If you are over 20, look away now. Your cognitive （认知的）performance is probably already on the wane. The speed with which people can process information decreases at a steady rate from as early as their 20s.
A common test of processing speed is the “digit symbol substitution test”, in which a range of symbols are paired with a set of numbers in a code. Participants are shown the code, given a row of symbols and then asked to write down the corresponding number in the box below within a set period. There is nothing cognitively challenging about the task: levels of education make no difference to performance. But age does. Speed declines as people get older.
Why this should be is still uncertain, but a range of tentative（尝试性的）explanations has been put forward. One points the finger at myelin, a white, fatty substance that coats axons, which carry signals from one neuron to another. Steady reductions in myelin as people age may be slowing down these connections. Another possibility, says Timothy Salthouse, director of the Cognitive Ageing Laboratory at the University of Virginia, is exhaustion of a chemical called dopamine（多巴胺）.
Fortunately, there is some good news to go with the bad. Psychologists distinguish between “fluid intelligence”, which is the ability to solve new problems, and “crystallised intelligence”, which roughly equates to an individual’s stock of accumulated knowledge. These reserves of knowledge continue to increase with age: people’s performance on vocabulary and cognitive decline. In an old but instructive study of typists ranging in age from 19 to 72, older workers typed just as fast as younger ones, even though their tapping speed was slower. They achieved this by looking further ahead in the text, which allowed them to keep going more smoothly.
What does all this mean for a lifetime of continuous learning? It is encouraging so long as people are learning new tricks in familiar fields. “If learning can be absorbed into an existing knowledge base, advantage favours the old,” says Mr Salthouse.
1.The phrase “on the wane” (in paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to _______.
A.declining B.improving
C.varying D.maintaining
2.By “age does” (in paragraph 2), the writer means that _______。
A.the level of a participant’s education is related to how old he is
B.the older a participant is, the more slowly he writes down the number
C.a participant’s age affects his ability to figure out what the symbol means
D.how much time a participant is given to finish the task depends on his age
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Dopamine has been proved to be a chemical that affects people’s cognitive ability.
B.One way to avoid cognitive decline is to have as much experience as possible in life.
C.Moving older workers into an entirely new area of knowledge is less likely to go well.
D.Crystallised intelligence plays an important role in keeping people alert in new situations.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Why the brain fails with the age needs to be explored.
B.“Digit symbol substitution test” proves to be groundless.
C.One’s knowledge base matters more than his cognitive ability.
D.The brain changes in both good and bad ways as one ages.
高一英语阅读理解困难题
If you are over 20, look away now. Your cognitive （认知的）performance is probably already on the wane. The speed with which people can process information decreases at a steady rate from as early as their 20s.
A common test of processing speed is the “digit symbol substitution test”, in which a range of symbols are paired with a set of numbers in a code. Participants are shown the code, given a row of symbols and then asked to write down the corresponding number in the box below within a set period. There is nothing cognitively challenging about the task: levels of education make no difference to performance. But age does. Speed declines as people get older.
Why this should be is still uncertain, but a range of tentative（尝试性的）explanations has been put forward. One points the finger at myelin, a white, fatty substance that coats axons, which carry signals from one neuron to another. Steady reductions in myelin as people age may be slowing down these connections. Another possibility, says Timothy Salthouse, director of the Cognitive Ageing Laboratory at the University of Virginia, is exhaustion of a chemical called dopamine（多巴胺）.
Fortunately, there is some good news to go with the bad. Psychologists distinguish between “fluid intelligence”, which is the ability to solve new problems, and “crystallised intelligence”, which roughly equates to an individual’s stock of accumulated knowledge. These reserves of knowledge continue to increase with age: people’s performance on vocabulary and cognitive decline. In an old but instructive study of typists ranging in age from 19 to 72, older workers typed just as fast as younger ones, even though their tapping speed was slower. They achieved this by looking further ahead in the text, which allowed them to keep going more smoothly.
What does all this mean for a lifetime of continuous learning? It is encouraging so long as people are learning new tricks in familiar fields. “If learning can be absorbed into an existing knowledge base, advantage favours the old,” says Mr Salthouse.
1.The phrase “on the wane” (in paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to _______.
A.declining B.improving
C.varying D.maintaining
2.By “age does” (in paragraph 2), the writer means that _______。
A.the level of a participant’s education is related to how old he is
B.the older a participant is, the more slowly he writes down the number
C.a participant’s age affects his ability to figure out what the symbol means
D.how much time a participant is given to finish the task depends on his age
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Dopamine has been proved to be a chemical that affects people’s cognitive ability.
B.One way to avoid cognitive decline is to have as much experience as possible in life.
C.Moving older workers into an entirely new area of knowledge is less likely to go well.
D.Crystallised intelligence plays an important role in keeping people alert in new situations.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Why the brain fails with the age needs to be explored.
B.“Digit symbol substitution test” proves to be groundless.
C.One’s knowledge base matters more than his cognitive ability.
D.The brain changes in both good and bad ways as one ages.
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Amy, please don’t be ashamed of your shape. You look great ______ you are.
A. like B. what
C. if D. as
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
If you are looking to putting a tree in your home for Christmas, there is always one debate that seems to arise in most households: whether you want a real tree or fake tree. Year after year, as we find ourselves cleaning old pine needles (松针) for months on end, we decide that we will never get another real tree. So that begs the question: Which kind of tree is better?
There is certainly a lot to be said for real trees. There is something fun about gathering the family together, going to a Christmas tree farm, and selecting or even cutting down your own tree. Real Christmas trees have that lovely holiday pine needle smell and they look great in your home.
Of course, on the other hand, they also leave a complete mess behind and needles that seem to keep appearing for weeks or even months after the tree comes down. You must also find a way to deal with your real Christmas tree after you’re done, which may mean cutting it into pieces so it will fit in the trash. Many dustmen will refuse to take away a tree that is left beside your regular trash, especially if it is a big tree or an old, yellow one with falling needles, making it hard to pick up. They don’t want a face full of sharp needles any more than you do!
With a fake Christmas tree, there is no mess, but there is also no Christmas smell and no exciting trip to the Christmas tree farm. Of course, these trees look the same in appearance as a real tree when decorated. Many of them come already with lights, so using that old, messy string of lights will be a thing of the past. For some people, a can of pine air freshener is enough to recreate the pleasant smell of a real tree.
As to which tree is the better choice, it is really a matter of personal preference. Both real and fake trees certainly have their benefits, and knowing which is better for you this Christmas really depends on what your family wants.
1.Which of the following shows the benefits of real Christmas trees?
a.providing more fun
b.easy to clean up
c.giving off a natural smell
d.easy to decorate
A. a, c B. a, d C. b, c D. b, d
2.The third paragraph is mainly about ________.
A. why many dustmen refuse to take away a real tree
B. how long a real tree can live
C. how to cut a real tree into pieces
D. what weaknesses a real tree has
3.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 shows that fake Christmas trees _______.
A. look more beautiful B. are more fashionable
C. can be used longer D. are more convenient
4.What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?
A. Objective. B. Disapproving.
C. Skeptical. D. Optimistic.
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most buildings are built to stand up straight, but these look as if they might fall over!
The church tower of Suurhusen
Built in 1450, the 27-meter-high church tower lies in Suurhusen, Germany. It was built in wet land on foundations of oak tree trunks (树干). When the land was drained (排水) later, the wood broke down, causing one side of the tower to be a little lower than the other. In 1975, the tower became a real hazard and people were not allowed to enter until the foundations were made strong again. The lean (倾斜) of the tower is now about five degrees.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The work of building the tower began in 1173, and was finally completed in 1372. In fact, it began to lean after just a couple of floors were built. And this condition continued in the centuries after its completion. The tower was finally closed to the public in 1990 after people failed to stabilize (使稳固) its foundations. In 2001, it was reopened after engineers removed soil from underneath its raised side. Now it leans just an angle of 3.97 degrees.
Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi
Completed in 2011, the Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi was designed to lean eighteen degrees. The building stands next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and contains, among other things, a fine hotel with wonderful views of the harbour. Also known as the leaning tower of Abu Dhabi, the tower is one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Big Ben of London
The building leans 0.26 degrees to the northwest. This is mainly caused by the engineering projects that have been carried out in the ground below it since the late 1800s. The tower, which has been continuously open since it was completed in 1858, has nowhere near the lean of the Tower of Pisa and is still completely safe to enter.
1.The underlined word “hazard” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_____”.
A. danger B. church C. castle D. treasure
2.What can we learn about the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
A. It didn’t lean until ten years after its completion.
B. It took almost two hundred years to complete.
C. It was built on foundations of oak tree trunks.
D. It has been open since it was completed.
3.Which of the following towers leans the most according to the text?
A. The church tower of Suurhusen.
B. The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
C. Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi.
D. Big Ben of London.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. The history of towers
B. The art of building a tower
C. The leaning towers of the world
D. Top four tallest towers in Europe
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Most buildings are built to stand up straight, but these look as if they might fall over!
The church tower of Suurhusen
Built in 1450, the 27-meter-high church tower lies in Suurhusen, Germany. It was built in wet land on foundations of oak tree trunks (树干). When the land was drained (排水) later, the wood broke down, causing one side of the tower to be a little lower than the other. In 1975, the tower became a real hazard and people were not allowed to enter until the foundations were made strong again. The lean (倾斜) of the tower is now about five degrees.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The work of building the tower began in 1173, and was finally completed in 1372. In fact, it began to lean after just a couple of floors were built. And this condition continued in the centuries after its completion. The tower was finally closed to the public in 1990 after people failed to stabilize (使稳固) its foundations. In 2001, it was reopened after engineers removed soil from underneath its raised side. Now it leans just an angle of 3.97 degrees.
Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi
Completed in 2011, the Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi was designed to lean eighteen degrees. The building stands next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and contains, among other things, a fine hotel with wonderful views of the harbour. Also known as the leaning tower of Abu Dhabi, the tower is one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Big Ben of London
The building leans 0.26 degrees to the northwest. This is mainly caused by the engineering projects that have been carried out in the ground below it since the late 1800s. The tower, which has been continuously open since it was completed in 1858, has nowhere near the lean of the Tower of Pisa and is still completely safe to enter.
1.The underlined word “hazard” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_____”.
A. danger B. church C. castle D. treasure
2.What can we learn about the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
A. It didn’t lean until ten years after its completion.
B. It took almost two hundred years to complete.
C. It was built on foundations of oak tree trunks.
D. It has been open since it was completed.
3.Which of the following towers leans the most according to the text?
A. The church tower of Suurhusen.
B. The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
C. Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi.
D. Big Ben of London.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. The history of towers
B. The art of building a tower
C. The leaning towers of the world
D. Top four tallest towers in Europe
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
I would appreciate ________ if you could look after my pet while I am away.
A．you B．this C．it D．myself
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Wouldn’t it be great if you could just look up at the sky and read the weather forecast right away? Well, you can. The forecast is written in clouds. If you can read that writing, you can tell something about the atmosphere. With some practice, you can become a pretty good weather forecaster. Who knows, you might even do as well as meteorologists（气象学家）.
Meteorologists use much more information than just the appearance of the clouds to make their forecast. They collect data（数据）from all over the world. Then they put it into powerful, high speed computers. This does give the meteorologists an advantage, because they can track（追踪）weather patterns as they move from west to east across the country. But you have an advantage, too. You can look at the sky and get your data directly. A meteorologist uses a computer forecast that’s several hours old to make a local forecast.
What are you seeing when you look at a cloud? “A picture of moisture(水汽)is doing in the atmosphere,” says meteorologist Peter Leavitt. There’s moisture throughout the atmosphere. Most of the time you don’t see it, because it’s in the form of an unseeable gas called water vapor. Sometimes, the temperature of the air gets cold enough to cause the waster vapor to change to liquid water. It’s called condensation(凝结), and we see it happen all the time (for example, when humid air from the shower hits the cold glasses of a mirror). When enough water vapor condenses（冷凝）, droplets(小滴）come in the air. These droplets scatter(分散) light. A cloud is seen.
Watching clouds over a day or two tells you a lot more than a single cloud about the weather to come. Changes in clouds show changes in the atmosphere. You should begin to notice patterns. Certain clouds, following each other in order, can signal an approaching storm. But don’t take our word for it; see for yourself.
1.According to the passage, an ordinary person might read the weather forecast as well as meteorologists _________.
A. with some simple practice looking up at the sky
B. with the help of the high-speed computers
C. through complex (复杂的) instruments
D. by visiting a weather station
2.Meteorologists can make their weather forecast .
A. by using information of the appearance of the clouds only
B. by collecting data from parts of the world
C. by collecting and analyzing（分析）the data
D. by watching the sky
3.According to the passage, your advantage in weather forecast is that .
A. you have a high-speed computer
B. you observe the sky and get your data directly
C. you have more instruments at home
D. you can track weather patterns as they move from west to east across the country
4.This passage mainly tells us about how to .
A. train ourselves as meteorologists
B. be an assistant to a meteorologist
C. forecast the weather by ourselves
D. broadcast the weather forecast
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
If you cheat in the exam, you’ll never_____ it.
A．keep up with B．get away with C．get down to D．look forward to
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
If you want your land to keep fertile, you must try to stop soil from being carried away by water or wind. When soil is taken away by flowing water or blowing winds we call it soil erosion. Ways have been found to stop soil erosion, and this is known as soil conservation. One way of stopping soil erosion is to grow small plants such as grass. These plants are referred to a cover crops, whose roots hold the soil tightly together. The rain water can not wash away the soil. When trees and tall bushes are planted at the edges of an open field, soil erosion by strong winds can not take place. The trees and bushes, which act as a very big and firm wall, protect the open land from the winds. The way to stoop soil erosion on slopes is to build terraces on the slope of hillside and mountainside. When the slope of a hillside is cut into “step”, water carrying soil can not run straight down the terraces, which are used to slow down the speed of the flowing water containing much soil in it. In this way most of the soil in the water is left behind on the terraces, much soil in it.
1.What takes place in soil erosion?
A. Flood happens to the fertile land
B. A large quantity of the soil loses away gradually.
C. Terraces are built on the slope of hillside or mountainside.
D. Plants are grown to protect the open land
2.“Cover crops” in this passage means _________.?
A. grass B. trees and bushes C. plants life and an area
E. covering plants that produce grain or vegetables
3.Besides growing small plants, another method to fight against soil erosion is to ___________.
A. build terraces B. build walls C. plant trees D. plant tall bushes
4.According to the passage, trees and tall bushes are planted around an open field ________________.
A. because their roots hold soil tightly
B. to stop soil from being blown away by winds.
C. Because soil erosion causes terrible damages to crops
D. To keep the balance of nature
5.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. What Causes Soil Erosion
B. The Importance of Erosion
C. Rain Erosion and Wind Erosion
D.Erosion and the Way of Tight against Erosion
高一英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
If I cheat in the examination, do you think I might __________________it?
| A．get away with | B．look forward to |
| C．watch out for | D．catch sight of |
高一英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析