阅读理解(共36分)
三、阅读下列短文,根据短文内容,从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选择最佳选项。(共26分,每小题2分)
Roger:
Hi, there! It was my 15th birthday last Saturday. Some of my friends and Alan, my cousin, came to celebrate it with me. Everybody brought a gift. We had a party. We played games, sang songs and had a big birthday cake. It was really a wonderful day! Did you do anything special last week?
Jessica:
Yes. My class were on a school field trip last week. First, we went to the university of North Carolina to learn about the history of basketball team. Many basketball stars were speaking there. Then we talked about how the plane was invented and took many pictures about.
Sara:
Well, I was lucky enough to go to a conference(会议)on charity(慈善)last Wednesday. I was so excited to meet a lot of kind people. One of them was a boy named Richard. He spoke at the conference for the charity work that he had done in the past few years.
Martin:
It was a different week than usual. Last Thursday, my school band(乐队)went to Atlanta to perform in a competition. I played the violin and won a prize! On Friday, we went to the Georgia Aquarium and got to see different kinds of sea life from all over the world. It was really cool!
21.When did Roger have his birthday party?
A.Last Wednesday. B.Last Thursday.
C.Last Friday. D.Last Saturday.
22.Who went on a school field trip last week?
A.Alan. B.Jessica.
C.Sara. D.Richard.
23.Martin went to Atlanta to ___ .
A.speak at a conference
B.organize a party
C.perform in a competition
D.visit a university
答案解析：
21. D根据Roger信件中“It was my 15th birthday last Saturday.”可知，Roger上周六举办了生日派对，所以答案选D。
22. B由Jessica信件里“My class were on a school field trip last week.”可知，是Jessica上周参加了学校实地考察活动，答案为B。
23. C从Martin信件中“Last Thursday, my school band(乐队)went to Atlanta to perform in a competition.”能够明确，Martin去亚特兰大是为了参加比赛表演，答案选C。
B
A Beautiful Moment
When I was in high school, I worked part-time helping Dad sell fruits and vegetables at a market. One day, as I was preparing the fruits, a little boy came by with his mom and sister. He was about eight years old, and the girl, five or six. They were looking at the fruits in front of me. I heard the kids say to their mom(in French),“They' re good!” I knew it was French, because I can speak and understand it.
Then I noticed how the mom was picking the fruits. At first I thought she was really looking at the fruits because she was facing them, but then I noticed how much she had to feel and smell each one as she picked them out. And she often asked her son if it looked okay, but looked way above where his face was. Putting what I saw together, I was sure she was blind.
Both of the kids continued to help their mom pick out the fruits. The son made sure the fruits were not obviously bad, and the daughter handed them to her mom. The woman then felt each one and smiled, and the daughter would put them into their basket. The kids were smiling while helping their mom pick the fruits out.
Their smile and gentle manner moved me in a way that never happened before. It was so beautiful to see such young kids so willingly help. Most kids that age would be picking out candies or toys in a store for themselves, instead of helping their mom pick out fruits, as the two kids did.
It was great to witness the moment, but not so great because I didn' t tell the mom how beautiful her children were in their language. This is what I regret to this day.
24.The woman and her kids came to the market to buy ___.
A.fruits B.vegetables
C.candies D.toys
25.According to what he saw, the writer was sure the mother couldn' t ___.
A.speak B.see C.smell D.hear
26.The writer was moved because ___.
A.the mother was brave to face her problems
B.the kids were polite and kind to each other
C.the mother was careful in picking out things
D.the kids were so willing to help their mother
答案解析：
24. A根据文中“They were looking at the fruits in front of me.”以及后文孩子们帮妈妈挑选水果等内容可知，女人和孩子来市场是买水果的，选A。
25. B由文中“Putting what I saw together, I was sure she was blind.”可知，作者根据所看到的确定这位母亲看不见，选B。
26. D从文中“Their smile and gentle manner moved me in a way that never happened before. It was so beautiful to see such young kids so willingly help.”可知，作者被感动是因为孩子们如此乐意帮助他们的妈妈，选D。
C
Some primary schoolchildren have been raised in homes with more green space around. They are likely to come with larger volumes of white and grey matter in certain areas of the brain. These differences are associated(关联) with beneficial effects on cognitive function (认知功能). This is the main conclusion of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for global Health.
The study was performed among 253 schoolchildren in Spain. Lifelong exposure(接触) to green space in the living places was recorded—using the information on the children' s addresses from birth up through to the time of the study. Brain structure was studied using 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Working memory and inattentiveness(注意力不集中)were graded with computers.
“This is the first study that shows the association between long-term exposure to green space and brain structure,” says Dr. Payam Dadvand, the leading researcher of the study. “Our findings suggest that exposure to green space early in life could result in beneficial structural changes in the brain.”
The findings show that long-term exposure to greenness is positively associated with white and grey matter volumes in several parts of the brain. Some of them are related to higher scores on cognitive tests. Moreover, larger volumes of white and grey matter in those parts might lead to better working memory and less inattentiveness.
Exposure to nature has been thought to be necessary for brain development in children. Another study of 2,593 children shows that children in schools with more green space have a greater increase in working memory and a greater decrease in inattentiveness.
Humans are believed to be tied to nature. Playing in greener areas offers children opportunities to search and learn. Accordingly, green space is thought to prompt important exercises in discovery, creativity and risk taking. These exercises in turn positively influence brain development.
Dr. Dadvand' s study suggests how such structural changes could bring about the beneficial effects of green space on cognitive development. It also adds to the proof that suggests the lasting effects of early life exposure to greenness on our health and the benefits of increasing greenness in cities.
Further studies are needed to prove the findings in other populations, settings and climates. And researchers need to examine differences according to the nature and quality of green space.
27.The second paragraph is mainly about ___.
A.how the study was performed
B.what was recorded in the study
C.how long the study lasted
D.who took part in the study
28.The word “prompt” in Paragraph 6 probably means “___ ”.
A.control B.encourage
C.balance D.change
29.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Working memory influences white and grey matter in the brain.
B.Dr. Dadvand stressed the importance of changing the environment.
C.Studies proved the influence of greenness on populations out of Spain.
D.Living in greener neighborhoods benefits children in brain development.
答案解析：
27. A第二段详细阐述了研究是如何开展的，包括研究的对象(253名西班牙学童)、记录的内容(居住地一生对绿地的接触情况)、研究大脑结构的方法(使用三维磁共振成像)以及评估工作记忆和注意力不集中的方式(用电脑打分)，所以该段主要是关于研究如何进行的，选A。
28. B根据第六段“Playing in greener areas offers children opportunities to search and learn. Accordingly, green space is thought to prompt important exercises in discovery, creativity and risk taking.”可知，在更绿的区域玩耍给孩子们提供了探索和学习的机会，绿地被认为能促使孩子们进行发现、创造力和冒险方面的重要活动，由此可推断“prompt”意思是“促使，鼓励”，与“encourage”意思相近，选B。
29. D文章第一段提到在周围有更多绿地家庭中长大的小学生，大脑某些区域的白质和灰质体积可能更大，这些差异与对认知功能的有益影响相关联;后文又提到接触自然对儿童大脑发育是必要的，在绿地更多的学校里的孩子工作记忆增加更多、注意力更不集中情况减少更多等，这些都表明生活在绿化更多的社区对儿童大脑发育有益，选D。A选项因果颠倒;B选项文中未强调改变环境的重要性;C选项文中未提及对西班牙以外人群的研究。
D
We often reach a point in our life when we should be ready for change that will help us unlock our self-improvement power. However, there' s always something staring at us right under our nose but we don' t see it. The only time we think of unlocking our self-improvement power is when everything gets worst.
When do we realize that we need to change diets? When none of our shirts and jeans would fit us. When do we stop eating candies and chocolates? When all of our teeth have fallen off. When do we realize that we need to stop smoking? When our lungs have gone bad. We see the warning signs and signals when things get rough and difficult.
The only time most of us ever learn about unlocking our self-improvement power is when the whole world is falling apart. We think and feel this way because it is not easy to change, but change becomes more painful when we ignore(忽视) it.
Change will happen, like it or hate it. At one point or another, we are all going to finally unlock our self-improvement power not because the world says so, but because we realize it' s for our own good.
Happy people don' t just accept change; they embrace (拥抱)it. Unlocking our self-improvement power means unlocking ourselves out of the box of thought that is just the way we are. It is such a poor excuse for people who fear change.
Jane always tells everyone that she doesn' t have the courage to be around groups of people. She heard her family tell the same things about her to other people. Over the years, that is what Jane has believed. Every time a great crowd come, she steps back and locks herself up in a room. Jane not only believes in her story, but lives it!
Self-improvement may not be everybody' s favorite word, but if we look at things in a different way, we might have greater chances of enjoying the whole process instead of counting the days until we are fully improved. Three sessions in a week at the gym would result in a healthier life. Reading books every day would build up knowledge. And only when we are enjoying the whole process of unlocking our self-improvement power will we realize that we' re beginning to take things light and become happy.
30.The writer mentions the three questions in Paragraph 2 to show that ___.
A.we learn our lessons when we experience pain
B.we are responsible for the problems we meet
C.life fails us when we get into the wrong way
D.life is a long journey full of ups and downs
31.What is the key to solving Jane' s problem?
A.She needs to remember why she started.
B.She has to know how to get on with people.
C.She has to realize she is not what she is in her story.
D.She needs to understand the importance of confidence.
32.The writer probably agrees that ___.
A.the world tells us how to improve ourselves
B.people change when they find it easy to do that
C.welcoming change in life is a drive to become better
D.enjoying the process of self-improvement makes life simpler
33.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Is it important to take things light?
B.Is it necessary to embrace challenges?
C.To hold on to the last moment or to give up?
D.To free ourselves out of the box or to stay in it?
答案解析：
30. A第二段中作者提出的三个问题，都是在身体出现严重问题(衣服不合身、牙齿掉光、肺部变坏)时才意识到需要改变，这表明我们在经历痛苦时才会吸取教训，意识到需要做出改变，所以选A。
31. C文中提到Jane一直认为自己没有勇气待在人群中，并且多年来都相信这一点，还按照这个“故事”生活。要解决她的问题，关键在于她要意识到自己并非像她故事中所描述的那样，不能被自己的固有想法束缚，所以选C。
32. C文章强调快乐的人不只是接受改变，而是拥抱改变，解锁自我提升的力量意味着跳出固有思维的束缚，并且当我们享受解锁自我提升力量的整个过程时，我们会开始变得轻松和快乐，这说明在生活中欢迎改变是变得更好的动力，所以作者可能同意C选项。
33. D文章主要论述了我们要解锁自我提升的力量，不能被固有思维限制，要跳出自我设定的“框框”。D选项“To free ourselves out of the box or to stay in it?”(是把我们从框框中解放出来还是待在里面?)符合文章主旨，所以选D。
