2025-2026学年高二下学期英语期末复习：阅读理解CD篇

**基本信息** 聚焦高二选择性必修3-4期末复习，通过10篇不同主题的CD篇阅读（40题），系统训练细节理解、推理判断等核心阅读技能，融合语言能力与思维品质培养。 **专项设计** |模块|题量/典例|题型特征|知识逻辑| |----|-----------|----------|----------| |科学探索类|2篇（海洋机器人/水下博物馆）|事实细节、目的推断|以科技应用为线索，考查因果关系分析| |社会生活类|3篇（绿色建筑/老年人养鸡/食物浪费）|观点态度、词义猜测|围绕社会问题，构建现象-影响-措施逻辑链| |文化发展类|2篇（悉尼城市变迁/旅行方式演变）|主旨归纳、推理判断|通过文化现象对比，培养批判性思维| |环保健康类|2篇（能源节约/心理健康）|细节理解、主旨概括|聚焦可持续发展，渗透人类命运共同体意识| |跨学科应用类|1篇（建筑与嘻哈/出租车颜色与安全）|数据解读、推理判断|融合多学科知识，提升信息整合能力|

高二下学期期末复习专题 Selective Compulsory Book 3 & Book 4 阅读理解CD篇 一 C Scientists in England are using two self-directed water vehicles to explore the animal and plant life of the Celtic Sea. The Celtic Sea is a body of water off the southern coast of Ireland. The area is known for its unusual sea life. Scientists want to know why sea creatures are so attracted to this part of the Atlantic Ocean. One of the research vehicles is powered by batteries(电池). It collects information for the National Oceanography Center in Southampton, England, and the World Wildlife Fund. The vehicle’s low energy requirements permit it to stay floating on water for up to 30 days. Reports of what it finds in the Celtic Sea are sent by satellite. Stephen Woodward is an engineer who helped design the vehicle. He says the vehicle has equipment that can discover small organisms called zooplankton(浮游动物)and fish. He adds that other sensing equipment measures water currents and other features of sea life. The vehicle also creates a map of the sea. Another vehicle is powered by the sun and the wind. It can stay floating on water for months. The robotic vehicle sends information about the so-called biodiversity hotspots. A biodiversity hotspot is an area of an ocean that has a lot of plant and animal life activity. Lavinia Suberg is one of the scientists studying the Celtic Sea. She says productive ocean areas, like the Celtic Sea, attract zooplankton. The zooplankton then attracts fish. She adds that areas with a large increase of fish often attract sea mammals and birds. Using these robotic ocean vehicles greatly reduces the cost of exploring the sea with manned laboratories. Scientists can spend more time analyzing the collected information. They say the research will give them a better understanding of the needs of the Celtic Sea for future management and protection. 8. Why do the British scientists explore the Celtic Sea? A. To study the geography of the sea. B. To learn why the sea is rich in sea life. C. To test their self-directed water vehicles. D. To learn about the sea creatures in the sea. 9. According to the text, the water vehicles . A. are controlled directly by humans B. work depending on the map of the sea C. can send the information back directly D. can keep floating on water for a long time 10. According to Lavinia Suberg, what do we know about the sea mammals and birds? A. They are afraid of living alone. B. They mainly feed on zooplankton. C. They like to live in warm ocean areas. D. They are especially interested in fish. 11. What is the last paragraph mainly about? A. The aim of sea exploration. B. The cost of exploring the sea. C. The importance of the water vehicles. D. Ways to deal with the collected information. D Given the recent interest in green buildings in the media, let's think differently. Instead of focusing on increasing the supply of energy, what if we focus on reducing demand? Can we start with ending the open-door practice of street-front shops? While cool air from these shops is refreshing to pedestrians, it carries a cost. Energy is used in the air conditioning process. So it must be possible to look for changes in regulations that would encourage more energy-saving designs. For instance, if we fix ceiling fans, air-conditioning homes could surely be avoided for part of the year. Ceiling fans use far less energy. They were common in buildings before air conditioners were available. I wonder how many hours in a year air conditioners could stay if ceiling fans were fixed. In homes built under the small-house policy in New Territories, the ceiling may be too low for ceiling fans. If the 9-metre maximum building height regulation were relaxed, ceiling fans could be fixed to reduce energy use. Current thinking in sustainable building design and operation involves integrated(协调统一的) design; that is, bring together all parties to create a building with better performance that achieves energy reduction. For integrated design to succeed, all parties must come together and think beyond each person's circle of influence. Better solutions are impossible to avoid with integrated design. Buildings would no longer be engineered after the basic architecture was built. Positive project outcomes may include reduced air-conditioning load, reduced power use for electric lighting, and a reduction in the amount of materials used. We need to ask if we are ready to look beyond our own small circles and seek an improved approach to building design. By that I mean an integrated design resulting in more sustainable buildings. 12. What’s the author's attitude towards the open-door practice of the street shops? A. Supportive. B. Disapproving. C. Optimistic. D. Uncaring. 13. Why does the author suggest fixing ceiling fans? A. To follow an old practice. B. To help reduce energy use. C. To completely replace air conditioners. D. To help cut down on daily expenses. 14. What’s the key to making sustainable buildings a reality? A. All parties should get started at the same time. B. The basic architecture should be finished first. C. Proper design and performance to achieve energy reduction. D. Seeking the small-house policy and some successful architects. 15. What would be the best title for the text? A. Waste Less, Live Better B. Goodbye, Air Conditioning C. How to Reduce the Energy Cost D. Green Buildings Call for Integrated Design 二 C Sometime in the early 1960s, a significant thing happened in Sydney, Australia. The city discovered its harbor. Then, one after another, Sydney discovered lots of things that were just sort of there—broad parks, superb beaches, and a culturally diverse population. But it is the harbor that makes the city. Andrew Reynolds, a cheerful fellow in his early 30s, pilots Sydney ferryboats for a living. I spent the whole morning shuttling back and forth across the harbor. After our third run Andrew shut down the engine, and we went our separate ways—he for a lunch break, I to explore the city. “I'll miss these old boats,” he said as we parted. “How do you mean?” I asked. “Oh, they’re replacing them with catamarans. Catamarans are faster, but they’re not so elegant, and they’re not fun to pilot. But that's progress, I guess.” Everywhere in Sydney these days, change and progress are the watchwords(口号), and traditions are increasingly rare. Shirley Fitzgerald, the city’s official historian, told me that in its rush to modernity in the 1970s, Sydney swept aside much of its past, including many of its finest buildings. “Sydney is confused about itself,” she said. “We can’t seem to make up our minds whether we want a modern city or a traditional one. It’s a conflict that we aren’t getting any better at resolving(解决).” On the other hand, being young and old at the same time has its attractions. I considered this when I met a thoughtful young businessman named Anthony. “Many people say that we lack culture in this country,” he told me. “What people forget is that the Italians, when they came to Australia, brought 2000 years of their culture, the Greeks some 3000 years, and the Chinese more still. We’ve got a foundation built on ancient cultures but with a drive and dynamism of a young country. It’s a pretty hard combination to beat.” He is right, but I can't help wishing they would keep those old ferries. 8. What is the first paragraph mainly about? A. Sydney’s striking architecture. B. The cultural diversity of Sydney. C. The key to Sydney's development. D. Sydney's tourist attractions in the 1960s. 9. What can we learn about Andrew Reynolds? A. He goes to work by boat. B. He looks forward to a new life. C. He pilots catamarans well. D. He is attached to the old ferries. 10. What does Shirley Fitzgerald think of Sydney? A. It is losing its traditions. B. It should speed up its progress. C. It should expand its population. D. It is becoming more international. 11. Which statement will the author probably agree with? A. A city can be young and old at the same time. B. A city built on ancient cultures is more dynamic. C. modernity is usually achieved at the cost of elegance. D. Compromise should be made between the local and the foreign. D For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet planes fly people from one end of the earth to the other，allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago. Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest(征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured(忍受). The boat offers enough leisure time to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow window of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly. Then there is the time spent being “processed” at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passengers move to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being “processed” at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines. Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. Speed controls people's lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing—or so we are told.Perhaps those first horsemen, riding freely across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today. They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master. 12. What does the writer try to express in Paragraph 1? A. Travel by plane has speeded up the growth of villages. B. The speed of modern travel has made distances relatively short. C. The freedom of movement has helped people realize their dreams. D. Man has been fond of traveling rather than staying in one place. 13. How does the writer support the underlined statement in Paragraph 2? A. By giving instructions. B. By analyzing cause and effect. C. By following the order of time. D. By giving examples. 14. What does the last sentence of the passage mean? A. They could enjoy free and relaxing travel. B. They needed the clock to tell the time. C. They preferred traveling on horseback. D. They could travel with their master. 15. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Air travel benefits people and industries. B. Train travel has some advantages over air travel. C. Great changes have taken place in modern travel. D. The high speed of air travel is gained at a cost. 三 C British sculptor Jason Taylor has made it his mission to use his talent to conserve our ecosystems by creating underwater museums. Over the years, the environmentalist has put over 850 massive artworks underwater worldwide. On February 1,2021, Taylor launched his latest work The Underwater Museum of Cannes. “The main goal was to bring attention to the fact that our oceans need our help,” Taylor told Dezeen, an architecture and design magazine. “Ocean ecology has been destroyed by human activity in the Mediterranean over the past few decades, and it is not obvious what is taking place when observing the sea from afar.” The Underwater Museum of Cannes contains 6 sculptures featuring local residents of various ages. They range from Maurice, an 80-year-old fisherman, to Anouk, a 9-year-old student. Towering over 6 feet and weighing 10 tons, the faces are sectioned into two parts, with the outer part like a mask. The mask indicates that the world's oceans appear powerful and unbeatable from the surface but house an ecosystem that is extremely fragile(脆弱的) due to careless human activity. Though the waters surrounding the sculptures now appear a pristine blue, the seabed was filled with old boat engines, pipes, and other human-made trash when the project began about four years ago. Besides removing the trash, Taylor also restored the area’s seagrass. Just one square meter of the seagrass can generate up to 10 liters of oxygen daily. The seagrass also helps prevent coastal erosion(腐蚀) and provides habitats for many ocean creatures. “The idea of creating an underwater museum was to draw more people to the underwater environment and develop a sense of care and protection,” Taylor told Dezeen. “If we threw unwanted waste near a forest, there would be a public outcry(强烈的抗议). But this is happening every day in our surrounding waters and it largely goes unnoticed.” 8. What are the underwater museums intended to do? A. To make huge profits. B. To raise awareness of protecting the ocean. C. To show Jason Taylor’s talent. D. To draw attention to endangered sea animals. 9. Why does the outer part of the sculptures look like a mask? A. To popularize the features of the locals. B. To remind people to protect themselves. C. To reflect people's protection of the ocean. D. To stress the sensitiveness of the ecosystem. 10. What’s Paragraph 4 mainly about? A. How the project was started. B. How the seagrass was restored. C. What recovery effort the project made. D. Why the sculptures were removed. 11. What can we infer from what Jason Taylor said in the last paragraph? A. The situation of the ocean is easily ignored. B. The destruction of the ocean is noticeable. C. Forests play a more important role in ecosystems. D. People have zero tolerance of damage done to nature. D Like most of us, I try to be mindful of food that goes to waste. The arugula(芝麻菜) was to make a nice green salad, rounding out a roast chicken dinner. But I ended up working late. Then friends called with a dinner invitation. I stuck the chicken in the freezer. But as days passed, the arugula went bad. Even worse, I had unthinkingly bought way too much; I could have made six salads with what I threw out. In a world where nearly 800 million people a year go hungry, “food waste goes against the moral grain,” as Elizabeth Royte writes in this month’s cover story. It’s jaw-dropping how much perfectly good food is thrown away—from “ugly” (but quite eatable) vegetables rejected by grocers to large amounts of uneaten dishes thrown into restaurant garbage cans. Producing food that no one eats wastes the water, fuel, and other resources used to grow it. That makes food waste an environmental problem. In fact, Royte writes, “if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world.” If that's hard to understand, let’s keep it as simple as the arugula at the back of my refrigerator. Mike Curtin sees my arugula story all the time－but for him, it's more like 12 boxes of donated strawberries nearing their last days. Curtin is CEO of DC Central Kitchen in Washington. D. C., which recovers food and turns it into healthy meals. Last year it recovered more than 807,500 pounds of food by taking donations and collecting blemished(有瑕疵的) produce that otherwise would have rotted in fields. And the strawberries? Volunteers will wash, cut, and freeze or dry them for use in meals down the road. Such methods seem obvious, yer so often we just don’t think. “Everyone can play a part in reducing waste, whether by not purchasing more food than necessary in your weekly shopping or by asking restaurants to not include the side dish you won’t eat.” Curtin says. 12. What does the author want to show by telling the arugula story? A. We pay little attention to food waste. B. We waste food unintentionally at times. C. We waste more vegetables than meat. D. We have good reasons for wasting food. 13. What is a consequence of food waste according to the text? A. Moral decline. B. Environmental harm. C. Energy shortage. D. Worldwide starvation. 14. What does Curtin’s company do? A. It produces kitchen equipment. B. It turns rotten arugula into clean fuel. C. It helps local farmers grow fruits. D. It makes meals out of unwanted food. 15. What does Curtin suggest people do? A. Buy only what is needed. B. Reduce food consumption. C. Go shopping once a week. D. Eat in restaurants less often. 四 C The elderly residents(居民) in care homes in London are being given hens to look after to stop them feeling lonely. The project was dreamed up by a local charity(慈善组织) to reduce loneliness and improve elderly people’s well-being. It is also being used to help patients suffering dementia, a serious illness of the mind. Staff in care homes have reported a reduction in the use of medicine where hens are in use. Among those taking part in the project is 80-year-old Ruth Xavier. She said: “I used to keep hens when I was younger and had to prepare their breakfast each morning before I went to school.” “I like the project a lot. I am down there in my wheelchair in the morning letting the hens out and down there again at night to see they've gone to bed.” “It’s good to have a different focus. People have been bringing their children in to see the hens and residents come and sit outside to watch them. I’m enjoying the creative activities, and it feels great to have done something useful.” There are now 700 elderly people looking after hens in 20 care homes in the North East, and the charity has been given financial support to roll it out countrywide. Wendy Wilson, extra care manager at 60 Penfold Street, one of the first to embark on the project, said: “Residents really welcome the idea of the project and the creative sessions. We are looking forward to the benefits and fun the project can bring to people here.” Lynn Lewis, director of Notting Hill Pathways, said: “We are happy to be taking part in the project. It will really help connect our residents through a shared interest and creative activities.” 8. What is the purpose of the project? A. To ensure harmony in care homes. B. To provide part-time jobs for the aged. C. To raise money for medical research. D. To promote the elderly people's welfare. 9. How has the project affected Ruth Xavier? A. She has learned new life skills. B. She has gained a sense of achievement. C. She has recovered her memory. D. She has developed a strong personality. 10. What do the underlined words “embark on” mean in Paragraph 7? A. Improve. B. Oppose. C. Begin. D. Evaluate. 11. What can we learn about the project from the last two paragraphs? A. It is well received. B. It needs to be more creative. C. It is highly profitable. D. It takes ages to see the results. D When it comes to mental illness, many people often find it tough to get the help they need. This is especially true for young students making the transition(过渡) to college life. “Sometimes, students don't realize how hard it is to adjust to college,” said Laura Smith, associate dean of students at the University of Texas at Dallas. “You’re not the big fish in your classes anymore; you have all kinds of personal stress; you’re away from home. Dealing with these things is not easy.” Students who are going through these problems sometimes want to reach out. But if students don’t feel comfortable seeking help, many feel that it’s the responsibility of their university to help them. “I really wish that there was more importance placed on how counseling(咨询) centers help students,” said Connie Trinh. “Counseling services are just as important as academics and sports.” Trinh, 27, graduated from Texas Woman’s University in 2015. During college, she hosted various workshops on how to handle mental health conditions. Trinh used her own story to connect with students who might be facing similar problems.High academic pressures，cultural differences as an Asian American and stressful social situations stood out as some of the most common causes of Trinh’s anxiety. It was only after years of personal problems that she could admit that reaching out isn’t a sign of weakness. “If you feel you can’t connect with other people around you, you should address the issue without shame,” Trinh said. “You'll find that there are a lot of people out there who sincerely want to help you.” 12. The passage can be seen as the author's reflections upon . A. college life B. counseling service C. mental health D. cultural differences 13. What’s Trinh’s preferred solution to the problems mentioned? A. Making self-criticism. B. Handling the problems actively. C. Solving the problems on your own. D. Finding the causes of the problems. 14. What does the underlined phrase “connect with” in the last paragraph probably mean? A. Get along with. B. Join together with. C. Be related to. D. Get through to. 15. What can we learn from the passage? A. Counseling service helps doing research. B. Adjusting to college life is a piece of cake. C. Hosting workshops improves students' ability. D. Being brave to get help is not a sign of weakness. 五 C When Mike Ford was a kid, he dreamed of being a car designer.But when he was 11, things changed. That’s when he went to a car-design programme and ended up learning about architecture instead. “As a youngster, I was lucky enough to have some conversations with the people running that summer programme,” he told Time For Kids. Talking with designers there stimulated(激发) Ford's interest in architecture. He went on to pursue it as a career. Now Ford hopes to inspire the same interest in other young people. Last year, he launched his own architecture programme for kids aged 10 to 17. But his programme has an unexpected feature. Campers base their designs on hip-hop lyrics. Ford’s goal is to inspire a new generation of architects from underrepresented communities. “Only 3% of architects are African American,” he said. “Most of our buildings, most of our parks and public spaces, have all been designed by white males. If we can increase diversity, the entire world will now start to experience space from a totally new perspective.” Ford calls his programme the Hip-Hop Architecture Camp. The one-week camp is offered to students around the country. At the camp, students listen to and read the lyrics of hip hop songs. Then they use some of those lyrics to guide them in planning a city block. On graph paper, each square represents a word. Students build with Lego on each square based on the number of syllables(音节) in each word. In the end, they have what looks like a city skyline. Kids then use a design program called Tinkercad to transform their Lego models into 3D digital versions. Ford believes this approach helps campers learn that architecture is about more than just construction. “The architect’s Number 1 job is to serve people’s needs,” he says. “Architecture plays a critical role in determining or challenging how people live in certain communities.” 8. What made Ford change his dream of being a car-designer? A. Participation in a programme. B. Lack of talent for car-designing. C. Desire for a more promising career. D. Conversation with architecture designers. 9. What is Ford’s architecture programme aimed at? A. Appealing to young people. B. Popularizing hip-hop music. C. Promoting diversity in the field. D. Connecting music with architecture. 10. If you heard “beautiful”, how many blocks would you use on the square? A. 1. B. 2. C. 3. D. 4. 11. What’s Ford’s opinion about architecture? A. It determines people's needs. B. It influences people's lifestyles. C. It is just about building things. D. It is about adding more buildings. D A recent study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore(NUS) has found a clear link between the color of a taxi and its accident rate. An analysis of 36 months of detailed taxi, driver and accident data from two fleets of yellow and blue taxis in Singapore suggested that yellow taxis have fewer accidents than blue taxis. The higher visibility(能见度) of yellow makes it easier for drivers to avoid getting into accidents with yellow taxis, leading to a lower accident rate. The study was led by Prof Ho. To test whether there was a causal relationship between the color of a taxi and the number of accidents the taxi had, the research team analysed data collected by the largest taxi company in Singapore.The researchers found that yellow taxis have about 6.1 fewer accidents per 1,000 taxis per month. The researchers also studied the economic effect of changing the color of the entire fleet of taxis to yellow.The Singapore taxi company involved in the study owns about 16,700 taxis in a ratio(比例) of one yellow to three blue taxis.If a commercial decision is made to switch from blue to yellow taxis, 76.6 fewer accidents would occur per month or 917 fewer accidents per year.Assuming an average repair cost of $1,000 per car and a downtime of six days, switching the color of all taxis to yellow could produce an annual savings of $2 million. “We are eager to continue to confirm the findings of our study by looking at the use of yellow in other types of public transport, such as school buses. For instance, we hope to compare the accident rates of yellow school buses against other colors to find out if yellow is indeed a safer color for school buses. Besides, we are also interested to look at private-hire vehicles and do a comparison of the accident rates of vehicles that are of different colors,” explained Prof Ho. 12. Why do yellow taxis result in fewer accidents? A. Yellow can be seen more easily. B. Yellow signals a warning of danger. C. Drivers tend to be more careful in yellow taxis. D. People act more quickly in yellow surroundings. 13. What’s Prof Ho's study based on? A. Physical risks taxi passengers experience. B. The economic effect of changing taxi color. C. Data from Singapore's largest taxi company. D. Personal reports from taxi drivers worldwide. 14. What do Prof Ho's words in the last paragraph suggest? A. School buses should be painted yellow. B. Their findings are worth popularizing. C. Yellow should be widely used in public transport. D. Their study will be furthered. 15. What can be the best title for the text? A. Caution：Yellow Taxis Ahead B. Safer to Ride in Yellow Taxis C. Why Are Yellow Taxis Preferred? D. How Can Colors Help Prevent Accidents? 1 / 4 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $ 高二下学期期末复习专题 Selective Compulsory Book 3 & Book 4 阅读理解CD篇 一 C Scientists in England are using two self-directed water vehicles to explore the animal and plant life of the Celtic Sea. The Celtic Sea is a body of water off the southern coast of Ireland. The area is known for its unusual sea life. Scientists want to know why sea creatures are so attracted to this part of the Atlantic Ocean. One of the research vehicles is powered by batteries(电池). It collects information for the National Oceanography Center in Southampton, England, and the World Wildlife Fund. The vehicle’s low energy requirements permit it to stay floating on water for up to 30 days. Reports of what it finds in the Celtic Sea are sent by satellite. Stephen Woodward is an engineer who helped design the vehicle. He says the vehicle has equipment that can discover small organisms called zooplankton(浮游动物)and fish. He adds that other sensing equipment measures water currents and other features of sea life. The vehicle also creates a map of the sea. Another vehicle is powered by the sun and the wind. It can stay floating on water for months. The robotic vehicle sends information about the so-called biodiversity hotspots. A biodiversity hotspot is an area of an ocean that has a lot of plant and animal life activity. Lavinia Suberg is one of the scientists studying the Celtic Sea. She says productive ocean areas, like the Celtic Sea, attract zooplankton. The zooplankton then attracts fish. She adds that areas with a large increase of fish often attract sea mammals and birds. Using these robotic ocean vehicles greatly reduces the cost of exploring the sea with manned laboratories. Scientists can spend more time analyzing the collected information. They say the research will give them a better understanding of the needs of the Celtic Sea for future management and protection. 8. Why do the British scientists explore the Celtic Sea? A. To study the geography of the sea. B. To learn why the sea is rich in sea life. C. To test their self-directed water vehicles. D. To learn about the sea creatures in the sea. 9. According to the text, the water vehicles . A. are controlled directly by humans B. work depending on the map of the sea C. can send the information back directly D. can keep floating on water for a long time 10. According to Lavinia Suberg, what do we know about the sea mammals and birds? A. They are afraid of living alone. B. They mainly feed on zooplankton. C. They like to live in warm ocean areas. D. They are especially interested in fish. 11. What is the last paragraph mainly about? A. The aim of sea exploration. B. The cost of exploring the sea. C. The importance of the water vehicles. D. Ways to deal with the collected information. D Given the recent interest in green buildings in the media, let's think differently. Instead of focusing on increasing the supply of energy, what if we focus on reducing demand? Can we start with ending the open-door practice of street-front shops? While cool air from these shops is refreshing to pedestrians, it carries a cost. Energy is used in the air conditioning process. So it must be possible to look for changes in regulations that would encourage more energy-saving designs. For instance, if we fix ceiling fans, air-conditioning homes could surely be avoided for part of the year. Ceiling fans use far less energy. They were common in buildings before air conditioners were available. I wonder how many hours in a year air conditioners could stay if ceiling fans were fixed. In homes built under the small-house policy in New Territories, the ceiling may be too low for ceiling fans. If the 9-metre maximum building height regulation were relaxed, ceiling fans could be fixed to reduce energy use. Current thinking in sustainable building design and operation involves integrated(协调统一的) design; that is, bring together all parties to create a building with better performance that achieves energy reduction. For integrated design to succeed, all parties must come together and think beyond each person's circle of influence. Better solutions are impossible to avoid with integrated design. Buildings would no longer be engineered after the basic architecture was built. Positive project outcomes may include reduced air-conditioning load, reduced power use for electric lighting, and a reduction in the amount of materials used. We need to ask if we are ready to look beyond our own small circles and seek an improved approach to building design. By that I mean an integrated design resulting in more sustainable buildings. 12. What’s the author's attitude towards the open-door practice of the street shops? A. Supportive. B. Disapproving. C. Optimistic. D. Uncaring. 13. Why does the author suggest fixing ceiling fans? A. To follow an old practice. B. To help reduce energy use. C. To completely replace air conditioners. D. To help cut down on daily expenses. 14. What’s the key to making sustainable buildings a reality? A. All parties should get started at the same time. B. The basic architecture should be finished first. C. Proper design and performance to achieve energy reduction. D. Seeking the small-house policy and some successful architects. 15. What would be the best title for the text? A. Waste Less, Live Better B. Goodbye, Air Conditioning C. How to Reduce the Energy Cost D. Green Buildings Call for Integrated Design 二 C Sometime in the early 1960s, a significant thing happened in Sydney, Australia. The city discovered its harbor. Then, one after another, Sydney discovered lots of things that were just sort of there—broad parks, superb beaches, and a culturally diverse population. But it is the harbor that makes the city. Andrew Reynolds, a cheerful fellow in his early 30s, pilots Sydney ferryboats for a living. I spent the whole morning shuttling back and forth across the harbor. After our third run Andrew shut down the engine, and we went our separate ways—he for a lunch break, I to explore the city. “I'll miss these old boats,” he said as we parted. “How do you mean?” I asked. “Oh, they’re replacing them with catamarans. Catamarans are faster, but they’re not so elegant, and they’re not fun to pilot. But that's progress, I guess.” Everywhere in Sydney these days, change and progress are the watchwords(口号), and traditions are increasingly rare. Shirley Fitzgerald, the city’s official historian, told me that in its rush to modernity in the 1970s, Sydney swept aside much of its past, including many of its finest buildings. “Sydney is confused about itself,” she said. “We can’t seem to make up our minds whether we want a modern city or a traditional one. It’s a conflict that we aren’t getting any better at resolving(解决).” On the other hand, being young and old at the same time has its attractions. I considered this when I met a thoughtful young businessman named Anthony. “Many people say that we lack culture in this country,” he told me. “What people forget is that the Italians, when they came to Australia, brought 2000 years of their culture, the Greeks some 3000 years, and the Chinese more still. We’ve got a foundation built on ancient cultures but with a drive and dynamism of a young country. It’s a pretty hard combination to beat.” He is right, but I can't help wishing they would keep those old ferries. 8. What is the first paragraph mainly about? A. Sydney’s striking architecture. B. The cultural diversity of Sydney. C. The key to Sydney's development. D. Sydney's tourist attractions in the 1960s. 9. What can we learn about Andrew Reynolds? A. He goes to work by boat. B. He looks forward to a new life. C. He pilots catamarans well. D. He is attached to the old ferries. 10. What does Shirley Fitzgerald think of Sydney? A. It is losing its traditions. B. It should speed up its progress. C. It should expand its population. D. It is becoming more international. 11. Which statement will the author probably agree with? A. A city can be young and old at the same time. B. A city built on ancient cultures is more dynamic. C. modernity is usually achieved at the cost of elegance. D. Compromise should be made between the local and the foreign. D For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet planes fly people from one end of the earth to the other，allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago. Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest(征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured(忍受). The boat offers enough leisure time to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow window of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly. Then there is the time spent being “processed” at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passengers move to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being “processed” at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines. Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. Speed controls people's lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing—or so we are told.Perhaps those first horsemen, riding freely across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today. They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master. 12. What does the writer try to express in Paragraph 1? A. Travel by plane has speeded up the growth of villages. B. The speed of modern travel has made distances relatively short. C. The freedom of movement has helped people realize their dreams. D. Man has been fond of traveling rather than staying in one place. 13. How does the writer support the underlined statement in Paragraph 2? A. By giving instructions. B. By analyzing cause and effect. C. By following the order of time. D. By giving examples. 14. What does the last sentence of the passage mean? A. They could enjoy free and relaxing travel. B. They needed the clock to tell the time. C. They preferred traveling on horseback. D. They could travel with their master. 15. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Air travel benefits people and industries. B. Train travel has some advantages over air travel. C. Great changes have taken place in modern travel. D. The high speed of air travel is gained at a cost. 三 C British sculptor Jason Taylor has made it his mission to use his talent to conserve our ecosystems by creating underwater museums. Over the years, the environmentalist has put over 850 massive artworks underwater worldwide. On February 1,2021, Taylor launched his latest work The Underwater Museum of Cannes. “The main goal was to bring attention to the fact that our oceans need our help,” Taylor told Dezeen, an architecture and design magazine. “Ocean ecology has been destroyed by human activity in the Mediterranean over the past few decades, and it is not obvious what is taking place when observing the sea from afar.” The Underwater Museum of Cannes contains 6 sculptures featuring local residents of various ages. They range from Maurice, an 80-year-old fisherman, to Anouk, a 9-year-old student. Towering over 6 feet and weighing 10 tons, the faces are sectioned into two parts, with the outer part like a mask. The mask indicates that the world's oceans appear powerful and unbeatable from the surface but house an ecosystem that is extremely fragile(脆弱的) due to careless human activity. Though the waters surrounding the sculptures now appear a pristine blue, the seabed was filled with old boat engines, pipes, and other human-made trash when the project began about four years ago. Besides removing the trash, Taylor also restored the area’s seagrass. Just one square meter of the seagrass can generate up to 10 liters of oxygen daily. The seagrass also helps prevent coastal erosion(腐蚀) and provides habitats for many ocean creatures. “The idea of creating an underwater museum was to draw more people to the underwater environment and develop a sense of care and protection,” Taylor told Dezeen. “If we threw unwanted waste near a forest, there would be a public outcry(强烈的抗议). But this is happening every day in our surrounding waters and it largely goes unnoticed.” 8. What are the underwater museums intended to do? A. To make huge profits. B. To raise awareness of protecting the ocean. C. To show Jason Taylor’s talent. D. To draw attention to endangered sea animals. 9. Why does the outer part of the sculptures look like a mask? A. To popularize the features of the locals. B. To remind people to protect themselves. C. To reflect people's protection of the ocean. D. To stress the sensitiveness of the ecosystem. 10. What’s Paragraph 4 mainly about? A. How the project was started. B. How the seagrass was restored. C. What recovery effort the project made. D. Why the sculptures were removed. 11. What can we infer from what Jason Taylor said in the last paragraph? A. The situation of the ocean is easily ignored. B. The destruction of the ocean is noticeable. C. Forests play a more important role in ecosystems. D. People have zero tolerance of damage done to nature. D Like most of us, I try to be mindful of food that goes to waste. The arugula(芝麻菜) was to make a nice green salad, rounding out a roast chicken dinner. But I ended up working late. Then friends called with a dinner invitation. I stuck the chicken in the freezer. But as days passed, the arugula went bad. Even worse, I had unthinkingly bought way too much; I could have made six salads with what I threw out. In a world where nearly 800 million people a year go hungry, “food waste goes against the moral grain,” as Elizabeth Royte writes in this month’s cover story. It’s jaw-dropping how much perfectly good food is thrown away—from “ugly” (but quite eatable) vegetables rejected by grocers to large amounts of uneaten dishes thrown into restaurant garbage cans. Producing food that no one eats wastes the water, fuel, and other resources used to grow it. That makes food waste an environmental problem. In fact, Royte writes, “if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world.” If that's hard to understand, let’s keep it as simple as the arugula at the back of my refrigerator. Mike Curtin sees my arugula story all the time－but for him, it's more like 12 boxes of donated strawberries nearing their last days. Curtin is CEO of DC Central Kitchen in Washington. D. C., which recovers food and turns it into healthy meals. Last year it recovered more than 807,500 pounds of food by taking donations and collecting blemished(有瑕疵的) produce that otherwise would have rotted in fields. And the strawberries? Volunteers will wash, cut, and freeze or dry them for use in meals down the road. Such methods seem obvious, yer so often we just don’t think. “Everyone can play a part in reducing waste, whether by not purchasing more food than necessary in your weekly shopping or by asking restaurants to not include the side dish you won’t eat.” Curtin says. 12. What does the author want to show by telling the arugula story? A. We pay little attention to food waste. B. We waste food unintentionally at times. C. We waste more vegetables than meat. D. We have good reasons for wasting food. 13. What is a consequence of food waste according to the text? A. Moral decline. B. Environmental harm. C. Energy shortage. D. Worldwide starvation. 14. What does Curtin’s company do? A. It produces kitchen equipment. B. It turns rotten arugula into clean fuel. C. It helps local farmers grow fruits. D. It makes meals out of unwanted food. 15. What does Curtin suggest people do? A. Buy only what is needed. B. Reduce food consumption. C. Go shopping once a week. D. Eat in restaurants less often. 四 C The elderly residents(居民) in care homes in London are being given hens to look after to stop them feeling lonely. The project was dreamed up by a local charity(慈善组织) to reduce loneliness and improve elderly people’s well-being. It is also being used to help patients suffering dementia, a serious illness of the mind. Staff in care homes have reported a reduction in the use of medicine where hens are in use. Among those taking part in the project is 80-year-old Ruth Xavier. She said: “I used to keep hens when I was younger and had to prepare their breakfast each morning before I went to school.” “I like the project a lot. I am down there in my wheelchair in the morning letting the hens out and down there again at night to see they've gone to bed.” “It’s good to have a different focus. People have been bringing their children in to see the hens and residents come and sit outside to watch them. I’m enjoying the creative activities, and it feels great to have done something useful.” There are now 700 elderly people looking after hens in 20 care homes in the North East, and the charity has been given financial support to roll it out countrywide. Wendy Wilson, extra care manager at 60 Penfold Street, one of the first to embark on the project, said: “Residents really welcome the idea of the project and the creative sessions. We are looking forward to the benefits and fun the project can bring to people here.” Lynn Lewis, director of Notting Hill Pathways, said: “We are happy to be taking part in the project. It will really help connect our residents through a shared interest and creative activities.” 8. What is the purpose of the project? A. To ensure harmony in care homes. B. To provide part-time jobs for the aged. C. To raise money for medical research. D. To promote the elderly people's welfare. 9. How has the project affected Ruth Xavier? A. She has learned new life skills. B. She has gained a sense of achievement. C. She has recovered her memory. D. She has developed a strong personality. 10. What do the underlined words “embark on” mean in Paragraph 7? A. Improve. B. Oppose. C. Begin. D. Evaluate. 11. What can we learn about the project from the last two paragraphs? A. It is well received. B. It needs to be more creative. C. It is highly profitable. D. It takes ages to see the results. D When it comes to mental illness, many people often find it tough to get the help they need. This is especially true for young students making the transition(过渡) to college life. “Sometimes, students don't realize how hard it is to adjust to college,” said Laura Smith, associate dean of students at the University of Texas at Dallas. “You’re not the big fish in your classes anymore; you have all kinds of personal stress; you’re away from home. Dealing with these things is not easy.” Students who are going through these problems sometimes want to reach out. But if students don’t feel comfortable seeking help, many feel that it’s the responsibility of their university to help them. “I really wish that there was more importance placed on how counseling(咨询) centers help students,” said Connie Trinh. “Counseling services are just as important as academics and sports.” Trinh, 27, graduated from Texas Woman’s University in 2015. During college, she hosted various workshops on how to handle mental health conditions. Trinh used her own story to connect with students who might be facing similar problems.High academic pressures，cultural differences as an Asian American and stressful social situations stood out as some of the most common causes of Trinh’s anxiety. It was only after years of personal problems that she could admit that reaching out isn’t a sign of weakness. “If you feel you can’t connect with other people around you, you should address the issue without shame,” Trinh said. “You'll find that there are a lot of people out there who sincerely want to help you.” 12. The passage can be seen as the author's reflections upon . A. college life B. counseling service C. mental health D. cultural differences 13. What’s Trinh’s preferred solution to the problems mentioned? A. Making self-criticism. B. Handling the problems actively. C. Solving the problems on your own. D. Finding the causes of the problems. 14. What does the underlined phrase “connect with” in the last paragraph probably mean? A. Get along with. B. Join together with. C. Be related to. D. Get through to. 15. What can we learn from the passage? A. Counseling service helps doing research. B. Adjusting to college life is a piece of cake. C. Hosting workshops improves students' ability. D. Being brave to get help is not a sign of weakness. 五 C When Mike Ford was a kid, he dreamed of being a car designer.But when he was 11, things changed. That’s when he went to a car-design programme and ended up learning about architecture instead. “As a youngster, I was lucky enough to have some conversations with the people running that summer programme,” he told Time For Kids. Talking with designers there stimulated(激发) Ford's interest in architecture. He went on to pursue it as a career. Now Ford hopes to inspire the same interest in other young people. Last year, he launched his own architecture programme for kids aged 10 to 17. But his programme has an unexpected feature. Campers base their designs on hip-hop lyrics. Ford’s goal is to inspire a new generation of architects from underrepresented communities. “Only 3% of architects are African American,” he said. “Most of our buildings, most of our parks and public spaces, have all been designed by white males. If we can increase diversity, the entire world will now start to experience space from a totally new perspective.” Ford calls his programme the Hip-Hop Architecture Camp. The one-week camp is offered to students around the country. At the camp, students listen to and read the lyrics of hip hop songs. Then they use some of those lyrics to guide them in planning a city block. On graph paper, each square represents a word. Students build with Lego on each square based on the number of syllables(音节) in each word. In the end, they have what looks like a city skyline. Kids then use a design program called Tinkercad to transform their Lego models into 3D digital versions. Ford believes this approach helps campers learn that architecture is about more than just construction. “The architect’s Number 1 job is to serve people’s needs,” he says. “Architecture plays a critical role in determining or challenging how people live in certain communities.” 8. What made Ford change his dream of being a car-designer? A. Participation in a programme. B. Lack of talent for car-designing. C. Desire for a more promising career. D. Conversation with architecture designers. 9. What is Ford’s architecture programme aimed at? A. Appealing to young people. B. Popularizing hip-hop music. C. Promoting diversity in the field. D. Connecting music with architecture. 10. If you heard “beautiful”, how many blocks would you use on the square? A. 1. B. 2. C. 3. D. 4. 11. What’s Ford’s opinion about architecture? A. It determines people's needs. B. It influences people's lifestyles. C. It is just about building things. D. It is about adding more buildings. D A recent study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore(NUS) has found a clear link between the color of a taxi and its accident rate. An analysis of 36 months of detailed taxi, driver and accident data from two fleets of yellow and blue taxis in Singapore suggested that yellow taxis have fewer accidents than blue taxis. The higher visibility(能见度) of yellow makes it easier for drivers to avoid getting into accidents with yellow taxis, leading to a lower accident rate. The study was led by Prof Ho. To test whether there was a causal relationship between the color of a taxi and the number of accidents the taxi had, the research team analysed data collected by the largest taxi company in Singapore.The researchers found that yellow taxis have about 6.1 fewer accidents per 1,000 taxis per month. The researchers also studied the economic effect of changing the color of the entire fleet of taxis to yellow.The Singapore taxi company involved in the study owns about 16,700 taxis in a ratio(比例) of one yellow to three blue taxis.If a commercial decision is made to switch from blue to yellow taxis, 76.6 fewer accidents would occur per month or 917 fewer accidents per year.Assuming an average repair cost of $1,000 per car and a downtime of six days, switching the color of all taxis to yellow could produce an annual savings of $2 million. “We are eager to continue to confirm the findings of our study by looking at the use of yellow in other types of public transport, such as school buses. For instance, we hope to compare the accident rates of yellow school buses against other colors to find out if yellow is indeed a safer color for school buses. Besides, we are also interested to look at private-hire vehicles and do a comparison of the accident rates of vehicles that are of different colors,” explained Prof Ho. 12. Why do yellow taxis result in fewer accidents? A. Yellow can be seen more easily. B. Yellow signals a warning of danger. C. Drivers tend to be more careful in yellow taxis. D. People act more quickly in yellow surroundings. 13. What’s Prof Ho's study based on? A. Physical risks taxi passengers experience. B. The economic effect of changing taxi color. C. Data from Singapore's largest taxi company. D. Personal reports from taxi drivers worldwide. 14. What do Prof Ho's words in the last paragraph suggest? A. School buses should be painted yellow. B. Their findings are worth popularizing. C. Yellow should be widely used in public transport. D. Their study will be furthered. 15. What can be the best title for the text? A. Caution：Yellow Taxis Ahead B. Safer to Ride in Yellow Taxis C. Why Are Yellow Taxis Preferred? D. How Can Colors Help Prevent Accidents? 1 / 4 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $