北京中考各区二模阅读CD篇.docx

1、北京中考各区二模阅读CD篇海淀C“Earworms”, some people call them. Songs that get stuck in your head go round and round, sometimes for days, sometimes for months. For no clear reason you cannot help yourself from humming or singing a tune by Lady Gaga. To a psychologist, the most interesting thing about earworms is

2、 that they show a part of our mind that is clearly outside of our control. Earworms arrive without permission and refuse to leave when we tell them to. They are parasites（寄生虫）, living in a part of our minds.If you have got a earworm you can suffer an attack of it simply by someone mentioning the tun

3、e, without having to hear it. This proves that earworms are a part of long-term memory. Human have an “inner ear”, for remembering phone numbers, for instance. When it gets infected with earworms, rather than review our plans for the day, or lists of things to remember, the inner ear gets stuck on a

4、 few short bars of music or a couple of phrases from a song. A part of us that we normally do not have to think about, that should just do what we ask, has been turned against us, upsetting us with a request that we never asked for. The mind is an inner world which we do not have complete knowledge

5、of, or have control over.Fortunately psychology can provide some advice on how to deal with an uncontrollable mind. Consider the famous “dont think of a white bear” problem, which tell you to try not to think about white bears or to do something else, to avoid both thinking of the white bear and not

6、 thinking of the white bear. For earworms, the solution may be the same. Our inner ear has become infected with an earworm. This is a part not under our control, so just sending in instructions to “shut up” is unlikely to be of much help (and has been shown to make it worse). Much better is to emplo

7、y the inner ear in another task. If your mind is poisoned by Brittany Spears Toxic, for instance, then try singing Kylie Minogues Cant Get You Out Of My Head. Let me know if it works!53. According to the passage, earworms are _.A. songs that keep going round in our mindB. tunes by pop singers like L

8、ady GagaC. parasites clearly under our controlD. worms that live in a part of our brain54. Which of the following statement is TRUE?A. Singing songs may get earworms out of your head.B. Earworms are used for keeping long-term memory.C. Humans do not have complete control over their mind.D. You wont

9、suffer from earworms unless you hear the song.55. What does “it” in the last paragraph refer to?A. The instruction to shut up your mind. B. “Dont think of the white bear” problem.C. Kylie Minogues Cant Get You out Of My head. D. The relation between earworms and popular songs.56. What is the passage

10、 mainly about?A. The causes and influences of earworms.B. What earworms are and how to deal with them.C. How to clear earworms from your head.D. The relation between earworms and popular songs.D People have used pigeons to carry message to one another for hundreds of years. In the 12th century, the

11、royal palaces of Iraq and Syria included pigeon houses so the kings could be kept informed of their generals victories and defeats on the battlefield. In fact, pigeons were a common way to send message right up through World War II. Many countries, such as the United States, England, France, Germany

12、, and Italy, in both World War I and World War II, used carries pigeons. Not only were the birds often the fastest, most reliable way to send messages, they could also be used to reach soldiers far behind enemy lines, where radios and field telephone lines were useless. Since they could easily be re

13、leased (释放) from airplanes or ships, every branch of the armed services used the birds. In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers and 150 officers were needed to care for and train the tens of thousands of birds in the U.S. Pigeon Service.Carrying message could be a dangerous job. Some pigeons perfo

14、rmed with such bravery that they became famous and were even awarded medals, such as Englands Dicken Medal of Gallantry. In a few cases, pigeons even became prisoners of war. In 1918 American forces captured a pigeon named Kaiser, which had been trained to fly special missions for Germany, during ba

15、ttle. He was taken to America, where he lived to the age of 32. The most famous pigeon of all may have been Cher Ami. Stationed in France during World War I, he carried twelve important messages for American forces. On his last mission, though wounded, he carried a message that saved the lives of 19

16、4 American soldiers. For his extraordinary service, he was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre.”Today, modern communication methods can carry information from one place to another hundreds of times faster than a pigeon could do. However, few people would argue with the fact that carrier pigeons- esp

17、ecially those that served in the military - have earned their place in history. Stories about brave pigeons such as Cher Ami, President Wilson, and Colonels Lady have the power to inspire us as no fax machine or high-speed Internet connection could ever do.57. Many countries used carrier pigeons in

18、the war because _. A. they could be believed in B. they were easily raised C. they could reach the enemy lines D. they could hardly be found by airplanes58. Which is the best example to show the bravery of the carrier pigeons? A. Carrier pigeons could fly to places where radios and telephone lines w

19、ere useless. B. For his extraordinary service, Cher Ami was awarded the French “Crox de Guere”. C. In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers were needed to care for and train the pigeons. D. In the 12th century, kings in Iraq were kept informed of the victories and defeats by pigeons.59. from the pa

20、ssage, we can learn _. A. how carrier pigeons developed in history B. how to train carrier pigeons to get victory C. carrier pigeons played an important role in the wars in the old days D. pigeons inspired soldiers to fight before high-speed internet invented53.A 54.C 55.D 56.B 57.A58. B 59.C西城C On

21、May 2, 2012, Ashok Gadgil became the winner of the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation (全球创新奖). Each year, the honor is given to an inventor who has made a big difference in the lives of people in developing countries. Gadgil is a professor and physicist at the University of California

22、, Berkeley. He spent thirty years helping people in need. His inventions have helped more than 100 million people around the world. “I chose to focus on problems where my knowledge of science could help,” Gadgil said. In the 1990s, Gadgil designed his first life-saving invention after more than 10,0

23、00 people died from Bengal cholera (孟加拉霍乱) because of the clean water crisis (危机) in India. His invention uses ultraviolet light to kill deadly disease-carrying germs (细菌) from drinking water. It costs just one cent to clean five liters of water (about 21 cups). So far, the invention has provided sa

24、fe drinking water for more than five million people in India and other developing countries. Gadgils another important invention is the Berkeley-Darfur Stove (炉具). The long and violent war in Darfur, Sudan, has caused many people to move to foreign countries and live in refugee camps (难民营). They are

25、 given food aid. But people still have to travel a long distance five times a week to gather firewood to cook meals. This can be dangerous because of street violence in the area. To avoid danger, some spend much of their money used to feed their families buying firewood. The stove Gadgil created cut

26、s fuel usage by 55%. That means people wouldnt have to leave the camps to find firewood as often. The invention also helps to save homes more than $300 a year. About 125,000 people and their families have been helped. As a professor, Gadgil encourages his students, “Be optimistic (乐观的) when you try

27、a hard problem,” he says. “Its when you solve a large problem that you can have a big influence on the world.”54. Ashok Gadgil was given the honor because _. A. he was a famous professor and physicist at UC, Berkeley B. he improved the lives of people in developing countries C. he spent thirty years

28、 helping people in need D. he developed useful inventions with his team55. Which of the following statements about Gadgil is TRUE? A. He helped about 125,000 people in India. B. He spent lots of money on his inventions. C. He used his knowledge to help people in need. D. One of his inventions could

29、cure Bengal cholera.56. What do people benefit from the Berkeley-Darfur Stove? A. They can sell stoves to make a living. B. They can save both time and money. C. They can be protected from diseases. D. They can cook their food easily.D The art of living is to know when to hold fast and when to let g

30、o. For life is a paradox (自相矛盾): it orders us to hold tightly to its many gifts even while it forces us to give up everything at last. As an old saying goes, “A man comes into this world with his fist clenched (握紧拳头), but when he dies, his hand is open.” Surely we ought to hold fast to life, for it

31、is wonderful, and full of beauty. We know that this is so, but all too often we recognize this truth too late. We remember what it was and then suddenly realize that it is no more. We remember a beauty or a love that disappeared. But we remember with far greater pain that we did not see that beauty

32、when it flowered and that we failed to react with love when it was gentle. A recent experience re-taught me this truth. I was hospitalized following a serious heart attack and had been in intensive care (特别护理) for several days. It was not a pleasant place. One morning, I had to have some additional tests. The required machines were located in a building at the opposite end of the hospital, so I had to be wheeled across the courtyard. As we got out from our unit, the sunlight hit me. Thats all