2025北京高三一模英语汇编：阅读理解C篇

2025北京高三一模英语汇编

阅读理解C篇

一、阅读理解

(2025北京通州高三一模)Inaneradominatedbyrapidtechnologicaladvancementsand〔heincreasing

demandfbrSTEM(Science,Technology,Engineering,andMathema:ics)skills,(hevalueofliberalanseducationis

underscrutiny.However,recentdiscussionsandresearchsuggestthatliberalartseducationremainsnotonlyrelevant

butessentialfbraddressing(hecomplexchallengesofthemodernworld.

Liberalartseducationisoftendefinedasamultidisciplinaryapproachtolearning.Oneofthekeyarguments

infavorofliberalartseducationisitsroleinfosteringwell-roundedindividualscapableofnavigatingarapidly

changingjobmarket.WhileSTEMdegreesoftenleadtohigherstartingsalariesandmoreimmediatejob

opportunities,liberalartsgraduatestendtoexhibitgreateradaptabilityandversatility(多才多艺)overlime.

Moreover,liberalartsprovideafoundationforunderstandingthecomplexitiesofhumansocietyandculture.Ina

globalizedworld,theabilitytonavigatediverseperspectivesandengagewithdifferentculturesisincreasingly

important.Thestudyofhistory,literature,andphilosophyhelpsstudentsdevelopempathyandadeeperunderstanding

oftheworldaroundthem,whichiscrucialinaglobalizedworkforcewherecross-culturalcommunicationisthenorm.

Anothersignificantaspectofliberalartseducationisitsroleii:fosteringethicalandresponsiblecitizens.Ina

worldwheretechnologycanhaveprofoundimpactsonsociety,thehumanitiesprovideaframeworkforunderstanding

theethicalimplicationsofnewdevelopments.Forexample,philosophersandethicistsarecrucialinaddressingmoral

questionssurroundingartificialintelligenceanddataprivacy.

TheintegrationofliberalartsandSTEMeducationhasalsogainedrecognitioninrecentyears.TheSTEAM

(STEM+Arts)movementemphasizestheimportanceofcombiningtechnicalskillswithcreativity,criticalthinking,

andethicalreasoning.ByincorporatingliberalartsintoSTEMeducation,studentscandevelopamorewell-rounded

skillset(hatpreparesthemtoaddresscomplex,real-worldproblems.

Despitethechallengesposedbythedigitalage.liberalartseducationcontinuestoplayavitalroleinshaping

adaptable,ethical,andculturallycompetentindividuals.AsJeffreyScheuernotes,"It'sthethinking,it'sthecritical

thinkingthatIargueisthecommonthread,reallythetrunkonwhichallofthesedifferentdisciplinesgrow.”

1.Whatdoesthephrase“undersc^Jtiny^^underlinedinParagraph1probablymean?

A.Beingwidelypraisedandencouraged.

B.Beingoverestimatedandhighlystressed.

C.Facingcarefulexaminationandquestioning.

D.Receivingcompletesupportwithoutchallenge.

2.WhatisthekeyadvantageofliberalartsgraduatescomparedtoSTEMgraduates?

A.Moreflexibleanddiversecapabilities,

B.Specializedtechnicaltrainingforspecificindustries.

C.Expertiseinethicalartificialintelligencedevelopment.

D.Higherstartingsalariesandimmediatejobopportunities.

3.WhydoestheauthormentionphilosophersandethicistsinParagraph3?

A.Topointouttheirlackoftechnicalskills.

B.Tosupportthementionedideaspecifically.

C.TohighlighttheirinvolvementindesigningAlsystems.

D.Toshowthecrucialrolesofphilosophyandethicsinliberaarts.

4.Whichofthefollowingswouldbethemostsuitabletitleforthepassage?

A.TheDeclineofLiberalArtsEducation

B.TheIntegrationofLiberalArtsandSTEM

C.TheAdaptabilityofLiberalArtsGraduates

D.TheValueofLiberalArtsintheDigitalAge

（2025J匕京海淀高三—模）Imagineanot-too-distantfuture,wherewceachinhabitourownAl-drivcn

digitalfiller（过滤）bubble,craftedforusaloneanddesignedtoservecorporateinterests.Thisfutureresembles

1998'smovieTheTrumanShow,wherethemaincharacterunknowinglylivedhisentirelifewithinarealityTVshow

designedbyaproductionstudio.

OnesubsetofAI,largelanguagemodels（LLM）,won'tturnourlivesintorealityTVshows.Instead,

personalizedAIagentsthreatentocageeachofusinanindividualizedandillusory（虚假的）unreality,profitingfrom

ourdigitalactivitiesandwallingusofffromgenuineconnections.Manycompaniesaredevelopingindividualized

LLM.TheunderlyingprincipleisthatAlwilllearnabouttheindividualuserandadaptaccordingly.Forexample,if

you'reasuperfanofafootballteam,you'llbefedupdates,ads,andvideostailoredtoyourinterests24hoursaday.

Somealgorithmsmayevenlearnyourschedule,pushinginformationatyouduringpreciselythosetimeswhenyou,re

mostlikelytobelooking.

Thismaysoundharmless.ButthenextstepistouseLLMtocreatememes,orevenfakearticles,feedingyou

conspiracytheoriesaboutrivalteairs.Thisisamiserablerealityforatleasttworeasons.Forone,thereareneither

computationalmethodsorethicalincentives（激励）inplacetoensurethattheinformationyoureceiveistrue.But

justasfrighteningasthelackofregardfor（hetruthisanevenscarierelement.Youwillnolongerlivewithan

accurateunderstandingoffootballteamthatisfullycompatiblewithanyonecIsc's.Youwillrunoninformation

generatedonlyforyourself.Thisvisionisunsettling,eveninsportsandentertainment.Butwhatofinstitutionsthat

havemoredirectsocialconsequences?Education?Politics?

Withthefallofthepressandpolarizationofeverything,conversationsaroundholidaytablehavealready

becomeimpossibleformanyextendedfamilies.Badasthestatusquomightbe,strangertimeslieaheadthatmake

uslongfbrtoday'sechochambers［信息茧房）.Soon,ourbubbleswillshrinkfurtherandfurthenuntilourdigital

worldsinvolveonlyourselves.InanAl-mcdiatcdfuture,everyonewillliveinaprivateTrumanShow.Asasociety,

wewillbecompletelyincapableofmakingfruitfulcollectivedecisionsbecausewewillhavenosharedunderstanding

oftheworld.

What'sthewayout?Findyourentertainmentinspaceswithactualpeople,exchangingthoughtsandcreations

witheachother.Evenonline,wcmustkeepourunderstandingoftheworldgroundedinhuman-authoreddocuments

andartifacts.Valuingwhathumanscreateisnotmerelyamatterofauthenticity;italsoensureswefocusonarguments

thatanauthorcaredenoughtomake,onconservationsthatspeakerscaredenoughtohave.

Otherwise,TheTnimanShow'spremisebecomesourreality,unknowinglyinhabitingafakeworldwhereour

everyexperienceisdesignedforprofit.Evenmoreexistentiallyalienating?LivinginaTrumanShowwherethe

director,producerandtheonlyonewatchingisanAL

5.TheauthorrnenlionsTheTrumanShowinParagraph1lo_.

A.makeacomparisonB.illustrateasituation

C.supportanargumentD.proposeasuggestion

6.Accordingtothepassage,personalizedAIagentsmay

A.isolateindividualsinfalserealities

B.confirmthecredibilityofthecontent

C.discouragethecompanies'ethicalincentives

D.improveuserbehaviorbyfeedingtargetedads

7.Whatcanbeinferredfromthepassage?

A.Algorithmshaveraisedconcernsoverprivacy.

B.LLMsareingreatneedofcomputationalupgrade.

C.Echochambersweakencollectivedecision-making.

D.Technologydevelopmentresultsinpolarizedsociety.

8.Whichwouldbethebesttitleforthispassage?

A.AIandtheFutureofHumanInteraction

B.AIWillTurnOurLivesintoTheTrumanShow

C.TheTrumanShowPredictsAl'sImpactonMedia

D.AlgorithmicBubblesand(heValueofHumanCreations

(2025北京西城高三一模)Recently,IattendedapublictalkbysomeonewhoseviewsI“knew”Iwould

oppose.Andyet,Iwent.Ilistened,askedquestions,andgavemytime.Whilemycorevaluesweren'ttransformedin

(hosetwohours,Ilearnedsomethingandleftwithadeeperappreciat:onforthecomplexityofotherperspectives.

Inthisweeknightactivity,Iwasactivelytryingtotackle“bclicfism,“adivisivephenomenoninwhich

sunoundingyourselfwithpeoplewhoshareyourviewsleadstodiscriminationagainstthosewhodisagree.Inthis

way,bclicfismdeepensdivisionandreinforcespolarization—buildingwallsinsteadofbridges.

Indeed,beliefismiswidespreadinmodernsociety.Asignificantpartoftheproblemoriginatesfromthefact

thatwcliveinaworldthatisbothphysicallyandvirtuallydivided.Wcrarelyinteractwithpeoplefromotherwalks

oflife.Socialmediaalgorithmsstokethefiresofdivision,lockingusintoechochambersthatreinforceour

preexistingbeliefsandshutdowndebate.

Ultimately,wheremanyforcesarcdrivingusapart,wcmustthink—whatcanwcdotounpackdivisionand

restoreconnection?

Wecanbeginbytryingtourderstandthepsychologyofbeliefism,whicha(itscoreisaformofbias—a

mentalshortcutinwhichwecategorisepeopleaccordingtosinglecharacteristicsorgeneralisingassumptions.Indeed,

inaworldthatisinfinitelycomplex,ourmindsusethesebiasestosimplifyandmakesenseoftheworld.Thething

is,whenweseeothersonlythroughtheperspectiveoftheirpoliticalorsocialbeliefs,wereduceandflattenthemto

asingledimension.Further,whenpeoplefeeltheyaredismissedordisregardedonlyfortheirbeliefs,theyareleft

feelingisolatedandmisunderstood.

Secondly,wecanunderstandthetendencyforbeliefismaspartofourevolutionary（进彳七的）desiretoestablish

acommunityorgroup.Theproblemisthatwhilethisinstinct（本能）mayhaveonceservedevolutionarypurposes,

today,itblocksmeaningfuldialogueandcooperation.Indeed,researchshowsthatovercomingbeliefismhasbenefits.

Whenwewelcomeavarietyofideasandperspectives,weareabletoovercomegroup-thinkandmakebetterdecisions

andjudgements.What'smore,lessbeliefistpeoplearegenerallyhappier,havingstronger,rr.orefulfilling

relationshipsandbroaderhorizons.

Luckily,thereareanumberofrelevant,research-backedpsychologicaltechniquesthathelpbuildtolerance

andbreakbias.Wcmightexerciseindividuation,seeingpeopleasdiverse-sidedindividualsandbreakingawayfrom

reductivewaysofthinking.Wecanpracticeperspective-laking,buildingempathy（同理心）bysteppingintosomeone

else'sshoesandtryingtoseetheworldthroughtheireyes.

Ultimately,thewayforwardisnotthroughdivisions,butthrougharecognitionofoursharedhumanity.Remind

yourselfthateachpersonexistsattheintersectionofmanyidentities,experiences,andbeliefs.Challengeyourselfto

practiceempathy,andrememberthatnooneiswhollydefinedby（heworstthingtheyhavesaidordone.

9.Whatdocstheunderlinedword“stoke”inParagraph3probablymean?

A.Fuel.B.Keep.C.Put.D.Contain.

10.Whatcanweknowaboutbeliefismfrom（hepassage?

A.Socialmediaalgorithmsmainlycontributetoitswidespread.

B.Humanevolutionprovesitsharminestablishinggroup-think.

C.Itreflectsoursimplifiedwayofunderstandingthesurroundingworld.

D.Itleadsustomakeassumptionsaboutothers'politicalorsocialbeliefs.

11.Whichofthefollowingwouldbemosteffectiveinfightingbeliefism?

A.Facilitatinginteractionsbetweenpeoplefromdifferentcommunities.

B.Creatingalistofacceptablebeliefsforeachcommunitytofollow.

C.Askingpeopletowriteabouttheirexperiencesofbeingisolated.

D.Stressingconflictinsteadofcooperationbetweendifferentbeliefs.

12.Whichwouldbethebesttitleforthepassage?

A.BeyondUsandThemB.TheRootsofBeliefism

C.TheHarmofSocialDivisionD.AttheCrossroadofFa汕

（2025北京东城高三一模）Anyonewithinsomniaknowstheimpatienceandfrustration（haiaccompanies

sleeplessness.Youlongforabuttonthatcouldinstantlydampenallthatmentalactivity.Thcideaofamentalswitch

isnotfar-fetched.Mostneuroscientistsnowagreethatourwakefulnessiscoordinatedbyatinybundleofneurons

（一小束神经元）knownasthe"locuscoeruleus**（LC）,Latinfbr"bluedot”.

Itisaliteraldescription:theneuronsinthelocuscocrulcushavethebluecolourfromtheproductionofa

particularneurotransmitter,callednorepinephrine.Norepinephrineraisesthechancethataneuronwill44f^re^,withan

electriccurrent.Whentheybecomeactive,cellsinthelocuscocrulcuspassbundlesofthisneurotransmitteralong

theirprojectionstootherregionsof（hebrain-enhancing（hecommunicationbetween（heneuronsinthatarea.

Therearcslightdifferencesintheprocess.Dependingonthetypesofreceptorstheyhave,someneuronsarc

moresensitivetosmalleramountsofnorepinephrine,whileothersonlyrespondtohigherthresholds.Thismeansthat,

asthelocuscoeruleusactivityrises,twillstarttoaffectsomebrainareasmorethanothers,whichcanhavedramatic

effectsonthingslikeourfocus,concentrationandcreativity.

Giventhebluedofsrole,itmakessensethatitwouldbequietestatnightduringsleep.Itisnotentirelysilent,

hov/ever,butfiresoccasionally-andrecentresearchbyAnitaLiithiattheUniversityofLausannesuggeststhatthis

activitymaydetermine（hequalityofoursleeps.

Acrossthenight,wealternatebetweendifferentsleepstages.Thereis“rapideyemovement"（REM）sleep,

whichisassociatedwithvividdreamingandisthoughttobecrucialforprocessingandconsolidatingmemories.

Muchofourrest,howevenisspentinnon-REM（NREM）sleep,duringwhichthebrainmayengageinadeepclean,

clearingawaycellularwaste.

Measuringbrainactivityindozingmice,AnitafoundNREMsleepwasassociatedwithtemporaryburstsof

locuscoeruleusactivityevery50seconds.Asaresult,theanimalwasmoresensitivetooutsidestimu'i,likenoises-

withoutfullywaking."It'sgeneratingthisstateofenhancedvigilance（警觉）Anitasays."Itreallygivesyouthis

ideathatwakefulnesscanbegradedinthebrain.M

ThebeginningofREMsleepwasalmostalwaysassociatedwithlowlocuscoeruleusactivity.t4Thattransition

toREMsleephastobeverywellcontrolled,"saysAnita,“becauseinREMsleep,wehaveatonia.^^That'sthe

temporaryparalysis（麻痹）ofourbody,whichpreventsusfromphysicallyactingoutourdreams.

Anitaemphasisesthatherexperimentswereconductedinmice,sowcstillneedtoconfirmthatthebluedot

playsasimilarroleinhumansleep.Ifso,shesuspectsthatalteredlocuscoeruleusactivitycouldbeimplicatedin

conditions—suchasanxiety—（hatmaycontributetodisorderedsleep.Shefoundthatexposingherlaboratorymice

tomildsourcesofstress—suchasknockingontheircage—raisedthebluedot'sactivityandincreasedtheir

vigilancethroughoutthenight,resultinginfragmentedsleep.

13.Whatdoestheunderlinedword“they”inParagraph2referto?

A.Neurons.B.Electriccurrents.

C.Projections.D.Neurotransmitters.

14.Accordingtothepassage,whatistheroleoftheLC?

A.Producingreceptors.B.Preservingcellsensitivity.

C.Monitoringbrainactivity.D.Improvingneuralconnectivity.

15.WhichofthefollowingmayAnitaLiithiagreewith?

A.Thebluedotfiresregularlyatnight.

B.StresshasanimpactontheLCactivity.

C.LowLCactivitycanhelpcleancellularwaste.

D.Atoniaresultsfromsuddenburstsofbrainactivity.

16.Whatmightbethenextstepoftheresearch?

A.Gradingthewakefulnessofhumanbrains.

B.Unlockingthemechanismofsleepdisorder.

C.Assessingthefunctionofthebluedotonhumans.

D.IdentifyingapproachestoalteringtheLCactivity.

（2025北京房山高三一模）Untilafewweeksago,Ireliedonrestauranthygiene（卫生）ratingswhen

decidingwheretodine.TheUK'sFoodStandardsAgencyassignsscoresfrom0to5,with0indicatingurgent

improvementisneeded.Theseratingswereareliablepredictorforthosewhoarecarefulaboutfood.However,a

recentreportrevealedthatsomebusinessesmisrepresenttheirhygienescores,postinga5whentheirratingsareas

lowas0.Whencheatingbehaviorslikethisaresuccessful,theytendtospread,aspeopleoftencopybehaviors

associatedwithsuccess.Overtime,thiscandamagethesharedsignalsonwhichsocietydepends.

Researchinbiologyandsociologyprovidesinsightsintothisphenomenon.Inthenaturalworld,animalssignal

informationtootherorganisms.Forexample,dogsbaretheirteethtowarnofpossibleattacks,andmalereddeerroar

toindicatetheirsize.However,someanimalscheat.Atypeofbird'schickscopythesoundsofotherbirds'youngto

cheatadultbirdsintofeedingthem.Thisdishonestbehaviorevolvedbecauseitworks,similartohowcheatingcan

spreadinhumansociety.

Amonghumans,technologicaladvancementshaveincreasedthewayswecanmisrepresentourintentionsand

identities.Thisincludes"catfishing''indigitalinteractions,whereindividualsmasktheirtmeidentitiestocheat

othersonline.Generativeartificialintelligenceisfurtherincreasingtheseopportunities.Sociologistsinabook

describehowAIcanbeusedtocheatpeopleinhostileinteractions,eveninwars.Forexample,voiceeditingcan

allowindividualstoposeasseniormilitaryofficialsorchildreninneedofmoney.Inthedigitalage,anyonecan

assumeanyidentity.

Fortunately,humanshavefoundways（osolvetrustissues.Wearegoodatidentifyingwhoistrustworthyover

time.Welearntorecognizepatternsofbehaviorindicativeofcheating.Justascheatingtactics（手法）spread,sodo

thetechnologiesfordetectingthem,suchaspasswords,faceorvoicerecognition,andnewtechnologiestoprevent

de叩fakes（深度伪造）.

Peoplearcalsoskilledatdevelopingnormsthatimposecostsoncheaters.Lawshavebeencreatedtofineor

imprisonthoseguiltyofimpersonation.WhilewearestillintheearlystagesofdevelopingeffectiverulesaroundAL

theawarenessofthedangersthesetoolsposeisastepinourdefense.

Whatmattersforkeepingtrustisthereliabilityofthesignalsweuseincommunication.Whetherit'shygiene

scoresortrickemails,weneedamechanismtodeterminereliability.Thisisachievedthrougheffectivepolicing

punishingthosewhoproveuntrustworthy—andeducatingourselvestoavoidunreliablepeople,places,andthings.

Ifwecantrustthathygieneratingsarereliable,wecanusethemtoguideourbehavior.

17.WhatcanwelearnfromParagraph1?

A.Restaurantbusinessesarecompetitive.

B.Sharedsignalscanbeadrivingforceinsuccess.

C.Cheatingbehaviorscanharmtrustwithinsociety.

D.Ratingsystemsarcdevelopedwithscientificmethods.

18.Whatistheauthor'sviewontechnologicaladvancements?

A.Objective.B.Doubtful.C.Optimistic.D.Pessimistic.

19.Itisimpliedinthispassagethatweshould.

A.adoptstricterlegalpunishmentfbrdeepfakes

B.prioritizeofficialrulesoverindividualawareness

C.increaserelianceontechnologicalsolutionstodetectdishonesty

D.combinelegalmeasureswithpublicawarenesstoreducedistrust

（2025北京石景山高三一模）

ResearchersfromtheNeuroMindInstitutehavedevelopedanewsystemthatusespredator（捕食者）robotsto

chase（追逐）larval（幼体的）zebrafishinanopenwater.Thisinnovativeapproachishelpingscientistsstudyhowthe

youngfishrapidlylearnandadaptir.real-worldconditions.

Larvalzebrafishareavaluabletoolforneuroscientistsbecausetheirtransparencyenableseasystudyofthe

brainandbehaviour.However,it'sbeendifficultforscientiststostudylearninginthesedevelopingvertebrates（脊

椎动物）一animportantpartofunderstandinghowthebrainworks.Previousresearchfoundyoungzebrafishcould

learnsimpleassociations.Butthistypeoflearninghappensslowlyandoftenunreliably,anditwasstillunclear

whetherdays-oldzebrafishcanlearnfastenoughtousetheirmemoryinnaturalsituations,likerecognizingand

avoidingnewpredators.

Theresearchersthought（hattraditionalwaysoftestinglearninginlarvalzebrafishinthelab,wherethe

conditionswerefarfromwhatthefishwouldencounterinthewild,mightnotbeeffectiveforuncoveringhowthe

fishlearn.Tomodelareal-lifesituation,theresearchersusedsmallroboticcylinders（圆柱体），withsome

programmedtoshowpredator-likecharacteristics.

Theresearcherscreatedthedynamics:theyfirstplacedarobotthatstayedstillwithafree-swimmingzebrafish;

aftertherobotchasedthefishfbraminute,thefishbeganavoidingtherobot'sareafbrmorethananhour—abig

changefromthenon-avoidantbehaviourbeforethechaseexperience.Whenasecondrobotwasintroducedthatdid

notchasethefish,thezebrafishonlyavoidedthechasingrobot,showingthattheycoulddistinguishbetweenathreat

andanon-threal.

Usingthissystem,theresearchersmadeanunexpecteddiscoveiythatnotonlycouldlarvalzebrafishlearn

extremelyquicklyinamorenaturalcontext,buttheycouldalsodosojustfivedaysafterbeginningtheirlivesas

singlecells.Thiswasparticularlysurprisinggiventhefactthatadevelopingzebrafishlarvacontainsjustonepercent

orsoof（heneurons（神经元）initsadultform.Thefindingssuggestthatsomeessentiallearningabilities,like

recognizingpredators,emergeearlyinlifeandarecriticalforsunival.

Furtherbrainimagingrevealsthatdifferentregionsof（hezebrafishbrainareinvolvedinthisrapidlearning:

thehindbrain,aregioncontrollingessentialfunctions,respondstoth,approachingpredator;theforebrain,aregion

associatedwithlearningandplanning,encodesthepresenceofthepredatorrobot;andthehabenula,anotherbrain

area,signalsavoidanceoutcomes.Alltheseregionsarenecessaryfwlearning,andsilencinganyofthemremoves

（heabilityofthefishtolearn.Itisbelievedthatthenewworkcouldofferinsightsintohowotherbrainsprocessreal-

worldthreats.

20.Whydidtheresearchersdevelopanewsystemwithlarvalzebrafish?

A.Toobsenetheirhuntingbehaviours.B.Toidentifytheirsimpleassociations.

C.Toexamineiheirbraincharacterisiics.D.Touncoveriheirlearninginnaturalsettings.

21.Whatdoestheunderlinedword“dynamics”inParagraph4probablymean?

A.Interaction.B.Function.C.Structure.D.Standard.

22.Whatcanwelearnaboutlarvalzebrafish?

A.Theycandistinguishbetweenrobotsandfish.

B.Theylearnfastthroughamulti-regionalbrainnetwork.

C.Theydeveloplearningabilitieswhenreachingadulthood.

D.Theycanrecognisepredatorswithmuchneuronsneeded.

23.Whatwilltheauthormostprobablydiscussintheparagraphthatfollows?

A.Explainingtherobotdesignusedintheexperiment.

B.Exploringdangerprocessinginotherspecies'brains.

C.Analysingtheconnectionbetweenlearningandplanning.

D.Describingzebrafishbehavioursindifferentsurroundings.

（2025北京顺义高三一模）TheGreatTitisoneofthemostfamiliarbirdspeciesinEuropeandAsia—and

oneofthemostinteresting.Thespeciesshowsacognitive（认知的）capacitythatisamazingforaslightbirdweighing

only18grams.Itproducesfalsealarmstoscareotherbirdsoffseedfeedersandknocksonkitchenwindowstoget

feedersrefilled.OncoldwinterdaysGreatTitsdrumonbeehives,whereuponthebeeswillcomewalkingout,easy

victimfbrthehungrybirds.Incombinationwiththebird'sbroadfoodpreferences,itsclevernesshasresultedinan

unusualresponsetourbanization.

By“unusual,“ImeanthatGreatTitsnotonlygetbybutthrive.Urbanization,whichinvolveslanddevelopment,

isanincreasingproblemforwildanimalstheworldover.Stressorssuchaspollution,noise,arlificialightandthe

lower-qualityfoodfoundincitiesarcconsideredunhealthyforanimals.Inastudy,ImeasuredlevelsofCORT,a

commonstresshormoneinbirds,in188urbanandruralGreatTits.Contrarytoexpectations,theurbanbirdshad

consistentlylowerlevelsofCORTthanforestbirds.Thisfindingisevenmoreremarkablewhenyouconsiderthat

urbanpopulationsaredenserthanferestones,whichshouldincreasecompetitionforterritoriesandfoodandhence

ran：r）upstress.

AdaptabilityhasalsoallowedGreatTitstocolonize（占据）ahabitatthatisinobviouscontrasttoanurban

one.Originatinginthetemperatedeciduous（落叶的）forests,thelittlebirdisnowcommoninborealconiferous

forests（北方针叶林）.ThespecieslivedandgrewinlargenumbersinnorthernSwedenintheearly1900sduringthe

constructionofrailroads.Birdfeedinghasalongtraditioninthiscountry,andtherailbuilderstookalikingtothe

birds,nailinguptheirleftoverporkfatattheentrancestothehutswheretheyslept.Astherailroadsextended

norhward,theGreatTitsfollowed.Nowadaystheyarecommoninthishabitat,butwhenthecoldwintertakeshold,

theyleavetheforestsandemergeatbirdfeedersinnearbytownsandfarms.

CognitionintheParidae（山雀科）familyisinterestinganddifferentspeciespracticeoneoftwoentirely

differentwinteringstrategies.Unliketheircloserelatives,whicharespecialiststhatstoremanythousandsoffood

itemsinseparatelocationsaswinterfood,theGreatTits,incontrast,donotstorefoodatall.Curiousandinnovative,

theyinsteadobtainfoodinallpossibleandseeminglyimpossibleways,especiallyfromhumans.

Themoreweleamaboutanimalcognition,（hebelterwewillbeabletoanswerquestionsonmanyquestions

involvingtheawarenessofanimals:isitjustifiable,forexample,tokeepcognitivelyadvancedanimalssuchasapes

anddolphinscaged?

24.WhatdoweknowabouttheGreatTil?

A.Itrespondstourbanizationoutofexpectation.

B.Itfrightensawayotherbirdstodefendterritory.

C.Itmainlyreliesonhuman-providedfoodsources.

D.Ittransformsurbanstressorsintosurvivaladvantages.

25.Whatdoesthephrase“rampup,?underlinedinParagraph2probablymean?

A.Adjustsharply.B.Maintainstably.C.Increasegra