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题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:困难

北京市朝阳区2019届高三英语一模(3月月考)试卷

阅读理解

Training the Brain

    People who can accomplish unbelievable tasks, such as memorizing thousands of random numbers in under an hour, state that they just have normal brains. Some memory superstars compete in Olympic-like World Memory Championships. These mental athletes, or MAs for short, can memorize names of dozens of strangers in a few minutes or any poem handed them. Ed Cooke, a 24-year-old MA, explains they see themselves as participants rescuing the long-lost art of memory training. These techniques existed not to recall useless information, but to cut into the brain basic text and ideas.

    A study in the journal Nature examined eight people who finished near the top of the World Memory Championships. The scientists examined whether their brains were fundamentally different from everyone else's or whether they were simply making better use of memorizing abilities we all possess. They put the MAs and control subjects into brain scanners and had them memorize numbers and photographs. The result surprised everyone. The brains of the MAs and those of the control subjects were indistinguishable. On every test, the MAs scored in the normal range. However, when the scientists examined what part of the brain was used during a memory activity, they found the MAs relied more heavily on areas in the brain involved in spatial memory.

    MAs offer an explanation: anything can be fixed upon our memories and kept in order by constructing a building in the imagination and filling it with pictures of what needs to be recalled. Dating back to the fifth century, the building is called a memory palace. Even as late as the fourteenth century, when there were copies of any text, scholars needed to remember what was read to them. Reading to remember requires a different technique than speed reading. If something is made memorable, it has to be repeated. Until relatively recently, people read only a few books intensively (细致地) again and again, usually aloud. Today we read extensively, usually only once and without continuous focus.

    So the great difference is the ability to create impressive pictures in mind and to do it quickly. Using memory palaces, MAs create memorized pictures. For example, recombine the pictures to form unforgettable scenes such as the ways through a town. One competitor used his own body parts to help him memorize a 57,000-word dictionary.

    Anyone who wishes to train the mind needs first to create fantastical palaces in the imagination. Then they should cut each building into cubbyholes for memories. In a short amount of time, they will notice improvement with remembering things. To keep the skill sharp, MAs deliberately empty their palaces after competitions, so they can reuse them and they recommend that beginners do the same.

(1)、We can learn from Paragraph 2 that a mental athlete ______.
A、owns a brain that is larger in size B、shows a gift in mental ability tests C、uses the memorizing technique better D、depends less on the areas that control spatial memory
(2)、Why does the author mention "speed reading" in Paragraph 3?
A、To discuss the memorizing technique in the fifth century. B、To give the reason why people read only a few books carefully. C、To explain the text fourteenth century scholars had to remember. D、To compare the type of reading nowadays with that of earlier times.
(3)、What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
A、There is a variety of unforgettable scenes. B、Memory palaces can be quickly forgotten. C、Impressive pictures are in actual buildings. D、One person probably has 57,000 body parts.
(4)、What does the underlined word "cubbyholes" in the last paragraph probably mean?
A、Small spaces. B、Blacks holes. C、Technical skills. D、Different numbers.
举一反三
阅读理解

    We all fail,all the time.We might miss a call with a client because of an emergency work meeting,or miss that meeting because another project has suddenly become urgent.And then we (or our families) get sick,and we have to shift priorities around again.

    These unsystematic failures are benign,though.They reflect that all of us have limited resources.There simply is not enough time,energy,or money,to do everything you want to do all the time.Part of being a responsible adult is learning to make trade offs: balancing your conflicting goals and trying to get as much done as you can in the time you have.

    The thing you really need to watch out for is the systematic failure.The systematic failure happens when there's a particular goal you want to achieve,but never get to.The causes of systematic failures usually boil down to some combination of these three factors:

    1).Short-term pressures versus long-term goals.Most of us prefer to achieve pressing short-term goals rather than put time into long-term projects.Lots of research suggests that our brains are wired to prefer tasks that pay off in the short term rather than those whose benefit is long-term.The people who do manage to accomplish their long-term goals create regular space to make progress on them.

    2)._________Without even realizing it,we often do what is easiest to accomplish rather than what we say is most important.Email is a great example.If you are like most people,you keep your email program open at work all day. Consequently,each new message is an invitation to drop what you are working on to check it.It feels like work and it's much easier than finishing that 100-slide presentation.Simply shutting off email for a few hours a day can remove this source of distraction from the environment.

    3).Working for too long.Many workplaces create pressure to stay at the office for more and more hours,which (paradoxically) creates opportunities for systematic failures.Work is not an iron man competition where the last person there wins.Most people have an optimal(最佳的)number of hours they can work each day.For example,I can be productive at work for about 8-9 hours a day.If I spend any more time at work than that,then at some point,I start doing "fake work."

    The next time you run into trouble,assess whether it's an unsystematic failure or a systematic one.When you notice a systematic failure in your life,you need to make a change in your behavior.If you don't make a change,you will continue to fail.

    Finally,if you experience a lot of unsystematic failures,it might be worth rethinking the number of tasks you are taking on.Perhaps you need to offload some responsibilities onto someone else,before you start experiencing more systematic failures.

阅读理解

Introduction of Holi

    Holi is an ancient festival of colours and love. It is celebrated in India and many parts of South Asia. There are lots of Holi celebrations. It is becoming more and more popular.

The festival of colour

Holi means the beginning of spring. It is a time to give thanks for the good harvest. The dates change each year according to the full moon, but it is usually in March and sometimes in late February. People go outside and throw coloured paint powder(粉) at each other. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, old or young—everyone can throw colours. It is a time to forgive people and repair broken relationships, as well as meet other people, play and have fun.

    Traditional Holi

    Traditional Holi celebrations start the night before the throwing of colours. People meet around a bonfire(篝火) and hope that the bad will be destroyed. The next day is the festival of colours. There is music playing, and people run and laugh in the streets and parks. Holi is celebrated outside.

    Other Holi events in the UK

    Holi celebrations began as early as the fourth century. It is thousands of years old! But recently, Holi-themed events have become popular with a new generation in Europe and North America. Every year, many people go to Holi events in London and all over the UK. They dress in white T-shirts and return covered in bright colours. There are paint-throwing parties at music festivals and races like the five-kilometre 'Colour Run'. In the UK, restaurants and cultural organizations also offer their own Holi celebrations, with special dishes, Indian music and dance.

阅读理解

Early or Later Day Care

    Many young parents are confused about whether their children should have early day care, and there have always been different views on this subject.

    The British psychoanalyst John Bowlby believes that separation from parents during the sensitive "attachment" period from birth to three may scar a child's personality and lead to psychological problems in later life. Some people have drawn the conclusion from Bowlby's work that children should not be subjected to day care before three because of the parental separation it causes, and many people do believe this.

    According to Bowlby, a great deal of psychological harm can occur when young children are separated from their parents. If they are left without touch for a while, they will have a higher stress level. Parents' influence on their children's well-being may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is developing rapidly and when nearly all of her or his experiences are shaped by parents and the family environment.

    However, there are critics. Some anthropologists (人类学家) point out that the love affair between children and parents found in modern societies does not usually exist in traditional societies. There has been a long history of the fact that father and mother did not bring up their children alone. Plato, around 394 B.C., argued that a system of early child care would free women to participate in society. Results from Israeli and Dutch studies show that child-raising duties are more evenly distributed among a broader group of people.

    Besides, studies have reported that early day care has a neutral or slightly positive effect on children's development. They learn the benefits of being socially smart, understanding the concept of sharing and caring. They promote concentration skills, which is very important in their learning. There are games where children are taught basic language and mathematical skills through stories and everyday examples.

    Common sense tells us that early day care would not be so widespread if children had problems with it. But Bowlby's analysis raises the possibility that it has delayed effects. The possibility that such care might lead to more mental illness 15 or 20 years later can only be explored by the use of statistics. Whatever the long-term effects, parents sometimes find the immediate effects difficult to deal with. Children under three dislike leaving their parents and show unhappiness. At the age of three almost all children find it easy to go to the nursery. The matter, then, is far from being clearly known, though experience and available evidence indicate that early day care is reasonable for young children.

阅读理解

    After moving to the United States, immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high calorie fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American, a new study finds. That's one reason why immigrants approach US levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America.

The researchers also did an experiment that measured whether or not the threat of appearing un-American influenced respondents' food choices. After being questioned about their ability to speak English 75 percent of Asian-Americans identified a typical American food as their favorite. Only 25 percent of Asian-Americans who had not been asked if they spoke English did the same.

    When their American identity was called into question during a follow-up study, Asian-American participants also tended to choose typical American dishes, such as hamburgers and cheese sandwiches.  In that experiment, 55 Asian-Americans were asked to choose a meal from a local Asian or American restaurant. Some participants were told that only Americans could participate in the study. Those who chose the more typical American fare ended up consuming an extra 182 calories,  including 12 grams of fat and 7 grams of saturated fat (饱和脂肪).

    "People who feel like they need to prove they belong to a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit in," said Sauna Cheryan, an author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington.

    "If immigrants and their children choose unhealthy American foods over healthier traditional foods across their lives, this process of fitting in could lead to poorer health." Cheryan added.

    Social pressures, the study concluded, are at the heart of the problem.  "In American society today, being American is associated with being white. Americans, who don't fit this image even if they were born here and speak English, feel that pressure to prove that they're American," said Cheryan.

阅读理解

    From quiet paths by a stream in a forest to busy roads running through a city, people have created various forms of routes in different places. These now exist all around us, and their use is imperative for societies. These routes have enabled people to move, transport things, and send information from one place to another quickly and safely. Throughout history, they have been important in our daily lives.

    Early routes were often formed naturally on land. They gradually developed over long periods of time while people traveled them on foot or horseback. A significant turning point in their history arrived when the first wheeled carts appeared in ancient times. Once this happened, people recognized the importance of well-maintained routes. Therefore, towns, cities, and entire countries improved them. As a result, life became more convenient, communities grew, economies evolved, and cultures expanded.

    People have established routes on water, too. Rivers and canals have served as effective routes for people to move around and carry things. For instance, in the old, Japanese city of Edo, water routes were used for the transportation of agricultural products, seafood, and wood. People have also opened routes across the sea. The seaways were critical for the navigation of ships, particularly in the days when they moved mainly by wind power. Using these sea routes, people could travel great distances, and go to places they had not previously been able to reach.

    People have gone on to open routes in the sky as well. Since the invention of the airplane, they have made it possible to travel long distances easily. Eventually, people became able to travel safely and comfortably high in the sky, and going vast distances only took a small amount of time.

    Today, we have a new type of route, the Internet. By using this worldwide route, people can easily obtain information that once was available mainly from books and face-to-face communication. They can also instantly send messages to large numbers of people all at once.

    As long as there have been people, there have been routes to connect them. Currently unknown routes will surely take us even further in the future.

阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。 

The Art of Chinese Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam is a {#blank#}1{#/blank#}( represent ) name of various kinds of Muqam in Northwest China' s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}was declared one of the UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. 

Muqam ,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}( recognise ) as the mother of Uyghur music , is not only{#blank#}4{#/blank#}artistic creation with a long history, but also a record of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}( communicate ) between China and the regions to the west of it in history . It can be found in 19 countries and regions in Central , South , and West Asia , and North Africa , which is {#blank#}6{#/blank#}( particular ) due to Xinjiang' s central location along the Silk Road. 

In Muqam ensembles(乐团), the lead instruments, called satar, are made from local materials and vary in form. The dancing skills involve unique steps, rhythms, and formations as well as{#blank#}7{#/blank#}( figure ) such as flower-picking-by-mouth, bowl-carrying-on-head, and imitation of animals in solo dances. 

Since the 1950s, every possible means{#blank#}8{#/blank#}( use ) to preserve the Twelve Muqam by the Chinese government. About 20 study centres have been set up {#blank#}9{#/blank#}( train ) professional researchers on Muqam. Moreover, the government has introduced Muqam {#blank#}10{#/blank#}the national artistic education system.

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