高考英语二轮复习与增分策略 专题一 阅读理解 第三节 题组练习 2 科普知识

科普知识A(2017甘肃甘谷二中一模)Are you an optimist？Do you look at your glass and see it as half full？Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that things generally turn out for the best？Do you believe that if something is meant to be，it will be？If you reply “yes” to all of these questions，then you are an optimist.You probably are enthusiastic，cheerful and outgoing.You may be successful at work and in love.But you may be misguided because things dont turn out for the best.You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example，you may fail to obtain a new job; another chance will come around soon)Wrong.When one door closes，another door slams(砰然关上) in your face.Thats bitter reality.Now a book has been published which confirms what pessimists(悲观者) have suspected all along.Its called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism.Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results.Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear，anxiety and worry.Defensive pessimists prepare for the things by setting low outcomes for themselves.They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems.And this gives them a sense of control.Lawrence Sanno，a psychology professor，says，“Whats interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people，so their low opinion of the situations outcomes is not realistic.They use it to motivate themselves to perform better.”So far，so good.This is not rocket science.Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong，whether at work，on date or even in a sports game.It makes sense to have a back-up plan.There are many sayings in English urging caution.For example，“Dont put all your eggs in one basket.” And “Dont count your chickens until they hatch.” To have a confident and optimistic approach to lifes problems is good.But listen to what Woody Alien，the American comedian says，“Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.”There are pros and cons to being an optimist and a pessimist.Dont feel bad if you see the glass half empty.You are a realist.But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.语篇解读本文是一篇说明文，说明了防御性悲观的积极力量，防御性悲观主义是一种管理恐惧、焦虑和担心的策略。防御性悲观者为自己设定较低的结果，他们仔细考虑可能出现的问题并计划处理这些问题的办法，这给了他们一种控制感。1Whats the passage mainly about?AA book that has recently been published.BHow to become successful in life.CThe dangers of being too optimistic.DThe benefits of defensive pessimism.答案D解析主旨大意题。文章在第一段提出了人乐观一点会更好，接着主要讨论了要做一个防御性悲观者，因为这样的悲观者才会对以后的事情做好充分的准备，会有详细的计划和安排。那样才能有更好的结果。故D正确。2The underlined sentence in Para.4 means .Aits not a dangerous thing to doBit is quite simple to understandCthe cost is not so high Dthere is no real proof答案B解析句意理解题。谚语“This is not rocket science.”中的rocket science指困难的事情，难以理解的事情。本句话的意思就是指这很好理解。故B正确。3Which of the following English expressions would a defensive pessimist believe?ADont put all your eggs in one basket.BThe glass is half full not half empty.CWhatever will be，will be.DEvery cloud has a silver lining.答案A解析细节理解题。根据文章第四段中的“There are many sayings in English urging caution.For example，Dont put all your eggs in one basket.”可知该谚语表示做事要谨慎，与防御性悲观者观点一致，故A项符合。4The writer would probably describe himself as .Aan optimist Ba defeatistCa realist Da scientist答案C解析推理判断题。根据第二段中的“当上帝关上一扇门的时候，他会为你打开另外一扇门。但是实际上并不是总是如此。”再接合最后一段内容可知作者是个现实主义者。故C正确。B(2017吉林长春外国语学校期中)Showers can be relaxing.You can hum a song，daydream or think about nothing，leaving the real world behind you.But did you know that showering can also benefit your mind?A research by Scott Barry Kaufman，a psychologist from Yale University in the US interviewed over 3,000 people around the world.It turned out that nearly two-thirds of the interviewees said they had experienced new ideas in the shower and were more likely to have them in the shower than at work.So why does a simple shower have such magic power？Science can explain it.Showering can help to raise our level of dopamine，a hormone(荷尔蒙) closely related to our creativity.“People vary in terms of their level of creativity according to the activity of dopamine，” explained Alice Flaherty，a famous American neuroscientist.“Taking a warm shower can make us feel relaxed and therefore make the dopamine level rise and bring Aha！ moment to us.”Besides the chemical changes，showering may give you a break from what you feel you have been stuck with.Especially when you have thought hard all day about a problem，jumping into the shower can keep you from the outside world so that you can focus on your inner feelings and memories.In this way，according to American psychologist Shelley HCarson，author of Your Creative Brain，“a showering hour may turn into an incubation(孵化) period for your ideas.”Showering allows us to enjoy the creative juices of our minds，but it neednt just be the bathroom where you get your inspiration.For instance，Gertrude Stein，a female American writer and poet，got new ideas by driving around a farm and stopping at different cows until she found the one that most inspired her.So try to create your own way to free your mind，whether its a walk near the ocean，a country drive or reading a book at home.语篇解读一项科学实验证实了淋浴不仅能让我们感到放松，还能激发大脑的创造力。5According to the article，what changes can showering cause?ABringing the terrible moment to us.BIncreasing the level of dopamine.CLeading to boredom or tiredness.DSetting the conservative part of the brain free.答案B解析细节理解题。根据第三段中的“Showering can help to raise our level of dopamine.”可知，淋浴能增加人体内多巴胺的水平。故选B。6If one has focused on something all day，showering can help .Aturn ones attention inwardsBdraw ones attention to the outside worldCone make an important breakthroughDmany chemical changes to take place答案A解析细节理解题。根据第四段第二句“Especially when you have thought hard all day about a problem，jumping into the shower can keep you from the outside world so that you can focus on your inner feelings and memories.”可知，A项正确。7Whats the authors attitude towards the opinion that showering can lead to creativity?APositive. BNegative.CNeutral. DNot mentioned.答案A解析观点态度题。根据最后一段中的“Showering allows us to enjoy the creative juices of our minds.”可判断出，作者认为淋浴能激发我们的创造力，即作者对“淋浴能激发人的创造力”这一观点持积极态度。故选A。8The example of Gertrude Stein in the last paragraph is used to .Aencourage readers to find their own ways of getting inspirationBpoint out to readers that its hard to find inspirationCexplain how to link inspiration with readers daily livesDshow that creativity often comes from strange places答案A解析推理判断题。最后一段开头作者指出淋浴能激发我们的创造力，但是并不一定非得在浴室淋浴获得灵感，后面就以Gertrude Stein为例讲述其他方法也能激发我们的灵感。由此可判断出，作者以Gertrude Stein为例是为了鼓励读者找到自己的获取灵感的方法。故选A。C(2017第三次全国大联考)Feeding knowledge directly into your brain，just like in sci-fi classic The Matrix(黑客帝国)，could soon take as much effort as falling asleep，scientists believe.Researchers claim to have developed a simulator which can feed information directly into a persons brain and teach them new skills in a shorter amount of time，comparing it to “life imitating art”Researchers from HRL Laboratories，based in California，say they have found a way to amplify learning，only on a much smaller scale than seen in the Hollywood film.They studied the electric signals in the brain of a trained pilot and then fed the data into novice(初学者)subjects as they learned to pilot an airplane in a realistic flight simulator.The study，published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience，found that subjects who received brain stimulation via electrode-embedded head caps improved their piloting abilities and learnt the task 33 percent better than a placebo group.“Our system is one of the first of its kind.Its a brain stimulation system，” explained Dr Matthew Phillips.“It sounds kind of sci-fi，but theres large scientific basis for the development of our system.The specific task we were looking at was piloting an aircraft，which requires a combination of both cognitive and motor performance.When you learn something，your brain physically changes.Connections are made and strengthened in a process called neuro-plasticity.It turns out that certain functions of the brain，like speech and memory，are located in very specific regions of the brain，about the size of your pinky.”Dr Matthew believes that brain stimulation could eventually be implemented for tasks like learning to drive，exam preparation and language learning.“What our system does is it actually targets those changes to specific regions of the brain as you learn，” he added.“The method itself is actually quite old.In fact，the ancient Egyptians 4,000 years ago used electric fish to stimulate and reduce pain.Even Ben Franklin applied currents to his head，but the rigorous，scientific investigation of these methods started in the early 2000s and were building on that research to target and personalize a stimulation in the most effective way possible.What we found is brain stimulation seems to be particularly effective at actually improving learning.”语篇解读美国休斯研究实验室的研究人员已经研发出一种帮助人脑快速学习的系统，他们声称该系统能够直接将新技能和新知识上传到你的大脑。9What can we know about “life imitating art”？AKnowledge can be directly put into our brain.BThere is no need for people to learn new knowledge.CA simulator can help people acquire what they want.DIts just a kind of art that hasnt been explained yet.答案C解析细节理解题。根据文章第二段的内容可知“life imitating art”是借助一种模拟器在短时间内教会人类新技能的方法。故选C。10Which of the following about the system studied is FALSE according to Dr Matthew?AIts nothing but a system related to brain stimulation.BIts based on enough scientific foundation.CIt expects to be fully used in all walks of life.DIt focuses on the changes to certain regions of brain.答案C解析推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“Dr Matthew believes that brain stimulation could eventually be implemented for tasks like learning to drive，exam preparation and language learning.”可知C为正确答案。11Whats the purpose of writing the passage?ATo introduce the technology used in a classic film.BTo illustrate a new study connected with human brain.CTo show how to train pilot effectively.DTo study the peoples physical response to outer changes.答案B解析写作目的题。文章主要阐述了一项对开发人类大脑的刺激系统的研究成果。故选B。D(2017贵州遵义航天高级中学四模)Scientists found that sleeping considerably improves our creativity.After taking a nap people are able to think faster and put more imagination into their thinking.Besides，if we dream，the thinking abilities are improved even more.Researchers consider that sleeping on a problem in most cases leads to elucidation(解释)They say when a person enters a phase called Rapid Eye Movement (REM) during sleep，it increases the effect.Such phase takes place right before we awake and according to scientists it helps our brain make links between unrelated subjects.In the study，led by Professor Sara Mednick，scientists made a conclusion that the REM was “important for assimilating(消化) new information into past experience” in order to find solutions to creative problems.Prof.Mednick is a psychiatrist at the University of California.Her study involved the analysis of 77 adults.Each participant was given several word-associated creative tasks.All tasks were given in the morning，with participants being shown a number of groups of 3 words，for example：cookie，heart and sixteen.They were asked to come up with a word that would be associated with all three given termslike sweet.Sometime later，after some participants were allowed to sleep，they were asked to perform the same tasks and some new ones.It is worth mentioning that while some people slept，researchers used brain scans to see the type of sleep each participant entered.When given the same tasks，participants，who took a nap，were able to give more varied solutions，some of which were much better than they gave earlier.But when given new tasks，researchers found that those who entered REM sleep had a 40 percent better result compared to the performance they showed in the morning.语篇解读研究发现睡眠能提升人的创造性。如果在睡觉时做梦，人的思维能力会得到更大提升。12What does “it” refer to in the second paragraph?AThe effect. BREM.CSleep. DA problem.答案B解析代词指代题。根据画线词前面的“They say when a person enters a phase called Rapid Eye Movement (REM) during sleep”可知it指代REM。故选B。13Why do the researchers study the REM?ABecause REM takes place just after you sleep.BBecause REM can store more information.CBecause REM can help find creative solutions.DBecause REM can make a creative invention.答案C解析细节理解题。根据第三段中的“scientists made a conclusion that the REM was important for assimilating(消化) new information into past experience in order to find solutions to creative problems”可知答案为C。14What can we know from this passage?ATaking a short nap is good for your thinking during the day.BSleeping has three processes which is good for creativity.CEach adult was allowed to sleep after the task was given.DREM is a process taking place right after we awake when we nap.答案A解析推理判断题。根据最后一段首句“When given the same tasks，participants，who took a nap，were able to give more varied solutions，some of which were much better than they gave earlier.”可知小睡一会会让人有更好的表现。故选A。15The important stage in the study is .Ato think of a creative wordBto show a group of 3 wordsCto give participants time to thinkDto let some participants sleep for a while答案D解析推理判断题。由最后两段可知这次研究的过程为：先让测试者进行测试，然后让其中一些测试者睡一会儿，之后再进行测试，从而对比两次测试的结果。由此可推断让一些测试者睡一会儿是本次研究的关键。故选D。.单词梳理1He aims to be a successful(success) writer.2A good cry would probably(probable) make you feel better.3Fresh air is beneficial(benefit) to our health.4The city is famous for its various(vary) bridges.5London was different(difference) from most European capitals.6Please put the receiver(receive) back after calling.7Todays weat