1、专题限时检测(二十三)阅读理解D篇增分练(一)(共2篇，限时20分钟)AThose who want to learn a foreign language, or want their children to, often feel they are racing against the clock. People seem to get worse at languages as they age. Children often learn their first language without any instruction, and can easily become multili
2、ngual with the right exposure. But the older people get, the harder it seems to be. Witness the rough edges on the grammar of many immigrants even after many years in their new countries. Scientists mostly agree that children are better language learners, but do not know why. Some posit (认定) biologi
3、cal factors. Is it because young brains have an extreme kind of plasticity? Or, as Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychologist, argues, an instinct for language learning specifically, which fades as the brain ages and (in evolutionary terms) is no longer needed? Others think children have special environm
4、ents and encouragements, not more intelligent brains. They have strong motivation to communicate with caregivers and imitate peers, and are not afraid of making mistakes in the way adults are.Some believe any “critical period” may only apply to the sounds of a foreign tongue. Adults struggle with ac
5、cents: eight decades after immigrating to America and four years after serving as the Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger still sounds fresh off the boat from Frth in what is nevertheless elaborately accurate English.But grammar is different, and some researchers have considered that with their grea
6、ter reasoning powers, adults_are_not_really_a_underdog_relative_to_children. One study found that when adults and children are exposed to the same teaching materials for a new language for several months, the adults actually do better. Most such research has had to rely on a small number of subjects
7、, given the difficulty of recruiting them; it is hard to know how meaningful the results are.Now a large new study led by Joshua Hartshorne of Boston College (with Mr Pinker and Joshua Tenenbaum as coauthors) has given strength to the critical period hypothesis (假说)The study ingeniously recruited 67
8、0,000 online testtakers by framing the exercise as a quiz that would guess the participants native language or dialect. This made it a viral hit. The real point was to test English learners knowledge of tricky bits of grammar, and to see how this correlates with the age at which their studies began.
9、Do younger beginners do better because their earlier start gave them more learning time, or because they learned faster in early years? It can be hard to tease apart these two questions. But testing a huge amount of data against a number of possible learning curves allowed Mr Hartshorne to do precis
10、ely that. Many previous researchers had posited a dropoff at around puberty(青春期). The new study found it to be rather later, just after 17.Despite that later cutoff, learners must begin at around ten if they are to get to nearnative fluency. If they start at, say, 14, they cannot accumulate enough e
11、xpert knowledge in the critical period. Unfortunately, 14 or so is precisely when many students, especially in America, are first introduced to a new language. (Even worse, this is an age when children are acutely sensitive to embarrassment in front of peers.)Children who start at five dont do notic
12、eably better than those who start at ten over their lifetimes. But there is still reason to begin in the first years of school, as in Denmark and Sweden. Because mastery takes a long time perhaps 30 years until improvement stops those who begin at five and are forced to read and write English at uni
13、versity will by then have made much more progress than those who take the plunge (作出决定) at ten, even if their level is roughly the same by 40.The existence of the critical period is not a reason for anyone 11 or older to give up. Some people remain excellent language students into adulthood. And Mr
14、Hartshorne tested some truly subtle features of grammar that take years to master. A language learned even to a lower level can still be extraordinarily useful at work or enjoyable during travelling. But for policymakers, the possible effect is clear.语篇解读：本文探讨的是关于语言学习“关键期”的问题。1According to the scien
15、tists, which CANNOT explain childrens being better language learners?APleasant surroundings.BPowerful motivation.CBiological factors. DProper instruction.解析：选D细节理解题。根据第二段中的“Some posit(认定) biological factors . needed？”“children have special environments and encouragements”和“They have strong motivatio
16、n to communicate with caregivers and imitate peers . mistakes”可知，在科学家们看来，儿童能成为更好的语言学习者的原因可能是生理因素(他们大脑的可塑性和语言学习的本能更好)、环境因素(儿童能享有更好的语言学习环境和鼓励)、自身因素(儿童有很强的与他人交流和模仿同龄人的积极性，并且不害怕犯错误)。故选D。2. Why is Henry Kissinger mentioned?ATo stress his great achievement in language.BTo prove adults have difficulty impr
17、oving accents.CTo explain language is not a barrier to ones success.DTo show the importance of mastering a foreign language.解析：选B推理判断题。根据第三段中所举的基辛格的例子及“Adults struggle with accents”可知，此处主要是为了突出在语言学习中，成人在改善口音上有困难。由此可知，提及基辛格就是为了说明这一问题。故选B。3What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 probably mean
18、?AAdults are better at logical thinking than children.BAdults help a lot with childrens language learning.CAdults are not really at a disadvantage compared to children.DAdults have more trouble learning grammar than children.解析：选C句意理解题。根据第四段中的“with their greater reasoning powers”和“when adults and ch
19、ildren are exposed to the same teaching materials for a new language for several months, the adults actually do better”可知，成人的推理能力比儿童的好，同样的时间内学习同样的语法知识，成人的学习效果要比儿童的好。由此可知，画线句的意思是“与儿童相比，成人不一定就处于劣势”。故选C。4Which statement may Mr Hartshorne agree with?AAge 14 is a turning point for foreign language learne
20、rs.BA dropoff in learning results appears after the age of 17.CThe critical period is of vital importance in grammar learning.DThe critical period for language learning varies from person to person.解析：选B细节理解题。根据第六段中的“The new study found it to be rather later, just after 17.”可知，Mr Hartshorne主导的新研究发现，
21、语言学习效果的下降出现在17岁之后，较之前研究者认为的约出现在青春期时要稍晚些。故选B。5Whats the main theme of the passage?AIts never too late to begin to learn a foreign language.BYou should start learning early to master a new language.CLanguage learning should start at the beginning of school.DLonger learning periods lead to nativelike l
22、anguage fluency.解析：选B主旨大意题。纵观全文，尤其是倒数第三段中的“learners must begin at around ten if they are to get to nearnative fluency”和倒数第二段中的“there is still reason to begin in the first years of school”等信息可知，语言学习“关键期”的说法有其合理性，而要达到与当地人接近的流利程度，就应该早接触、早学习。故选B。6. What may be discussed in the following paragraph?AThe i
23、mpact the critical period has on policymakers.BThe application of the critical period to policymaking.CThe importance of the critical period in policymaking.DThe attitude policymakers hold toward the critical period.解析：选A推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“But for policymakers，the possible effect is clear.”可知，文章接下来可能会涉及
24、语言学习“关键期”对政策制定者的影响。故选A。BBritish economist and philosopher, Thomas Robert Malthus, wrote An Essay on the Principles of Population in 1798 and created shock waves around the world saying that population would grow in a geometric progression (like 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 . ) while food production would
25、increase in an arithmetic progression (like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 . ). Malthus had said that it is biologically inherent (固有的) in all living organisms to multiply fast.Now, after more than 200 years of Malthuss theory, we see that the world population has increased from about 1 billion to about 7.6 bi
26、llion, but at a much slower rate than that predicted by Malthus. This is because of various contraceptive (避孕的) methods adopted in many countries and also the adoption of policies regulating birth. World food production had increased from about 500 million tonnes in 19601961 to about 2,600 million t
27、onnes in 20172018. This is because of increase in production and cultivated (用于耕作的) areas as well as innovations in agricultural technology.My intention is not to prove Malthus wrong. Rather, it was his alarming prediction that created an awakening worldwide regarding adoption of family planning pro
28、grammes. Having said that, one must realize that even an increase from about 1 billion to about 7.6 billion today is causing serious damage to the planet, which will definitely not be able to support larger populations. Imagine, what it would be like if the world population increases to 11 billion b
29、y 2100, as has been predicted under some models.Let me now discuss how this population explosion has given rise to environmental pollution. There are three main reasons: First, the larger the population, the larger the demand for food, and thus, the higher the requirement of cultivable land. Second,
30、 changing lifestyles has led to evolving consumption patterns; more and bigger cars, TVs, refrigerators, mobile phones, packaged foods, furniture items, and electrical devices of several types are being consumed widely and in greater numbers with each passing day. Third, we need to create housing fo
31、r everincreasing populations. All this puts a pressure on the environment and land.Thus, forests and bodies of water are being destroyed to meet the requirement of land, more so in poor countries. As a consequence, species of wildlife are disappearing as their habitats do not exist any more or are c
32、ompletely changed, resulting in the ecological balance getting disturbed. Not only this, given that forests act as carbon sinks, their destruction is worsening global warming. Thus, when it comes to pollution, everincreasing global population is the criminal.Further, due to the above human activitie
33、s, our energy consumption is increasing, which is largely fossilfuelbased today. This is causing massive emission (排放) of greenhouse gases that is responsible for climate change. Heavy vehicular traffic, besides creating noise pollution, is further contributing to these emissions. The carbon emissio
34、ns in the atmosphere presently stand at about 380 ppm compared to 280 ppm about a decade back and, at the current rate of emission, the threshold limit of 550 ppm may be breached (违背) very soon.Today, we are facing several types of pollution. I am not discussing them in details as the issues are wel
35、l known.Poor people are more affected by both increasing population and pollution. Further, poverty itself is the worst kind of pollution. Thus, there is a causeandeffect relationship between environmental pollution and poverty. Climate change is negatively affecting agriproduction, and the degradat
36、ion of forests and oceans is reducing the availability of forest produce and marine products on which about 35% of the global population depends.It is all leading to price rise, affecting the poor the most and on multiple fronts. The loss of rich land to construction also aggravates poverty. Thus, p
37、overty gets worse due to increase in population and pollution. To conclude, the world is in urgent need of stabilization of the population to fight both pollution and poverty.语篇解读：本文是一篇议论文。作者分析了人口快速增长所带来的污染及贫困问题。鉴于此，作者呼吁要保持人口的稳定。7According to the passage, Malthus believes that _.Athere are effective
38、 ways to decrease the growth of populationBfood production should increase in line with population growthCthe increase of population would exceed that of food productionDlack of food supply is likely to bring about pollution and poverty解析：选C推理判断题。根据第一段中的“population would grow in a geometric progress
39、ion (like 1, 2, 4, 8,16, 32, 64 .)while food production would increase in an arithmetic progression (like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 .)”可知，马尔萨斯认为，人口会以等比数列的形式增长，而粮食产量会以等差数列的形式增长。由此可推知，人口的增长会超过粮食产量的增长。故选C。8What is implied in the second paragraph?AMalthuss prediction of world population is totally inexact.BPe
40、ople have realized the necessity to control population growth.CWorld food production has increased by about four times since 1960.DModern technology contributes most to the increase in food production.解析：选B推理判断题。根据第二段中的“This is because of various contraceptive (避孕的) methods adopted in many countries
41、 and also the adoption of policies regulating birth.”可知，人口增长的速度比马尔萨斯预测的慢的原因是避孕措施的采用，而且许多国家也通过了一些政策来控制出生率。由此可推知，人们已经意识到了控制人口增长的必要性。故选B。9Whats the authors attitude toward Malthuss theory?ACritical. BPositive.CDoubtful. DOpposing.解析：选B观点态度题。根据第三段中的“My intention is not to prove Malthus wrong. Rather, it
42、 was his alarming prediction that created an awakening worldwide regarding adoption of family planning programmes.”可知，作者认为，正是马尔萨斯令人震惊的预言警醒全世界的人们采用计划生育的方案。由此可知，作者对马尔萨斯的理论是持支持态度的。10. Which word can replace the underlined word “aggravates” in the last paragraph?AIncreases. BRelieves.CExposes. DWitnesse
43、s.解析：选A词义猜测题。根据最后一段中的“The loss of rich land to construction also aggravates poverty Thus, poverty gets worse due to increase in population and pollution”可知，画线词所在句的含义为“肥沃的土地沦为建筑用地也加剧了贫穷”，画线词的意思是“使加重”，与increase的含义相近。故选A。11. What is the passage mainly about?AThe possibility of taking measures to contro
44、l population.BThe urgency for the whole world to fight against poverty.CThe relationship between population, pollution and poverty.DThe consumption pressure on the environment from rising population.解析：选C主旨大意题。纵观全文可知，文章重点讲述了人口增长所带来的污染及贫困问题。故C项最能概括文章的主要内容。12. How is the passage mainly developed?ABy listing relevant figures.BBy providing typical examples.CBy comparing opinions from different fields.DBy presenting a cause and analyzing its effects.解析：选D写作手法题。本文首先讲述人口增长的原因，然后重点分析了人口的增长带来的负面影响，如污染和贫困问题等，由此可知，本文是通过陈述一个原因，然后分析其影响的方式来行文的。故选D。