1、2021 高考英语二轮高考英语二轮阅读理解专项练习阅读理解专项练习（十八十八） （A） 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
2、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 fun
3、ctions. These include plants that have sensors printed onto their leaves to show when theyre short of water and a plant that can detect harmful chemicals in groundwater. Were thinking about how we can engineer plants to replace functions of the things that we use every day,explained Michael Strano,
4、a professor of chemical engineering at MIT. One of his latest projects has been to make plants glow(发光)in experiments using some common vegetables. Stranos 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 ju
5、st 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 plants lifetime
6、. The engineers are also trying to develop an on and offswitchwhere 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 stree
7、t 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. 1 .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.Be
8、nefits from green plants. 2 .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. 3 .What can we expect of the glowing plants in the future?
9、 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. 4 .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 glowi
10、ng plants? C.Could glowing plants replace lamps? D.How are glowing plants made pollution-free? （B） You try to keep your eyes wide open while watching a basketball match or a wonderful firework show in case you might miss something exciting in just the blink of an eye.But in fact,humans blink about 1
11、5 times per minute on average.Have you ever missed anything because you blinked? Probably not.Why is that? According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology in September,our brain has the ability to skip the temporary darkness when we blink.It can keep visual information for a short
12、period of time and then put it together to form an image without interruption. In order to understand how this works,a group of scientists at the German Primate Center and the University Medical Center Gttingen in Germany conducted an experiment.In the study,the participants were asked to look at pa
13、tterns on a screen whose direction could be interpreted in different ways,such as horizontally(水平地) or vertically(垂直地).When one pattern was about to disappear and the next one was about to come,the participants had to indicate the direction that the next pattern would appear. The researchers found t
14、hat when the directions of two patterns didnt match,the area in our brain which is responsible for visual memory was activated.This same area showed less activity when two patterns were in the same direction. “The medial prefrontal cortex(额叶皮层) adjusts current visual information with previously obta
15、ined information,and thus enables us to perceive the world with more stability,even when we briefly close our eyes to blink,”Caspar Schwiedrzik explained in Science Daily.He is the first author of the study and also a scientist at the German Primate Center. 1.We dont miss anything when blinking beca
16、use our brain can . A.deal with the missing image B.remember all that we see C.imagine what our eyes miss D.put our pieces of memory together 2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to? A.Our brain. B.Visual information. C.Current Biology. D.The temporary darkness. 3.What do we kno
17、w about the experiment? A.The two patterns appear at the same time. B.Visual memory can be more activated by similarity. C.Participants can interpret patterns differently. D.The different directions activated visual memory. 4.What would be the best title for this passage? A.The Brains Structure B.Th
18、e Brains Activated Patterns C.The Brains Special Skill D.The Brains Orientation （C） Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer injuries. It does, however, have its own problem. Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest tra
19、ck and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sports rules require that a race walkers knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact (接触) with the ground at all times. Its this s
20、trange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass. Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a p
21、ace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour. However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does,
22、 Dr. Norberg says. According to her research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step. As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with runni
23、ng, such as runners knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sports strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first c
24、onsult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice. 1 .Why are race walkers conditioned athletes? A.They must run long distances. B.They are qualified for the marathon. C.They have to follow special rules. D.They are good at swinging their legs. 2 .What a
25、dvantage does race walking have over running? A.Its more popular at the Olympics. B.Its less challenging physically. C.Its more effective in body building. D.Its less likely to cause knee injuries. 3 .What is Dr. Norbergs suggestion for someone trying race walking? A.Getting experts opinions. B.Havi
26、ng a medical checkup. C.Hiring an experienced coach. D.Doing regular exercises. 4 .Which word best describes the authors attitude to race walking? A.Skeptical. B.Objective. C.Tolerant. D.Conservative. （D） We can have video chat with astronauts aboard the International Space Station and watch live fo
27、otage from the frozen heights of a mountain.But communicating with a submarine(潜艇) or a diver is not so easy.The lack of practical methods for sharing data between underwater airborne(空气传播的) devices has long been a frustration for scientists.The difficulty stems from the fact that radio signals work
28、 perfectly in air travel but poorly in water.Sonar signals used by underwater sensors reflect off the surface of water rather than reaching the air. Now,researchers at MIT have developed a method with the potential to revolutionize underwater communication.“What weve shown is that its actually feasi
29、ble to communicate from underwater to the air,”says Fadel Adib,a professor at MITs Media Lab,who led the research. The MIT researchers designed a system that uses an underwater machine to send sonar signals to the surface,making vibrations(震动) corresponding to the 1s and 0s of the data.A surface rec
30、eiver then reads and decodes these tiny vibrations.The researchers call the system TARF.It has any number of potential real-world uses,Adib says.It could be used to find downed planes underwater by reading signals from sonar devices in a planes black box and it could allow submarines to communicate
31、with the surface. Right now the technology is low-resolution.The initial study was conducted in the MIT swimming pool at maximum depths of around 11 or 12 feet.The next steps for the researchers are to see if TARF is workable at much greater depths and under varying conditionshigh waves,storms,schoo
32、ls of fish.They also want to see if they can make the technology work in the other directionair to water.If the technology proves successful in real-world conditions,expect“texting while diving”to be the latest underwater fashion. 1.What does the author mainly talk about in Paragraph 1? A.The future
33、 of video chat underwater and in air. B.The frustrations of developing underwater devices. C.The difficulty of communication from water to air. D.The current situation of communicating with a submarine. 2.What does the underlined word “feasible” mean? A.Achievable B.Convenient. C.Changeable D.Altern
34、ative. 3.What do we know about TARF? A.It is widely used to find downed planes. B.It can work well at great depths underwater. C.It is an underwater machine that sends signals. D.It can send,receive and read signals from underwater. 4.What is the best title for the text? A.The Real-world Uses of Son
35、ar Technology B.Full Water-to-air Communication Closer to Reality C.A Breakthrough in the Application of Video Chat D.TARF Becoming a New Means of Communication （E） About a month after I joined Facebook,I got a call from Lori Goler,a highly regarded senior director of marketing at eBay.She made it c
36、lear that this was a business call.“I want to apply to work with you at Facebook,” she said.“Instead of recommending myself,I want to ask youWhat is your biggest problem,and can I help to solve it?” My jaw hit the floor.I had hired thousands of people over the previous decade and no one had ever sai
37、d anything remotely like that.People usually focus on finding the right role for themselves,with the implication that their skills will help the company.Lori put Facebooks needs front and center.It was a killer approach.I responded,“Recruiting is my biggest problem.And,yes,you can solve it.” Lori ne
38、ver thought she would work in recruiting,but she jumped in.Lori did a great job running recruiting and within months was promoted to her current job,leading people at Facebook. The most common metaphor for careers is a ladder,but this concept no longer applies to most workers.As of 2010,the average
39、American had eleven jobs from the ages of eighteen to forty-six alone.Lori often quotes Pattie Sellers,who came up with a much better metaphorCareers are a jungle gym,not a ladder. As Lori describes it,theres only one way to get to the top of a ladder,but there are many ways to get to the top of a j
40、ungle gym.The jungle gym model benefits everyone,but especially women who might be starting careers,switching careers,getting blocked by external barriers,or reentering the workforce after taking time off.The ability to create a unique path with occasional dips,detours (弯路),and even dead ends presen
41、ts great views of many people,not just those at the top.On a ladder,most climbers are stuck staring at the butt of the person above. 1.Why did Lori make the call? A.She helped Facebook to solve the biggest problem. B.She wanted to make a business deal with Facebook. C.She tried to ask for a pay rise
42、 at Facebook. D.She wanted to become an employee at Facebook. 2.What impressed me by Lori? A.Lori was good at running recruiting. B.Lori attached great importance to Facebooks needs. C.Lori jumped in Facebook with no adequate experience. D.Lori was skilled in marketing at eBay. 3.What can we infer f
43、rom the passage? A.Now all people dont tend to climb the ladder. B.None on the ladder can enjoy the great views. C.Jungle gyms offer limited exploration for employees. D.A pregnant woman,jobless,benefits little from the jungle gyms. 4.What is the best title of the passage? A.Its a Jungle Gym,Not a Ladder B.Facebooks Biggest Problem C.Applying for a Job in Facebook D.A Jungle Gym is Better than a Ladder 参考答案： A 篇：DACC B 篇：ABDC C 篇：CDAB D 篇：CADB E 篇：DBAA