閱讀理解（7）

　　A

　　Going green seems to be

　　a fad (時(shí)尚) for a lot

　　of people

　　these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can't really say,

　　but for the two of

　　us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.

　　On April 22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green

　　things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green

　　beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.

　　With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment.

　　We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.

　　Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles.

　　We

　　now

　　shop

　　at organic (有機(jī)的)stores.

　　We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don't need.

　　We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.

　　Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.

　　1．What might be the best title for the passage?

　　A. Going Green

　　B. Protecting the Planet

　　C. Keeping Open-Minded

　　D. Celebrating Our Green Year

　　2．It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because

　　________.

　　A.

　　they were expected to follow the green fad

　　B. they didn't know how to educate other people

　　C. they were unwilling to reduce their energy

　　D. they needed to perform unusual green tasks

　　3．What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?

　　A. They tried to get out of their ungreen habits.

　　B. They ignored others' ungreen behavior.

　　C. They chose better chemical cleaners.

　　D. They sold their home-made food.

　　4．What can we infer from the last paragraph?

　　A. The government will give support to the green project.

　　B. The couple may continue their project in the future.

　　C. Some people disagree with the couple's green ideas.

　　D. Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign.

　　[文章大意]　2011年4月22日作者一家人決定開(kāi)始踐行綠色生活，讓我們看看他們是如何做的吧。

　　1．A?？疾闃?biāo)題判斷。文章第一段有兩處出現(xiàn)了going green，且下文也多次出現(xiàn)，本文主要講述的就是作者一家是如何開(kāi)始踐行綠色生活的，所以A項(xiàng)最適合作文章標(biāo)題。

　　2．D?？疾榧?xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第二段的第二句“This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things.”可知D項(xiàng)正確。

　　3．A。考查細(xì)節(jié)理解。Our Green Year這個(gè)關(guān)鍵信息可以在倒數(shù)第二段找到，該段說(shuō)作者一家完全改變了生活方式，如在有機(jī)商店購(gòu)物，少吃肉，盡量少買(mǎi)不需要的東西，不用化學(xué)清潔劑等，這些都是環(huán)保的習(xí)慣，與A項(xiàng)的概括相一致。故選A。

　　4．B。考查推理判斷。文章最后一段中出現(xiàn)了grateful，believe和do have the power等關(guān)鍵詞，這些都暗示出作者夫婦在將來(lái)可能還會(huì)繼續(xù)他們的環(huán)保生活。

　　B

　　Text messages, emails and using computers to learn could be stunting(抑制)

　　children's vocabulary, experts fear. That is because our brains are hard-wired to learn new words when we hear others use them in everyday conversation.

　　But learning with smartphones, tablets and computers, instead of listening to a teacher or parent, means young people are not being given the chance to hear a wide range of words. The oral tradition of passing on knowledge is being eroded, with both adults and children spending too much time looking at screens.

　　Marco Catani, of the Institute of Psychiatry, said, “We have less time to talk to each other and our children are taught through devices. They have access to the Internet, iPhones, mobile phones and tablet computers. These are visual rather than auditory, so it is likely that they will end up with a lower average number of words than previous generations.”

　　Constant computer use has been blamed in the past for shorter attention spans, a culture of instant gratification and making young people more self-centered.

　　In a study, the brains of 27 volunteers were scanned as they learned made-up words.

　　They found hearing and then verbally imitating speech was the key to understanding.

　　Dr. Catani said, “When you learn a new word, you start by hearing a sound, then you try to repeat it until you get it right. Through this you increase your vocabulary from age one until you get to 30,000 words as an adult.”

　　The findings show listening, repetition and conversation are crucial to learning language.

　　But Dr. Catani believes it could mean young people are growing up lacking vital language skills.

　　He said,

　　“The brain is wired to learn sound through auditory processes, not visual. That is why we have oral traditions, with knowledge passed from generation to generation. Now we understand that this is how we learn new words, our concern is that children will have less vocabulary, as much of their interaction is through text, email and screen. This research reinforces the need for us to maintain the oral tradition of talking to our children.”

　　5. According to

　　Catani,

　　children who

　　learn from

　　on-screen images________.

　　A. can't keep their attention for a long time

　　B. require their satisfaction to be met at once

　　C.

　　will find it hard to take in vocabulary

　　D. will become more self-centered in life

　　6. What is important to understand new words?

　　A. Identifying sounds by means of nerve fibers.

　　B. Forming speech after hearing sounds.

　　C. Increasing your vocabulary to 30, 000 words.

　　D. Hearing and repeating the words orally.

　　7．What Catani said in the last paragraph implies that________.

　　A. talking is important for children to develop language skills

　　B. knowledge is mainly passed through auditory process

　　C. children enlarge their vocabulary through screen

　　D. the tradition of orally talking leads to the lack of vocabulary

　　8. What is the main idea of the passage?

　　A.

　　Learning through computer takes too much time.

　　B. The smartphone generation will learn fewer words.

　　C. Children are unwilling to listen to teachers.

　　D. Passing on knowledge orally isn't dying out.

　　[文章大意]　如今，青少年在日常生活中越來(lái)越多地使用手機(jī)、電腦等，和老師以及家長(zhǎng)的交流越來(lái)越少，從而影響了他們對(duì)詞匯量的掌握。

　　5．C?？疾榧?xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第三段中的“These are visual rather than auditory，so it is likely that they will end up with a lower average number of words than previous generations.”可知，由于現(xiàn)在的青少年接觸的都是一些視覺(jué)信息，缺乏聽(tīng)覺(jué)方面的內(nèi)容，所以他們接受的詞匯比較少，故選C。

　　6．D?？疾榧?xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第六段中的“When you learn a new word...until

　　you get to 30,000 words as an adult.”可知，學(xué)習(xí)新的詞匯，要先聽(tīng)到這個(gè)詞匯，然后不斷地口頭重復(fù)練習(xí)，故選D。

　　7．A?？疾橥评砼袛?。根據(jù)最后一段中的“This research reinforces the need

　　for us to maintain the oral tradition of talking to our children.”可知，傳統(tǒng)的和孩子們進(jìn)行口頭交流的方式仍然是有必要的，因此選A。

　　8．B?？疾橹髦即笠?。本文主要告訴我們，如今的青少年因經(jīng)常使用手機(jī)、電腦等，攝入的詞匯量逐漸減少了，因此B項(xiàng)符合本文主旨。

　　C

　　The kakapo is the world's only flightless parrot. They

　　measure 50 to 64 centimeters long and weigh 2 to 4 kilograms.

　　They have green, yellow-brown feathers and small wings. These wings are used for balance and for helping break falls

　　when they jump from low branches onto the ground. The kakapo also has large feet with two toes facing forwards and

　　another two facing backwards. These feet

　　help them climb

　　trees.

　　This species is also known as the owl parrot because of

　　its big, brown eyes as well as the shape of its head.

　　The kakapo can be found only on Codfish and Chalky

　　Islands. Because the kakapo can't fly, they move around and

　　look for food on the ground. Being nocturnal, they will rest

　　during the day and carry out their activities at night. They are special creatures, spending most of their time alone.

　　The diet of the kakapo consists of nuts, berries, seeds,

　　flowers and fruits.

　　They also eat insects and small reptiles(爬行動(dòng)物). The kakapo is an easy target for predators as it's

　　large and has a tendency of freezing up when threatened.

　　Humans have been big hunters of these birds, both for their

　　meat and their feathers.

　　Breeding season for the kakapo takes place from

　　December to April. After mating has taken place, a male will

　　leave the female to raise the chicks alone. Females will give

　　birth to about 2 to 3 eggs every 2 to 5 years, which will hatch

　　after about 30 days. The chicks won't reach sexual maturity

　　until they are 9 or 10 years old.

　　If they can survive long

　　enough,

　　however, they can

　　grow up to be 60 years old,

　　and

　　some may even survive almost 100 years.

　　The kakapo is a critically endangered species, with fewer

　　than 150 left. Over hunting, slow reproduction and loss of

　　natural habitat have been their greatest threats throughout

　　history. Hopefully, something can be done soon before the

　　kakapo is lost to this world completely. After all, such a

　　unique parrot deserves to live and prosper for future

　　generations to see.

　　1. The first paragraph mainly tells us something about ________.

　　A. the kakapo's habitat

　　B. the kakapo's physical appearance

　　C. the kakapo's lifestyle

　　D. functions of the kakapo's wings and feet

　　2. The kakapo is called the owl parrot mainly because________.

　　A. they carry out their activities at night

　　B. they spend most of their time alone

　　C. their eyes and heads look like the owls'

　　D. their large feet look like the owls'

　　3．Which of the following statements is true about the kakapo?

　　A．They begin to mate when they are five years old.

　　B．It is the females' duty to raise the chicks alone.

　　C．They like to stay with other creatures.

　　D．People hunt them for feathers not for their meat.

　　4．The factors that drive the kakapo in danger include the following EXCEPT that________.

　　A．people have never stopped hunting them

　　B．they don't have high birth rate

　　C．their natural habitat has been decreasing

　　D．they face a lack of nutritious food

　　[文章大意]　本文是一篇說(shuō)明文，文章主要講述了瀕危動(dòng)物鸮鸚鵡的一些情況。

　　1．B。段落大意題。第一段主要講的是B項(xiàng)。

　　2．C。細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第一段中的“This species is also known as the owl parrot because of its big, brown eyes as well as the shape of

　　its head.”可知應(yīng)選C項(xiàng)。

　　3．B。細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第四段中的“After mating has taken place，a

　　male will leave the female to raise the chicks alone.”可知，當(dāng)交配完成后，雄鸮鸚鵡會(huì)離開(kāi)雌鸮鸚鵡，留下雌鸮鸚鵡獨(dú)自養(yǎng)育雛鳥(niǎo)。所以選B項(xiàng)。

　　4．D。細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從最后一段的內(nèi)容可知，讓?zhuān)喝祟?lèi)的過(guò)度捕殺、繁殖率低和棲息地的減少等。故選D項(xiàng)。

　　Many people have a sweet tooth. The average American kid consumes more than 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, and adults eat 50% more sugar today than they did in the 1970s. But the findings of a recent study may surprise you.

　　A team of researchers at the University of Utah used mice to conduct a study on the negative effects of sugar. They found it could have serious effects on people's health.

　　During the 58-week-long study, mice were fed a diet containing 25% more sugar.

　　This percentage is equal to a healthy human diet along with three cans of soda daily. The team found that these mice were twice as likely to die as mice fed a similar diet without the sugar. Though the mice did not show signs of obesity or high blood pressure, male mice were 26%

　　less territorial(地盤(pán)性的) and produced 25%

　　fewer young than the other mice.

　　Scientists often use mice for research because they have a similar genetic structure to humans. “Since most substances that are poisonous in mice are also poisonous in people, it's likely that those potential physical problems that cause those mice to have increased death rate are at play in people，”

　　says researcher James Ruff.

　　Findings from this study reveal negative effects that are not as detectable(可發(fā)覺(jué)的)

　　as weight gain or heart problems.

　　Sugar can contribute to long-term changes in the body that can affect development and even lead to shorten lives.

　　Different types of sugar have different effects on the human body. Some of the sugar we consume comes from foods we eat － candy, soda, and cookies. But much of the sugar we eat is hidden.

　　Food companies add large amounts of sugar to items we may not classify as sweets.

　　Some pasta sauces, crackers, and even ketchup(番茄醬)

　　have large amounts of sugar. To help cut down on extra sugar consumption, nutrition experts suggest looking at the ingredients on food packages. Ingredients that end in-ose, such as sucrose(蔗糖) and fructose(果糖),

　　are sugars.

　　So are those that include the word syrup(糖漿). Cutting sugar out of the American diet altogether may be difficult. But making the effort to control our nation's sugar cravings will provide for a truly sweeter future.

　　1. Paragraph 3 aims to tell us________.

　　A. how scientists carried out their research

　　B. why scientists often use mice for research

　　C. what researchers have found from the study

　　D. whether the mice like the diet with more sugar

　　2. What can we learn from Paragraph 4?

　　A. Humans will have the same problems as mice.