1、Unit 2 The United Kingdom Reading 第一节：阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。AEverywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their hightech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. When connected electronically, they are away from physical realit
2、y.People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for
3、sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up o
4、n the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.I see people trapped in a pathological (病态的) relationship with timesucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude. I am referring to a loss of personal free
5、dom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money.What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breakin
6、g up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for the
7、 wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But its time to discover that it does not work for technology.Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long a
8、go could be fantastic without todays overused technology.21The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means _.Aadvantage BattractionCadaption Dattempt22From the passage, technology companies aim to _.Aattract people to buy their productsBprovide the latest informationCimprove peoples quali
9、ty of lifeDdeal with cultural diseases23Whats the authors attitude towards the overusing of hightech devices?ANeutral. BSkeptical.CDisapproving. DSympathetic.答案与解析文中讲述人们过度使用科技的弊端，反对大众对科技的过度依赖。BStore Scent(香味)What is the first thing you notice when you walk into a shop? The products displayed (展示) at
10、 the entrance? Or the soft background music?But have you ever noticed the smell? Unless it is bad, the answer is likely to be no. But while a shops scent may not be outstanding compared with sights and sounds, it is certainly there. And it is proving to be an increasingly powerful tool in encouragin
11、g people to purchase.A brand store has become famous for its distinctive scent which floats through the fairly dark hall and out to the entrance, via scent machines. A smell may be attractive but it may not just be used for freshening air. One sports goods company once reported that when it first in
12、troduced scent into its stores, customers intention to purchase increased by 80 percent.When it comes to the best shopping streets in Paris, scent is just as important to a brands success as the quality of its window displays and goods on sale. That is mainly because shopping is a very different exp
13、erience to what it used to be.Some years ago，the focus for brand name shopping was on a few people with sales assistants disproving attitude and donttouchwhatyoucantafford displays. Now the rise of electronic commerce (ecommerce) has opened up famous brands to a wider audience. But while eshops can
14、use sights and sounds, only bricksandmortar stores (实体店) can offer a full experience from the minute customers step through the door to the moment they leave. Another brand store seeks to be much more than a shop, but rather a destination. And scent is just one way to achieve this.Now, a famous stor
15、e uses complex manmade smell to make sure that the soft scent of baby powder floats through the kid department, and coconut (椰子) scent in the swimsuit section. A department store has even opened a new lab, inviting customers on a journey into the stores windows to smell books, pots and drawers, in s
16、earch of their perfect scent.24. According to the passage, what is an increasingly powerful tool in the success of some brand stores?A. Friendly assistants.B. Unique scents.C. Soft background musicD. Attractive window display.25. Eshops are mentioned in the passage to_.A. show the advantages of bric
17、ksandmortar storesB. urge shop assistants to change their attitudeC. push stores to use sights and soundsD. introduce the rise of ecommerce26. The underlined word “destination” in Paragraph 5 means _.A. a platform that exhibits goodsB. a spot where travelers like to stayCa place where customers love
18、 to goD. a target that a store expects to meet27. The main purpose of the passage is to_.A. compare and evaluate B. examine and assessC. argue and discuss Dinform and explainCYou may not have heard of Ashoka, but for the past 27 years, this association, founded by Bill Drayton, has fought poverty an
19、d sickness, promoted education and encouraged small businesses. To support these worthy causes, Ashoka provides money for the worlds most promising “changemakers” seeking to solve urgent problems and would like to create a world in which every citizen is a changemaker.Drayton believes that anyone ca
20、n become an agent for change. The important thing is to simply give yourself permission. If you see a problem that you care about, you can help solve it. The young in particular are willing to accept this concept because at heart every child wants to grow into a happy, healthy, contributing adult. I
21、n fact, it is many young peoples ambition to set up programmes or businesses that improve social conditions. An excellent example is an Ashoka project started in 1995 in Dhaka, which handled the rubbish problem facing the city, helped local farmers and provided an income for poor people there.When M
22、asqsood and Iftekhar began to study the problem of all the uncollected rubbish that lay in Dhakas streets，attracting rats and disease, they discovered that 80% of it was natural waste. So they educated the poor people in the city to compost (把制成堆肥) this waste. They knew that they would have a market
23、 for the end product because local farmers were struggling with chemical fertilisers (化肥) which were expensive and had reduced the natural minerals in the soil over the years. At first, they were refused，but once they were able to persuade them that there was money to be made, the project took off.
24、In 2009 sales were $14,000.Drayton is optimistic that in ten years Ashoka will be making really serious，practical progress in bringing about social change by changing the way we look at economic development.28. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?A. Changemakers B. Busines
25、smen来源:.ComC. Social Conditions DRubbish Problem29. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to“_”A. the local farmersB. Masqsood and IftekharC. Drayton and his teamD. the poor people in Dhaka30. It can be concluded from the passage that anyone can become a changemaker if he_.A. con
26、siders Draytons conceptB. gets permission from AshokaC. tries to improve social conditionsD. is a young, happy and healthy adult31. The authors attitude towards Ashokas program can be described as_.A. changing B. forgivingC. cautious D. positiveDWhen different species of birds flock(聚集) together, th
27、eir flight formations are determined by social dynamics both between and within species.New research from the Universities of Cambridge and Exeter reveals for the first time that, contrary to current models used to explain the movement of flocks, the differences between bird species and social relat
28、ionships between individuals play a critical role in determining the dynamics of mixedspecies flocks.The unified(群集) behaviour of bird flocks has puzzled scientists for hundreds of years. One naturalist from the turn of the century even suggested telepathy(心灵感应) may be involved. There have since bee
29、n more logical explanations, including mathematical models that show that repeated interactions among individuals following simple rules can generate coordinated(协同的) group movements. However, these models usually rely on the assumption that individuals within groups are identical and interact indep
30、endently, which may not reflect reality.Jolle Jolles, a PhD student at the University of Cambridges Department of Zoology and author of the paper, said：“Spectacular collective behaviour can be found in a large range of animal species, and we now know that often these complex coordinated group moveme
31、nts may be the result of individuals following simple rules. However, rarely are the individual characteristics and social relationships within them taken into account. Our research highlights that these striking displays of group behaviour are much more complex.”By analysing highresolution photogra
32、phs of mixed flocks of rooks and jackdaws(both from the corvid family), the researchers found that rather than individuals interacting in a consistent fashion throughout the flock, interactions depended on social dynamics between the different species as well as relationships within a species.The re
33、searchers discovered that birds prefer to fly close to members of their own species, and that the larger and more dominant rooks take the lead by flying near the front of flocks. Additionally, the lifelong, monogamous(一妻一夫制的) pair bonds that are characteristic of both species seem to be reflected in
34、 flight, as birds often fly particularly close to a single, same species partner.Dr Alex Thornton, principal investigator of the Cambridge Jackdaw Project, now at the University of Exeter and author of the paper, said “Together, our findings demonstrate that to understand the structure of groups，suc
35、h as bird flocks，we need to consider the characteristics and relationships of the individuals within them.”32.The underlined word “generate” means _.Aset down Btake awayCbring about Dgive up33According to Jolle Jolles, what are seldom considered about coordinated group movement?AIndividual character
36、istics and social relationship between them.BRepeated interactions among individuals and social dynamics.CTelepathy and social relationship between them.DThe structure of groups and the varieties of species.34Birds may prefer to fly the closest to _.Athe largest one Bthe most dynamic oneCthe lifelon
37、g partner Dthe friendly partner35What is the main idea of the passage?AHow birds interact in simple rules.BHow birds of different feathers flock together.CWhy birds show preference to flocking.DWhy birds display the characteristics.第二节：(共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分)根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。What
38、do you, the trees, and a bird have in common? _36_ All living things must have water to survive, whether they get it from a water fountain, a rain cloud, or a little bottle attached to the side of a bird cage._37_ Water makes up more than half of your body weight and a person cant survive for more t
39、han a few days without it. Why? Your body has lots of important jobs and it needs water to do many of them. For instance, your blood, which contains a lot of water, carries oxygen to all the cells of your body. Without oxygen, those tiny cells would die and your body would stop working.Water is also
40、 in lymph, a fluid (流体) that is part of your immune system, which helps you fight off illness. _38_ Water is needed for digestive juices, urine, and poop. And you can bet that water makes up most of sweat.In addition to being an important part of the fluids in your body, each cell depends on water t
41、o function normally._39_ Any fluid you drink will contain water, but water and milk are the best choices. Lots of foods contain water, too. _40_ You could probably tell that if youve ever bitten into a peach or pear and felt the juices dripping down your chin! Vegetables, too, contain a lot of water
42、think of biting into a fat tomato from the garden.AYou need water to digest your food and get rid of waste, too.BYou all need water.CWithout water, your body would stop working properly.DHow much is enough?来源:.ComEYour body doesnt get water only from drinking water.FWhen you drink is also important.GFruit contains quite a bit of water.