中考英语专题练习 阅读理解 话题十二 科普知识与事物发展史（含解析）

话题十二　科普知识与事物发展史

(时间：8～10分钟/篇　分值：2分/小题)

Passage 1(2019北京)

How Much Can We Afford to Forget?

In 2018, Science magazine asked some young scientists what schools should teach students. Most said students should spend less time memorizing facts and have more space for creative activities. As the Internet grows more powerful, students can access(获得) knowledge easily. Why should they be required to carry so much of it around in their heads?

Civilizations(文明) develop through forgetting life skills that were once necessary. In the Agricultural(农业的)Age, a farmer could afford to forget hunting skills. When societies industrialized, the knowledge of farming could be safe to forget. Nowadays, smart machines give us access to most human knowledge. It seems that we no longer need to remember most things. Does it matter?

Researchers have recognized several problems that may happen. For one, human beings have biases(偏见), and smart machines are likely to increase our biases. Many people believe smart machines are necessarily correct and objective, but machines are trained through a repeated testing and scoring process. In the process, human beings still decide on the correct answers.

Another problem relates to the ease of accessing information. When there were no computers, efforts were required to get knowledge from other people, or go to the library. We know what knowledge lies in other brains or books, and what lies in our heads. But today, the Internet gives us the information we need quickly. This can lead to the mistaken belief—the knowledge we found was part of what we knew all along.

In a new civilization rich in machine intelligence, we have easy access to smart memory networks where information is stored. But dependency on a network suggests possibilities of being harmed easily. The collapse of any of the networks of relations our well­being(健康)depends upon, such as food and energy, would produce terrible results. Without food we get hungry; without energy we feel cold. And it is through widespread loss of memory that civilizations are at risk of falling into a dark age.

We forget old ways to free up time and space for new skills. As long as the older forms of knowledge are stored somewhere in our networks, and can be found when we need them, perhaps they're not really forgotten. Still, as time goes on, we gradually but unquestionably become strangers to future people.

(　　)1. Why are smart machines likely to increase our biases?

A. Because they go off course in testing and scoring.

B. Because we control the training process on them.

C. Because we offer them too much information.

D. Because  they overuse the provided answers.

(　　)2. The ease of accessing information from the Internet________．

A. frees us from making efforts to learn new skills

B. prevents civilizations from being lost at a high speed

C. misleads us into thinking we already knew the knowledge

D. separates the facts we have from those in the smart machines

(　　)3. The word “collapse” in Paragraph 5 probably means “________”．

A. a sudden failure  B. the basic rule

C. a disappointing start  D. the gradual development

(　　)4. What is the writer's main purpose in writing this passage?

A. To question about the standards of information storage.

B. To discuss our problems of communication with machines.

C. To stress the importance of improving our memorizing ability.

D. To remind us of the risk of depending on machines to remember.

Passage 2(2019金华)

In the park, you see a group of people, all looking up

at the sky. Without thinking about it, you look upwards, too. Why? In the concert, someone begins to clap and suddenly the whole room joins in. You do, too. Why?

Sometimes we feel we are acting correctly when we do the same as others. The more people follow an idea, the better or truer we think the idea is. It's the social proof(社会认同感) that works.

The scientist Asch carried out an experiment. It shows how social proof can influence us. In a room, a man is shown Line 1, and next to it are three lines (A, B, C). A is longer, C is shorter and B is as long as Line 1. He must tell which of the three lines is as long as Line 1. When the man is alone, he gives the correct answer B. Then, five other men enter the room, and each of them gives the answer C as they were told to. Now the man changes his idea and gives the answer C. Asch got the same result many times among different subjects(实验对象)．

Why do we act like this? Well, in the past, following others was a way to keep from danger. Suppose that 5，000 years ago you were hunting(打猎)with friends. Suddenly, they all ran away. What would you have done? Would you have stayed? No, you would have run, too. We are descendants(后代)of those who copied others' action. It is so deeply planted in our mind that we still use it now.

Social proof has special power. The advertising industry, for example, often makes use of it. So be careful whenever a company says its product is “the most popular”．

(　　)1. At the beginning of the passage, the writer leads in the topic by ________．

A. telling a story  B. giving examples

C. answering questions  D. showing a map

(　　)2. According to Paragraph 3, the experiment by Asch shows ________．

A. following others is always right

B. social proof may change people's ideas

C. it's difficult to carry out the experiment

D. people can study better if they are alone

(　　)3. The underlined word “It” in Paragraph 4 refers to ________．

A. running with others

B. hunting with friends

C. copying others' actions

D. doing something different

(　　)4. According to the passage, we can infer(推断)that ________．

A. it's important to run with others anytime

B. products in the advertisement are the best

C. we mustn't copy others' actions to keep safe

D. we need to think twice before following others

Passage 3(2019连云港)

The human body is a machine that can raise lots of interesting questions. Why, for example, are yawns(呵欠) contagious(传染的)? What's up with ice­cream headaches? Here are answers to these and other questions about our bodies.

Why do I get a headache when I eat ice­cream too quickly?

Scientists aren't exactly sure what causes the brain freeze when we eat ice­cream or other supercold foods too quickly, though some believe it's the result of changed blood flow in the nervous system. Blood vessels in the head “tighten” to stop the loss of body heat and then relax to let blood flow rise; that sudden rush of blood is what causes the headache. You can improve an ice­cream headache by rapidly rubbing your tongue across the roof of your mouth to help warm up things.

What causes my stomach to make a low continuous noise when I'm hungry?

Actually, your stomach makes noise whether you're hungry or full; you just hear it more clearly when you're hungry. Think of your digestive tract(消化道) as a really long tube lined with smooth muscle tissue. These muscles move food, fluids and gas through your digestive tract. ______________________________. It can make you feel embarrassed(尴尬的)but is nothing to worry about.

Why do I blush when I'm embarrassed?

When you're embarrassed, your brain releases a shot of adrenaline(肾上腺素), which makes your heart race and blood vessels become larger in size. All this happens to increase blood flow and oxygen delivery throughout the body in a fight­or­flight reaction(对抗反应). There are a lot of tiny blood vessels in your face, which turn noticeably redder from this sudden rush of blood. As for the actual function of blushing, researchers are still trying to find that one out.

Why are yawns contagious?

Have you ever yawned in front of someone, only to have them yawn right back? It's a common thing, but researchers don't have a good explanation for it. They do, however, know this happens only with humans and chimpanzees(黑猩猩). A bigger question puzzling scientists is why we yawn at all. It used to be thought that yawning showed that oxygen to the brain was not enough, but that's just a myth. A growing body of research now shows that yawning is nature's way of keeping our brains cool.

(　　)1. What is the meaning of the underlined word tighten?

A. 变松  B. 变紧  C. 变短  D. 变长

(　　)2. Which of the following sentences can be filled in the blank?

A. And that's what you're hearing when your stomach makes noise.

B. And that's why you're so hungry when your stomach is empty.

C. And that's what makes you feel uncomfortable when you're full.

D. And that's how it makes a difference to your digestive tract.

(　　)3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. There is no way for you to improve an ice­cream headache.

B. Researchers have found out the actual function of blushing.

C. Your stomach makes noise only when you are hungry.

D. Researchers don't have a good explanation for why yawns are contagious.

(　　)4. What is the best title of the passage?

A. Some Interesting Facts  B. Our Strange Body

C. Some Useful Discoveries  D. Our Amazing Feelings

Passage 4(2019潍坊)

A recent study from a team of South Korean researchers suggests that eating alone often may lead to poor eating habits and poor food choices. Specifically, the study found that men who ate alone more than twice a week had a greater risk of devoloping high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

For children, eating with their families is not only about preventing bad outcomes (结果) — it is also about developing good ones.

In 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) looked at data from nearly three­quarters of the world's countries. Among its findings was the fact that students who shared a main meal with their families were less likely to skip school. Children who eat a main meal with their families are also less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol (吸毒酗酒)．

In the report, titled “The Importance of Family Dinners (Ⅷ)”， researchers say that “teens who have frequent family dinners are more likely to say their parents know a lot about what's going on in their lives”. They also claim that when teens say they feel closer to their parents, they are less likely to use drugs and alcohol.

Another study from the University of Montreal found that children who ate with their familes experience long­term physical and mental health benefits (好处). These children were physically in better shape and drank fewer sugary soft drinks. These children also seemed to have better social skills and they were less aggressive (好斗的)．

Professor Linda Pagani says that mealtimes shared with parents “likely provide young children with first­hand social interactions, discussions of social issues(事件) and day­to­day concerns.” She adds that they may likely help the child have better communication skills with others.

(　　)1. What can be the best title for the text?

A. Benefits of eating together.

B. Advantages of eating alone.

C. Ways of developing social skills.

D. Risks of using drugs and alcohol.

(　　)2. Children eating with their families are more likely to ________．

A. drink more sugary soft drinks

B. do well in their studies at school

C. be more socially active and aggressive

D. have a closer relationship with their parents

(　　)3. Why is professor Pagani mentioned in the last paragraph?

A. To introduce her.

B. To add a new point.

C. To explain further.

D. To provide background information.

(　　)4. From which is the text probably taken?

A. A travel guide.  B. A biology textbook.

C. A cooking instruction.  D. A science magazine.

Passage 5(2019菏泽)

How do people find their ways? At first, people did it by looking at the sun, the moon and stars. Later, we started to use the compass (指南针). Today, there are navigation satellite systems.

A navigation satellite system uses groups of satellites. They send information to a receiver, such as your smart phone. Then they can find where you are.

The earliest navigation system is the Global (全球的) Positioning System (GPS) of the United States. The US has put 24 satellites into space to make sure GPS can locate a person correctly and globally. Russia's GLONASS and European Union's Galileo can also work globally.

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is China's homegrown navigation system. It was set up in 2000. With it, China became the third country to build a navigation system after the US and Russia.

BeiDou can find you wherever you are. It helps you go faster by finding shortcuts and using correct directions. When you are in trouble and call the police, they will know exactly where you are if you have a smart phone that uses BeiDou.

Today, there are more than 20 BeiDou satellites above our heads. And the system is able to offer open services to the Asia­Pacific area.

China plans to send more BeiDou­3 satellites into space. BeiDou­3's position accuracy(精确度) is less than five meters. By 2020, the BeiDou system will have 35 satellites and begin serving globally.

(　　)1. How did people find their ways at first according to this passage?

A. By looking at the sun, the moon and stars.

B. By using the navigation satellite systems.

C. By looking at the compass.

(　　)2. How many navigation satellite systems are mentioned in the passage?

A. Two.  B. Three.  C. Four.

(　　)3. What does the underlined word “locate” in the third paragraph mean?

A. 位于  B. 设置  C. 定位

(　　)4. What do you know about the BeiDou system?

A. It was set up before GPS.

B. It will begin serving globally by 2020.

C. There are less than 20 BeiDou satellites today.

Passage 6(2019遂宁)

What is the sky? How high is it? What color is it? What birds can live above it? These questions are difficult to answer, aren't they? In fact, the sky has no color. Then why does the sky look blue?

We know that there is air around the world. When planes fly, they need air to lift their wings. Planes can't fly very high. That is because the air gets thinner when they go higher. The same will happen to us if we go high enough. If we go up about 1，200 kilometers from the earth, we'll find no air there. Some birds can fly into the sky as high as a plane, but they cannot fly or live without air.

Looking up above us, you will see the blue sky with white clouds. It is usually light blue. The color would be bluer when you see on the top of a high mountain. And you will see fewer clouds in the sky between you and the sun. Sometimes the sky doesn't look blue. When the sun rises and falls, you will see red, orange, and other colors in the sky. Such are the most beautiful moments of the day.

Who can see the colors of the sky high above the earth? The astronauts! They can see those beautiful colors of the sky from the outer space. However, before flying into the outer space, they sit in a spaceship high above the earth, and there is no air at all. The sky would be that dark and its color would be black.

Now you may understand that we see colors because the air scatters(使散射) the sunlight. Light travels through the air. Without air, there would be no colors.

(　　)1. Planes can't fly as high as possible because ________．

A. the sky is blue  B. the wings are heavier

C. the air becomes thinner  D. the sky has no air

(　　)2. When you stand on the top of a high mountain, you will see ________．

A. more air  B. fewer clouds  C. more colors  D. redder skies

(　　)3. In Suining, we might see many colors in the sky at about ________ during the day in summer.

A. 7∶00pm  B. 11∶00pm  C. 1∶00am  D. 3∶00am

(　　)4. The sky changes colors because ________．

A. the sunlight has colors  B. the air scatters the sunlight

C. it's colorful itself  D. the world is colorful

(　　)5. Which is the best title(标题)?

A. Why does the sky look blue?

B. Why can't planes fly very high?

C. Why does the sky change colors?

D. Why can the astronauts see the colors of the sky？

话题十二　科普知识与事物发展史

Passage 1

【主旨大意】本文是一篇议论文。大多数科学家认为学生应该花更少的时间记忆事实，有更多的空间进行创造性活动。随着互联网变得越来越强大，学生可以很容易地获取知识。而文章通过举例论述了我们不应该过度依赖机器和网络获取知识。

1.  B　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：为什么智能机器可能会增加我们的偏见？根据短文第三段最后一句“In the process, human beings still decide on the correct answers.”可知与选项B“因为我们控制这个训练过程。”相符合。故选B。

2.  C　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：从互联网上获取信息的便利性    。根据短文第四段最后一句“This can lead to the mistaken belief—the knowledge we found was part of what we knew all along.”可知与C项相符合。故选C。

3.  A　【解析】词义猜测题。题干意为：第五段的词“collapse”可能是什么意思？根据该句中的“produce terrible results”可推断出选项应该是负面词汇。文章中没有提到开始，此处应是指网络的瘫痪。故选A。

4.  D　【解析】主旨大意题。题干意为：作者写这篇文章的主要目的是什么？通过第一段末尾提出问题“学生们为什么应该被要求在大脑中储存如此多的知识？”引出了作者观点。文章第二、三、四、五段讲述人类是否需要记忆大量信息，第六段论述全文论点，得出依赖机器去记忆存在的风险。D项是写文章的目的。故选D。

Passage 2

【主旨大意】本文是一篇议论文。主要介绍了什么是社会认同感及其产生的原因。

1.  B　【解析】推理判断题。题干意为：在文章的开头，作者通过    引入主题。根据文章第一段举了在公园仰望天空和音乐会鼓掌两个例子可知，作者通过举例引出文章主题。故选B。

2.  B　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：根据第三段，Asch的实验显示了    。根据第三段第二句“It shows how social proof can influence us.”及下文具体实验结果可知，社会认同感会改变一个人的想法。故选B。

3.  C　【解析】代词指代题。题干意为：第四段中划线单词“It”指代    。根据上句“We are descendants(后代)of those who copied others' actions.”及下文可知，此处表示复制他人的行为深深地植根于我们的心中。It指代复制他人的行为。故选C。　

4.  D　【解析】推理判断题。题干意为：根据这篇文章，我们可以推断出    。根据最后一段最后一句“So be careful whenever a company says its products are ‘the most popular'.”可推知，跟随别人时要三思而后行。故选D。

Passage 3

【主旨大意】本文是一篇说明文。在文中作者回答了有关身体的几个问题，介绍了吃冰淇淋头痛、饥饿的时候胃会发出声音、尴尬的时候脸红和哈欠会传染的原因。

1.  B　【解析】词义猜测题。题干意为：划线单词“tighten”是什么意思？根据文章第三段中“...relax to let blood flow rise; that sudden rush of blood is what causes the headache.”可推断出tighten和relax(放松)的意思是相反的。故“变紧”符合语境。故选B。

2.  A　【解析】推理判断题。题干意为：下列哪个句子可以补充在横线上？根据前两句“Think of your digestive tract(消化道) ...move food, fluids and gas through your digestive tract.”可知是解释了胃发出声音的原因。故选A。

3.  D　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：下列哪个说法是正确的？根据文章的最后一段第一、二句“Have you ever yawned in front...researchers don't have a good explanation for it.”可知研究人员不能解释出打哈欠互相传染的原因。故选D。

4.  B　【解析】标题归纳题。题干意为：文章最好的标题是什么？本文中作者主要回答了有关身体的几个问题，所以我们对于自己的身体会感到很奇怪，“Our Strange Body”适合作为本文的最佳标题。故选B。

Passage 4

【主旨大意】本文是一篇科普文。通过研究发现，和父母一起吃饭的儿童都和父母比较亲近，感觉父母参与他们的生活；这些孩子身心两方面都健康；孩子有良好的社交能力，不好斗；而且这些孩子不容易逃学、不容易沾染吸毒酗酒等不良习惯。

1.  A　【解析】标题归纳题。题干意义：这篇文章的最佳标题是什么？通读短文和第二段中“...eating with their families is not only about preventing bad outcomes(结果)，it is also about developing good ones.”可知短文介绍的是一起用餐的好处。故选A。

2.  D　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：和家人一起用餐的孩子们更有可能    。 根据短文第四段最后一句“They also claim that when teens say they feel closer to their parents...”可知他们感觉和父母更亲近。故选D。

3.  C　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：为什么在最后一段要提及Pagani教授？通过短文最后一句话“She adds that they may likely help the child have better communication skills with others.”可知经常和孩子一起用餐，很可能会帮助孩子和别人有更良好的沟通能力。此处是为了进一步解释。故选C。

4.  D　【解析】推理判断题。题干意为：这篇文章很可能取自于哪里？本文属于科普文，故选D。

Passage 5

【主旨大意】本文是一篇说明文。主要介绍了世界上的卫星导航系统并详细介绍了中国的北斗卫星导航系统的发展。

1.  A　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：根据这篇文章，最初人们如何找到路？根据第一段第二句“At first, people did it by looking at the sun, the moon and stars.”可知答案为A。

2.  C　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：文中一共提到了多少卫星导航系统？根据第三段第一句“...the Global(全球的)Positioning System(GPS) of the United States.”及最后一句 “Russia's GLONASS and European Union's Galileo can also work globally.”和第四段第一句“The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System(BDS)．..”可知文中提到了四个卫星导航系统，故选C。

3.  C　【解析】词义猜测题。题干意为：第三段中划线单词“locate”是什么意思？根据文章内容可知该句意为美国将24颗卫星投入太空来确保卫星导航系统能准确地在全球范围内定位人。故选C。

4.  B　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：关于北斗系统你了解什么？根据第三段第一句可知最早的卫星导航系统是美国的，而不是北斗系统，A错误；根据文章最后一句可知到2020年北斗系统将开始全球化服务，B正确；根据倒数第二段第一句可知如今有超过20颗北斗卫星，C错误。故选B。

Passage 6

【主旨大意】本文是一篇说明文。主要介绍的内容与天空颜色变换有关，天空本身是没有颜色的，它是在太阳光经过散射后形成了不同的颜色。

1.  C　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：飞机不能尽可能地往高飞是因为    。根据第二段第三、四句“Planes can't fly very high. That is because the air gets thinner when they go higher.”可知越到高处空气越稀薄。故选C。

2.  B　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：当你站在高山顶上，你将会看到    。根据第三段第三、四句“The color would be...see fewer clouds in the sky between you and the sun.”可知你会看到更少的云。故选B。

3.  A　【解析】推理判断题。题干意为：在遂宁，我们可以在夏季的一天中大约    看到天空有很多颜色。根据第三段最后两句“When the sun rises and falls, you will see red, orange, and other colors in the sky. Such are the most beautiful moments of the day.”可推知在太阳升起和落下的时候，会在天空中看到不同的颜色，结合四个备选项可知，夏季太阳在傍晚七点落山是符合常理的。故选A。

4.  B　【解析】细节理解题。题干意为：天空变换颜色是因为    。根据最后一段第一句“Now you may understand that we see colors because the air scatters(使散射)the sunlight.”可知答案。故选B。

5.  C　【解析】标题归纳题。题干意为：哪个是最好的标题？通读全文可知文章主要介绍天空的颜色为什么会改变。故选C。