1、江西省2012届高三英语二轮专项训练：阅读理解（53）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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。ACan people change their skin color without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes.Scientists have found the gene that determines skin color. The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 per cent o
2、f Europeans.The other is found in 93 t0 100 per cent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science.Scientists have changed the color of a dark - striped zebrafish(斑马鱼) to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment(色素) gene into a young fish.A
3、s with humans, zebrafish skin color is deter-mined by pigment cells，which contain melanin(黑色素).The number, size and darkness of melanin perpigment cell determine skin color.It appears that, like the golden zebrafish, light - skinned Europeans also have a mutation (变异) in the gene for melanin product
4、ion.This results in less pigrnented skin. However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in hu-man ancl zebrafish genes. Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about l.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra - violetrays of the sun. which can cause
5、 skin cancer.But when modem humans leave Africa to live in northem latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng.Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the actio
6、n of some other gene that affects skin color, said Cheng.The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer.lt also could lead to research in-to ways to change skin color without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson.1.Scientists have done an experiment on a dark
7、 -striped zebrafish in order toA.fincl the different genes o humansB.prove the humans skin color is determined by the pigment geneC.find out the reason why the Africans skin color is darkD.fincl out the ways of changing peoples skin color2.lt can be inferred from the passage that .A.nowadays people
8、who want to change their skin color have to suffer 8 lot from the damage caused by the chemical treatmentB.Europeans and Africans have the same geneC.the new discovery could help to find medical treatments for skin cancerD.there are two kinds of genes3.The passage mainly tells us that .A.scientists
9、have found out that peoples skin color is determined by the geneB.the new discovery could lead to research into ways to change skin color safely C. pop king Michael Jackson often changed his skin color as he likedD.people can not change their skin color without any pain4.The reason why Europeans are
10、 light - skinned is probably that .A.they are bom light - skinned peopleB.light - skinned Europeans have mutation in the gene for melanin productionC. they have fewer activities outsideD.they pay much attention to protecting their skin5.The writers attitude towarcls the discovery is .A.neutralB.nega
11、tiveC.indifferentD.positiveBOne Tuesday evening in the beginning of the fall 1996 semester at Shippensburg University, sirens(警笛) sounded.These sirens were not in celebration; they were a cry to the university that something was wrong.A house, only one block away, was on fire.Nine of the universitys
12、 students lived there.From the minute the word got out that help was needed, it seemed like everyone showed up.The victims of the fire were offered endless invitations for housing for the night.The very next day, everyone got into gear to do their part in helping them.Flyers (小传单) were posted with i
13、tems that were immediatelyneeded, just to get these students through this next couple of days.Boxes for donations and money jarswere placed in every residence hall（学生宿舍）As a residence director，I went before the students in my hall to ask them to do what they could.I knew that college students dont h
14、ave much, but I asked them to clo their best: “Every little bit will help. I really didnt think they could do much.l.was proved wrong.At the hall council meeting the night after the fire, my residents decided to have a wing competition,where each wing of the building would team up to see who could b
15、ring in the most donations.l announced.that the wing who won would receive a free pizza party.Thursday evening we announced over the PA system that we were beginning the wing competition.Within minutes, the place exploded.The single large box that I had placed in the lobby (太厅) was over-flowing.We q
16、uickly grabbed more boxes, and we watched in amazement as they, too, filled to the brim.Members of the resident assistant staff and I began t.o count the items.l was astonished by what I saw, andI was inspired by these kids.When we came to the final tally（得分）, the winners tumed to me and announced t
17、hat they would like to donate their winnings as well.They wanted the victims of the fire to have their pizza party. Tears welled up in my eyes.I had watched these students jump to action, work tirelessly and donateall that they could.And then, as if that were not enough, they handed over their rewar
18、d.l was touchedand so very proud of them.6.The writer mainly wanted to by the story.A.tell us the suffering of nine of the college students from a fireB.praise the college students helping the victims selflesslyC.tell us how successful the wing competition wasD.show he was deeply moved by the colleg
19、e students action7.The phrase get into gear in the second paragraph means .A.be eagerB. take actionC. be preparedD.start working 8.At first, the residence director thought .A.it was impossible to expect the college students to donate anythingB.it was easy to collect a lot of donations from the colle
20、ge studentsC.the college students would donate not muchD.the college students would donate all the items they had9.The wing competition was held .A.on Tuesday eveningB. on ThursdayC.on Wednesday eveningD.the very next day10.How did the resi ence director feel when he saw the brimful boxes?A.Terrible
21、B.FunnyC.SurprisedDSeriousCThe United States is already one year into a depression That was the news this week from the Na-tional Bureau of Economic Research. The downturn is the longest since a depression that began in 1981and lasted sixteen months.Economists generally wait for production to shrink
22、 for six months in a row before they declare a re-cession. But the bureau, a private group, uses a wider set of information to measure the economy. Thenews only confirmed what many people already knew: that the worlds largest economy is weak and maynot recover soon.Worsening conclitions have led to
23、a big drop in spending, especially on costly products like new cars. Even Japanese automaker Toyota saw its sales fall thirty - four percent in the United States in November from a year ago.The heads of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors retumed to Congress this week to again ask for federal aid. Con
24、gressional leaders denounced(指责) them two weeks ago after they came in private jets with no clear plans for saving their industry. This time, the chiefs drove to Washington in fuel- saving hybrid vehicles. And their companies presented detailed restructuring plans. The reguest for aid has risen from
25、 twenty-five billion dollars two weeks ago to thirty-four billion in loans and credit lines.G.M. wants almost half of that, and says it needs four billion dollars this month. It warned that without support it cannot continue to operate.Ford is in a better position, But the sharing of suppliers means
26、 it could be affected if G.M. orChrysler fails. Ford is asking for a nine billion dollar credit line in case it needs it.Chrysler is the smallest and most trouble of Americas Big Three. It says it needs a seven billion dollar loan by the end of the month.Two days of congressional hearings began Thur
27、sday in the Senate Banking Committee. The chairman, Democrat Chris Dodd, said he would support helping the automakers for the good of the economy.But the committees top Republican, Richard Shelby, continued to express opposition to a bailout(贿政援助）A main root of the world financial crisis is the weak
28、 housing market in the United States. The Trea-sury Department has been under pressure to help troubled homeowners. Now comes news that the depart-ment is developing a plan aimed at reducing interest rates on mortgage loans(汽车贷款) for some buyers of homes. That could be good for homeowners trying to
29、sell.11.From the first two paragraphs, we know .A.the United States is expected to recover soonB.the depression has lasted more than 16 monthsC.the depression is much more severe than expectedD.the depression will last no more than 6 months12. Why were the automakers refused for federal aid two week
30、s ago?A. Because the government had no extra money to help.B. Because they didnt have a ciear plan to save their industry.C. Because they had wasted too much on costly new cars.D. Because they had enough money to save their industry.13. Which of the following is asking for the largest federal aideA.
31、 G.M. B. Toyota. C. Chrysler. D. Ford.14. From the passage we may know Richard Shelby tile automakers request for federal aid?A. was for B. was against C. didnt care about D. took no notice of15. Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?A. The hearings on Thursday agreed
32、 on a federal aid to the automakers.B.The main cause of the crisis is weak housing market in the U.S.C. The government is taking measures to save t he housing market.D.The Treasury Department had to help the troubled homeowners.DIn a few years，you might be able to speak Chinese，Korean，Japanese，Frenc
33、h，and English-andall at the same time. This sounds incredible，but Alex Waibel，a computer science professor at USs Car-negie Mellon University (CMU) and Germanys University of Karlsruhe，announced last week that it may soon be reality. He and his team have invented software and hardware that could mak
34、e it far easier forpeople who speak different languages to understand each other.One application，called Lecture Translation，can easily translate a speech from one language into an-other. Current translation technologies typically limit speakers to certain topics or a limited vocabulary. Us-ers also
35、have to be trained how to use the programme.Another machine can send translations of a speech to different listeners depending on what languagethey speak. “It is like having a simultaneous translator right next to you but without disturbing the person next to you，”Waibel saidPrefer to read? So- call
36、ed Translation Glasses transcribe(转录) the translations on a tiny liquid-crystal display(LCD) screen.Then theres the Muscle Translator. Electrodes capture the electrical signals from facial muscle movements made naturally when a person is mouthing words. The signals are then translated into speech.Th
37、e electrodes could be replaced with wireless chips implanted in a persons face，according to research-ers.During a demonstration held last Thursday in CMUs Pittsburgh campus，a Chinese student named Sang Jun had 11 tiny electrodes attached to the muscles of his cheeks，neck and throat. Then he mouthed-
38、without speaking aloud- a few words in Mandarin(普通话) to the audience. A few seconds later，the phrase was displayed on a computer screen and spoken out by the computer in English and Spanish: “Let me introduce our new prototype.”This particular instrument，when fully developed，might allow anyone to sp
39、eak in any number of lan-guages or，as Waibel put it，“to switch your mouth to a foreign language”. “The idea behind the universi-tys prototypes is to creategood enough bridges for cross- cultural exchanges that are becoming more common in the world，”Waibel said.With spontaneous(自发的) translators，forei
40、gn drivers in Germany could listen to traffic warnings on the radio; tourists in China could read all the signs and talk with local people;leaders of different coun-tries could have secret talks without any interpreters there.16.What cant be learned from the text?A.The spontaneous translators will h
41、elp us a lot.B. There is no Muscle Translator in the world now.C. Muscle Translators can translate what you think into speech if you just move your mouth.D. A lecture translation can translate what you said into other languages easily.17. What does the underlined word mean?A. happening at at the sam
42、e time. B. happening by itself.C. similar in size. D. Similar in quality.18.Whats the final destination of inventing the language translators?A. To make cultural exchanges between different countries easier.B. To help students learn foreign languages more easily.C. To make people live in foreign cou
43、ntries more comfortably.D. To help people learn more foreign languages in the future.19. What can be inferred from the seventh paragraph?A. The translator is so good that it can translate any language into the very language you need.B. The translator is becoming more and more common in the world as
44、a bridge.C. With the help of the translator，you only need to open your mouth when you want to say something without saying the exact words at all.D.The translator needs to be improved before being put into market.20. Where can we probably find this passage?A.A newspaper. B.A magazine on science.C .A fairy tale. D. A scientific fantasy book.BAABD BBCBC CBABA CAADB高考资源网独家精品资源，欢迎下载！高考资源网Ks5uK&S%5#UKs5uKs%U高考资源网高考资源网高考资源网
