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.
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The Cost of Thinking |
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Introduction |
•Large brains for their bodies and the ability to walk upright are two of human beings. |
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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. |
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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. |
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•Walking upright challenges the human bone structure, and the size of brains. •Walking upright results in sufferings. |
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Conclusion |
• With a large brain, human beings other beings in terms of intelligence. • Weak and marginal, human beings remained of meat-eating animals. |
Writing A Letter To Your Future Self
Just imagine writing a letter to your future self 5 years from now, then opening it at that exact moment to see how much of it has come true. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}
As you read the letter in the future, you can assess how many things agree with your expectations in the past. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Often times, the goals we set and our goal achievement process are affected by a lot of changes along the way. The letter lets you recognize how your current idea differs from the past.
In addition to that, at the very moment you are writing the letter, your thoughts are stored right there in those words. When you open the letter in the future, you as your future self gets to compare how you used to be in the past with how you are now. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It's very interesting to do so.
Take out a pen and paper right now and start writing your letter to your future self. Set a time period to write to. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Then start writing. Think about the type of person you will be, your place in life, what you will have realized then, and so on.
{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Put it in a safe space where no one can find it. When you open this sometime in the near future, you might gain additional insights(了解) about yourself and your journey in the past few years.
A. And you can think about why that's the case. B. It is a useful tool to be used in goal achievement. C. Imagine how you will be like during that time period. D. If you haven't, join me in writing a letter to yourself. E. This lets you see how much things have changed since then. F. At the end of the letter, write the date to open it on the cover. G. It wasn't until we moved into our new house that I found it again. |
It is very common for you to find yourself in an unfamiliar situation. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Yes, everyone tells you to stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for your action, but if you haven't experienced a situation before, how can you know what to do?
We usually try our best to do everything on our own and not to rely on others, but at certain times calling for help is the best way forward. You can picture the scene of the man-it is usually a man-driving blindly around an unfamiliar town looking for an address he doesn't know. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}And he could get to his appointment on time. It is obvious to everybody in such a case that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but rather the sensible thing to do.
{#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, you are looking for a new job and need to write your resume（简历）. If your pride prevents you from getting help and you just do the writing yourself, it may well cost the opportunity you are seeking. Similarly, when you just started a new job, you often don't want to admit that you haven't got the knowledge to finish a particular task, so you keep going and eventually make things worse than they were. This may lead to a diminishing(贬低) of you in the eyes of the boss. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}
Now you can see that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but is the sensible and mature thing to do.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Making your life easier by asking for and using knowledgeable help is not a sign of weakness, but is actually quite a clever thing to do.
A. What's worse, you are most likely to lose the new job. B. Actually speaking, asking for help is not a sign of weakness. C. There are times when you know you don't have the relevant experience. D. If only he would stop and ask for directions, he could save lots of time. E. However, many people tend to make mistakes over and over when help is available. F. You will also recognize expert help would save your time, energy and money. G. You can accustom yourself to asking for help sooner or later. |
To forgive is a virtue, but no one has ever said it is easy. When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be extremely difficult to let go of your hate. However, forgiveness is possible, and it can be surprisingly beneficial to your physical and mental health. People who forgive show less sadness, anger and stress and more hopefulness, according to a recent research.
{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Try the following steps:
Calm yourself. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}You can take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, or someone you love. Don't wait for an apology. Many times the person who hurt you does not intend to apologize. They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don't see things the same way. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean becoming friends again with the person who upset you.
Take the control away from your offender(冒犯者). Rethinking about your hurt gives power to the person who causes you pain. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you.
{#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you understand your offender, you may realize that he or she was acting out of unawareness, fear, and even love. You may want to write a letter to yourself from your offender's point of view.
Don't forget to forgive yourself. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But it can rob you of your self-confidence if you don't do it.
A. Why should you forgive? B. How should you start to forgive? C. Recognize the benefits of forgiveness. D. Try to see things from your offender's angle. E. For some people, forgiving themselves is the biggest challenge. F. To make your anger die away, try a simple stress-management technique. G. If you wait for people to apologize, you could be waiting an awfully long time. |
Decoding the young brain
There was a funny experiment to see how a young child would answer a specific question compared to an adult. After the adult had spent some time speaking with the child, he asked the child, “What do you think about me？” The child answered, “You talk too much.” When the adult performed the same experiment with another adult, the reply to the same question was, “I think you're a very interesting person.” Even if the adult felt the same way as the child, his brain allowed him to take a moment，consider the question, and come up with an answer. He could have been annoyed, but his answer didn't reflect it because he was being polite.
The secret lies in the science of the developing brain. The child's honest answer was reflected in the fact that his brain wasn't equipped to filter(过滤) information before answering the question. As a result, he was honest, but he said something that may have been hurtful. However, the child did not intentionally hurt the adult; it's just the way his brain works. As a child grows into adolescence and then into adulthood, that changes.
The human brain is made up of billions of neurons(神经元). In order for our body to execute a command, like getting up from a chair and walking to the other room, the neurons in the brain have to communicate with each other. They also help us employ our senses like taste and touch and help us remember things.
When the neurons send messages, perhaps one sensation(感觉) the person feels is excitement about eating a cookie because it is so delicious. Later, if that person smells a cookie or hears someone talking about a cookie, it can spark the electrical signals that call up the memory of eating the delicious cookie. In an adult, he or she may remember that eating too many cookies can have consequences, like weight gain. But because the younger brain is more impulsive(冲动的), the desire to feel the pleasure of the sweet treat outweighs the consequences.
That is because when a child is young, his brain is “wired” in such a way that he seeks pleasure and is more willing to take risks than an adult. This affects his decision-making process and it is why younger people tend to be more impulsive. Sometimes parents have to tell their children over and over again before the child remembers that something is dangerous or risky. How many times have we heard a parent say, “I tell her this all the time, but she never listens！”
To conclude, what we know about the young brain is that children are more likely than adults to be impulsive. It isn't always necessarily because they are being naughty; it may very well be because of their brains. So the next time you ask a child what he really thinks of you, be prepared for any kind of answer.
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Decoding the young brain |
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An experiment on a young child |
A young child answered the question {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the top of his head while an adult paused, and {#blank#}2{#/blank#}twice before he found an answer. |
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Causes of the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} reflected in the experiment |
The developing brain of the young child contributed to his honest answer. ◆He was more likely to hurt or offend others {#blank#}4{#/blank#} he didn't intend to do so. ◆It's just the way his brain works and with him growing up, that changes. |
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Billions of neurons {#blank#}5{#/blank#}up the human brain have their own mechanism for functioning. ◆The neurons have to communicate with each other, helping us employ our senses and remember things. ◆A person may {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the smell of a cookie with the memory of eating it. ◆A younger brain is more impulsive compared with an adult's. |
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A young child's having a natural {#blank#}7{#/blank#} to seek pleasure and take risks results from his young brain. ◆This affects his decision-making process and it is why younger people act in an impulsive way. ◆Warned many times before, a young child will still try something {#blank#}8{#/blank#} or risky. |
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A conclusion drawn from the experiment |
An adult's ability to control his impulses is much {#blank#}9{#/blank#} and a young child is not {#blank#}10{#/blank#} being naughty when they make hurtful or offensive answers. |
试题篮
