1、专题检测卷(二十四)阅读理解 (建议用时:25分钟)A (2013南宁模拟)体裁说明文题材科普知识词数253American scientists say musical training seems to improve communication skills. They found that developing musical skills involves the same process in the brain as learning how to speak. The scientists say that could help children with learning d
2、isabilities. Nina Krauss is a neurobiologist at Northwestern University in Illinois. She says musical training involves putting together different kinds of information. She says the process involves hearing music, looking at musical notes, touching an instrument and watching other musicians. She say
3、s the process is not much different from learning how to speak. Both involve different senses. Professor Krauss says musical training and learning to speak make us think about what we are doing. She says speech and music pass through a structure of the nervous system called the brain stem(脑干). The b
4、rain stem controls our ability to hear. Until recently, experts have thought the brain stem could not be developed or changed. But Professor Krauss and her team find that musical training can improve a persons brain stem activity. The study involved people with different levels of musical ability. T
5、hey were asked to wear an electrical device that measures brain activity. The people wore the device while they watched a video of someone speaking and a person playing a musical instrument. The study found that the more years of training people had, the more sensitive they were to the sound and bea
6、t of the music. Professor Krauss says the study shows the importance of musical training to children with learning disabilities. 1. The main idea of the passage is. A. learning how to speakB. that the brain stem is important for speechC. that musical training is important for communication skillsD.
7、that people who have received musical training are more sensitive2. Why can musical training improve communication skills? Because. A. it gives people more knowledgeB. it can improve a persons brain stem activityC. it has a kind of magicD. it can make people speak3. Which sentence is TRUE according
8、to the text? A. The brain stem controls our ability to speak. B. The musical training process involves only hearing music. C. Experts think the brain stem cant be developed. D. The brain stem has something to do with our ability to hear. 4. The underlined word “device” means. A. a piece of equipment
9、 for some experimentB. a piece of furniture for a labC. a cell phoneD. a headphoneB体裁议论文题材大脑的研究词数390What makes humans smarter than other animals? Weve got a bigger brain, of course. But when it comes to brains, is bigger always better? Traditionally, scientists have thought that humans superior inte
10、lligence derived(源于)mostly from the fact that our brains are three times bigger than those of our nearest living relatives, chimpanzees. People even used to believe that because men have slightly larger brains than women that men are smarter. This, however, is not the truth. Scientists at University
11、 College London in the UK have found that brain organization, and not brain size, is the key to the superiority of human intelligence, reported Live Science. Through millions of years of evolution, our ancestors were constantly pushed to get smarter so that they could meet the demands of new environ
12、ments. However, holding this growing intelligence in increasingly large brains was not the best choice because bigger brains require more energy to power. “This is when reorganization may come into play, ”said Christophe Soligo, a member of the London research team. In the study, scientists looked a
13、t the brains of 17 species of primates(灵长目动物), including monkeys, apes and humans. They found that in the process of evolution, brains didnt keep growing as a whole. Certain regions of the brain grew prior to others in response to species needs, and in this way they could make the best use of their
14、limited brain space. For example, when early humans were struggling to survive, the brain region in charge of using tools and finding food grew in size more than other regions. But in modern times, the prefrontal cortex(前额皮质)the region in charge of social cognition(认知), moral judgments and goal-dire
15、cted planninggrew more than the rest of the brain. Think of the brain as a room. If a big room is poorly organized, it doesnt necessarily store more stuff than a smaller one. Paul Manger, professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, explains this principle using the example of wha
16、les. He told Scientific American: “Whales have big brains, absolutely. But if you look at the actual structure of the brain, its not very complex. Brain size only matters if the rest of the brain is organized properly. ”5. It has recently been found that humans are smarter than the other animals mai
17、nly because. A. they are a species of primatesB. they have much larger brainsC. their brain structure is more complexD. they were constantly pushed to get smarter6. According to the article, in recent human evolution, . A. the brain kept growing in size to adapt to new environmentsB. most regions of
18、 the brain didnt changeC. the prefrontal cortex grew more than the rest of the brainD. humans brains became increasingly simple so that humans could survive7. What can we conclude from the article? A. Gender makes a difference in intelligence. B. The size of the brain has nothing to do with intellig
19、ence. C. Species whose brain is organized properly tend to be smarter. D. Larger brains are usually organized better than smaller ones. 8. The method the writer uses to develop the last paragraph is. A. by presenting research dataB. by giving examplesC. by making a comparisonD. by analyzing cause an
20、d effectC(2013淮南模拟)体裁说明文题材年度单词词数273Every year Chris Brogan posts his three words for a new year. Many others and I have followed his lead for the past three or four years. They helped me a lot. My words for last year were “passion”, “focus” and “delegate” and I stayed true to them. This year, 2013,
21、my goals are more personal and less professional. FOCUSFocus is making a repeat appearance on my list this year because Im too much of a multitasker. The problem is that I have trouble finishing one thing with so many things calling me. When I was working as a writer, all my projects were handled vi
22、a a schedule, Im putting a fitness and housekeeping routine into my schedule. HEALTHI get so busy taking care of everyone else, and I forget to take care of myself and this has to change. My health suffers and my weight suffers. I have to get my health in check, not only for me but because I promise
23、d my 9-year-old son. Ill make good food and lifestyle choices. I miss being thin, and its time to get it back. CELEBRATEWhat good is having it if Im not taking time to enjoy it? I have a wonderful job, a happy family, and so much to be thankful for. So how come I spend all my time working? Last summ
24、er my family took our first vacation in four years, the best thing Ive done for myself and my family in a long time. This year, Im making sure to take time to enjoy life and celebrate its many blessings. Do you have any words for 2013? 9. The underlined word “multitasker” probably refers to a person
25、 who. A. makes a living by writingB. always fails to finish a task on timeC. has several things to do at the same timeD. pays more attention to fitness and housekeeping10. Why does the writer have “HEALTH” as one of his three words? A. He wants to take better care of others. B. Hes gaining weight an
26、d feeling bad. C. He did not take any exercise in the past. D. He got the idea from his son. 11. What can we learn from the passage? A. The word “CELEBRATE” can remind the writer to enjoy life. B. The writer has a vacation with his family every four years. C. The word “FOCUS” can help the writer foc
27、us on his family. D. The writer used to be overweight for lack of exercise. 12. The best title for the passage might be. A. Three Words for 2013B. Health Should Go FirstC. Keep OrganizedD. Goals for 2013【拓展训练】阅读B篇文章, 翻译并分析长难句。Traditionally, scientists have thought that humans superior intelligence d
28、erived mostly from the fact that our brains are three times bigger than those of our nearest living relatives, chimpanzees. 句意:_分析: 第一个that引导_从句, 第二个that引导_从句, 强调_的内容。答案解析【文章大意】文章主要讲述了音乐训练会改善我们的交际技巧。1. 【解析】选C。主旨大意题。文章第一段首句是主题句, 由此可知文章主要讲述音乐培训对于交际技巧很重要。2.【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据文章倒数第三段的“But Professor Krauss a
29、nd her team find that musical training can improve a persons brain stem activity. ”可知。3. 【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据文章倒数第二段最后一句“The study found that the more years of training people had, the more sensitive they were to the sound and beat of the music. ”可知人们接受这种训练的时间越长, 对于声音和音乐的节奏越敏感, 由此推断脑干与听力有关。4. 【解析】选A。词义猜测
30、题。根据device后的that引导的定语从句“that measures brain activity”可知能测量大脑活动的肯定是一种“仪器”, 故选A。【文章大意】是不是大脑越大越聪明? 看看科学家们是怎么说的吧。5.【解析】选C。细节理解题。由第三段的“. . . have found that brain organization, and not brain size, is the key to the superiority of human intelligence, reported Live Science”可以推知C为正确答案。6. 【解析】选C。细节理解题。由倒数第三段
31、的“But in modern times, the prefrontal cortexthe region in charge of social cognition, moral judgments and goal-directed planninggrew more than the rest of the brain. ”可知C正确。7. 【解析】选C。推理判断题。由最后一段的“But if you look at the actual structure of the brain, its not very complex. Brain size only matters if t
32、he rest of the brain is organized properly. ”可以推知, 以一种合适的方式建构的相对复杂的大脑趋向于更聪明, 故C正确。8. 【解析】选B。逻辑结构题。最后一段以鲸鱼为例来说明并非大脑越大, 就越聪明, 故选B。【文章大意】作者介绍了2013年自己的三个重要单词: focus, health, celebrate, 说明了选择这三个单词的原因。9. 【解析】选C。词义猜测题。从第二段的句子The problem is that I have trouble finishing one thing with so many things calling
33、 me. 可知这个单词是“一次有很多任务的人”。10. 【解析】选B。细节理解题。从第三段的句子My health suffers and my weight suffers. I have to get my health in check可知作者的健康和体重出了问题。11. 【解析】选A。细节理解题。从倒数第二段的句子Im making sure to take time to enjoy life and celebrate its many blessings可知celebrate这个词提醒作者要享受生活。12. 【解析】选A。推理判断题。从最后一段的句子Do you have any words for 2013? 可知这篇文章讲的是2013年的三个单词。【拓展训练】科学家们习惯上认为人类的高智商主要源于我们的大脑比我们的近亲猩猩的大脑大三倍这个事实。宾语 同位语 fact- 5 -
