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高二暑假阅读理解话题分类专练：科普知识
（共4题）
一、阅读理解题（共4题）
Like clockwork, nearly every fourth February includes one extra day. February 29th, otherwise known as Leap Day, isn't exactly a holiday. Instead, it's there to keep your calendar consistent with the earth's rotation (旋转) around the sun.
According to History.com, Roman emperor Julius Caesar is the "father" of Leap Year. Until he came along, people used a 355-day calendar, which was 10.25 days shorter than the solar year. Roman officials were supposed to add an extra month every now and then to keep the seasons exactly where they should be. But that didn't work out all that well. When special occasions started shifting into different seasons around 45 BCE, Caesar consulted with astronomers and decreed (下令) that the empire should use a 12-month, 365-day calendar, which he named after himself. Caesar's Julian calendar included a Leap Day every four years.
Though Leap Day keeps your calendar in line with the earth's rotation around the sun, it causes a different kind of problem for leapsters. When should these February 29th babies celebrate their birthdays during the other three-quarters of their lives Some party on February 28th, while others prefer a two-day celebration that spans the last day of February and the first day of March.
Leap Day can be a nuisance in the legal system. In 2006, a court in Massachusetts was deciding whether criminal John Melo could be released a day early since his 10-year sentence included a Leap Day. In the case, the judge decided that since the man was sentenced to prison for years, not days, Leap Day didn't make a bit of difference.
Though a few timekeepers have pushed for calendars that don't include Leap Day, almost all astronomers and societies agree that Leap Day is the best method to keep the calendar on track.
(1) Why was Leap Day created
A．To celebrate special occasions.
B．To honor Emperor Julius Caesar.
C．To keep pace with the solar year.
D．To keep track of all the seasons.
(2) What is the problem with the birthday celebration of February 29th babies
A．It is sometimes delayed.
B．It lasts at least two days.
C．It has to be held every other year.
D．It may take place on different dates.
(3) What does the underlined word "nuisance" in Paragraph 4 mean
A．Joke. B．Topic. C．Trouble. D．Mistake.
(4) What is the attitude of most astronomers towards Leap Day
A．Critical. B．Supportive. C．Doubtful. D．Cautious.
Do you look happy angry Have you ever wondered how you know what another person's mood is just by looking at his or her face Studies have shown that one instantaneously (瞬间地) and subconsciously makes a determination of another person's mood just by glancing at the position and appearance of both the eyebrows and mouth. But what if only the position of the eyebrows was varied, and not the mouth Would you still be able to determine his or her mood or personality just by seeing the eyebrows
Observe the four faces shown below. Notice how each face has exactly the same shape. the same smile, and the same eyes. The only difference between each of the faces is the position of the eyebrows.
Low, flat eyebrows that hang over the eyes indicate tiredness, while an eyebrow that is highest in the middle denotes sadness. Downward slanting eyebrows show anger, while highly arched eyebrows show happiness.
Frequently, malposition of the eyebrows, such as eyebrow sagging (下垂) and upper eyelid fullness, can be overlooked when considering facial aging and expression. Furthermore, the heavy eyebrow skin pushed the eyelid down causing a tired appearance.
To avoid eyebrow sagging, many people raise their eyebrows to remove the brow and eyelid skin from their visual space. These people eventually develop wrinkles in the forehead due to the constant movement of the muscles that raise the eyebrow. In addition, there are those who are sensitive to light and frequently' squint (斜视) and squeeze' their eyes. This effectively pulls the eyebrows down and leads to wrinkles between the eyebrows and at the corners of the eyes.
Botox is an effective measure for fine lines of the forehead and lines between the eyebrows. Botox works by freezing the muscle movement for several months. For the purpose of creating a more pleasant appearance, the best corrective measure is brow-lift surgery.
(1) What can this passage be
A．An advertisement. B．A magazine article.
C．A business report. D．A scientific report.
(2) A person's eyebrows that hang over the eyes low and flat can cause a(n) _____ appearance.
A．sad B．tired C．happy D．angry
(3) What is the purpose of the passage
A．To explain the fact that varied eve position can tell a person's mood.
B．To arouse people's interest in the best way of removing wrinkles in the forehead and between the eyebrows.
C．To explain what leads to wrinkles in the forehead and near the eyebrow.
D．To enable people to know how to avoid developing fine lines on their faces.
(4) If the passage continues, what would the writer most likely discuss in the next paragraph
A．Facial aging B．Eye operation
C．Brow lift surgery D．Face-lifts
For centuries, dolphins have got our admiration, and it is easy to see why. They are beautiful, cute and smart sea animals. Dolphins are not fish, but warm-blooded animals. They live in groups, and speak to each other in their own language. In this way, they are like other animals, such as bees and birds. But dolphins are very different from almost all land animals. It is said that dolphins are the world's second brightest creatures after humans and have many brain features related to intelligence. Their brain is nearly the same size as our own, and they live a long time at least twenty or thirty years.
Like some animals, dolphins use sound to help them find their way around. They also make these sounds to talk to each other and to help them find food. We now know they do not use their ears to receive these sounds, but the lower part of the mouth, called the jaw.
Strangely, dolphins seem to like man, and for thousands of years there have been stories about the dolphin and its friendship with people.
There is a story about sailors in the 19th century. In a dangerous part of the sea off the coast of New Zealand, they learnt to look for a dolphin called Jack. From 1871 to 1903, Jack met every boat in the area and showed it the way. Then in 1903 a passenger on a boat called The Penguin shot and wounded Jack. He recovered and for nine years more continued to guide all ships through the area—except for The Penguin.
Today, some people continue to kill dolphins, but many countries of the world now protect them and in these places it is against the law to kill them.
(1) Dolphins are different from many other animals because they _____.
A．live in groups B．have large brains
C．are warm-blooded D．have their own language
(2) Which of the following does the dolphin use to help it find its way around
A．Its nose. B．Its ears. C．Its jaw. D．Its eyes.
(3) Why did the sailors off the coast of New Zealand look for Jack
A．He was lonely and liked to be with people.
B．They enjoyed playing with him.
C．He was seriously wounded.
D．They wanted his help.
(4) By telling the story of Jack, the writer wanted to show that _____.
A．dolphins are friendly and clever
B．people are cruel to animals
C．Jack is different from other dolphins
D．dolphins should be protected by law
Move Over, Selfish Gene
Evolution traditionally has a problem with nice people. If only the fittest individuals survive, then those who are nice to others at their own expense will surely he weeded out. Yet cooperation is widespread in nature, from plants alerting each other to danger to dolphins cooperating to round up fish.
A decades-old idea called kin selection can explain some of this: if organisms (生物) have enough DNA in common, then they can further their own selfish genes by helping one another. Bees and ants have a system of reproduction which leaves colony members so closely related that they act almost as a single super-organism. And among any sexually reproducing species parental care helps individuals pass on their genes.
But kin selection cannot explain why humans are so nice to strangers. One idea is that we have evolved to be super-cooperative because, over time, more cooperative groups have outcompeted less cooperative ones. But there generally isn't enough genetic variation between groups to allow natural selection to favor more cooperative ones.
Some researchers think the solution lies in an idea called cultural group selection. Forget shared genes, they argue. Selection can favor cooperative groups if the people within them share enough culture. The idea is controversial because to work it requires that groups remain culturally distinct, As critics point out, people tend to migrate (迁移) between groups, which should homogenize (使同质化) ideas and customs. Those who back the concept counter that groups have ways to maintain their distinct culture, including a process called nom (准则) enforcement. Put simply, if someone migrates into anew cultural group, they are pressured into following the local rules because failing to do so leads to punishment.
Earlier this year, Mathew and Handley at Arizona State University published a study testing the idea. They sampled 759 people from four ethnic groups in Kenya who compete intensively for land, water and livestock. The pair estimated that genetic differences between individuals from different groups was generally less than 15%. Cultural practices and beliefs varied much more, by 107 to 20%. People cooperated most with members of their own group, as cultural group selection predicts, and to a lesser extent with members of other groups whose norms most closely matched their own. That makes sense if culture rather than genetics is what matters. "I think this is one of the most explicit tests of cultural group selection theory so far," says Mathew.
Not everyone is persuaded. Krasnow at Harvard University sees no theoretical flaw with the idea, but says that some of his research undermines it. He has found that people don't just enforce the rules within their group, but also punish people from other groups who fail to follow their own group's norms. Mathew counters that it is reasonable to enforce the norms on outsiders as a step towards incorporating (使并入) them into your cultural group. "This is often how empires expand," she says.
(1) The example of bees and ants is used to _____.
A．highlight the significant role of reproduction
B．demonstrate the efficiency of a super-organism
C．reveal why parents care about their selfish genes
D．explain the cause of organisms helping one another
(2) For the idea of cultural group selection to work, a pre-condition is that _____.
A．cooperative groups have a larger chance of survival
B．genetic variations in the same cultural group are small
C．cultural differences are weakened with people migrating
D．cultural distinctiveness can be preserved with certain methods
(3) The text is developed mainly through _____.
A．sorting information into different topics
B．narrating events in time order
C．presenting doubts and exploring answers
D．discussing similarities and differences
(4) We can learn from the passage that _____.
A．culture plays a more significant role in choosing cooperators
B．being selfish is of vital importance for an individual to survive
C．Mathew's study result contradicts what cultural group selection predicts
D．people joining a new group will be punished for not keeping their own culture
答案
一、阅读理解题（共4题）
1. 【答案】
(1) C
(2) D
(3) C
(4) B
【解析】
(1) 本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了有关闰日的起源，及闰日带来的问题。
细节理解题。根据文章第一段中最后一句话“Instead, it's there to keep your calendar consistent with the earth's rotation (旋转) around the sun.”可知，设立闰日是为了与阳历年同步。故答案选：C。
(2) 细节理解题。根据文章第二段中最后一句话“Some party on February 28th, while others prefer a two-day celebration that spans the last day of February and the first day of March.”可知，2 月 29 日出生的人会在不同的一天庆祝自己的生日。故答案选：D。
(3) 词义猜测题。根据本段第二句话“In 2006, a court in Massachusetts was deciding whether criminal John Melo could be released a day early since his 10-year sentence included a Leap Day.”可知，此处指在法律体系中，闰日可能是个麻烦事。故答案选：C。
(4) 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段中提到的“almost all astronomers and societies agree that Leap Day is the best method to keep the calendar on track.”可以推断出大部分天文学家对闰日持支持态度。故答案选：B。
2. 【答案】
(1) B
(2) B
(3) B
(4) C
【解析】
(1) 这是一篇说明文。主要说明了硏究表明，一个人只需瞥一眼眉毛和嘴巴的位置和样子，就能在瞵间和潜意识里判断另一个人的情绪。文章主要说明了眉毛在脸部的位置会体现出一个人的情绪，同时说明了几种眉毛的形态所代表的含义，从而引起人们对消除前额和眉间皱纹的兴趣。
推理判断题。根据第一段中 Studies have shown that one instantaneously and subconsciously makes a determination of another person's mood just by glancing at the position and appearance of both the eyebrows and mouth.（研究表明，一个人只需瞥一眼眉毛和嘴巴的位置和样子，就能在瞬间和潜意识里判断另一个人的情绪）结合文章内容主要说明了眉毛在脸部的位置会体现出一个人的情绪，同时说明了几种眉毛的形态所代表的含义。结合选项可知这篇文章应该是一篇杂志上的文章。故选 B。
(2) 细节理解题。根据第三段第一句 Low, flat eyebrows that hang over the eyes indicate tiredness, while an eyebrow that is highest in the middle denotes sadness.（低平的眉毛低垂在眼睛上方表示疲惫，而眉心位置最高的眉毛表示悲伤）可知，一个人的眉毛低垂在眼睛上方会让人看起来很疲惫。故选 B。
(3) 推理判断题。根据最后一段第一句 Botox is an effective measure for fine lines of the forehead and lines between the eyebrows. (肉毒杆菌素是一种有效的措施，可以消除前额和眉毛之间的细纹）结合上文说明了眉毛的位置会体现出一个人的情绪，而人们为了避免眉毛下垂，许多人会扬起眉毛从而导致产生细纹，文章就此提出了一种可以消除前额和眉毛之间细纹的方法。可推知这篇文章的目的是引起人们对消除前额和眉间皱纹的最佳方法的兴趣。故选 B。
(4) 推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句 For the purpose of creating a more pleasant appearance, the best corrective measure is brow-lift surgery. 可知为了创造更令人愉快的外观，最好的矫正措施是眉毛提拉手术。可知，作者接下来一段最有可能会讨论眉毛提拉手术。故选 C。
3. 【答案】
(1) B
(2) C
(3) D
(4) A
【解析】
(1) 本文是一篇说明文，介绍了海豚的大脑构造、生活习性以及与人类间的友谊的传说。
细节理解题。根据第一段中的“Their brain is nearly the same size as our own, and they live a long time at least twenty or thirty years.”可知，海豚与其他动物的不同之处在于它的大脑很大，几乎和人类的大脑一样大，故 B 项正确。
(2) 细节理解题。根据第二段中的“We now know they do not use their ears to receive these sounds, but the lower part of the mouth, called the jaw.”可知，海豚用下颚接收声音来识路，故 C 项正确。
(3) 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的“There is a story about sailors in the 19th century. In a dangerous part of the sea off the coast of New Zealand, they learnt to look for a dolphin called Jack. From 1871 to 1903, Jack met every boat in the area and showed it the way.”可知，杰克在这片危险海域为渔船指路，由此可知，水手们找杰克是为了让它帮忙，故 D 项正确。
(4) 作者意图题。上文说海豚的大脑结构和人类相似，再结合倒数第三段“Strangely, dolphins seem to like man, and for thousands of years there have been stories about the dolphin and its friendship with people.”可知，海豚似乎喜欢人类，几千年来一直有关于海豚和人类的友谊的传说，紧接着作者举杰克在危险海域为渔船指路的例子就是为了证明海豚是聪明和友好的，故 A 项正确。
4. 【答案】
(1) D
(2) D
(3) C
(4) A

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