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【英语】2019届二轮复习阅读理解专题说明文类型模拟试题10篇训练之二十(18页word版)
2019届二轮复习阅读理解专题说明文类型模拟试题10篇训练之二十 [一] Astronauts aboard the space station Celebrated a space first on Wednesday by drinking water that had been recycled from their urine and sweat and water that condenses from exhaled air. They said "cheers" ,clicked drinking bags and toasted NASA workers on the ground who were sipping their own version of recycled drinking water. The recycling system is needed for astronaut stations on the moon and Mars. It also will save NASA money because it won' t have to ship up as much water to the station by space shuttle or cargo rockets. Besides, it' s important as the space station is about to expand from three people living on board to six. The recycling system had been brought up to the space station last November by space shuttle Endeavour, but it couldn' t be used until samples were tested back on Earth. So when it came time to actually drink up, NASA made a big deal of it. The threeman crew stood, holding their drinks and congratulated engineers in two NASA centers that worked on the system. "This is something that had been the stuff of science fiction," Barratt said before taking a small mouthful. "The taste is worth trying." NASA deputy space shuttle manager LeRoy Cain called it "a huge milestone". The new system takes the combined urine of the crew from the toilet, moves it to a big tank, where the water is boiled off, and the vapor is collected. The rest of the urine is thrown away. The water vapor is mixed with water from air condensation, and then it goes through filters. When six crew members are aboard it can make about six gallons from urine in about six hours. "Some people may find the idea of drinking recycled urine distasteful, but it is also done on Earth with a lot longer time between urine and the tap"said Marybeth Edeen, the space station's national lab manager. The technology NASA developed for this system has already been used for quick water purification after the 2004 Asian tsunami, Edeen said. "We are happy to have this water work through the system - we' re happy to have it work through our systems,"Barratt said. [语篇解读]本文讲的是国际空间站宇航员试饮尿液循环水。 1.According to the text, the recycling system is important because________. A. it makes traveling to the moon for the common person possible B. with it NASA won' t need to ship any water up to the space station C. it can help to meet the need for more water after the crew are expanded D. it protects the environment in space by reducing the amount of waste [解析]细节理解题。根据第二段中的"it's important as the space station is about to expand from three people living on board to six"可知C项正确。[答案]C 2.What is the RIGHT time order of the following events? a. The samples of the recycled water were tested on Earth. b. Astronauts celebrated the space first of making water from urine. c. The recycling system was brought up to the space station. d. The technology for the system was used to quickly purify water. A. a,d,c,b B. a,c,b,d C. d,a,c,b D. d,c,a,b [解析]细节理解题。根据倒数第二段的"The technology NASA developed for this system has already been used for quick water purification after the 2004 Asian tsunami"可知d发生最早。根据第三段的" The recycling system had been brought up to the space station last November... couldn' t be used until samples were tested back on Earth"可知c发生在a的前面,因此D项正确。 [答案]D 3.From Para. 6 we can know________. A. the theory behind the recycling system B. the effect of the recycling system C. the process of the recycling system D. an opinion on the recycling system [解析]段落概括题。该段主要讲述的是使用尿液循环系统将尿制成水的过程。[答案]C 4.What did Edeen say about recycled urine and the recycling system? A. The taste of recycled urine is not as good as common water. B. The recycling system has made a science fiction story come true. C. The idea of drinking recycled urine makes astronauts feel unpleasant. D. It takes a longer time on Earth to make water from urine than in space. [解析]细节理解题。根据第七段中的"with a lot longer time between urine and the tap"可知D项正确。[答案]D 5.What is the best title for the passage? A. The research of NASA has made great progress B. New technology is used in the space station C. Drink up: space station recycles urine to water D. Good news: water recycled from urine tastes good [解析]标题概括题。本文报道了国际空间站的宇航员试饮尿液循环水,"Drink up"生动反映饮用时的情景,"space station recycles urine to water"点明了制造技术。故C项最佳。[答案]C [二] The treadle pump is based on a design developed in the 1970s by Norwegian engineer Gunnar Barnes. It can be made locally. The treadle pump is easy to build from bamboo or other wood and two metal cylinders (圆筒) with pistons (活塞). The pistons go up and down as a person stands on lever devices - treadles - and uses a natural walking motion. How many hours a day the pump needs to be operated depends on the season and how much water is needed for crops. It could be two hours a day. It could be seven hours a day. Small children sometimes stand with their parents on the treadles. Everyone in the family can take turns operating the pump. The Acumen Fund is a nonprofit group that invests in business projects to fight poverty. It studied the effects of treadle pumps in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has three treadle pump manufacturers and more than seventythree thousand pumps. Acumen reported that families using them ate more vegetables, because they were able to grow more to eat and to sell. Many of these families also drank more milk, because they bought a cow with their added earnings. Men with treadle pumps often no longer have to leave the farm to seek extra work in cities. The pump can also improve education. Farmers often use their extra earnings to buy books for their children or to pay for schooling. A farmer in Zambia said he hoped to have enough money in three years to buy a diesel powered pump (柴油泵). Then he could grow more crops over a larger area. But the world economic crisis has had an effect on some farmers. IDE executive director Zenia Tata says some who were able to buy diesel pumps now do not have enough money to buy fuel. So they are using their treadle pumps again. [语篇解读] 脚踏泵因其简单、易行、实用之特点,正在世界的广大贫困地区被推广,以帮助农民脱贫致富,且已取得了显著的效果。 1.The treadle pump ________. A. is invented by an American engineer B. is mainly made of metal C. consists of two cylinders with pistons D. consists of two cylinders with an engine [解析]事实细节题。根据第二段第一句可知答案为C。[答案]C 2.What does the author want to tell us about the treadle pump in the second paragraph? A. Its history. B. Its working principle. C. Its structure. D. Its usage and effects. [解析]作者意图题。A和D显然不对,C有一定干扰性,但其不能概括第二句,介绍工作原理时,一般要同时介绍其结构,故选B。[答案]B 3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________. A. it is easy to learn how to operate the treadle pump B. it is difficult to build a treadle pump C. the treadle pump is used more in winter than in summer D. operating the treadle pump can keep fit [解析]推理判断题。B和C与文中内容相悖,可排除。易错选D,但文中没有依据,无法推知。根据第四段,小孩也可帮忙,家庭中每个人都可参与,可推知A为答案。[答案]A 4.Each treadle pump manufacturer in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has produced on average about ________. A. 18, 000 pumps B. 24, 000 pumps C. 37, 000 pumps D. 73, 000 pumps [解析]数据推算题。根据第五段第三句可知,该州共三家生产商,共有七万三千多架脚踏泵,平均每家生产两万四千架左右,故选B。[答案]B 5.Why does the farmer in Zambia hope to buy a diesel powered pump? A. Because he wants to grow crops on a larger scale. B. Because he hates to leave the farm to seek fortune in cities. C. Because a diesel powered pump is cheaper than before. D. Because oil is much cheaper than before. [解析]事实细节题。根据倒数第二段第二句可知答案。[答案]A [三] THURSDAY, July 9 ( HealthDay News) - A new study that found that a lowercalorie diet slowed the aging process in monkeys could be the best proof yet that restricted diets might do the same for humans. "The big question in aging research is, 'Will caloric restriction in species closely related to humans slow aging?'" said Richard Weindruch, senior author of a paper appearing in the July 10 issue of Science.This is the first clear demonstration that, in a primate species, we' re inducing a slowdown of the aging process - showing increased survival, resistance to disease, less brain atrophy and less muscle loss. "This predicts humans would respond similarly," added Weindruch, professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin and an investigator at the Veterans Hospital in Madison. Another expert noted that, despite some highly publicized studies in certain species, the link between restricted eating and longer lifespan has been far from proven. "The idea that dietary restriction extends lifespan in all species is not true. Many strains of rats and mice do not respond. In some strains, it' s actually deleterious," explained Felipe Sierra, director of the biology of aging program at the US National Institute on Aging (NIA), which supported the new study. "The fact that it doesn't work in some mice but it does seem to work in monkeys is surprising and it gives us hope." But there' s a larger question: how to change humans' increasingly lax eating habits. "This_finding_doesn't_give_me_hope_that_humans_are_going_to_go_into_dietary_restriction," added Marianne Grant, a registered dietitian at Texas A&M Health Science Center Coastal Bend Health Education Center in Corpus Christi. [语篇解读]这是一篇新闻报道,研究人员通过对动物的研究证明低热量的饮食可能会延长人的寿命。 1.The underlined word "restricted" means"________". A. limited B. satisfied C. reserved D. fascinated [解析]词义猜测题。根据第一段可知,低热量的饮食可以延长猴子的寿命,这一试验证明有节制的饮食可能同样会延长人的寿命。[答案]A 2.Which of the following statements about Weindruch is true? A. This experiment indicates restricted diets could extend humans' lifespan. B. Adequate sleep is another way to reduce the speed of aging process. C. The experiment was a failure in some species such as mice. D. The experiment which had been tested on humans got a great success. [解析]细节理解题。根据第三段第一句话可知答案为A。 [答案]A 3.According to Felipe Sierra' s idea, we know that________. A. the restricted diets experiment really had no distinct effect on rats and mice B. humans are finding new ways to slowdown the aging process of all the species C. the experiment is unnecessary to be carried on because of the response of the mice D. the experiment confirmed that restricted diets extend lifespan in all species [解析]细节理解题。从第四段的第二句"Many strains of rats and mice do not respond."可知答案。[答案]A 4.It can be inferred from the underlined sentence that ________. A. the result of the experiment shows that humans are not pigging out nowadays B. nowadays humans are turning unhealthy diets into lowercalorie diets C. how to change humans' careless eating habits is a long way to go D. the experiment changed humans' increasingly careless eating habits [解析]细节理解题。由画线句子可知人们目前并没有进入到控制饮食的状态中,也就是说要改变人们漫不经心的饮食习惯还有很长的路要走。[答案]C 5.The author most likely wrote this text to________. A. compare the two experiments on rats and monkeys B. illustrate the data from the research C. call on people to pay attention to their daily diets D. introduce a lively debate to amuse the reader [解析]写作目的题。作者的目的是通过介绍试验"低热量的饮食可能会延长人的寿命",呼吁人们注意控制饮食。[答案]C [四] Mankind is still evolving(进化), according to a recent study by a team of scientists led by a Yale University evolutionary biologist. But research suggests that the natural selection process is no longer driven by survival, perhaps because of differences in women's fertility(能生育性). The team examined 2,238 women in Framingham, Massachusetts, the US and studied the medical histories of some 14,000 residents since 1948. They found that strong,slightly fat women tend to have more children. And if this trend were to continue for the next 10 generations, by 2409 the average woman would be 2 cm shorter,1 kg heavier, and have a healthier heart. That rate of evolution is pretty similar to what we see in plants and animals. Humans_don'_t_seem_to_be_any_exception,_the team said. Other recent genetic research backs up that belief. One study by John Hawks, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, found that some 1,800 human gene variations (变异) are common in recent generations because of evolution. Among the changes are mutations (突变) that allow people to digest milk or resist malaria(疟疾) and others that govern brain development. Since the Industrial Revolution, modern humans have grown taller and stronger. It' s easy to assume that evolution is making humans fitter. But according to anthropologist Peter McAllister, the contemporary male has evolved physically into "the sorriest example of male ever on the planet". An average Neanderthal woman, McAllister notes, could have beat Arnold Schwarzenegger in an armwrestling (腕力) match. And early Australian Aborigines could easily defeat Usain Bolt in a 100-m dash. However, Douglas Ewbank, of the University of Pennsylvania, says that cultural factors tend to have a much greater impact than natural selection on future generations, so people tend to ignore evolution' s effects. And, despite evidence indicating evolution still works, Steve Jones, an evolutionary biologist at University College London, thinks that the impact of evolution on humans is not the most important. "What makes humans what we are is in our minds, in our society, and not in our evolution," said Jones. [语篇解读]科学家们发现人类还在不断地进化,但是他们认为自然选择对人类进化的影响已经没那么大了。 1.What does the underlined sentence "Humans don' t seem to be any exception" imply? A. Plants and animals are evolving faster than humans. B. Evolution doesn't work in humans any longer. C. The rate of evolution in plants and animals also applies to humans. D. Humans are unique in their evolution. [解析]推理判断题。根据第四段内容可知,人类的进化速度和动植物的很相似,人类并不例外,由此可判断动植物的进化速度也适用于人类。[答案]C 2.Why is the recent genetic research quoted in the fifth paragraph? A. To support the belief that mankind is still evolving. B. To show human gene variations are common in recent generations. C. To prove modern humans have grown fitter. D. To suggest that the natural selection process is no longer driven by survival. [解析]细节理解题。根据第五段中的Other recent genetic research backs up that belief可知最近的其他基因研究也支持"人类还在进化"这一观点,和文章开头的主题句照应。[答案]A 3.According to the passage, we can infer that Arnold Schwarzenegger ________. A. used to be a famous actor B. is an American governor C. is very weak D. is very strong [解析]推理判断题。第六段中举施瓦辛格的例子是为了证明在人类越来越健壮的进化中,男性成为最令人遗憾的例子。由对施瓦辛格的了解和文段内容可判断阿诺德·施瓦辛格很强壮,力气很大。[答案]D 4.According to Douglas Ewbank, which of the following factors plays a greater part in the future generations? A. Culture. B. Evolution. C. Natural selection. D. Genetic mutations. [解析]细节理解题。根据倒数第二段内容可知,在未来的后代中,起更大作用的是文化因素。[答案]A 5.What is the main idea of the passage? A. Mankind is still evolving. B. Women will get fatter. C. The history of human evolution. D. Future women tend to have more children. [解析]主旨大意题。本文第一句就是主题句,后面都是围绕着"人类还在不断地进化"这一观点进行论述的。[答案]A [五] Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. "I was a clothes addict," he jokes. "I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled." Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable." More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as "dress-down Friday" of "casual Friday". "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." said business consultant Maisly Jones. Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it's easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. "A lot of young people don't want to dress up for work," says the owner of a software company, "so it's hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code." Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. "Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day," one person said. "For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes." 1. David Smith refers to himself as having been "a clothes addict," because _______. A. he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt B. he couldn't stand a clean appearance C. he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time D. he didn't want to spend much money on clothes 2. David Smith wears casual clothes now, because _______. A. they make him feel at ease when working B. he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes C. he looks handsome in casual clothes D. he no longer works for any company 3. According to this passage, which of the following statements is false? A. Many employees don't like a conservative dress code. B. Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. C. A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. D. All the employers in the U. S. are for casual office wear. 4. According to this passage, which of the following statements is true? A. Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago. B. Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 1990s. C. "Dress-down Friday" was first given as a favor from employers. D. Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. 5. In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned in the passage except _______. A. saving employees' money B. making employees more attractive C. improving employees' motivation D. making employees happier 从20世纪90年代起,美国许多公司开始允许员工星期五可以不统一着装上班。现在越来越多的公司许可领员工穿便装上班了,这对调节他们的心情,调动其工作热情有一定的作用。 1. C。语义理解题。大卫自嘲以前是服装爱好者,衣服一起皱,他就得换上备穿的服装。 2. A。语义理解题。从第 1 段最后一句话 "I'm working harder than ever," David says, "and I need to feel comfortable." 可找到答案。 3. D。细节判断题。根据最后一段中的 Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity 可知还有一些雇主不赞同穿便装上班。 4. C。细节判断题。从第 2 段最后 1 句 "What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing." 可以做出正确判断。 5. B。推断题。通读最后一段可知选项A(为雇员省钱)、B(提高雇员的工作热情)、D(使雇主高兴)在原文中均被提到,只有A未被提到。 [六] 1970 was "World Conservation Year". The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped that the governments would act quickly in order to conserve nature. Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 remain. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology. We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives. We can't live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves. What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask "What must we do now?" The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conservation is necessary. Many are hoping to save our world. They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests and so on. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of eleven kilometres of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called "No, One's Going to Change our World." It was made by Scatles, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve wild animals. 1. There are few plants, trees and flowers in Holland now because _______. A. there has been a lot of conservation in Holland B. Holland does not need so many plants, trees and flowers C. many plants, trees and flowers don't grow there any more D. some plants, trees and flowers are dangerous 2. We shall destroy ourselves if we don't _______. A. improve our technology in planting trees B. hear about the record called "No, One's Going to Change our World" C. try our best to save the world D. change the earth 3. "No, One's Going to Change our World." was _______. A. an important book published in 1970 B. a record calling on people to conserve nature C. an idea that nobody would accept D. a rule worked out by the United States 4. What is the most important thing for us to do to save our world? A. We should clean the banks of our rivers. B. We should know what will happen in the future. C. We should know what we should do and do it now. D. We should plant more trees and flowers. 5. What's the main idea of the passage? A. 1970 was "World Conservation Year". B. The United Nations wanted everybody to know that the world is in danger. C. Conservation is necessary. D. It is the young people who are helping to save our world. 1.C。推理判断题。根据第一自然段内容可知。 2.C。细节理解题。根据第一自然段最后两句We can't live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves.可知。 3.B。推理判断题。根据文章最后一自然段倒数第三句Young people may hear about conservation through a record called "No, One's Going to Change our World. "可知。 4.C。推理判断题。根据文章第二自然段可推出此答案。 5.C。主旨大意题。文章最后一自然段中点明了主题:A lot of them know that conservation is necessary. [七] Last year DeepMind’s AlphaGo programme took on and beat two of the world’s best players of the Chinese game of Go(围棋)-an unbelievable achievement seen as a milestone in the development of artificial intelligence (A). That programme was trained by first giving it vast amounts of data from amateur and professional games. The new AlphaGo Zero began with a blank board and nothing but the rules of Go and set about playing against itself. Within three days it was so advanced that it took on the previous version, which had taken months to develop, and defeated it by a hundred games to zero. DeepMind says that creating knowledge from first principles without learning from human expertise(专门技能)is an important step in developing artificial intelligence. The company’s founder Demis Hassabis said this breakthrough could help in real world problems such as designing new drugs or discovering new materials. In 1997, Garry Kasparov was defeated by Deep Blue, a computer program written by IBM, running on a supercomputer. This was the first time that a ruling world chess champion was defeated by a computer program in tournament conditions. Superficially, AlphaGo’s win against Lee Sedol can be compared to Deep Blue’s win against Gary Kasparov, which happened almost 20 years ago. So: what’s the big deal? We have to understand the differences between chess and Go. In chess, each player begins with 16 pieces of six different types. Each piece of type moves differently. The goal of the game is to seize the other player's king. Go starts with an empty board. The goal of the game is to gain as much territory(领地)as possible. Although the rules of Go might appear simpler than those of chess, the complexity of Go is higher. Also, games usually last longer for lots of moves. A typical game in Go might last for 150 moves vs.80 in chess. 32. What helped the new AlphaGo Zero defeat the previous version? A. A supercomputer. B. Some human expertise. C. A blank board and the rules of Go. D. Abundant data from various games. 33. Which of the following is TRUE about the AlphaGo programme? A. It records the steps in the development of AI. B. It might help solve some real world problems. C. It may help develop a new computer system. D. It will rule the world Go champions. 34. What can we learn about the Game of Go from the text? A. Each player starts with 16 pieces of six types. B. It lasts longer for more rules. C. It is more complex than the game of chess. D. It takes far fewer moves than the game of chess. 35. What is the author’s attitude towards the outcome of AI development? A. Doubtful. B. Disappointed. C. Uncaring. D. Positive. 参考答案:32-35 CBCD [八] Sweet or salty? What kind of tastes do you like? If like me, you have a sweet tooth and you probably can’t resist eating cakes, biscuits or chocolate and will sweeten your tea or coffee with spoonfuls of sugar-delicious! But the taste makes it very easy to ignore the warnings that too much of the white stuff(东西)is bad for our health. Consuming sugar is an addiction-the more we eat, the more we want. Today’s processed food, like ready meals, is related to the stuff and many fizzy(起泡的)drinks contain seven teaspoons of sugar in just one can. In the UK, statistics show that sugar consumption is at its highest level in history and the government is trying to get the food industry to cut the amount of sugar in popular products like chocolate bars by 20% by 2020. Of course, sugary food tastes nice, it can help lift our mood, and a part in it can refresh us. But there are dangers too :a high-sugar diet is linked to putting on weight, and being overweight can increase the risk of getting type 2 diabetes(糖尿病). With these warning signs, I have considered changing my diet by replacing sugary snacks with fruit and salty biscuits-but that’s boring! I’m not alone. BBC journalist Radhika Shanghani, has gone one step further. Encouraged by some well-known and nutritionists promoting a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to sugar, she gave it up altogether, thinking it would make her healthier. Initially she says, “My first fortnight involves mood swings. I have disturbing headaches and feel permanently hung-over.” These symptoms disappeared but she still found food shopping hard as she was stressing about buying the right things. Her experiment wasn’t a success. She eventually sought advice from Susan Jebb, professor of diet and population health at Oxford University who said: “Lots of people enjoy sugar and gain pleasure from it, so one has to find a balance between enjoyment and eating the right amount.” 28. What is a person with a sweet tooth most likely to do? A. Reject sweet cakes. B. Have his coffee black. C. Add sugar to his drinks. D. Remember the harm of sweet food. 29. What can we infer from the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs? A. Sugar consumption is all bad for us. B. Processed food contains no sugar. C. People in UK tend to consume less sugar. D. Chocolate bars are popular with the British. 30. Why does the author want to change his diet? A. To avoid being overweight. B. To quit his boring life. C. To enjoy sugar-free food. D. To cheer himself up. 31. What can we learn about the BBC journalist? A. She replaced her usual diet with salty biscuits. B. She promoted a balance between joy and pressure. C. She reduced her sugar consumption successfully. D. She suffered some side effects from eating no more sugar. 参考答案:28-31.CDAD [九] Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he’s an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is that one of Stein’s jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bag. Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts(收银台) .The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume. Among the bag makers’ arguments: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today. The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement: reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life and the more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make. One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic. Environmentalists don’t dispute(质疑) these points. They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years. 【文章大意】本文是说明文,人们都认为塑料袋污染环境,但生产塑料袋的厂家辩解说,塑料袋所占污染的比例很小,纸袋和布袋在生产过程中可能会带来更多的污染。 24. What has Steven Stein been hired to do? A. Help increase grocery sales. B. Recycle the waste material. C. Stop things falling off trucks. D. Argue for the use of plastic bags. 【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句What is even more interesting is that one of Stein’s job is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bag.可知,Stein是受雇来做研究,为塑料袋的生产和应用辩护的。故选D。 25. What does the word“ headwinds” in paragraph 2 refer to? A. Bans on plastic bags. B. Effects of city development. C. Headaches caused by garbage. D. Plastic bags hung in trees. 【解析】选A。词义猜测题。根据划线词的前句,The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles.可知,下文说塑料生产厂家雇用科学家说服人们塑料对地球的污染并不像人们想象的那么大,主要是针对前文讲的禁止使用塑料袋,由此推测,画线词在此处的意思是“禁止”。故选A。 26.What is a disadvantage of reusable bags according to plastic-bag makers? A. They are quite expensive. B. Replacing them can be difficult. C. They are less strong than plastic bags. D. Producing them requires more energy. 【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第四段中However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make.可知,生产可重复利用的袋子需要更多的能量。故选D。 27. What is the best title for the text? A. Plastic, Paper or Neither B. Industry, Pollution and Environment C. Recycle or Throw Away D. Garbage Collection and Waste Control 【解析】选A。主旨大意题。本文主要讲述塑料厂家雇用科学家通过研究,证明塑料袋的使用并不比纸袋的使用造成的污染多,科学家们对此并不质疑,但他们希望将来塑料袋和纸袋都被禁止。故选A。 [十] If you want to disturb the car industry, you’d better have a few billion dollars: Mom-and-pop carmakers are unlikely to beat the biggest car companies. But in agriculture, small farmers can get the best of the major players. By connecting directly with customers, and by responding quickly to changes in the markets as well as in the ecosystems(生态系统), small farmers can keep one step ahead of the big guys. As the co-founder of the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC, 美国青年农会)and a family farmer myself, I have a front-row seat to the innovations among small farmers that are transforming the industry. For example, take the Quick Cut Greens Harvester, a tool developed just a couple of years ago by a young farmer, Jonathan Dysinger, in Tennessee, with a small loan from a local Slow Money group.It enables small-scale farmers to harvest 175 pounds of green vegetables per hour—a huge improvement over harvesting just a few dozen pounds by hand—suddenly making it possible for the little guys to compete with large farms of California. Before the tool came out, small farmers couldn’t touch the price per pound offered by California farms. But now, with the combination of a better price point and a generally fresher product, they can stay in business. The sustainable success of small farmers, though, won’t happen without fundamental changes to the industry. One crucial factor is secure access to land. Competition from investors, developers, and established large farmers makes owning one’s own land unattainable for many new farmers. From 2004 to 2013, agricultural land values doubled, and they continue to rise in many regions. Another challenge for more than a million of the most qualified farm workers and managers is a non-existent path to citizenship — the greatest barrier to building a farm of their own. With farmers over the age of 65 outnumbering(多于)farmers younger than 35 by six to one, and with two-thirds of the nation’s farmland in need of a new farmer, we must clear the path for talented people willing to grow the nation’s food. There are solutions that could light a path toward a more sustainable and fair farm economy, but farmers can’t clumsily put them together before us. We at the NYFC need broad support as we urge Congress to increase farmland conservation, as we push for immigration reform, and as we seek policies that will ensure the success of a diverse and ambitious next generation of farmers from all backgrounds. With a new farm bill to be debated in Congress, consumers must take a stand with young farmers. 【文章大意】本文介绍了小型农场和大农场相比所具有的优势,以及吸引新农民,建立小型农场所面临的诸多困难。 61. The author mentions car industry at the beginning of the passage to introduce . A. the progress made in car industry B. a special feature of agriculture C. a trend of development in agriculture D. the importance of investing in car industry 【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据第一段中的But in agriculture...可知,此处把汽车行业的特点与农业领域的特点进行对比,是为了引出农业领域的一个独特之处:小农场更有优势。 62.What does the author want to illustrate with the example in Paragraph 2? A. Loans to small local farmers are necessary. B. Technology is vital for agricultural development. C. Competition between small and big farms is fierce. D. Small farmers may gain some advantages over big ones. 【解析】选D。推理判断题。本文第一段讲到小农场的优势,点明文章主题;第二段举例证明小农场的优势所在。 63. What is the difficulty for those new farmers? A. To gain more financial aid. B. To hire good farm managers. C. To have farms of their own. D. To win old farmers’ support. 【解析】选C。推理判断题,根据第三段最后一句可知选C。 64. What should farmers do for a more sustainable and fair farm economy? A. Seek support beyond NYFC. B. Expand farmland conservation. C. Become members of NYFC. D. Invest more to improve technology. 【解析】选A。细节理解题。根据最后一段中We at the NYFC need broad support as...as...and as...可知,农民要寻求更多支持才能保证更可持续,更公平的农业经济。查看更多