閱讀理解原創(chuàng)練習(xí)

周堯

閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的A、B、C和D四個選項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

A

Four best science books of 2021

The Last Stargazers： The Enduring Story of Astronomys Vanishing Explorers by Emily Levesque

Emily Levesque shares anecdotes of modern-day stargazers（占星術(shù)士）in this release， introducing people willing to cross mountaintops and the remote areas of the world， all in the name of science. Theres something for everyone， from the most powerful telescopes to wild bears running loose in an observatory.

Breath： The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

How conscious are you of your breathing？ Reading this could change that forever， offering facts on our breathing and how even the smallest changes can have great health benefits. Nestor looks at athletic performance， snoring（打鼾） and even thousands of years of ancient wisdom on the topic of simply breathing.

Science Fictions： Exposing Fraud， Bias， Negligence and Hype in Science by Stuart Ritchie

If you want to face the disturbing shortcomings in todays science， look no further. Ritchie manages in one book to weaken our understanding of the world， looking at careless mistakes and even fakes in the world of science. Its not all negative， however， as the book also explores some vital solutions to protect science from itself.

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Entangled Life： How Fungi Make Our Worlds， Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake

Merlin Sheldrake makes this exploration into the world of fungi（真菌）feel like reading a science fiction novel. Mushrooms are only the start， as the book takes you on a literal deep dive under the Earths surface， within our own bodies and even into outer space to discover diverse organisms， which support nearly all living things.

1. What are the main contents of Emily Levesques work？

A. Scenery. B. Stories.

C. Theories. D. Creatures.

2. Which book talked about the drawbacks of the science world？

A. Breath.

B. Entangled Life.

C. Science Fictions.

D. The Last Stargazers.

3. Which author is most likely to be a biologist？

A. James Nestor.

B. Stuart Ritchie.

C. Emily Levesque.

D. Merlin Sheldrake.

B

At the age of 12， I was diagnosed with scoliosis（脊柱側(cè)彎）. Wrapped in a plaster cast（石膏繃帶）， I had to spend in hospital in preparation for operation. What I expected each day was my parents visit. Today I didnt have. A rainstorm had flooded out the roads， and I was hidden away from the world.

My bed was near a window. Even if I couldnt sit up to look out， I watched the rain slide down the window. I was sensitive about my looks. Maybe I would be funny-looking and alone forever， I thought. I rolled my eyes to the side as best I could to catch a glimpse of other girls in the room， imagining they were all prettier.

Suddenly a noise caught my attention. A guest arrived. Local celebrities sometimes visited. He stepped into the full light of the room. It was Mr. Rogers from TV！He had been such a comforting， loving presence to me. When he smiled out at me through the TV screen， I believed he was looking at me. He seemed honest about everything. He would never say anything that wasnt true.

I watched him say“hello”to the girl nearest the door. Maybe no one would think I was worth talking to， but Mr. Rogers was nice to everyone. He moved through the room， stopping at every bedside for an exchange. When approaching me， he smiled and lightly touched my arm.“What a pretty girl.”I was surprised; I didnt know what to say. How many times had that word annoyed me？ Mr. Rogers wasnt talking about my cast. He had seen something truer， and I believed him with my whole heart. I was beautiful—and I always would be. That thought would have seemed impossible a moment ago.

I couldnt wait to reenter the world after the operation. Did Mr. Rogers change the life of every child in the hospital that day？ I couldnt know. I do know by the time my cast came off， I was beautiful. Mr. Rogers had told me so.

4. What made the author feel upset on earth？

A. Her parents were caught in rainstorm.

B. Her treatment would cost a great deal.

C. She probably couldnt remain straight.

D. She was looked down on by other girls.

5. Which of the following best describe Mr. Rogers？

A. Talkative and humorous.

B. Generous and handsome.

C. Talented and aggressive.

D. Loving and considerate.

6. Why did Mr. Rogers come up to talk to the author？

A. To provide financial assistance.

B. To show friendliness and care.

C. To exchange views on a TV program.

D. To suggest receiving operation earlier.

7. What can be the best title for the text？

A. The power of belief.

B. The benefits of lying.

C. A successful beauty operation.

D. An unexpected guest： Mr. Rogers.

C

A robotic arm with a sense of touch has allowed paralyzed Nathan Copeland to quickly perform tasks like pouring water from one cup into another.

Previous versions of the arm required Copeland to guide the arm using vision alone.“When I only had visual feedback， I could see that the hand had touched the object，”Copeland says. “But sometimes I would go to pick it up and it would fall out.”

“Tactile（觸覺的）information is important for using a robotic arm because its hard to grasp an object you cant feel，” says Jennifer Collinger， an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh.“Even something simple like picking up a cup and trying to maintain the appropriate amount of pressure as you move it to another location， relies a lot on the tactile feedback from your hand，”she says. So Collinger and her team have spent years working with Copeland to add tactile feedback to a robotic arm. He has learned to control the moves of the robotic arm using a brain-computer interface（接口）.

The team began by placing electrodes（電極）in an area of Copelands brain that processes tactile information. That allowed them to use electrical pulses to excite a range of sensations.“It turned out that exciting in the fingertip-related areas in the brain produced sensations that felt like they were coming from Copelands own hand，”Collinger says. Next， the team figured out how to make those signals when the robotic arm made contact with something. The final step was to time Copeland as he performed tasks like picking up a block or pouring water， with and without tactile feedback. The results showed that Copeland could perform some manual tasks roughly as fast as a person using their own hand.

Collinger says， when her own hand touches something，“I feel the pressure， I feel the slip， I feel whether the object is wet or dry， I can feel the texture of it， I know whether its rough， whether its smooth.”Scientists are just beginning to learn how to make artificial hands and fingers that can detect these subtle features. And as robotic arms provide more tactile feedback， they will become more useful.

8. What is the disadvantage of Nathan Copelands past artificial arms？

A. Relying on sight only.

B. Performing simple tasks.

C. Falling apart frequently.

D. Requiring a guide to support.

9. What is the purpose of Collingers experiment？

A. To study the root of Copelands disability.

B. To equip an artificial arm with sense of touch.

C. To compare a man-made arms and a human arm.

D. To teach Copeland to use his robotic arm properly.

10. Why did Collingers team put electrodes in Copelands brain？

A. To strengthen signals.

B. To receive information.

C. To promote blood circulation.

D. To produce electrical pulses.

11. What is the future of robotic arms？

A. Unstable. B. Worrying.

C. Promising. D. Controversial.

D

Online services that use computers to interview job seekers are increasingly used by companies. But the technology raises questions about whether a machine can fairly judge a persons personality and reactions in front of a camera.

Dana Anthony applied for a part-time job at Target last year. The day after the interview， she got an email informing her that she was not chosen. Speaking to the Associated Press， Anthony said she did not know why she was removed from consideration so quickly. She had no sense of how the interview had gone. She said this is because she received no human feedback during the process. Her rejection email from Target stated，“Were unable to provide specific feedback regarding your candidacy.”

The interview system is run by a business called HireVue， one of the leading companies in the field. In the past， HireVue used artificial intelligence（AI）methods to judge a job-seekers personality and job skills. It did this by observing the expressions on a persons face during the interview. But after facing intense criticism about the scientific effectiveness of its claims and the possibility of unfairness， HireVue announced earlier this year that it would stop using that method.

HireVue chief Kevin Parker told the AP that his company makes sure its technology will not discriminate based on things like race， gender or a persons speaking accents. He said its systems， which turn speech into text to make decisions about job skills， can perform better than human interviewers.

Target told the AP that it uses its own employees — not HireVues AI methods — to watch and make decisions about recorded videos. But that was not clear to Anthony when she sat down in front of her computer to complete the interview.“I understand companies trying to be more mindful of the time and the finances they spend when it comes to recruitment（招聘），” she said. But Anthony， who holds a masters degree in communications， said the interview left her uneasy about who， or what， was judging her.

12. What is the purpose of the example in Paragraph 2？

A. To show the popularity of AI-based interview.

B. To reflect the difficulty of hunting for a good job.

C. To clarify the importance of characters and responses.

D. To present the drawbacks of computer-aided interview.

13. How did HireVue once determine applicants personality and skills？

A. By doing psychological tests.

B. By analyzing their word choices.

C. By watching facial expressions.

D. By reading their work experience.

14. Which of the following best explains“discriminate” underlined in Paragraph 4？

A. Blame. B. Consider.

C. Transform. D. Substitute.

15. How did Dana Anthony feel at Targets response？

A. Puzzled. B. Ridiculous.

C. Controversial. D. Understandable.

答案與解析

（A）本文介紹了2021年最受歡迎的四本科學(xué)書籍。

1. B 考查細(xì)節(jié)信息。由第一段第一句“Emily Levesque shares anecdotes of modern-day stargazers in this release...”可知，Emily Levesque在書中分享了很多當(dāng)代占星術(shù)士的奇聞軼事。故選B項(xiàng)。

2. C 考查細(xì)節(jié)信息。由第三段第一句“If you want to face the disturbing shortcomings in todays science...”可知，Science Fictions一書介紹了科學(xué)領(lǐng)域的弊端。故選C項(xiàng)。

3. D 考查細(xì)節(jié)信息。由最后一段可知，Entangled Life從蘑菇入手，研究了各種各樣的有機(jī)物。說明作者深諳生物學(xué)知識，很可能是一名生物學(xué)家。故選D項(xiàng)。

（B）本文講述了作者因脊柱側(cè)彎感到自卑，在Mr. Rogers的安慰和贊美下，重拾外貌自信的故事。

4. C 考查細(xì)節(jié)信息。由第二段第三句和第四句“I was sensitive about my looks. Maybe I would be funny-looking and alone forever， I thought.”可知，作者主要是因?yàn)閾?dān)心自己以后身體直不起來才感到苦悶。故選C項(xiàng)。

5. D 考查推理判斷。結(jié)合第三段和第四段內(nèi)容可知，Mr. Rogers富有愛心、善解人意。故選D項(xiàng)。

6. B 考查細(xì)節(jié)信息。由第四段第二句“Maybe no one would think I was worth talking to， but Mr. Rogers was nice to everyone.”可知，Mr. Rogers為人友善，和作者攀談是他友善和對作者關(guān)心的體現(xiàn)。故選B項(xiàng)。

7. A 考查主旨大意。作者因脊柱側(cè)彎，擔(dān)心以后身體直不起來，感到自卑。因?yàn)橐恢倍枷嘈臡r. Rogers，所以在他的安慰和贊美下，重拾自信。體現(xiàn)了信任的力量。故選A項(xiàng)

（C）本文介紹了科學(xué)家通過實(shí)驗(yàn)，成功地讓機(jī)器手臂有了觸覺。

8. A 細(xì)節(jié)信息題。由第二段第一句“Previous versions of the arm required Copeland to guide the arm using vision alone.”可知，A項(xiàng)正確，故選A項(xiàng)。

9. B 細(xì)節(jié)信息題。由第三段倒數(shù)第二句“So Collinger and her team have spent years working with Copeland to add tactile feedback to a robotic arm.”可知，B項(xiàng)正確，故選B項(xiàng)。

10. D 細(xì)節(jié)信息題。由第四段第二句“That allowed them to use electrical pulses to excite a range of sensations.”可知，在Copeland大腦中放置電極的目的是產(chǎn)生能夠激活感官的電脈沖。故選D項(xiàng)。

11. C 細(xì)節(jié)信息題。由最后一段最后一句“And as robotic arms provide more tactile feedback， they will become more useful.”可知，未來機(jī)器手臂會越來越有用。故選C項(xiàng)。

（D）本為通過講述Dana Anthony找兼職工作失敗的例子，說明使用電腦面試并不能公平地判斷求職者的性格和能力。

12. D 細(xì)節(jié)信息題。第二段是舉例說明人們對使用電腦面試持懷疑的態(tài)度，故選D項(xiàng)。

13. C 細(xì)節(jié)信息題。由第三段第三句“It did this by observing the expressions on a persons face during the interview.”可知，HireVue公司之前是通過觀察求職者的面部表情來判斷他的性格和能力的，故選C項(xiàng)。

14. B 詞義猜測題。由第三段最后一句“But after facing intense criticism about the scientific effectiveness of its claims and the possibility of unfairness， HireVue announced earlier this year that it would stop using that method.”可知，人們指責(zé)HireVue公司面試求職者的方法的效度和公平性，故選B項(xiàng)，consider的意思是“考慮”。Blame的意思是“指責(zé)”，Transform的意思是“改變”，Substitute的意思是“替換”。

15. A 細(xì)節(jié)信息題。由最后一段最后一句“But Anthony， who holds a masters degree in communications， said the interview left her uneasy about who， or what， was judging her.”可知，針對Target公司的回應(yīng)，Dana Anthony感覺很困惑，故選A項(xiàng)。

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