Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine (饥荒), infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary societies, people feel a moral obligation (责任) to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel (员工).
1.The author believes that the increased size of the human population results from _______.
A.an increase in birthrates B.the industrial development
C.a decrease in death rates D.childhood diseases
2.It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.
A.it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work
B.the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation
C.old people were given the task of imparting (传授) the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations
D.death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of (免除) the hardships of life
3.The phrase “this need” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A.prolonging the dying old people’s lives
B.reducing the problems caused by the retired people
C.making profits through caring for the sick or weak people
D.taking care of the sick or weak people
4.According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the United States is true?
A.Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.
B.Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.
C.Many nursing homes are sponsored by religious and nonprofit groups.
D.Older people have wealth or private insurance if they have a serious illness.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.
1.The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.
A. an increase in birthrates B. the industrial development
C. a decrease in death rates D. human beings’ cultural advances
2.It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.
A. it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work
B. the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation
C. old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations
D. death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life
3.According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the United States is true?
A. Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.
B. Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.
C. When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial.
D. With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever.
4.The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.
A. prolonging the dying old people’s lives
B. reducing the problems caused by the retired people
C. making profits through caring for the sick or weak people
D. taking care of the sick or weak people
5.Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?
A. Sympathetic. B. Approving. C. Optimistic. D. Critical.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.
1.The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.
A.an increase in birthrates | B.the industrial development |
C.a decrease in death rates | D.human beings’ cultural advances |
2.It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.
A.it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work |
B.the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation |
C.old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations |
D.death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life |
3.According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the United States is true?
A.Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough. |
B.Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement. |
C.When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial. |
D.With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever. |
4. The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.
A.prolonging the dying old people’s lives |
B.reducing the problems caused by the retired people |
C.making profits through caring for the sick or weak people |
D.taking care of the sick or weak people |
5.Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?
A.Sympathetic. | B.Approving. | C.Optimistic. | D.Critical. |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.
Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine (饥荒), infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary societies, people feel a moral obligation (责任) to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.
When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel (员工).
1.The author believes that the increased size of the human population results from _______.
A.an increase in birthrates B.the industrial development
C.a decrease in death rates D.childhood diseases
2.It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.
A.it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work
B.the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation
C.old people were given the task of imparting (传授) the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations
D.death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of (免除) the hardships of life
3.The phrase “this need” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A.prolonging the dying old people’s lives
B.reducing the problems caused by the retired people
C.making profits through caring for the sick or weak people
D.taking care of the sick or weak people
4.According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the United States is true?
A.Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.
B.Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.
C.Many nursing homes are sponsored by religious and nonprofit groups.
D.Older people have wealth or private insurance if they have a serious illness.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Believe it or not, the size of the human brain has become smaller over the past 20,000 years. Scientists argue over whether this means we are becoming more or less intelligent as a species.
“I’d call that a major downsizing in an evolutionary eye blink (眨眼),” John Hawks told Discover magazine.
Why is the brain becoming smaller?
There are different theories to explain it. One is that tens of thousands of years ago, before the decline began, to survive in cold and dangerous conditions, humans needed a stronger and larger body and therefore, a larger head. Also they had to chew the tough meat of rabbits, foxes and horses. As conditions improved, the brain stopped growing, according to supporters of this theory.
Another theory comes from a recent study by David Geary and Drew Bailey. They found that brain size decreased as population density(密度) increased.
“As complex societies appeared, the brain became smaller because people did not have to be as smart to stay alive.” Geary told AFP.
But smaller brain size does not necessarily mean that modern humans are less smart than their ancestors. “Modern humans simply developed different, more complex forms of intelligence,” said Brian Hare.
Hare’s studies focus on two types of great apes: chimpanzees and bonobos. Both are much like humans, but are physically quite different from one another. The bonobo has a smaller brain than the chimpanzee, and is also much less aggressive and more tolerant.
“When it comes to working out a problem,” Hare said, “chimpanzees are much less likely to accomplish it if it involves working together. Not so with bonobos.”
The smaller brain in modern humans may be evidence that we can cooperate,” Hare told the US National Public Radio.
1.Which of the following words can be used to replace the underlined word in Paragraph 2?
A. speed B. increase
C. decline D. change
2.We can learn from the passage that ____________.
A. the size of human brain has something to do with many factors
B. the brain size increases because of the increase of population density
C. the abilities of the bonobos and the chimpanzees are almost the same
D. modern humans can certainly do teamwork better than other species
3.According to Brian Hare, _____________.
A. bonobos are much likely to cooperate better than chimpanzees
B. chimpanzees tend to work well with others
C. modern humans are less smart their ancestors
D. small brains are certainly connected with intelligent beings
4.Which of following is probably the best title of the passage?
A. Bonobo or Chimpanzee—Which Smarter?
B. Smaller Brain--Less Intelligent?
C. Human and Animal—More Intelligent?
D. Human Brain-Why Downsizing?
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The use of color has a long history in human life. We live our lives in color from our earliest days. 1. We use it both as a symbol of identity and a way of expressing our individuality (个性) through decoration. And we use different colors to send out very different messages.
2. Look at the schoolboy in the photo. From his colorful traditional dress, other people in Peru know he comes from the Quechua community. We wear uniforms at school and work, and we dress in our favorite sports team colors to say the same thing: 3.
And now look at the Huli villager in the photo, who is getting ready for a local festival. He’s applying the traditional colors of red, black and white to his own personal face pattern. Face-painting is an important part of the celebrations. These days people are starting to experiment with brightly colored paints as well as traditional colors. In fashion-conscious Europe, the “in” color changes every season. 4.
Marketing experts understand the power of color very well. Packaging and labels in eye-catching colors stand out on the supermarket shelf. 5. A calm blue for a bank stands for trust, dark green says quality, or brown and green means eco-friendliness.
A. We are family.
B. We love this game.
C. People need a sense of group identity.
D. Color plays an important role in our daily life.
E. Different people have different understanding of colors.
F. And companies select the color of their brand very carefully.
G. For example, women are wearing shades of purple this autumn.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
. The main fact(or)s in human life are five: birth, food, sleep, love and death. (One could increase the number— add breathing for instance— but these five are the most obvious.) Let us ask ourselves ________ our lives.
A.they play in what part | B.they play what part in |
C.what part they play in | D.in what part they play |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
As the intelligence of robots increases to match ________ of humans,we may use them to expand our frontiers.
A.it B.that C.which D.the
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Scientists in the United States say plant life has increased on Earth in the past twenty years and that in every area of plant growth the increase is the result of weather conditions.
Eight scientists from across the United States did the study. The space agency NASA and the Department of Energy paid for it. The findings were published in the magazine Science.
The researchers spent one and a half years examining weather satellite information. The information was recorded from 1982 to 1999. That period was one of the warmest on record. Researchers found that rainfall generally increased during that time.
The satellites measured the number of leaves on plants and the amount of sunlight taken in. The scientists used that information to estimate what is called net primary production. This is total amount of carbon stored in land plants.
The scientists report a 6% increase in stored carbon since 1982. They say gains were high in equatorial areas, especially around the Amazon River in South America. The area alone had a 1% increase in the net primary production.
Ramakrishna Nemani of the University of Montana in Missoula headed the study. He says reduced cloud cover led to growth in Amazon area. He also says the lack of clouds allowed more sunlight to get through. More sunlight meant increases in photosynthesis(光合作用). That is the process by which plants use energy from sunlight to produce the chemicals they need to grow.
Northern Canada, the north-central United States and northern Europe were second in increased plant growth. Ramakrishna Nemani says a rise in temperature helped plants there.
All together, the report says 25% of areas of plant life on Earth experienced increases. But the scientists also note increase in the number of people on Earth and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Ranga Myneni of Boston University in Massachusetts, another study scientist says humans use about half the net primary production on Earth. And he notes that the world population grew by 36% during the period of time studied.
1.Which of the following is in charge of the study?
A. The space agency NASA of the US.
B. The Department of Energy of the US.
C. Ramakrishna Nemani in Missoula.
D. Ranga Myneni in Massachusetts.
2.What’s the main cause of the plant growth put forward by the study?
A. Growth in population.
B. Regional features.
C. Seasonal variation.
D. Weather conditions
3. Why do scientists believe that reduced cloud cover has led to the plant growth in the Amazon area?
A. Because plants could take in more sunlight.
B. Because plants could get more rainfall.
C. Because plants could enjoy cooler air.
D. Because plants suffer less from natural disasters.
4. Which of the following descriptions about the years from 1982 to 1999 is TRUE?
A. It was the warmest on record.
B. Rainfall decreased little by little.
C. World population grew by 25%.
D. Stored carbon increased by 6%.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
_____the size of the universe, some researchers believe that there is life beyond our planet.
A. Consider B. To consider
C. Considered D. Considering
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
________ the quickening pace of life, competition goes increasingly fierce in all respects of life, bringing great pressure as well as plentiful chances to everyone.
A. In spite of B. By means of
C. On account of D. In terms of
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析