题型:任务型阅读 题类:真题 难易度:困难
2019年高考英语真题试卷(江苏卷)(含听力音频)
The Cost of Thinking
Despite their many differences, all human beings share several defining characteristics, such as large brains and the ability to walk upright on two legs.
The first unique human characteristic is that humans have extraordinarily large brains compared with other animals. It seems obvious that evolution should select for larger brains. Mammals (哺乳动物) weighing sixty kilograms have an average brain size of 200 cm2. Modern man has a brain averaging 1200-1400 cm2. We are so fond of our high intelligence that we assume that when it comes to brain power, more must be better. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
The fact is that a huge brain is a huge drain—consumption of energy—on the body. I's not easy to carry around, especially when boxed inside a massive skull (倾骨). It's even harder to provides energy. In modern man, the brain accounts for about 2-3%of total body weight but it consumes 25% of the body's energy when the body is at rest. By comparison, the brains of apes (类人猿) require only 8%of rest-time energy. Early humans pad for their large brains in two ways. Firstly, they spent more time in search food. Secondly, their muscles grew smaller and weaker. It's hardly an obvious conclusion that this is a good way to survive. A chimpanzee (黑猩猩) can't win an argument with a modern man, but it can tear the man apart like a rag doll.
Another unique human characteristic is that we walk upright. Standing up, it's easier to find food or enemies. In addition, their arms that are unnecessary for moving around are freed for other purposes, like throwing stones or signaling. As a result, humans can perform very complex tasks with their hands.
Yet walking upright has its disadvantage. The bone structure of our ancestors developed for millions of years to support a creature that walked on all fours and has a relatively small head. Adjusting to an upright position was quite a challenge, especially when the bones had to support an extra-large skull. Humankind paid for its broad vision and skillful hands backaches and painful necks.
We assume that a large brain makes huge advantages. It seems obvious that these have made humankind the most powerful animal on earth. But humans enjoyed all of these advantages for a full 2 million years during which they remained weak and marginal creature. Thus humans who lived a million years ago, despite their big brains and sharp stone tools, lived in constant fear of meat-eating animals.
The Cost of Thinking |
|
Introduction |
•Large brains for their bodies and the ability to walk upright are two of human beings. |
The of large human brains |
•The larger brains may not be better because of the cost. •The big brains make it harder for the body to move around and consume more energy. •The animal brain requires less when the body is at rest. •Large human brains consume more food, and weaken muscles. |
The of walking upright |
•Walking upright makes it easy to find food or against enemies. •Freed hands can serve some purpose and perform complex tasks. |
•Walking upright challenges the human bone structure, and the size of brains. •Walking upright results in sufferings. |
|
Conclusion |
• With a large brain, human beings other beings in terms of intelligence. • Weak and marginal, human beings remained of meat-eating animals. |
We are a primary school in England. Our students start arriving at our playground from about 8:45 a.m. Most of the children live nearby, so they walk to school. But some children have to travel to school by car. Each of the children is dressed in a school uniform (校服) and carries the homework and packed lunch in a schoolbag.
School starts at 8:55 a.m. The teacher on duty blows a whistle (哨子) and the children line up in their class groups. They wait quietly for the teacher to send them to their classrooms. When they arrive at their classrooms, the children empty their schoolbags and put their homework in their boxes. After the children take their seats, the teacher reads out each child's name in turn. Upon hearing his / her name, the child replies “yes, Mrs. (the teacher's name)” and the teacher writes down whether the child is in school or not.
And then at 9:10 a.m. the children attend an assembly in our main hall. They sit on the floor in rows with the youngest children at the front and the older children at the back. As the children enter the hall, they listen to music quietly. Each week we have a different musical theme (主题). Besides, the children also listen to stories.
After the assembly, the first lesson of the day begins at 9:30 a.m. Our morning lessons are usually English and Maths. Each of these lessons lasts an hour. Between classes, the children have their morning break from 10:20 a.m. to 10:35 a.m. They eat their snacks (小吃) or play games like football on the playground. At the end of the break, the teacher on duty blows a whistle. The children stand still and wait to be told to line up.
Each day, the children have their lunch break from 12 noon to 1:10 p.m. Most of the children bring their own packed lunches from home. A packed lunch usually consists of sandwiches, fruit, a drink and a packet of crisps. Some children have a school dinner cooked in our school kitchen. While the children are waiting to have lunch or after they have finished eating, they play games on the playground or attend lunch-time clubs. We have teachers on duty, who look after the children during lunch breaks. After the lunch break, the children have afternoon lessons, which continue until 3:15 p.m. when the children go home.
A typical school day at a primary school in England | |
Paragraph outlines | Supporting details |
Arriving at school | ● The students start {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the school playground from about 8:45 a.m. ● They come to school on {#blank#}2{#/blank#} or by car. |
The start of school | ● At 8:55 a.m., the teacher on duty blows a whistle to make the children {#blank#}3{#/blank#} up, and then sends them to their classrooms. ● The teacher {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the attendance (出席) of each child. |
{#blank#}5{#/blank#} | ● At 9:10 a.m. the children attend an assembly in the main hall, where they listen to music or stories. ● They sit on the floor in rows at different {#blank#}6{#/blank#} according to their ages. |
Morning lessons | ● The first lesson of the day begins at 9:30 a.m. and each class lasts as {#blank#}7{#/blank#} as an hour. ● The morning lessons are usually English and Maths. ● The morning break is from 10:20 a.m. to 10:35 a.m., when the children eat their snacks or play games. |
Lunch breaks and afternoon lessons | ● The lunch break starts at 12 noon and {#blank#}8{#/blank#} at 1:10 p.m. ● During the lunch break, the students {#blank#}9{#/blank#} lunch and play games or attend lunch-time clubs. ● School is {#blank#}10{#/blank#} at 3:15 p.m. |
试题篮