题组一（2019年高考真题）
Passage1(2019·新课标卷II，B)
“You canuse me as a last resort(选择), and if nobody else volunteers，then I will doit.” This was an actual reply from a parent after I put out a request for volunteersfor my kids lacrosse(长曲棍球)club.
I guess that there’s probably some demandingwork schedule, or social anxiety around stepping up to help for an unknownsport. She may just need a little persuading. So I try again and tug at theheartstrings. I mention the single parent with four kids running the show and Italk about the dad coaching a team that his kids aren’t even on … At this pointthe unwilling parent speaks up,“Alright. Yes, I’ll do it.”
I’m secretly relieved because I know there’sreal power in sharing volunteer responsibilities among many. The unwillingparent organizes the meal schedule, sends out emails, and collects money forend-of-season gifts. Somewhere along the way, the same parent ends up becomingan invaluable member of the team. The coach is able to focus on the kids whilethe other parents are relieved to be off the hook for another season. Handingout sliced oranges to bloodthirsty kids can be as exciting as watching your ownkid score a goal.
Still, most of us volunteers breathe a sigh ofrelief when the season comes to a close. That relief is coupled with a deepunderstanding of why the same people keep coming back for more: Connecting tothe community(社区)as you freely give your time, money, skills, or services providesa real joy. Volunteering just feels so good.
In that sense, I’m pretty sure volunteering ismore of a selfish act than I’d freely like to admit. However, if others benefitin the process, and I get some reward too, does it really matter where mymotivation lies?
24. What can we inferabout the parent from her reply in paragraph l？
A. She knows little about the club.
B. She isn’t good at sports.
C. She just doesn’t want to volunteer.
D. She’s unable to meet her schedule.
25. What does theunderlined phrase“tug at the heartstrings”in paragraph 2mean ?
A. Encourage team work.
B. Appeal to feeling.
C. Promote good deeds.
D. Provide advice.
26. What can we learnabout the parent from paragraph 3?
A. She gets interested in lacrosse.
B. She is proud of her kids.
C. She’ll work for another season.
D. She becomes a good helper.
27. Why does theauthor like doing volunteer work?
A. It gives her a sense of duty.
B. It makes her very happy.
C. It enables her to work hard.
D. It brings her material rewards.
Passage2(2019·北京卷，B)
Alice Moore is a teenager entrepreneur(创业者), whoin May 2015 set up her business AilieCandy. By the time she was 13，hercompany was worth millions of dollars with the invention of a super-sweet treatthat could save kids’ teeth，instead of destroying them.
It all began when Moore visited a bank with herdad. On the outing, she was offered a candy bar. However, her dad reminded herthat sugary treats were bad for her teeth. But Moore was sick of missing out oncandies. So she desired to get round the warning, "Why can’t I make ahealthy candy that’s good for my teeth so that my parents can’t say no toit?" With that in mind, Moore asked her dad if she could start her own candycompany. He recommended that she do some research and talk to dentists aboutwhat a healthier candy would contain.
With her dad’s permission, she spent the nexttwo years researching online and conducting trials to get a recipe that wasboth tasty and tooth-friendly. She also approached dentists to learn more aboutteeth cleaning. Consequently, she succeeded in making a kind of candy onlyusing natural sweeteners, which can reduce oral bacteria.
Moore then used her savings to get her businessof the ground. Afterwards, she and her father secured their first businessmeeting with a supermarket owner, who finally agreed to sell Moore’s product-Cancandy.
As CanCandy’s success grows, so does Moore’scredibility as a young entrepreneur. Moore is enthusiastic about the candy shecreated, and she’s also positive about what the future might bring. She hopesthat every kid can have a clean mouth and a broad smile.
Meanwhile, with her parents’ help, Moore isgenerally able to live a normal teenage life. Although she founded her companyearly on in life, she wasn’t driven primarily by profit. Moore wants to use herunique talent to help others find their smiles. She donates 10% of AilicCandy’sprofits to Big Smiles. With her talent and determination, it appears that thesky could be the limit for Alice Moore.
34. How did Moorereact to her dad’s warning?
A. She argued with him. B. Shetried to find a way out.
C. She paid no attention. D. Shechose to consult dentists.
35. What is specialabout CanCandy?
A. It is beneficial to dental health. B. It isfree of sweeteners.
C. It is sweeter than other candies. D. It isproduced to a dentists’ recipe.
36. What does Mooreexpect from her business?
A. To earn more money. B. Tohelp others find smiles.
C. To make herself stand out. D. Tobeat other candy companies.
37. What can we learnfrom Alice Moore’s story?
A. Fame is a great thirst of the young.
B. A youth is to be regarded with respect.
C. Positive thinking and action result in success.
D. Success means getting personal desires satisfied
Passage3(2019·浙江卷，B)
Money with no strings attached. It’snot something you see every day. But at Union Station in Los Angeles lastmonth, a board went up with dollar bills attached to it with pins and a signthat read, "Give What You Can, Take What You Need."
People quickly caught on. And while many tookdollars, many others pinned their own cash to the board. “People of all ages,races, and socio-economic(社会经济的)backgrounds gave and took, ”said Tyler Bridgesof The Toolbox, which created the project. "We even had a bride in herwedding dress come up to the board and take a few dollars." Most of thebills on the board were singles, but a few people left fives, tens and eventwenties. The video clip(片段)shows one man who had found a $ 20 bill pinning it to the board.
“What I can say for the folks that gave themost, is that they were full of smiles,” Bridges said. “There’s a certainfeeling that giving can do for you and that was apparent in those that gave themost." Most people who took dollars took only a few, but Bridges said avery small number took as much as they could.
While the clip might look like part of a new adcampaign, Bridges said the only goal was to show generosity and sympathy. Headded that he hopes people in other cities might try similar projects and posttheir own videos on the Internet.
“After all, everyone has bad days and gooddays," he said. “Some days you need a helping hand and some days you canbe the one giving the helping hand.”
24. What does theexpression "money with no strings attached" in paragraph 1 mean?
A. Money spent without hesitation.
B. Money not legally made.
C. Money offered without conditions.
D. Money not tied together.
25. What did Bridgeswant to show by mentioning the bride?
A. Women tended to be more sociable.
B. The activity attracted various people.
C. Economic problems were getting worse.
D. Young couples needed financial assistance.
26. Why did Bridgescarry out the project?
A. To do a test on people’s morals.
B. To raise money for his company.
C. To earn himself a good reputation.
D. To promote kindness and sympathy.
Passage4(2019·北京卷，D)
By the end of the century，if not sooner，the world’soceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate，accordingto a new study.
At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms(海洋微生物)calledphytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms，thesephytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colourvaries from green to blue，depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climatechange will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas，whilereducing it in other spots，leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.
Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface，wherethey pull carbon dioxide(二氧化碳)into the ocean while giving off oxygen. Whenthese organisms die，they bury carbon in the deep ocean，an importantprocess that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerableto the ocean’s warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the oceanand can affect phytoplankton growth，since they need not only sunlight and carbondioxide to grow，but also nutrients.
Stephanie Dutkiewicz，a scientist in MIT’s Center for Global Change Science，builta climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. Ina world that warms up by 3℃，it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans wouldoccur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplanktoncould become even bluer. But in some waters，such as those ofthe Arctic，a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton，andthese areas will turn greener. “Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton inthe ocean changing. ”she said，“but the type of phytoplankton is changing. ”
42. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?
A. Thevarious patterns at the ocean surface.
B. The causeof the changes in ocean colour.
C. Theway light reflects off marine organisms.
D. Theefforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton.
43. What does the underlined word“vulnerable”inParagraph 3 probably mean?
A. Sensitive. B.Beneficial C.Significant D.Unnoticeable
44. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Phytoplanktonplay a declining role in the marine ecosystem.
B. Dutkiewicz’smodel aims to project phytoplankton changes
C. Phytoplanktonhave been used to control global climate
D. Oceanswith more phytoplankton may appear greener.
45. What is the main purpose of the passage？
A. Toassess the consequences of ocean colour changes
B. Toanalyse the composition of the ocean food chain
C. Toexplain the effects of climate change on oceans
D. Tointroduce a new method to study phytoplankton
题组二（2018年高考真题）
Passage1(2018·新课标卷I，C)
Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years, but inrecent times there has been less coming and a lot more going. When the worldwas still populated by hunter-gatherers, small, tightly knit (联系)groups developedtheir own patterns of speech independent of each other.Some language expertsbelieve that 10,000 years ago, when the world had just five to ten millionpeople, they spoke perhaps 12,000 languages between them.
Soon afterwards, many of those people started settling down to becomefarmers, and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number. Inrecent centuries, trade, industrialization, the development of the nation-stateand the spread of universal compulsory education, especially globalisation andbetter communications in the past few decades, all have caused many languages todisappear, and dominant languages such as English, Spanish and Chineseare increasingly taking over.
At present, the world has about 6,800 languages. The distribution ofthese languages is hugely uneven. The general rule is that mild zones haverelatively few languages, often spoken by many people, while hot, wet zoneshave lots, often spoken by small numbers. Europe has only around 200 languages;the Americas about 1,000; Africa 2 400; and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3,200,of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800. The median number (中位数)of speakers is amere 6,000, which means that half the world’s languages are spoken by fewerpeople than that.
Already well over 400 of the total of, 6,800 languages are close toextinction(消亡), with only a few elderly speakers left. Pick, at random, Busuuin Cameroon (eight remaining speakers),Chiapaneco in Mexico(150), Lipan Apachein the United States(two or three)or Wadjigu in Australia (one, with aquestion-mark): none of these seems to have much chance of survival.
28. What can weinfer about languages in hunter-gatherer times?
A. They developedvery fast. B. They were large innumber.
C. They hadsimilar patterns. D. They were closelyconnected.
29.Which of the following best explains "dominant " underlined inparagraph 2？
A. Complex. B. Advanced.
C. Powerful. D. Modern.
30. How many languages are spoken by less than 6, 000people at present?
A. About 6,800 B.About 3,400
C. About 2,400 D.About 1,200
31. What is the main idea of the text?
A. New languageswill be created.
B. People’slifestyles are reflected in languages.
C. Humandevelopment results in fewer languages.
D. Geographydetermines language evolution.
Passage2(2018·新课标卷II，)
Steven Stein likes to follow garbagetrucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he’s anenvironmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things thatfall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is thatone of Stein’s jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shoppingbags.
Americansuse more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up intree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow themat checkouts(收银台) . The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California,including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers arehiring scientists like Stein to make the casethat their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.
Among thebag makers’ argument: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paperbags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce andtransport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to lookat, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today.
Theindustry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement:reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life andthe more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bagsoften require more energy to make.One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be betterfor the planet than plastic.
Environmentalistsdon’t dispute（质疑） these points. They hope paper bags will be banned somedaytoo and want shoppers to usethe same reusable bags for years.
24. What has Steven Stein been hired to do?
A. Help increase grocery sales. B. Recycle the waste material.
C. Stop things falling off trucks. D. Argue for the use of plasticbags.
25.What does the word “headwinds”in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Bans on plastic bags. B.Effects of city development.
C.Headaches caused by garbage. D.Plastic bags hung in trees.
26. What is a disadvantage of reusable bags accordingto plastic-bag makers?
A. They are quite expensive. B. Replacing them can be difficult.
C. They are less strong than plastic bags. D. Producing them requires more energy.
27. What is the best title for the text?
A. Plastic, Paper or Neither B. Industry, Pollution and Environment
C. Recycle or Throw Away D. Garbage Collection and Waste Control
Passage3(2018·浙江卷，B)
Steven Stein likes to follow garbagetrucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he’s anenvironmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things thatfall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is thatone of Stein’s jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shoppingbags.
Americansuse more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up intree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow themat checkouts(收银台) . The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California,including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers arehiring scientists like Stein to make the casethat their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.
Among thebag makers’ argument: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paperbags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce andtransport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to lookat, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today.
Theindustry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement:reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life andthe more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bagsoften require more energy to make.One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be betterfor the planet than plastic.
Environmentalistsdon’t dispute（质疑） these points. They hope paper bags will be banned somedaytoo and want shoppers to usethe same reusable bags for years.
24. What has Steven Stein been hired to do?
A. Help increase grocery sales. B. Recycle the waste material.
C. Stop things falling off trucks. D. Argue for the use of plasticbags.
25.What does the word “headwinds”in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.Bans on plastic bags. B.Effects of city development.
C.Headaches caused by garbage. D.Plastic bags hung in trees.
26. What is a disadvantage of reusable bags accordingto plastic-bag makers?
A. They are quite expensive. B. Replacing them can be difficult.
C. They are less strong than plastic bags. D. Producing them requires more energy.
27. What is the best title for the text?
A. Plastic, Paper or Neither B. Industry, Pollution and Environment
C. Recycle or Throw Away D. Garbage Collection and Waste Control
Passage4(2018·北京卷，D)
Preparing Cities for Robot Cars
Thepossibility of self-driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist’sdream, years away from materializing in the real world. Well, the future isapparently now. The California Department of Motor Vehicles began givingpermits in April for companies to test truly self-driving cars on public roads.The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self-drivingcars, and for companies to operate driverless taxi services. California, itshould be noted, isn’t leading the way here. Companies have been testing theirvehicles in cities across the country. It’s hard to predict when driverlesscars will be everywhere on our roads. But however long it takes, the technologyhas the potential to change our transportation systems and our cities, forbetter or for worse, depending on how the transformation is regulated.
Whilemuch of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars(andrightfully so), policymakers also should be talking about how self-drivingvehicles can help reduce traffic jams, cut emissions(排放) and offer more convenient, affordable mobilityoptions. The arrival of driverless vehicles is a chance to make sure that thosevehicles are environmentally friendly and more shared.
Do wewant to copy — or even worsen — the traffic of today with driverless cars?Imagine a future where most adults own individual self-driving vehicles. Theytolerate long, slow journeys to and from work on packed highways because theycan work, entertain themselves or sleep on the ride, which encourages urbanspread. They take their driverless car to an appointment and set the emptyvehicle to circle the building to avoid paying for parking. Instead of walkinga few blocks to pick up a child or the dry cleaning, they send the self-drivingminibus. The convenience even leads fewer people to take public transport — anunwelcome side effect researchers have already found in ride-hailing(叫车) services.
A studyfrom the University of California at Davis suggested that replacingpetrol-powered private cars worldwide with electric, self-driving and sharedsystems could reduce carbon emissions from transportation 80% and cut the costof transportation infrastructure(基础设施) andoperations 40% by 2050. Fewer emissions and cheaper travel sound prettyappealing. The first commercially available driverless cars will almostcertainly be fielded by ride-hailing services, considering the cost ofself-driving technology as well as liability and maintenance issues(责任与维护问题). But driverless car ownership could increaseas the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology.
Policymakers should start thinking now abouthow to make sure the appearance of driverless vehicles doesn’t extend the worstaspects of the car-controlled transportation system we have today. The comingtechnological advancement presents a chance for cities and states to developtransportation systems designed to move more people, and more affordably. Thecar of the future is coming. We just have to plan for it.
47. According to the author,attention should be paid to how driverless cars can __________.
A. help deal with transportation-related problems
B. provide better services to customers
C. cause damage to our environment
D. make some people lose jobs
48. As for driverless cars,what is the author’s major concern?
A. Safety. B.Side effects.
C. Affordability. D.Management.
49. What does the underlinedword ＂fielded＂ in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Employed. B.Replaced.
C. Shared. D.Reduced.
50. What is the author’sattitude to the future of self-driving cars?
A. Doubtful. B.Positive.
C. Disapproving. D.Sympathetic.
题组三（2017年高考真题）
Passage1(2017·新课标卷II，D)
Whena leafy plant is under attack, it doesn’t sit quietly. Back in 1983, two scientists, Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin,reported that young maple trees getting bitten by insects send out a particularsmell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injuredparts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. What the plants pump through theair is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, VOCs forshort.
Scientists have found that all kinds of plantsgive out VOCs when being attacked .It’s a plant’s way of crying out. But isanyone listening? Apparently. Because we can watch the neighbours react.
Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keepinsects away. But others do double duty. They pump out perfumes designed toattract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once theyarrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was lunching now becomeslunch.
Instudy after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help theneighbors .The damage is usually more serious on the first plant, but theneighbors, relatively speaking, stay safer because they heard the alarm andknew what to do.
Does this mean that plants talk to each other?Scientists don’t know. Maybe the first plant just made a cry of pain or wassending a message to its own branches, and so, in effect, was talking toitself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to “overhear” the cry. Soinformation was exchanged, but it wasn’t a true, intentional back and forth.
Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago, imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate(亲密的)
than the world we can see and hear. Our senses are weak. There’s a whole lot going on.
32. What does a plant do when it is under attack?
A. It makes noises. B. It gets help from other plants.
C. It stands quietly D. It sends out certain chemicals.
33. What does the author mean by “the tables are turned” in paragraph 3?
A. The attackers get attacked.
B. The insects gather under the table.
C. The plants get ready to fight back.
D. The perfumes attract natural enemies.
34.Scientists find from their studies thatplants can .
A. predict natural disasters
B. protect themselves against insects
C. talk to one another intentionally
D. help their neighbors when necessary
35.what can we infer from the lastparagraph?
A. The world is changing faster than ever.
B. People have stronger senses than before
C. The world is more complex than it seems
D. People in Darwin’s time were imaginative.
Passage2(2017·新课标III卷，C)
After years of heated debate, gray wolves werereintroduced to
Gray wolves once were seen here and there in theYellowstone area and much of the continental
The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpectedresults. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animalsconsumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyotepopulations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of thepark’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.
As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to considerreintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be ableto control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan becausethey feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.
Thegovernment spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolfpacks in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolfis fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, whilebeavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project hasbeen a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroducewolves to other parts of the country as well.
28. What is the text mainly about?
A. Wildlife research in the United States.
B. Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area.
C. The conflict between farmers and gray wolves.
D. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park.
29.What does the underlined word ＂displaced＂ in paragraph 2 mean?
A. Tested. B.Separated.
C. Forced out. D.Tracked down.
30. What did the disappearance of gray wolves bringabout?
A. Damage to local ecology.
B. A decline in the park’s income.
C. Preservation of vegetation.
D. An increase in the variety of animals.
31. What is the author’s attitude towards theYellowstone wolf project?
A. Doubtful. B. Positive.
C. Disapproving. D. Uncaring.
Passage3(2017·天津卷)
This month, Germany’stransport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, proposed the first set of rules forautonomous vehicles(自主驾驶车辆). They would define the driver’s role in such cars and govern howsuch cars perform in crashes where lives might be lost.
The proposal attempts to deal with what somecall the “death valley” of autonomous vehicles: the grey area betweensemi-autonomous and fully driverless cars that could delay the driverlessfuture.
Dobrindt wants three things: that a caralways chooses property(财产) damage over personal injury; that it never distinguishes betweenhumans based on age or race; and that if a human removes his or her hands fromthe driving wheel — to check email, say — the car’s maker is responsible ifthere is a crash.
“The change to the road traffic law willpermit fully automatic driving,” says Dobrindt. It will put fully driverlesscars on an equal legal footing to human drivers, he says.
Who is responsible for the operation of suchvehicles is not clear among car makers, consumers and lawyers. “The liability(法律责任) issue is the biggest one ofthem all,” says Natasha Merat at the University of Leeds, UK.
An assumption behind UK insurance fordriverless cars, introduced earlier this year, insists that a human “bewatchful and monitoring the road” at every moment.
But that is not what many people have inmind when thinking of driverless cars. “When you say ‘driverless cars’, peopleexpect driverless cars.” Merat says. “You know — no driver.”
Because of the confusion, Merat thinks somecar makers will wait until vehicles can be fully automated without operation.
Driverless cars may end up being a form ofpublic transport rather than vehicles you own, says Ryan Calo at StanfordUniversity, California. That is happening in the UK and Singapore, where government-provideddriverless vehicles are being launched.
That would go down poorly in the US,however. “The idea that the government would take over driverless cars andtreat them as a public good would get absolutely nowhere here,” says Calo.
46. What does the phrase “death valley” in Paragraph 2refer to?
A. Aplace where cars often break down.
B. Acase where passing a law is impossible.
C. Anarea where no driving is permitted.
D. Asituation where drivers’ role is not clear.
47. The proposalput forward by Dobrindt aims to __________.
A. stop people from breaking traffic rules
B. help promote fully automatic driving
C. protect drivers of all ages and races
D. prevent serious property damage
48. What doconsumers think of the operation of driverless cars?
A. It should get the attention of insurancecompanies.
B. It should be the main concern of lawmakers.
C. It should not cause deadly trafficaccidents.
D. It should involve no humanresponsibility.
49. Driverlessvehicles in public transport see no bright future in _________.
A. Singapore B.the UK
C. the US D.Germany
50. What could bethe best title for the passage?
A. Autonomous Driving: Whose Liability?
B. Fully Automatic Cars: A New Breakthrough
C. Autonomous Vehicles: Driver Removed!
D. Driverless Cars: Root of Road Accidents
Passage4(2017·江苏卷)
Before birth, babiescan tell the difference between loud sounds and voices. They can even distinguishtheir mother’s voice from that of a female stranger. But when it comes to embryoniclearning (胎教), birds could rule the roost. As recentlyreported in The Auk: Ornithological Advances,some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch (孵化). New-bornchicks can then imitate their mom’s call within a few days of entering the world.
This educational method was first observed in 2012 by Sonia Kleindorfer,a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia, and her colleagues. FemaleAustralian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over againwhile hatching their eggs. When the eggs were hatched, the baby birds made the similarchirp to their mothers—a sound that served as their regular ＂feed me!＂ call.
To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds,the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren, another species of Australiansongbird. First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queenslandbefore and after hatching. Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the orderand number of notes. A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothersand chicks, ranking them by similarity.
It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirpinglike their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their eggs, the moresimilar were the babies’ begging calls. In addition, the team set up a separateexperiment that suggested that the baby birds that most closely imitated their mom’svoice were rewarded with the most food.
This observation hints that effective embryonic learning couldsignal neurological (神经系统的) strengths of children to parents. An evolutionaryinference can then be drawn. ＂As a parent, do youinvest in quality children, or do you invest in children that are in need?＂ Kleindorfer asks. ＂Our results suggestthat they might be going for quality.＂
58.Theunderlined phrase in Paragraph 1 means＂____________＂.
A. be the worst B.be the best
C. be the as bad D.be just as good
59. What are Kleindorfer’s findings based on?
A. Similaritiesbetween the calls of moms and chicks.
B. The observationof fairy wrens across Australia.
C. The data collectedfrom Queensland’s locals.
D. Controlled experimentson wrens and other birds.
60. Embryonic learning helps mother birds to identify the babybirds which ____________.
A. can receive qualitysignals
B. are in need of training
C. fit the environmentbetter
D. make the loudest call
题组四（名校模拟题）
Passage 1(天津市红桥区2019届高三下学期第一次模拟考试)
Your next Saturday night takeaway could be brought to you bya robot after a major food delivery company announced plans to use automatedvehicles to transport meals. Europe’s biggest online takeaway food company JustEat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on thestreets of London later this month. “Nobody has ever done deliveries withland-based robots,” said Allan Martinson, the chief operating officer ofStarship.
Therobot courier can travel up to 4 miles per hour for about 10 miles. Ituses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate(确定方向). Instead of aperson arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving anotification on their phone that says a robot is on its way and a code tounlock the automated courier. “Put the code in, the robot opens up, and there’syour food,” said David Buttress, chief manager of Just Eat.
Therobot, which has so far been tested in Greenwich, Milton Keynes andGlastonbury, costs ￡ 1 to transport within 3 miles, compared with the ￡3 to ￡6it costs for a human courier. To date 30 robots have driven nearly 5,000 mileswithout getting into an accident or finding themselves picked on by passers-by.They have driven in more than 40 cities around the world, including London andTallinn, Estonia.
Aninitial worry was how the public would react to robots. But Martinson said thepublic has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets. “Themost surprising reaction has been the lack of reaction,” said Martinson.
Anothersignificant fear was that people would disrupt (扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents. Toprevent this, the robot is fitted with nine cameras, two way audio, andmovement sensors that send a warning if it is lifted off the ground. And itopens only with a passcode provided to the customer via a notification. “It’smuch easier to shoplift than it is to steal a robot,” said Martinson.
1. Which of the following canreplace the underlined word “courier” in Paragraph 2?
A. deliverer B. collector
C. provider D. guide
2. According to the text, theStarship robot ________.
A. opensup upon hearing the code
B. travels10 miles per hour at most
C. findsits way by means of GPS and cameras
D. sendsa message to the customer upon arrival
3. The test of Starship robotsshows that ________.
A. theyare easy to operate
B. therobot delivery is appreciated in big cities
C. therobot delivery is cheaper than human delivery
D. theycan travel for 10 hours continuously
4. Which of the following is oneof the worries about Starship robots?
A. Safetyof the robot delivery.
B. Accuracyof the robot delivery
C. Peoplesindifference to the robots.
D. People’sconcern about public traffic.
5. Which of the following wouldbe the best title for the text?
A. GreatImprovement of Just Eat
B. GlobalTrend of Food Companies
C. NewRobots to Move on the road
D. DeliveryRobots to Replace Takeaway Drivers
Passage 2(湖南省长沙市雅礼中学2019届高三一模)
Laughter is part of the universal human vocabulary. Allmembers of the human species understand it. Unlike English or French orSwahili, we don’t have to learn to speak it. We re born with the capacity tolaugh.
Very little is known about the specific brain mechanismsresponsible for laughter. Contrary to folk wisdom, most laughter is not abouthumor; it is about relationships. To find out when and why people laugh, I wentwith several assistants to local malls and recorded what happened just beforepeople laughed. Over a 10-year period, we studied over 2,000 cases of naturallyoccurring laughter.
We found that most laughter does not necessarily followjokes. People may laugh after a variety of statements, such as, “Here comesMary,” “How did you do on the test?” or “Do you have a rubber band?” Thesecertainly aren’t jokes.
We believe laughter evolved from the panting (喘气的) behavior of our ancientancestors. Today, if we tickle (使发痒)chimps, they don’t laugh. But, instead, they produce a panting sound. That’sthe sound of ape laughter, and it’s the root of human laughter.
Apes laugh in the kinds of situations that lead to humanlaughter, like games that involve chasing. Other animals produce sounds duringplay, but they are so different from laughter. Rats, for example, produce highsounds during play and when tickled, but these are very different in sound fromhuman laughter.
Laughter is often positive, but it can be negative too.There’s a difference between “laughing with” and “laughing at”. People wholaugh at others may be trying to drive them out of the group.
No one has actually counted how much people of differentages laugh, but young children probably laugh the most. At ages 5 and 6 weprobably laugh more than at any other times. Adults laugh less than children,probably because they play less.
Work now underway will tell us more about the brainmechanisms behind laughter, how it has evolved, and why we’re so susceptibleto tickling.
1. What was the purpose of thedecade’s research?
A. Toprove that people laugh because of humour.
B. Tofind out the real reason for people s laughter.
C. Toresearch people s different reaction on jokes.
D. Torecord conversations among shoppers in malls.
2. What can we learn from thetext?
A. Peoplewho play more tend to laugh more.
B. Apesproduce high sounds when tickled.
C. Scientistsknow the brain mechanisms responsible for laughter well.
D. Thesituations in which apes laugh are very different from those in which humanslaugh.
3. What does the underlined word“susceptible” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A. Sensitive. B. Flexible.
C. Addictive. D. Reliable.
4. Which of the following mightbe the best title for the text?
A. TheImpact of Laughter
B. TheMeaning of Laughter
C. ABig Mystery: Why Do We Laugh?
D. Laughter:The Most Beautiful Words
Passage 3(2018届福建省百所重点校高三年联合考试)
The story of Sir Nicholas Winton is the onethat you would imagine could only happen on the silver screen. Sir NicholasWinton was a British man who went to heroic efforts, potentially puttinghimself at risk, during World War II. Sir Winton was responsible for ensuringthe safety of six hundred and sixty-nine Jewish children by aiding their escapefrom countries occupied by Nazis. Finally, the Jewish children were brought toEngland where he worked to make sure families in his native country would helpthe kids by taking them into their homes.
Recently, this unbelievable story has againbeen making the rounds on the Internet, particularly after a rerun of the BBCshow called “That’s Life”, which featured Sir Winton. People around the worldwere moved at the details of the story, with saying it to be the best storythey’ve ever seen.
Sir Winton kept his entire plan completelysecret, even his wife had no idea about his planning until fifty years later.After the war, years passed and many people remained in the dark about SirWinton’s extraordinary achievement. Some fifty years later, his wife Greta wassearching in their house and discovered a Winton’s notebook which documentedthe names of all the children. She worked with BBC and they produced a TVepisode (插曲) of theirprogram “That’s Life” that served as an honor for Sir Winton’s work.
In 2003, Sir Winton was knighted by theQueen of England for his work. He also was even nominated for a Nobel PeacePrize. He also had a small planet named after him by Czech astronomers. SirWinton died peacefully in his sleep at the old age of one hundred and six, in2015. Leaders around the world paid tribute (悼念). Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Daniel Taub, said, “Hewas a hero of our time, having saved 669 Jewish children from Nazis. His story,as a point of light in a period of darkness, will forever be remembered.”
1.What happened tothe 669 Jewish children?
A. They were killed by Nazis.
B. They returned to their own homes.
C. They fled to their native countries.
D. They were raised by English families.
2.What madeWinton’s story spread widely?
A. People’s chatting online. B.The program “That’s Life”.
C. His wife’s promotion. D.Praises from some leaders.
3.Which of thefollowing can replace the underlined expression “remained in the dark’, inParagraph 3?
A. felt doubtful B.remained moved
C. knew nothing D.criticized something
4.What do we knowabout Winton?
A. He was born in 1909. B.Nazis tried to arrest him.
C. He named a small planet. D.Many children paid tribute to him.
Passage 4((2018届河南省中原名校高三质量考评)
A ROBOT companion for older people aims topromote activity and deal with loneliness by urging them to take part indigital and physical activities.
The ElliQ robot, made by Israel-basedstart-up Intuition Robotics, will be published at the Design Museum in Londonthis week. ElliQ is a small desktop device that consists of a domed (拱形的) “body” and a separatedetachable (可拆卸的) screen.
Created in collaboration with Swiss designerYves Behar, the robot is able to encourage a degree of social engagement.Similar to home assistants like the Amazon Echo, people can simply talk to it,and there are visual clues that could be particularly helpful for those withhearing difficulties.
A key purpose of ElliQ is to act as an easyplatform to access existing services such as social media, and messagingprograms. For example, the device could alert the users thattheir grandchild has posted a new photo on Facebook, show it to them on thescreen.
ElliQ can recommend activities voluntarily.It might ask if you’re interested in watching a video, for instance, or suggesta walk. It can also act as reminder to take medication.
Having a robot constantly offer suggestionscould obviously get annoying, so the device uses machine learning to tailorthese suggestions to individual preferences. If a suggestion is met with apositive response once, ElliQ might try it again. If not, it might change for adifferent tack.
1.Which of thefollowing statements is NOT true?
A.A robot companion for older people willstrongly advise them to participate in digital and physical activities to behealthy.
B. The ElliQ robot is published at theDesign Museum in London.
C. The screen of the ElliQ robot can beremoved if necessary.
D. The ElliQ robot is created by Swissdesigner Yves Behar and Israel-based start-up Intuition Robotics.
2.The underlinedword “alert” is closest m meaning to ________ .
A. declare B.announce C. remind D. say
3.ElliQ can servethe following purposes EXCEPT________.
A. when the user’s friend updates hismoments (朋友圈), it canshow it to the user on the screen.
B.it can recommend some activities even theuser doesn’t ask.
C.it will constantly give suggestionsregardless of the user’s individual preference.
D.it can help those with hearingdifficulties by offering visual clues.
4.In which columnwe are most likely to find the passage?
A. News & Technology B. People
C. Health D. InternationalAffairs