1、高考资源网（ ） 您身边的高考专家 版权所有高考资源网 - 1 - 专题限时检测专题限时检测(二十三二十三) 阅读理解阅读理解 D 篇增分练篇增分练(一一) (共 2 篇，限时 20 分钟) A Those who want to learn a foreign language, or want their children to, often feel they are racing against the clock. People seem to get worse at languages as they age. Children often learn their first l
2、anguage without any instruction, and can easily become multilingual with the right exposure. But the older people get, the harder it seems to be. Witness the rough edges on the grammar of many immigrants even after many years in their new countries. Scientists mostly agree that children are better l
3、anguage learners, but do not know why. Some posit (认定) biological factors. Is it because young brains have an extreme kind of plasticity? Or, as Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychologist, argues, an instinct for language learning specifically, which fades as the brain ages and (in evolutionary terms) is
4、 no longer needed? Others think children have special environments and encouragements, not more intelligent brains. They have strong motivation to communicate with caregivers and imitate peers, and are not afraid of making mistakes in the way adults are. Some believe any “critical period” may only a
5、pply to the sounds of a foreign tongue. Adults struggle with accents: eight decades after immigrating to America and four years after serving as the Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger still sounds fresh off the boat from F rth in what is nevertheless elaborately accurate English. But grammar is dif
6、ferent, and some researchers have considered that with their greater reasoning powers, adults_are_not_really_a_underdog_relative_to_children. One study found that when adults and children are exposed to the same teaching materials for a new language for several months, the adults actually do better.
7、 Most such research has had to rely on a small number of subjects, given the difficulty of recruiting them; it is hard to know how meaningful the results are. Now a large new study led by Joshua Hartshorne of Boston College (with Mr Pinker and Joshua Tenenbaum as co- authors) has given strength to t
8、he critical period hypothesis (假说)The study ingeniously recruited 670,000 online test- takers by framing the exercise as a quiz that would guess the participants native language or dialect. This made it a viral hit. The real point was to test English learners knowledge of tricky bits of grammar, and
9、 to see how this correlates with the age at which their studies began. Do younger beginners do better because their earlier start gave them more learning time, or because they learned faster in early years? It can be hard to tease apart these two questions. But testing a huge amount of data against
10、a number of possible learning curves allowed Mr Hartshorne to do precisely that. Many previous researchers had posited a drop- off at around puberty(青春期). The new study found it to be rather later, just after 17. Despite that later cut- off, learners must begin at around ten if they are to get to ne
11、ar- native fluency. If they start at, say, 14, they cannot accumulate enough expert knowledge in the critical 高考资源网（ ） 您身边的高考专家 版权所有高考资源网 - 2 - period. Unfortunately, 14 or so is precisely when many students, especially in America, are first introduced to a new language. (Even worse, this is an age
12、when children are acutely sensitive to embarrassment in front of peers.) Children who start at five dont do noticeably better than those who start at ten over their lifetimes. But there is still reason to begin in the first years of school, as in Denmark and Sweden. Because mastery takes a long time
13、 perhaps 30 years until improvement stops those who begin at five and are forced to read and write English at university will by then have made much more progress than those who take the plunge (作出决定) at ten, even if their level is roughly the same by 40. The existence of the critical period is not
14、a reason for anyone 11 or older to give up. Some people remain excellent language students into adulthood. And Mr Hartshorne tested some truly subtle features of grammar that take years to master. A language learned even to a lower level can still be extraordinarily useful at work or enjoyable durin
15、g travelling. But for policymakers, the possible effect is clear. 语篇解读：本文探讨的是关于语言学习“关键期”的问题。 1According to the scientists, which CANNOT explain childrens being better language learners? APleasant surroundings. BPowerful motivation. CBiological factors. DProper instruction. 解析：选 D 细节理解题。根据第二段中的“Some
16、posit(认定) biological factors . needed？”“children have special environments and encouragements”和“They have strong motivation to communicate with caregivers and imitate peers . mistakes”可知，在科学家们看 来，儿童能成为更好的语言学习者的原因可能是生理因素(他们大脑的可塑性和语言学习的 本能更好)、环境因素(儿童能享有更好的语言学习环境和鼓励)、自身因素(儿童有很强的与 他人交流和模仿同龄人的积极性，并且不害怕犯错
17、误)。故选 D。 2. Why is Henry Kissinger mentioned? ATo stress his great achievement in language. BTo prove adults have difficulty improving accents. CTo explain language is not a barrier to ones success. DTo show the importance of mastering a foreign language. 解析： 选 B 推理判断题。 根据第三段中所举的基辛格的例子及“Adults strug
18、gle with accents” 可知，此处主要是为了突出在语言学习中，成人在改善口音上有困难。由此可知，提及基 辛格就是为了说明这一问题。故选 B。 3What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 probably mean? AAdults are better at logical thinking than children. BAdults help a lot with childrens language learning. CAdults are not really at a disadvantage compared t
19、o children. 高考资源网（ ） 您身边的高考专家 版权所有高考资源网 - 3 - DAdults have more trouble learning grammar than children. 解析： 选 C 句意理解题。 根据第四段中的“with their greater reasoning powers”和“when adults and children are exposed to the same teaching materials for a new language for several months, the adults actually do bette
20、r”可知，成人的推理能力比儿童的好，同样的时间内学习同样的语 法知识，成人的学习效果要比儿童的好。由此可知，画线句的意思是“与儿童相比，成人 不一定就处于劣势”。故选 C。 4Which statement may Mr Hartshorne agree with? AAge 14 is a turning point for foreign language learners. BA drop- off in learning results appears after the age of 17. CThe critical period is of vital importance in
21、 grammar learning. DThe critical period for language learning varies from person to person. 解析：选 B 细节理解题。根据第六段中的“The new study found it to be rather later, just after 17.”可知，Mr Hartshorne 主导的新研究发现，语言学习效果的下降出现在 17 岁之后，较之 前研究者认为的约出现在青春期时要稍晚些。故选 B。 5Whats the main theme of the passage? AIts never too l
22、ate to begin to learn a foreign language. BYou should start learning early to master a new language. CLanguage learning should start at the beginning of school. DLonger learning periods lead to native- like language fluency. 解析：选 B 主旨大意题。纵观全文，尤其是倒数第三段中的“learners must begin at around ten if they are
23、to get to near- native fluency”和倒数第二段中的“there is still reason to begin in the first years of school”等信息可知，语言学习“关键期”的说法有其合理性，而要达到与 当地人接近的流利程度，就应该早接触、早学习。故选 B。 6. What may be discussed in the following paragraph? AThe impact the critical period has on policymakers. BThe application of the critical per
24、iod to policymaking. CThe importance of the critical period in policymaking. DThe attitude policymakers hold toward the critical period. 解析：选 A 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“But for policymakers，the possible effect is clear.”可知，文章接下来可能会涉及语言学习“关键期”对政策制定者的影响。故选 A。 B British economist and philosopher, Thomas Robert M
25、althus, wrote An Essay on the Principles of Population in 1798 and created shock waves around the world saying that population would grow in a geometric progression (like 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 . ) while food production would increase in an arithmetic progression (like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 . ). Malth
26、us had said that it is biologically inherent 高考资源网（ ） 您身边的高考专家 版权所有高考资源网 - 4 - (固有的) in all living organisms to multiply fast. Now, after more than 200 years of Malthuss theory, we see that the world population has increased from about 1 billion to about 7.6 billion, but at a much slower rate than t
27、hat predicted by Malthus. This is because of various contraceptive (避孕的) methods adopted in many countries and also the adoption of policies regulating birth. World food production had increased from about 500 million tonnes in 19601961 to about 2,600 million tonnes in 20172018. This is because of i
28、ncrease in production and cultivated (用于耕作的) areas as well as innovations in agricultural technology. My intention is not to prove Malthus wrong. Rather, it was his alarming prediction that created an awakening worldwide regarding adoption of family planning programmes. Having said that, one must re
29、alize that even an increase from about 1 billion to about 7.6 billion today is causing serious damage to the planet, which will definitely not be able to support larger populations. Imagine, what it would be like if the world population increases to 11 billion by 2100, as has been predicted under so
30、me models. Let me now discuss how this population explosion has given rise to environmental pollution. There are three main reasons: First, the larger the population, the larger the demand for food, and thus, the higher the requirement of cultivable land. Second, changing lifestyles has led to evolv
31、ing consumption patterns; more and bigger cars, TVs, refrigerators, mobile phones, packaged foods, furniture items, and electrical devices of several types are being consumed widely and in greater numbers with each passing day. Third, we need to create housing for ever- increasing populations. All t
32、his puts a pressure on the environment and land.Thus, forests and bodies of water are being destroyed to meet the requirement of land, more so in poor countries. As a consequence, species of wildlife are disappearing as their habitats do not exist any more or are completely changed, resulting in the
33、 ecological balance getting disturbed. Not only this, given that forests act as carbon sinks, their destruction is worsening global warming. Thus, when it comes to pollution, ever- increasing global population is the criminal. Further, due to the above human activities, our energy consumption is inc
34、reasing, which is largely fossil- fuel- based today. This is causing massive emission (排放) of greenhouse gases that is responsible for climate change. Heavy vehicular traffic, besides creating noise pollution, is further contributing to these emissions. The carbon emissions in the atmosphere present
35、ly stand at about 380 ppm compared to 280 ppm about a decade back and, at the current rate of emission, the threshold limit of 550 ppm may be breached (违背) very soon. Today, we are facing several types of pollution. I am not discussing them in details as the issues are well known.Poor people are mor
36、e affected by both increasing population and pollution. Further, poverty itself is the worst kind of pollution. Thus, there is a cause- and- effect relationship between environmental pollution and poverty. Climate change is negatively affecting agri- production, and the degradation of forests and oc
37、eans is reducing the availability of forest produce and marine products on which about 35% of the global population depends. 高考资源网（ ） 您身边的高考专家 版权所有高考资源网 - 5 - It is all leading to price rise, affecting the poor the most and on multiple fronts. The loss of rich land to construction also aggravates po
38、verty. Thus, poverty gets worse due to increase in population and pollution. To conclude, the world is in urgent need of stabilization of the population to fight both pollution and poverty. 语篇解读：本文是一篇议论文。作者分析了人口快速增长所带来的污染及贫困问题。鉴于此， 作者呼吁要保持人口的稳定。 7According to the passage, Malthus believes that _. At
39、here are effective ways to decrease the growth of population Bfood production should increase in line with population growth Cthe increase of population would exceed that of food production Dlack of food supply is likely to bring about pollution and poverty 解析： 选 C 推理判断题。 根据第一段中的“population would gr
40、ow in a geometric progression (like 1, 2, 4, 8,16, 32, 64 .)while food production would increase in an arithmetic progression (like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 .)”可知，马尔萨斯认为，人口会以等比数列的形式增长，而粮食产量 会以等差数列的形式增长。由此可推知，人口的增长会超过粮食产量的增长。故选 C。 8What is implied in the second paragraph? AMalthuss prediction of world pop
41、ulation is totally inexact. BPeople have realized the necessity to control population growth. CWorld food production has increased by about four times since 1960. DModern technology contributes most to the increase in food production. 解析： 选 B 推理判断题。 根据第二段中的“This is because of various contraceptive (
42、避孕的) methods adopted in many countries and also the adoption of policies regulating birth.”可知，人 口增长的速度比马尔萨斯预测的慢的原因是避孕措施的采用，而且许多国家也通过了一些 政策来控制出生率。由此可推知，人们已经意识到了控制人口增长的必要性。故选 B。 9Whats the authors attitude toward Malthuss theory? ACritical. BPositive. CDoubtful. DOpposing. 解析：选 B 观点态度题。根据第三段中的“My inte
43、ntion is not to prove Malthus wrong. Rather, it was his alarming prediction that created an awakening worldwide regarding adoption of family planning programmes.”可知，作者认为，正是马尔萨斯令人震惊的预言警醒全世界的 人们采用计划生育的方案。由此可知，作者对马尔萨斯的理论是持支持态度的。 10. Which word can replace the underlined word “aggravates” in the last pa
44、ragraph? AIncreases. BRelieves. CExposes. DWitnesses. 解析：选 A 词义猜测题。根据最后一段中的“The loss of rich land to construction also 高考资源网（ ） 您身边的高考专家 版权所有高考资源网 - 6 - aggravates poverty Thus, poverty gets worse due to increase in population and pollution”可知， 画 线词所在句的含义为“肥沃的土地沦为建筑用地也加剧了贫穷”，画线词的意思是“使加 重”，与 increase
45、 的含义相近。故选 A。 11. What is the passage mainly about? AThe possibility of taking measures to control population. BThe urgency for the whole world to fight against poverty. CThe relationship between population, pollution and poverty. DThe consumption pressure on the environment from rising population. 解
46、析：选 C 主旨大意题。纵观全文可知，文章重点讲述了人口增长所带来的污染及贫困 问题。故 C 项最能概括文章的主要内容。 12. How is the passage mainly developed? ABy listing relevant figures. BBy providing typical examples. CBy comparing opinions from different fields. DBy presenting a cause and analyzing its effects. 解析：选 D 写作手法题。本文首先讲述人口增长的原因，然后重点分析了人口的增长带 来的负面影响，如污染和贫困问题等，由此可知，本文是通过陈述一个原因，然后分析其 影响的方式来行文的。故选 D。
