mission. In the digital era, the mission has become a vital concern. Digitization of cultural content, such as museum collections or libraries, digital broadcasting of artistic performances, or digital born art and heritage are happening at a fast pace. While experiencing remarkable growth, the digital transformation presents unique challenges, such as the concerns about the cases where digital files may become unreadable or unusable due to outdated formats or hardware. However, this is not the biggest issue we encounter. The emergence of new digital cultural content has highlighted the limitations of existing intellectual property rights (IPR) systems in effectively handling the challenges posed by the digital era. In Europe, for instance, with the booming development of the digital gaming industry, some culture-related cases have raised specific IPR questions. Experts wonder if user-generated content from. digital games creates new copyright. The game itself is most often protected by copyright, but user-generated content, such as avatars (虚拟角色) created by players, is not necessarily covered by existing copyright laws. Another example is the inking culture of tattooing. In UK laws, an original tattoo is copyrightable work; however, it seems not to be the case for AI-generated tattoos. Both cases may lead to debates over ownership. As a result, museums often avoid sharing collections online due to a “chilling effect” — the fear of facing legal problems, like being responsible for breaking copyright laws, contract laws, or data protection rules. Cultural heritage preservation lies in striking a delicate balance between conservation of the past and transition to the future. The rapid advancements in technology offer exciting opportunities for digitizing, documenting, and preserving cultural heritage, providing broader access and immersive (沉浸式) experiences for global audiences, present and future. Furthermore, in the face of climate change, protecting cultural heritage becomes urgent as the world faces increasingly severe environmental challenges. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and temperature fluctuations threaten to destroy cultural artifacts and heritage sites. Since digital copies can serve as disaster backups (备份) to address climate-related damage, protecting cultural sites from climate change goes hand in hand with safeguarding heritage’s digital copies. All of these call for a balance between innovation and the preservation of cultural heritage’s authenticity and integrity, which necessitates respect for the variety of copyrights, management of rights and authorizations, and clear usage and access policies. Only by tackling the complex challenges posed by digitization can we ensure technology enriches rather than endangers our shared history. 31. What is the biggest challenge digitization poses to cultural heritage protection? A. The misinterpretation of the digital transformation. B. The potential failure of digital culture’s long-term sustainability. C. The difficulty in connecting culture digitization to cultural integrity. D. The insufficiency of intellectual property policies for digital culture. 32. What situation may result from the “chilling effect” mentioned in the passage? A. Museums refuse to display the original items of cultural artifacts. B. Galleries tighten the policies for e-format culture exchanges. C. Libraries restrict access to digital books on culture relics. D. Schools offer less cultural heritage-related courses. 33. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about? A. The necessity of protecting cultural heritage in digital forms. B. The significance of protecting cultural relics from natural damage. C. The possibility of using technology in cultural heritage preservation. D. The barrier of achieving both conservation and transition at the same time. 34. What is the main purpose of the passage? A. To advocate addressing existing issues. B. To promote the use of modern technology. C. To analyse the origins of current challenges. D. To explore the impact of innovation on tradition. Passage 4 （24-25高二下·北京西城·期末） Elephants and gorillas in the Republic of the Congo’s rainforests spend a lot of time hiding in the shadows — or so we thought. Using drone (无人机) surveys and AI processing, scientists have discovered an extensive network of mysterious open clearings among the trees. Animals like elephants, gorillas visit these muddy areas, called bais, in the languages of the Indigenous Ba’Aka, to search for vital nutrition and maintain their complex social networks. The numerous playgrounds are visible in satellite images, and AI analysis is helping researchers find them more effectively. The discovery began in 2021 when Sylvain Ngouma and Evan Hockridge came upon a massive clearing during fieldwork in Odzala-Kokoua National Park and found a trail (踪迹) of wet, pot-sized footprints leading through the woods to the open roundabout. Hockridge, who had thought bais were abnormal, says, “I had it backward. It kind of hit me when I was there. You can’t understand animal interactions without first understanding bais.” For the next three summers, the team investigated the clearings. They analyzed camera-trap images, confirming what local people had told them — that these natural clearings are crucial gathering grounds for some of the world’s most endangered mammals. The bais, they realized, are big melting pots, big playgrounds, for a collection of forest animals. During the initial surveys, the team followed elephant trails to move through the rainforest from bai to bai. This process led Hockridge to wonder about a network. Although previous studies documented animal behavior in selected bais, no one had counted them or had the means to map their distribution. The team partnered with African Parks, using drones to scan known sites. They trained an AI algorithm (算法) to identify bais in satellite imagery, revealing 2,176 clearings in one park — 10 times more than previously recorded. Bais are always near rivers or streams. Most are smaller than a city block, but few, at more than 100 acres, are bigger than some college campuses. “Bais are ultimately islands of resources, and animals produce these networks of trails to essentially navigate to and from a network of bais,” Hockridge says. The researchers’ map of bais, the first of its kind, is also a map of conservation priorities. “We find that a huge portion of the animal community depends on this unique ecosystem. These species don’t have alternative habitats other than bais,” Hockridge says. The study is also a step toward solving the ultimate mystery: How did bais form? Many ecologists have argued that a combination of hydrology (水文学) and animal landscaping is at play. But definitive proof remains elusive. Now, with a map in hand and camera traps still in place, the research team is tracking long-term changes, which have implications for the maintenance of these crucial animal habitats. “We have hypotheses (假说),” Andrew Davies, an ecologist in Harvard, says, “but the short answer is: we don’t know.” 18. For rainforest animals, bais are places for ________. A. fun and safety B. water and shelter C. food and connection D. shade and entertainment 19. What can we learn about Ngouma and Hockridge’s research? A. It discovered how bais formed. B It was the first to map the network of bais. C. It analyzed images of bais provided by local people. D. It concluded bais were spots intended for endangered species. 20. What does the underlined word “elusive” in Paragraph 6 probably mean? A. Difficult to find. B. Simple to clarify. C. Possible to overestimate. D. Unlikely to question. 21. Which would be the best title for this passage? A. Conservation Priorities in Rainforests B. Hidden Playgrounds Revealed in Rainforests C. Secrets of Rainforest Animals’ Social Networks D. Modern Tools Adopted for Rainforest Exploration Passage 5 （24-25高二下·北京海淀·期末） A category of synthetic organisms termed “mirror life”, whose component molecules (分子) are mirror images of their natural counterpart, could pose huge risks to human life and ecosystems, according to a recent article in Science. Mirror life has to do with the universal phenomenon in the natural world in which a molecule or another object cannot simply be superimposed (重叠) on another. For example, your left hand can’t simply be turned over to match your right hand. This handedness is hugely important in biology because interactions between biomolecules rely on them having the expected form. For example, if a protein’s handedness is reversed, it cannot interact with partner molecules. The authors are worried about mirror bacteria, the simplest life-form their concerns apply to. The capability to create mirror bacteria does not yet exist and is “at least a decade away”, but progress is underway. Katarzyna Adamala, one co-author of the article, fears that mirror bacteria could lead to permanent ecological damage and loss of life. The initial enthusiasm for creating mirror versions of bacteria began with simpler imaginings. Researchers explored the use of mirror-image proteins and other molecules that are the building blocks of such an organism. One application is in drugs. Some drugs must be taken repeatedly because the body breaks them down. Mirror molecules resist this process, allowing drugs made from them to last longer. Many immune system mechanisms also rely on handedness. T cells, responsible for recognizing foreign invaders, for example, might fail to bind to something with the wrong handedness, which could help therapies made from mirror molecules avoid triggering immune reactions in patients. Another potential application of mirror bacteria might be bioreactors (生物反应器), biological factories that use cells or microorganisms to produce various compounds like antibiotics and other medicines. Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) can wipe out bacteria-based bioreactors, costing huge amounts of time and money, but it is likely they wouldn’t infect mirror bacteria, because they wouldn’t recognize their molecules. It is these supposedly advantageous properties that gave rise to the scientists’ concerns. The ability to avoid immune responses could allow bacteria to cause deadly infections as they multiply uncontrollably. Unlike viruses, bacteria don’t require specific molecular interactions to infect hosts, and mirror bacteria could affect a wide range of organisms, including humans, animals, and plants. And a lack of natural enemies could enable mirror bacteria to spread widely through ecosystems. 25. Why is “handedness” important in biology? A. It helps biomolecules to change functions when needed. B. It ensures biomolecules to recognize their reversed forms. C. It enables biomolecules to be superimposed on each other. D. It allows biomolecules to interact correctly with each other. 26. What is Adamala’s attitude towards the development of mirror bacteria? A. Defensive. B. Enthusiastic. C. Neutral. D. Worried. 27. What can we learn about the application of mirror life technology? A. Mirror molecules help to activate immune reactions. B. Mirror molecules can extend the effect of some drugs. C. Mirror bacteria can be used to cure some rare diseases. D. Mirror bacteria have the potential to damage bioreactors. 28. What is the passage mainly about? A. Process and challenges of mirror life research. B. Applications and benefits of mirror molecules. C. The concept and potential impacts of mirror life. D. Replacement of natural bacteria by mirror bacteria. Passage 6 （24-25高二下·北京朝阳·期末） A National Institutes of Health (NIH) project that studied over a hundred young people as they grew up during the 1990s showed that our brains undergo a massive reorganization between our 12th and 25th years. The brain doesn’t actually grow very much during this period. It has already reached 90 percent of its full size by the time a person is six. But as we move through adolescence, the brain undergoes extensive remodeling, resembling a network and wiring upgrade. Beatriz Luna, professor of University of Pittsburgh, used neuroimaging to study the teen brain. Luna scanned the brains of children, teens, and twentysomethings while they performed a specific task. They view a screen on which the red crosshairs at the center occasionally disappear just as a light flashes elsewhere on the screen. The instructions are to not look at the light and instead to look in the opposite direction. A sensor detects any eye movement. Ten-year-olds fail about 45 percent of the time. Teens do much better. What Luna found most interesting, however, was not those scores. It was the brain scans she took while people took the test. Compared with adults, teens tended to make less use of brain regions that spot errors, plan, and stay focused — areas the adults seemed to bring online automatically. This let the adults use a variety of brain resources and better resist distractions, while the teens used those areas less often and more readily gave in to the impulse to look at the flashing light. This helps explain why teens behave with such annoying inconsistency: attracting at breakfast, disgusting at dinner; masterful on Monday, sleepwalking on Saturday. Meanwhile, take inspiration in one last distinction of the teen brain — a final key to both its awkwardness and its remarkable adaptability. This is the lasting plasticity of those late-developing frontal areas as they slowly mature. And at first glance this seems like bad news: If we need these areas for the complex task of entering the world, why aren’t they running at full speed when the challenges are most discouraging? The answer is that speed comes at the price of flexibility. According to Douglas Fields, an NIH neuroscientist, “This means the period when a brain area is getting upgraded is a sort of crucial period of learning — once that’s done it’s harder to change.” The long, slow, back-to-front developmental wave, completed only in the mid-20s, appears to be a uniquely human adaptation. It may be one of our most sequential. It can seem a bit crazy that we humans don’t wise up a bit earlier in life. But if we smartened up sooner, we’d end up more stupid. 38. What does the underlined word “resembling” in Paragraph 1 probably mean? A. Building up. B. Looking like. C Breaking down. D. Connecting to. 39. What can we learn from the passage? A. Be patient and teams can still be smarter. B. Be focused and we will face the world better. C. Brains have the tendency to level up when needed. D. Brains’ processing speed is compromised as they mature. 40. What is the main purpose of the passage? A. To analyse the composition of human brains. B. To find reason for teens’ inconsistent behaviours. C. To make a contrast between teen and adult brains. D. To explain human brains develop at a reasonable pace. Passage 7 （24-25高二下·北京石景山·期末） Throughout history, humans have dreamed of controlling the weather. From ancient ceremonies (仪式) to modern science, the idea of influencing rain, storms, and temperature has fascinated cultures across the globe. Today, with advancements in climate science, weather modification is no longer just a fantasy — it is becoming a reality. One of the most well-known techniques is cloud seeding, a process where small particles (粒子), such as silver iodide (碘化银), are released into clouds to encourage the formation of raindrops. Countries like China and the United States have used cloud seeding to increase rainfall in dry regions and reduce the impact of droughts. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China famously used this technique to prevent rain from disturbing the opening ceremony. Beyond increasing rainfall, scientists are also exploring ways to weaken storms. Some researchers believe that hurricanes could be controlled by changing ocean temperatures or releasing substances into the atmosphere to limit their intensity. However, these ideas remain largely experimental, as changing one part of the climate system could have unexpected consequences elsewhere. Another approach being studied is geoengineering (地球工程学), which involves large-scale efforts to control the Earth’s climate to counteract global warming. One debatable idea is to release reflective particles into the upper atmosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface. Supporters argue that this could help cool the planet, but critics warn that such actions might disturb weather patterns in unpredictable ways. The ability to modify (调整) weather comes with ethical (伦理的) and political challenges. If one country increases its rainfall, could it unintentionally cause droughts in another region? Could weather modification be used as a weapon, affecting food production or water supplies? These concerns have led to international debates on the regulation of weather control technologies. Some scientists argue that while weather modification holds promise, it should only be used under strict guidelines to avoid unintended environmental damage. Moreover, weather modification raises a deeper question: should humans get involved in natural systems on such a large scale? Climate change is already a major global challenge, with human activities significantly affecting temperature patterns and ecosystems. Some critics worry that using technology to change weather could give people a false sense of control over nature, leading to risky decisions. Others, however, believe that with careful research and ethical considerations, these advancements could help address the growing challenges of climate change and water shortage. Despite the controversies, one thing is clear: the desire to control the weather is not going away. As technology continues to develop, the line between natural weather patterns and human influence will become increasingly blurred. Whether this will lead to a safer, more stable climate or unintended environmental consequences remains to be seen. While scientists are making progress, only time will tell if weather modification will be a useful tool or a dangerous experiment. 31. What is one concern about weather modification? A. It has no proven scientific basis. B. It requires expensive technology. C. It makes weather forecasting more difficult. D. It could create unexpected environmental issues. 32. What does the word “blurred” in the last paragraph most likely mean? A. Confusing. B. Exciting. C. Disappointing. D. Encouraging. 33. What can we learn from the passage? A. Humans have the ability to control nature. B. Weather modification has put into practice. C. Geoengineering is widely accepted by scientists. D. Cloud seeding has replaced traditional methods of farming. 34. Which would be the best title for the passage? A. How Humans Control the Weather B. Weather Modification: Dream or Disaster C. Geoengineering and the Future of the Planet D. Cloud Seeding: An Effective Solution to Climate Passage 8 （24-25高二下·北京大兴·期末） A new study has found that a child’s reading speed can be improved by simply increasing the space between letters within a piece of text. The research, led by Dr. Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), examined the benefits of letter spacing and coloured overlays (颜色标注) among children. Two groups of children, dyslexic (诵读困难) and non-dyslexic children, were asked to read four texts with either standard or extra-large letter spacing, both with and without a coloured overlay. They were instructed to read the text out loud while being recorded. The recording was used to measure the number of errors they made — specifically missed words, added words, wrong words, and pronunciation — as well as the participants’ reading time. The study discovered that text with increased space between letters provided a benefit for both groups. On average, the dyslexia group showed a 13% increase in reading speed, while the group of non-dyslexic children showed a 5% increase. In addition to improving reading speed, it also resulted in a significant decline in the number of words missed by the children with dyslexia. However, the study found that coloured overlays had no significant impact on reading speed or the reduction of errors for either group. Dr. Stagg, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at ARU, said, “We believe extra-large letter spacing works by reducing what is known as the ‘crowding effect’, which can hamper the recognition of letters and reduce reading speed.” “Our findings strongly suggest that teachers can be confident that all children would be helped by increased letter spacing in reading materials,” Dr. Stagg added. “While we found that coloured overlays provided little benefit, we suggest children should be encouraged to use overlays if they find these help their reading. Coloured overlays may not increase reading speeds, but they may extend reading stamina (持久力). Previous research suggests their benefits may not become apparent if reading time is less than 10 minutes and the short reading duration of the tests in our study may have put coloured overlays at a disadvantage.” 28. What can we learn about the research? A. Non-dyslexic children did not benefit from increased letter spacing at all. B. The study found that both groups read faster with extra-large letter spacing. C. Reading errors of non-dyslexic children increased with larger letter spacing. D. Coloured overlays significantly improved the reading speed of dyslexic children. 29. What does the word “hamper” underlined in Paragraph 4 probably mean? A. Prevent. B. Obtain. C. Involve. D. Change. 30. What does Dr. Stagg emphasise regarding coloured overlays? A. Their benefits for reading stamina are immediate within short tests. B. They are equally effective as increased letter spacing for all children. C. They should be abandoned since they provide no reading speed benefits. D. Their potential advantages may require longer reading sessions to emerge. Passage 9 （24-25高二下·北京大兴·期末） For 75 years, astronomers have been searching for extraterrestrial (地球外的) intelligence, often shortened to SETI. SETI involves listening for radio or optical signals sent by intelligent civilizations, but, so far, no artificial signals have been detected. The failure of SETI is called “The Great Silence”, but despite this, many scientists are confident that intelligent aliens do exist. There are thought to be at least 10 billion habitable worlds in our galaxy, and billions of years have passed in which any life on them could have developed intelligence and technology. METI, or messaging extraterrestrial intelligence, has been less common. It involves talking rather than listening. To some, it is a controversial activity. The first attempts at communication were unrealistic “messages in a bottle”. In 1972, NASA launched the Pioneer 10 spacecraft towards Jupiter, which carried a board with a line drawing of a man and a woman as well as symbols to show where the craft originated. In 1977, NASA followed this up with a golden record attached to the Voyager I craft. The 12-inch record held sounds and images chosen to convey the diversity of life on Earth. Both spacecrafts have since left the solar system. At their current speeds, it will be tens of thousands of years before they reach another star system. In the immensity of space, the odds that they will be found are extremely small. Now, an international team of astronomers plans to use the world’s largest radio telescope, FAST, located in China, to beam a message towards millions of stars that are 10,000 to 20,000 light years away. The new message is a combination of previous ones. NASA signals to its remote spacecraft, meanwhile, have reached four nearby stars. But perhaps we have already betrayed our existence to aliens. Radio and television have been leaking into space for nearly a century, in an expanding bubble of communications that spans millions of stars-in theory, at least. The ethical question raised by METT is: Should we be sending a message at all? Scientists are divided. Before he died, Stephen Hawking was outspoken about the danger of communicating with aliens. If they have superior technology and are malign, they might destroy us. Others see no problem, given that the signals take millennia (一千年) to reach their destination. No international rules govern METI, so the experiments will continue. My own take is that the risk is abstract when the message will take millennia to be received. We have more direct and existential threats than evil alien empires. My guess is that extraterrestrial intelligence and tech are so advanced that they are hard to comprehend. After all, we share 99% of our DNA with chimps and can’t communicate with them. 31. What is “The Great Silence” in the context of SETI? A. The absence of sound in outer space. B. The quietness of habitable worlds in the galaxy. C. The lack of communication between different space agencies. D. The failure to detect artificial signals from intelligent civilizations. 32. Which of the following statements might the author agree with? A. It’s unwise to continue METI without international rules. B. Scientists should prioritize addressing immediate threats. C. We may establish connection with aliens in the near future. D. Communication with aliens may lead to humanity’s destruction. 33. What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph? A. We should give up looking for aliens for the moment. B. We should first learn how to communicate with our closest relative. C. Communication with aliens from other intelligent civilizations is unlikely. D. Genetic similarity is no guarantee of successful communication with aliens. 34. What is mainly discussed in the passage? A. The significance of SETT and METI projects. B. The possibility of finding habitable planets in the universe. C. The efforts made to search for intelligent life beyond the earth. D. The challenges in detecting artificial signals from other planets. Passage 10 （24-25高二下·北京房山·期末） Humans are not the only fashionistas. Even small birds like tits (山雀) can follow colour trends. A study published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology shows that, given the chance, they decorate their nests with this season’s must-have colour. Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin were following up the work published in 1934 by Henry Smith Williams, an American naturalist. He noticed that when he put various coloured balls of yarn (纱线) out in his garden, almost always one and only one became popular that season for incorporation into local birds’ nests. But which particular colour was favoured varied from season to season. This suggested that the colour chosen by one of the early birds was spotted and copied by others. Williams’s work was, however, forgotten until Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin came across it while following up on a different study. The birds they followed were part of a well-monitored population of blue, great and marsh tits in a wood near the institute. Most birds in this wood carry transponders fitted to them. That allows the institute’s researchers to keep track of a vast number of individuals by logging their arrival at dispensers (分配器). One day in March 2021, Dr. Wild, Dr. Aplin and their collaborators deployed five RFID-enabled dispensers loaded with wool rather than food. Each contained strands of two colours — either orange and pink or blue and purple — but all were set to dispense only one of these. This remained so until at least one local nest was seen to include wool from a dispenser. At that moment, the other colour was made available, too. As a control, Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin set up, in a separate area, four further wool-dispensers, each of which provided two colours from the start. Of 68 tits’ nests built that season in the experimental areas, 26 included wool from a dispenser. Of these, 18 were constructed after both colours had become available from all dispensers. Even so, ten of those 18 included only the colour of wool first chosen by a nest-builder. By contrast, all eight wool-bearing nests in the control zone contained a mixture of colours — a statistically significant difference. Tits, then, do seem to be “on trend” when it comes to nest-building materials. Why that should happen remains obscure. Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin suspect the trendsetters are older birds, and that evolution favours younger ones copying their elders, since those elders have evidently survived what fortune has to throw at a tit. Williams’s original work, though, suggests such initial choices are arbitrary. A bit like those of the leaders of human fashions. 28. How did Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin build their study upon Williams’s earlier work? A. By focusing on purple nest decoration materials. B. By observing the same tit species in Williams’s garden. C. By using tracking technology to test Williams’s finding. D. By copying his experiment with the same coloured yarns. 29. What can be learned from the research of Dr. Wild and Dr. Aplin? A. They used RFID-enabled dispensers to observe the living habits of the birds. B. They conducted a controlled experiment on the birds’ colour preferences. C. Multicoloured wool strands were released together from the start. D. Food was supplied to the birds through the dispensers. 30. What does the word “obscure” underlined in the last paragraph probably mean? A. Unclear. B. Apparent. C. Unexpected. D. Reasonable. 31. What is the purpose of this passage? A. To call on people to protect the diverse species of tits. B. To suggest that younger tits set the fashion for the season. C. To inform that tits can be fashion followers just like humans. D. To present some effective methods applied in scientific research. Passage 11 （24-25高二下·北京房山·期末） Even if you don’t worry that artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy the human race, you might worry that its fearsome appetite for electricity will destroy the environment. Asking ChatGPT a question means using ten times more energy than an old-fashioned search query. But the fear of disaster is unnecessary. In absolute terms, AI may be less energy-hungry than many people assume. Better still, AI can help decarbonise the industries that have proved hardest to clean up. Consider AI’s appetite for energy first. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that electricity consumption by data centres could as much as treble in the next five years. Even if energy usage soars, though, the base is still low. Data centres today account for about 1.5% of the world’s electricity consumption—and the vast majority of that is due to streaming, social media and online shopping, not AI. Moreover, some of AI’s electricity use will help with greening the economy. AI excels at identifying complex patterns, processing giant data sets and perfecting systems, all of which can help reduce emissions. AI is already helping improve the efficiency of electrical grids (电网), cut fuel use in shipping and spot otherwise invisible leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The task for policymakers and industry bosses is to maximise such benefits while minimising the climate impacts. The first is to rethink how data centres operate. The IEA notes that being able to shift workloads between different data centres at different times could reduce strain and help balance energy grids. More flexible data centres would also be a better match for the intermittent power produced by renewables such as wind and solar. Second, tech firms should hold themselves to their own environmental promises. Microsoft, for instance, aims to become “carbon negative” by 2030. A better approach would be for the tech firms to use the influence that their large demand for energy gives them to accelerate the decarbonisation of grids. They could help unblock the deployment (部署) of clean energy more widely by pushing for planning reform, and go further in supporting the development and expansion of alternative sources such as geothermal and nuclear power. Doubling down on such approaches would help transform AI from climate suspect to climate hero. 32. Why can AI contribute to reducing emissions? A. Because it can increase the use of renewable energy. B. Because it can handle large data sets and improve systems. C. Because it consumes only about 1.5% of the world’s electricity. D. Because it reduces energy consumption by streaming and social media. 33. According to the passage, what should tech companies do? A. Reduce data center energy use by using less AI technology. B. Establish specialized data centers for climate impact prediction. C. Develop their own power supply systems to support their operations. D. Use their energy demand influence to promote clean energy deployment. 34. Which would be the best title for this passage? A. How AI Could Help the Climate B. How AI Could Improve Shipping C. Can Al Boost Economic Development? D. Can AI Promote Electrical Grid Construction? Passage 12 （24-25高二下·北京通州·期末） How does an organism like fungi (真菌) without a brain exhibit signs of intelligence? The answer lies in their complex network of mycelium (菌丝体) — long and thin threads that fungi use to grow. Most people only see the tiny mushrooms above the ground and don’t know the extensive network that lies beneath. The researchers engaged in a curious experiment. They wanted to see how a mycelial network would respond to two different situations: woodblocks placed in a circle versus a cross arrangement. The question was simple — how would the fungi behave? In the cross arrangement, the further most four blocks were the most populated. The researchers believe this is because the fungi see these outer blocks as outposts (前哨站), helping the mycelial network branch out into further areas. Hence, thick connections were noticed here. When it came to the circle arrangement, there was equal connection at all blocks, but the center remained untouched. The fungi did not see a benefit in extending its network into an area that already had plenty of company. These actions suggest that fungi communicate information across the entire mycelial network, adjusting their growth direction depending on their surrounding shape. Fungi exhibit remarkable efficiency when it comes to resource allocation, a skill essential for their survival and growth. This ability to optimize resources is a result of complex feedback mechanisms and environmental assessments conducted by the mycelial network. Researchers claim that fungi prioritize areas with abundant resources, indicating an advanced understanding of their surroundings. In resource-rich zones, mycelium growth accelerates, capturing nutrients and storing them for future use. This practice not only ensures the fungi thrive in unstable environments but also highlights their ecological significance as decomposers (分解器) and nutrient recyclers. The unique problem-solving abilities and efficient networking strategies of fungi have inspired innovations in human technology. Scientists are exploring mycelial algorithms (算法) to develop more efficient networks, such as urban planning and telecommunications systems. The fungi’s extraordinary capacity to communicate and coordinate across their networks offers insights into creating sustainable systems. By imitating their resource allocation methods, researchers a I m to create solutions that enhance human infrastructure (基础建设) leading to smarter and more adaptive frameworks. 28. What can we learn about fungi? A. They are an indicator of their ecological surroundings. B. They can make use of all available resources around them. C. They display their unique ability to respond to the environment. D. They can adjust their growth rate based on their surrounding shape. 29. What does the underlined word “optimize” probably mean in Paragraph 3? A. Make the best of. B. Figure out. C. Pay attention to. D. Look for. 30. What does the last paragraph mainly focus on? A. Unfound capabilities of fungi. B. The potential market for fungi. C. Fungi’s inspiration for human technology. D. The limitation of the experiment on fungi. 31. What would be a suitable title for this text? A. Nature: An Outdoor Classroom B. A Glimpse into the World of Fungi C. Networking challenge of Fungi in Nature D. An Intelligent Ability Discovered in Fungi 1 / 2 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $