高考英语科普阅读
Robots are smart. With their computer brains, they help people work in dangerous places or do difficult jobs. Some robots do regular jobs. Bobby, the mail carrier, brings mail to a large office building in Washington, D.C. He is one of 250 mail carriers in the United States.
Mr. Leachim, who weighs two hundred pounds and is six feet tall, has some advantages as a teacher. One is that he does not forget details. He knows each child?s name, the parents? names and what each child knows and needs to know. In addition, he knows each child?s pets and hobbies. Mr. Leachim does not make mistakes. Each child goes and tells him his or her name, then dials an identification number. His computer brain puts the child?s voice and number together. He identifies the child with no mistakes. Then he starts the lesson.
Another advantage is that Mr. Leachim is flexible. If the children need more time to do their lessons they can move switches. In this way they can repeat Mr. Leachim?s lesson over and over again. When the children do a good job, he tells them something interesting about their hobbies. At the end of the lesson the children switch Mr. Leachim off.
1. The first paragraph of the passage tells us _____.
A. human beings are not as smart as robots
B. robots will take the place of man to rule the earth
C. we can only use robots to do some regular jobs
D. robots can help people in many different ways
2. Mr. Leachim?s _____ makes him a good teacher.
A. knowledge B. appearance C. advantages D. energy
3. What is the most important thing Mr. Leachim can do in his lessons?
A. To meet the needs of each student.
B. To talk to the students in different languages.
C. To keep everyone?s interest in his lesson.
D. To introduce more hobbies to the children.
4. The word flexible in the last paragraph means _____.
A. not strict B. not hard C. suitable D. changeable
5. Which of the following statements may be true according to the passage?
A. There are 250 robot teachers in the United States.
B. Mr. Leachim is run and controlled by electricity.
C. Bobby works in a large office building in Washington D.C.
D. The lessons taught by Mr. Leachim are given on a TV set.
【答案与解析】文章主要讲的是机器人可以以不同的方式帮助人类。
1. D。主旨大意题。从With their computer brains, they help people work in dangerous places or do different jobs. Some robots do regular jobs可知机器人可以做各种不同的工作，能以各种方式帮助人类，故答案选D。 2. C。事实细节题。从Mr. Leachim, who weighs two hundred pounds and is six feet tall, has some advantages as a teacher可知答案C正确。
3. A。推理判断题。从Another advantage is that Mr. Leachim is flexible可知他非常的灵活，可满足每个学生的要求，故答案选A。(from www.nmet168.com)
4. D。词汇猜测题。 从文章最后一段可知学生可以根据需要有选择地运用Mr. Leachim, 可见flexible是形容Mr. Leachim很灵活，富有变化，即答案选D。
5. B。事实细节题。从文章最后一句话At the end of the lesson the children switch Mr. Leachim off可知答案B正确。
Before the early 1960?s people interested in the differing roles of the left and right hemispheres(半球) of the brain depended almost entirely on facts drawn from animal research, form studies of patients with one-sided brain damage. But it was possible to find out which brain hemisphere was most involved in speech and other functions in normal people by having them listen to two different words coming to the two ears at the same time. This
became known as the “dichotic listening” procedure. When several word pairs are given in a row, people are unable to report them all, and most right-handers prefer to report, and report more correctly, words given to their right ears. This seems to be related to the fact that signals from the right ear, although sent to both hemispheres, are better sent to the left hemisphere which controls speech. People who have speech represented(回忆) in the right hemisphere, a very unusual occurrence even in left-handed people, more correctly report what their left ears hear.In contrast to the right-ear advantage for speech, there is generally a left-ear advantage for another type of auditory(听觉的) signal: music.
1. Which of the following would be the most proper title for the passage? A. An Introduction to Speech Damage in Patients with Brain Damage. B. An Investigation into the Role of the Brain?s Hemispheres. C. An Analysis of Left and Right-handed People. D. An Examination of “Dichotic Listening”.
2. The “dichotic listening” procedure could best be described as hearing _______. A. two different words in the same ear twice B. the same word twice in the same ear C. two different words in different ears D. two different words twice in two ears
3. According to the passage, right-handed people normally _______.
A. have better hearing in their both ears
B. have little difficulty in reporting words given to their right ears C. are unable to report word pairs given to their left ears D. correctly report word pairs given in a row
4. According to the passage, music is best appreciated when heard by _______. A. the left ear of right-handers
B. people with a left-ear advantage C. left-handers in their right ears
D. right-handed people who understand melodic patterns
【答案与解析】本文主要讲人体的左右半脑对听觉和语言方面的作用和影响。1.B。推理判断题。阅读全文可知本文主要是一项关于人体左右大脑的作用的调查，故答案选B。
2. C。事实细节题。根据…having them listen to two differ\ 3. B。推理判断题。根据and most right-handers prefer to report, and report more correctly, words given to their right ears 可知答案为B。 4. A。事实细节题。根据When right-handed people listen to melodic patterns they report them better from the left ear可知答案为A。
Walk through the Amazon rainforest today and you will find it is steamy, warm, damp and thick. But if you had been around 15, 000 years ago, during the last ice age, would it have been the same? For more than 30 years, scientists have been arguing about how rainforests like the Amazon might have reacted (反应) to the cold, dry climates of the ice ages, but until now, no one has reached a satisfying answer. Rainforests like the Amazon are important for mopping up CO2 from the atmosphere and helping to slow global warming. Currently the trees in the Amazon take in around 500 million tons of CO2 each year: equal to the total amount of CO2 giving off in the UK each year. But how will the Amazon react to future climate change? If it gets drier, will it still survive and continue to draw down CO2?
Scientists hope that they will be able to learn in advance how the rainforest will manage in the future by understanding how rainforests reacted to climate change in the past. Unfortunately, getting into the Amazon rainforest and collecting information are very difficult. To study past climate, scientists need to look at fossilized pollen, kept in lake mud . Going back to the last ice age means drilling deep down into lake sediments(沉淀物) which requires specialized equipment and heavy machinery. There are very few roads and paths, or places to land helicopters and aero planes. Rivers tend to the easiest way to enter the forest, but this still leaves vast areas between the rivers completely unsampled (未取样). So far, only a handful of cores have been drilled that go back to the last ice age and none of them provide enough information to prove how the Amazon rainforest reacts to climate change.
1. The underlined phrase “mopping up” in the second paragraph means “______”.
A. cleaning up B. taking in C. wiping out D. giving out
2. How will the Amazon rainforest react to future climate change?
A. It?ll get drier and continue to remove CO2. B. It?ll remain steamy, warm, damp and thick. C. It?ll get warmer and then colder and drier. D. There is no exact answer up to present.
3. What?s the main idea of the last paragraph?
A. It?s important to drill deep down into lake sediments to collect information. B. It?s impossible to prove how climate changes in the Amazon rainforest.
C. It?s hard to collect information for studies of the past climate in the Amazon rainforest. D. It?s necessary to have specialized equipment and machinery to study the past climate.
4. The best title for this passage may probably be _____.
A. Studies of the Amazon B. Climates of the Amazon C. Secrets of the Rainforests D. Changes of the Rainforests
【答案与解析】本文主要介绍了热带雨林对气候的影响。1.B。词义猜测题。根据第二段中的 helping to slow global warming，同时结合化学知识可推知 mopping up 的意思是“吸入”mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'\。另外，文章中的…currently the trees in Amazon take in around 500 million tones of CO2 each year 也暗示 mop up 和 take in 的意思相同。2. D。事实细节题。根据文章第2段的内容(尤其是最后一句话)尤其是最后一句话可推知此题最佳答案为D。3. C。主旨大意题。根据文章最后一段中的So far, only a handful of cores have been drilled 可知，资料收集不是很容易。4. C。主旨大意题。文章主要讲的是亚马孙热带雨林难以预料的变化，所以选C为佳。为佳。
Snow and gathering clouds may be signs of global warming. The average temperature on Earth for last year was the second warmest since written records began 140 years ago. The global average surface temperature in 2001 was 14.42 degrees centigrade, the World Meteorological Organization said. The record, set in 1998, was 14.58 degrees centigrade. “Temperatures are getting hotter, and they are getting hotter faster now than at any time in the past, ” said Michel Jarred, a WMO official. Carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) produced from burning fuels is the most common of the so-called greenhouse gases. The growing concentration(集中) in the atmosphere of these gases is thought to be warming the Earth. “Most of the causes of global warming are due to human action, ” said Ken Davidson,
director of WMO?s climate programmed department. Every year, large amounts of gases
produced by factories, cars and burning trees hold in too much heat and cause global warming. Many scientists believe the warming, if not stopped, will cause extreme climate changes this century. MILY: 'Times Throughout the world, the spreading of particular diseases and other threats(威胁) to human health depend largely on local climates. Extreme temperatures can directly cause loss of life. Warm temperatures can increase air and water pollution, which in turn can harm human health. In the Earth?s atmosphere there are tiny amounts of gases called greenhouse gases. These gases hold in the heat that comes up from the sun-warmed Earth. As cities have increased in size and population, factories and industries in the world have grown. People need more and more electricity, cars and other things. So more greenhouse gases have been added to the atmosphere. This causes more heat to be trapped than in the past. This is called the greenhouse effect.
1. The subject discussed in the passage is _______.
A. the growing population of the world B. the global average surface temperature C. the increasing greenhouse effect D. the causes of air and water pollution
2. According to a WMO official, it is ________ that should be blamed for global warming. A. modern factories impressive B. mankind C. carbon dioxide D. burning fuels
3. The rising of the earth temperature will finally result in _______. A. the spreading of particular diseases B. air and water pollution C. extreme climate changes D. loss of life
4. Which of the following is true according to the passage? A. Air and water pollution is caused by global warming. B. Greenhouse gases do no good to human beings
C. With the air getting hotter, people need more and more electricity, cars and other things. D. The average temperature on Earth for 1998 was the warmest according to written records
【答案与解析】本文向我们介绍了由于环境污染而引起的全球变暖的现象。1. C。主旨大意题。本文讨论的是全球变暖的现象，而造成这种现象的原因是温室效应，文章在最后也对温室效应做了解释，故答案为C。2. B。事实细节题。根据第四段中的 most of the causes of global warming are due to human action, said Ken
Davidson, director of WMO?s climate programme department可知答案为B。3. D。事实细节题。根据第六段中的 Extreme temperatures can directly cause loss of life可知此题的最佳答案为D。。4. D。事实细节题。根据第二段中的 The record, set in 1998, was 14.58 degrees centigrade可知答案D正确
Have you ever wondered?
1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York(NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet(喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.
2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures(建筑物) float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string（细绳）, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ?Switching off? gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things outside would fly off into space.
1.What information can we get from the first passage? A.It is jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly
B.Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind
C.It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY D.The yet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic
2.The word”shoot”underline in the 2nd passage probably means “ ” A.send for B.move quickly C.come out D.grrow quickly
3.It can be inferred that without gravity . A.buildings and other structures would float away B.trees and buildings would not easily fly off
C.something around your head would not fly away D.everything outside buildings would fly off into space
4.Where can we most probably read in the text A.In a reseach paper B.In a short story C.In a travel magazine D.In a student?s book 答案： ABBD
Too much TV-watching can harm children?s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs.
A second study ,looking at nearly 1000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year –olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don?t prove that TV is the cause and don't ride out that already poorly motivated youngsters (年轻人）may
watch lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages5 and 15. These with college degrees had watch an average of less than two hours of TV per week night during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2 1/2 hours for those who had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating findings that children shouldn't have TVs in their bedrooms
1. According to the California study, the low-scoring group might _________. A. have watched a lot of TV B. not be interested ted in math C. be unable to go to college
D. have had computers in their bedrooms
A细节理解题。根据第二段中Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs.可得出答案。 2. What is the researchers' understanding of the New Zealand study results? A. Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV. B. Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest.
C. TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds.
D. The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain D细节理解题。根据第三段But the results don?t prove that TV is the cause and don't ride out that already poorly motivated youngsters (年轻人）may watch lots of TV.可以确定答案。 3. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs? A. More time should be spent on computers.
B. Children should be forbidden from watching TV. C. 'IV sets shouldn't be allowed in children's bedrooms,
D. Further studies on high-achieving students should be done
C推理判断题。注意最后一段开头的while是“尽管”的意思，所以这两段都是围绕儿童卧室不应该放电视机的问题。
4. What would be the best title for this text? A. Computers or Television
B. Effects of Television on Children C. Studies on TV and College Education D. Television and Children's Learning Habits
B主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章主要通过两项研究分析了儿童看电视所造成的影响。文章第一段第一句话是主题句，所以B项作为标题是最佳的。
