2020年高考英语专题复习阅读理解-科普环保类(10篇) 一A1.Passenger pigeons(旅鸽)once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers.Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks(群)so large that they darkened the sky for hours.It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point,there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons—a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States,making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world.Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller,a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles(about 515 kilometers)long was seen near Cincinnati.Sadly the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been theirundoing. Where the birds were most abundant,people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the mercial hunters attracted them to small clearings withgrain,waited until pigeons had settled to feed,then threw large nets overthem,taking hundreds at a time.The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.By the closing decades of the 19th century,the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans’need for wood,which scattered(驱散)the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north,where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline.Soon the great flocks were gone,never to be seen again.In 1897,the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons,but by then,no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years.The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in PikeCounty,Ohio,in 1900.For a time,a few birds survived under human care.The last of them,known affectionately as Martha,died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1,1914.（1）In the 18th and early 19th centuries,passenger pigeons .A.were the biggest bird in the worldB.lived mainly in the south of AmericaC.did great harm to the natural environmentD.were the largest bird population in the US（2）The underlined word“undoing”probably refers to the pigeons’.A.escapeB.ruinC.liberationD.evolution（3）What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?A.To seek pleasure.B.To save other birds.C.To make money.D.To protect crops.（4）What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?A.It was ignored by the public.B.It was declared too late.C.It was unfair.D.It was strict.B2.Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it’s because we have mirror neurons(神经元)in our brains.Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate(模仿)it, whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further: mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions, they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language.A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to(for example:” The hand took hold of the ball”), the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动). Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent(相等物)for neuroscience of what Einstein’s theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does—well, perhaps you’ll understand why.（1）Mirror neurons can explain .A.why we cry when we are hurtB.why we cough when we suffer from a coldC.why we smile when we see someone else smileD.why we yawn when we see someone else stay up late（2）The underlined word “triggered” in the third paragraph probably means“”.A.set offB.cut offC.built upD.broken up（3）We can learn from the passage that mirror neurons .A.relate to human behavior and interactionB.control human physical actions and feelingsC.result in bad behavior and social disordersD.determine our knowledge and language abilities（4）What is the passage mainly about?A. Ways to find mirror neurons.B. Problems of mirror neurons.C. Existence of mirror neurons.D. Functions of mirror neurons.C3.I have been consistently opposed to feeding a baby regularly. As a doctor, motherand scientist in child development I believe there is nothing to recommend it, from the baby’s point of view.Mothers, doctors and nurses alike have no idea of where a baby’s blood sugar level lies. All we know is that a low level is harmful to brain development and makesa baby easily annoyed. In this state, the baby is difficult to calm down and sleepis impossible. The baby asks for attention by crying and searching for food with its mouth.It is not just unkind but also dangerous to say a four-hourly feeding schedule will make a baby satisfied. The first of the experts to advocate a strict clock-watching schedule was Dr Frederic Truby King who was against feeding in the night. I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous.Baby feeding shouldn’t follow a timetable set by the mum.What is important is feeding a baby in the best way, though it may cause some inconvenience in the first few weeks.Well,at last we have copper-bottomed research that supports demand feeding and points out the weaknesses of strictly timed feeding.The research finds out that babies who are fed on demand do better at school at age 5,7,11 and 14,than babies fed according to the clock.By the age of 8,their IQ(智商)scores are four to five percent higher than babies fed by a rigid timetable.This research comes from Oxford and Essex University using a sample(样本)of 10,419 children born in the early 1990s,taking account of parental education,family income,a child’s sex and age,the mother’s health and feeding style.These results don’t surprise me.Feeding according to schedule runs the risk of harming the rapidly growing brain by taking no account of sinking blood sugar levels.I hope this research will put an end to advocating strictly timed baby feedingpractices.（1）According to Paragraph 2,one reason why a baby cries is that it feels .A.sickB.upsetC.sleepyD.hungry（2） What does the author think about Dr King?A.He is strict.B.He is unkind.C.He has the wrong idea.D.He sets a timetable for mothers.（3）The word copper -bottomed in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .A.basicB.reliableC.surprisingD.interesting（4） What does the research tell us about feeding a baby on demand?A.The baby will sleep well.B.The baby will have its brain harmed.C.The baby will have a low blood sugar level.D.The baby will grow to be wiser by the age of 8.（5The author supports feeding the baby .A.in the nightB.every four hoursC.whenever it wants foodD.according to its blood sugar levelD4.Women are friendly.But men are more competitive.Why?Researchers have found it’s all down to the hormone oxytocin(荷尔蒙催生素).Although known as the love hormone,it affects the sexes differently.“Women tend to be social in their behavior.They often share with others.But men tend to be competitive.They are trying to improve their social status,”said Professor Ryan.Generally,people believe that the hormone oxytocin is let out in our body in various social situations and our body creates a large amount of it during positive social interactions(互动)such as falling in love or giving birth.But in a previous experiment Professor Ryan found that the hormone is also let out in our body during negative social interactions such as envy.Further researches showed that in men the hormone oxytocin improves the ability to recognize competitive relationships,but in women it raises the ability to recognize friendship.Professor Ryan’s recent experiment used 62 men and women aged 20 to 37.Half of the participants(参与者)received oxytocin.The other half receivedplacebo(安慰剂).After a week,the two groups switched with participants.They went through the same procedure with the other material.Following each treatment,they were shown some video pictures with different social interactions.Then they were asked to analyze the relationships by answering some questions.The questions were about telling friendship from competition.And their answers should be based on gestures,body language and facial expressions.The results indicated that,after treatment with oxytocin,men’s ability to correctly recognize competitive relationships improved,but in women it was the ability to correctly recognize friendship that got better.Professor Ryan thus concluded:“Our experiment proves that the hormone oxytocin can raise people’s abilities to better distinguish different socialinteractions.And the behavior differences between men and women are caused by biological factors(因素)that are mainly hormonal.”（1）What causes men and women to behave differently according to the text?A.Placebo.B.Oxytocin.C.The gesture.D.The social status.（2）What can we learn from Professor Ryan’s previous experiment?A.Oxytocin affects our behavior in a different way.B.Our body lets out oxytocin when we are deep in love.C.Our body produces oxytocin when we feel unhappy about others’ success.D.Oxytocin improves our abilities to understand people’s behavior differences.（3）Why did Professor Ryan conduct the recent experiment?A.To test the effect of oxytocin on the ability to recognize social interactions.B.To know the differences between friendship and competition.C.To know people’s different abilities to answer questions.D.To test people’s understanding of body language.（4）The author develops the text by .A.explaining people’s behaviorsB.describing his own experiencesC.distinguishing sexual differencesD.discussing research experimentsE5.Not all bodies of water are so evidently alive as the Atlantic Ocean, an S-shaped body of water covering 33 million square miles. The Atlantic has, in a sense, replaced the Mediterranean as the inland sea of Western civilization. Unlike real inland seas, which seem strangely still, the Atlantic is rich in oceanic liveliness.It is perhaps not surprising that its vitality has been much written about by ancient poets.“Storm at Sea”, a short poem written around 700, is generally regarded as one of mankind’s earliest artistic representations of the Atlantic.When the wind is from the westAll the waves that cannot restTo the east must thunder onWhere the bright tree of the sunIs rooted in the ocean’s breast.As the poem suggests, the Atlantic is never dead and dull. It is an ocean that moves, impressively and endlessly. It makes all kinds of noise—it is forever thundering, boiling, crashing, and whistling.It is easy to imagine the Atlantic trying to draw breath—perhaps not so noticeably out in mid-ocean, but where it meets land, its waters bathing up and down a sandy beach. It mimics(模仿)nearly perfectly the steady breathing of a living creature.It is filled with symbiotic existences, too; unimaginable quantities of creatures,little and large alike, mix within its depths in a kind of oceanic harmony, giving to the waters a feeling of heartbeat, a kind of sub-ocean vitality. And it has a psychology. It has personalities: sometimes peaceful and pleasant, on rareoccasions rough and wild; always it is strong and striking.（1）Unlike real inland seas, the Atlantic Ocean is .A.always energeticcking in livelinessC.shaped like a squareD.favored by ancient poets（2）What is the purpose of using the poem“Storm at Sea”in the passage?A.To describe the movement of the waves.B.To show the strength of the storm.C.To represent the power of the ocean.D.To prove the vastness of the sea.（3）What does the underlined word“symbiotic”mean?A.Living together.B.Growing fast.C.Moving harmoniously.D.Breathing peacefully.（4）In the last paragraph, the Atlantic is compared to .A.a beautiful and poetic placeB.a flesh and blood personC.a wonderful worldD.a lovely animalF6.One moment it was quiet and calm in the forest,the next,the air was charged with tension.The elephant had heard the distant alarm calls of animals and her mood suddenly changed.I urged the elephant deeper into the forest.We sounded like a forest fire—crackling,snapping,trailblazing.But through all the noise came a sharp warning cry.The elephant stopped and we heard it again—the tell-tale call of a spotted deer.I looked quickly around the shadows of the forest.Rays of sunlight shone throughtree branches,beneath which the patchwork(交错)of green plants andshadows-within-shadows would make tiger stripes(条纹)look more attractive.Apart from an occasional noise from the elephant’s stomach,the forest was silent.Gradually,the tension slipped from our bodies.The elephant seized a nearby branch and put it into her mouth.I reached forward and gently moved my hand over the elephant’s neck;there was a soft part,free of wrinkles and hairs,behind her ear.This was my fourth timeto sense the auraof the forest in Corbett,although I saw no tigers in the end.Located at the foot of the Himalayan mountains,Corbett is home to about 135 Bengal tigers,but the forest seemed to be guarding their whereabouts(出没处),a silent reminder of their secrecy and rarity.Still,I was happy enough touching the elephant behind the ear.If I had so desperately wanted to see a tiger,I could have gone to a zoo.After all,spotting tigers merely confirms theirbeauty;tracking them can make you aware of something more.（1）Which of the following was a clear signal of alarm?A.The elephant stopped.B.A spotted deer called.C.The elephant seized a branch.D.The forest was silent for a while.（2）The author begins his account of the tour in the forest mainly by .A.describing various soundsparing different animalsC.listing different activitiesD.introducing various plants（3）What does the underlined part“to sense the aura”most probably mean?A.To see the diversity.B.To enjoy the scenery.C.To feel the atmosphere.D.To experience the freedom.（4）How does the author feel after several visits to Corbett?A.Seeing a Bengal tiger is quite thrilling.B.It is very time-consuming to travel in Corbett.C.It is really worthwhile to study the animals in Corbett.D.The process of finding Bengal tigers is most appealing.G7.You may think that sailing is a difficult sport, but it is really not hard to learn it. You do not need to be strong. But you need to be quick. And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind.First, you must ask yourself,“Where is the wind coming from?Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must think about this all the time on the boat.The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail.Let’s start with the wind blowing from behind. This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction. Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat. It should be at a 90° angle(角度) to the boat. Then it will catch the wind best.If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat. In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat. It should be at a 45° angle to the boat. It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn’t flap(摆动). It shouldn’t look like a flag on a flagpole. If it is flapping,it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down.Sailing into the wind is not possible. If you try, the sail will flap and the boatwill stop. You may want to go in that direction. It is possible, but you can’t go in a straight line. You must go first in one direction and then in another. This is called tacking. When you are tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat.（1）What should you consider first while sailing?A. Sailors’ strength.B. Wave levels.C. Wind directions.D. Size of sails.（2）What does the word “It” underlined in Paragraph 4 refer to?A. The boat.B. The wind.C. The sail.D. The angle.（3）What do you have to do when sailing against the wind?A. Move in a straight line.B. Allow the sail to flap.C. Lower the sail.D.Tack the boat.（4） Where can you probably find the text?A. In a popular magazine.B. In a tourist guidebook.C.In a physics textbook.D. In an official report.H8.For those who are tired of doing the laundry, Samsung has found an answer: a washing machine that can tell you when your laundry is done via a smartphone app (application).Strange though it may seem—“my wife already does that” was a common response among attendees viewing the device when it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week—Samsung is just one of many appliance makers racing to install(安装) a large number of internet-connected features in machines in an effort to make them“smart.”Last year, it was a refrigerator that tweeted. This year, it’s Wi-Fi-enabled laundry machines and fridges that can tell you when your groceries are going bad.The washers and dryers, available starting in the spring, connect to any smartphone through a downloadable application. The phone can then be used as a remote control, so the machines can be turned on and off while their owner is at work or on the bus.Samsung says it’s not just something new—the app connection actually has some practical uses.“If you started to dry clothes in the morning and forgot to take them out, you can go to your phone and restart your dryer for the time when you come home, so your clothes are refreshed and ready to go,”said spokesperson Amy Schmidt.The company also says that with electricity rates(电价) varying depending on the time of day, more control over when the machines are used can help save money.Perhaps, but what they will probably really accomplish is what all good technologies do—enable laziness. Rather than getting up to check on whether the laundry is done, users will instead monitor it on their phones while watching TV.（1）What can be inferred from the common response of the attendees at the CES?A.The machine will be a big success.B.Their wives like doing the laundry.C.The machine is unrelated to their life.D.This kind of technology is familiar to them.（2）What can we learn about the new laundry machines?A.They can tell you when your clothes need washing.B.They can be controlled with a smartphone.C.They are difficult to operate.D.They are sold at a low price.（3）We can conclude from Samsung’s statements that .A.the app connection makes life easierB.it is better to dry clothes in the morningC.smartphones can shorten the drying timeD.we should refresh clothes back at home（4）What is the main idea of the last paragraph?A.The laundry should be frequently checked.zy people like using such machines.C.Good technologies also cause problems.D.Television may help do the laundry.I9.Researchers in the psychology department at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered a major difference in the way men and women respond to stress.This difference may explain why men are more likely to suffer from stress-related disorders.Until now,psychological research has maintained that both men and women have the same “fight-or-flight” reaction to stress.In other words, individuals either react with aggressive behavior,such as verbal or physical conflict (“fight”),or they react by withdrawing from the stressful situation (“flight”).However,the UCLA research team found that men and women have quite different biological and behavioral responses to stress.While men often react to stress in the fight-or-flight response,women often have another kind of reaction which could be called “tend and befriend.” That is,they often react to stressful conditions by protecting and nurturing their young (“tend”),and by looking for social contact and support from others—especially other females (“befriend”).Scientists have long known that in the fight-or-flight reaction to stress,animportant role is played by certain hormones(激素) released by the body.The UCLA research team suggests that the female tend-or-befriend response is also based ona hormone.This hormone, called oxytocin, has been studied in the context ofchildbirth, but now it is being studied for its role in the response of both men and women to stress.The principal investigator, Dr.Shelley E.Taylor, explained that “animals and people with high levels of oxytocin are calmer, more relaxed, more social, and less anxious.” While men also secrete(分泌) oxytocin,its effects are reduced by male hormones.In terms of everyday behavior, the UCLA study found that women are far more likely than men to seek social contact when they are feeling stressed.They may phone relatives or friends, or ask directions if they are lost.The study also showed how fathers and mothers responded differently when they came home to their family after a stressful day at work.The typical father wanted to be left alone to enjoy some peace and quiet.For a typical mother,coping with a bad day at work meant focusing her attention on her children and their needs.The differences in responding to stress may explain the fact that women have lower frequency of stress-related disorders such as high blood pressure or aggressive behavior.The tend-and-befriend regulatory(调节的)system may protect women against stress,and this may explain why women on average live longer than men.（1）The UCLA study shows that in response to stress,men are more likely than women to .A.turn to friends for helpB.solve a conflict calmlyC.find an escape from realityD.seek comfort from children（2）Which of the following is true about oxytocin according to the passage?A.Men have the same level of oxytocin as women do.B.Oxytocin used to be studied in both men and women.C.Both animals and people have high levels of oxytocin.D.Oxytocin has more of an effect on women than on men.（3）What can be learned from the passage?A.Male hormones help build up the body’s resistance to stress.B.In a family a mother cares more about children than a father does.C.Biological differences lead to different behavioral responses to stress.D.The UCLA study was designed to confirm previous research findings.（4）Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?A.How men and women get over stressB.How men and women suffer from stressC.How researchers overcome stress problemsD.How researchers handle stress-related disordersJ10.A scientist working at her lab bench and a six-month-old baby playing with his food might seem to have little in common.After all,the scientist is engaged in serious research to uncover the very nature of the physical world,and the baby is,well,just playing...right?Perhaps,but some developmental psychologists(心理学家)have argued that this“play”is more like a scientific investigation than one might think. Take a closer look at the baby playing at the table.Each time the bowl of rice is pushed over the table edge,it falls to the ground—and,in the process,it brings out important evidence about how physical objects interact(相互作用):bowls of rice do not float in mid-air,but require support to remain stable.It is likely that babies are not born knowing this basic fact of the universe;nor are they ever clearly taught it.Instead,babies may form an understanding of object support through repeated experiments and then build on this knowledge to learn even more about how objects interact.Though their ranges and tools differ,the baby’s investigation and the scientist’s experiment appear to share the same aim(to learn about the natural world),overall approach(gathering direct evidence from the world),and logic(are my observations what I expected?).Some psychologists suggest that young children learn about more than just the physical world in this way—that they investigate human psychology and the rules of language using similar means.For example,it may only be through repeated experiments,evidence gathering,and finally overturning a theory,that a baby will come to accept the idea that other people can have different views and desires from what he or she has,for example,unlike the child,Mommy actually doesn’t like Dove chocolate.Viewing childhood development as a scientific investigation throws light on how children learn,but it also offers an inspiring look at science and scientists.Why do young children and scientists seem to be so much alike?Psychologists have suggested that science as an effort—the desire to explore,explain,and understand our world—is simply something that comes from our babyhood.Perhaps evolution(进化)provided human babies with curiosity and a natural drive to explain their worlds,and adult scientists simply make use of the same drive that served them as children.The same cognitive(认知的)systems that make young children feel good about figuring something out may have been adopted by adult scientists.As some psychologists put it,“It is not that children are little scientists but that scientists are big children.”（1）According to some developmental psychologists, .A.a baby’s play is nothing more than a gameB.scientific research into babies’games is possibleC.the nature of babies’play has been thoroughly investigatedD.a baby’s play is somehow similar to a scientist’s experiment（2）We learn from Paragraph 2 that .A.scientists and babies seem to observe the world differentlyB.scientists and babies often interact with each otherC.babies are born with the knowledge of object supportD.babies seem to collect evidence just as scientists do（3）Children may learn the rules of language by .A.exploring the physical worldB.investigating human psychologyC.repeating their own experimentsD.observing their parents’behaviors（4）What is the main idea of the last paragraph?A.The world may be more clearly explained through children’s play.B.Studying babies’play may lead to a better understanding of science.C.Children may have greater ability to figure out things than scientists.D.One’s drive for scientific research may become stronger as he grows.（5）What is the author’s tone when he discusses the connection between scientists’research and babies’play?A.Convincing.B.Confused.C.Confident.D.Cautious.答案解析1.【参考答案】【文章大意】本文是一篇记叙文,主要讲述的是美国历史上曾经数量最多的旅鸽如何遭受捕杀并逐渐消失的。
