高考英语阅读理解专项训练——科技类(附详解

发布时间：2021-06-05

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

2009高考英语阅读理解专项训练——科技类

(1)

With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.

Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.

It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.

This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.

The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.

“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.

“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”

1. The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

A. make efforts to clone the endangered pandas

B. save endangered animals from dying out

C. collect DNA of endangered animals to study

D. transfer the nuclear of one animal to another

2. According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.

A. available panda eggs

C. qualified researchers B. host animals D. enough money

3. The best title for the passage may be _______.

A. China’s Success in Pandas Cloning

B. The First Cloned Panda in the World

C. Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas

D. China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever

4. From the passage we know that _______.

A. Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog

B. scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit

C. Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches

D. about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century

【答案解析】

本文讲述中国正在竭力克隆濒临绝种的熊猫，这和Texas A & M University 的Noah's Ark(诺亚方舟)工程极为相似，都是想拯救濒临灭绝的动物。

1. B。语义理解题。从第2段内容可知，“诺亚方舟”工程的目标是把濒临灭绝的动物的蛋(卵)、胚胎、精液和DNA储存在液体氮中，如果某一种动物濒临灭绝时，将来可以重现这一动物。

2. A。细节题。从第6段第1句话 The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available (capable of being used ) panda eggs could be a major problem 可以做出正确判断。

3. C。主旨题。从文章内容来看，无论是中国还是世界克隆熊猫还没有成功，所以排除

A、B项；D项内容明显与文章内容不符，故排除。所以“探索克隆熊猫的可能性”应该是

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

这篇文章的标题。

4. D。判断题。此题B项的干扰性较强，但由于它没有说明是Chinese scientists，所以应排除。A、C项明显与原文不符。根据文章第3段第1句可知答案非D莫属。

(2)

Want a glance of the future of health care? Take a look at the way the various networks of people about patient care are being connected to one another, and how this new connectivity is being exploited to deliver medicine to the patient —no matter where he or she may be.

Online doctors offering advice based on normal symptoms(症状) are the most obvious example. Increasingly, however, remote diagnosis(远程诊断) will be based on real physiological data(生理数据) from the actual patient. A group from the University of Kentucky has shown that by using personal data assistance plus a mobile phone, it is perfectly practical to send a patient’s important signs over the telephone. With this kind of equipment, the cry asking whether there was a doctor in the house could well be a thing of the past.

Other medical technology groups are working on applying telemedicine to rural(countryside) care. And at least one team wants to use telemedicine as a tool for disaster need—especially after earthquakes. On the whole, the trend is towards providing global access to medical data and experts’ opinions.

But there is one problem. Bandwidth(宽带) is the limiting factor for sending complex(复杂的) medical pictures around the world — CT photos being one of the biggest bandwidth users. Communication satellites may be able to deal with the short-term needs during disasters such as earthquakes or wars. But medicine is looking towards both the second-generation Internet and third-generation mobile phones for the future of remote medical service.

Doctors have met to discuss computer-based tools for medical diagnosis, training and telemedicine. With the falling price of broadband communications, the new technologies should start a new time when telemedicine and the sharing of medical information, experts’ opinions and diagnosis are common.

1. The writer chiefly talks about _______.

A. the use of telemedicine

C. medical care and treatment B. the on-lined doctors D. communication improvement

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

2. The basis of remote diagnosis will be _______.

A. personal data assistance

B. some words of a patient

C. real physiological information

D. medical pictures from the Internet

3. Which of the following statements is true according to the text？

A. Patients don’t need doctors in hospitals any more.

B. It is impossible to send a patient’s signs over the telephone.

C. Many teams use telemedicine dealing with disasters now.

D. Broadband communications will become cheaper in the future.

4. The “problem” in the fourth paragraph refers to the fact that _______.

A. bandwidth isn’t big enough to send complex medical pictures

B. the second-generation of Internet has not become popular yet

C. communication satellites can only deal with short-term needs

D. there is not enough equipment for spreading the medical care

【答案解析】

本文主要讲述人们将来可以通过网上看病，医生可以根据病人的生理数据做出远程诊断。随着第二代因特网和第三代移动手机为将来的远程医疗服务，尤其是宽带网交流价格的下降，远程医疗和医药信息、专家意见和诊断共享将成为家常便饭。

1. A。主旨题。第2段和第3段的内容，可知最佳答案为A。

2. C。细节题。从第2段第2句话中的…remote diagnosis(远程诊断) will be based on real physiological data(生理数据) from the actual patient 可以做出正确判断。

3. D。判断题。网上可以看病并不就是说病人去医院不需要医生，排除A项；通过电话发送病人的信息是可行的，排除B项；现在至少有一个医疗队想用远程医疗来治疗疾病，C项也不对；根据文章最后一句话With the falling price of broadband communications, the new technologies should start a new time when telemedicine and the sharing of medical information, experts’ opinions and diagnosis are common 可以肯定答案是D。

4. A。推断题。根据第4段第2句话 Bandwidth(宽带) is the limiting factor for sending complex(复杂) medical pictures around the world — CT photos being one of the biggest

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

bandwidth users可知答案为A。

(3)

Scientists are uncovering the secrets of two port cities lost under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, a researcher said yesterday.

Herakleion and Menouthis were rich and proud cities until something reduced them to rubble (碎石) and buried them in the mud beneath 30 feet of sea water, French underwater explorer Franck Goddio said at the American Geophysical Union conference.

“This is a mystery that is ongoing,” said Goddio, a founder of the European Institute of Marine Archeology, a Paris-based underwater research organization backed by the wealthy Hilti Foundation of Liechtenstein(列支敦士登基金会).

The destruction of the twin port cities has haunted Goddio ever since he happened upon the site about 15 miles from Alexandria while exploring sunken ships from Napoleon’s fleet.

Goddio and his group of expert divers, marine archeologists(海洋考古学家) and others, are using high powered vacuums, satellite navigation systems and sophisticated sonar(声纳) to excavate(挖掘) the sunken cities from underneath a carpet of silt about one meter (three feet) high.

Walls of shops, remains of streets and gold artifacts have been found and recovered.

Some experts believe that the port cities were destroyed by a series of massive earthquakes, much like the quakes scientists believe felled Troy(特洛伊城), Jericho and other ancient cities. The uniform direction of the collapsed columns and walls suggest an earthquake, Goddio said, but no fault lines have been found nearby.

Other researchers believe a massive wave, caused by either an offshore earthquake or a distant underwater landslide, could explain the catastrophe. Still others think rising seas and a shift in the Nile River outlet doomed the cities.

“The argument, as you can see, continues,” Goddio said.

1. The reason why the two port cities disappeared under the waters of Mediterranean Sea is that ______.

A. the two port cities were destroyed by huge earthquakes

B. the disappearance of the two port cities was caused by underwater landslide

C. rising seas and a shift in the Nile River outlet doomed the cities

D. the story didn’t tell us at all

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

2. From the story we can draw a conclusion that _______.

A. the two port cities were famous for their wealth and the mystery

B. the two cities belonged to France

C. some mysterious creatures from other planets destroyed the two cities

D. the American Geophysical Union conference was once held in one of the two cities

3. This article is probably from _______.

A. a scientific magazine

B. a report to the government

C. a school text book

D. a scientific report in a newspaper

【答案解析】

本文报道了人们对法国地中海中的两座城市沉如海底的各种推测。

1. D。推断题。文章只对城市下沉的原因作了一些推测但未作出结论。由此可推知此题答案为D。

2. B。推断题。根据文章中所提到的与之相关的名称，如：French underwater explorer Franck Goddio, a Paris-based underwater research organization, Napoleon’s fleet可推知此题答案为B。

3. D。推断题。文章讨论地中海中的两座城市下沉的原因，显然与地质科学有关，故选D。注意不宜选A，一个显然的因素是第1段中出现的yesterday。

(4)

Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙) , U.S. reseachers reported on Thursday.

Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s(早老痴呆症). University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.

“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕) are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective (保护神经的) effects,”

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

Kinsley said.

“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”

Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline.

“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.

“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变) to the brain.”

1. How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?

A. Some researchers have told them.

B. Many women say so.

C. They know it by experimenting on rats.

D. They know it through their own experience.

2. What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?

A. Baby rats. B. Animals. C. Old rats. D. Grown-up rats.

3. What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?

A. Estrogen.

B. The hormones of pregnancy. D. Taking care of children. C. More exercise.

4. “It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals.” What does the sentence suggest?

A. The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans.

B. The experiments on the rats are very important for animals.

C. The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans.

D. The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals.

5. Which title is the best for this passage?

A. Do You Want to Be Smarter?

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

B. Motherhood Makes Women Smarter

C. Mysterious Hormones

D. An Important Study

【答案解析】

本文介绍了一个观点：母性特点能使妇女变得更加聪明灵敏。

1. C。细节题。根据Tests on rats show… 可知科学家是通过做老鼠实验得出这个结论的。

2. A。词义猜测题。后面的对比who have no babies，实际上提供了一个相反的情况，所以我们可以推测those who raise two or more litters of pups中的litters of pups指的是“刚出生不久的小老鼠”。

3. B。细节题。根据文章第 3 段中的 …the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕) are protecting the brain可得出答案。

4. C。句意理解题。科学家通过用老鼠做实验来说明人的问题。因为人和老鼠都属于哺乳动物，很多生理机能都相同。

5. B。主旨题。短文第 1 句 Motherhood may make women smarter 是主题句，据此我们可以得出答案。

(5)

To get cash out in the 21st century, you won’t need a bank card, a PIN(个人识别编号) or even have to move a finger. You will simply have to look the cash machine straight in the eye, declares National Cash Registers, a multinational company that makes automated teller machines, or ATMs. NCR has shown its first example machine that is believed to be the future of banking. Instead of asking you for your PIN on a screen, the Super Teller-Stella for short, asks you orally through a loudspeaker to look straight ahead while an infrared camera turns to your head, then your eye, and finally takes an infrared photograph of your iris(虹膜). For identification(识别) purposes, an iris picture is better than a fingerprint, with around 256 noticeable characteristics compared with 40 for fingerprints. This means that the chances of someone else being recognized in your place is about 1 in 1020. Once you’ve been identified, Stella greets you by name and says: “Would you like cash or a statement?” An infrared port allows the machine to send a bank statement straight to your pocket computer.

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

1. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A. A new medical instrument

B. A new type of talking machine.

C. A new type of cash machine.

D. National Cash Register

2. What is this new machine called?

A. Stella B. ATM C. PIN D. NCR

3. When you want to get cash out in the 21st century, you will _______.

A. need a bank card

C. move your finger

【答案解析】

本文介绍了自动取款机的新型的识别储户方法。

1. C。主旨题。阅读全文可知本文介绍的是新型取款机的设计原理及工作方式，故选 C。

2. A。细节题。根据 Instead of asking you for your PIN on a screen, the Super Teller-Stella for short, asks you orally… 及 Once you’ve been identified, Stella greets you by name and says… 可知答案为 A。

3. D。细节题。根据 To get cash out in the 21st century, you won’t need a bank card, a PIN or even have to move a finger. You will simply have to look the cash machine straight in the eye,…可知仅仅径直看着取款机就可以了，故选答案 D。

(6)

Weather changes when the temperature and the amount of water in the atmosphere change. We can see and feel water coming from the atmosphere when we have rain. But the water must somehow get back to the atmosphere. Meteorologists call this the water cycle.

There are many stages in the water cycle. Rain falls when water vapour in clouds condenses(凝结). Drops of water form and fall to the ground. The water soaks into the ground and feeds streams and rivers. A lot of rain falls into the sea. The heat of the sun evaporates some of the water in the ground and in the rivers, lakes, and the sea. It changes the liquid water into water vapour. The vapour rises onto the air. Water vapour is normally invisible. On a very damp or

B. have to put in your PIN D. just look directly at the teller machine

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

humid day, however, you can sometimes see water vapour rising from a puddle(水坑) or pond in a mist(薄雾) above the water. Water vapour also gets into the air from living things. Trees and other plants take in water through their roots and give off water vapour from their leaves. People and land animals drink water and breathe out water vapour. In all these ways the water returns to the air. There it gathers to form clouds and condenses to form rain. The rain falls to earth, and the cycle starts again. It continues even if snow or hail(冰雹) fall instead because both eventually melt to form water. The amount of water vapour in the air depends on the temperature. The air is more moist(潮湿) in the tropics(热带) than in the cold polar regions.

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Water cycle. B. Water vapour.

C. How rain forms. D. Water, vapour, rain.

2. How many ways of the water returning to the air are discussed in the text?

A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five.

3. Whether water vapour can be seen or not depends on _______.

A. how much water is evaporated B. how good your eyes are

C. in which way water is evaporated D. climate or weather

4. From the passage we get to know _______.

A. there is more water vapour in the air in the tropics than in cold polar regions

B. there is more water vapour in the air in cold polar region than in the tropics

C. it gets more rain in the tropics than in cold polar regions because there is less vapour

D. the amount of water vapour in the air depends on how often it rains

【答案解析】

本文阐述了水循环的全过程。

1. A。主旨题。文章第1段，特别是最后一句Meteorologists call this the water cycle. 已点明主题。

2. B。判断题。读完第2段，不难发现水返回空中的方式有3种：第1种是太阳蒸发地面上的水使之变成水蒸气返回空中；第2种是树和植物释放出的水蒸气；第3种是人和动物呼出的水蒸气。

3. D。语义理解题。从第2段第9句话On a very damp or humid day, however, you can

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

sometimes see water vapour rising from a puddle(水坑) or pond in a mist(薄雾) above the water. 可以找到为什么。

4. A。判断题。根据最后一句话The air is more moist(潮湿) in the tropics(热带) than in the cold polar regions 可知答案。

(7)

Technology is the application(应用) of knowledge to production. Thanks to modern technology, we have been able to increase greatly the efficiency of our work force. New machines and new methods have helped cut down time and expense while increasing overall output. This has meant more production and a higher standard of living. For most of us in America, modern technology is thought of as the reason why we can have cars and television sets. However, technology has also increased the amount of food available to us, by means of modern farming machinery and animal breeding techniques, and has extended our life span via(通过) medical technology.

Will mankind continue to live longer and have a higher quality of life? In large measure the answer depends on technology and our ability to use it widely. If we keep making progress as we have over the past fifty years, the answer is definitely yes. The advancement of technology depends upon research and development, and the latest statistics(统计) show that the United States is continuing to pump billions of dollars annually(每年) into such efforts. So while we are running out of some scarce resources(少的资源) we may well find technological substitutes(代用品)for many of them through our research programs.

Therefore, in the final analysis the three major factors of production(land, labor and capital) are all influenced by technology. When we need new skills, on techniques in medicine, people will start developing new technology to meet those needs. As equipment proves to be slow or inefficient, new machines will be invented. Technology responds to our needs in helping us maintain our standard of living.

1. What is the best title for the passage?

A. The definition of technology B. Modern technology

D. The development of technology C. The application of technology

2. Which is the main idea of the passage?

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

A. Modern technology is the key to the improvement of standard of living.

B. The three major factors of production (land, labor and capital) are all influenced by technology.

C. Technology is the response to our needs.

D. The United States is making great efforts to advance its technology.

3. According to the passage, people can live a long life with the help of _______.

A. higher quality of life B. medical technology

D. technological substitute C. modern farming machinery

【答案解析】

“科学技术是生产力”是这篇文章的主题。

1. B。主旨题。文章的主要笔墨是用在科学技术的作用上，所以答案应选B。

2. A。主旨题。文章最后一句Technology responds to our needs in helping us maintain our standard of living 就是主题句。

3. B。判断题。从文章第2段第2句话…the answer depends on technology and our ability to use it widely 可以肯定答案选B。

(8)

Space travel is definitely bad for astronauts’ bones, reducing their bone density(密度) after only a month of weightlessness, according to French research published on Friday.

Laurence Vico and his fellow workers at St Etienne University called for more research into the effects of microgravity, after their study of 15 astronauts from the Russian MIR station showed bone loss continued throughout space flights.

“Bone loss was especially striking in four astronauts, ” the scientists reported in the Lancet Medical Journal.

They measured the bone mineral density (BMD) of bones in the forearm(前臂) and lower leg of the astronauts who had spent one to six months in space.

The BMD loss was significant in the tibia(胫骨) of the lower leg, a weight-bearing bone, but barely changed in the radius(桡骨) of the forearm. “Our results indicate the need to investigate not

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

only different bones, but also different areas of the same bone since not all sites of the skeleton (骨架) are similarly affected by space conditions, ” they added.

Without gravity the body isn’t bearing any weight so there is no need for calcium (钙) which makes bones strong, and it becomes empty into the bloodstream.

The research team suggested in future scientists should try to determine if the loss of bone density was only on weight-bearing bones on longer flights, also the possible recovery after returning to Earth.

1. French scientists did their research on Russian astronauts, because _______.

A. they only cared for the Russian astronauts

B. they were not interested in their own astronauts

C. the Russian government invited them to do their research

D. the Russian astronauts worked in space for a long time

2. Scientists have found that _______.

A. the BMD loss may cause serious illness to astronauts

B. the BMD loss may cause some change in astronauts’ bodies

C. astronauts shouldn’t care about the BMD loss

D. astronauts should take some calcium before space travel

3. What cause the BMD loss to astronauts, according to this passage?

A. The food they eat in space.

C. The temperature in space. B. The drinks they take in space. D. The gravity in space.

4. In the third paragraph, the word “striking” means ______.

A. unusual

【答案解析】

本文介绍了法国对太空宇航员长期在太空飞行，会使骨里的密度减少而对骨不利的研究。

1. D。细节题。根据文章第4段的定语从句who had spent one to six months in space可推知此题答案为D。

2. B。细节题。根据文章第5段第1句The BMD loss was significant in the tibia(胫骨) of the lower leg, a weight-bearing bone可推知此题答案为B。

B. simple C. weak D. slow

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

3. D。细节题。根据文章第6段Without gravity…所引起的结果，可推知此题答案为D。

4. A。词义猜测题。上文提到对十五人进行研究表明在整个航行过程中骨损在继续，下文再说especially striking，可知是“特别明显”的事，因此选A。

(9)

Some spiders hunt on the ground, others build webs to trap their food, but the grass water spider catches its prey by running along the surface of the water.

This special water spider lives on the grassy banks of streams where mosquitoes, damsel flies and other insects come to feed and breed.

Although it is one of the largest spiders in New Zealand, it has an unusual ability. It doesn’t disturb the water as it waits for its meal, and there is barely a ripple(波纹) when it skims(掠过) across the surface at lightning speed to catch its prey.

Grass water spiders deal swiftly with larger insects like damsel flies by pulling their heads under the water and holding them there until they drown.

After a meal, the grass water spider spends up to half an hour grooming(修饰) itself. It wipes its eight eyes, brushes its antennae(触角), and takes special care to clean the hairs on its body.

It is the hairs that trap tiny bubbles(泡沫) of air so that the spider can run down a blade(叶片) of grass and stay underwater for up to an hour when it is frightened. The hairs also keep the spider dry, even underwater.

It is only when the female spider is caring for the young that she does not hunt on the water. After mating, she produces a large egg sac(囊), which she carries around for five weeks. Once the eggs start to hatch, she attaches the sac to some blades of grass or a thistle. She then tears the sac open and releases the tiny spiders into the nursery web.

1. How does the grass water spider kill its prey?

A. in a web B. by drowning C. by poisoning D. with its antennae

2. the writer describes the special spider as “special” because _______.

A. it walks on water

B. it has eight eyes D. of the way it produces its young C. of its hairy appearance

3. The passage tells us that the spider ______.

A. feeds grass and thistles to its young.

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

B. lives on blades of grass under the water

C. lives in the grass on the banks of streams

D. eats a meal once every five weeks

4. The purpose of the passage is to _______.

A. convince readers that spiders are dangerous

B. indicate that the grass water spider is endangered

C. list all of the spiders that can be found in New Zealand

D. describe the characteristics of the grass water spider

【答案解析】

本文介绍了一种水蜘蛛的生活情况。

1. B。细节题。根据文章第4段描述by pulling their heads under the water and holding them there until they drown.可推知此题答案为B。

2. A。细节题。根据文章第1段后面的并列分句by running along the surface of the water.可推知此题答案为A。

3. C。细节题。根据文章第2段第1句This special water spider lives on the grassy banks of streams可推知此题答案为C。

4. D。主旨题。主文主要介绍了这种水蜘蛛的生活情况，由此可知作者的目的是要读者了解水蜘蛛的特征，所以选D。

(10)

Perhaps the most famous theory, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Ray Birdwhistell. He believes that physical appearance is often culturally programmed. In other words, we learn our looks—we are not born with them. A baby has generally informed face features. A baby, according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around-family and friends. This helps explain why the people of some areas of the United States look so much alike, new Englanders or Southerners have certain common face features that cannot be explained by genetics(遗传学). The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth, it is learned after. In fact, the final mouth shape is not formed until well after new teeth are set. For many, this can be well into grown-ups. A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look alike.

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

We learn our looks from those around us. This is perhaps why in a single country area where people smile more than those in other areas. In the United States, for example, the South is the part of the country where the people smile most frequently. In New England they smile less, and in the western part of New York State still less. Many southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly, partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Georgia. People in Atlanta, Georgia. People in largely populated areas also smile and greet each other in public less than people in small towns do.

1. Ray Birdwhistell believes that physical appearance _______.

A. has little to do with culture

B. has much to do with culture

C. is ever changing

D. is different from place to place

2. According to the passage, the final mouth shape is formed _______.

A. before birth B. as soon as one’s teeth are newly set

D. around 15 years old C. sometime after new teeth are set

3. Ray Birdwhistell can tell what area of the United States a person is from by _______.

A. how much he or she laughs

C. what he or she likes best B. how he or she raises his or her eyebrows D. the way he or she talks

4. This passage might have been taken out of a book dealing with ________.

A. physics B. chemistry

【答案解析】

本文介绍了人的面目不是生来注定，而是后天习得的理论。

1. B。细节题。根据文章第2句physical appearance is often culturally programmed可推知此题答案为B。

2. C。细节题。根据文章中间的句子the final mouth shape is not formed until well after new teeth are set可推知此题答案为 C。

3. A。推断题。根据文章末尾部分对各个地方人笑的多少的归纳可推知此题答案为A。

4. D。推断题。根据文章的内容与选项的比较，发现选项A、B、C与文章内容毫无关系，从而可推知此题答案为D。

C. biology D. none of the above

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(11)

Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors(探测器) to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times? No, the robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any. So we would probably program it to stop its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning.

According to evolutionary(进化的) theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny that sleep provides some important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in a familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.

The evolutionary theory explain the differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers.

1. The author uses the example of the robot in space exploration to tell us _______.

A. the differences between robots and men

B. the reason why men need to sleep

C. about the need for robots to save power

D. about the danger of men working at night

2. Evolution has programmed man to sleep at night chiefly to help him ______.

A. keep up a regular pattern of life

B. prevent trouble that comes looking for him

C. avoid danger and inefficient labor

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

D. restore his bodily functions

3. Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

A. Evolution has equipped all creatures with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking.

B. The study of sleep is an important art of the evolutionary theory.

C. Sleeping patterns must be taken into consideration in the designing of robots.

D. The sleeping pattern of a living creature is determined by the food it eats.

【答案解析】

本文介绍了有关睡觉进化论方面的知识。

1. B。推断题。根据文章第2段第1句evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason可推知此题答案为B。

2. C。推断题。根据文章第2段第3句when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous可推知此题答案为C。

3. A。推断题。根据文章第2段第1句和第3段第1句可推知此题答案为 A。

(12)

Believe it or not, optical illusion(错觉) can cut highway crashes.

Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. But stripes, called chevrons(人字形), painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.

Now the American Automobile Association Foundation(基金会) for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C. is planning to repeat Japan’s success. Starting next year, the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.

Excessive (too great) speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents, according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards (danger) are the greatest curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.

Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as

高考英语阅读理解专项训练

drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.

Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.

1. The passage mainly discusses ________.

A. a new way of highway speed control

B. a new pattern for painting highways

C. a new way of training drivers

D. a new type of optical illusion

2. On roads painted with chevrons, drivers tend to feel that ________.

A. they should avoid speed-related hazards

B. they are driving in the wrong lane

C. they should slow down their speed

D. they are coming near to the speed limit

3. The advantage of chevrons over straight, horizontal bars is that the former ________.

A. can keep drivers awake B. can cut road accidents in half