高二寒假阅读综合测试
本文作者： 21ST
A Today we eat on the go, at our desks and even in front of computers. We eat take-out, delivered and packaged meals. Why is that? It seems that we have adapted our foods to our fast-paced lives. “Over the past three decades, people have started eating out more than ever before and purchasing more prepared foods at the grocery store (食品杂货店), which tend to contain more fat, salt and sugar than their homemade equivalents (对应物),” noted US healthy living website SparkPeople. So, the Slow Food Movement has arisen to counteract this fast food trend. It encourages us to value the time we spend preparing, sharing and consuming (吃) food, as a recent USA Today article put it. It all started in 1986 with the efforts of Slow Food’s founding father, Italian activist Carlo Petrini, who wanted to revitalize (使复兴) food varieties and flavors that had gone dark in the face of industrialization. At that time, he asked people to follow a more sustainable (可持续的) living model. Now, his ideas are almost completely mainstream (主流). Starting at the table, the movement promotes an unhurried way of life founded on the idea that everyone has a right to culinary (烹饪的) pleasure, but that everyone must also take responsibility to “protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this celebration of the senses possible”, wrote The Phnom Penh Post. “Slow food doesn’t necessarily mean food that takes a long time to cook. It means turning down the speed at which we eat and increasing the amount of time we spend dining together with other people,” Althea Zanecosky, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, told The Huffington Post. “It is a way to bring back the social togetherness of yesterday. Dinner table conversations keep families together,” noted the Belgian non-profit organization Greenfudge. 1. What is the author’s purpose in writing the article? A. To advise readers to eat at home instead of outside. B. To tell the story of Slow Food’s founding father. C. To introduce the Slow Food Movement. D. To analyze what led to the fast food trend. 2. The underlined word “counteract” in the third paragraph probably means ______. A. make up for B. work against C. compete with D. catch up with 3. Why did Carlo Petrini start the Slow Food Movement? A. He wanted to make people aware of the benefits of eating slowly. B. He was worried about the negative effects of industrialization on food culture. C. He thought people should value the time that families and friends spend dining together. D. He believed the development of industry might help revitalize food varieties and flavors. 4. According to the article, which of the following would Althea Zanecosky be likely to agree with? A. Generally, fast food is not as healthy and delicious as slow food. B. We had better not have small talk when we’re eating dinner with other people. C. It’s not only the food itself but also the time we spend dining together that matters. D. The Slow Food Movement is based on the idea that we should spend as much time as possible on cooking. B You may have heard of the “American Dream”, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations. It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last. Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from their predecessors (前辈), many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility (机动性), flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine. Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority (优先事项) for this generation, as a new research released by US insurance company MassMutual noted. Meanwhile, nearly four in 10 Millennials choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship (创业) is a rising favorite, as 26 percent of Millennials cite self-employment as part of the dream. So what has led to this huge change? Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Contemporary young Americans seem destined (注定的) to [face] a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and societal stagnation (停滞),” noted The Daily Beast. “The rate of 16- to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15 percent. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported. The Atlantic magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporate (公司的) ladder”. Dan Kadlec of Time sees Millennials as resetting their expectations. “The [situation] is different for young adults today”, he wrote. “A true American Dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennials aren’t feeling they can attain much more than a day-to-day lifestyle that suits them.” 5. The article is mainly about ______. A. how American youth today are trying to realize their dreams B. changes in American youth’s beliefs about the American dream and the reasons for them C. how the American dream has inspired Americans to achieve success D. why the meaning of the American dream varies from generation to generation 6. According to Time magazine, unlike their parents, many Millennials in the US now consider ______ to be the American Dream. a. home ownership b. travel c. a stable job d. self-employment e. a flexible schedule A. a, b, d B. a, c, e C. b, d, e D. b, c, d 7. The underlined word “cornerstone” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to ______. A. basis B. growth C. purpose D. balance 8. What have changed Millennials’ views of the American Dream according to the article? A. A lack of confidence in themselves. B. Their dissatisfaction with their government. C. Fierce competition in the job market. D. The discouraging economy and unemployment. 9. Dan Kadlec thinks Millenials’ new definition of the American Dream is ______. A. understandable B. negative C. troubling D. beautiful C We see birds flying in groups all the time. But migrating (迁徙的) birds are the ones that make us wonder – they fly not just in groups, but in “V” formations. That must mean something, right? Scientists, too, have been puzzled by this phenomenon and have tried to figure out what benefit birds get from this particular formation. Now, a research group from University of London may have found the answer – migrating birds fly in a “V” to save energy, according to a study published in the journal Nature. When a bird flaps (扑扇) its wings, it stirs (搅动) the air around it and causes the air to move in different directions. Scientists found in the study that the air creates an upward-moving wave at the tip of the wings, which means that if a bird flies around the wingtips of another bird, it can get a boost (抬高) from the rising air and therefore use less energy to stay in the air. When a bunch of birds use this trick at the same time, they form the shape of a “V”. But there is a small problem – the lead bird gets no lift advantage and can easily get tired. This is why a group of migrating birds regularly switches leaders, according to The New York Times. Apart from the “free ride” strategy, scientists were also surprised to observe that migrating birds timed their wing beats and adjusted their positions in a very precise way to maximize (最大限度利用) the lifting effect while avoiding areas where the air moved downward. “They’re able to sense what’s going on from the bird in front, where this ‘good air’ is coming from and how to position themselves perfectly in it,” lead researcher Steven Portugal told BBC. In fact, the “V” formation has long been thought to help birds fly more efficiently (高效地). A previous study revealed that birds’ heart rates went down when they were flying together in a “V”. Fighter jets were also found to be able to reduce their energy use by up to 18 percent by staying near the wingtips of other jets. Both of these findings led scientists to suspect (猜想) that the “V” formation had an efficiency purpose, but until now they lacked proof. For scientists, the new study provides insight (理解) into an interesting natural phenomenon. But it could mean even more for aircraft companies – helping them to “understand how they can replicate (效仿) that with their plane formations to save fuel”, said Portugal. 10. What is the author’s purpose in writing the article? A. To introduce how migrating birds find their way. B. To explain how birds benefit from migration. C. To report new findings about migrating birds’ “V” formations. D. To inform us of some applications of migrating birds’ “V” formations. 11. According to a recent study, when birds migrate, ______. A. they fly in “V” formations to protect themselves against enemies B. they form the shape of a “V” to make best use of the lifting effect C. they don’t often change their lead birds during the whole journey D. the air they stir around makes it hard for the birds behind them to fly fast 12. What is the significance of the new study according to the article? A. It has proven that the “V” formation can improve efficiency in many fields. B. It led scientists to discover that birds’ heart rates go down when they fly in a “V”. C. It shows that the best formation of fighter jets in battles would be a “V” formation. D. It might inspire aircraft companies to think of ways to improve efficiency. D Are you a dog person or a cat person? With so many photos and videos of cats and dogs doing cute things online, it’s easier than ever to answer which of these furry friends you like more. There are many reasons why people prefer one type of pet over the other. So, have you ever wondered what your preference for cats or dogs says about you? In fact, a 2010 study done by Sam Gosling, a psychologist at the University of Texas, US, and his graduate student Carson Sandy found that dog people are more extroverted (外向的), agreeable and conscientious (认真的) than cat people. “Cats will occasionally engage in social activities, but usually after only a few minutes they will abandon the game. Dogs, on the other hand, will often engage in play, like fetching a thrown ball, for hours at a time,” said Modern Dog magazine. Just on the basis of dogs’ nature being more sociable than cats’, you may expect that the personalities of dog people also reflect higher sociability. And Gosling’s study found that dog people are generally about 15 percent more extroverted and 13 percent more agreeable, both of which are associated with social orientation (态度). In addition, dog people are 11 percent more conscientious than cat people. “Conscientiousness” is a tendency to show self-discipline (自律), to complete tasks and aim for achievement. This trait (特点) also shows a preference for planned rather than spontaneous (一时冲动的) behavior. In comparison, cat people are about 12 percent more anxious, but they are also 11 percent more “open” than dog people, due to a general appreciation for art, emotion, imagination, curiosity, adventure, unusual ideas and variety of experience. And people high on openness are more likely to hold unconventional (非传统的) beliefs. Despite vast differences, there are some things that cat people and dog people have in common. “Both types of people consider themselves close to nature, dislike animal-print clothing and are generally optimists,” noted Mother Nature Network. 13. What does the article mainly talk about? A. Differences between dogs and cats in their personality traits. B. Factors that influence people’s preference for dogs or cats. C. How raising a pet helps shape your personality. D. What your preference for dogs or cats reveals about you. 14. The underlined phrase “engage in” in the fourth paragraph probably means ______. A. get involved in B. benefit from C. take little interest in D. perform well in 15. According to the study done by Sam Gosling, dog owners tend to ______ than cat owners. A. be more imaginative and creative B. live a more organized life C. love to get close to nature more D. be more easygoing and adventurous 16. According to the article, both dog people and cat people ______. A. are generally self-disciplined B. are usually positive and care about nature C. are likely to hold unconventional beliefs D. like to wear animal-print clothing E “A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.” This is the definition of a word in the Oxford English Dictionary. Do you know which one? That’s right, it’s “selfie”. In fact, it wasn’t even in the dictionary until August of last year. It earned its place there because people are now so obsessed with selfies – we take them when we try on a new hat, play with our pets or when we meet a friend whom we haven’t seen in a while. But you might sometimes wonder, does this obsession actually make sense? Is there any scientific explanation for it? Well, you should probably ask James Kilner, a neuroscientist at University College London. Through our lifetimes we become experts at recognizing and interpreting other people’s faces and facial expressions. In contrast, according to Kilner, we have a very poor understanding of our own faces since we have little experience of looking at them – we just feel them most of the time. This has been proven in previous studies in which participants were shown images of themselves and asked to match their facial expressions in the pictures. In most cases, they failed to accurately produce the same facial expressions without being able to see themselves in the mirror, according to BBC. To further test how we actually perceive our own faces, Kilner carried out another study. He showed people different versions of their own portrait (肖像) – the original, one that had been edited to look less attractive and one that was made more attractive – and asked them to pick the version which they thought looked most like them. Kilner found that most people chose the more attractive picture. This suggests that we tend to think of ourselves as better-looking than we actually are. But what does it say about selfies? Well, isn’t that obvious? Selfies give us the power to create a photograph – by taking it from various angles, with different poses, using filters (滤镜) and so on – that better matches our expectations with our actual faces. “You suddenly have control in a way that you don’t have in non-virtual (非虚拟的) interactions,” Kilner told the Canada-based CTV News. Selfies allow you “to keep taking pictures until you manage to take one you’re happy with”, he explained. 17. What is the article mainly about? A. The definition and fun of taking selfies. B. A study of why people love to take selfies. C. How taking selfies influences people’s daily lives. D. How to interpret people’s facial expressions in their selfies. 18. The underlined word “perceive” in the third-to-last paragraph is closest in meaning to _______. A. recognize B. beautify C. view D. ignore 19. What did Kilner discover from his research? A. People tend to spend more time looking at their own faces than at others’. B. People are likely to believe that they look more attractive than they actually are. C. People usually interpret other people’s facial expressions worse than their own. D. People who like to take selfies tend to know more about their own facial expressions. 20. According to Kilner, people like taking selfies probably because they think ______. A. it is a good chance for them to learn more about their actual faces B. it enables them to interact better with their friends in social media C. it allows them to choose how they look and match their expectations with their appearance D. it is a way for them to learn to read and correctly respond to other people’s facial expressions |  |
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