2026届最新高考英语模拟三轮冲刺之阅读理解15篇（说明文）（北京专用）

**基本信息** 聚焦高考说明文阅读，覆盖细节理解、推理判断等核心题型，整合跨学科主题，强化语言能力与思维品质 **专项设计** |模块|题量/典例|题型特征|知识逻辑| |----|-----------|----------|----------| |细节理解|约30题|考查具体信息定位与辨析|跨学科主题（科学/环境/社会等）与事实信息提取结合| |推理判断|约25题|需基于原文逻辑合理推断|文本隐含信息与逻辑链条分析的关联| |词义猜测|约10题|结合上下文语境推测|词汇语境义与篇章逻辑的依存关系| |主旨大意|约10题|概括段落或全文主旨|主题句识别与篇章结构梳理的统一|

2026届最新高考模拟三轮冲刺卷之（北京专用） 阅读理解15篇（说明文） Passage 1 On 24 May 2000, a group of mathematicians took to a stage in Paris to set some problems. These were the seven Millennium Problems, the hardest mathematical puzzles then known. The exercise was organized by the Clay Mathematics Institute, a nonprofit that promised anyone who could solve one would be rewarded with a $1 million prize. Twenty-five years later, how have mathematicians got on? Grigori Perelman proved the Poincaré conjecture, the only Millennium Problem to fall so far. A conjecture in maths is a statement thought to be true but not yet proven. But what about the six that remain? In fact, tools are everything for mathematicians. That is why Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz each developed calculus (微积分) in the late 17th century. Back then, there was no technique for describing properties that change over time or space. But once the right tool is in the right hands, progress is almost inevitable: with calculus, Newton performed mathematical miracles such as describing the motion of the planets under gravity. Now there is a new tool that might make quite a difference. “Machine learning is quickly developing as another tool in the toolbox,” says Dan Freed at Harvard University. But, he adds, “Some of the Millennium Problems might be less amenable to using machine learning.” That is because AI relies on being fed lots of data. In many fields, large volumes of useful data simply don’t exist. Even in the absence of large datasets, there might still be scope for AI to dig into complicated mathematical arguments. “One of the interesting things about these millennium challenges is that the problems can be simple enough for us to pose, but might have a complexity to the proof that is beyond the human mind to navigate,” says Marcus du Sautoy at the University of Oxford. AI might have the required potential to find buried links, which mathematicians can then pick up and work with. “Over the next decade, we might see some interesting new conjectures emerging that we wouldn’t have been able to see without the use of this tool,” he says. Just as Galileo was able to see more of the heavens using a telescope, AI could give a deeper view of numbers. Whether the Clay Mathematics Institute would accept an AI-led solution to one of its problems depends on mathematicians’ willingness to see it as solved. In 2000, when the prizes were announced, Alain Connes at the College de France in Paris, said the seven problems were “totally inaccessible to computers”. But with mathematicians now open to working with AI, that seems like one more conjecture that might fall. 1．What can be inferred about the tools in maths? A．They lose value when a conjecture is proven. B．They are more likely to emerge with rewards. C．They serve as mathematicians’ ultimate pursuit. D．They are what it takes to make progress in maths. 2．What does the phrase “amenable to” underlined in Paragraph 4 most probably mean? A．Resistant to. B．Independent of. C．Responsive to. D．Tolerant of. 3．What can we learn from this passage? A．The author agrees with Dan on AI’s role in maths. B．AI can make up for the limitations of human mind. C．AI is bound to solve the rest Millennium Problems. D．Mathematicians’ acceptance of AI is hard to predict. 【答案】1．D 2．C 3．B 【导语】这篇文章主要介绍了2000 年七大千禧年数学难题对外公布，如今仅有一道被破解。人工智能成为数学新工具，虽有局限，但有望攻克难题，数学家对它的态度也逐渐改观。 1．推理判断题。根据第三段中“In fact, tools are everything for mathematicians. That is why Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz each developed calculus (微积分) in the late 17th century. Back then, there was no technique for describing properties that change over time or space. But once the right tool is in the right hands, progress is almost inevitable( 事实上，工具对于数学家来说至关重要。这就是为什么艾萨克·牛顿和戈特弗里德·威廉·莱布尼茨在 17 世纪末各自发展了微积分。当时，还没有一种技术可以描述随时间或空间变化的属性。但一旦合适的工具落入合适的人手中，进步几乎是必然的)”可推知，工具是数学领域取得进步的必要条件。 2．词句猜测题。根据划线短语所在句后给出了解释“That is because AI relies on being fed lots of data. In many fields, large volumes of useful data simply don’t exist.( 这是因为人工智能需要大量的数据作为输入。在许多领域，有用的数据量根本就不存在)”由此可知，部分千禧年难题不适合用机器学习解决，即对机器学习方法“响应不佳”。amenable to意为“易受……影响的；适合……的”，与C选项responsive to“对……有反应的、适用的”语义最接近。 3．推理判断题。根据第五段中“Even in the absence of large datasets, there might still be scope for AI to dig into complicated mathematical arguments. “One of the interesting things about these millennium challenges is that the problems can be simple enough for us to pose, but might have a complexity to the proof that is beyond the human mind to navigate,” says Marcus du Sautoy at the University of Oxford. AI might have the required potential to find buried links, which mathematicians can then pick up and work with. “Over the next decade, we might see some interesting new conjectures emerging that we wouldn’t have been able to see without the use of this tool,” he says.( 即便没有大量的数据集，人工智能仍有可能深入探究复杂的数学论证。牛津大学的马库斯·杜·索托伊说：“这些千年难题的有趣之处在于，问题本身可能简单到我们可以提出，但证明过程的复杂性却超出了人类思维所能处理的范围。”人工智能或许具备找到隐藏联系的潜力，而数学家们可以据此进行研究和应用。他说：“在未来十年，我们可能会看到一些新的有趣猜想出现，如果没有这种工具的使用，我们是无法看到这些猜想的。”)”可推知，人工智能能够弥补人类思维的局限性。 Passage 2 Whales are some of the most highly intelligent species on Earth. Each species of whale has a distinct communication system that often varies within populations. Since humans have been researching and observing these forms of communication, a question has surfaced: Could humans one day engage in acoustic (声学的) interactions with whales? And what could these interactions reveal about non-human intelligence? Researchers from the University of California and the Alaska Whale Foundation have been exploring whale-to-human communication with humpback whales, and they’ve come up with some fascinating conclusions. When scientists recorded a humpback whale contact call, known as a whup, and played it underwater around their research vessel, they were surprised when a whale named Twain became a more than willing participant in the call-and-response exchange. Scientists produced a single sound, or whup call, that Twain would then respond with her own whup call to them, a “conversation” described in their PeerJ paper. “It might loosely translate to ‘hello’ or some sort of greeting call for when animals come together or just to signal that individuals are in a certain location,” says Dawson Hubbard, study author and animal behaviourist with Whale SETI. In this case, it was as if Twain was either saying “hello” to scientists or “I’m over here.” But in both instances, she was responding to and engaging with whale signals that humans produced. Of course, whether whales want to communicate with humans varies by the temperament of the whale and by the situation. Just like some humans are more extroverted than others, this could also be true for whales, although this would need more research to understand. Twain circled around the scientists’ boat and was in proximity to its speakers. Permit limitations only allow for researchers to produce the sound for 20 minutes, but once they stopped, Twain continued to produce more signals before leaving. “What’s cool about Twain is that she could have left at any point, as it wasn’t a caged environment where she couldn’t leave, so she was choosing to be close to us,” says Hubbard. Often, a willingness to communicate with humans would be food-mediated, but in this case, it wasn’t. There have also been other examples. Gray whales in the San Ignacio lagoon in Mexico, for example, are famously friendly. In fact, some gray whales regularly approach boats and allow visitors to have gentle contact with them. According to the Oceanic Society, this behaviour isn’t shared amongst all gray whales, and in fact, this species of whale was almost hunted to extinction just a generation ago. But the behaviour may have been passed down through generations, and some gray whales in this population voluntarily approach humans. In the end, these and other encounters show that, in some cases, individual whales appear willing to engage with humans. And the more we learn about their mode of communication and what they are saying to us, the more we can learn about them. 1．To study whales, the scientists _______. A．caught whales for controlled experiments B．trained whales to converse with humans C．responded to whales with recorded calls D．played whale calls to interact with them 2．What can we infer from the passage? A．The maximum duration of whales’ response is 20 minutes. B．Gray whales’ friendly behaviour may be a learned feature. C．Whales’ personality decides their willingness to interact. D．Humpback whales respond to humans for food rewards. 3．Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? A．Decoding the Talk Between Humans and Whales B．Are Whales Willing to Talk with Humans? C．Could Humans Ever Talk with Whales? D．Unlocking the Secret of Whale Whups 【答案】1．D 2．B 3．C 【导语】文章围绕人类能否与鲸鱼开展声学交流展开，介绍相关实验发现与鲸鱼互动的相关特点。 1．细节理解题。根据第二段中的“When scientists recorded a humpback whale contact call, known as a whup, and played it underwater around their research vessel, they were surprised when a whale named Twain became a more than willing participant in the call-and-response exchange.(当科学家录制了一种座头鲸的联络叫声，名为呜呜声，并在研究船的水下播放该声音时，他们惊讶地发现一头名为吐温的鲸鱼十分乐意参与这场一问一答的交流)”可知，科学家通过播放鲸鱼叫声与鲸鱼互动开展研究。 2．推理判断题。根据第六段中的“But the behaviour may have been passed down through generations, and some gray whales in this population voluntarily approach humans.(但这种行为可能代代相传，该种群中的一些灰鲸会主动靠近人类)”可知，灰鲸友好的行为可能是后天习得、代代传承的特征。 3．主旨大意题。根据第一段中的“Could humans one day engage in acoustic interactions with whales? And what could these interactions reveal about non-human intelligence?(人类有朝一日能否与鲸鱼开展声学交流？这些交流又能揭示出哪些非人类智慧的信息？)”以及全文内容可知，文章围绕人类能否与鲸鱼交流这一核心问题，结合实验、案例展开探讨。C选项“人类终将与鲸鱼对话吗？”精准概括全文主旨，是最佳标题。 Passage 3 Intelligence is changing. For most of modern history, IQ was treated as the gold standard for potential, and later, EQ became the best way to succeed in relationship-driven spaces. Now, both are being challenged because AI models can complete cognitive (认知的) tasks with superior speed and accuracy while simulating (模拟) emotional connections with users in ways that feel increasingly realistic. Many of the abilities we once relied on to stand out are no longer exclusively human. Once, being the smartest in the room ensured success. Today, this advantage weakens — AI drafts complex strategies and processes information at a range and speed no human can match. The differentiator shifts from accessing information to interpreting it wisely, leaving many questioning their place as human skills are easily automated. One capacity gaining attention is spiritual intelligence (SQ). Although the term is often misunderstood as religious, most researchers use it in a worldly way to describe how people find meaning and direction in their lives. The common thread is that SQ can influence how we orient (确定方向) ourselves when familiar strategies fail, encouraging us to question whether productivity alone can sustain a meaningful life. SQ can serve as a framework to exercise our agency and stay connected to what matters during periods of rapid change and uncertainty. Unlike IQ and EQ, SQ resists automation because it develops through lived experience and the ongoing process of making meaning in our lives. It helps us perceive not only what we can do, but why it matters. Current research has associated higher levels of SQ with greater resilience (韧性), more moral leadership behaviors, higher well-being, and stronger interpersonal trust. One credible explanation is that SQ strengthens our sense of agency: when we root our decisions in meaning, we approach complexity with intentionality instead of urgency. Such value is reflected in its key qualities. Three key qualities of people who have developed SQ are often identified in research. First is systems awareness. Scholars believe SQ enables a broader perspective to spot event patterns and connections, with qualitative studies showing high SQ scorers often think interdependently. Besides, individuals with strong SQ tend to exhibit a purpose-driven orientation. Cambridge research suggests that having a sense of purpose is linked to motivation, creativity and well-being. SQ centers on purpose, though the direct causal pathway between SQ and purpose remains more correlational than definitive. Equally important is the quality of presence. Practices like mindfulness tied to SQ reduce reactivity and boost attention regulation, helping individuals stay grounded under stress for intentional actions. Perhaps SQ’s most notable trait is its gradual growth, with no dramatic reinvention needed. It emerges through honest reflection and a willingness to revisit long-held beliefs, accessible to anyone willing to engage with themselves intentionally and curiously. As AI advances, human uniqueness may shift from what we can produce to how we interpret, make choices, and live out our values. IQ and EQ will remain valuable, but no longer define our uniqueness. SQ — the ability to find consistence amid rapid change — may become our most essential human skill. 1．What are the first two paragraphs mainly about? A．Why new competitive skills are challenged. B．When traditional human advantages will fail. C．How human uniqueness is shifting in the AI era. D．What makes AI superior in information processing 2．What can be inferred about spiritual intelligence? A．It proves to be the cause of purpose. B．It grows by abandoning long-held beliefs. C．It helps people stay rooted amid uncertainty. D．It facilitates urgent decisions in complex situations. 3．Which would be the best title for the passage? A．SQ’s Advantages Over IQ & EQ B．The Rise of Spiritual Intelligence C．The Development of Human Intelligence D．How Human Intelligence Outperforms Al 【答案】1．C 2．C 3．B 【导语】文章主要介绍了在人工智能时代，传统智力（IQ）和情商（EQ）正面临挑战，而精神智力（SQ）作为一种新兴的人类核心能力，正受到越来越多的关注。 1．主旨大意。根据第一段“Intelligence is changing. (智力正在发生变化。)”以及第二段“Many of the abilities we once relied on to stand out are no longer exclusively human. (我们曾经赖以脱颖而出的许多能力，已不再为人类所独有。)”和Many of the abilities we once relied on to stand out are no longer exclusively human.（我们曾经赖以脱颖而出的许多能力不再为人类独有。）以及“The differentiator shifts from accessing information to interpreting it wisely, leaving many questioning their place as human skills are easily automated. (区分点从获取信息转向明智地解读信息，随着人类技能轻易被自动化，许多人开始质疑自己的位置。)”可知，前两段主要讲在AI时代人类的独特性如何转变。 2．推理判断题。根据第四段“SQ can serve as a framework to exercise our agency and stay connected to what matters during periods of rapid change and uncertainty. (精神智商可以作为一种框架，在快速变化和不确定的时期，帮助我们行使自主能力，并坚守重要的事物。)”可知，精神智商帮助人们在不确定性中保持定力。 3．主旨大意题。根据最后一段中“SQ — the ability to find consistence amid rapid change — may become our most essential human skill.(精神智力——在快速变化中找到一致性（内心定力）的能力——可能成为我们最核心的人类技能。)”以及全文内容可知，文章围绕精神智力（SQ）的兴起、内涵、特点及其在AI时代的重要性展开论述。 Passage 4 Cracks are very common in concrete structures due to various chemical and physical phenomena that occur during everyday use. And tiny cracks can be quite harmful because they provide an easy route in for liquids and gases — and the harmful substances they might contain. For instance, micro-cracks can allow water and oxygen to infiltrate (渗透) and then corrode (腐蚀) the steel, leading to structural failure. But continuous maintenance and repair work is difficult because it usually requires an enormous amount of labor and investment. Scientists have been trying to figure out how these harmful cracks could heal themselves without human intervention. The idea was originally inspired by the amazing ability of the human body to heal itself of cuts, bruises and broken bones. A person takes in nutrients which the body uses to produce new substitutes to heal damaged tissues. In the same way, can we provide necessary products to concrete to fill in cracks when damage happens？ Through long time research, scientists have found an unusual candidate to help concrete heal itself: a fungus (真菌) called T.reesei. It is found that as calcium hydroxide from concrete dissolved in water, the PH of the fungal growth medium increased from a close-to-neutral original value of 6.5 all the way to a very alkaline 13.0. Of all the fungi tested, only T.reesei could survive this environment. Despite the drastic PH increase, its spores (孢子) germinated and grew equally well with or without concrete. Scientists propose including fungal spores, together with nutrients, during the initial mixing process when building a new concrete structure. When the inevitable cracking occurs and water finds its way in, the dormant fungal spores will germinate. As they grow, they’ll work as a catalyst (催化剂) within the calcium-rich conditions of the concrete to promote precipitation of calcium carbonate crystals. These mineral deposits can fill in the cracks. When the cracks are completely filled and no more water can enter, the fungi will again form spores. If cracks form again and environmental conditions become favorable, the spores could wake up and repeat the process. T.reesei is eco-friendly, posing no known risk to human health. In fact, T.reesei has a long history of safe use in industrial-scale production of carbohydrase enzymes, such as cellulase, which plays an important role in fermentation (发酵) processes during winemaking. Of course, researchers will need to conduct a thorough assessment to investigate any possible immediate and long-term effects on the environment and human health prior to its use as a healing agent in concrete infrastructure. 1．According to the passage, tiny cracks in concrete structures may lead to ________. A．disfunction even collapse of the entire structure B．continuous maintenance and rebuilding C．leakage of liquids and gases D．waste of water and oxygen 2．What can we know about T.reesei? A．It is widely used in building concrete structures. B．It can survive in extreme environment. C．It can help concrete cracks become normal again. D．It is a newly discovered fungus. 3．What can be inferred from the last paragraph？ A．T.reesei might be used on human. B．The research is still at its initial stage. C．The research is unreplaceable in winemaking. D．T.reesei has long-term effects on human health. 【答案】1．A 2．C 3．B 【导语】文章主要介绍了混凝土结构中微小裂缝的危害，以及科学家受人体自愈能力启发，发现了一种名为T.reesei的真菌可以帮助混凝土自我修复的研究过程和应用前景。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段中“For instance, micro-cracks can allow water and oxygen to infiltrate and then corrode the steel, leading to structural failure. (例如，微裂缝会让水和氧气渗入，然后腐蚀钢材，导致结构失效)”可知，混凝土中的微小裂缝最终会导致结构功能失调甚至整体坍塌。 2．细节理解题。根据第五段中“These mineral deposits can fill in the cracks. When the cracks are completely filled and no more water can enter, the fungi will again form spores. (这些矿物质沉积物可以填充裂缝。当裂缝完全被填满且不再有水进入时，真菌会再次形成孢子。)”可知，T.reesei能够帮助混凝土裂缝恢复正常。 3．推理判断题。根据最后一段中“Of course, researchers will need to conduct a thorough assessment to investigate any possible immediate and long-term effects on the environment and human health prior to its use as a healing agent in concrete infrastructure. (当然，研究人员在将其用作混凝土基础设施的修复剂之前，需要进行全面评估，调查其对环境和人类健康可能产生的即时和长期影响。)”可知，T.reesei尚未正式投入使用，仍需进一步评估，说明该研究仍处于初始阶段。 Passage 5 Naming hurricane New research from the University of Illinois finds that hurricanes with female names are likely to cause more deaths than those with male names. The study examined over 60 years of hurricanes which hit the US. The results showed there were higher death tolls, on average, when the hurricanes were given a female name. This wasn’t because female-named hurricanes were any more severe; rather that people’s behavior changed. Sharon Shavitt, one of the authors of the report, explained: “In judging the intensity of a storm, people appear to be applying their beliefs about how men and women behave. This makes a female-named hurricane, such as Belle or Candy, seem gentle and less violent.” People unconsciously say to themselves: how could I be killed by a hurricane called Candy? In fact, hurricanes are named arbitrarily, and the names tell you nothing about the severity of the storm. But, if people in the path of the storm are letting its name affect whether they take shelter, what we call it may matter more than we think. Having searched through the records, the researchers returned to the lab to test their finding experimentally. People were given a series of hypothetical(假设的) storms with male and female names and asked to make judgments about their intensity and the risk they faced. The results showed that people often regarded male-named hurricanes, like Hurricane Christopher or Hurricane Victor as more intense and riskier than the female-named ones, like Hurricane Alexandra and Hurricane Christ. Shavitt continued, “People imagining a ‘female’ hurricane were not as willing to seek shelter. The fixed ideas that underlie these judgments are subtle and not necessarily hostile toward women — they may involve viewing women as warmer and less aggressive than men.” The fact is that until the late 1970s, hurricanes were always given female names, as they were thought to represent women’s qualities like unpredictability. This practice — and the sexist reasoning behind it — was rightly abandoned in favour of choosing between male and female. Strangely, though, what we’ve learnt is that we’d be better off naming all hurricanes after men to take advantage of people’s fixed views. The researchers estimate that changing a severe hurricane’s name from “Eloise” to “Charles” could potentially cut the death toll by one-third. Perhaps the naming of hurricane is one specific situation where we shouldn’t worry about being sexist, if being a little sexist is going to save lives. 1．Hurricanes with female names are likely to cause more deaths because________. A．male-named hurricanes are not terrible B．female-named hurricanes are more severe C．people think the female-named hurricanes are not severe D．people prefer to challenge the male-named hurricanes 2．The underlined word “arbitrarily” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________. A．for humor B．on purpose C．by chance D．in turn 3．It can be inferred from the passage that ________. A．future hurricanes will be named after men more often B．being sexist in naming hurricanes helps save lives C．sexism in naming hurricanes will be banned D．rules of naming hurricane will be changed 【答案】1．C 2．C 3．B 【导语】本文介绍一项新研究发现，女性名字飓风致死率更高，原因是人们低估其威力，还介绍相关命名看法。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段中的“This wasn’t because female-named hurricanes were any more severe; rather that people’s behavior changed.(这并不是因为女性名字的飓风更猛烈；而是人们的行为发生了改变)”以及第二段“In judging the intensity of a storm, people appear to be applying their beliefs about how men and women behave. This makes a female-named hurricane, such as Belle or Candy, seem gentle and less violent.(在判断风暴强度时，人们似乎在用对男女行为的固有看法判断。这让女性名字的飓风看起来更温和、不那么猛烈)”可知，女性名字飓风致死人数更多，是因为人们认为这类飓风威力不强。 2．词句猜测题。根据第二段“and the names tell you nothing about the severity of the storm.(名字无法体现风暴的猛烈程度)”可知，飓风的名字是随意取的，因此猜测arbitrarily意思是“随意地”，与by chance意思相近。 3．推理判断题。根据最后一段“Perhaps the naming of hurricane is one specific situation where we shouldn’t worry about being sexist, if being a little sexist is going to save lives.(如果一点性别偏见能挽救生命，飓风命名这件事就不必在意性别偏见)”可知，在飓风命名上存在性别偏见有助于挽救生命。 Passage 6 A person could be forgiven for believing 20 years ago that the scene would soon revolutionize academic publishing. But more has to happen before the old industry system is replaced. For a long time, academic publishing has been in the traditional subscription model. Recognising the opportunity, many scholars and librarians began to advocate a new open access mode, in which articles are made available online free. The result would be a true online public library of science. However, more than two decades later, the old system remains entrenched. Fortunately, things are changing. UC Libraries, one of the biggest library systems, started to negotiate with leading scientific publisher Elsevier. The Libraries wanted Elsevier to allow them to pay two fees—one for its licensed journals and the other for the use of Elsevier’s open access model. UC Libraries wanted the licensed journals fee to cover the open access fee so as to ensure open access to researches published in Elsevier journals. When the two sides couldn’t come to terms, the Libraries walked away. Actually, the open access solution is more likely to come from research funding agencies, who can use their purse power to promote open access. Some funders, like Caitlin, insist that any research they fund should be published in a journal that makes all its articles immediately available to the public, which is called PlanS. Now that some librarians and funders have begun to take action, things are changing. The worst response would be to complain that PlanS has too much academic freedom. Some top journals began to move forward. When the journal system began in 1665, it was in favor of open access. It allowed academics to post their content online for free. But now the system has become thoroughly commoditized. Now is the time to bring it back to open access. 1．What does the underlined word “entrenched” probably mean? A．Uncertain. B．Rooted. C．Limited. D．Popular. 2．What is the core of the disagreement between UC Libraries and Elsevier? A．The duration of the contract. B．The way of payment. C．The charge for open access model. D．The choice of licensed journals. 3．What can be inferred from the passage? A．Academics welcome open access model with full heart. B．Open access model will soon achieve a dominant position. C．Publishers are willing to abandon the subscription model gradually. D．Establishing a true online public library of science requires joint efforts. 4．What is the author’s attitude towards the open access model? A．Critical. B．Supportive. C．Disapproving. D．Indifferent. 【答案】1．B 2．C 3．D 4．B 【导语】文章主要讨论了学术出版从传统订阅模式向开放获取模式转变的现状、阻力以及变革的希望。 1．词句猜测题。根据第一段中“A person could be forgiven for believing 20 years ago that the scene would soon revolutionize academic publishing. But more has to happen before the old industry system is replaced. (20年前，如果有人相信这种景象会很快彻底改变学术出版界，那是情有可原的。但要取代旧的行业体系，还有更多工作要做)”以及第三段中“However, more than two decades later, the old system remains entrenched. (然而，二十多年后，旧体系依然entrenched)”可知，20年前的预言并未实现，传统的模式并未消失，说明其根深蒂固。故划线词entrenched意为“根深蒂固的”，与“Rooted”同义。 2．细节理解题。根据第四段中“UC Libraries, one of the biggest library systems, started to negotiate with leading scientific publisher Elsevier. The Libraries wanted Elsevier to allow them to pay two fees—one for its licensed journals and the other for the use of Elsevier’s open access model. UC Libraries wanted the licensed journals fee to cover the open access fee so as to ensure open access to researches published in Elsevier journals. When the two sides couldn’t come to terms, the Libraries walked away. (作为最大的图书馆系统之一，加州大学图书馆开始与领先的科学出版商爱思唯尔进行谈判。该图书馆希望爱思唯尔允许他们支付两笔费用——一笔用于其授权期刊，另一笔用于使用爱思唯尔的开放获取模式。加州大学图书馆希望用授权期刊的费用来支付开放获取的费用，以确保爱思唯尔期刊上发表的研究成果能够开放获取。当双方无法达成协议时，图书馆终止了谈判)”可知，双方分歧的核心是开放获取模式的收费问题。 3．推理判断题。根据第四段中UC Libraries与Elsevier谈判破裂、第五段中研究资助机构利用资金推动开放获取、第六段中“Now that some librarians and funders have begun to take action, things are changing. (既然一些图书馆员和资助者已经开始采取行动，情况正在发生变化)”和第八段中“Some top journals began to move forward. (一些顶级期刊开始向前迈进)”可推知，建立一个真正的在线公共科学图书馆需要多方共同努力。 4．推理判断题。根据最后一段“When the journal system began in 1665, it was in favor of open access. It allowed academics to post their content online for free. But now the system has become thoroughly commoditized. Now is the time to bring it back to open access. (当期刊体系在1665年诞生时，它是支持开放获取的。它允许学者免费在线发布他们的内容。但现在这个体系已经完全商品化了。现在是时候让它回归开放获取了)”可知，作者认为传统订阅模式已经完全商品化了，到了让它回归开放获取的时候，对开放获取模式持支持态度。 Passage 7 In 2012, James Cameron, creator of Avatar and Titanic, became the first person to reach the Challenger Deep. When he arrived at the deepest spot on Earth at 7 miles below sea level, he spent hours mapping the region and taking photos and samples. “As human beings, we’re drawn to absolutes — the deepest, the highest, the coldest, the farthest,” he says. “And as a storyteller and curious monkey, I just wanted to see what was there.” The answer is obvious — plastic and more. “Our so-called civilization is using the ocean as its toilet,” Cameron says. “Unless this changes, ocean ecosystems are going to continue their rapid collapse.” Despite decades of environmental studies, the impact of plastic and other forms of pollution on oceans are not entirely understood. Initial studies appear to indicate that ingesting (摄取) them — either directly or indirectly — could cause disease. Plastics can also release poisonous substances into the water, which could potentially impact animal populations. But plastic is just one of the problems facing oceans that have yet to be fully understood. “Plastic waste in the ocean is horrifying but is only the most obvious of our many deadly waste streams, which include carbon that’s heating the atmosphere and making the ocean acidic, and the run-off nutrients from all the world’s agriculture, which is causing anoxic (缺氧的) dead zones the size of countries,” Cameron says. Oceans, like the rest of the world, are impacted by the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide — about 30 percent of which is absorbed by the sea. This absorption causes ocean acidification, where the pH level is altered to become more acidic. As a result, it’s harder for some creatures to form shells and skeletons and countless species at the base of the food web can struggle to survive, which, scientists say, has the potential to cause huge disruptions to entire ecosystems. Indeed, ocean acidification is thought to have played an important role in Earth’s worst-ever mass extinction event 252 million years ago. The effect of climate change on the world’s oceans will likely worsen in coming decades. Last June, scientists announced carbon dioxide levels had reached the highest levels since human records began. The last time carbon dioxide levels were this high was during the Pliocene era, between 3 and 5 million years ago, when global temperatures were about 4 degrees Celsius warmer than they are today. Current climate models suggest that if greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trend, we may be on course to see 4 degrees of warming by 2100. As a result, understanding the role oceans have on global systems is becoming more and more important. 1．What are the first two paragraphs mainly about? A．The author’s feelings to the ocean. B．Cameron’s movies and remarks. C．The author’s discoveries under the sea. D．Cameron’s observation and concern. 2．What does the underlined word “disruptions” in Paragraph 5 probably mean? A．Decreases. B．Destruction. C．Diseases. D．Discrimination. 3．Why does the author mention the mass extinction event 252 million years ago? A．To call on people to protect sea animals. B．To compare current situations with the past. C．To explain how serious the ocean problem is. D．To prove pollution to be the cause of acidification. 4．What can we infer from the passage? A．Several countries are suffering from anoxic dead zones. B．More concern should have been given to the pollution on oceans. C．Plastic is supposed to be the most serious environmental problem. D．Ocean acidification removes the nutrients from agricultural products. 【答案】1．D 2．B 3．C 4．B 【导语】文章讲述卡梅隆深海下潜发现海洋塑料污染，指出塑料、温室气体排放引发海洋酸化、缺氧死区等多重严重危机，危害生态且后果深远，呼吁人们重视并保护海洋环境。 1．主旨大意题。根据第一段中“In 2012, James Cameron, creator of Avatar and Titanic, became the first person to reach the Challenger Deep. When he arrived at the deepest spot on Earth at 7 miles below sea level, he spent hours mapping the region and taking photos and samples.(2012年，《阿凡达》和《泰坦尼克号》的创作者詹姆斯·卡梅隆成为第一个到达挑战者深渊的人。当他到达海平面以下7英里的地球最深处时，他花了几个小时绘制该地区的地图，并拍照和采集样本。)”以及第二段中“The answer is obvious — plastic and more. “Our so-called civilization is using the ocean as its toilet,” Cameron says. “Unless this changes, ocean ecosystems are going to continue their rapid collapse.”(答案很明显——塑料等等。“我们所谓的文明正在把海洋当作厕所，”卡梅隆说。“除非这种情况改变，否则海洋生态系统将继续迅速崩溃。”)”可知，前两段主要讲述了卡梅隆的观察（到达海底并发现海洋污染情况）和担忧（海洋生态系统将迅速崩溃）。 2．词句猜测题。根据第五段中“As a result, it’s harder for some creatures to form shells and skeletons and countless species at the base of the food web can struggle to survive, which, scientists say, has the potential to cause huge disruptions to entire ecosystems.(结果导致部分海洋生物难以形成外壳和骨骼，无数处于食物链底端的物种难以生存。科学家称，这有可能给整个生态系统带来disruptions。)”可知，一些生物更难形成外壳和骨骼，食物网底层的无数物种都在挣扎求生，这对整个生态系统有潜在的造成巨大破坏的可能性。故disruptions意思是“破坏”。 3．推理判断题。根据第五段中“This absorption causes ocean acidification, where the pH level is altered to become more acidic. As a result, it’s harder for some creatures to form shells and skeletons and countless species at the base of the food web can struggle to survive, which, scientists say, has the potential to cause huge disruptions to entire ecosystems. Indeed, ocean acidification is thought to have played an important role in Earth’s worst-ever mass extinction event 252 million years ago.(这种吸收会引发海洋酸化，使海水酸碱度失衡、酸性增强。结果导致部分海洋生物难以形成外壳和骨骼，无数处于食物链底端的物种难以生存。科学家称，这有可能给整个生态系统带来严重破坏。事实上，海洋酸化被认为在2.52 亿年前地球最严重的生物大灭绝事件中起到了关键作用。)”可推知，作者提到2.52亿年前的大规模灭绝事件是为了解释海洋问题有多严重。 4．推理判断题。根据第三段中“Despite decades of environmental studies, the impact of plastic and other forms of pollution on oceans are not entirely understood. Initial studies appear to indicate that ingesting(摄取) them — either directly or indirectly — could cause disease. Plastics can also release poisonous substances into the water, which could potentially impact animal populations.(尽管进行了数十年的环境研究，但塑料和其他形式的污染对海洋的影响还没有完全弄清楚。初步研究表明，直接或间接摄入它们可能会导致疾病。塑料还会向水中释放有毒物质，这可能会对动物种群造成潜在影响。)”以及最后一段“As a result, understanding the role oceans have on global systems is becoming more and more important.(因此，了解海洋在全球系统中的作用变得越来越重要。)”可知，塑料只是海洋众多污染之一，其危害尚未被完全研究透彻，由此可推知，人们本应更早、更多关注海洋污染问题。 Passage 8 In a world of music streaming services, access to almost any song is just a few clicks away. Yet, the live performance lives on. People still fill sweaty basements, muddy fields and gilded concert halls to hear their favorite musicians play. And now neuroscientists might know why — live music engages the brain’s emotion centers more than its recorded counterpart. Concerts are immersive social experiences in which people listen to and feel the music together through crescendos, key changes and rhythmic drops. Moreover, they are dynamic — artists can adapt their playing according to the crowd’s reaction. It was this last difference that led neuroscientists, based at the Universities of Zurich and Oslo, to study the brain responses of people listening to music. In the “live” experiment, participants lay in an MRI scanner listening to the music through earphones, while a pianist was positioned outside the room. The pianist was shown the participant’s real-time brain activity as a form of feedback. In the recorded condition, participants listened to pre-recorded versions of the same tunes. The scientists were interested in how live music affected the areas of the brain responsible for processing emotions, particularly the amygdala, an area deep inside the brain. The results, just published in the journal PNAS, revealed that live music had a significantly greater emotional impact. Whether the music conveyed happiness or sadness, dynamic live performances led to increased activity not only in the amygdala but also other parts of the brain’s emotion processing network. The researchers also found that participants’ brain activity tracked the acoustic (声学的) features of the music, like tempo and pitch, far more closely when it was played live. While the study didn’t fully recreate the live concert experience, the findings suggest that artists’ ability to adjust their performance in real time contributes to the emotional resonance (共鸣) of live music. Some musical acts now attempt to recreate live concerts, such as ABBA Voyage, an immersive pre-recorded VR concert, but without artists’ capacity to read audience’s mood and respond accordingly, it will never quite match the real thing. 1．Why do people choose live shows over streaming music? A．To enjoy the unique live atmosphere. B．To meet favorite musicians in person. C．To escape the boredom of recorded music. D．To acquire a stronger emotional connection. 2．What did the PNAS study find about live music? A．It affected only the amygdala of the brain. B．It generated intense brain responses to sound elements. C．It had a weaker emotional effect than pre-recorded music. D．It strengthened emotions more in sad tunes than happy ones. 3．What can be a suitable title for the text? A．How Music Consumption Evolved in the Digital Age B．Why Your Brain Prefers Live Concerts to Streaming Songs C．Live Music vs. Recorded Music: A Neuroscientific Perspective D．ABBA Voyage: Redefining the Future of Virtual Concert Experiences 【答案】1．D 2．B 3．B 【导语】文章对比流媒体音乐与现场音乐，介绍相关脑部实验，解释大脑更偏爱现场音乐、现场演出情绪感染力更强的科学原因。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段中的“And now neuroscientists might know why — live music engages the brain’s emotion centers more than its recorded counterpart.(现在神经科学家可能知道原因了——现场音乐比录制音乐更能激活大脑的情感中枢)”结合第五段“the findings suggest that artists’ ability to adjust their performance in real time contributes to the emotional resonance of live music(研究结果表明，艺术家实时调整表演的能力提升了现场音乐的情感共鸣)”可知，人们选择现场演出而不选择流媒体音乐，是为了获得更强的情感联结。 2．细节理解题。根据第四段中的“The researchers also found that participants’ brain activity tracked the acoustic (声学的) features of the music, like tempo and pitch, far more closely when it was played live.(研究人员还发现，当音乐现场演奏时，参与者的大脑活动会更紧密地追踪音乐的声学特征，比如节奏和音高)”可知，美国国家科学院院刊的研究发现，现场音乐会让大脑对声音元素产生强烈的反应。 3．主旨大意题。通读全文，并结合第一段“In a world of music streaming services, access to almost any song is just a few clicks away. Yet, the live performance lives on. People still fill sweaty basements, muddy fields and gilded concert halls to hear their favorite musicians play. And now neuroscientists might know why — live music engages the brain’s emotion centers more than its recorded counterpart.(在音乐流媒体服务普及的世界里，只需点击几下就能听到几乎任意一首歌曲。然而，现场演出依然存在。人们仍然挤满闷热的地下室、泥泞的场地和金碧辉煌的音乐厅，去聆听他们喜爱的音乐家演奏。如今，神经科学家或许找到了原因 —— 现场音乐比录制音乐更能激活大脑的情感中枢)”可知，文章对比流媒体音乐与现场音乐，介绍相关脑部实验，解释大脑更偏爱现场音乐、现场演出情绪感染力更强的科学原因。B选项“为什么你的大脑更喜欢现场演唱会，而不是流媒体歌曲”贴合全文核心主旨，适合作为文章标题。 Passage 9 For centuries, it has been debated whether beauty is an objective property of the physical world or a purely subjective experience. Today, the emerging field of neuroaesthetics (神经美学) attempts to resolve this by examining how the human brain processes aesthetic experiences. A crucial question in this field is whether the brain possesses a specific neural center dedicated to evaluating beauty across entirely different sensory areas, such as observing a masterpiece or listening to a symphony. To investigate this, researchers conducted a comprehensive neuroimaging meta-analysis. They accumulated data from numerous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) studies. The goal was to identify brain areas that activate similarly when subjects judge the beauty of different stimuli across sight, hearing, taste, and smell. By comparing these varied sensory inputs, the scientists aimed to isolate a cross-area neural mechanism (机制) responsible for all aesthetic judgments. When researchers analyzed the brain activity across multiple sensory channels, the results showed that the most important part of the brain for aesthetic evaluation was the anterior insula (前岛叶). Interestingly, this region is conventionally assumed to be associated with visceral (内脏的) feelings and negative emotions, rather than the high-level appreciation of fine art. Why would the specific brain structure responsible for detecting spoiled food also be the center for processing the beauty of a painting? Researchers have analyzed that aesthetic judgment is deeply evolutionary. At its core, aesthetics is a judgment of “valence” — a biological calculation determining whether a stimulus is beneficial (prompting an “approach” response) or harmful (triggering an “avoidance” response). The anterior insula functions as a central processing unit for both bodily sensations and emotions, closely monitoring how we feel inside our own bodies. This suggests that the human experience of beauty is deeply rooted in our primal, bodily sensations. When we encounter a breathtaking landscape or a moving piece of music, the anterior insula processes this as a highly positive visceral reward. On the contrary, ugly stimuli trigger the same region to produce dislike. Therefore, aesthetic appreciation is not merely a high-level cognitive function disconnected from biology; it is a direct extension of our basic survival neural network. In conclusion, this research significantly redefines our understanding of neuroaesthetics. It reveals that the brain does not utilize a specialized, isolated “art center”. Instead, it depends on ancient, survival-based neural networks to evaluate beauty. By demonstrating that the anterior insula serves as the shared neural basis for aesthetic evaluation across all sensory modes, the study proves that our highest cultural experiences are closely linked to our most basic biological instincts. 1．What can we learn from this passage? A．The human brain has a specialized neural center for art appreciation. B．Aesthetic experiences are independent of basic biological instincts. C．The anterior insula is mainly involved in negative emotional responses. D．Aesthetic judgment relies on ancient survival-based neural networks. 2．What does the word “valence” in Paragraph 4 refer to? A．The ability to create and appreciate fine art. B．The evolutionary history of human brain structure. C．The physical reaction to a breathtaking landscape. D．The biological judgment of whether a stimulus is good or bad. 3．What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage? A．To introduce the debate between philosophers on the nature of beauty. B．To explain how the anterior insula functions in processing negative emotions. C．To present research that redefines the understanding of neuroaesthetics. D．To compare different research methods in the field of neuroaesthetics. 【答案】1．D 2．D 3．C 【导语】主要介绍神经美学领域的相关研究，探究人类大脑的审美机制，阐释前岛叶在跨感官审美评估中的作用及审美与生物本能的关联。 1．细节理解题。根据尾段中的“Instead, it depends on ancient, survival-based neural networks to evaluate beauty.(相反，大脑依靠古老的、基于生存的神经网络来评判美。)”可知，审美判断依赖古老的、以生存为基础的神经网络。 2．词句猜测题。根据第四段中的“At its core, aesthetics is a judgment of “valence” — a biological calculation determining whether a stimulus is beneficial (prompting an “approach” response) or harmful (triggering an “avoidance” response).(从本质上讲，审美是对“valence”的一种判断，即一种判定刺激有益还是有害的生物性考量。)”可知，后文对该词作出解释，指从生物角度判断外界刺激好坏优劣的评判标准，因此D选项“The biological judgment of whether a stimulus is good or bad.(对某种外界刺激进行有益或有害的生物性判定。)”符合词义。 3．推理判断题。通读全文，尤其是尾段中的“In conclusion, this research significantly redefines our understanding of neuroaesthetics. It reveals that the brain does not utilize a specialized, isolated “art center”. Instead, it depends on ancient, survival-based neural networks to evaluate beauty.(总之，这项研究极大重新定义了人们对神经美学的认知。研究表明大脑没有专门孤立的艺术审美中枢，而是依靠古老的生存型神经网络来评判美。)”可知，文章全程介绍神经美学的研究过程、实验发现与研究结论，意在呈现这项重新定义神经美学认知的科研成果。 Passage 10 A group of blue-faced birds step through the grass shoulder to shoulder, red eyes looking around. They look like middle schoolers seeking a cafeteria table at lunchtime. Perhaps they’re not so different. A new study, led by Damien Farine, an ornithologist who studies collective behaviour, shows that the vulturine guineafowl of eastern Africa, like humans, have multilevel societies. In the past, scientists assumed such social structures required a lot of brainpower. But the pea-brained guineafowl are revealing the faults in that assumption. These large birds wander across the landscape in packs, often walking so closely that their bodies touch. They may fight each other to maintain their strict hierarchies (等级制度), but at other times they engage in friendly behaviours like sharing food. Suspecting the guineafowl might have a social structure, Dr. Farine and his colleagues began a thorough study of their society. For a whole year, they made daily observations of 441 birds. Coloured leg bands in unique combinations let researchers tell the black-and-blue birds apart. They also attached GPS devices to the backs of 58 birds, which let them see exactly where every group went, 24 hours a day. The findings of the research suggest that the vulturine guineafowl have a multilevel society. There are groups within groups within the population as a whole. There even seem to be groups of friends within the small groups. This is the first time anyone has observed such a society in a bird. And Dr. Farine emphasizes this particular bird's tiny brain size: “They don’t only have small brains relative to mammals (哺乳动物), they also have quite small brains relative to other birds,” he said. According to him, living in this kind of society might actually make it easier to keep track of the social order. For example, if groups are stable and a bird can identify just one or two individuals within a group, it knows which group it’s looking at — no need for a brain that can recognize every single animal. Multilevel societies also let animals adjust their group sizes based on whatever challenges they’re facing. Depending on what enemies or resources are around, it might make sense to travel in a combined group rather than a smaller one. “Having a multilevel structure may not require having a large brain,” Dr. Farine said. There may be more birds and other animals out there that, although small-brained, have societies as many-leveled as our own. 1．According to the passage, what inspired Dr. Farine to carry out the study? A．The guineafowl’s social behaviour. B．Previous assumptions about birds. C．His interest in animal brainpower. D．The faults in earlier research. 2．What is Paragraph 4 mainly about? A．The research subjects. B．The research methods. C．The research findings. D．The research equipment. 3．What can be learned from the passage? A．Complex social systems can be a disadvantage to the guineafowl. B．The guineafowl are good at recognizing individuals in a group. C．Birds maintain social order by travelling in combined groups. D．Small-brained animals can form multilevel societies. 4．What is the main purpose of the passage? A．To present the findings of a study of the guineafowl. B．To explain the interaction patterns in multilevel societies. C．To introduce a new approach to observing the guineafowl. D．To uncover clues about how complex societies are formed. 【答案】1．A 2．B 3．D 4．A 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了科学家对非洲东部珠鸡的社会结构进行的研究，发现这种小型脑容量的鸟类也具有多层次社会结构，挑战了“复杂社会需要大容量大脑”的传统假设。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段中“They look like middle schoolers seeking a cafeteria table at lunchtime. Perhaps they’re not so different.(它们看起来像午餐时间找食堂餐桌的中学生。也许它们并没有那么不同。)”以及第四段中“Suspecting the guineafowl might have a social structure, Dr. Farine and his colleagues began a thorough study of their society.(由于怀疑珠鸡可能有社会结构，Farine博士和他的同事们开始对其社会进行深入研究。)”可知，是珠鸡的社会行为启发了Farine博士开展这项研究。故选A。 2．主旨大意题。根据第四段中“For a whole year, they made daily observations of 441 birds. Coloured leg bands in unique combinations let researchers tell the black-and-blue birds apart. They also attached GPS devices to the backs of 58 birds(整整一年，他们每天观察441只鸟。独特组合的彩色腿环让研究人员能够区分这些黑蓝色的鸟。他们还在58只鸟的背部安装了GPS设备)”可知，本段主要描述了研究的具体方法，包括观察、标记和GPS追踪。因此本段主要讲研究方法。故选B。 3．推理判断题。根据最后一段中““Having a multilevel structure may not require having a large brain,” Dr. Farine said. There may be more birds and other animals out there that, although small-brained, have societies as many-leveled as our own.(“拥有多层次结构可能并不需要一个大容量的大脑。”Farine博士说。可能还有更多的鸟类和其他动物，虽然脑容量小，但拥有和我们一样多层次的社会。)”可知，小脑动物也能形成多层次社会。故选D。 4．主旨大意题。根据第二段中“A new study, led by Damien Farine, an ornithologist who studies collective behaviour, shows that the vulturine guineafowl of eastern Africa, like humans, have multilevel societies. (一项由研究集体行为的鸟类学家Damien Farine领导的新研究表明，东非的珠鸡和人类一样，拥有多层次的社会结构。)”以及全文围绕该研究的发现展开可知，文章的主要目的是介绍关于珠鸡的研究成果。故选A。 Passage 11 Much remains a mystery about how we look at the world. People constantly move their eyes to fix their gazes on items of interest, making about two to four eye movements every second for some 150,000 motions daily, but it remains uncertain how we choose what to focus on. To investigate how much gaze might vary between people, the researchers had more than 100 adult volunteers seated at computers look at 700 pictures depicting everyday scenes with a variety of items. At the same time, cameras, pointed at the eyes of those participants, helped track their gazes to deduce what they were looking at in each picture. The scientists found that certain types of details, such as faces, text, food, moving objects or touched items, attracted the gazes of some observers more than others. For example, the fraction of a person’s eye movements directed toward faces varied from 17% to 43% among the volunteers. In other words, “the individual tendency to look at faces or text can vary more than twofold from one person to the next,” said study lead author Benjamin de Haas, a neuroscientist at Justus-Liebig University Giessen in Germany. Such trends also proved to be highly consistent — even when volunteers were called back for follow-up sessions two weeks afterward. “This implies the way we look at images is personal. What you see can be different from what I’m seeing, even if we look at exactly the same images,” de Haas said. “Often times, the human is treated as a passive device whose attention can be captured by the image,” said vision scientist Mary Hayhoe at the University of Texas at Austin. This work emphasizes that “in reality, humans are active seekers of information.” The researchers suggested these differences in gaze might have some genetic foundations. For example, they noted that two recent studies from the United States and Sweden found that identical twins had far more similar patterns of eye movements than fraternal (异卵的) twins did. The scientists now plan to explore what impact these differences may or may not have in the real world. “Let’s say your eyes have a particular tendency to be attracted by text,” de Haas said. “Does that mean you’re more easily distracted when driving past a billboard?” These findings suggest that eye-tracking might help reveal new ways to diagnose disorders such as autism, in which people tend to gaze at faces and social cues differently, the researchers said. “The earlier one can pick up on the fact that children are autistic, the earlier one can start them on therapy and training programs, which can prove really important,” Hayhoe said. 1．What can we learn about the eye-tracking experiment? A．Humans are passive receivers of images. B．The way humans look at images varies greatly. C．The pictures used were mainly about abstract items. D．Gaze patterns differed when retested after two weeks. 2．Why does the author mention Mary Hayhoe in Paragraph 5? A．To explain the experiment process. B．To introduce the research purpose. C．To illustrate a practical approach. D．To correct a common belief. 3．Recent studies from the United States and Sweden suggest that ______. A．genes may affect how people direct their eyes B．people’s eyes have a tendency to be attracted by text C．shared living environments make identical twins’ gaze patterns more similar D．fraternal twins have more similar gaze patterns than those of the general population 4．Which would be the best title for the passage? A．The Universal Language of Sight B．The Mystery of Rapid Eye Movements C．The Unique Gaze: We See Things Differently D．The Powerful Eye-tracking: We Detect Autism Early 【答案】1．B 2．D 3．A 4．C 【导语】本文是一篇说明文。主要介绍科学家通过眼动实验发现人们注视事物的方式存在显著个体差异，该差异或与基因相关，并有望用于疾病诊断。 1．细节理解题。根据第三段中的“In other words, “the individual tendency to look at faces or text can vary more than twofold from one person to the next,” said study lead author Benjamin de Haas, a neuroscientist at Justus-Liebig University Giessen in Germany. (换言之，德国吉森尤斯图斯-李比希大学的神经科学家、该研究的主要作者本杰明·德·哈斯表示：“人与人之间关注人脸或文字的个人倾向，差异可能超过两倍。”)”可知，人类观看图像的方式差异极大。故选B项。 2．推理判断题。根据第五段中的““Often times, the human is treated as a passive device whose attention can be captured by the image,” said vision scientist Mary Hayhoe at the University of Texas at Austin. This work emphasizes that “in reality, humans are active seekers of information.”(得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的视觉科学家玛丽·海霍表示：“很多时候，人类被当作一种被动的装置，其注意力会被图像轻易吸引。”而这项研究强调，“事实上，人类是主动的信息探寻者。”)”可知，作者提及Mary Hayhoe是为了纠正人们普遍认为人类被动接收图像信息的错误观点。故选D项。 3．细节理解题。根据第六段中的“The researchers suggested these differences in gaze might have some genetic foundations. For example, they noted that two recent studies from the United States and Sweden found that identical twins had far more similar patterns of eye movements than fraternal twins did.(研究人员认为注视差异可能有一定基因基础。例如，美国和瑞典近期的两项研究发现，同卵双胞胎的眼球运动模式比异卵双胞胎相似得多。)”可知，基因可能影响人们注视的方向。故选A项。 4．主旨大意题。通读全文，尤其是第四段中的““This implies the way we look at images is personal. What you see can be different from what I’m seeing, even if we look at exactly the same images,” de Haas said. (德哈斯表示：“这意味着我们观看图像的方式是因人而异的。即使我们看着完全相同的画面，你所看到的内容也可能与我所看到的不同。”)”可知，文章围绕人们注视方式存在个体差异展开，核心说明每个人的注视都是独特的、看待事物的方式各不相同，因此“独特的注视：我们看待事物各不相同”最能概括全文核心，适合作为最佳标题。故选C项。 Passage 12 Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons — for example, economic reasons — why they should be preserved. So, let us assume (假设) that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed? In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own hometown of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area. It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt (破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative (保守的) and do not like change. Although we have to respect people’s feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward. If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different, even though that might be the more risky choice. 1．What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph? A．Most of them are too expensive to preserve. B．Some of them are not attractive. C．They are more pleasing than modern buildings. D．They have nothing to do with the historic feel of an area. 2．Which of the following is TRUE according to the author? A．We should reproduce the same old buildings. B．Buildings should not dominate their surroundings. C．No one understands why people speak against new buildings. D．Some old buildings have spoilt the area they are in. 3．By “move things forward” in the last paragraph, the author probably means . A．choose new architectural styles B．put things in a different place C．destroy old buildings D．respect people’s feelings for historical buildings 4．What is the main purpose of the passage? A．To explain why people dislike change. B．To warn that we should protect cultural relics. C．To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas. D．To admit how the old give way to the new. 【答案】1．B 2．D 3．A 4．C 【导语】本文是说明文。文章对于现在人们经常讨论的问题——是否现代的建筑应该和古老的历史建筑在一起——进行阐述，在作者看来历史建筑应该保存，但是我们的建筑风格也应该改变，不能因为历史建筑破坏我们的生活。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段“Not all historical buildings are attractive.(不是所有的历史建筑都是有吸引力的)”可知，一些历史建筑不够有吸引力，故选B。 2．细节理解题。根据第三段“It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt (破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too.(确实有例子新建筑破坏所处的区域,但同样一些老建筑也可以破坏)”可知作者认为一些历史建筑将他们生活的地方破坏了，故选D。 3．词句猜测题。根据第四段“If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves.(如果我们总是复制以前的东西，我们现在还住在山洞里面)”可知，要尊重人们对老建筑的感情的同时，向前进，“moving things forward”意思是“选择新的建筑风格”，故选A。 4．推理判断题。根据第一段“Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city?(我们应该允许现代建筑建在一个城市的历史地区的老建筑旁边吗？)”可知，这篇文章是论证现代的建筑可以建在历史遗迹的地方，故选C。 Passage 13 A video spread on social media earlier this year. It showed a tourist opening a car door, putting out an arm, and trying to touch lions that walked by. The lions pushed him away, but the situation could have become very dangerous easily. Thoughtless behaviour around wildlife risks the safety of both people and animals. People risk being attacked, mauled (撕咬) and possibly killed, while animals can be harmed, removed or put down, no matter whether they were only defending themselves. Animal attacks can also cast a destination in a negative light, causing temporary closures or scaring off visitors. All just so someone could boast that they had touched lions or captured a moment on a camera phone. “Tourists are getting more and more careless around wildlife and the source of the problem is social media.” says wildlife photographer Anette Mosshachers. “People risking their lives or doing stupid things with wildlife are after ’likes’ and followers, something to show off on social media,” says Mossbacher. “The greater the risk, the more ‘likes’ they get. With some clients, it seems like a sickness or addiction.” Yet social media is not entirely to blame. People have always taken risks for an experience. Foolish behavior and a tendency to get too saucy around dangerous animals must have been around since the dawn of humanity. A hunger for attention online might drive some of the current madness, but some individuals might be trying to recreate a piece of the action they have seen on television. Perhaps the adrenaline (肾上腺激素) rush when close to wild animals causes a loss of common sense. “There’s a worrying lack of awareness that animals several times our size, weight, speed and strength can easily hurt us,” says wildlife photographer David Lloyd. “I don’t think parks are doing enough to raise awareness. Tourists need to know how their presence can affect wildlife. A good example is cheetahs (猎豹) on vehicle rooftops. It may be a thrill for the bystanders, but the consequences if a mother cheetah falls off would be severe. She would no longer be able to hunt, so her babies could easily starve.” “People aren’t getting the education about why they need to stay away from wildlife, including avoiding diseases, keeping people secure and letting wildlife be wild,” says Philip Muruthi, vice president of species conservation and science for the African Wildlife Foundation. “We need to educate tourists through signs, leaflets and front-line drivers. We should stick to guidelines, and there needs to be enforcement through the law.” 1．What can we learn about thoughtless behaviour around wildlife? A．It harms tourists more than animals. B．It enables tourists to get intimate with animals. C．It may bring more profits to a tourist destination. D．It may get animals killed for defending themselves. 2．As for Mossbacher’s opinion on what drives people’s careless behavior, the author is ______. A．sympathetic B．disapproving C．doubtful D．indifferent 3．What does the underlined word “saucy” in Paragraph 4 probably mean? A．Selfish. B．Frightened. C．disrespectful. D．Shocked. 4．What can we conclude from the passage? A．Parks are expected to take more responsibilities for educating tourists. B．Raising tourists’ awareness means stressing the danger of animals to them. C．More regulation of the tourist industry is the key to raising tourists’ awareness. D．Punishment rather than education can stop people taking silly risks around wildlife. 【答案】1．D 2．C 3．C 4．A 【导语】本文是一篇议论文。文章主要讨论了游客在野生动物周围的不理智行为及其原因，并强调了教育和法规在提高游客意识方面的重要性。 1．细节理解题。根据第二段中“People risk being attacked, mauled (撕咬) and possibly killed, while animals can be harmed, removed or put down, no matter whether they were only defending themselves.(人们冒着被攻击、被撕咬甚至可能被杀死的风险，而动物则可能受到伤害、被移走或被杀死，无论它们是否只是在自卫。)”可知，游客在野生动物周围的不理智行为可能会使动物因自卫而被杀死。故选D。 2．推理判断题。根据第三段““Tourists are getting more and more careless around wildlife and the source of the problem is social media.” says wildlife photographer Anette Mosshachers. “People risking their lives or doing stupid things with wildlife are after ’likes’ and followers, something to show off on social media,” says Mossbacher. “The greater the risk, the more ‘likes’ they get. With some clients, it seems like a sickness or addiction.”(野生动物摄影师安妮特・莫斯巴赫表示：“游客面对野生动物时越来越疏忽大意，而问题的根源就在于社交媒体。人们冒着生命危险、做出出格举动招惹野生动物，只为博取点赞、涨粉丝，想在网上炫耀自己。风险越大，收获的点赞就越多。有些游客，简直像是染上了瘾、走火入魔。”)”和第四段中“Yet social media is not entirely to blame. People have always taken risks for an experience. Foolish behavior and a tendency to get too saucy around dangerous animals must have been around since the dawn of humanity. A hunger for attention online might drive some of the current madness, but some individuals might be trying to recreate a piece of the action they have seen on television. Perhaps the adrenaline (肾上腺激素) rush when close to wild animals causes a loss of common sense.(然而，社交媒体并非唯一罪魁祸首。为了追求新奇体验，人类向来就爱冒险。愚蠢的举动、在危险动物面前肆意放肆的心态，自人类诞生之初就一直存在。渴望网络关注或许助长了如今的疯狂行为，但也有部分人，只是想模仿在电视上看到的画面。或许近距离接触野生动物时飙升的肾上腺素，会让人丧失理智、丢掉常识。)”可知，作者分析人类自古就有冒险心理、模仿影视画面、肾上腺素上头等其他原因可知，作者对莫斯巴赫将问题完全归结于社交媒体、点赞跟风的观点持怀疑态度。故选C。 3．词句猜测题。根据第四段中“Foolish behavior and a tendency to get too saucy around dangerous animals must have been around since the dawn of humanity.(愚蠢的行为和在危险动物周围过于saucy的倾向从人类诞生之初就存在了。)”以及“Perhaps the adrenaline (肾上腺激素) rush when close to wild animals causes an loss of common sense.(也许当接近野生动物时，肾上腺素的激增会导致常识的丧失。)”可知，接近野生动物时，肾上腺素的激增会导致常识的丧失，在危险动物面前过于放肆的倾向，故saucy意思是“无礼的，不尊重的”。故选C。 4．推理判断题。根据第五段中“I don’t think parks are doing enough to raise awareness. Tourists need to know how their presence can affect wildlife.(我认为公园在提高公众意识方面做得还不够。游客需要知道他们的存在会如何影响野生动物)”和第六段中“People aren’t getting the education about why they need to stay away from wildlife, including avoiding diseases, keeping people secure and letting wildlife be wild(人们没有得到关于为什么他们需要远离野生动物的教育，包括避免疾病，保证人们的安全，让野生动物自然生长)”可推知，公园在提高公众意识方面做得还不够，应该在教育游客方面承担更多的责任。故选A项。 Passage 14 For centuries, technological advancement has persistently transformed the framework of global labor markets, fueling dramatic changes in the nature of work and the ways people make a living. While technological innovation has created enormous economic value, lifted living standards and brought great convenience to everyday life, its benefits have long been unevenly shared among diverse social groups and industries. Nowadays, artificial intelligence and digital platforms are changing work environments at an unmatched and fast-growing rate, sparking a fresh wave of labor market changes that goes well beyond conventional low-skilled positions. Even highly qualified professionals employed by top global tech firms are no longer shielded from this big change, as seen in repeated large-scale job cuts at major tech corporations in recent years. Nevertheless, the impact of technological change on employment is far from a one-sided narrative of job losses. As some traditional positions disappear with the rise of automation, a host of new job roles are springing up meanwhile, and entirely novel occupations are being born to match the demands of the digital era. These emerging opportunities open up alternative paths to economic prosperity for individuals who are willing to embrace change and adjust their career strategies. For today’s workforce, the capacity to update current skills or learn completely new abilities has become a key requirement for keeping steady jobs. A recent thorough review of millions of online job listings shows the pressing need for this skill upgrade: roughly one in ten job ads in developed economies and one in twenty in developing economies now require at least one latest new skill. Professional, technical and management posts have the highest demand for these upgraded skills, with tech - related jobs accounting for more than half of the total demand. Besides, field - specific skills are also in great demand — the healthcare industry needs more experts in remote care and digital health, while marketing jobs increasingly require skills in social media operation and data-based advertising. Unsurprisingly, such rapid labor market changes have sparked widespread anxiety among workers worldwide. With nearly 40 percent of global jobs vulnerable to AI-driven automation, fears over job displacement and shrinking opportunities for some groups are growing more acute. To ensure the gains from AI are broadly shared, governments have a duty to launch timely and comprehensive policy measures. These should include expanding access to lifelong learning, supporting workers in career shifts, and ensuring that the tax and social protection systems are adapted to a more dynamic economy. Only in this way can societies make the most of technological progress without leaving large numbers of people behind. 1．It can be inferred from the passage that the recent mass layoffs in major tech companies mainly result from A．the companies’ poor management and low efficiency. B．the impact of rapid technological change and the rise of AI. C．a sharp decline in global demand for digital products and services. D．workers’ lack of professional ethics and low productivity. 2．The underlined word “novel” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______. A．literary B．anxious C．responsible D．emerging 3．What can we infer from the passage? A．Filed - specific skills are more important than the latest new skills. B．High - skilled workers are free from facing job displacement. C．Lifelong learning is vital for workers to adapt to the labor market. D．Governments tend to require cooperation to provide lifelong learning opportunities. 4．What is the author’s main purpose in writing the passage? A．To analyze tech’s impact on labor markets and call for proper policies. B．To blame tech companies for mass job losses and technological innovation C．To introduce new high - paying jobs and effective ways to get promoted D．To reveal workers’ anxiety about AI development and offer suggestions 【答案】1．B 2．D 3．C 4．A 【导语】这是一篇说明文。本文主要阐述了科技发展尤其是人工智能对劳动力市场的双重影响，指出技能更新的必要性，并呼吁政府出台相应政策保障就业转型。 1．推理判断题。根据第一段“Nowadays, artificial intelligence and digital platforms are changing work environments at an unmatched and fast-growing rate, sparking a fresh wave of labor market changes that goes well beyond conventional low-skilled positions. Even highly qualified professionals employed by top global tech firms are no longer shielded from this big change, as seen in repeated large-scale job cuts at major tech corporations in recent years.(如今，人工智能与数字平台正以前所未有的迅猛速度改变着工作环境，引发新一轮劳动力市场变革，其影响早已超出传统低技能岗位。就连全球顶尖科技公司聘用的高素质专业人士，也无法免受这场巨大变革的冲击 —— 近年来各大科技企业频频大规模裁员，便是明证。)”可知，大型科技公司近期大规模裁员主要源于技术快速变革和人工智能的冲击。故选B项。 2．词句猜测题。根据第二段“As some traditional positions disappear with the rise of automation, a host of new job roles are springing up meanwhile, and entirely novel occupations are being born to match the demands of the digital era.(随着自动化兴起，一些传统岗位消失，与此同时大量新职业涌现，novel职业应运而生以适应数字时代的需求。)”以及语境可知，这里novel与new含义相近，意为“新兴的、新出现的”。故选D项。 3．推理判断题。根据最后一段“These should include expanding access to lifelong learning, supporting workers in career shifts, and ensuring that the tax and social protection systems are adapted to a more dynamic economy. Only in this way can societies make the most of technological progress without leaving large numbers of people behind.(这些措施应包括：扩大终身学习的机会、支持劳动者职业转型，并确保税收与社会保障体系适应更具活力的经济发展。只有这样，社会才能充分利用技术进步，同时不让大量人群被时代抛弃。)”可知，终身学习对劳动者适应劳动力市场至关重要。故选C项。 4．推理判断题。通读全文特别是最后一段“To ensure the gains from AI are broadly shared, governments have a duty to launch timely and comprehensive policy measures.(为确保人工智能的收益被广泛共享，政府有责任及时出台全面的政策措施。)”可知，全文先分析科技对劳动力市场的影响，再指出就业焦虑，最后提出政府应出台政策应对。所以作者写作目的是分析科技对劳动力市场的影响并呼吁合理政策。故选A项。 Passage 15 Scientific papers are the recordkeepers of progress in research. Each year researchers publish millions of papers in more than 30,000 journals. The scientific community measures the quality of those papers in a number of ways, including the perceived quality of the journal (as reflected by the title’s impact factor) and the number of citations a specific paper accumulates. The careers of scientists and the reputation of their institutions depend on the number and prestige of the papers they produce, but even more so on the citations attracted by these papers. Citation cartels, where journals, authors, and institutions conspire (密谋) to inflate citation numbers, have existed for a long time. In 2016, researchers developed an algorithm to recognize suspicious citation patterns, including groups of authors that disproportionately cite one another and groups of journals that cite each other frequently to increase the impact factors of their publications. Recently, another expression of this predatory (掠夺性的) behavior has emerged: so-called support service consultancies that provide language and other editorial support to individual authors and to-journals sometimes advise contributors to add a number of citations to their articles. The appearance of electronic publishing and authors’ need to find outlets for their papers resulted in thousands of new journals. The birth of predatory journals wasn’t far behind. These journals can act as milk cows where every single article in an issue may cite a specific paper or a series of papers. In some instances, there is absolutely no relationship between the content of the article and the citations. The peculiar part is that the journal that the editor is supposedly working for is not profiting at all — it is just providing citations to other journals. Such practices can lead an article to accumulate more than 150 citations in the same year that it was published. How insidious (不易觉察的) is this type of citation manipulation? In one example, an individual — acting as author, editor, and consultant — was able to use at least 15 journals as citation providers to articles published by five scientists at three universities. The problem is rampant in Scopus, a citation database, which includes a high number of the new “international” journals. In fact, a listing in Scopus seems to be a criterion to be targeted in this type of citation manipulation. Scopus itself has all the data necessary to detect this misconduct. Red flags include a large number of citations to an article within the first year. And for authors who wish to distance themselves from citation cartel activities: when an editor, a reviewer, or a support service asks you to add inappropriate references, do not oblige and do report the request to the journal. 1．According to Paragraph 1, the careers of scientists can be determined by ________. A．how many citations their works contain B．how many times their papers are cited C．the prestige of the people they work with D．the status they have in scientific circles 2．The metaphor of “milk cow” in Paragraph 3 is used to ________. A．make a comparison B．illustrate a situation C．propose a solution D．highlight a problem 3．What does the underlined word “rampant” in Paragraph 4 probably mean? A．Urgent. B．Complex. C．Occasional. D．Severe. 【答案】1．B 2．D 3．D 【导语】本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了科学论文引用操控现象及其影响。 1．细节理解题。根据第一段“The careers of scientists and the reputation of their institutions depend on the number and prestige of the papers they produce, but even more so on the citations attracted by these papers.(科学家的职业生涯以及其所在机构的声誉都取决于他们所发表论文的数量和声誉，但更重要的是这些论文所吸引的引用次数。)”可知，科学家的职业生涯由他们的论文被引用了多少次决定，故选B。 2．推理判断题。根据文章第三段中的“The appearance of electronic publishing and authors’ need to find outlets for their papers resulted in thousands of new journals. The birth of predatory journals wasn’t far behind. These journals can act as milk cows where every single article in an issue may cite a specific paper or a series of papers.(电子出版的出现以及作者们为自己的论文寻找发表渠道的需求，催生了成千上万的新期刊。与此同时，一些“掠夺性期刊”的诞生也不远了。这些期刊可以被视为“奶牛”，每期中的每一篇论文都可能引用特定的一篇或几篇论文。)”可知，第三段中“奶牛”这一比喻的用意是强调一个问题——每期中的每一篇论文都可能引用特定的一篇或几篇论文。故选D。 3．词句猜测题。根据文章第四段中的“How insidious (不易觉察的) is this type of citation manipulation? In one example, an individual— acting as author, editor, and consultant— was able to use at least 15 journals as citation providers to articles published by five scientists at three universities.(这种引用操纵（行为）的隐蔽性有多强？有一个例子可以说明：某个人同时扮演作者、编辑和顾问的角色，竟能利用至少15种期刊作为“引用来源”，为三所大学里五位科学家发表的论文提供引用。)”和“Scopus, a citation database, which includes a high number of the new “international” journals(Scopus是一个引文数据库，其中收录了大量新兴“国际”期刊。)”可知，Scopus是一个引用数据库，引用操纵问题在Scopus数据库中很泛滥。rampant意为“泛滥的，猖獗的”，和Severe意思相近。故选D。 试卷第1页，共3页 试卷第1页，共3页 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $ 2026届最新高考模拟三轮冲刺卷之（北京专用） 阅读理解15篇（说明文） Passage 1 On 24 May 2000, a group of mathematicians took to a stage in Paris to set some problems. These were the seven Millennium Problems, the hardest mathematical puzzles then known. The exercise was organized by the Clay Mathematics Institute, a nonprofit that promised anyone who could solve one would be rewarded with a $1 million prize. Twenty-five years later, how have mathematicians got on? Grigori Perelman proved the Poincaré conjecture, the only Millennium Problem to fall so far. A conjecture in maths is a statement thought to be true but not yet proven. But what about the six that remain? In fact, tools are everything for mathematicians. That is why Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz each developed calculus (微积分) in the late 17th century. Back then, there was no technique for describing properties that change over time or space. But once the right tool is in the right hands, progress is almost inevitable: with calculus, Newton performed mathematical miracles such as describing the motion of the planets under gravity. Now there is a new tool that might make quite a difference. “Machine learning is quickly developing as another tool in the toolbox,” says Dan Freed at Harvard University. But, he adds, “Some of the Millennium Problems might be less amenable to using machine learning.” That is because AI relies on being fed lots of data. In many fields, large volumes of useful data simply don’t exist. Even in the absence of large datasets, there might still be scope for AI to dig into complicated mathematical arguments. “One of the interesting things about these millennium challenges is that the problems can be simple enough for us to pose, but might have a complexity to the proof that is beyond the human mind to navigate,” says Marcus du Sautoy at the University of Oxford. AI might have the required potential to find buried links, which mathematicians can then pick up and work with. “Over the next decade, we might see some interesting new conjectures emerging that we wouldn’t have been able to see without the use of this tool,” he says. Just as Galileo was able to see more of the heavens using a telescope, AI could give a deeper view of numbers. Whether the Clay Mathematics Institute would accept an AI-led solution to one of its problems depends on mathematicians’ willingness to see it as solved. In 2000, when the prizes were announced, Alain Connes at the College de France in Paris, said the seven problems were “totally inaccessible to computers”. But with mathematicians now open to working with AI, that seems like one more conjecture that might fall. 1．What can be inferred about the tools in maths? A．They lose value when a conjecture is proven. B．They are more likely to emerge with rewards. C．They serve as mathematicians’ ultimate pursuit. D．They are what it takes to make progress in maths. 2．What does the phrase “amenable to” underlined in Paragraph 4 most probably mean? A．Resistant to. B．Independent of. C．Responsive to. D．Tolerant of. 3．What can we learn from this passage? A．The author agrees with Dan on AI’s role in maths. B．AI can make up for the limitations of human mind. C．AI is bound to solve the rest Millennium Problems. D．Mathematicians’ acceptance of AI is hard to predict. Passage 2 Whales are some of the most highly intelligent species on Earth. Each species of whale has a distinct communication system that often varies within populations. Since humans have been researching and observing these forms of communication, a question has surfaced: Could humans one day engage in acoustic (声学的) interactions with whales? And what could these interactions reveal about non-human intelligence? Researchers from the University of California and the Alaska Whale Foundation have been exploring whale-to-human communication with humpback whales, and they’ve come up with some fascinating conclusions. When scientists recorded a humpback whale contact call, known as a whup, and played it underwater around their research vessel, they were surprised when a whale named Twain became a more than willing participant in the call-and-response exchange. Scientists produced a single sound, or whup call, that Twain would then respond with her own whup call to them, a “conversation” described in their PeerJ paper. “It might loosely translate to ‘hello’ or some sort of greeting call for when animals come together or just to signal that individuals are in a certain location,” says Dawson Hubbard, study author and animal behaviourist with Whale SETI. In this case, it was as if Twain was either saying “hello” to scientists or “I’m over here.” But in both instances, she was responding to and engaging with whale signals that humans produced. Of course, whether whales want to communicate with humans varies by the temperament of the whale and by the situation. Just like some humans are more extroverted than others, this could also be true for whales, although this would need more research to understand. Twain circled around the scientists’ boat and was in proximity to its speakers. Permit limitations only allow for researchers to produce the sound for 20 minutes, but once they stopped, Twain continued to produce more signals before leaving. “What’s cool about Twain is that she could have left at any point, as it wasn’t a caged environment where she couldn’t leave, so she was choosing to be close to us,” says Hubbard. Often, a willingness to communicate with humans would be food-mediated, but in this case, it wasn’t. There have also been other examples. Gray whales in the San Ignacio lagoon in Mexico, for example, are famously friendly. In fact, some gray whales regularly approach boats and allow visitors to have gentle contact with them. According to the Oceanic Society, this behaviour isn’t shared amongst all gray whales, and in fact, this species of whale was almost hunted to extinction just a generation ago. But the behaviour may have been passed down through generations, and some gray whales in this population voluntarily approach humans. In the end, these and other encounters show that, in some cases, individual whales appear willing to engage with humans. And the more we learn about their mode of communication and what they are saying to us, the more we can learn about them. 1．To study whales, the scientists _______. A．caught whales for controlled experiments B．trained whales to converse with humans C．responded to whales with recorded calls D．played whale calls to interact with them 2．What can we infer from the passage? A．The maximum duration of whales’ response is 20 minutes. B．Gray whales’ friendly behaviour may be a learned feature. C．Whales’ personality decides their willingness to interact. D．Humpback whales respond to humans for food rewards. 3．Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? A．Decoding the Talk Between Humans and Whales B．Are Whales Willing to Talk with Humans? C．Could Humans Ever Talk with Whales? D．Unlocking the Secret of Whale Whups Passage 3 Intelligence is changing. For most of modern history, IQ was treated as the gold standard for potential, and later, EQ became the best way to succeed in relationship-driven spaces. Now, both are being challenged because AI models can complete cognitive (认知的) tasks with superior speed and accuracy while simulating (模拟) emotional connections with users in ways that feel increasingly realistic. Many of the abilities we once relied on to stand out are no longer exclusively human. Once, being the smartest in the room ensured success. Today, this advantage weakens — AI drafts complex strategies and processes information at a range and speed no human can match. The differentiator shifts from accessing information to interpreting it wisely, leaving many questioning their place as human skills are easily automated. One capacity gaining attention is spiritual intelligence (SQ). Although the term is often misunderstood as religious, most researchers use it in a worldly way to describe how people find meaning and direction in their lives. The common thread is that SQ can influence how we orient (确定方向) ourselves when familiar strategies fail, encouraging us to question whether productivity alone can sustain a meaningful life. SQ can serve as a framework to exercise our agency and stay connected to what matters during periods of rapid change and uncertainty. Unlike IQ and EQ, SQ resists automation because it develops through lived experience and the ongoing process of making meaning in our lives. It helps us perceive not only what we can do, but why it matters. Current research has associated higher levels of SQ with greater resilience (韧性), more moral leadership behaviors, higher well-being, and stronger interpersonal trust. One credible explanation is that SQ strengthens our sense of agency: when we root our decisions in meaning, we approach complexity with intentionality instead of urgency. Such value is reflected in its key qualities. Three key qualities of people who have developed SQ are often identified in research. First is systems awareness. Scholars believe SQ enables a broader perspective to spot event patterns and connections, with qualitative studies showing high SQ scorers often think interdependently. Besides, individuals with strong SQ tend to exhibit a purpose-driven orientation. Cambridge research suggests that having a sense of purpose is linked to motivation, creativity and well-being. SQ centers on purpose, though the direct causal pathway between SQ and purpose remains more correlational than definitive. Equally important is the quality of presence. Practices like mindfulness tied to SQ reduce reactivity and boost attention regulation, helping individuals stay grounded under stress for intentional actions. Perhaps SQ’s most notable trait is its gradual growth, with no dramatic reinvention needed. It emerges through honest reflection and a willingness to revisit long-held beliefs, accessible to anyone willing to engage with themselves intentionally and curiously. As AI advances, human uniqueness may shift from what we can produce to how we interpret, make choices, and live out our values. IQ and EQ will remain valuable, but no longer define our uniqueness. SQ — the ability to find consistence amid rapid change — may become our most essential human skill. 1．What are the first two paragraphs mainly about? A．Why new competitive skills are challenged. B．When traditional human advantages will fail. C．How human uniqueness is shifting in the AI era. D．What makes AI superior in information processing 2．What can be inferred about spiritual intelligence? A．It proves to be the cause of purpose. B．It grows by abandoning long-held beliefs. C．It helps people stay rooted amid uncertainty. D．It facilitates urgent decisions in complex situations. 3．Which would be the best title for the passage? A．SQ’s Advantages Over IQ & EQ B．The Rise of Spiritual Intelligence C．The Development of Human Intelligence D．How Human Intelligence Outperforms Al Passage 4 Cracks are very common in concrete structures due to various chemical and physical phenomena that occur during everyday use. And tiny cracks can be quite harmful because they provide an easy route in for liquids and gases — and the harmful substances they might contain. For instance, micro-cracks can allow water and oxygen to infiltrate (渗透) and then corrode (腐蚀) the steel, leading to structural failure. But continuous maintenance and repair work is difficult because it usually requires an enormous amount of labor and investment. Scientists have been trying to figure out how these harmful cracks could heal themselves without human intervention. The idea was originally inspired by the amazing ability of the human body to heal itself of cuts, bruises and broken bones. A person takes in nutrients which the body uses to produce new substitutes to heal damaged tissues. In the same way, can we provide necessary products to concrete to fill in cracks when damage happens？ Through long time research, scientists have found an unusual candidate to help concrete heal itself: a fungus (真菌) called T.reesei. It is found that as calcium hydroxide from concrete dissolved in water, the PH of the fungal growth medium increased from a close-to-neutral original value of 6.5 all the way to a very alkaline 13.0. Of all the fungi tested, only T.reesei could survive this environment. Despite the drastic PH increase, its spores (孢子) germinated and grew equally well with or without concrete. Scientists propose including fungal spores, together with nutrients, during the initial mixing process when building a new concrete structure. When the inevitable cracking occurs and water finds its way in, the dormant fungal spores will germinate. As they grow, they’ll work as a catalyst (催化剂) within the calcium-rich conditions of the concrete to promote precipitation of calcium carbonate crystals. These mineral deposits can fill in the cracks. When the cracks are completely filled and no more water can enter, the fungi will again form spores. If cracks form again and environmental conditions become favorable, the spores could wake up and repeat the process. T.reesei is eco-friendly, posing no known risk to human health. In fact, T.reesei has a long history of safe use in industrial-scale production of carbohydrase enzymes, such as cellulase, which plays an important role in fermentation (发酵) processes during winemaking. Of course, researchers will need to conduct a thorough assessment to investigate any possible immediate and long-term effects on the environment and human health prior to its use as a healing agent in concrete infrastructure. 1．According to the passage, tiny cracks in concrete structures may lead to ________. A．disfunction even collapse of the entire structure B．continuous maintenance and rebuilding C．leakage of liquids and gases D．waste of water and oxygen 2．What can we know about T.reesei? A．It is widely used in building concrete structures. B．It can survive in extreme environment. C．It can help concrete cracks become normal again. D．It is a newly discovered fungus. 3．What can be inferred from the last paragraph？ A．T.reesei might be used on human. B．The research is still at its initial stage. C．The research is unreplaceable in winemaking. D．T.reesei has long-term effects on human health. Passage 5 Naming hurricane New research from the University of Illinois finds that hurricanes with female names are likely to cause more deaths than those with male names. The study examined over 60 years of hurricanes which hit the US. The results showed there were higher death tolls, on average, when the hurricanes were given a female name. This wasn’t because female-named hurricanes were any more severe; rather that people’s behavior changed. Sharon Shavitt, one of the authors of the report, explained: “In judging the intensity of a storm, people appear to be applying their beliefs about how men and women behave. This makes a female-named hurricane, such as Belle or Candy, seem gentle and less violent.” People unconsciously say to themselves: how could I be killed by a hurricane called Candy? In fact, hurricanes are named arbitrarily, and the names tell you nothing about the severity of the storm. But, if people in the path of the storm are letting its name affect whether they take shelter, what we call it may matter more than we think. Having searched through the records, the researchers returned to the lab to test their finding experimentally. People were given a series of hypothetical(假设的) storms with male and female names and asked to make judgments about their intensity and the risk they faced. The results showed that people often regarded male-named hurricanes, like Hurricane Christopher or Hurricane Victor as more intense and riskier than the female-named ones, like Hurricane Alexandra and Hurricane Christ. Shavitt continued, “People imagining a ‘female’ hurricane were not as willing to seek shelter. The fixed ideas that underlie these judgments are subtle and not necessarily hostile toward women — they may involve viewing women as warmer and less aggressive than men.” The fact is that until the late 1970s, hurricanes were always given female names, as they were thought to represent women’s qualities like unpredictability. This practice — and the sexist reasoning behind it — was rightly abandoned in favour of choosing between male and female. Strangely, though, what we’ve learnt is that we’d be better off naming all hurricanes after men to take advantage of people’s fixed views. The researchers estimate that changing a severe hurricane’s name from “Eloise” to “Charles” could potentially cut the death toll by one-third. Perhaps the naming of hurricane is one specific situation where we shouldn’t worry about being sexist, if being a little sexist is going to save lives. 1．Hurricanes with female names are likely to cause more deaths because________. A．male-named hurricanes are not terrible B．female-named hurricanes are more severe C．people think the female-named hurricanes are not severe D．people prefer to challenge the male-named hurricanes 2．The underlined word “arbitrarily” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________. A．for humor B．on purpose C．by chance D．in turn 3．It can be inferred from the passage that ________. A．future hurricanes will be named after men more often B．being sexist in naming hurricanes helps save lives C．sexism in naming hurricanes will be banned D．rules of naming hurricane will be changed Passage 6 A person could be forgiven for believing 20 years ago that the scene would soon revolutionize academic publishing. But more has to happen before the old industry system is replaced. For a long time, academic publishing has been in the traditional subscription model. Recognising the opportunity, many scholars and librarians began to advocate a new open access mode, in which articles are made available online free. The result would be a true online public library of science. However, more than two decades later, the old system remains entrenched. Fortunately, things are changing. UC Libraries, one of the biggest library systems, started to negotiate with leading scientific publisher Elsevier. The Libraries wanted Elsevier to allow them to pay two fees—one for its licensed journals and the other for the use of Elsevier’s open access model. UC Libraries wanted the licensed journals fee to cover the open access fee so as to ensure open access to researches published in Elsevier journals. When the two sides couldn’t come to terms, the Libraries walked away. Actually, the open access solution is more likely to come from research funding agencies, who can use their purse power to promote open access. Some funders, like Caitlin, insist that any research they fund should be published in a journal that makes all its articles immediately available to the public, which is called PlanS. Now that some librarians and funders have begun to take action, things are changing. The worst response would be to complain that PlanS has too much academic freedom. Some top journals began to move forward. When the journal system began in 1665, it was in favor of open access. It allowed academics to post their content online for free. But now the system has become thoroughly commoditized. Now is the time to bring it back to open access. 1．What does the underlined word “entrenched” probably mean? A．Uncertain. B．Rooted. C．Limited. D．Popular. 2．What is the core of the disagreement between UC Libraries and Elsevier? A．The duration of the contract. B．The way of payment. C．The charge for open access model. D．The choice of licensed journals. 3．What can be inferred from the passage? A．Academics welcome open access model with full heart. B．Open access model will soon achieve a dominant position. C．Publishers are willing to abandon the subscription model gradually. D．Establishing a true online public library of science requires joint efforts. 4．What is the author’s attitude towards the open access model? A．Critical. B．Supportive. C．Disapproving. D．Indifferent. Passage 7 In 2012, James Cameron, creator of Avatar and Titanic, became the first person to reach the Challenger Deep. When he arrived at the deepest spot on Earth at 7 miles below sea level, he spent hours mapping the region and taking photos and samples. “As human beings, we’re drawn to absolutes — the deepest, the highest, the coldest, the farthest,” he says. “And as a storyteller and curious monkey, I just wanted to see what was there.” The answer is obvious — plastic and more. “Our so-called civilization is using the ocean as its toilet,” Cameron says. “Unless this changes, ocean ecosystems are going to continue their rapid collapse.” Despite decades of environmental studies, the impact of plastic and other forms of pollution on oceans are not entirely understood. Initial studies appear to indicate that ingesting (摄取) them — either directly or indirectly — could cause disease. Plastics can also release poisonous substances into the water, which could potentially impact animal populations. But plastic is just one of the problems facing oceans that have yet to be fully understood. “Plastic waste in the ocean is horrifying but is only the most obvious of our many deadly waste streams, which include carbon that’s heating the atmosphere and making the ocean acidic, and the run-off nutrients from all the world’s agriculture, which is causing anoxic (缺氧的) dead zones the size of countries,” Cameron says. Oceans, like the rest of the world, are impacted by the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide — about 30 percent of which is absorbed by the sea. This absorption causes ocean acidification, where the pH level is altered to become more acidic. As a result, it’s harder for some creatures to form shells and skeletons and countless species at the base of the food web can struggle to survive, which, scientists say, has the potential to cause huge disruptions to entire ecosystems. Indeed, ocean acidification is thought to have played an important role in Earth’s worst-ever mass extinction event 252 million years ago. The effect of climate change on the world’s oceans will likely worsen in coming decades. Last June, scientists announced carbon dioxide levels had reached the highest levels since human records began. The last time carbon dioxide levels were this high was during the Pliocene era, between 3 and 5 million years ago, when global temperatures were about 4 degrees Celsius warmer than they are today. Current climate models suggest that if greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trend, we may be on course to see 4 degrees of warming by 2100. As a result, understanding the role oceans have on global systems is becoming more and more important. 1．What are the first two paragraphs mainly about? A．The author’s feelings to the ocean. B．Cameron’s movies and remarks. C．The author’s discoveries under the sea. D．Cameron’s observation and concern. 2．What does the underlined word “disruptions” in Paragraph 5 probably mean? A．Decreases. B．Destruction. C．Diseases. D．Discrimination. 3．Why does the author mention the mass extinction event 252 million years ago? A．To call on people to protect sea animals. B．To compare current situations with the past. C．To explain how serious the ocean problem is. D．To prove pollution to be the cause of acidification. 4．What can we infer from the passage? A．Several countries are suffering from anoxic dead zones. B．More concern should have been given to the pollution on oceans. C．Plastic is supposed to be the most serious environmental problem. D．Ocean acidification removes the nutrients from agricultural products. Passage 8 In a world of music streaming services, access to almost any song is just a few clicks away. Yet, the live performance lives on. People still fill sweaty basements, muddy fields and gilded concert halls to hear their favorite musicians play. And now neuroscientists might know why — live music engages the brain’s emotion centers more than its recorded counterpart. Concerts are immersive social experiences in which people listen to and feel the music together through crescendos, key changes and rhythmic drops. Moreover, they are dynamic — artists can adapt their playing according to the crowd’s reaction. It was this last difference that led neuroscientists, based at the Universities of Zurich and Oslo, to study the brain responses of people listening to music. In the “live” experiment, participants lay in an MRI scanner listening to the music through earphones, while a pianist was positioned outside the room. The pianist was shown the participant’s real-time brain activity as a form of feedback. In the recorded condition, participants listened to pre-recorded versions of the same tunes. The scientists were interested in how live music affected the areas of the brain responsible for processing emotions, particularly the amygdala, an area deep inside the brain. The results, just published in the journal PNAS, revealed that live music had a significantly greater emotional impact. Whether the music conveyed happiness or sadness, dynamic live performances led to increased activity not only in the amygdala but also other parts of the brain’s emotion processing network. The researchers also found that participants’ brain activity tracked the acoustic (声学的) features of the music, like tempo and pitch, far more closely when it was played live. While the study didn’t fully recreate the live concert experience, the findings suggest that artists’ ability to adjust their performance in real time contributes to the emotional resonance (共鸣) of live music. Some musical acts now attempt to recreate live concerts, such as ABBA Voyage, an immersive pre-recorded VR concert, but without artists’ capacity to read audience’s mood and respond accordingly, it will never quite match the real thing. 1．Why do people choose live shows over streaming music? A．To enjoy the unique live atmosphere. B．To meet favorite musicians in person. C．To escape the boredom of recorded music. D．To acquire a stronger emotional connection. 2．What did the PNAS study find about live music? A．It affected only the amygdala of the brain. B．It generated intense brain responses to sound elements. C．It had a weaker emotional effect than pre-recorded music. D．It strengthened emotions more in sad tunes than happy ones. 3．What can be a suitable title for the text? A．How Music Consumption Evolved in the Digital Age B．Why Your Brain Prefers Live Concerts to Streaming Songs C．Live Music vs. Recorded Music: A Neuroscientific Perspective D．ABBA Voyage: Redefining the Future of Virtual Concert Experiences Passage 9 For centuries, it has been debated whether beauty is an objective property of the physical world or a purely subjective experience. Today, the emerging field of neuroaesthetics (神经美学) attempts to resolve this by examining how the human brain processes aesthetic experiences. A crucial question in this field is whether the brain possesses a specific neural center dedicated to evaluating beauty across entirely different sensory areas, such as observing a masterpiece or listening to a symphony. To investigate this, researchers conducted a comprehensive neuroimaging meta-analysis. They accumulated data from numerous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) studies. The goal was to identify brain areas that activate similarly when subjects judge the beauty of different stimuli across sight, hearing, taste, and smell. By comparing these varied sensory inputs, the scientists aimed to isolate a cross-area neural mechanism (机制) responsible for all aesthetic judgments. When researchers analyzed the brain activity across multiple sensory channels, the results showed that the most important part of the brain for aesthetic evaluation was the anterior insula (前岛叶). Interestingly, this region is conventionally assumed to be associated with visceral (内脏的) feelings and negative emotions, rather than the high-level appreciation of fine art. Why would the specific brain structure responsible for detecting spoiled food also be the center for processing the beauty of a painting? Researchers have analyzed that aesthetic judgment is deeply evolutionary. At its core, aesthetics is a judgment of “valence” — a biological calculation determining whether a stimulus is beneficial (prompting an “approach” response) or harmful (triggering an “avoidance” response). The anterior insula functions as a central processing unit for both bodily sensations and emotions, closely monitoring how we feel inside our own bodies. This suggests that the human experience of beauty is deeply rooted in our primal, bodily sensations. When we encounter a breathtaking landscape or a moving piece of music, the anterior insula processes this as a highly positive visceral reward. On the contrary, ugly stimuli trigger the same region to produce dislike. Therefore, aesthetic appreciation is not merely a high-level cognitive function disconnected from biology; it is a direct extension of our basic survival neural network. In conclusion, this research significantly redefines our understanding of neuroaesthetics. It reveals that the brain does not utilize a specialized, isolated “art center”. Instead, it depends on ancient, survival-based neural networks to evaluate beauty. By demonstrating that the anterior insula serves as the shared neural basis for aesthetic evaluation across all sensory modes, the study proves that our highest cultural experiences are closely linked to our most basic biological instincts. 1．What can we learn from this passage? A．The human brain has a specialized neural center for art appreciation. B．Aesthetic experiences are independent of basic biological instincts. C．The anterior insula is mainly involved in negative emotional responses. D．Aesthetic judgment relies on ancient survival-based neural networks. 2．What does the word “valence” in Paragraph 4 refer to? A．The ability to create and appreciate fine art. B．The evolutionary history of human brain structure. C．The physical reaction to a breathtaking landscape. D．The biological judgment of whether a stimulus is good or bad. 3．What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage? A．To introduce the debate between philosophers on the nature of beauty. B．To explain how the anterior insula functions in processing negative emotions. C．To present research that redefines the understanding of neuroaesthetics. D．To compare different research methods in the field of neuroaesthetics. Passage 10 A group of blue-faced birds step through the grass shoulder to shoulder, red eyes looking around. They look like middle schoolers seeking a cafeteria table at lunchtime. Perhaps they’re not so different. A new study, led by Damien Farine, an ornithologist who studies collective behaviour, shows that the vulturine guineafowl of eastern Africa, like humans, have multilevel societies. In the past, scientists assumed such social structures required a lot of brainpower. But the pea-brained guineafowl are revealing the faults in that assumption. These large birds wander across the landscape in packs, often walking so closely that their bodies touch. They may fight each other to maintain their strict hierarchies (等级制度), but at other times they engage in friendly behaviours like sharing food. Suspecting the guineafowl might have a social structure, Dr. Farine and his colleagues began a thorough study of their society. For a whole year, they made daily observations of 441 birds. Coloured leg bands in unique combinations let researchers tell the black-and-blue birds apart. They also attached GPS devices to the backs of 58 birds, which let them see exactly where every group went, 24 hours a day. The findings of the research suggest that the vulturine guineafowl have a multilevel society. There are groups within groups within the population as a whole. There even seem to be groups of friends within the small groups. This is the first time anyone has observed such a society in a bird. And Dr. Farine emphasizes this particular bird's tiny brain size: “They don’t only have small brains relative to mammals (哺乳动物), they also have quite small brains relative to other birds,” he said. According to him, living in this kind of society might actually make it easier to keep track of the social order. For example, if groups are stable and a bird can identify just one or two individuals within a group, it knows which group it’s looking at — no need for a brain that can recognize every single animal. Multilevel societies also let animals adjust their group sizes based on whatever challenges they’re facing. Depending on what enemies or resources are around, it might make sense to travel in a combined group rather than a smaller one. “Having a multilevel structure may not require having a large brain,” Dr. Farine said. There may be more birds and other animals out there that, although small-brained, have societies as many-leveled as our own. 1．According to the passage, what inspired Dr. Farine to carry out the study? A．The guineafowl’s social behaviour. B．Previous assumptions about birds. C．His interest in animal brainpower. D．The faults in earlier research. 2．What is Paragraph 4 mainly about? A．The research subjects. B．The research methods. C．The research findings. D．The research equipment. 3．What can be learned from the passage? A．Complex social systems can be a disadvantage to the guineafowl. B．The guineafowl are good at recognizing individuals in a group. C．Birds maintain social order by travelling in combined groups. D．Small-brained animals can form multilevel societies. 4．What is the main purpose of the passage? A．To present the findings of a study of the guineafowl. B．To explain the interaction patterns in multilevel societies. C．To introduce a new approach to observing the guineafowl. D．To uncover clues about how complex societies are formed. Passage 11 Much remains a mystery about how we look at the world. People constantly move their eyes to fix their gazes on items of interest, making about two to four eye movements every second for some 150,000 motions daily, but it remains uncertain how we choose what to focus on. To investigate how much gaze might vary between people, the researchers had more than 100 adult volunteers seated at computers look at 700 pictures depicting everyday scenes with a variety of items. At the same time, cameras, pointed at the eyes of those participants, helped track their gazes to deduce what they were looking at in each picture. The scientists found that certain types of details, such as faces, text, food, moving objects or touched items, attracted the gazes of some observers more than others. For example, the fraction of a person’s eye movements directed toward faces varied from 17% to 43% among the volunteers. In other words, “the individual tendency to look at faces or text can vary more than twofold from one person to the next,” said study lead author Benjamin de Haas, a neuroscientist at Justus-Liebig University Giessen in Germany. Such trends also proved to be highly consistent — even when volunteers were called back for follow-up sessions two weeks afterward. “This implies the way we look at images is personal. What you see can be different from what I’m seeing, even if we look at exactly the same images,” de Haas said. “Often times, the human is treated as a passive device whose attention can be captured by the image,” said vision scientist Mary Hayhoe at the University of Texas at Austin. This work emphasizes that “in reality, humans are active seekers of information.” The researchers suggested these differences in gaze might have some genetic foundations. For example, they noted that two recent studies from the United States and Sweden found that identical twins had far more similar patterns of eye movements than fraternal (异卵的) twins did. The scientists now plan to explore what impact these differences may or may not have in the real world. “Let’s say your eyes have a particular tendency to be attracted by text,” de Haas said. “Does that mean you’re more easily distracted when driving past a billboard?” These findings suggest that eye-tracking might help reveal new ways to diagnose disorders such as autism, in which people tend to gaze at faces and social cues differently, the researchers said. “The earlier one can pick up on the fact that children are autistic, the earlier one can start them on therapy and training programs, which can prove really important,” Hayhoe said. 1．What can we learn about the eye-tracking experiment? A．Humans are passive receivers of images. B．The way humans look at images varies greatly. C．The pictures used were mainly about abstract items. D．Gaze patterns differed when retested after two weeks. 2．Why does the author mention Mary Hayhoe in Paragraph 5? A．To explain the experiment process. B．To introduce the research purpose. C．To illustrate a practical approach. D．To correct a common belief. 3．Recent studies from the United States and Sweden suggest that ______. A．genes may affect how people direct their eyes B．people’s eyes have a tendency to be attracted by text C．shared living environments make identical twins’ gaze patterns more similar D．fraternal twins have more similar gaze patterns than those of the general population 4．Which would be the best title for the passage? A．The Universal Language of Sight B．The Mystery of Rapid Eye Movements C．The Unique Gaze: We See Things Differently D．The Powerful Eye-tracking: We Detect Autism Early Passage 12 Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons — for example, economic reasons — why they should be preserved. So, let us assume (假设) that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed? In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own hometown of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area. It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt (破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative (保守的) and do not like change. Although we have to respect people’s feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward. If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different, even though that might be the more risky choice. 1．What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph? A．Most of them are too expensive to preserve. B．Some of them are not attractive. C．They are more pleasing than modern buildings. D．They have nothing to do with the historic feel of an area. 2．Which of the following is TRUE according to the author? A．We should reproduce the same old buildings. B．Buildings should not dominate their surroundings. C．No one understands why people speak against new buildings. D．Some old buildings have spoilt the area they are in. 3．By “move things forward” in the last paragraph, the author probably means . A．choose new architectural styles B．put things in a different place C．destroy old buildings D．respect people’s feelings for historical buildings 4．What is the main purpose of the passage? A．To explain why people dislike change. B．To warn that we should protect cultural relics. C．To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas. D．To admit how the old give way to the new. Passage 13 A video spread on social media earlier this year. It showed a tourist opening a car door, putting out an arm, and trying to touch lions that walked by. The lions pushed him away, but the situation could have become very dangerous easily. Thoughtless behaviour around wildlife risks the safety of both people and animals. People risk being attacked, mauled (撕咬) and possibly killed, while animals can be harmed, removed or put down, no matter whether they were only defending themselves. Animal attacks can also cast a destination in a negative light, causing temporary closures or scaring off visitors. All just so someone could boast that they had touched lions or captured a moment on a camera phone. “Tourists are getting more and more careless around wildlife and the source of the problem is social media.” says wildlife photographer Anette Mosshachers. “People risking their lives or doing stupid things with wildlife are after ’likes’ and followers, something to show off on social media,” says Mossbacher. “The greater the risk, the more ‘likes’ they get. With some clients, it seems like a sickness or addiction.” Yet social media is not entirely to blame. People have always taken risks for an experience. Foolish behavior and a tendency to get too saucy around dangerous animals must have been around since the dawn of humanity. A hunger for attention online might drive some of the current madness, but some individuals might be trying to recreate a piece of the action they have seen on television. Perhaps the adrenaline (肾上腺激素) rush when close to wild animals causes a loss of common sense. “There’s a worrying lack of awareness that animals several times our size, weight, speed and strength can easily hurt us,” says wildlife photographer David Lloyd. “I don’t think parks are doing enough to raise awareness. Tourists need to know how their presence can affect wildlife. A good example is cheetahs (猎豹) on vehicle rooftops. It may be a thrill for the bystanders, but the consequences if a mother cheetah falls off would be severe. She would no longer be able to hunt, so her babies could easily starve.” “People aren’t getting the education about why they need to stay away from wildlife, including avoiding diseases, keeping people secure and letting wildlife be wild,” says Philip Muruthi, vice president of species conservation and science for the African Wildlife Foundation. “We need to educate tourists through signs, leaflets and front-line drivers. We should stick to guidelines, and there needs to be enforcement through the law.” 1．What can we learn about thoughtless behaviour around wildlife? A．It harms tourists more than animals. B．It enables tourists to get intimate with animals. C．It may bring more profits to a tourist destination. D．It may get animals killed for defending themselves. 2．As for Mossbacher’s opinion on what drives people’s careless behavior, the author is ______. A．sympathetic B．disapproving C．doubtful D．indifferent 3．What does the underlined word “saucy” in Paragraph 4 probably mean? A．Selfish. B．Frightened. C．disrespectful. D．Shocked. 4．What can we conclude from the passage? A．Parks are expected to take more responsibilities for educating tourists. B．Raising tourists’ awareness means stressing the danger of animals to them. C．More regulation of the tourist industry is the key to raising tourists’ awareness. D．Punishment rather than education can stop people taking silly risks around wildlife. Passage 14 For centuries, technological advancement has persistently transformed the framework of global labor markets, fueling dramatic changes in the nature of work and the ways people make a living. While technological innovation has created enormous economic value, lifted living standards and brought great convenience to everyday life, its benefits have long been unevenly shared among diverse social groups and industries. Nowadays, artificial intelligence and digital platforms are changing work environments at an unmatched and fast-growing rate, sparking a fresh wave of labor market changes that goes well beyond conventional low-skilled positions. Even highly qualified professionals employed by top global tech firms are no longer shielded from this big change, as seen in repeated large-scale job cuts at major tech corporations in recent years. Nevertheless, the impact of technological change on employment is far from a one-sided narrative of job losses. As some traditional positions disappear with the rise of automation, a host of new job roles are springing up meanwhile, and entirely novel occupations are being born to match the demands of the digital era. These emerging opportunities open up alternative paths to economic prosperity for individuals who are willing to embrace change and adjust their career strategies. For today’s workforce, the capacity to update current skills or learn completely new abilities has become a key requirement for keeping steady jobs. A recent thorough review of millions of online job listings shows the pressing need for this skill upgrade: roughly one in ten job ads in developed economies and one in twenty in developing economies now require at least one latest new skill. Professional, technical and management posts have the highest demand for these upgraded skills, with tech - related jobs accounting for more than half of the total demand. Besides, field - specific skills are also in great demand — the healthcare industry needs more experts in remote care and digital health, while marketing jobs increasingly require skills in social media operation and data-based advertising. Unsurprisingly, such rapid labor market changes have sparked widespread anxiety among workers worldwide. With nearly 40 percent of global jobs vulnerable to AI-driven automation, fears over job displacement and shrinking opportunities for some groups are growing more acute. To ensure the gains from AI are broadly shared, governments have a duty to launch timely and comprehensive policy measures. These should include expanding access to lifelong learning, supporting workers in career shifts, and ensuring that the tax and social protection systems are adapted to a more dynamic economy. Only in this way can societies make the most of technological progress without leaving large numbers of people behind. 1．It can be inferred from the passage that the recent mass layoffs in major tech companies mainly result from A．the companies’ poor management and low efficiency. B．the impact of rapid technological change and the rise of AI. C．a sharp decline in global demand for digital products and services. D．workers’ lack of professional ethics and low productivity. 2．The underlined word “novel” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______. A．literary B．anxious C．responsible D．emerging 3．What can we infer from the passage? A．Filed - specific skills are more important than the latest new skills. B．High - skilled workers are free from facing job displacement. C．Lifelong learning is vital for workers to adapt to the labor market. D．Governments tend to require cooperation to provide lifelong learning opportunities. 4．What is the author’s main purpose in writing the passage? A．To analyze tech’s impact on labor markets and call for proper policies. B．To blame tech companies for mass job losses and technological innovation C．To introduce new high - paying jobs and effective ways to get promoted D．To reveal workers’ anxiety about AI development and offer suggestions Passage 15 Scientific papers are the recordkeepers of progress in research. Each year researchers publish millions of papers in more than 30,000 journals. The scientific community measures the quality of those papers in a number of ways, including the perceived quality of the journal (as reflected by the title’s impact factor) and the number of citations a specific paper accumulates. The careers of scientists and the reputation of their institutions depend on the number and prestige of the papers they produce, but even more so on the citations attracted by these papers. Citation cartels, where journals, authors, and institutions conspire (密谋) to inflate citation numbers, have existed for a long time. In 2016, researchers developed an algorithm to recognize suspicious citation patterns, including groups of authors that disproportionately cite one another and groups of journals that cite each other frequently to increase the impact factors of their publications. Recently, another expression of this predatory (掠夺性的) behavior has emerged: so-called support service consultancies that provide language and other editorial support to individual authors and to-journals sometimes advise contributors to add a number of citations to their articles. The appearance of electronic publishing and authors’ need to find outlets for their papers resulted in thousands of new journals. The birth of predatory journals wasn’t far behind. These journals can act as milk cows where every single article in an issue may cite a specific paper or a series of papers. In some instances, there is absolutely no relationship between the content of the article and the citations. The peculiar part is that the journal that the editor is supposedly working for is not profiting at all — it is just providing citations to other journals. Such practices can lead an article to accumulate more than 150 citations in the same year that it was published. How insidious (不易觉察的) is this type of citation manipulation? In one example, an individual — acting as author, editor, and consultant — was able to use at least 15 journals as citation providers to articles published by five scientists at three universities. The problem is rampant in Scopus, a citation database, which includes a high number of the new “international” journals. In fact, a listing in Scopus seems to be a criterion to be targeted in this type of citation manipulation. Scopus itself has all the data necessary to detect this misconduct. Red flags include a large number of citations to an article within the first year. And for authors who wish to distance themselves from citation cartel activities: when an editor, a reviewer, or a support service asks you to add inappropriate references, do not oblige and do report the request to the journal. 1．According to Paragraph 1, the careers of scientists can be determined by ________. A．how many citations their works contain B．how many times their papers are cited C．the prestige of the people they work with D．the status they have in scientific circles 2．The metaphor of “milk cow” in Paragraph 3 is used to ________. A．make a comparison B．illustrate a situation C．propose a solution D．highlight a problem 3．What does the underlined word “rampant” in Paragraph 4 probably mean? A．Urgent. B．Complex. C．Occasional. D．Severe. 试卷第1页，共3页 试卷第1页，共3页 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $