【英语】2019届二轮复习阅读理解专题说明文类型模拟试题10篇训练之十二（22页word版） 22页

‎2019届二轮复习阅读理解专题说明文类型模拟试题10篇训练之十二 ‎[一]‎ A Southampton University team found that people who were vegetarians by 30 had recorded five IQ points higher on average at the age of 10. Researchers said it could explain why people with a higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was linked to lower heart disease and obesity rates. The study of 8,179 people was reported in the British Medical Journal.‎ Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970, 366 of the participants said they were vegetarians - although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken.‎ Men who were vegetarians had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians. There was no difference in the IQ scores, between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarians but reported eating fish or chicken.‎ Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors.‎ Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians. However, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians.‎ Lead researcher Catharine Gale said, "The findings that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarians as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why a higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life.‎ But Dr Frankie Phillips of the British Dietetic Association said，"It_ is_ like _the _chicken _and _egg. Do people become vegetarians because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they are clever enough to be more aware of health issues？"‎ ‎[语篇解读]研究表明，素食和高智商有一定的关系。‎ ‎1．What' s the result of the research mentioned in the text?‎ A. Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life.‎ B. Children with a higher IQ are less likely to have heart disease later in life.‎ C. Intelligent children tend to belong to higher social class later in life.‎ D. Children with a healthier heart tend to have a higher IQ later in life.‎ ‎[解析]　细节理解题。根据第一段中的"people who were vegetarians by 30 had recorded five IQ points higher on average at the age of 10"可知A项正确。根据"it could explain why..."可知这一结果可帮助解释B项中的现象，但B项并非这次研究的结果。故本题选A。[答案]A ‎2．It was found in the research that________.‎ A. most of the participants became vegetarians 20 years after the IQ tests were carried out B. vegetarians who ate fish or chicken were of similar intelligence with strict vegetarians C. female vegetarians were more likely to have higher annual income than non-vegetarians D. vegetarians were more likely to have higher annual income than non-vegetarians ‎[解析]　细节理解题。根据第三段中的"There was no difference in the IQ scores between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarians but reported eating fish or chicken"可知答案。[答案]B ‎3．Catharine Gale talked about "being vegetarians" in a(n)________way.‎ A. doubtful B. favorableC. negative D. objective ‎[解析]　推理判断题。根据第六段可知Catharine Gale只是客观地讲述研究结果，并没有表示自己的立场。故选D项。[答案]D ‎4．What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?‎ A. Intelligence is linked to not just being a vegetarian but to many factors.‎ B. The rate of getting heart disease is linked to your lifestyle.‎ C. The link between a high IQ and being a vegetarian is still uncertain.‎ D. The link between a healthy heart and diet remains to be proved.‎ ‎[解析]推理判断题。文章最后一句的意思是：人们成为素食者是因为他们智商高还是因为他们足够聪明而更注意健康问题？由此可见Dr Frankie Phillips认为素食和高智商的因果关系尚未明确，就像弄不清楚是因为有蛋才有鸡，还是因为有鸡才有蛋一样。故C项正确。[答案]　C ‎5．What' s the best title for the text?‎ A. Get more IQ points! B. Be a vegetarian, please!‎ C. Vegetarian diet cuts heart risk D. A high IQ is linked to being a vegetarian ‎[解析]　标题概括题。本文介绍了一项研究结果：素食与高智商有关，故D项正确。作者并未提出建议，所以A、B两项错误；文章中虽然提到了心脏病，但不是文章的主旨，故C项错误。[答案]D ‎[二]‎ The hole in the Earth's ozone layer (臭氧层) has until now protected Antarctica from the worst effects of global warming. But scientists have warned that as the hole closes up in the next few decades, temperatures on the continent could rise by around 3 ℃ on average, with melting ice contributing to a global sea level increase of up to 1.4 metres.‎ In the past decades the western Antarctic has seen rapid ice loss as the world has warmed, but the other parts of the continent have, paradoxically, been cooling, resulting in a 10% increase in ice in the seas around the region. This is because the hole in the ozone layer has increased cold winds in Antarctica, making much of the continent surface colder than usual.‎ But now that the gasses that cause the ozone hole have been banned, scientists expect the hole to repair itself within the next 50 to 60 years. By then the cooling effect will have faded out and the Antarctic will face the full impact of global warming. This means an increase in average air temperatures of around 3 ℃ and a reduction in sea ice by around a third.‎ The biggest threat to the continent comes from warming seas. Robert Johnson, a scientist who monitors Antarctica ice sheets, said, "The ice sheets in Antarctica are hundreds of metres thick. But once warm ocean waters start flowing underneath, the ice will begin thinning and could break up very quickly." Thinning ice sheets cause ice to break away from the continent and to melt even faster. Escaping ice from western Antarctica has already resulted in a 10% rise in global sea level in recent decades.‎ Johnson believes that international action to reduce global warming is required immediately or it may be too late. "Everything is connected - Antarctica may be a long way away but it is an important part of the Earth's system，" said Johnson. "It contains 90% of the world's ice, 70% of the world's fresh water and that is enough, if it melts completely, to raise sea levels by 63 metres."‎ Even in a worse-case situation scientists don't expect the ice to entirely disappear, but predict that, because of the melting ice sheets, average sea level rise will be around 1.4 metres higher by the end of the century.‎ ‎1. The underlined word "paradoxically" (in Paragraph 2) most probably means"________."‎ A. rapidly B. approximately C. contradictorily D. apparently ‎[答案]C ‎2. What is the effect of the hole in the ozone layer on Antarctica?‎ A. It is causing the ice to melt faster.‎ B. It is making much of the continent colder.‎ C. It is making the effects of global warming in the region worse.‎ D. It is reducing the amount of water in Antarctica.‎ ‎[答案]B ‎3. What do scientists think is the biggest danger facing Antarctica?‎ A. Rising sea levels.‎ B. Warming sea water temperature.‎ C. Water pollution.‎ D. Growing ice sheets.‎ ‎[答案]B ‎4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?‎ A. Antarctica is currently experiencing the full effects of global warming.‎ B. The average temperature has increased by 3 ℃ in recent decades.‎ C. Antarctica contains most of the world's fresh water.‎ D. Ten percent of Antarctica's ice has already been lost.‎ ‎[答案]C ‎5. The best title for the passage is________.‎ A. Our planet in danger B. Antarctica melting away C. Action plan to save Antarctica D. Let's save the ozone layer ‎[答案]B ‎[三]‎ We bet that on cold wintry days, many of you love to stay in your warm home and, every now and then，come out into the kitchen for a snack. Unfortunately, plenty of creepy-crawly critters (爬行生物) like to do the same thing!‎ Winter is the time when bugs (虫子) invade your house without an invitation. The season can be tough for such creatures. In winter the air is cold, the ground is hard and many trees have no leaves. So bugs do what they have to do to survive.‎ Monarch butterflies head south to warmer climates. Ants crowd in deep underground colonies and eat food they have been storing all year. Many insects go into a deep sleep called diapauses. There' re different kinds of diapauses, but all are similar to hibernation, a time when bigger animals become inactive in the cold. Insects go into an inactive period, too, but it often isn' t when the temperature drops.‎ They rely on more dependable signals in the environment. For example, many insects can tell how much sunlight there' s each day. They use that to tell themselves when to shut down. Bugs are cold-blooded, meaning that their inside temperature is the same as the outside. They can' t move much when it gets below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So they search for any warm place.‎ They' re looking for protection. These guys have been doing this for 300 million years, so they don' t really know they' re coming into your house. The home is a recent event in terms of their evolutionary behavior. They enter through tiny cracks or come in unnoticed on your clothes or shoes. Remember that they may be invading your homes for warmth and food, but they don't care about humans.‎ ‎[语篇解读]　本文主要介绍的是：为什么虫子在冬天会入侵人类住所。‎ ‎1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?‎ A. To point out that humans like to stay at home in winter.‎ B. To mean that humans and bugs have the same living habits.‎ C. To mean that bugs will invade humans' houses for their winter.‎ D. To put forward the idea that bugs are not welcome in winter.‎ ‎[解析]　推理判断题。根据文章第一段可知，虫子和人类一样，也会喜欢待在温暖的屋里，再结合文章的后面几段可知，本段暗示虫子在冬天会入侵人类住所。[答案]C ‎2．According to the text, what is diapauses?‎ A. It is the same as the animals' hibernation.‎ B. It often appears in warm areas all the year.‎ C. It is done to keep bugs active in winter.‎ D. It is a deep sleep similar to hibernation.‎ ‎[解析]　细节理解题。根据文章第三段可知答案为D。[答案]D ‎3．What often decides bugs' diapauses?‎ A. The lower local temperature.‎ B. The amount of sunlight.‎ C. Kinds of environmental signals.‎ D. The insects' inside temperature.‎ ‎[解析]细节理解题。根据文章第四段的"They rely on more dependable signals in the environment"可知，虫子的"diapauses"是由多种环境可依赖性因素决定的，不一定全靠温度或者光照。‎ ‎[答案]　C ‎4．According to the text, bugs invade humans' homes to________.‎ A. attack humans B. look for enough food C. seek for protection D. show their evolutionary results ‎[解析]　细节理解题。根据文章最后一段可知，虫子进屋是为了寻求保护，把自己置身于安全形势之下，而不仅仅是为了寻求食物。[答案]C ‎5．What would be the best title for the text?‎ A. Bugs' life on cold wintry days B. Why do bugs invade your home in winter?‎ C. Good relations between humans and bugs D. What does diapauses mean?‎ ‎[解析]标题概括题。整篇文章主要告诉读者的是：在冬天里，为什么虫子会入侵人类的住所。[答案]B ‎[四]‎ Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you're doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you're holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation (感觉) of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from ‎ making unwise decisions - those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.‎ Psychologists have known that one person' s perception (感知) of another' s "warmth" is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either "warm" or "cold" is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a "cold" person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies' conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness.Classic studics by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth "mother" rather than one made of wire, even when the wire "mother" carried a food bottle. Harlow's work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.‎ Feelings of "warmth" and "coldness" in social judgments appear to be universal.Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as "warm"， or "cold" is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.‎ To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study's hypotheses (假设) , handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form. The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of"Person A"based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.‎ ‎"We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly，" says Bargh.‎ ‎[语篇解读]最近的心理学研究发现，人们对"温暖"或者"寒冷"的感受可以改变人们的情感。‎ ‎5．According to Paragraph 1, a person' s emotion may be affected by________.‎ A. the visitors to his office B. the psychology lessons he has C. his physical feeling of coldness D. the things he has bought online ‎[解析]细节理解题。由文章第一段的第三句话可知，温暖的感觉激发温暖的情感，而冷饮在手则会阻止你做出不明智的决定，因此可以说一个人的情感可能会受到冷的感觉的影响。[答案]B ‎6．The author mentions Harlow' s experiment to show that________.‎ A. adults should develop social skills B. babies need warm physical contact C. caregivers should be healthy adults D. monkeys have social relationships ‎[解析]细节理解题。在试验中，猴子喜欢去靠近布制的"妈妈"而不喜欢"金属线"做的"妈妈"。这使心理学家们强调养育者应该让孩子们多接触一些令人感觉温暖的东西，以帮助孩子们成长为有正常社交技能的健康的成年人，故B项正确。[答案]B ‎7．In Bargh' s experiment, the students were asked to________.‎ A. evaluate someone' s personality B. write down their hypotheses C. fill out a personal information form D. hold coffee and cold drink alternatively ‎[解析]细节理解题。由文中倒数第二段中的"After that，the students were asked to rate the personality of'Person A'based on a particular description."可知选A。在试验中，学生被要求评价某人的性格。[答案]A ‎8．We can infer from the passage that________.‎ A. abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences B. feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide C. physical temperature affects how we see others D. capable persons are often cold to others ‎[解析]推理判断题。全文都在论述人们对"温暖"或"寒冷"的感觉可以影响人们对事物的评价。因此，物理温度会影响我们看待他人的方式。因此选C。[答案]C ‎9．What would be the best title for the passage?‎ A. Drinking for Better Social Relationships B. Experiments of Personality Evaluation C. Developing Better Drinking Habits D. Physical Sensations and Emotions ‎[解析]主旨大意题。本文主要介绍的是人们对物理温度的感觉对人们情绪的影响，D项概括性比较强。[答案]D ‎[五]‎ July 21st,2007 was a typical English summer's day - it rained for 24 hours! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was amiss. By the time I left work at 5 pm, however，the road into our village was flooded. Our house had never been flooded but, as I opened the front door, a wave of water greeted me. Thank God the kids weren't with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs. And the plaster had to be torn off the walls, ceilings pulled down.‎ At first we tried to push on through. We didn't want to move the children out of home, so we camped upstairs. We put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we moved to a wooden house in a park. The house was small, but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months. The life there was inconvenient. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community (社区). We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbours，and I'd never thought how much I'd miss that.‎ Although our situation was very bad, it's difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what's happening elsewhere. I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought，"We didn't have a straw hut(茅草房) that was swept away, and our house is still standing. We're lucky."‎ We moved back home in August. With December coming，there's still reconstruction work to be done, so it's difficult to prepare for Christmas. But I can't wait-I'm going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year, I won't need any gifts - living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions. Although we are replacing things, there's really no rush-we have our home back, and that's the main thing.‎ ‎[语篇解读]　洪水给生活带来了困难，但在灾害面前，也能获得更多对人生的认识。‎ ‎5．What does the underlined word "amiss" in the first paragraph mean?‎ A. Wrong. B. Missing. C. Right. D. Found.‎ ‎[解析]　猜测词义题。从第一段中"As usual，I rushed home from work..."可知作者还是像往常那样赶回家，因此没有什么不正常的，故选择A。[答案]A ‎6．It can be inferred from the text that the author________.‎ A. was sick of staying upstairs B. cared much about her children C. could not stand living in a wooden house D. did not deal well with her family affairs during the flood ‎[解析]　推理判断题。从第一段第五句Thank God the kids weren't with me，...可以看出作者最关心(在意)孩子。[答案]B ‎7．Why does the author say that they were lucky in the third paragraph?‎ A. Because her situation was not serious.‎ B. Because many other places were flooded.‎ C. Because she had been to Northern India.‎ D. Because some others suffered even more.‎ ‎[解析]事实细节题。当作者看到印度北部遭受的洪水灾难比自己的更惨痛的报道时，深感自己应该庆幸。[答案]D ‎8．What does the author mainly want to express by telling her story?‎ A. She valued human feelings more than before.‎ B. She realized she almost didn't need possessions.‎ C. She found Christmas gifts no longer badly needed.‎ D. She thought her own home was the most important.‎ ‎[解析]　主旨大意题。从最后一段对即将来临的圣诞节的准备"...there's really no rush-we have our home back，and that's the main thing."可知作者通过这次洪水认识到了她比以前更加珍惜人们之间的情感，故选择A。‎ ‎[六]‎ For years, scientists and others concerned about climate change have been talking about the need for carbon capture and storage (CCS). ‎ That is the term for removing carbon dioxide from, say, a coal-burning power plant’s smokestack and pumping it deep underground to keep it out of the atmosphere, where it would otherwise contribute to global warming. ‎ However, currently, only one power plant in Canada captures and stores carbon on a commercial scale (and it has been having problems). Among the concerns about storage is that carbon dioxide in gaseous or liquid form that is pumped underground might escape back to the atmosphere. So storage sites would have to be monitored, potentially for decades or centuries.‎ But scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University and other institutions have come up with a different way to store CO2 that might eliminate that problem. Their approach involves dissolving ‎ the gas with water and pumping the resulting mixture — soda water, essentially — down into certain kinds of rocks, where the CO2 reacts with the rock to form a mineral called calcite(方解石). By turning the gas into stone, scientists can lock it away permanently. Volcanic rocks called basalts(玄武岩) are excellent for this process, because they are rich in calcium, magnesium and iron, which react with CO2.‎ The project called CarbFix started in Iceland, 2012, when the scientists pumped about 250 tons of carbon dioxide, mixed with water, about 1,500 feet down into porous basalt. Early signs were encouraging: The scientists found that about 95 percent of the carbon dioxide was changed into calcite. And even more importantly, they wrote, the change happened relatively quickly — in less than two years.‎ ‎“It’s beyond all our expectations,” said Edda Aradottir, who manages the project. Rapid change of the CO2 means that a project would probably have to be monitored for a far shorter time than a more conventional storage site.‎ There are still concerns about whether the technology will prove useful in the fight against global warming. For one thing, it would have to be scaled up enormously. For another, a lot of water is needed — 25 tons of it for every ton of CO2 — along with the right kind of rock.‎ But the researchers say that there is enough porous basaltic rock in Iceland, including in the ocean floors and along the margins of continents. And sitting a storage project in or near the ocean could potentially solve the water problem at the same time, as the researchers say seawater would work just fine.‎ ‎61. What can we learn about CCS in Paragraphs 2 and 3?‎ A. Scientists believe global warming will be avoided if CO2 is pumped underground.‎ B. There is no guarantee that CO2 will not escape even if pumped underground.‎ C. It’s been a common practice in many plants to capture and store CO2 underground.‎ D. It requires decades to turn CO2 into liquid form and be locked underground.‎ ‎62. What materials should be involved in the project CarbFix?‎ A. Water, CO2, soda water and basalts B. Water, soda water, a pump and calcite C. CO2, basalts, a pump and calcite D. Water, CO2, a pump and basalts ‎63. According to Edda Aradottir, the result of the project was beyond the researchers’ expectations, because .‎ A. it’s disappointing to discover new problems caused by rapid change B. it’s puzzling to find the encouraging but unexpected result of the project C. it’s amazing to see 95% of the carbon dioxide turn into calcite that fast D. it’s exciting to sense the problem of storing CO2 likely to be solved ‎64. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?‎ A. To inform us of a breakthrough in storing CO2. ‎ B. To praise the efforts of scientists in storing CO2.‎ C. To show the different ways to fight against CO2. ‎ D. To urge people to produce the least possible CO2.‎ 参考答案：61-64BDCA ‎[七]‎ What will higher education look like in 2050? That was the question addressed Tuesday night by Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University.‎ ‎“We’re at the end of the fourth wave of change in higher education,” Crow began, arguing that research universities followed the initial establishment of higher education, public colleges, and land-grant schools in the timeline of America.‎ In less than a half-century, he said, global market competition will be at its fastest rates of change ever, with several multitrillion-dollar economies worldwide. According to a recent projection, the nation’s population could reach 435 million, with a large percentage of those residents economically disadvantaged. In addition, climate change will be “meaningfully uncontrollable” in many parts of the world.‎ The everyday trends seen today, such as declining performance of students at all levels, particularly in math and science, and declining wages and employment among the less educated, will only continue, Crow maintained, and are, to say the least, not contributing to fulfilling the dream of climbing the social ladder mobility, quality of life, sustainable environment, and longer life spans that most Americans share.‎ ‎“How is it that we can have these great research universities and have negative-trending outcomes?” Crow said in a talk “I hold the universities accountable. … We are part of the problem.”‎ Among the “things that we do that make the things that we teach less learnable,” Crow said, are the strict separation of disciplines, academic rigidity, and conservatism, the desire of universities to imitate schools at the top of the social ranks, and the lack of the computer system ability that would allow a large number of students to be educated for a small amount of money.‎ Since 2002, when Crow started being in charge at Arizona State — which he calls the “new American university” — he has led more than three dozen initiatives that aim to make the school “inclusive, scalable, fast, adaptive, challenge-focused, and willing to take risks.”‎ Among those initiatives were a restructuring of the engineering and life sciences schools to create more linkages between disciplines; the launch of the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Sustainability; the start of a Teachers College to address K-12 performance and increase the status of the Education Department at the university; and broadened access, increasing the freshman class size by 42 percent and the enrollment of students living below the poverty line by 500 percent.‎ Universities must start, Crow noted, “by becoming self-reflective architects, figuring out what we have and what we actually need instead of what legend tells us we have to be.” Research universities today have “run their course,” he added. “Now is the time for variety.”‎ During a discussion afterward, Crow clarified and expanded on some of his points. He discussed, for example, the school’s distance-learning program. “Nearly 40 percent of undergraduates are taking at least one course online,” he said, which helps the school to keep costs down while advancing interactive learning technologies.‎ He said that Arizona State is working to increase the transfer and completion rates of community-college students, of whom only about 15 percent, historically, complete their later degrees. “We’ve built a system that will allow them to track into universities,” particularly where “culturally complex barriers” beyond finances limit even the most gifted students.‎ ‎66. The fourth wave of change in America’s higher education refers to _______.‎ A. public colleges B. land-grant schools C. initial higher education D. research universities ‎ ‎67. Which is NOT part of the American dream most people share?‎ A. People enjoy a quality life. B. People live longer and longer.‎ C. The freedom to move around. D. An environment that is sustainable.‎ ‎68. Which is an initiative adopted by Crow at Arizona State University?‎ A. Restructuring the teachers College.‎ B. Launching the School of Life Sciences.‎ C. Ignoring the linkages between disciplines.‎ D. Enrolling more students from poor families.‎ ‎69. Which one is similar to the underlined word “architect” in meaning?‎ A. The author of the guidebook is an architect by profession. ‎ B. Deng Xiaoping is one of the architects of the PRC. ‎ C. If you want to refurnish the house, consult the architect.‎ D. Tom is considered one of the best landscape architect here.‎ ‎70. With the distance-learning program, Arizona State University is able to ______.‎ A. enroll 40% of its students online B. provide an even greater number of courses C. attract the most gifted students all over the world ‎ D. keep costs down without a loss of quality 参考答案：66-70 DCDBD ‎[八]‎ What would the holidays be without lots of tiny twinkling lights? Less colorful and festive — but also a lot safer.‎ From living rooms to front porches across the country, homeowners are stringing millions of lights on Christmas trees or eaves and decorating their windowsills with electric, battery-operated or traditional candles. But according to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, too many are doing so with little regard to the hazards（危险）. Last holiday season there were about 200 Christmas tree fires in American homes, resulting in ‎ ‎10 deaths and more than $10 million in property loss, the Commission says. Another 14,000 house fires are started yearly by misplaced or mishandled candles, causing 170 deaths and $350 million in property loss. And about 10,000 people are treated at emergency rooms for injuries from falls, cuts or shocks while hanging lights or decorations.‎ The biggest causes of holiday fires are “candles and live trees”, said Kim Dulic, a Commission spokeswoman. The agency recommends battery-operated candles instead of real or electric, she said, along with fire-resistant artificial trees — or fresh, well-watered trees.‎ A cut tree is fresh, she said, if the bottom of its trunk is sticky with resin（树脂）and its needles are hard to pull and don’t break when bent. It is too dry if it sheds a shower of needles when bounced on the ground. A harvested tree should be cut about a half inch from the bottom and put in water within no more than three to six hours, said Rick Dungey, the public relations manager of the National Christmas Tree Association, in Chesterfield, Mo. “If you wait any longer, air molecules get in the trunk and they prevent the tree from absorbing water,” Mr. Dungey said, adding that people should water often and never let the water go below the cut end. Once a Christmas tree dries out, it is an accident waiting to happen, said Lorraine Carli, the communications vice president of the National Fire Protection Association, in Quincy, Mass. If catching fire, the tree can be engulfed in seconds.‎ The most common cause is electrical — either an overused electrical system or faulty wiring. Brett Brenner, the president of the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), in Rosslyn, Va., said homeowners should make yearly inspections. “Cracked sockets（插座）, frayed or bare wires and loose connections can cause a serious shock or start a fire,” he said. Use no more than one extension cord per socket, and string no more than three sets of lights together. Wires should not run under carpets or ‎ through windows or doors. He said outdoor outlets should be protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter — a breaker that trips with any interruption or problem with the ground wire. (An interrupter usually needs to be installed when an outlet is near or exposed to water; it generally costs less than $10.)‎ John Drengenberg, the consumer affairs director of Underwriters Laboratories, the testing group in Northbrook, III., said that if lights are certified（标记为）for indoors only, they must not be used outside; those certified for outdoors, however, can be used inside. And what about those who don’t take down their outdoor lights until the wisteria（紫藤花）is in bloom in May? “You should never leave lights up all year round,” Mr. Drengenberg said. “They’re not designed for year-round use.”‎ ‎63. According to the passage, what is the best choice of Christmas trees?‎ A. A real tree which is displayed at the shop.‎ B. An artificial tree with delicate craftsmanship.‎ C. A real tree whose needles don’t break when bent.‎ D. An artificial tree that won’t be engulfed immediately.‎ ‎64. It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that .‎ A. electrical devices for outdoor use are not expensive ‎ B. the ESFI inspects household electrical system annually C. homeowners do not have the particular electrical knowledge D. an overloaded electrical system or faulty wiring may lead to disasters ‎65. What is the main idea of this passage?‎ A. The accidents during Christmas season.‎ B. The possible danger of Christmas decoration.‎ C. The necessary information on safety regulations.‎ D. The nature of the household hazards at the Christmas season.‎ 参考答案：63-65 CDB ‎[九]‎ Today, many species of animals and plants are endangered. This means they are in danger of becoming extinct and living on only in the pages of history books. The famous dodo is a classic example of a creature that became extinct. A flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius, it was discovered by sailors in 1598 but was hunted to extinction by 1681.‎ Hunting has caused the Bengal tiger and the African elephant to be endangered today but habitat destruction can also lead to extinction. This is equally true for plants. Animals and plants disappear for other reasons too, but the main cause is often a disruption（打乱，破坏） in the natural food chain, whether due to hunting, habitat destruction, or even the introduction of alien species.‎ The natural food chain is the cycle that governs the existence of all life on this planet. It is a carefully balanced cycle and any imbalance that occurs can cause knock-on effects that have serious consequences. At the beginning of the natural food chain are plants which turn sunlight into energy and draw nutrients from the earth. Plants are called producers.‎ After the producers come the consumers. There are three tiers of consumers. First are creatures such as plant-eating animals, fish and insects which feed off the producers. These animals that only eat plants are called herbivores. The second tier of consumers are carnivores - animals that live off other animals. The third tier of consumers eats both other animals and plants. These consumers, including most humans, are called omnivores.‎ After animals and plants die, they become food for other smaller creatures, such as bacteria and some plants, such as fungi. As they feed, these creatures turn the dead bodies back into gases and minerals which are again food for the producers at the beginning of the food chain. And so the cycle continues.‎ All of nature is connected and governed by hundreds of these delicate food chains and if a single plant in the chain cannot survive, then the insects that live off the plant start to die and the animals that eat the insects also start to die.‎ When a food chain is disrupted, the consequences can be extremely serious. One estimate suggests that for each plant species that is lost, up to 30 animals and insects may also die out. One wonders how many species were affected by the extinction of the dodo?‎ Humans can have disastrous effects on food chains. We've already mentioned hunting but now let's look at travel. When people first started to explore the world they took plant and animal species from their home countries and introduced them wherever they went. They didn't realize that by introducing alien species they were disrupting the natural food chains of the areas they discovered. Although there are strict rules in place today controlling the import and export of alien species, some places are still fighting the effects of aliens introduced hundreds of years ago.‎ For example, Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean is a breeding ground for albatrosses that have been nesting there for centuries. But in the 19th century, mice from passing ships were brought to the island. Being a species alien to the island, they had no natural predators and have now grown to such a size that they are attacking and killing albatross chicks. If they are allowed to continue, they will wipe out the albatross population.‎ With import laws and people's rising awareness of how humans affect the natural environment, hopefully we can learn to fit better into the natural food chains that govern our world. Otherwise we need to accept that the loss of any more plants and animals could eventually mean our own extinction.‎ ‎59. What do the first two paragraphs mainly tell us?‎ A. Hunting and habitat destruction lead to extinction.‎ B. Many species of animals and plants are endangered.‎ C. The main cause of extinction is often a disruption in the natural food chain.‎ D. Plants and animals become extinct for the same reasons.‎ ‎60. Which of the following sentence is TRUE according to the passage?‎ A. Strict rules alone can remove the bad effects of alien species.‎ B. Plants, herbivores and carnivores are the three tiers of consumers.‎ C. Animals and plants become extinct because alien species are imported.‎ D. If a bird becomes extinct, the relevant food chain will be disrupted.‎ ‎61. By mentioning the mice in Gough Island, the author intends to highlight ______.‎ A. mice worldwide are growing all the time ‎ B. traveling can have disastrous effects on food chains C. some places are still fighting the effects of aliens D. being aliens, they had no natural predators ‎62. What is the best title of the passage?‎ A. Survival of the fittest.‎ B. Endangered animals and plants.‎ C. How to protect the natural environment. ‎ D. The link between food chains and extinction. ‎ 参考答案：59-62 CDBD ‎ ‎[十]‎ No wonder English is such a challenge for non-native speakers. The language has more words than any other – over 1 million, according to the Global Language Monitor. Out of this number, the average (平均的) American college student knows between 8,000-15,000.‎ Realizing that words are the building blocks of language, many Chinese students try hard to catch up. They often make long lists of words, and memorize their meanings and Chinese translations.‎ The bad news is that this method may do them little good when it comes to college entrance tests (入学考试), like the SATs. For these tests, a student needs to fully understand many words and their different uses.‎ But the good news is that there are better ways to build your English vocabulary.‎ Vocabulary learning system (系统)‎ The first thing to do is to develop an organized (有条理的) but easy way of collecting and learning new words. For example, a card system should include the following information:‎ Word – Simple definition (定义) in English – Phrase or sentence – Related (相关的) words – Synonyms (同义词) and antonyms (反义词) – Chinese meaning on the back of the card.‎ The good thing about this system is that with a single card, a student can learn not just one word, but a group of related words.‎ Keep your cards on a removable metal ring, so you can carry them around and add more to your collection every day.‎ Learn by theme (主题), not alphabet Experts have found that people understand and remember facts better if they are given in logical (合逻辑的) groups. For example, it is much easier to remember words that are related to each other than it is to remember a list of unrelated words.‎ Creating lists of words related to common themes – such as friendship, family, wealth, poverty, careers, sciences – will be much easier to learn and remember than collecting words related only by their first letters.‎ ‎21.Why is English learning a challenge to non-native speakers, according to the writer?‎ A. English grammar is different from Chinese grammar.‎ B. English has the largest vocabulary among languages.‎ C. It’s difficult for them to understand the logic of the language.‎ D. Many English words have different meanings and usages.‎ ‎22. What problem do Chinese students have in studying English according to the article?‎ A. Their method of learning English vocabulary is poor.‎ B. They think there’s no need to learn a large vocabulary.‎ C. They do not work hard enough to increase their vocabulary.‎ D. They find it hard to communicate with native speakers.‎ ‎23. Which of the following statements is TRUE?‎ A. American college students have a vocabulary of more than 15,000 words on average.‎ B. Memorization of words is of little help in learning English.‎ C. Students should not use Chinese when they memorize English words.‎ D. SATs examiners look out for how well Chinese students understand English words.‎ 参考答案：21-23 BAD