高考英语阅读理解专项训练（含解析）

阅读理解
Mass communication is a very broad field which includes advertising, mass promotion, political campaigns, public relations, mass education and even the way you interact with other people. It covers just about everything you do in your daily life. Some characteristics of mass communication are: communication, information overload, group effort and feedback. There are some more that are less often mentioned but are just as important as the ones that have been listed above.
The most basic feature of communication is interaction. Interaction takes the form of communication where you can interpret what someone is trying to say. For example, when a person says “How are you ” and you respond in a loud voice or in a concerned manner, it’s considered interaction.
Another characteristic of mass communication that you’ll come across is a large number of receivers. When communicating with a group of people, it is important to keep in mind that each receiver will bring different characteristics to the table when communicating. Different receivers will take up different topics and bring a different set of characteristics to the table. In some cases, you will need to communicate with many different types of receiver in order for your communication ideas to be fully expressed and taken into full effect. You should therefore consider the characteristics of your receivers when planning your communication strategies.
New media is also impacting communication. Each type of new medium has diverse different ways in which it can deliver messages. You can make use of several types of communication in many cases and reach a wide range of target audiences. For example, you can use the Internet in order to communicate with your audience. As a result, the amount of information also in turn becomes too much for the human mind to process in a timely and effective manner. This overload is not only unsound, but it also tends to make people impatient, which finally takes the form of arguments and other types of exchanges that are based on facts, assumptions or personal experiences. However, although you may have to deal with some constraints, the Internet is still a very powerful tool that should not be ignored.
1．What role does the example given by the author in the second paragraph play
A．Explain the importance of politeness.
B．Explain the concept of interaction.
C．Explain the characteristics of communication.
D．Explain what body language is.
2．Why should we consider different receivers when planning communication
A．Because communicators have many different characteristics on the dinner table.
B．So that your ideas can be accurately expressed and play a role.
C．In order to better improve your communication strategy.
D．Because the receivers have different views on different topics.
3．Why does communication often take the form of argument
A．Because there are too many types of communication.
B．Because people have different experiences.
C．Because the new media is not perfect.
D．Because overloaded information is boring.
4．What is the author’s attitude towards mass communication
A．Uncaring. B．Indifferent.
C．Objective. D．Subjective.
American researchers say the thought that machines could take over the world is becoming an increasing reality, rather than the nightmarish plot of a sci-fi horror movie. Now, they are fueling workplace worry, with some employees reportedly sabotaging (暗中破坏) and even attacking their robot replacements.
However, psychologists think that reminding ourselves of our humanity could help alleviate irrational (不合理的) fears about machines replacing people in the workplace. It involves repeating positive statements used to promote confidence and belief in your own uniquely human abilities. These statements help shift focus away from perceived failures or inadequacies and onto a worker’s strengths — those you already have and those you want to develop.
Lead author Professor Kai Chi Yam says in a media release, “Some economists theorize that robots are more likely to take over blue-collar jobs faster than white-collar jobs. However, it doesn’t look like robots are taking over that many jobs yet, at least not in America, so a lot of these fears are rather subjective.”
Yam’s team carried out tests and analyzed data from participants in the U.S., Singapore, and India. In one experiment, working with industrial robots fueled stress and unrest among 118 engineers employed by an auto manufacturing company in India. An online survey of 400 participants found self-affirmation exercises reduced feelings of hopelessness. The workers then wrote about characteristics or values that were important to them. “Most people are overestimating the capabilities of robots and underestimating their own capabilities,” Yam says.
While some individuals may have legitimate concerns, media coverage may be unnecessarily heightening fears among the general public. “Media reports on new technologies like robots and algorithms tend to be apocalyptic (毁灭性的) in nature, so people may develop an irrational fear about them,” Yam concludes.
5．Why do people hate robots in workplace
A．They are attacked by robots. B．They feel threatened by robots.
C．Robots appear in sci-fi horror movies. D．Robots take charge of their workplace.
6．What can positive statements do to workers according to Paragraph 2
A．Remove all their fears and horrors.
B．Remind them of their advantages.
C．Help them focus better on their work.
D．Rid them of failures and inadequacies.
7．What can be inferred from Paragraph 3
A．White-collar jobs won’t be replaced.
B．There are too many robots in the U.S.
C．Worries about robots are not justified.
D．Robots have taken the place of labor.
8．What is the main idea of the last paragraph
A．One of factors fueling people’s worries.
B．Other irrational fears of general public.
C．The media’s attitude toward robots.
D．The nature of robots and algorithms.
Logan Schneider was helping his brother tend his cherry orchard when disaster struck-literally. While he was riding a tractor down a row of trees, a helicopter fell from the sky and landed directly on him.
Logan was wearing noise-canceling headphones just before the crash, so he didn’t notice the helicopter until the plane broke the wires when it crashed. He barely had time to brace himself before a fire broke out and he was pinned against the steering wheel. As he managed to wriggle out of the wreckage, he heard pilot Cori Johnson screaming for help.
“I heard him screaming,” Logan recalled. “I looked and I saw him upside down hanging. Fire was everywhere. When I was in the moment I really wasn’t thinking. I was just doing.”
Logan reached through the flames and unhooked the pilot’s safety harness, allowing him to escape. Once he was on his feet, Logan helped him get away just seconds before flames burst 30 feet into the air. “Looking at what happened, I don’t know how we both got out,” Logan said.
Firefighters arrived and had to de-energize the power lines before putting out the blaze. Both Cori and Logan were taken to the hospital with painful injuries. While Logan suffered second-degree burns on his arms and muscle damage in his back, Cori had a broken arm and multiple burns.
“They rushed me and the guy to hospital,” Logan said. “I’m lucky to be alive.”
Logan has always planned to enroll in aviation school so he can become a commercial airline pilot. The crash has not deterred him, and he still plans to take to the skies at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington this fall. If anything, this fateful accident has strengthened his convictions and confirmed his beliefs.
9．Why did Logan fail to notice the helicopter beforehand
A．He was a bit deaf. B．It was far from him.
C．The sound of tractor was too loud. D．The earphones blocked the noise out.
10．What can we learn from the passage
A．The helicopter exploded. B．Logan broke his arm.
C．Villagers came to their rescue. D．Logan is a commercial airline pilot.
11．What does the underlined word “deterred” mean in the last paragraph
A．Disappointed. B．Discouraged.
C．Distracted. D．Dismissed.
12．Which words best describe Logan
A．Determined and brave. B．Cautious and kind.
C．Ambitious and alert. D．Faithful and generous.
Smells emitted by the body constitute chemical signals that have evolved into communication, primarily within species. Given dogs’ remarkable sense of smell, their close domestication history with humans, and their use to support human psychological conditions such as anxiety, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), researchers wondered whether dogs could be sensing chemical signals to respond to their owners’ psychological states.
In the new study, the researchers collected samples of breath and sweat from non-smokers who had not recently eaten or drunk. Samples were collected both before and after a fast-paced arithmetic (算术) task, along with self-reported stress levels and objective physiological measures: heart rate (HR) and blood pressure ( BP). Samples from 36 participants who reported an increase in stress because of the task, and experienced an increase in HR and BP during the task, were shown to trained dogs within three hours of being collected. Four dogs of different breeds and breed-mixes had been trained, using a clicker as well as kibble, to match odors in a discrimination (区别) task. At testing, dogs were asked to find the participant’s stress sample ( taken at the end of the task ) while the same person’s relaxed sample (taken only minutes before, prior to the task starting) was also in the sample line-up.
Overall, dogs could detect and perform their alert behavior on the sample taken during stress in 675 out of 720 trials, or 93.75% of the time，much greater than expected by chance (p<0.001). The first time they were exposed to a participant’s stressed and relaxed samples, the dogs were correctly alert to the stress sample 94.44% of the time. Individual dogs ranged in performance from 90% to 96. 88% accuracy.
The authors conclude that dogs can detect an odor associated with the change in Volatile Organic Compounds produced by humans in response to stress, a finding that tells us more about the human-dog relationship and could have applications to the training of anxiety and PTSD service dogs that are currently trained to respond predominantly (主要地) to visual cues.
13．What function do bodies’ smells serve
A．To ease anxiety. B．To attract others.
C．To communicate. D．To drive enemies.
14．Why a fast-paced arithmetic task is involved in the study
A．To cause stress in the participants. B．To find whether it affects dogs’ act.
C．To test participants’ calculation skills. D．To see how it can impact dogs’ accuracy.
15．What can be learned from Paragraph 3
A．Dogs can’t detect any smell for the first time.
B．Dogs’ detection ability is lower than expected.
C．Dogs can detect people’s stress quite accurately.
D．Dogs of different breeds can behave quite differently.
16．What is the significance of the study
A．It helps with the cure of anxiety.
B．It improves human-dog relationship.
C．It promotes domestication of animals.
D．It offers choice for training service dogs.
Researchers from a U.K. plant research institute have found a way to provide plants with an antibody-based defense for a specific threat, potentially speeding the creation of crops resistant to any kind of emerging virus, or bacterium (细菌). The strategy is to inoculate a protein from the plant pathogen (病原体) to be targeted to a camel or other camel relatives, purify the unusually small antibodies the camels produce, and engineer the corresponding gene section for them into a plant’s own immune gene.
Farmers lose many billions of dollars to plant diseases each year, and emerging pathogens pose new threats to food security in the developing world. Plants have evolved their own immune system, kick-started by cell receptors that recognize general pathogen features, such as a bacterial cell wall, as well as intracellular receptors for molecules (分子) produced by specific pathogens. If a plant cell detects these molecules, it may trigger its own death to save the rest of the plant. But plant pathogens often evolve and escape from those receptors.
A long-standing dream in plant biotechnology is to create designer disease resistance genes that could be produced as fast as pathogens emerge. One approach is to edit the gene for a plant immune receptor, changing the protein’s shape to recognize a particular pathogenic molecule.
Instead, Sophien Kamoun, a molecular biologist at the Sainsbury Laboratory, and his colleagues used an animal immune system to help make the receptor adjustments. During an infection with a new pathogen, animals produce billions of slightly different antibodies, ultimately selecting and mass-producing those that best target the virus.
Camelids, which include camels, are workhorses for antibody design because their immune systems create unusually small versions, called nano-bodies. As a proof of principle of the new plant defense strategy, Kamoun’s group turned to two standard camelid nano-bodies that recognize two different molecules, including one called green fluorescent protein (GFP), to detect test viruses, in this case a potato virus, engineered to make the fluorescent proteins. They investigated how well plants with the nano-body-enhanced receptors detected the changed potato viruses. It was found that the plants increased an active immune response and experienced almost no viral reproduction.
“The exciting part about this technology is that we have the potential of made-to-order resistance genes and keeping up with a pathogen,” Kamoun says. “This technology is a potential game changer,” says Jeff Dangl, a plant researcher at the University of North Carolina. Ksenia Krasileva, a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, says the mixture of nano-bodies with plant immune receptors opens up a vast body of biomedical knowledge for plant scientists. “We can now dig into all of that research and translate it to save crops.”
17．What does the underlined word “inoculate” in Paragraph 1 probably mean
A．Compare. B．Restore. C．Introduce. D．Label.
18．What is the main purpose of Paragraph 2
A．To illustrate the function of cells in saving the plant.
B．To explain how to strengthen plant receptors effectively.
C．To demonstrate the solutions to farmers’ annual heavy losses.
D．To reveal why plants fail to handle constantly-updated diseases.
19．What can we learn from the passage
A．Editing plant receptors is to match the shape of pathogens.
B．Nano-bodies can help plants catch up with pathogen changes.
C．Plants select the best antibodies from animals to fight viruses.
D．Plants with nano-bodies respond actively in massive virus copying.
20．According to the passage, scientists will .
A．apply the outcome in the real world B．prove the findings of resistance genes
C．identify similar means to fight diseases D．seek more support for the new strategy
The Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) in Clean Energy Engineering is a professional degree for engineers who want to stand out and drive innovation in the field of clean energy. This master’s program combines graduate-level engineering courses with UBC Sauder’s Robert H. Le Graduate School courses, giving you the skills and confidence to take your career in new directions.
Governments and industry are advancing the shift to sustainable energy solutions. Leading organizations are seeking clean energy experts who have the technical understanding to develop innovative solutions that minimize environmental impact. They’re also looking for individuals who have the business insight to lead teams and guide change.
Choose Engineering and Business
The MEL in Clean Energy Engineering program offers a unique combination of technical and business classes, giving you the strategic skills to play a leading role in forward-thinking organizations. Engineering courses cover the entire industry value chain, from energy generation, transmission and distribution to energy use and management. Business courses offered by the top ranked UBC Sauder School of Business give you a solid foundation in business strategy, project management, and organizational leadership.
Gain a Competitive Advantage
In this 12-month program, you will:
broaden your knowledge of sustainable energy systems, energy storage, energy distribution networks, energy efficiency and energy policy;
sharpen your technical and analytical skills through a project-based curriculum that involves hands-on learning opportunities;
study under noted faculty and industry experts at UBC’s high-tech research centers.
21．What do we know about the MEL in Clean Energy Engineering program
A．It offers lectures about traditional energy.
B．It provides both technical and business courses.
C．It is sponsored by forward-thinking organizations.
D．It centers on developing organizational leadership.
22．What is a benefit you can get from the program
A．Gaining a lot of social experience. B．Becoming better at selling products.
C．Learning more about energy. D．Acquiring the best learning resources.
23．What type of writing is this text
A．An advertisement. B．An official report.
C．An announcement. D．An exhibition guide.
My mother always told me, “You should explore your own country before stepping out into the world.” However, it seems like a tough mission to travel all across its expansive surfaces. But luckily for me, Via Rail Canada offered youths between the ages of 18 and 25 the chance to ride the train across Canada for the month of July. The ticket was a bargain $150. My best friends Trevor, Joel and Jeremy and I immediately jumped at the opportunity and secured four tickets on the great Canadian railroad.
For a group of 20-year-olds, this was like the first flight of young birds from the nest. When we approached the train station in the morning, our 22-day adventure from Sudbury to Vancouver was to begin. Eyes baggy from lack of sleep, we jumped on board as if it was the train to Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Although the thought of three full days on those tracks covering close to 3, 000 kilometres crushed our spirits a little, what happened next caught us by surprise.
The three days on board turned into a summer camp on rails. At night, we would climb up the glass-domed train car, which gave us a scenic view of the starry night sky, untouched by the harmful light pollution. Before we knew it, the warm sun rays beating down on our faces woke us up for another day on the rails. To my surprise, a sea of golden grain fields dominated the landscape we were in the Canadian Prairies.
Another day slipped away and we set up for another night in the dome (圆顶状物). And this time we were greeted by night sky painted by a fantastic thunderstorm. Lightning was striking at an incredible rate. The spectacular and memorable light show left everyone in the glass bubble in complete disbelief.
Arriving in the Rocky Mountains was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Before the train adventure, if I could have skipped the travel and arrived at the destination, I would have. That is no longer true. I’ve learned that the journey can be more enjoyable than the destination.
24．What has made the author’s train adventure across Canada a reality
A．The encouragement given by his mother.
B．The discount ticket offered by Via Rail Canada.
C．The appeal of the scenic views in the country.
D．His great courage to challenge a tough mission.
25．What can we infer about the young people from Paragraph 2
A．They left their parents for the first time in their life.
B．They never thought of having a train adventure.
C．They were hooked by the magic story of Harry Potter.
D．They were excited about the coming train journey.
26．What does “the glass bubble” in the fourth paragraph refer to
A．The glass-domed train car. B．The sightseeing tour.
C．A state of excitement. D．A summer camp on the train.
27．What did the author learn from the train adventure across Canada
A．The destination is what matters.
B．Adventurous journey attracts young people.
C．Enjoying a journey counts a lot.
D．The traveling experience is not real to him.
Given how valuable intelligence and automation are, we will continue to improve our technology if we are at all able to. At a certain point, we will build machines that are smarter than we are. Once we have machines that are smarter than we are, they will begin to improve themselves. The concern is really that we will build machines that are much more competent than we are. And the slightest divergence (分歧) between their goals and our own could destroy us.
Just think about how we relate to ants. We don’t hate them. We don’t go out of our way to harm them. In fact, sometimes we take pains not to harm them. We step over them on the sidewalk. But whenever their presence seriously conflicts with one of our goals, we will kill them without hesitation. The concern is that we will one day build machines that, whether they’re conscious or not, could treat us with similar disregard.
The bare fact is that we will continue to improve our intelligent machines. We have problems that we desperately need to solve. So we will do this, if we can. The train is already out of the station, and there’ no brake to pull. If we build machines that are more intelligent than we are, they will very likely develop in ways that we can’t imagine, and transcend us in ways that we can’t imagine.
So imagine we hit upon a design of super intelligent AI that has no safety concerns. This machine would be the perfect labor-saving device. It can design the machine that can build the machine which can do any physical work, powered by sunlight, more or less for the cost of raw materials. So we’re talking about the end of human labour. We’re also talking about the end of most intellectual work. So what would apes like ourselves do in these circumstances
But the moment we admit that information processing is the source of intelligence, we have to admit that we are in the process of building some sort of god. Now would be a good time to make sure it’s a god we can live with.
28．Why does the author mention ants in Paragraph 2
A．To indicate future intelligent machines could treat us without mercy.
B．To show improved machines will escape from us.
C．To stress the presence of machines does conflict with our goals.
D．To compare intelligent machines to ants.
29．Which of the following sayings shares similar meaning with the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3
A．Time and tide wait for no man. B．Rome wasn’t built in a day.
C．Tomorrow is another day. D．Shot arrows will not come back.
30．How is the passage mainly developed
A．By giving assumptions. B．By making comparisons.
C．By showing evidence. D．By analyzing statistics.
31．Which of the following statements can best summarize the author’s viewpoint towards AI
A．Human beings will no doubt be destroyed by AI in the future.
B．Super intelligent AI will put an end to human labour eventually.
C．We should keep the development of AI within human’s control.
D．Human beings should stop the development of super intelligent AI.
Ah, graduation day. Family parties. Student awards. Excited parents busy taking photos. Limo (豪华轿车) rides to the ceremony. All these are in celebration of years of hard work and the exciting things to come after primary school.
Wait, what Yes, primary school graduation ceremonies are becoming more popular than ever. And at my school, the fifth grade graduation is a serious business.
A few weeks before the fifth grade graduation, I received a special parent email:
“I would like to know if my boy is going to be the only kid not receiving an award on the graduation day, because I am going to save him from the embarrassment and favoritism that has been shown all year and will not have him at the graduation.”
Awards are part of the end-of-year excitement at my school and the hardest thing I have to do with all year. Picking five of 14 students to be called before the whole school seems like a heartbreak for the other nine. Someone is always going to be left out and clearly, the parents feel the pressure.
I chose not to answer the email, knowing the email was sent under pressure. The boy in question would receive an award, not because of his mother’s email, but because his achievement was great.
On the day of the ceremony, that boy and four others were awarded and posed(摆好姿势) for pictures together in new clothes. I sent my congratulations to all the students—without considering their achievements—on having an excellent year and wished them well at their new schools.
But as another year’s graduation is coming soon, I’m left feeling uneasy. Not to take away anything from my present class of wonderful students as they prepare to head out to new schools, I believe that such ceremonies should be held at the end of high school and college. Is it too much or too soon to celebrate our children and their achievements
32．Why did the parent send the author the email
A．To ask him to give her son an award.
B．To make a complaint about how her son had been treated.
C．To ask for some information about the graduation day.
D．To report her son’s possible absence from the graduation.
33．What does the author find most difficult about the graduation ceremony
A．Dealing with parent emails. B．Saying goodbye to his students.
C．Deciding who will receive awards. D．Freeing his students from pressure.
34．What’s the author’s attitude towards graduation ceremonies
A．They are a waste of money.
B．They are only meaningful for college students.
C．They are not proper for primary school students.
D．They are not a good way to celebrate students’ achievements.
I was eleven years old when I spotted my neighbour, Julie, working in her garden. “There’s a hedge(树篱)growing over the pathway near here,” Julie said. “It’s become so overgrown. I was planning to cut it back myself. Would you like to help out ” The following Sunday, we wheeled Julie’s garden bin down to the hedge and reduced it.
We posted photos of our handiwork on Our Malmesbury, our local Facebook Group. One person, a wheelchair user, was so grateful that they didn’t have to go on the road anymore to pass the hedge. The comments and reactions just kept on coming. The whole town of Malmesbury in Wilts hire seemed to welcome our team spirit and felt inspired to follow our lead. Many people raised their hands to volunteer and do more to keep our town tidy. This was the beginning of many community projects completed by volunteers in our community.
With many willing hands, our town has transformed. Before, the town looked a bit run-down, but now, the place looks cleaner and tidier.
When we first started, everything was done out of my parents’ garage. But as time went on, donations came in from the local community. Our garage got filled up so quickly with brushes, gardening tools, and even donated power tools like leaf blowers. It got so big that we had to move this all to Julie’s spare garage.
I created a Facebook page and website to support our projects. Our Facebook page ‘Helping the Community of Malmesbury’ currently sits at 669 members and is a place for all the locals to share what litter picking and cleaning up they have been up to. When community members plan a clean-up, they can contact us via the website to access any tools and equipment they need to complete a project.
35．What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about
A．Handiwork photos. B．Amazing reactions.
C．Increasing volunteers. D．Community projects.
36．What does the underlined phrase “run-down” in paragraph 3 probably mean
A．Messy. B．Ordinary. C．Deserted. D．Dynamic.
37．Which can best describe the author
A．Pushy. B．Loyal. C．Competent. D．Careful.
38．What can we learn from the text
A．Justice has long arms. B．One’s meat is an other’s poison.
C．God help those who help themselves. D．Small efforts make a big difference.
SIX-WEEK PROGRAM
All 6-week courses offered through Summer College are college-level courses. Students earn up to seven college credits. Courses are offered in many areas of study and in two enrollment types: programs/courses that are only for Summer College students and programs/courses that are open to both Summer College students and students at Syracuse University (SU). Students are enrolled in two courses, with the exception of Architecture, due to the number of study hours. And the second course need to be chosen from the courses with the tag in the following table.
NAME OF PROGRAMS/COURSES COURSES OF CREDIT HOURS SUMMER COLLEGE STUDENTS ONLY
Architecture ARC 93 6 Yes
Engineering(can be 2nd course) ECS 125 33 or 4 YesNo
Forensic Scinece-1 CHE 133FSC 200 42 NoNo
Law(can be 2nd course) LGL 100 33 or 4 YesNo
Liberal Arts 30+courses 3 or 4 No
Media Literacy, PopularCulture & Democracy (WRT 104 is required) CFE 200WRT 104 34 YesYes
Public Communications(can be 2nd course) COM107 33 or 4 YesNo
Liberal Art CoursesThe liberal arts program gives Summer College students the opportunity to enroll in undergraduate courses (本科课程) at Syracuse University. More than 40 courses are opened to high school students each summer. Opportunities can be found in a variety of departments. Click here for a full listing of the 2014 SU Liberal Arts Courses.
39．If Jack took the course of Architecture, he ________.
A．must be an excellent college student
B．can also choose Forensic Science-1
C．has to choose Liberal Arts at the same time
D．can not choose any other course
40．As a SU student, which of the following can Peter study
A．Liberal Arts & Forensic Science-1.
B．Engineering & Forensic Science-1.
C．Law & Media Literacy, Popular Culture & Democracy.
D．Liberal Arts & Media Literacy, Popular Culture & Democracy.
41．All the courses offered by the Liberal Arts program ________.
A．are for summer students only
B．are for the postgraduate
C．are not for high school students
D．are undergraduate courses
42．Students studied in the Six-Week program can ________.
A．choose 7 courses at most
B．be admitted to Syracuse University
C．earn up to 7 college credits in all
D．get an academic certificate
43．What does the passage aim at
A．Introducing the summer courses to students.
B．Explaining the courses of Syracuse University.
C．Telling students how to study more at university.
D．Reminding students what to study at university.
Some hearing loss is a common — and nearly unavoidable — effect of aging. A third of people aged 60 and older have lost some of their ability to hear.
But some research suggests a habit that might help offset the effect of aging on hearing. A study found that among middle-aged adults, being a lifelong musician was connected with better hearing later in life.
“The instrument you play does not seem to be important here,” says Nina Kraus, a biologist. “It is really the act of engagement playing the instrument that matters.”
Participants in the study were between ages 45 and 65. Researchers tested 18 musicians who had been playing an instrument since age nine or younger, and 19 non-musicians who had less than three years of music training.
The musicians had statistically better auditory memory scores and tested better at hearing speech in noisy environments. They also showed better auditory processing abilities, which relate to how people interpret speech sounds.
However, the two groups tied when researchers tested visual working memory skills. “It isn’t as though musical training has a volume knob effect that makes all kinds of sensory processing enhanced in the same manner,” Kraus says. “It focuses on auditory skill.”
The latest findings follow earlier research from Kraus that showed musician in a younger age group had better hearing skills. At the same time, some research has shown that musicians who play in large ensembles (合奏) may face an occupational risk when it comes to their hearing.
Does this effect apply to the guy who plays in a community band one night a week Kraus says no. To be included in the study, musicians were required to have engaged in musical activities-practicing, teaching or performing-at least three times a week.
“What we do with our time and how we engage our senses and our thinking seems to really shape the people we become in very basic ways — in ways that affect how our series work,” she says.
And, Kraus says, a person doesn’t need to be an Itzhak Perlman or a Yo-Yo Ma to experience the effects. Talent, she says, isn’t a factor.
Kraus says that more research needs to be done to see whether receiving music instruction later in life might have the same benefits.
44．Your hearing will be improved by ________.
A．what kind of instrument you play
B．what sort of music you play
C．whether you involve yourself with playing the instrument
D．how long you have learned music playing
45．A musician is not better than others in ________.
A．getting better auditory memory scored
B．hearing speech in noisy environments
C．interpreting speech sounds
D．processing visual work memory
46．The under lined phrase “an occupational risk” may refer to ________.
A．the danger of hearing loss
B．the possibility of losing a job
C．the trouble of playing music
D．the harm of hearing skills
47．It can be inferred Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma are the names of ________.
A．instruments B．musicians C．songs D．music
48．The main idea of the text is about ________.
A．enjoying music will do good to your health
B．learning music may promote your hearing skills
C．playing an instrument may help preserve hearing
D．listening to music can prevent you from aging
From now on, never spend your precious time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.
The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created: the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.
You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem. Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are the perennial (长期的) victims and martyrs. They are leaves tossed (摇摆) by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.
You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.
Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.
If you associate with positive-thinking people, you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary, the opposite happens. We are responsible for finding, planting, and nurturing the seeds that contain future victory, born from setbacks.
In short, in all areas of your life, whether they be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it, you are on the road to success.
49．People with low self-esteem are compared to leaves because they ______.
A．are ready to change their minds
B．are easily affected by windy weather
C．have the power to face their fate
D．can’t exercise control over themselves
50．Losers would think that ______.
A．success is the result of hard work
B．working hard will lead to success
C．their failure is only because of bad luck
D．they don’t make efforts to succeed
51．Which statement is NOT true according to the passage ______
A．Whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes.
B．Confidence can contribute to success.
C．Thoughts and beliefs are the result of creative mind.
D．Setting our expectations is essential.
52．The last paragraph serves as ______.
A．the proof of the author’s points
B．the conclusion of the argument
C．an introduction to another topic
D．a comparison between two views
53．Which is the best title for the text ______
A．Success Is a Choice
B．Be Responsible for Our Future
C．Develop Our Confidence
D．Success and Self-esteem
Scientist Erika Nesvold once asked a company aiming to mine the moon how he planned to address risks that mining equipment might carry microbes (微生物) from Earth and pollute the moon. The response: “We’ll worry about that later.”
That’s an irresponsible mindset when it comes to preparing for people to live and work in space, Nesvold argues in her new book, Off-Earth. “... adopting a ‘worry about it later’ attitude...strikes me as a path to repeating the tragedies of that history through ignorance.” Nesvold writes.
Off-Earth is an extension of her 2017 podcast (播客), Making New Worlds, which asked ethical (伦理的) questions about space settlement. The book takes some of the same questions and expands on them.
Most chapters start with three short scenes, usually from different time periods. A chapter outlining debates over whether to settle space at all starts by asking the reader to imagine being in the 1600s and deciding to uproot your family and head to the New World. A chapter on how land usage and ownership rights might work in space imagines a person recently freed from slavery in the U. S. South in 1865 and worrying that the new president will take back the land they finally own. The third scene is usually set in the year 2100, on a space settlement.
Then Nesvold examines how various ethical scenarios (场景) related to the chapter’s theme might play out in space. She quotes experts in fields that don’t often come up in space science: ethics, philosophy, law. This approach is a departure from many books about the future of life on the final frontier, forcing readers to face hard realities and possible points of friction. To have the best chance of avoiding disaster, the time to consider those questions is now, not later, even though space settlement may be decades or centuries away, Nesvold argues.
Off-Earth should be required reading for anyone who dreams about living in space and can help make our earthbound civilizations better too.
54．What does the author intend to do in paragraph 1
A．To clarify a concept. B．To introduce a topic.
C．To make a prediction. D．To generate a discussion.
55．What set(s) Off-Earth apart from others
A．Its writing style. B．Its text structure.
C．Its story elements. D．Its writing techniques.
56．What’s Nesvold’s attitude to space settlement
A．Cautious. B．Unclear.
C．Intolerant. D．Disapproving.
57．What is the text
A．A short story. B．A news report.
C．A book review. D．A research essay.
Society sometimes thinks disabled people can’t do much of anything. But that misconception has been blown out of the water by successful people who have disabilities. Helen Keller could not see or hear. Thomas Edison and Beethoven were deaf. We also have local achievers who are rarely recognized. For instance, Bob Church.
“When you listen to people on the radio, you often wonder how they look. I wonder at their reaction when I go out to work for the radio station and for the first time they see me. I wonder what their reaction is when they know I have to walk with braces and crutches (拐杖),” Church said.
Church, who got polio (小儿麻痹症) as a child, has hosted the early-morning radio program for almost 14 years. He is likable — the kind of guy you would love to have over to watch a ball game or attend a party.
“I had an accident and broke my legs, and I was in a wheelchair. That was like taking two legs off me, since I used crutches to walk and I couldn’t use one arm, Church said. “That’s the first time I realized that was a problem.” But he isn’t going to let it get him down.
Though he admit she is painful when he gets up each day, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal. Church says he does have some ideas of things he would like to do.
“I take up golf. I’d like to teach disabled kids. If you don’t know, you can’t do it. If no one says you can’t do something, you can usually find away to do it. You know, I’ve affected a lot of people, just by my being. It makes me feel good. A lot of people I know don’t care that I have a disability. Those I don’t know say, ‘Wow,’ when they find out, ”Church says.
58．Why does the author mention some successful people in paragraph 1
A．To encourage disabled people. B．To introduce the topic of the text.
C．To provide background information. D．To indicate they are rarely recognized
59．What does Bob Church probably do
A．He is a morning radio host. B．He is a radio listener.
C．He is a fashion designer. D．He is a stage performer.
60．Which of the following best describes Bob Church
A．Considerate and brave. B．Unusual and generous.
C．Popular and determined. D．Curious and friendly.
61．What can we learn from the last paragraph
A．Church is not content with his life. B．Church is often made fun of by others.
C．Disabled kids usually like playing golf. D．The disabled can also make a difference.
Thousands of students, faculty and staff boycotted classes and staged rallies across the 10-campus University of California (UC) on Thursday to protest dramatic cuts to the system’s budget and proposed additional hikes in undergraduate fees.
The authorities of the University of California, stung by a 20% cutback in state support due to the state budget crisis, are planning to increase student fees another 32%. The University of California system must chop $637 million out of its budget this year following the agreement between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the legislature on how to close California’s massive $26 billion gap in July. Many of the protesters believe the constant increase in fees over the past decade is endangering the university’s mission as a public university that offers students an outstanding education at a cost that middle- and working-class families can afford.
“It’s not just an economic crisis,” says Shannon Steen, a UC Berkeley professor who helped form Save the University to protest cuts to the budget, “it’s really a political crisis around the two-thirds rule in the legislature that holds the state hostage to a minority of legislators who are not doing what the people of California want”. California is the only state in the nation that has a two-thirds requirement for the passage of tax increases and to pass a budget. These two rules are at the root of the state’s chronic budget grief.
UC Irvine Anthropology Professor Victonia Bernal spoke passionately to about 125 students in the Social Science Hall saying “the beauty of the University of California is that it is an elite intellectual institution, but it is not elitist. If there were huge problems with the University of California, that would be one thing. Instead, we are taking something that by all measures is a great success and tearing it down.” Student leader Isaac Miller says the university community came together to “protest the defunding of public education by the State of California and the crisis of priorities of the university administration.” “It was stunning,” says Steen. “In the 20 years since I was an undergraduate here, I have never seen anything like this.”
The demonstrations did not disrupt schoolwork. A spokesman for University of California President Mark Yudof said most classes were held and that “most of the action was at the rallies.” But there will be more rallies. Protest organizers at Berkeley said that discussions are under way for a march on Sacramento that would include participants from the UCs, the 23-campus California State University system and the states’ junior colleges.“This is just the beginning,” says Miller. “It’s a wake up call to students about what is happening to their education.”
62．The University of California system must cut its budget because______ .
A．it has a financial deficit this year
B．it reached an agreement with the governor
C．the state is in financial difficulty
D．the state ordered it to cut undergraduate fees
63．What does Shannon Steen think of the “two-thirds rule”
A．It embodies the concept of democracy.
B．It helps the state avoid a political crisis.
C．It ensures the benefits of the majority.
D．It puts the state in the hand of the few.
64．Isaac Miller is most likely to agree that_______ .
A．the state should give priority to education
B．the state should give priority to the UC
C．the UC is prioritizing its administration
D．the UC is losing control of its priorities
65．In future, the UC’s protest will be_____ .
A．intensified B．alleviated C．reshaped D．specified
King’s College London Volunteering is seeking for paid members to sit on the Student Advisory Board for Volunteering. The Board plays a significant role in influencing the development and delivery of the volunteering service. It’s targeted at finding volunteering opportunities for students, teachers and other staff at school.
Volunteering, which has the potential to generate positive social impact, is a critical priority for King’s. The Board will ensure that students’ needs are ranked first so that all King’s students can make a difference.
This year, the Student Advisory Board for Volunteering will co-create the schedule, and potential issues include:
●Volunteering opportunities for the disabled.
●Promotion of the Board’s service.
●How to recognize and reward volunteers.
●Evaluation of the Board’s work.
This is a unique and amazing opportunity accessible to all studying at King’s, regardless of the volunteer experiences. The Board will be run both online and in-person, and board members will be paid the London Living Wage ( 11. 95 per hour) via King’s Talent Bank.
The application deadline is 23: 59 on Friday, 31 March 2023.
Apply via the form below, using your King’s email address.
66．What is the mission of the Student Advisory Board
A．To seek for volunteering chances. B．To organise volunteering activities.
C．To participate in the voluntary work. D．To enhance students’ academic performance.
67．Which of the following is likely to be covered in this year’s schedule
A．Attending to the disabled. B．Assessing the Board’s job.
C．Training student volunteers. D．Promoting the college’s service.
68．What is required if you want to apply
A．Paying the fee for application.
B．Sending the application form to the leader’s office.
C．Being equipped with sufficient experience in volunteering.
D．Submitting the application before 23: 59, 31 March 2023.
There’s a day for just about everything, and the United Nations has designated May 20 as World Bee Day to celebrate the pollinators (传粉昆虫) dwelling in hives, fields and gardens around the globe since 2015. It draws much concern on bees and there’s a good reason to pay attention to them.
“There are 20,000 species of bees around the world and a lot of these bees are in decline,” says Hien Ngo, a pollinator expert from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. That includes honeybees, of course, but Ngo says they only make up a minority of all the kinds of bees in the world. Climate change, pesticides and habitat loss are putting many of those species a risk.
“Bees really provide for us in many ways, like food and human well-being. They’re also important to our culture, dating back thousands of years in terms of heritage, inspiration of art,” Ngo says. They even provide inspiration for TikTok, where Erika Thompson，a professional beekeeper in Austin,Texas, shares her work.
“The landlord wanted to call an exterminator (根除者), but the family who lived here wanted to save the bees, so they called me,” she says in her video.
Her fans watch with happiness — and sometimes a little horror-as she picks up mounds (成堆) of bees with her bare hands and then moves them somewhere safer.
“I’ve removed bees from a lot of crazy places,” Thompson says. “You know, I’ve removed bees from homes, RVs, tires, speakers and even a toilet.”
Thompson’s work is about more than getting millions of views per video. “Bees are just a key factor in creating diverse and healthy ecosystems,” she notes.
69．What can we know about World Bee Day
A．It has a long history of hundreds of years.
B．It is celebrated on May 22 every year.
C．It is designated by the United Kingdom.
D．People pay more attention to bees because of it.
70．Which factor that makes many bees in danger is NOT mentioned
A．The change of climate. B．The shortage of food.
C．The damage to their habitat. D．The application of pesticides.
71．What’s Ngo’s attitude towards celebrating World Bee Day
A．Unconcerned. B．Neutral (中立的).
C．Negative. D．Supportive.
72．What’s the best title for the text
A．A Video-on Bees
B．How to Celebrate World Bee Day
C．Why Should We Celebrate World Bee Day
D．How Can We Human Beings Protect Bees
For years, Esther Ruth Mbabazi’s had stuck to her approach to photography. Be invisible. Don’t influence the scene. Then, in 2019, the 28-year-old Ugandan had an opportunity to do just the opposite.
That’s when Mbabazi got linked with the Gulu for Women With Disabilities Union (GUWODU), a professional and social center in a small city in Uganda’s north. There, she partnered with seven women on a portrait (肖像) series that was a celebration of individuality and personal expression. “I was tired of the images I constantly encountered there, especially here in Uganda, where people with disabilities are robbed of their personalities,” said Mbabazi. “They’re photographed as people who can’t do anything. I didn’t want my images to look like that.”
Over one year, she made four trips to Gulu and photographed women she came across, including a land mine survivor missing a leg, a deaf mother of four, and a blind musician. They posed in custom dresses, created by a Kampala-based designer, against backdrops (背景幕布) of art and handiwork they had made. When Mbabazi inquired the women how they preferred to be seen, they responded: as capable, equal, intelligent. In other words, the respect that Ugandans with special needs often are denied.
Joyce Auma, 25, who uses wheelchair, chose a blue patterned top and skit that contrasted beautifully with the bright green and blue backdrop. Another, Laker Irene Odwar, who lost her leg in a land mine at age 16, chose a pale blue jacket and a shirt with a smart silk scarf.
On her last trip to Gulu, Mbabazi delivered large, framed copies of the portraits to those who posed for them. As Mbabazi explains, “They said, ‘This shows me as I am in my full existence, my full body, as I am’.” Mbabazi desires the photos will be exhibited publicly, to help transform how the women are seen, and treated, by others.
73．What is Mbabazi’s original principle in photography before 2019
A．Making the scene invisible. B．Designing the scene in advance.
C．Avoiding her impact on the scene. D．Adopting techniques to improve the scene.
74．What may account for the transformation in her photography
A．Her passion for photography. B．Her experience with GUWODU.
C．The suggestion from her partners. D．The dissatisfaction with her own images.
75．What can be known about the characters in Mbabazi’s photographs
A．They are fond of bright colours. B．They are all survivors of a disaster.
C．They live with disability to some degree. D．They have a talent for designing custom dresses.
76．Why does Mbabazi take photographs in such a new way
A．To demonstrate the individuality of Uganda women.
B．To reveal the actual living condition of disabled females.
C．To exhibit the charm of ladies dressed in designed custom dresses.
D．To challenge the unfair way disabled women are viewed and treated.
Most of us are aware of “Is the glass half full or half empty ” test. If you pick the former, you’re an “optimist”; otherwise, you’re a “pessimist”. It’s not a black-or-white test, but it can measure how one sees life.
According to psychologist Lissy Ann Puno, most of us grow up wanting to be an optimist-a person who can see the good in any situation and can stay hopeful when facing challenges. For some people, though, life happens and they start to see the glass half-empty instead. Pessimists tend to see the wrong in every situation, and blame external factors and circumstances when things aren’t going their way.
Being continuously fed with bad news and disappointments can turn optimistic children into adults that are critical of almost everything. For some, the shift becomes easier,being raised by pessimistic parents. Others still remain optimistic, thanks to a positive household growing up.
“This is why developing optimism in young children is significant for their development as adults,” said Lissy Ann. If adopted at an early age, this powerful personality quality can help children grow into strong adults capable of handling life’s circumstances with confidence, courage, and hope. What parent wouldn’t want that for their children
“Children are seen as natural optimists,” Lissy Ann said. They come into this world with unbiased (无偏见的) eyes and a pure heart that hasn’t been influenced by social expectations, life experiences, severe mental shock, or authority figures yet. Whether a child grows up to be optimistic or not is part genetic and part environmental. “Childhood experiences, parent-child connection, or authority figures will all have some influence,” she said. Although optimism (or the lack of it) could be passed down genetically, it can also be taught.
77．What attitude do the people of “the half-empty glass” hold
A．Focusing more on the negative aspect.
B．Holding onto hope in every challenge.
C．Considering different reasons for situations.
D．Measuring life based on social expectations.
78．What is mainly discussed about the shift into pessimists in Paragraph 3
A．Possible causes.
B．Proper treatments.
C．Obvious signs.
D．Common misunderstandings.
79．Why is it important for children to be optimistic
A．It guarantees them a trouble-free life.
B．It enables them to be incomparable in career.
C．It makes them mentally strong in adulthood.
D．It helps them meet their parents’ expectations.
80．What can be inferred from the last paragraph
A．Children master interpersonal skills naturally.
B．Genetic factors decide how children see life.
C．Optimism strengthens parent-child connection.
D．Proper guidance helps raise optimistic children.
参考答案：
1．B 2．B 3．D 4．C
【导语】本文是一篇说明文。介绍了大众传媒的特点。
1．推理判断题。由第二段中的“Interaction takes the form of communication where you can interpret what someone is trying to say. For example, when a person says “How are you ” and you respond in a loud voice or in a concerned manner, it’s considered interaction. (互动采取交流的形式，你可以理解别人想说的话。例如，当一个人说“你好吗？”而你以大声或关切的方式回应时，这被视为互动)”可知，所举的例子是为了进一步解释互动的含义。故选B项。
2．细节理解题。由第三段中的“In some cases, you will need to communicate with many different types of receiver in order for your communication ideas to be fully expressed and taken into full effect. (在某些情况下，你需要与许多不同类型的接收者进行沟通，以便充分表达你的沟通想法并使其充分发挥作用)”可知，我们计划交流策略时要考虑不同的接收者，是为了使自己的想法得到更好地表达和起作用。故选B项。
3．细节理解题。由第四段中的“This overload is not only unsound, but it also tends to make people impatient, which finally takes the form of arguments and other types of exchanges that are based on facts, assumptions or personal experiences. (这种超负荷不仅不健全，而且往往会让人不耐烦，最终以基于事实、假设或个人经历的争论和其他类型的交流为形式)”可知，沟通经常采用争论的形式，是因为过载的信息很无聊。故选D项。
4．推理判断题。综合全文可知，作者分别介绍了大众传媒的概念以及其基本特征，是站在客观的角度去阐释这一问题的，故选C项。
5．B 6．B 7．C 8．A
【导语】这是一篇说明文。人们对机器人进入工作场所的恐惧日益加深，但是这种恐惧很多是非理性的。
5．细节理解题。根据第二段第一句“However, psychologists think that reminding ourselves of our humanity could help alleviate irrational(不合理的) fears about machines replacing people in the workplace.(然而，心理学家认为，提醒我们自己人性可以帮助减轻机器在工作场所取代人类的非理性恐惧)”可知，人们讨厌工作场所的机器人是因为他们感到受到机器人的威胁。故选B。
6．细节理解题。根据第二段最后两句“It involves repeating positive statements used to promote confidence and belief in your own uniquely human abilities. These statements help shift focus away from perceived failures or inadequacies and onto a worker’s strengths — those you already have and those you want to develop.(它包括重复积极的陈述，用来增强你对自己独特的人类能力的信心和信念。这些陈述有助于将注意力从失败或不足转移到员工的优势上——那些你已经拥有的和你想要发展的)”可知，根据第二段，积极的陈述对工人的影响是提醒他们自己的优点。故选B。
7．推理判断题。根据第三段中的“Some economists theorize that robots are more likely to take over blue-collar jobs faster than white-collar jobs. However, it doesn’t look like robots are taking over that many jobs yet, at least not in America, so a lot of these fears are rather subjective.(一些经济学家认为，相比白领工作，机器人更有可能更快地取代蓝领工作。然而，看起来机器人还没有接管那么多的工作，至少在美国是这样，所以很多这些担忧都是相当主观的)”可推知，从第三段中可以推断出对机器人的担忧是没有道理的。故选C。
8．主旨大意题。根据最后一段第一句“While some individuals may have legitimate concerns, media coverage may be unnecessarily heightening fears among the general public.(虽然有些人可能有合理的担忧，但媒体的报道可能会不必要地加剧公众的恐惧)”可知，最后一段主要是讲媒体报道是加剧公众恐惧的一个因素。故选A。
9．D 10．B 11．B 12．A
【导语】这是一篇记叙文。洛根·施耐德在帮他哥哥照看樱桃园时目睹了一场飞机事故，他冒着危险去救大火里的飞行员，自己也受了很严重的伤，但是洛根依然坚定地选择当飞行员的梦想。
9．细节理解题。根据第二段第一句“Logan was wearing noise-canceling headphones just before the crash, so he didn’t notice the helicopter until the plane broke the wires when it crashed. (坠机前洛根戴着降噪耳机，所以直到飞机坠毁时电线断了他才注意到直升机。)”可知，洛根事先没注意到直升机是因为耳机把噪音挡了出去。故选D。
10．细节理解题。根据第五段最后一句“While Logan suffered second-degree burns on his arms and muscle damage in his back, Cori had a broken arm and multiple burns. (洛根手臂二级烧伤，背部肌肉损伤，科妮手臂骨折，多处烧伤。)”可知，从文中我们可以了解到洛根伤到了胳膊。故选B。
11．词句猜测题。根据最后一段第二句中的“and he still plans to take to the skies at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington this fall (他还计划今年秋天在华盛顿州摩西湖的大本德社区学院飞向天空)”可知，此处是指这次事故并没有吓退他。所以deterred意为“使打消念头，防止”。故选B。
12．推理判断题。根据第三段第二句中的“I looked and I saw him upside down hanging. Fire was everywhere. When I was in the moment I really wasn’t thinking. I was just doing. (我看到他倒挂着。到处都是火。当我在那一刻，我真的没有思考。我只是在做。)”可知，洛根很勇敢。根据最后一段“Logan has always planned to enroll in aviation school so he can become a commercial airline pilot. The crash has not deterred him, and he still plans to take to the skies at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington this fall. If anything, this fateful accident has strengthened his convictions and confirmed his beliefs. (洛根一直计划进入航空学校，这样他就可以成为一名商业航空公司的飞行员。这次坠机并没有阻止他，他仍然计划今年秋天在华盛顿州摩西湖的大本德社区学院上飞机。如果说有什么不同的话，那就是这次致命的事故加强了他的信念，证实了他的信念。)”可知，洛根很坚定。故选A。
13．C 14．A 15．C 16．D
【导语】这是一篇说明文。研究人员发现狗可以通过感知气味来精确回应主人的心理状态，从而为支持人类的心理状况（如焦虑、恐慌发作和创伤后应激障碍）训练服务犬提供了一个选项。
13．细节理解题。根据第一段第一句“Smells emitted by the body constitute chemical signals that have evolved into communication, primarily within species. (身体发出的气味构成了化学信号，已经进化成交流，主要是在物种之间。)”可知，人体的气味的功能是交流。故选C。
14．细节理解题。根据第二段第二句“Samples were collected both before and after a fast-paced arithmetic (算术) task, along with self-reported stress levels and objective physiological measures: heart rate (HR) and blood pressure ( BP). (在快节奏的算术任务之前和之后收集样本，同时收集自我报告的压力水平和客观生理测量：心率（HR）和血压（BP）。)”可知，研究中涉及快节奏的算术任务是为了给参与者造成压力。故选A。
15．细节理解题。根据第三段第一句“Overall, dogs could detect and perform their alert behavior on the sample taken during stress in 675 out of 720 trials, or 93.75% of the time，much greater than expected by chance (p<0.001). (总的来说，在720次试验中，有675次，或93.75%的时间，狗能检测到压力下的样本并表现出警觉行为，远高于预期的概率（p<0.001）。)”可知，狗能相当准确地察觉人的压力。故选C。
16．细节理解题。根据最后一段“The authors conclude that dogs can detect an odor associated with the change in Volatile Organic Compounds produced by humans in response to stress, a finding that tells us more about the human-dog relationship and could have applications to the training of anxiety and PTSD service dogs that are currently trained to respond predominantly (主要地) to visual cues. (作者得出的结论是，狗可以探测到一种气味，这种气味与人类在压力下产生的挥发性有机化合物的变化有关，这一发现告诉我们更多关于人与狗的关系，并且可以应用于训练焦虑和创伤后应激障碍服务犬，这些服务犬目前被训练为主要对视觉线索做出反应。)”可知，这项研究的意义是它为训练服务犬提供了选择。故选D。
17．C 18．D 19．B 20．A
【导语】这是一篇说明文。主要说明了英国一家植物研究所的研究人员发现了一种方法，可以为植物提供一种基于抗体的防御机制，以抵御一种特定的威胁，这可能会加速作物对任何新出现的病毒或细菌的抗性的产生。
17．词句猜测题。根据画线词下文“a protein from the plant pathogen (病原体) to be targeted to a camel or other camel relatives, purify the unusually small antibodies the camels produce, and engineer the corresponding gene section for them into a plant’s own immune gene(将植物病原体中的一种蛋白质接种到骆驼或其他骆驼亲属，纯化骆驼产生的异常小的抗体，并将其相应的基因片段转化为植物自身的免疫基因)”可知，要纯化骆驼产生的异常小的抗体，并将相应的基因片段设计成植物自身的免疫基因，需要把一种来自植物病原体的蛋白质引入到骆驼或其他骆驼的近亲身上，故画线词意思是“引入”。故选C。
18．推理判断题。根据第二段“Farmers lose many billions of dollars to plant diseases each year, and emerging pathogens pose new threats to food security in the developing world. Plants have evolved their own immune system, kick-started by cell receptors that recognize general pathogen features, such as a bacterial cell wall, as well as intracellular receptors for molecules (分子) produced by specific pathogens. If a plant cell detects these molecules, it may trigger its own death to save the rest of the plant. But plant pathogens often evolve and escape from those receptors.(农民每年因植物病害损失数十亿美元，新出现的病原体对发展中国家的粮食安全构成了新的威胁。植物已经进化出了自己的免疫系统，由识别一般病原体特征（如细菌细胞壁）的细胞受体以及识别特定病原体产生的分子的细胞内受体启动。如果一个植物细胞检测到这些分子，它可能会触发自己的死亡，以拯救植物的其余部分。但植物病原体经常进化并逃离这些受体)”可推知，第二段的主要目的是揭示为什么植物不能应对不断更新的疾病。故选D。
19．细节理解题。根据最后一段““The exciting part about this technology is that we have the potential of made-to-order resistance genes and keeping up with a pathogen,” Kamoun says.( Kamoun说：“这项技术令人兴奋的部分是，我们有可能定制抗性基因，并跟上病原体的步伐。”)”可知，纳米体可以帮助植物跟上病原体的变化。故选B。
20．细节理解题。根据最后一段“Ksenia Krasileva, a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, says the mixture of nano-bodies with plant immune receptors opens up a vast body of biomedical knowledge for plant scientists. “We can now dig into all of that research and translate it to save crops.”(加州大学伯克利分校的科学家Ksenia Krasileva说，纳米体与植物免疫受体的混合为植物科学家开辟了一个庞大的生物医学知识体系。“我们现在可以深入研究所有这些研究，并将其转化为拯救作物。”)”可知，科学家将把研究结果应用到现实世界中。故选A。
21．B 22．C 23．A
【导语】本文是一篇应用文，主要介绍了The MEL in Clean Energy Engineering program清洁能源工程硕士课程培训项目。
21．细节理解题。根据Choose Engineering and Business部分中的第一句“The MEL in Clean Energy Engineering program offers a unique combination of technical and business classes,...”(MEL在清洁能源工程项目中提供了技术和商业课程的独特组合……)可知，这个项目提供了技术和商业课程