高考英语阅读专题练习七选五
2010北京卷Muzak
The next time you go into a bank, a store, or a supermarket, stop and listen. What do you hear? 71 It's similar to the music you listen to, but it's not exactly the same. That's because this music was especially designed to relax you, or to give you extra energy. Sometimes you don't even realize the music is playing, but you react to the music anyway.
Quiet background music used to be called "elevator (电梯) music" because we often heard it in elevators. But lately we hear it in more and more places, and it has a new name "Muzak". About one-third of the people in America listen to "Muzak" everyday. The music plays for 15 minutes at a time, with short pauses in between. It is always more lively between ten and eleven in the morning, and between three and four in the afternoon, when people are more tired. ____72_____
If you listen to Muzak carefully, you will probably recognize the names of many of the songs. Some musicians or songwriters don't want their songs to be used as Muzak, but others are happy when their songs are chosen. Why? 73
Music is often played in public places because it is designed to make people feel less lonely when they are in an airport or a hotel. It has been proven that Muzak does what it is designed to do. Tired office workers suddenly have more energy when they hear the pleasant sound of Muzak in the background.74 Supermarket shoppers buy 38 percent more groceries.
75 . They say it's boring to hear the same songs all the time. But other people enjoy hearing Muzak in public places. They say it helps them relax and feel calm. One way or another, Muzak affects everyone. Some farmers even say their cows give more milk when they hear Muzak!
A. Some people don't like Muzak.
B. The music gives them extra energy.
C. Music is playing in the background.
D. Factory workers produce 13 percent more.
E. Muzak tends to help people understand music better.
F. They get as much as $4 million a year if their songs are used.
G. Muzak is played in most of the big supermarkets in the world.
2011北京卷Public speaking and critical thinking
What is critical thinking? To a certain degree, it’s a matter of logic(逻辑)—of being able to spot weaknesses in other people’s argument and to avoid them in your own, it also includes related skills such as distinguishing fact from opinion and assessing the soundness of evidence.
In the broad sense, critical thinking is focused, organized thinking—the ability to see clearly their relationships among ideas. 71 The greatest thinkers, scientists and inventors have often taken their information that was readily available and put it together differently to produce new ideas that, too, is critical thinking.
72 As the class goes on, for example, you will probably spend a good deal of time organizing your speeches. While this may seem like a purely mechanical(机械的) exercise, it is closely connected with critical thinking. If the structure of your speech is loose and confused, chances are that your thinking is also disordered and confused. If, on the other hand, the structure is clear, there is a good chance your thinking is too. Organizing a speech is not a matter of arranging the ideas you already have. 73
What is true of organization is true of many aspects of public speaking. 74 As you work on expressing your ideas in clear, accurate language, you will improve your ability to think clearly and accurately. 75 As you learn to listen critically to speeches in class. You will be better able to assess the ideas of speakers in a variety of situations.
If you take full advantage of your speech class, you will be able to develop your skills as critical thinker in many circumstances. This is one reason public speaking has been regarded as a vital part of education since the days of ancient Greece.
A. Rather, it is an important part of shaping the ideas themselves.
B. This may seem like a lot of time, but the rewards are well worth it.
C. It may also help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech.
D. It has often been said that there are few new ideas in the world, only reorganized ideas.
E. If you are wondering what this has to do with your public speaking class, the answer is quite a lot.
F. The skills you learn in your speech class can help you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways.
G. As you study the role of evidence and reasoning in speechmaking ,you will see how they can be used in other forms of communication as well.
2012北京卷Empathy
Last year, researchers from the University of Michigan reported that empathy, the ability to understand other people, among college students had dropped sharply over the past 10 years. __71__ Today, people spend more time alone and are less likely to join groups and clubs.
Jennifer Freed, a co-director of a teen program, has another explanation. Turn on the TV, and you’re showered with news and reality shows full of people fighting, competing, and generally treating one another with no respect. __72__
There are good reasons not to follow those bad examples. Humans are socially related by nature. __73__ Researchers have also found that empathetic teenagers are more likely to have high self-respect. Besides, empathy can be a cure for loneliness, sadness, anxiety, and fear.
Empathy is also an indication of a good leader. In fact, Freed says, many top companies report that empathy is one of the most important things they look for in new managers. __74__ “Academics are important. But if you don’t have emotional (情感的) intelligence, you won’t be as successful in work or in your love life,” she says.
What’s the best way to up your EQ (情商）? For starters, let down your guard and really listen to others.
__75__
To really develop empathy, you’d better volunteer at a nursing home or a hospital, join a club or a team that has a diverse membership, have a “sharing circle” with your family, or spend time caring for pets at an animal shelter.
A. Everyone is different, and levels of empathy differ from person to person.
B. That could be because so many people have replaced face time with screen time, the researchers said.
C. “One doesn’t develop empathy by having a lot of opinions and doing a lot of talking,” Freed says.
D. Humans learn by example—and most of the examples on it are anything but empathetic.
E. Empathy is a matter of learning how to understand someone else—both what they think and how they feel.
F. Good social skills—including empathy—are a kind of “emotional intelligence” that will help you succeed in many areas of life.
G. Having relationships with other people is an important part of being human—and having empathy is decisive to those relationships.
北京卷2013 Urbanization
Until relatively recently, the vast majority of human beings lived and died without ever seeing a city. The first city was probably founded no more than 5,500 years ago. 71_ . In fact, nearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural (乡村的) villages. It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in history— a society in which the majority of people live in cities and do not farm for a living.
Britain was only the beginning. 72_ .The process of urbanization— the migration (迁移) of people from the countryside to the city— was the result of modernization, which has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live.
In 1990, fewer than 40% of Americans lived in urban areas. Today, over 82% of Americans live in cities. Only
about 2% live on farms. 73 .
Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized. Even in advanced agricultural societies. It took about ninety-five people on farms to feed five people in cities. _74 . Until modern times, those living in cities were mainly the ruling elite(精英) and the servants, laborers and professionals who served them. Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus from farm to city.
Over the past two centuries, the Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 75_ . Today, instead of needing ninety-five farmers to feed five city people, one American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred non-farmers.
A. That kept cities very small.
B. The rest live in small towns.
C. The effects of urban living on people should be considered.
D. Soon many other industrial nations become urban societies.
E. But even 200 years ago, only a few people could live in cities.
F. Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive.
G. Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings.
2014北京卷Evaluating Sources (来源) of health Information
Making good choices about your own health requires reasonable evaluation. A key first step in bettering your evaluation ability is to look carefully at your sources of healthy information. Reasonable evaluation includes knowing where and how to finds relevant information, how to separate fact from opinions, how to recognize poor reasoning, and how to analyze information and the reliability of sources. 71
Go to the original source. Media reports often simplify the results of medical research. Find out for yourself what a study really reported, and determine whether it was based on good science. Think about the type of study. 72
Watch for misleading language. Some studies will find that a behavior “contributes to” or is “associated with” an outcome; this does not mean that a certain course must lead to a certain result. 73 Carefully read or listen to information in order to fully understand it.
Use your common sense. If a report seems too good to be true, probably it is. Be especially careful of information contained in advertisements. 74 Evaluate “scientific” statements carefully, and be aware of quackery(江湖骗术).
75 Friends and family members can be a great source of ideas and inspiration, but each of us needs to find a healthy lifestyle that works for us.
Developing the ability to evaluate reasonably and independently about the health problems will serve you well throughout your life.
A. Make choice that are right for you.
B. The goal of an ad is to sell you something.
C. Be sure to work through the critical questions.
D. And examine the findings of the original research.
E. Distinguish between research reports and public health advice.
F. Be aware that information may also be incorrectly explained by an author’s point of view.
G. The following suggestions can help you sort through the health information you receive from common sources.
2015北京This Way to Dreamland
Daydreaming means people think about something pleasant, especially when this makes them forget what they should be doing. Daydreamers have a bad reputation for being unaware of what’s happening around them. They can seem forgetful and clumsy._71__They annoy us because they seem to be ignoring us and missing the important things.
But daydreamers are also responsible for some of the greatest ideas and achievements in human history.
__72__ Can you imagine what kind of world we would have without such ideas and inventions?
So how can you come up with brilliant daydreams and avoid falling over tree roots or otherwise looking like a fool?
First, understand that some opportunities for daydreaming are better than others. Feeling safe and relaxed will help you to slip into daydreams.__73_ And if you want to improve your chances of having a creative idea while you’re daydreaming, try to do it while you are involved in another task—preferably something simple, like taking a shower or walking, or even making meaningless drawings.
It’s also important to know h ow to avoid daydreams for those times when you really need to concerntrate. “Mindfulness”, being focused, is a tool that some people use to avoid falling asleep.__74__
Finally, you never know what wonderful idea might strike while your mind has moved slowly away.____75_ Always remember that your best ideas might come when your head is actually in the clouds.
A. Having interesting things to think about also helps.
B. They stare off into space and wander by themselves.