2015年湖北高考英语提分专练：科普知识

湖北2015年高考英语提分专练：科普知识

　　湖北高考网整理了2015年湖北高考英语提分专练，在紧张的复习时间里帮助大家快速掌握解题技巧，供参考：

　　【河北省邯郸市2015届高三上学期1月份教学质量检测】

　　Since Henry Ford turned it into a mass-market product a century ago, the car has delivered many benefits. It has promoted economic growth, increased social mobility and given people a lot of fun. But the car has also brought many problems. It pollutes the air, creates traffic jams and kills people. An astonishing 1.24 million people die, and as many as 50 million are hurt, in road accidents each year.

　　Drivers and passengers waste around 90 billion hours in traffic jams each year. In some car-choked cities as much as a third of the petrol used is burned by people looking for a space to park.

　　Fortunately, a new technology promises to make motoring safer, less polluting and less tendency to hold-ups. “Connected cars”--which may eventually develop into driverless cars but for the foreseeable future will still have a human at the wheel-can communicate wirelessly with each other and with traffic-management systems, avoid walkers and other vehicles and find open parking spots.

　　Some parts of the transformation are already in place. Many new cars are already being fitted with equipment that lets them keep their distance and stay in a motorway automatically at a range of speeds. Soon, all new cars in Europe will have to be able to warn the emergency services if their on-board sensors(传感器) discover a crash. Singapore has led the way with using variable tolls(道路通行费) to smooth traffic flows during rush-hours; Britain is pioneering “smart motorways”, whose speed limits vary constantly to achieve a similar effect. Combined, these new inventions could create a much more highly effective system in which cars and their drivers are constantly warned of dangers and showed the ways, traffic always flows at the proper speed and vehicles can travel closer together, yet with less risk of crashing.

　　In the past, more people driving meant more roads, more jams, more death and more pollution. In future, the connected car could offer mankind the pleasures of the road with rather less of the pain.

　　【小题1】According to Paragraph 2, the problem of parking has resulted in ______.

　　A. more time on the road B. a great waste of fuel

　　C. even heavier traffic jams D. increased death and injuries

　　【小题2】What does “a similar effect” in the Paragraph 4 refer to?

　　A. Reducing traffic jams. B. Building smart motorways.

　　C. Setting proper speed limits. D. Keeping steady traffic flows.

　　【小题3】What is the author’s attitude towards connected cars?

　　A. Curious. B. Doubtful. C. Supportive. D. Disappointed.

　　【小题4】Which of the following can be the best title of the text?

　　A. The Future of Cars: Wireless Wheels B. The Future Traffic Management System

　　C. The Benefits and Problems of Cars D. The Promising Future of Car Production

　　【答案】

　　【小题3】C

　　【小题4】A

　　【解析】

　　考点：

　　C【江西省吉安市第一中学2015届高三上学期第二次阶段考】

　　Talking plants might sound like characters in a fairy tale. But recent scientific studies have shown that plants communicate with each other and with other living things in a surprising number of ways. To understand them, scientists say, we just have to learn their language. Farmers are especially interested in what plants have to say.

　　“Plants are able to communicate with all sorts of organisms(有机体). They can communicate with giant bacteria, with other plants and with insects. They do this chemically, ”said Cahill, an Ecology Professor of the University f Alberta in Canada.

　　Plant scientists are just beginning to understand this chemical “language”. Cahill says studies have shown, for example, that plants can evaluate conditions in their immediate environment and take appropriate actions. Plants have an ability, for example, to signal pain or discomfort caused by anything from temperature extremes to an insect attack. Jack Schultz, a professor of chemical ecology at the University of Missouri, says when a plant senses that it’s being eaten, it cannot walk away from trouble;on the contrary, it will release a chemical vapor that alerts other plants nearby.

　　“Their language is a chemical language, and it involves chemicals that move through the air, which are easily to be changed, and most of all are smells that we are familiar with, ” Schultz explained.

　　“All plants responded to the attack by changing their chemistry to defend themselves, ” Schultz recalled. “But we were quite surprised to find that nearby plants also changed their chemistry to defend themselves, even though they were not part of the experiment. ”

　　Studies have also shown that plants under attack release pleasant chemicals. Those chemicals attract friendly insects that attack the pests eating the plant.

　　In the end, plants’ ability to communicate their needs-and our ability to understand them-could help farmers reduce the use of poisonous chemicals, cut operating costs and limit damage to the environment.

　　【】. The recent scientific studies have shown that plants can __________.

　　A. communicate with other living things in a chemical way

　　B. hardly react to any sudden change in temperature

　　C. use a very special chemical language which is familiar to us

　　D. respond to the attack by giving off poisonous chemicals

　　【】. When being eaten by a pest, the plant will ___________.

　　A. walk away from trouble

　　B. change its chemistry t kill the insect

　　C. release a chemical vapor to “ask” other plants for help

　　D. give off nice chemicals to attract friendly insects to a tack the pest

　　【】. The underlined word “alerts” most probably means “___________”.

　　A. warns B. protects C. threatens D. allows

　　【】. Which would be the best title for the passage?

　　A. Communication between Plants B. A Chemical “Language”

　　C. Plants Can Talk D. How Plants Protect Themselves【答案】

　　【小题1】A

　　【小题2】D

　　【小题3】A

　　【小题4】C

　　考点：科研类文章

　　B

　　Apparently everyone knows that global warming only makes climate more extreme. A hot, dry summer has caused another flood of such claims. And one of the players that benefit the most from this story is the media: the idea of “extreme” climate simply makes for more exciting news.

　　Consider Paul Krugman writing breathlessly in The New York Times about the “rising incidence of extreme events.” He claims that global warming caused the current drought in America’s Midwest, and that supposedly record-high corn prices could cause a global food crisis(危机)。

　　But the United Nations’s latest assessment tells us precisely the opposite—there has an overall slight tendency toward less dryness in North America. Moreover, there is no way that Krugman could have identified this drought as being caused by global warming without a time machine since climate models estimate that such detection will be possible by 2048, at the earliest.

　　And, fortunately, this year’s drought appears unlikely to cause a food crisis, as global rice and wheat supplies are plentiful. Moreover, Krugman overlooks inflation(通货膨胀)：Prices have increased six-fold since 1969.So, the inflation-adjusted price of corn was higher throughout most of the 1970s.

　　Finally, Krugman forgets that concerns about global warming are the main reason that corn prices have skyrocketed since 2005.Nowadays 40 percent of corn grown in the United States is used to produce ethanol(乙醇)，which raises the price of corn –at the expense of many of the world’s poorest people.

　　Bill Mickbben similarly worries in The Guardian About the Midwest drought and corn prices.He confidently tells us that fierce wildfires from New Mexico and Colorado to Siberia are “exactly” what the early stages of global warming look like.

　　In fact, the latest study on global wildfire suggests that fire incidence has declined over the past 70 years and is now close to its preindustrial level.

　　When well—meaning campaigners want us to pay attention to global warming, they often end up making overstatements. And exaggerated(夸张的) claims merely fuel public distrust and unconcern. That is unfortunate, because global warming is a real problem, and we do need to address it.

　　【小题1】In what way do the media benefit from extreme weather?

　　A. They can give voice to different views.

　　B. They can make themselves better known.

　　C. They can choose from a greater variety of topics.

　　D. They can attract people’s attention to their reports.

　　【小题2】 What is the author’s comment on Krugman’s claim about the current drought in America’s Midwest?

　　A. It will eventually get proof in 2048.

　　B. It is based on an erroneous climate model.

　　C. So far there is no way to prove its validity.

　　D. A time machine is needed to tell if it is true.

　　【小题3】What is the chief reason for the rise in corn prices according to the author?

　　A. Inflation rates have been skyrocketing since the 1970s.

　　B. A considerable part of corn is used to produce green fuel.

　　C. Climate change has caused corn supply to drop markedly.

　　D. Demand for food has been rising in the developing countries.

　　【小题4】 What does the author think of the exaggerated claims in the media about global warming?

　　A. They lead to public distrust about science.

　　B. They create confusion about climate change,

　　C. They are strategies to raise public awareness.

　　D. They do a disservice to addressing the problem.

　　【答案】

　　【小题1】D

　　【小题2】C

　　【小题3】B

　　【小题4】D

　　考点：考查说明文阅读

　　A【山东省实验中学第三次诊断考试】

　　Humans aren’t the only ones getting a buzz from coffee.Caffeine can improve memory among honeybees and lead to better pollination(授粉).According to a recent study published in the journal Science.

　　The study was conducted by a team of researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.They found that the nectar(花蜜)of some flowers，such as those from grapefruit and lemon plants，as well as certain coffee flowers，contains low doses of caffeine.To get bees to feed on these flowers，the team trained the insects to associate food with the smell of the flowers.They also trained another group of bees to feed on nectar from flowers that were sweetened with a sugar, but did not contain caffeine.After 24 hours，the bees trained on caffeinated flowers returned to these plants three times as often as those trained on the sweetened flowers returned to the uncaffeinated plants.

　　Professor Geraldine Wright led the researchers.“Remembering floral traits(花部特征)is difficult for bees to perform at a fast pace as they fly from flower to flower and we found that caffeine helps the bee remember where the flowers are，”Wright said in a statement.

　　Improved memory led to the better pollination.That’s because once bees sip the caffeine nectar, they continue to look for more coffee plants to pollinate.This also suggests that caffeine plays a role in improving the bees’ability to search for food.

　　Researchers found that caffeine’s effect on the bee brain is similar to its effect on mammals.“The change is similar to that produced by caffeine in neurons(神经元)associated with learning and memory in the rat brain，”Wright said.

　　Bee populations have declining since 2007.The dramatic drop in the insects’numbers has serious effects for ecosystems and the farming industry.Bees are needed in the reproduction of crops and spreading wild flower species.Understanding what keeps bees buzzing could help to make sure that the insects are able to remember and pollinate their favorite flowers.

　　【小题1】Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

　　A.Caffeine has no effect on the rat brain.

　　B. Bee population has been increasing.

　　C.The nectar of lemon plants contains caffeine.

　　D.Bees dislike nectar from sweetened flowers.

　　【小题2】After reading the passage，John，who works in the farming industry, will probably feel________.

　　A.annoyed B.angry C.nervous D.excited

　　【小题3】Which of the following relationship is correct according to the passage?

　　A.improved memory—caffeine nectar—better pollination

　　B.caffeine nectar—improved memory—better pollination

　　C.improved memory—better pollination—caffeine nectar

　　D.caffeine nectar—better pollination—improved memory

　　【小题4】What section of a newspaper may this passage be taken from?

　　A.Science B.Education C.Culture D.Sports

　　【答案】

　　【小题1】C

　　【小题2】D

　　【小题3】B

　　【小题4】A

　　【小题3】细节分析题。从第三段we found that caffeine helps the bee remember where the flowers are我们发现咖啡因可以帮助蜜蜂记得花在哪里，和第四段Improved memory led to the better pollination.提高的记忆能导致更好的授粉。故可知caffeine nectar与improved memory与better pollination的关系，故选B。

　　【小题4】细节理解题。从文中第一段According to a recent study published in the journal Science.根据最近一项发表在科学杂志上的研究。故可知这篇研究是在报纸的科学部分。

　　可知选A。