While the human world is suffering from the novel coronavirus outbreak, our planet is actually showing certain signs of “recovery” from the damage caused by human activity. According to the BBC, new satellite images released by the European Space Agency showed that levels of air pollutants and greenhouse gases have “fallen sharply” in major cities in Europe and the United States ever since the lockdown started.
This is what happened after recent discoveries in Antarctica. An international team of 89 scientists found that the ice in Greenland and Antarctica is melting six times faster in the 2010s than it was in the 1990s. And in February, Argentina’s Marambio research station in Antarctica recorded a record high temperature of 20.75 ℃ on the continent.
So what exactly will happen if the temperature keeps rising and the ice keeps melting? A third study might give you an idea. A team of scientists drilled a hole into the seafloor in west Antarctica and extracted (提取) material from underground, in which they found traces of roots, spores and pollen—typical products of a rainforest—that dated back 90 million years ago. In other words, Antarctica was very likely a rainforest back when the dinosaurs walked on Earth. But given the fact that the South Pole has four months of darkness during winter—even millions of years ago—scientists believe that the rainforest could only exist if the greenhouse gas concentrations were extremely high back then to keep the continent warm when there was little or no sunlight.
“We didn’t know that this Cretaceous (白垩纪的) greenhouse climate was that extreme,” Johann Klages of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany and a co-author of the research told the Guardian. “It shows us what carbon dioxide is able to do.”
Ice or no ice, Antarctica will be—and has always been—fine with extreme changes. The human world, however, may not be.
Now, during the coronavirus lockdown, we’ve seen the changes resulting from less human activity. Hopefully, we’ll hold on to those changes—not for Antarctica or the planet, but for ourselves.
1.What does Paragraph 1 mainly tell us?
A.Our planet is returning to its original state due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
B.The lockdown of major cities contributed to the decrease of greenhouse gases.
C.The novel coronavirus has a positive effect on the human beings.
D.The novel coronavirus outbreak resulted from human activity.
2.What do we learn from the third study?
A.Typical products of a rainforest were dug out in Antarctica.
B.Traces of dinosaurs living in rainforests were spotted in Antarctica.
C.There was a good possibility of high greenhouse gas concentrations in Antarctica.
D.There used to be enough sunlight for the rainforest in the Cretaceous Antarctica.
3.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A.Human activity doesn’t threaten life in Antarctica.
B.The ice in Antarctica is melting faster in the 2010s than now.
C.We should reduce carbon dioxide emissions for our own sake.
D.The lockdown can be carried on to slow down global warming.
4.What is the main purpose of the passage?
A.To encourage us to defeat the novel coronavirus.
B.To explain the effects of greenhouse gases.
C.To draw our attention to ecosystem in Antarctica.
D.To call on us to reduce human impact on the environment.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
While the human world is suffering from the novel coronavirus outbreak, our planet is actually showing certain signs of “recovery” from the damage caused by human activity. According to the BBC, new satellite images released by the European Space Agency showed that levels of air pollutants and greenhouse gases have “fallen sharply” in major cities in Europe and the United States ever since the lockdown started.
This is what happened after recent discoveries in Antarctica. An international team of 89 scientists found that the ice in Greenland and Antarctica is melting six times faster in the 2010s than it was in the 1990s. And in February, Argentina’s Marambio research station in Antarctica recorded a record high temperature of 20.75 ℃ on the continent.
So what exactly will happen if the temperature keeps rising and the ice keeps melting? A third study might give you an idea. A team of scientists drilled a hole into the seafloor in west Antarctica and extracted (提取) material from underground, in which they found traces of roots, spores and pollen—typical products of a rainforest—that dated back 90 million years ago. In other words, Antarctica was very likely a rainforest back when the dinosaurs walked on Earth. But given the fact that the South Pole has four months of darkness during winter—even millions of years ago—scientists believe that the rainforest could only exist if the greenhouse gas concentrations were extremely high back then to keep the continent warm when there was little or no sunlight.
“We didn’t know that this Cretaceous (白垩纪的) greenhouse climate was that extreme,” Johann Klages of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany and a co-author of the research told the Guardian. “It shows us what carbon dioxide is able to do.”
Ice or no ice, Antarctica will be—and has always been—fine with extreme changes. The human world, however, may not be.
Now, during the coronavirus lockdown, we’ve seen the changes resulting from less human activity. Hopefully, we’ll hold on to those changes—not for Antarctica or the planet, but for ourselves.
1.What does Paragraph 1 mainly tell us?
A.Our planet is returning to its original state due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
B.The lockdown of major cities contributed to the decrease of greenhouse gases.
C.The novel coronavirus has a positive effect on the human beings.
D.The novel coronavirus outbreak resulted from human activity.
2.What do we learn from the third study?
A.Typical products of a rainforest were dug out in Antarctica.
B.Traces of dinosaurs living in rainforests were spotted in Antarctica.
C.There was a good possibility of high greenhouse gas concentrations in Antarctica.
D.There used to be enough sunlight for the rainforest in the Cretaceous Antarctica.
3.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A.Human activity doesn’t threaten life in Antarctica.
B.The ice in Antarctica is melting faster in the 2010s than now.
C.We should reduce carbon dioxide emissions for our own sake.
D.The lockdown can be carried on to slow down global warming.
4.What is the main purpose of the passage?
A.To encourage us to defeat the novel coronavirus.
B.To explain the effects of greenhouse gases.
C.To draw our attention to ecosystem in Antarctica.
D.To call on us to reduce human impact on the environment.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
To err is human. Society is suffering from an inability to acknowledge as much.
For individuals, errors are painful. The trick, then, is to err well: to recognize mistakes and learn from them. Worryingly, humanity may be getting worse at admitting its mistakes.
Few enjoy the feeling of being caught out in an error. But real trouble starts when the desire to avoid a punishment leads to a refusal to deal with contrary evidence. Economists often assume that people are sensible. When faced with a new fact, these people should update their view of the world to take better decisions in future. Yet years of economic research confirms that people frequently disregard information that conflicts with their view of the world.
Why should that be? Last year Roland Benabou, of Princeton, presented a framework for thinking about the problem. In many ways, beliefs are like other economic goods. People spend time and resources building them, and get value from them: some beliefs make owners feel good and show their public identity; other beliefs provide value by shaping behavior—for example, religious asceticism(禁欲主义) can help one avoid unhealthy habits.
Because beliefs, however, are not simply tools for making good decisions, but are treasured in their own right, new information that challenges them is unwelcome. People often engage in “motivated reasoning” to manage such challenges. Mr Benabou classifies this into three categories. “Strategic ignorance” is when a believer avoids information offering conflicting evidence. In “reality denial”， troubling evidence is rationalized(合理化)：real estate investors might make up fanciful theories for why prices should behave unusually, and supporters of a disgraced politician might claim the negative news to be fake. And lastly, in “selfsignalling”， the believer creates his own tools to interpret the facts in the way he wants: an unhealthy person, for example, might decide that going for a daily run proves he is well.
“Motivated reasoning” is a cognitive bias(偏见). Not all the errors it leads to are costly: praising the performance of one's supported football team despite contradictory evidence does little harm. But when biases are broadly shared—within financial world or political parties—danger arises. Motivated reasoning helps explain why viewpoints polarize (两极分化) even as information is more easily available than ever before.
Work by Mr Benabou suggests that groupthink is highest when people within groups face a shared fate: when choosing to break from a group is unlikely to spare an individual the costs of the group's errors or bring much individual benefit. The incentive(动力) to engage in motivated reasoning is high as a result. Even as the fact on a particular issue is obvious, parties can still become increasingly polarized. That, in turn, can make it harder still for a member of one party to get any benefit from breaking from a group. Indeed, the group has an incentive to silence independent voices.
Public statements of regret are risky in a rigidly polarized world. Admissions of error can not only annoy partners but also provide opportunities for opponents. But it is rarely in the interest of those in the right to pretend that they are never wrong.
1.According to the passage, beliefs are similar to economic goods in that ________．
A.both are entertaining and valuable B.both can be shaped by religious faith
C.both can reflect who the owners are D.both promote religious development
2.Which of the following is an example of “selfsignalling”？
A.A fan speaks highly of his team although it has just lost the game.
B.A man covers his ears when stealing a bell, believing the bell won't ring.
C.Supporters of Trump believe the news about his affairs with a lady is fake.
D.Suspected AIDS carriers refuse to be tested though it can be done for free.
3.What can be inferred from Paragraphs 6 and 7?
A.Polarization causes individuals to break from the group.
B.Richer sources of information decrease motivated reasoning.
C.Individuals with independent voices are dismissed from the group.
D.Individuals in a group engage in motivated reasoning for their own interests.
4.Which of the following opinions might the author agree with?
A.Denying errors is unavoidable.
B.Failure to admit errors is harmful.
C.Humans are getting better at erring well.
D.Wise people ignore contrary worldviews.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
To err is human. Society is suffering from an inability to acknowledge as much.
For individuals, errors are painful. The trick, then, is to err well: to recognize mistakes and learn from them. Worryingly, humanity may be getting worse at admitting its mistakes.
Few enjoy the feeling of being caught out in an error. But real trouble starts when the desire to avoid a punishment leads to a refusal to deal with contrary evidence. Economists often assume that people are sensible. When faced with a new fact, these people should update their view of the world to take better decisions in future. Yet years of economic research confirms that people frequently disregard information that conflicts with their view of the world.
Why should that be? Last year Roland Benabou, of Princeton, presented a framework for thinking about the problem. In many ways, beliefs are like other economic goods. People spend time and resources building them, and get value from them: some beliefs make owners feel good and show their public identity; other beliefs provide value by shaping behavior—for example, religious asceticism(禁欲主义) can help one avoid unhealthy habits.
Because beliefs, however, are not simply tools for making good decisions, but are treasured in their own right, new information that challenges them is unwelcome. People often engage in “motivated reasoning” to manage such challenges. Mr Benabou classifies this into three categories. “Strategic ignorance” is when a believer avoids information offering conflicting evidence. In “reality denial”， troubling evidence is rationalized(合理化)：real estate investors might make up fanciful theories for why prices should behave unusually, and supporters of a disgraced politician might claim the negative news to be fake. And lastly, in “selfsignalling”， the believer creates his own tools to interpret the facts in the way he wants: an unhealthy person, for example, might decide that going for a daily run proves he is well.
“Motivated reasoning” is a cognitive bias(偏见). Not all the errors it leads to are costly: praising the performance of one's supported football team despite contradictory evidence does little harm. But when biases are broadly shared—within financial world or political parties—danger arises. Motivated reasoning helps explain why viewpoints polarize (两极分化) even as information is more easily available than ever before.
Work by Mr Benabou suggests that groupthink is highest when people within groups face a shared fate: when choosing to break from a group is unlikely to spare an individual the costs of the group's errors or bring much individual benefit. The incentive(动力) to engage in motivated reasoning is high as a result. Even as the fact on a particular issue is obvious, parties can still become increasingly polarized. That, in turn, can make it harder still for a member of one party to get any benefit from breaking from a group. Indeed, the group has an incentive to silence independent voices.
Public statements of regret are risky in a rigidly polarized world. Admissions of error can not only annoy partners but also provide opportunities for opponents. But it is rarely in the interest of those in the right to pretend that they are never wrong.
1.According to the passage, beliefs are similar to economic goods in that ________．
A. both are entertaining and valuable B. both can be shaped by religious faith
C. both can reflect who the owners are D. both promote religious development
2.Which of the following is an example of “selfsignalling”？
A. A fan speaks highly of his team although it has just lost the game.
B. A man covers his ears when stealing a bell, believing the bell won't ring.
C. Supporters of Trump believe the news about his affairs with a lady is fake.
D. Suspected AIDS carriers refuse to be tested though it can be done for free.
3.What can be inferred from Paragraphs 6 and 7?
A. Polarization causes individuals to break from the group.
B. Richer sources of information decrease motivated reasoning.
C. Individuals with independent voices are dismissed from the group.
D. Individuals in a group engage in motivated reasoning for their own interests.
4.Which of the following opinions might the author agree with?
A. Denying errors is unavoidable.
B. Failure to admit errors is harmful.
C. Humans are getting better at erring well.
D. Wise people ignore contrary worldviews.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
While protests have removed the president from his position, the country has been suffering a sharp _____ in its economy.
A. decline B. decoration C. tendency D. frequency
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
While nature lovers across the world wish all humans to realize the significance of their natural surroundings, many Australians are turning caring for the environment into a way of life.
Julie Astonis, an Australian housewife in Brisbane is one such example. Even though autumn is approaching Australia’s Brisbane in April, one can still watch colorful blooming (盛开的) flowers in Julie’s little garden, as she tells that in her community, “Each of us has a beautiful yard. The whole community, from children to elderly people, takes care of the environment as if they are taking care of their own garden.
“Gardening is the most popular club in our community,” she says. “A lot of retired people don’t just regularly organize gardening lectures, but also personally visit families in the community to provide gardening training. So you can see that flowers continue to blossom in our gardens throughout the year.”
Talking about her people’s sense of care for the environment, Julie says when people in the community take along their dog, they always carry a garbage bag to deal with the dog’s waste. “In our community, you will never experience the embarrassment of stepping on the dirty waste while you are walking on the grass,” says Julie with a smile.“Taking care of the dog’s waste can a1so help to develop children’s sense of responsibility!”
As to protecting water resources, the Australian government has made strict rules for families. Julie says, “We certainly would not use tap water to water the flowers!” She says almost every family in her community has a huge tank used to store rainwater, which is later used as the resource of all outdoor water use, connect the water tank with their toilets.
1.From the first three paragraphs we learn that .
A. gardening is popular in most part of Australia
B. April is a great time for people to enjoy flowers
C. it’s not easy to keep a garden without proper training
D. Julie’s community has a deep sense of caring for nature
2.What do we know about Julie from this passage?
A. She takes pride in her community.
B. She once stepped on a dog’ s waste.
C. She is quite in favor of raising a dog.
D. She finds it embarrassing to walk on the grass.
3.From what Julie says in the last paragraph, we know .
A. rainwater is not the best resource
B. her community owns a public tank
C. her community makes full use of resources
D. it is not necessary to water flowers very often
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Love nature, the Australian way
B. How Australians save resources
C. How Australians lead their life
D. Protect nature, a must of life
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
While nature lovers across the world wish all humans to realize the significance of their natural surroundings, many Australians are turning caring for the environment into a way of life.
Julie Astonis, an Australian housewife in Brisbane is one such example. Even though autumn is approaching Australia’s Brisbane in April, one can still watch colorful blooming(盛开的)flowers in Julie’s little garden, as she tells that in her community,“Each of us has a beautiful yard. The whole community, from children to elderly people, takes care of the environment as if they are taking care of their own garden.
“Gardening is the most popular club in our community,”she says.“A lot of retired people don’t just regularly organize gardening lectures, but also personally visit families in the community to provide gardening training. So you can see that flowers continue to blossom in our gardens throughout the year.”
Talking about her people’s sense of care for the environment, Julie says when people in the community take along their dog, they always carry a garbage bag to deal with the dog’s waste.“In our community, you will never experience the embarrassment of stepping on the dirty waste while you are walking on the grass,” says Julie with a smile.“Taking care of the dog’s waste can a1so help to develop children’s sense of responsibility!”
As to protecting water resources, the Australian government has rnade strict rules for families. Julie says,“We certainly would not use tap water to water the flowers!”She says almost every family in her community has a huge tank used to store rainwater, which is later used as the resource of all outdoor water use, connect the water tank with their toilets.
1.From the first three paragraphs we learn that________.
A. gardening is popular in most part of Australia
B. April is a great time for people to enjoy flowers
C. it’s not easy to keep a garden without proper training
D. Julie’s community has a deep sense of caring for nature
2.What do we know about Julie from this passage?
A. She takes pride in her community.
B. She once stepped on a dog’s waste.
C. She is quite in favor of raising a dog.
D. She finds it embarrassing to walk on the grass.
3.From what Julie says in the last paragraph, we know________.
A. rainwater is not the best resource
B. her community owns a public tank
C. her community makes full use of resources
D. it is not necessary to water flowers very often
4.How many examples are given to show the caring for the environment in Australia?
A. Two B. Three C. Four D. Five
5.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Love nature, the Australian way
B. How Australians save resources
C. How Australians lead their life
D. Protect nature, a must of life
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The girl had been suffering from the lung cancer, yet she acted as if nothing__________ to her while we were together.
A. happened B. would happen C. has happened D. had happened
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
In peace, too，the Red Cross is expected to send help _____ there is human suffering.
| A．whoever | B．wherever | C．whatever | D．however |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Though suffering constant noise from the outside world, little Tommy was still working with all his
attention _____ on his unfinished warship model.
A. focusing B. concentrating C. fixed D. looking
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Though suffering constant noise from the outside world, little Tommy was still working with all his
attention _____ on his unfinished warship model.
A. focusing B. concentrating C. fixed D. looking
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析