湖北省荆门市2020高考英语二轮复习 科普环保类阅读理解（4）

科普环保类阅读理解（4）2020高考英语阅读练习科普环保类Humans have been keeping animals as pets for tens of thousands of years, but Dr Jean-Loup Rault, an animal scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, believes new companions are coming: robot pets.“Technology is moving very fast,” Rault told ABC News, “The Tamagotchi in the early 1990s was really the first robotic pet, and now Sony and other big companies have improved them a lot.”This may not sit well with pet lovers. After all, who would choose a plastic toy over a lovely puppy? But Rault argues that the robotic kind has a lot going for it: “You dont have to feed it, you dont have to walk it, it wont make a mess in your house, and you can go on a holiday without feeling guilty.” The technology also benefits those who are allergic to pets, short on space, or fearful of real animals.Its not clear whether robot pets can replace real ones. But studies do suggest that we can bond with these smart machines. People give their cars names and kids give their toy animals life stories. Its the same with robots. When Sony stopped its repair service for its robot dog Aibo in March 2020, owners in Japan held funerals.As an animal welfare researcher, Rault is concerned about how robotic pets could affect our attitudes towards live animals. “If we become used to a robotic companion that doesnt need food, water or exercises, perhaps it will change how humans care about other living beings,” he said.So are dogs and cats a thing of the past, as Rault predicts? For those who grew up with living and breathing pets, the mechanical kind might not do. But for our next generation who are in constant touch with smart technology, a future in which lovely pets neednt have a heartbeat might not be a far-fetched dream.【小题1】What does the underlined phrase “sit well with” means?Abe refused byBbe beneficial toCmake a difference toDreceive support from【小题2】What are the advantages of robot pets?a. They are plastic and feel smooth.b. Owners neednt worry about them when going out.c. They can help cure allergies（过敏）.d. They save space and costs.AabBbcCbdDcd【小题3】We can learn from the passage that_.ASony is the first company to produce robot pets Aibo.BPeople can develop strong bond（联系、关系） with their robot pets.CRault thinks robot pets still have a long way to go.DRobot toys may help people care more about living beings.【小题4】The passage mainly tells us_.Athe advantages of robot toysBthe popularity of robot petsCliving pets are dying outDrobot pets are coming2020高考英语阅读练习科普环保类The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwes capital city, is said to be the only one in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles as the termite mound(白蚁堆).Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air-conditioning and almost no heating. The buildingthe countrys largest commercial and shopping complexuses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building of its size. The Eastgates owners saved $3.5 million on a $36 million building because an air-conditioning equipment didnt have to be imported.The complex is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glass-roofed atrium(天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through baseboard vents(通风口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through forty-eight brick chimneys.During summers cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building, to circulate the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.This is all possible only because Harare is 1600 feet above sea level, has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature changesdays as warm as 31 commonly drop to 14 at night. “You couldnt do this in New York, with its hot summers and cold winters,” Pearce said.The engineering firm of Ove Arup & Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23 and 25, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is freshfar more so than in air-conditioned buildings, where up to 30% of the air is recycled.【小题1】Why was Eastgate cheaper to be built than a conventional building?AIt was designed in a smaller size.BNo air conditioners were fixed in.CIts heating system was less advanced.DIt used rather different building materials.【小题2】What does “it” refer to in Paragraph 3?AHollow space.BBaseboard vent.CFresh air from outside.DHeat in the building.【小题3】Why would a building like Eastgate Not work efficiently in New York?ANew York has less clear skies as Harare.BIts dampness affects the circulation of air.CNew York covers a larger area than Harare.DIts temperature changes seasonally rather than daily.【小题4】The data in the last paragraph suggests Eastgates temperature control system_.Aworks better in hot seasonsBcan recycle up to 30% of the airCfunctions well for most of the yearDallows a wide range of temperatures阅读下列短文, 从给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中, 选出最佳选项。(2020四川，E)Fear may be felt in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting (收缩) and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said: “Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart.”The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reaction to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr Garfikel said, “The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we dont seeand guide whether we see fear.”To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner (扫描仪 ) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a persons feeling of fear.“We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain speak to each other to change our feeling and reduce fear，” Dr Garfinkel said.“We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders, and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder.”文章大意：一项研究表明，人的心脏能够对人感知恐惧的反应产生影响。13What is the finding of the study?AOnes heart affects how he feels fear.BFear is a result of ones relaxed heartbeat.CFear has something to do with ones health.DOnes fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear.答案：A细节理解题，由第一段可知，研究发现心脏跳动的周期与人感觉害怕的可能性之间存在联系。14The study was carried out by analyzing _.Avolunteers heartbeats when they saw terrible picturesBthe time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditionsCvolunteers reactions to horrible pictures and data from their brain scansDdifferent pictures shown to volunteers and their heartbrain communication答案：C细节理解题，由第四段第一句话可知，本次研究是通过向20名志愿者展示令人恐惧的图片来测验他们的反应来进行的。15Which of the following is closest in meaning to “mechanism” in Paragraph 6?AOrder. BSystem.CMachine. DTreatment.答案：B词义猜测题，由第六段可以得知，心脏和大脑能够“对话”来改变情感、减少恐惧，所依赖的当然应该是身体中的某个系统。16This study may contribute to _.Atreating anxiety and stress betterBexplaining the cycle of fear and anxietyCfinding the key to the heartbrain communicationDunderstanding different fears in our hearts and heads答案：A细节理解题，由文章最后一段可知，本项研究对研发解决焦虑症和由于压力大而产生的紊乱治疗方法会有帮助。阅读下列短文, 从给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中, 选出最佳选项。(2020湖北，E)A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists who expected their future to be worse.The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2020.Survey respondents (受访者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middleaged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future. Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade，” wrote Frieder R. Lang, a professor at the University of ErlangenNuremberg.Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.“Seeing a dark future may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions (预防措施)，” the authors wrote.Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline. Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.The authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.However, the researchers said a pattern was clear. “We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic，” the authors concluded.文章大意：本文主要讲述了不同年龄段的人们对未来生活的态度，对生活的满意度和幸福指数。17According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?AOptimistic adults.BMiddleaged adults.CAdults in poor health.DAdults of lower income.答案：B细节理解题，根据while middleaged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in