科普类阅读理解模拟训练(51977)-高三英语阅读(360)-21英语网

A

Not fair!

How often have you said that to your parents when you think another kid got more of something. Well, it turns out dogs can react the same way.

Ask them to do a trick and they'll give it a try. For a reward — sausage (香肠), say — they'll happily keep trying. But if one dog gets no reward after performing and then sees another get sausage for doing the same trick, just try to get the first one to do it again.

Indeed, he may even turn away and refuse to look at you.

Dogs, like people and monkeys, seem to have a sense of fairness.

"Animals react to unfairness," said Friederike Range of the University of Vienna in Austria, who led a team of researchers testing animals at the school's Clever Dog Lab. "To avoid stress, we should try to avoid treating them differently."

Similar reactions have been seen in monkeys.

Range said she wasn't surprised at the dogs' reactions, since wolves are known to cooperate with one another and appear to be sensitive to each other. Modern dogs are descended (祖先是) from wolves.

In the reward experiments reported last week in a scientific journal, Range and her colleagues experimented with dogs that understood the command "paw," (爪子) to place a paw in the hand of a researcher. It's the same game as teaching a dog to "shake hands."

Twenty-nine dogs were tested. They sat side by side in pairs with an experimenter in front of them. In front of the experimenter was a divided food bowl with pieces of sausage on one side and brown bread on the other.

The dogs were asked to shake hands, and each could see what reward the other received. When one dog got a reward and the other didn't, the unrewarded animal stopped playing. When both got a reward, all was well.

One thing that did surprise the researchers was that, unlike monkeys, the dogs didn't seem to care whether the reward was sausage or bread.

Clive Wynne, an associate professor in the psychology department of the University of Florida, isn't so sure the experiment measures the animals' reaction to fairness. But Wynne also said there is "no doubt in my mind that dogs are very, very sensitive to what people are doing and are very smart."

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. It mainly introduces to readers what fair play is.

B. It mainly tells readers how to teach dogs tricks.

C. It is about different reactions of animals in tricks.

D. It tells readers that dogs want fair treatment in tricks.

2. If a dog finds that it is treated unfairly after performing, it will _____.

A. refuse performing again B. ask for rewards

C. try to amuse its owner D. abandon its owner forever

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Monkeys don't care when they are treated differently.

B. Dogs won't play again if they don't get well fed.

C. Wolves share the same reactions as dogs in receiving rewards.

D. The paw experiment may not measure the animals' reaction to fairness accurately.

B

Have you ever walked outside thinking it was one temperature but quickly discovered it felt colder? That is because of the "wind chill" effect.

Wind chill is how cold people and animals feel when they are outside, not the actual temperature on the thermometer (温度计). It is based on how quickly your body loses heat when it is exposed to wind and cold. When the wind is strong, your body quickly loses heat, making the temperature of your skin drop.

When scientists first started calculating wind chill, they used research conducted in 1945 by explorers to Antarctica who measured how quickly water froze outside.

But water freezes faster than exposed skin, so the wind chill index (指数) based on that data wasn't accurate.

In 2001, the US government began to measure wind chill more precisely by testing how quickly people's skin froze.

Twelve volunteers were placed in a chilled wind tunnel (隧道). Equipment was stuck to their faces to measure the heat flow from their cheeks, forehead, nose and chin while they walked three miles per hour on a treadmill (跑步机).

The experiment revealed how quickly exposed skin can be damaged, particularly unprotected areas like your fingers, toes, the tip of your nose and your ear lobes. In fact, 40 percent of your body heat can be lost through your head! Signs you might have frostbite (冻疮) are when the skin turns white or pale and you lose feeling in that area.

The information collected from the volunteers helped scientists work out the math to compute wind chill. It involves wind speed and air temperature.

If, for example, the temperature outside is zero degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing at 15 miles per hour, the wind chill is calculated at 19 degrees below zero. At that wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.

You can find a calculation table at www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml.

Experts advise in cold weather that you wear loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing, worn on top of each other. Air caught between the clothes will keep you warm. The best cold-weather coats have head coverings made of woven material that keep out water. So next time the temperature drops and you want to play outside, listen to your parents when they tell you to wrap up warm!

1. According to the text, wind chill ______.

A. means how fast exposed skin freezes

B. doesn't affect your head as much as other body parts

C. changes according to the temperature on the thermometer

D. changes from person to person depending on their health

2. When might a person have frostbite according to the passage?

A. When his skin turns red and he loses feeling in that area.

B. When he is running faster and he is losing strength quickly.

C. When his face is exposed and quickly loses heat even indoors.

D. When his skin turns pale and he has no feeling in that area.

3. What factors influence wind chill?

A. A person's body temperature and wind speed.

B. Wind speed and a person's strength.

C. Air temperature and wind speed.

D. The location and air temperature.

4. What can we conclude from the passage?

A. It was in 1945 that scientists first began to calculate wind chill.

B. Compared with water, people's exposed skin freezes more slowly.

C. The wind chill index based on Antarctica data is considered a standard.

D. With the development of technology, many previous researches have been proven wrong.

C

If recent scientific research on happiness has proven anything, it is that happiness is not a goal, but a process. Though many people think happiness is hard to find, scientists claim to know how to get it.

"Happiness isn't just feeling good. It's good for you and for society. Happy people are more successful, have better relationships, are healthier and live longer," said Ed Diener, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois.

Beyond your gene (基因)

Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at University of California Riverside, studied research on twins and found that happiness is 50 percent genetic, 40 percent intentional and 10 percent circumstantial.

"Your circumstances — where you live, your health, your work, your marriage — can be tough to change. But most people are surprised that circumstances are not as responsible for their happiness as they think," she said.

Life circumstances don't result in constant happiness, she says, because we adapt. That new car, promotion or house feels great at first. Then we get used to it. Keeping that good feeling going requires something else: control of how you act and think.

Happiness – what is it?

To gain happiness, you need to understand what happiness is.

Martin Seligman, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says happiness is the search for engaging and meaningful activities.

By "engaging" , he means when we get so absorbed in what we are doing that we forget about time. "Meaningful" would be using what you are best at to serve others or to help in a cause that's bigger than yourself.

"Your purpose doesn't have to be giant," says psychologist Dan Baker. "If you're 17, your purpose can be getting into the college of your choice. When you're a parent, it can be getting your kids off to school safely and prepared for each day."

Other factors

From 1981 to 2007, the World Values Survey did research all over the world and measured what it considers happiness and general life satisfaction. Of the 52 countries that completed the surveys over the 17-year period, happiness increased in 45.

According to the survey analysis, increased financial growth helped promote happiness for some, while fairness and equality and a rise in social tolerance (宽容度)contributed even more.

Fairness and equality provide more choice, which promotes happiness. Support for equality between the sexes and tolerance of people who are different are also strongly linked. This is not just because tolerant people are happier, but because living in a tolerant society improves everyone's freedom.

1. What does the passage mainly focus on?

A. What you can do to achieve happiness.

B. What being happy in modern times means.

C. What happiness is and what influences happiness.

D. What kinds of researches have been done concerning happiness.

2. What can we conclude from the first two paragraphs?

A. Many people now claim they know how to achieve constant happiness.

B. Scientists researching happiness think happiness is both a process and a goal.

C. Happiness can bring many benefits to not only individuals but also to society.

D. Scientists have recently made a big breakthrough in discovering how to gain happiness.

3. If we want to gain constant happiness, we should _______.

A. get used to our life circumstances B. be fair and tolerant to other people

C. constantly change our life circumstances

D. take up the responsibility to make ourselves so

4. According to Martin Seligman, happy people are those _____.

A. who live a wealthy life without being satisfied

B. who are carrying out scientific researches

C. who devote themselves to a meaningful cause

D. who keep searching for practical goals in their life

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Happiness can also be promoted by better social tolerance.

B. Generally people all over the world are not as happy as about 20 years ago.

C. Financial growth plays the most important part in forming one's happiness.

D. Social fairness and equality are closely related to increased financial growth.

D

Reading about history is nice, but finding ties to long-ago historical events in your own back yard is really exciting.

In their heavily populated area, neighbors Adam Giles, 13, and Derek Hann, 12, uncovered pieces of glass that looked quite different from what's used today. "After digging about two feet down, I came across an interesting bottle," Derek said. The bottle had a "pontil scar" on the bottom, an indication that it was hand-blown rather than machine made. It also had the name "Fraser" on one side.

Adam found remains of a green bottle and some very thick brown glass — again, far different from today's.

After doing research on the computer, the boys contacted Aimee Wells of the county's (县) Cultural Resources office. She showed them a computer program that digitally puts old maps over modern satellite photographs.

Bingo! Their back yards were once part of a military (军事的) encampment (营地) called Camp Alger used by Ohio soldiers on their way to fight in the Spanish-American War in 1898.

So how do a few bottles get connected to a brief war that was more than a century ago? "We get there by good judgment," Wells said. "We know the time period of the bottles and what happened in that area." Anyone can dig a hole, but archaeologists seek a deeper understanding. How do objects found relate to things around them?

When Derek and Adam realized that a soldier might have held that Fraser bottle 110 years ago, they wondered what he might have been thinking. What did he see as he looked around him? How did he pass the time waiting to go into battle?

Historical records show that while waiting for orders, the soldiers in and around Camp Alger played baseball, played instruments and walked seven miles to the Potomac River once a week (!) for baths. A spread of strange fever forced the closing of the camp, and there are no buildings to study. "What's left is only what's in the ground," Wells said.

Derek's and Adam's back yards have joined the 3,400 places listed on the county's register of archaeological sites. The boys were given tips on how to dig effectively and safely, and on how to document the location of items found.

The official record of their finds serves as another piece of the puzzle for historians seeking to form a more complete story of what happened.

"Not everybody is going to have historical objects in their own yard," Wells said. "That's okay. Make your own time capsule and bury it. What would you want people to know about your life years from now?"

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. What Adam Giles and Derek Hann found in their back yard and its relationship with an encampment.

B. How Adam Giles and Derek Hann dug out the remains of an ancient military encampment.

C. The great contributions Adam Giles and Derek Hann made to the cause of archaeology.

D. The tips on how to dig out ancient objects buried under the ground safely and effectively.

2. From the passage, we can see that the boys' discovery _____.

A. includes all kinds hand-made and machine-made glass

B. couldn't have been meaningful without Aimee Wells' help

C. has helped historians find out what happened in 1898

D. has added the county to the list of archaeologist sites

3. When Wells said "We get there by good judgment." (Paragraph 6), she meant that ______.

A. they have figured out how to get to the place where the brief war happened

B. they have established the ties to Camp Alger by finding out the time period of the bottles

C. they have managed to dig out the bottles in the back yard safely with common sense

D. they were able to locate the soldier who used the Fraser bottles 110 years ago

4. Which of the following does NOT fit the description of historical records?

A. The soldiers in and around Camp Alger delighted in playing baseball in their spare time.

B. When Camp Alger was forced to close, all the buildings there were destroyed.

C. The soldiers in and around Camp Alger often played instruments to kill time.

D. Camp Alger was forced to close because of a spread of a strange fever.

E

When you hear the word "farm" , chances are you picture rolling hills in the country covered with cows and corn. But some scientists, engineers and city planners say the farms of the future could be indoors inside skyscrapers (摩天大楼) in the world's most populated cities.

It might sound crazy, but in fact, some of the technology for growing crops indoors already exists. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, has been experimenting for years with methods for growing fresh fruits and vegetables on the moon or even on Mars.

Bringing farming indoors solves a number of problems. First, traditional farming takes up a lot of land. By the year 2050, the world population will grow by another 3 billion. As populations grow, the land available for farming decreases. Governments are now wondering where will we grow the food for all these people. Despommier, an ecologist at Columbia University, and his colleagues say "vertical farming" — growing crops in skyscrapers tens of stories high — is the answer.

Cities that grow their own food also would become more self-reliant and no longer be at risk of natural disasters, weather instability (不稳定) or insect pests (害虫). "You can control everything indoors. You can't control anything outdoors," Despommier says.

Vertical farms don't exist yet. Their supporters say a well-designed vertical farm could be self-reliant, able to recycle water, compost (将…做成混合肥) crop waste, and use gases given off in the process to heat the building. Even the waste of the livestock (牲畜) living in the building could be recycled as a source of energy.

But some believe making the move to vertical farming will not be so easy. "I would say it is going to be tough," says Gene Giacomelli, who heads up the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

It can be tricky to regulate climate conditions indoors, he says. Keeping the correct balance of humidity can be especially challenging and plants have different weather and lighting requirements. Tomatoes like warm, sunny weather, while greens like lettuce prefer cooler temperatures. And nearly all crop plants require lots of sunlight.

Copying sunlight is challenging, but scientists are learning how to make artificial (人造的) lights that produce the colors, or wavelengths, of light — especially red and blue — that crop plants need. Still, artificial, electric lights present their own challenges. Overhead lights are inefficient but more efficient lighting systems are still too expensive for widespread use.

That's not to say these challenges won't be overcome — but it will take time. Most experts suggest it would be anywhere between five and 15 years before the first vertical farms could be created.

1. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. The ways to solve the food problem of the world.

B. A new farming technology—"vertical farming" .

C. The main problems "vertical farming" is facing.

D. The advantages "vertical farming" will bring us.

2. To the future of "vertical farming" , the author is ____ according to the text.

A. doubtful B. pessimistic

C. optimistic D. proud

3. Which of the following descriptions does NOT fit a well-designed vertical farm?

A. The water in it can be recycled and the crop waste can be composted.

B. Waste of the livestock can be recycled as a source of energy.

C. The buildings in which a vertical farm lies should look beautiful.

D. The gases given off in the process can be used to heat the building.

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Gene Giacomelli thinks vertical farming will be a big challenge to us human beings.

B. Owing to scientists' efforts, the technology for growing crops indoors has been mature.

C. The NASA has carried out many experiments to grow vegetables and rice in skyscrapers.

D. Facing so many difficulties, the experts will give up the idea of growing crops indoors.

5. The following are the benefits of "indoors farming" EXCEPT that _________.

A. "indoors farming" can help people to save a lot of land

B. crops can be protected from the harm of natural disasters

C. crops will be free from the damage caused by insect pests

D. "indoors farming" can help people save a lot of money