高考真题分类汇编——阅读理解—人与社会 科学与技术(2016——2020)

题组一

Passage1 2020全国卷I D

D

The connection between people and plants has long been the subject of scientific research. Recent studies have found positive effects. A study conducted in Youngstown, Ohio, for example, discovered that greener areas of the city experienced less crime. In another, employees were shown to be 15% more productive when their workplaces were decorated with houseplants.

The engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have taken it a step further—changing the actual composition of plants in order to get them to perform diverse, even unusual functions. These include plants that have sensors printed onto their leaves to show when they’re short of water and a plant that can detect harmful chemicals in groundwater. “We’re thinking about how we can engineer plants to replace functions of the things that we use every day,” explained Michael Strano, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT.

One of his latest projects has been to make plants grow(发光) in experiments using some common vegetables. Strano’s team found that they could create a faint light for three-and-a-half hours. The light, about one-thousandth of the amount needed to read by, is just a start. The technology, Strano said, could one day be used to light the rooms or even to turn trees into self-powered street lamps.

In the future, the team hopes to develop a version of the technology that can be sprayed onto plant leaves in a one-off treatment that would last the plant’s lifetime. The engineers are also trying to develop an on and off “switch” where the glow would fade when exposed to daylight.

Lighting accounts for about 7% of the total electricity consumed in the US. Since lighting is often far removed from the power source(电源)—such as the distance from a power plant to street lamps on a remote highway—a lot of energy is lost during transmission(传输). Glowing plants could reduce this distance and therefore help save energy. 32. What is the first paragraph mainly about? A. A new study of different plants. B. A big fall in crime rates. C. Employees from various workplaces. D. Benefits from green plants.

33. What is the function of the sensors printed on plant leaves by MIT engineer? A. To detect plants’ lack of water . B. To change compositions of plants. C. To make the life of plants longer. D. To test chemicals in plants. 34. What can we expect of the glowing plants in the future? A. They will speed up energy production. B. They may transmit electricity to the home. C. They might help reduce energy consumption. D. They could take the place of power plants.

35. Which of the following can be the best title for the text? A. Can we grow more glowing plants? B. How do we live with glowing plants? C. Could glowing plants replace lamps?

D. How are glowing plants made pollution-free?

Passage2 2020全国卷 II B

B

Some parents will buy any high-tech toy if they think it will help their child, but researchers said puzzles help children with math-related skills.

Psychologist Susan Levine, an expert on mathematics development in young children the University of Chicago, found children who play with puzzles between ages 2 and 4 later develop better spatial skills. Puzzle play was found to be a significant predictor of cognition(认知) after controlling for differences in parents’ income, education and the amount of parent talk, Levine said.

The researchers analyzed video recordings of 53 child-parent pairs during everyday activities at home and found children who play with puzzles between 26 and 46 months of age have better spatial skills when assessed at 54 months of age.

“The children who played with puzzles performed better than those who did not, on tasks that assessed their ability to rotate(旋转)and translate shapes,” Levine said in a statement.

The parents were asked to interact with their children as they normally would, and about half of children in the study played with puzzles at one time. Higher-income parents tended to have children play with puzzles more frequently, and both boys and girls who played with puzzles had better spatial skills. However, boys tended to play with more complex puzzles than girls, and the parents of boys provided more spatial language and were more active during puzzle play than parents of girls.

The findings were published in the journal Developmental Science. 24. In which aspect do children benefit from puzzle play?

A. Building confidence. C. Learning self-control.

B. Developing spatial skills. D. Gaining high-tech knowledge.

25.What did Levine take into consideration when designing her experiment？

A. Parents’ age. C. Parents’ education.

B. Children’s imagination. D. Child-parent relationship.

26. How do boy differ from girls in puzzle play?

A. They play with puzzles more often.

B. They tend to talk less during the game. C. They prefer to use more spatial language. D. They are likely to play with tougher puzzles. 27. What is the text mainly about?

A. A mathematical method. C. A woman psychologist

题组二

Passage1 2020 浙江 C

C

Challenging work that requires lots of analytical thinking, planning and other managerial skills might help your brain stay sharp as you age, a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology suggests.

Researchers from the University of Leipzig in Germany gathered more than 1, 000 retired workers who were over age 75 and assessed the volunteers’ memory and thinking skills through a battery of tests. Then, for eight years, the scientists asked the same group to come back to the lab every 18 months to take the same sorts of tests.

Those who had held mentally stimulating(刺激), demanding jobs before retirement tended to do the best on the tests. And they tended to lose cognitive(认知) function at a much slower rate than those with the least mentally challenging jobs. The results held true even after the scientists accounted for the participants’ overall health status.

“This works just like physical exercise, ” says Francisca Then, who led the study. “After a long run, you may feel like you’re in pain, you may feel tired. But it makes you fit. After a long day at work-sure, you will feel tired, but it can help your brain stay healthy. ”

It's not just corporate jobs, or even paid work that can help keep your brain fit, Then points out. A waiter’s job, for example, that requires multitasking, teamwork and decision-making could be just as stimulating as any high-level office work. And “running a family household requires high-level planning and coordinating(协调), ” she says. “You have to organize the activities of the children and take care of the bills and groceries. ”

Of course, our brains can decline as we grow older for lots of reasons-including other environmental influences or genetic factors. Still, continuing to challenge yourself mentally and

B. A scientific study. D. A teaching program.

keeping your mind busy can only help.

28 Why did the scientists ask the volunteers to take the tests? A. To assess their health status. C. To analyze their personality.

B. To evaluate their work habits. D. To measure their mental ability.

29. How does Francisca Then explain her findings in paragraph 4? A. By using an expert’s words. C. By referring to another study.

30. Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. Retired Workers Can Pick Up New Skills B. Old People Should Take Challenging Jobs C. Your Tough Job Might Help Keep You Sharp D. Cognitive Function May Decline As You Age

Passage 2 2020 天津 C

C

For people, who are interested in sound, the field of sound technology is definitely making noise. In the past, sound engineers worked in the back rooms of recording studios, but many of today’s sound professionals are sharing their knowledge and experience with professionals in other fields to create new products based on the phenomenon we call sound.

Sound can be used as a weapon. Imagine that a police officer is chasing a thief. The thief tries to escape. And the officer can’t let him get away. He pulls out a special device, points it at the suspect, and switches it on. The thief drops to the ground. This new weapon is called a Long Range Acoustic Device（LRAD, 远程定向声波发射器）. It produces a deafening sound so painful that it temporarily disables a person. The noise from the LRAD is directed like a ray of light and travels only into the ears of that person, but it is not deadly.

For those who hunger for some peace and quiet, sound can now create silence. Let’s say you are at the airport, and the little boy on the seat next to you is humming（哼唱）a short commercial song. He hums it over and over again, and you are about to go crazy. Thanks to the Silence Machine, a British invention, you can get rid of the sound without upsetting the boy or his parents. One may wonder how the Silence Machine works. Well, it functions by analyzing the waves of the

B. By making a comparison. D. By introducing a concept.

.incoming sound and creating a second set of outgoing waves. The two sets of waves cancel each other out. Simply turn the machine on point it at the target, and your peace and quiet comes back.

Directed sound is a new technology that allows companies to use sound in much the same way spotlights（聚光灯）are used in the theater. A spotlight lights up only one section of a stage; similarly, a \"spotsound\" creates a circle of sound in one targeted area. This can be useful for businesses such as restaurants and stores because it offers a new way to attract customers. Restaurants can offer a choice of music along with the various food choices on the menu, allowing customers more control over the atmosphere in which they are dining. Directed sound is also beginning to appear in shopping centers and even at homes.

46. What could be inferred from Paragraph 2 about the effect of the LRAD? A. It causes temporary hearing loss.

B. It slows down a running man.

D. It keeps the suspect from hurting others.

C. It makes it easy to identify a suspect.

47. The Silence Machine is a device specially designed to ________. A. silence the people around you

B. remove the sound of commercials D. stop unwanted sound from affecting you

C. block the incoming sound waves

48. What feature do spotsounds and spotlights share? A. They travel in circles.

B. They clear the atmosphere.

D. They can be directed onto a specific

C. They can be transformed into energy. area.

49. Directed sound can be used for ________. A. creative designs of restaurant menus

B. ideal sound effects on the theater stage D. strict control over any suspicious

C. different choices of music for businesses customer

50. What does the passage focus on?

A. How professionals invented sound products. B. Inventions in the field of sound technology.

C. The growing interest in the study of sound. studios.

D. How sound engineers work in their

题组三

Passage 1 2019 全国卷 I C

C

As data and identity theft becomes more and more common, the market is growing for biometric（生物测量）technologies—like fingerprint scans—to keep others out of private e-spaces. At present, these technologies are still expensive, though.

Researchers from Georgia Tech say that they have come up with a low-cost device（装置）that gets around this problem: a smart keyboard. This smart keyboard precisely measures the cadence（节奏）with which one types and the pressure fingers apply to each key. The keyboard could offer a strong layer of security by analyzing things like the force of a user’s typing and the time between key presses. These patterns are unique to each person. Thus, the keyboard can determine people’s identities, and by extension, whether they should be given access to the computer it’s connected to — regardless of whether someone gets the password right.

It also doesn’t require a new type of technology that people aren’t already familiar with. Everybody uses a keyboard and everybody types differently.

In a study describing the technology, the researchers had 100 volunteers type the word ＂touch＂four times using the smart keyboard. Data collected from the device could be used to recognize different participants based on how they typed, with very low error rates. The researchers say that the keyboard should be pretty straightforward to commercialize and is mostly made of inexpensive, plastic-like parts. The team hopes to make it to market in the near future. 28. Why do the researchers develop the smart keyboard? A. To reduce pressure on keys. C. To replace the password system.

B. To improve accuracy in typing D. To cut the cost of e-space protection.

29. What makes the invention of the smart keyboard possible? A. Computers are much easier to operate. B. Fingerprint scanning techniques develop fast. C. Typing patterns vary from person to person. D. Data security measures are guaranteed.

30. What do the researchers expect of the smart keyboard? A. It’ll be environment-friendly.

B. It’ll reach consumers soon.

C. It’ll be made of plastics. 31. Where is this text most likely from? A. A diary.

B. A guidebook

D. It’ll help speed up typing.

C. A novel. D. A magazine.

Passage 2 2019 全国卷 III D

D

Monkeys seem to have a way with numbers.

A team of researchers trained three Rhesus monkeys to associate 26 clearly different symbols consisting of numbers and selective letters with 0-25 drops of water or juice as a reward. The researchers then tested how the monkeys combined—or added—the symbols to get the reward.

Here's how Harvard Medical School scientist Margaret Livingstone, who led the team, described the experiment: In their cages the monkeys were provided with touch screens. On one part of the screen, a symbol would appear, and on the other side two symbols inside a circle were shown. For example, the number 7 would flash on one side of the screen and the other end would have 9 and 8. If the monkeys touched the left side of the screen they would be rewarded with seven drops of water or juice; if they went for the circle, they would be rewarded with the sum of the numbers—17 in this example.

After running hundreds of tests, the researchers noted that the monkeys would go for the higher values more than half the time, indicating that they were performing a calculation, not just memorizing the value of each combination.

When the team examined the results of the experiment more closely, they noticed that the monkeys tended to underestimate（低估）a sum compared with a single symbol when the two were close in value—sometimes choosing, for example, a 13 over the sum of 8 and 6. The underestimation was systematic: When adding two numbers, the monkeys always paid attention to the larger of the two, and then added only a fraction（小部分）of the smaller number to it.

\"This indicates that there is a certain way quantity is represented in their brains, \"Dr. Livingstone says. “But in this experiment what they're doing is paying more attention to the big number than the little one.”

32. What did the researchers do to the monkeys before testing them? A. They fed them. C. They trained them.

B. They named them. D. They measured them.

33. How did the monkeys get their reward in the experiment? A. By drawing a circle. C. By watching videos.

B. By touching a screen. D. By mixing two drinks.

34. What did Livingstone's team find about the monkeys? A. They could perform basic addition. C. They could memorize numbers easily.

B. They could understand simple words. D. They could hold their attention for long.

35. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear? A. Entertainment.

B. Health.

C. Education.

D. Science.

题组四

Passage1 2019 北京 C

C

The problem of robocalls has gotten so bad that many people now refuse to pick up calls from numbers they don’t know. By next year, half of the calls we receive will be scams（欺诈）. We are finally waking up to the severity of the problem by supporting and developing a group of tools, apps and approaches intended to prevent scammers from getting through. Unfortunately, it’s too little, too late. By the time these ＂solutions\"（解决方案）become widely available, scammers will have moved onto cleverer means. In the near future, it’s not just going to be the number you see on your screen that will be in doubt. Soon you will also question whether the voice you’re hearing is actually real.

That’s because there are a number of powerful voice manipulation ( 处理 ) and automation technologies that are about to become widely available for anyone to use. At this year’s I/O Conference, a company showed a new voice technology able to produce such a convincing human-sounding voice that it was able to speak to a receptionist and book a reservation without detection.

These developments are likely to make our current problems with robocalls much worse. The reason that robocalls are a headache has less to do with amount than precision. A decade of data breaches（数据侵入）of personal information has led to a situation where scammers can easily learn your mother’s name, and far more. Armed with this knowledge, they’re able to carry out individually targeted campaigns to cheat people. This means, for example, that a scammer could call you from what looks to be a familiar number and talk to you using a voice that sounds exactly like your bank teller’s, tricking you into \"confirming\" your address, mother’s name, and card number. Scammers follow money, so companies will be the worst hit. A lot of business is still done over the phone, and much of it is based on trust and existing relationships. Voice manipulation technologies may weaken that gradually.

We need to deal with the insecure nature of our telecom networks. Phone carriers and consumers need to work together to find ways of determining and communicating what is real. That might mean either developing a uniform way to mark videos and images, showing when and who they were made by, or abandoning phone calls altogether and moving towards data-based communications — using apps like FaceTime or WhatsApp, which can be tied to your identity.

Credibility is hard to earn but easy to lose, and the problem is only going to get harder from here on out.

38. How does the author feel about the solutions to problem of robocalls?

A. Panicked. B. Confused. Disappointed.

39. Taking advantage of the new technologies, scammers can ___________.

A. aim at victims precisely C. start campaigns rapidly 40. What does the passage imply?

A. Honesty is the best policy. B. Technologies can be double-edged. C. There are more solutions than problems. D. Credibility holds the key to development.

41. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Where the Problem of Robocalls Is Rooted

B. damage databases easily D. spread information widely C. Embarrassed.

D.

B. Who Is to Blame for the Problem of Robocalls C. Why Robocalls Are About to Get More Dangerous D. How Robocalls Are Affecting the World of Technology

Passage 2 2018 北京 D

D

By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate, according to a new study.

At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms（海洋微生物）called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms, these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue, depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas, while reducing it in other spots, leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.

Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface, where they pull carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die, they bury carbon in the deep ocean, an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean’s warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth, since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, but also nutrients.

Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a scientist in MIT’s Center for Global Change Science, built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 3℃, it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters, such as those of the Arctic, a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton, and these areas will turn greener. ＂Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing,＂she said, ＂but the type of phytoplankton is changing. ＂

And why does that matter? Phytoplankton are the base of the food web. If certain kinds begin to disappear from the ocean, Dutkiewicz said, ＂it will change the type of fish that will be able to survive.＂ Those kinds of changes could affect the food chain.

Whatever colour changes the ocean experiences in the coming decades will probably be too

gradual and unnoticeable, but they could mean significant changes. ＂It’ll be a while before we can statistically show that the changes are happening because of climate change,＂ Dutkiewicz said, ＂but the change in the colour of the ocean will be one of the early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.＂

42. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about? A. The various patterns at the ocean surface. B. The cause of the changes in ocean colour. C. The way light reflects off marine organisms. D. The efforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton.

43. What does the underlined word＂vulnerable＂in Paragraph 3 probably mean? A. Sensitive. Unnoticeable.

44. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Phytoplankton play a declining role in the marine ecosystem. B. Dutkiewicz’s model aims to project phytoplankton changes. C. Phytoplankton have been used to control global climate. D. Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear greener. 45. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To assess the consequences of ocean colour changes. B. To analyse the composition of the ocean food chain. C. To explain the effects of climate change on oceans. D. To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton.

题组 五

Passage 1 2018 天津 C

C

There’s a new frontier in 3D printing that’s beginning to come into focus: food. Recent development has made possible machines that print, cook, and serve foods on a mass scale. And the industry isn’t stopping there.

B. Beneficial.

C. Significant.

D.

Food production

With a 3D printer, a cook can print complicated chocolate sculptures and beautiful pieces for decoration on a wedding cake. Not everybody can do that — it takes years of experience, but a printer makes it easy. A restaurant in Spain uses a Foodini to “re-create forms and pieces” of food that are “exactly the same,” freeing cooks to complete other tasks. In another restaurant, all of the dishes and desserts it serves are 3D-printed, rather than farm to table. Sustainability(可持续性)

The global population is expected to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050, and some analysts estimate that food production will need to be raised by 50 percent to maintain current levels. Sustainability is becoming a necessity. 3D food printing could probably contribute to the solution. Some experts believe printers could use hydrocolloids (水解胶体) from plentiful renewables like algae(藻类) and grass to replace the familiar ingredients(烹饪原料). 3D printing can reduce fuel use and emissions. Grocery stores of the future might stock \"food\" that lasts years on end, freeing up shelf space and reducing transportation and storage requirements. Nutrition

Future 3D food printers could make processed food healthier. Hod Lipson, a professor at Columbia University, said, “Food printing could allow consumers to print food with customized nutritional content, like vitamins. So instead of eating a piece of yesterday’s bread from the supermarket, you’d eat something baked just for you on demand.” Challenges

Despite recent advancements in 3D food printing, the industry has many challenges to overcome. Currently, most ingredients must be changed to a paste(糊状物) before a printer can use them, and the printing process is quite time-consuming, because ingredients interact with each other in very complex ways. On top of that, most of the 3D food printers now are restricted to dry ingredients, because meat and milk products may easily go bad. Some experts are skeptical about 3D food printers, believing they are better suited for fast food restaurants than homes and high-end restaurants.

46. What benefit does 3D printing bring to food production? A. It helps cooks to create new dishes. B. It saves time and effort in cooking.

C. It improves the cooking conditions. D. It contributes to restaurant decorations.

47. What can we learn about 3D food printing from Paragraphs 3? A. It solves food shortages easily. B. It quickens the transportation of food. C. It needs no space for the storage of food. D. It uses renewable materials as sources of food.

48. According to Paragraph 4, 3D-printed food _____________. A. is more available to consumers B. can meet individual nutritional needs C. is more tasty than food in supermarkets D. can keep all the nutrition in raw materials

49. What is the main factor that prevents 3D food printing from spreading widely? A. The printing process is complicated. B. 3D food printers are too expensive. C. Food materials have to be dry. D. Some experts doubt 3D food printing. 50. What could be the best title of the passage? A. 3D Food Printing: Delicious New Technology B. A New Way to Improve 3D Food Printing C. The Challenges for 3D Food Production D. 3D Food Printing: From Farm to Table

Passage2 2017 全国卷 I D

D

A buld-it-yourself solar still（蒸馏器） is one of the best ways to obtain drinking water in areas where the liquid is not readily available. Developed by two doctors in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it’s an excellent water collector. Unfortunately, you must carry the necessary equipment with you, since it’s all but impossible to find natural substitutes. The only components

required, though, are a 5’ 5’ sheet of clear or slightly milky plastic, six feet of plastic tube, and a container— perhaps just a drinking cup — to catch the water. These pieces can be folded into a neat little pack and fastened on your belt.

To construct a working still, use a sharp stick or rock to dig a hole four feet across and three feet deep. Try to make the hole in a damp area to increase the water catcher’s productivity. Place your cup in the deepest part of the hole. Then lay the tube in place so that one end rests all the way in the cup and the rest of the line runs up — and out — the side of the hole.

Next, cover the hole with the plastic sheet, securing the edges of the plastic with dirt and weighting the sheet’s center down with a rock. The plastic should now form a cone(圆锥体) with 45-degree-angled sides. The low point of the sheet must be centered directly over, and no more than three inches above, the cup.

The solar still works by creating a greenhouse under the plastic. Ground water evaporates (蒸发) and collects on the sheet until small drops of water form, run down the material and fall off into the cup. When the container is full, you can suck the refreshment out through the tube, and won’t have to break down the still every time you need a drink.

32.What do we know about the solar still equipment from the first paragraph? A.It’s delicate. B.It’s expensive. C.It’s complex. D.It’s portable

33.What does the underlined phrase “the water catcher” in paragraph 2 refer to? A.The tube B.The still C.The hole D.The cup 34.What’s the last step of constructing a working solar still?

A.Dig a hole of a certain size B.Put the cup in place

C.Weight the sheet’s center down D.Cover the hole with the plastic sheet 35.When a solar still works, drops of water come into the cup form . A.the plastic tube B.outside the hole C.the open air D.beneath the sheet

题组六 passage 1 2017 全国卷 II C

C

Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its new flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle-named the Transition – has two seats， four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. The Transition, which flew at 1, 400 feet for eight minutes last month, can reach around 70 miles per hour on the road and 115 in the air. It flies using a 23-gallon tank of gas and bums 5 gallons per hour in the air. On the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon.

Around 100 people have already put down a $10, 000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto Show. But don’t expect it to show up in too many driveways. It’s expected to cost $279, 000. And it won’t help if you’re stuck in traffic. The car needs a runway.

Inventors have been trying to make flying cars since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry expert. But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. The government has already permitted the company to use special materials to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. The Transition is now going through crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.

Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft, which are lower than those pilots of larger planes Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a requirement pilots would find redatively easy to meet.

28. What is the first paragraph mainly about? A. The basic data of the Transition. B. The advantages of flying cars. C. The potential market for flying cars. C. The designers of the Transition.

29. Why is the Transition unlikely to show up in too many driveways? A. It causes traffic jams. B. It is difficult to operate.

C. It is very expensive. D. It bums too much fuel.

30. What is the government’s attitude to the development of the flying car? A. Cautious B. Favorable. C. Ambiguous. D. Disapproving.

31. What is the best title for the text? A. Flying Car at Auto Show B. The Transition’s Fist Flight C. Pilots’ Dream Coming True D. Flying Car Closer to Reality

Passage 2 2017 全国卷II D

D

When a 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 particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. What the plants pump through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, VOCs for short.

Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked. It’s a plant’s way of crying out. But is anyone listening? Apparently. Because we can watch the neighbours react.

Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others do double duty. They pump out perfumes designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once they arrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was lunching now becomes lunch.

In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors. The damage is usually more serious on the first plant, but the neighbors , relatively speaking , stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew 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 was sending a message to its own branches, and so, in effect, was talking to itself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to “overhear” the cry. So information 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 that plants 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 last paragraph? A. The word 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 more imaginative.

题组 七

Passage 1 2017 全国卷 III D

D

The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory named “Drive LAB” in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.

Research shows that giving up driving is one of the key reasons for a fall in health and well-being among older people, leading to them becoming more isolated (隔绝) and inactive. Led by Professor Phil Blythe, the Newcastle team are developing in-vehicle technologies for older drivers which they hope could help them to continue driving into later life.

These include custom-made navigation (导航) tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations. Phil Blythe explains: “For many older people, particularly those living alone or in the country, driving is important for preserving their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others.”

“But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and this often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.”

Dr Amy Guo, the leading researcher on the older driver study, explains: “The Drive LAB is helping us to understand what the key points and difficulties are for older drivers and how we might use technology to address these problems.

“For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else

but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined. We’re looking at the benefits of systems which control their speed as a way of preventing that.

“We hope that our work will help with technological solutions (解决方案) to ensure that older drivers stay safer behind the wheel.” 32. What is the purpose of the DriveLAB?

A. To explore new means of transport. B. To design new types of cars. C. To find out older driver`s problems. D. To teach people traffic rules. 33. Why is driving important for older people according to Phil Blythe?

A. It keeps them independent. B. It helps them save time.

C. It builds up their strength. D. It cures their mental illnesses. 34. What do researchers hope to do for older drivers?

A. Improve their driving skills. B. Develop driver-assist technologies.

C. Provide tips on repairing their cars. D. Organize regular physical checkups.

35. What is the best title for the text?

A. A New Model Electric Car B.A Solution to Traffic Problem C. Driving Service for Elders D. Keeping Older Drivers on the Road

Passage 2 2016 全国卷 III D

D

Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored (监控) in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people’s e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.

“The ‘if it bleeds’ rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. “They want your eyeballs and don’t care how you’re feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”

Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication — e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations — found that it tended to be more positive than negative (消极的), but that didn’t necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times’ website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the “most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to

make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times’ readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.

Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused (激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”

32 .What do the classic rules mentioned in the text apply to? A. News reports. C. Private e-mails.

B. Research papers. D. Daily conversations.

33. What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer? A. They’re socially inactive.

B. They’re good at telling stories. C. They’re inconsiderate of others. D. They’re careful with their words.

34. Which tended to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger’s research? A. Sports news.

B. Science articles. D. Financial reviews.

C. Personal accounts.

35. What can be a suitable title for the text? A. Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide B. Online News Attracts More People C. Reading Habits Change with the Times D. Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks