高中英语热点话题阅读训练

高考英语热点话题阅读训练2021.4

A

Thereisgrowingconcernaboutfoodinsecurityinthedevelopingworld.Risingfood

prices,weatheremergenciesandpoliticalproblemsaredeepeningthestruggleforfamiliesin

manycountries.

ThreeUNagencieshavepublishedareportrecently,sayinghighpricesarelikelyto

continue.GregoryBarrow,whoiswiththeWorldFoodPrograminRome,says,“Ifyoulook

attheplaceswheretheWorldFoodProgramworks,particularlyindevelopingcountries,you

seepeoplewhomightbespendingmorethan60percentoftheirsalaryinpurchasingfood

fbrtheirfamilies.,5

EastAfricaissufferingitsworstdroughtinyears.InKenya,atleastthreeandahalf

millionpeoplearegoinghungry,mostlyinthenorth.Yetfoodisgoingtowasteincentral

Kenya.Now,farmerstherewantthegovernmenttobuytheirfoodandgiveittothosein

need.Farmerssaybadroadsandlackoftransportationmakeitdifficultforthemtogettheir

producetothemarket.

Mr.Barrowsays,“Itneedsthegovernmenttomakesomearrangementssuchas

providingtransport.Theycanbuyitatagoodprice,thengiveittothosepeopleinsteadof

askingforfoodfromoverseas,whichisverybad.Whenwearethrowingawayfood,theyare

askingforfoodfromoverseas.^^

Economistssaythatimportsreducelocalfoodprices,decreaseproductivity（生产效率）

andincreasethedependencyonothercountries.FarmersinKenyahopethegovernmentcan

payhigherpricesfortheircropssothattheycanfeedmoreKenyans.

1.Whatisthebesttitleforthispassage?

A.KenyaImportsFoodfromAbroad.

B.WorldFoodPrograminRome.

C.ThePoorSufferfromHighFoodPrices.

D.AReportPublishedbyThreeUNAgencies.

2.WhatdoweknowaboutKenyafromthepassage?

A.ThepeopleincentralKenyaaresufferingfromhunger.

B.AtleastthreeandahalfmillionKenyanslackfood.

C.TheKenyangovernmentwantstoimproveroadconditions.

D.PeopleinnorthernKenyarefusetoaskforfoodfromoverseas.

3.Whatdoes"they"inthefourthparagraphreferto?

A.ThepeopleofnorthernKenya.B.Governmentofficials.

C.ThefarmersofcentralKenya.D.Kenyaneconomists.

4.WhichofthefollowingstatementsisTRUE,accordingtothispassage?

A.GregoryBarrowsuggeststhatKenyamakegooduseofoverseasfood.

B.PeopleinnorthernKenyaaresufferingthedroughtlessthanthecentral.

C.Economistsbelieveimportingfoodfromabroadmaycauseproblems.

D.Kenyangovernmenthopestobuythenativecropsathigherprices.

B

Beingabletocountatleasttenpeopleasfriendsmakesushappy,butthosewithfiveor

fewerarelikelytobemiserable,researcherssay.Theirstudyofhundredsofmenandwomen

alsofoundthatpeoplewhofeelsatisfiedwiththeirlivesalwayshavelotsofclosefriends

andregularlymakenewones.Whileitisnotclearwhetherourfriendsmakeushappyorwe

makefriendsbecausewearehappy,theresearcherssayitisclearthatweshouldmaintain

ourfriendships.PsychologistRichardTunneysaid,uWhateverthereasonis,actively

workingonfriendshipsinthesamewayastomaintainamarriageisaprerequisite（必备条件）

tohappiness."Dr.Tunney,ofNottinghamUniversity,quizzedmorethan1,700people

abouttheirsatisfactionwiththeirlivesandthestateoftheirfriendships.Thosewithfive

friendsorfewerhadjusta40percentchanceofbeinghappy.Inotherwordstheywere

morelikelytobeunhappythanhappy.Tenwasthefirstnumberatwhichpeopleweremore

likelytobehappythanunhappy.Thehappiestpeoplewerethosewithdozensoffriends,

accordingtothestudy,whichwascarriedoutfortheNationalLottery（彩票）.

Forwomen,thismeanthaving33friends；formen,thenumberwas49.Dr.Tunneysaid,

“Peoplewhowereextremelysatisfiedwiththeirliveshadtwicethenumberoffriendsof

peoplewhowereextremelydissatisfied."Womentendedtohavefewerfriendsthanmen

butformedtighterrelationships.Interestingly,thestudyfoundthatchildhoodfriendsareno

morelikelytomakeushappythanpeoplewebecomeclosetolaterinlife.Lotterywinners,

however,haveadifferentopiniononlife.Theyarealwayshappierthanothersdespite

spendingtheirtimewithasmallcircleofoldfriends.Thiscouldbebecausetheytrustpeople

they'veknownforalongtime.

6.What'sthebesttitleforthispassage?

A.TheSecrettoHappinessIstoMakeNewFriends

B.HavingatLeast10GoodFriendsMakesPeopleHappy

C.WhyMostPeopleLiketoMakeFriendsRegularly

D.Men'sandWomen'sFriendsAreDifferent

7.WhichofthefollowingopinionsmayRichardTunneyNOTagreewith?

A.Peoplewithfewfriendsaresuretobeunhappy.

B.Ourfriendscanmakeushappy.

C.Happinessmaycomefromagoodmarriagelife.

D.Wemaybecomehappierifwehavemorefriends.

8.Accordingtothepassage,lotterywinners.

A.enjoymakingnewfriendsB.makenewfriendseasily

C.likestayingwitholdfriendsD.havenotimetomakefriends

9.Wecanconcludefromthepassagethat.

A.it'senoughforonepersontohavetenfriends

B.unhappypeoplemusthavefewfriends

C.childhoodfriendsmakepeoplehappierthanadulthoodones

D.friendshipsplayamajorroleinpeople'slife

C

Caneatingachocolatebareverydayreallypreventage-relatedmemoryloss?No.Buta

newresearchshowsthatlargeamountsofflavones,substancesfoundincocoa,teaandsome

kindsofvegetables,mayimproveage-relatedmemoryfailure.

Dr.ScottSmallisaprofessorofneurology（神经病学）atColumbiaUniversityinnew

YorkCity.Heistheleadwriterofaresearchpaperdescribingtheeffectsofcocoaflavones

onbrainactivity.Hisstudyinvolved37volunteersagedbetween50and69.Researchers

gavethemahigh-levelflavonesdrinkmadefromcocoabeansoralow-levelflavonesdrink.

Foraperiodofthreemonths,somesubjectsgot900milligramsofflavonesaday.Theothers

got10milligramsofflavoneseachday.Brainimagingandmemorytestsweregiventoeach

studysubjectbeforeandafterthestudy.Dr.Smallsaysthatthesubjectswhohadthe

high-levelflavonesdrinkshowedmuchimprovementonmemorytests.

Theresearcherswarnthatmoreworkisneededtobedonebecausethisstudywas

performedonlyonasmallgroup.Dr.JoannMansonistheleadresearcherofafour-year

studyinvolving18,000adults.Thisstudywilluseflavonescapsules（胶囊）.Thestudy

subjectswillbedividedintotwogroupsandwilltaketwopillsperday.Thecapsulesused

willalllookthesame.Butonegroup'scapsuleswillcontainflavones,whiletheothergroup

willtakecapsulesmadeofaninactivesubstance,orplacebo.

Dr.Mansonsaysit'snotnecessaryforpeopletostarteatingmorechocolate,because3

personswouldhavetoeatahugeamountofchocolatetogetthesamelevelofflavonesgiven

totherestsubjects.Headdsmanymanufacturershaveplannedtoremovetheflavonesfrom

theirchocolateproducts.Similarly,Dr.Mansonsaysacocoa-basedflavonesextract（提

取）maybedevelopedinthefuture.Buthesaysthatmorestudiesareneededtoseehow

muchflavonesisgoodforourhealth.

10.WhatwasdonetothesubjectsafterDr.Small'sstudy?

A.Theywereaskedtotakeahigh-levelflavonesdrink.

B.Theyweregivencapsulescontainingflavones.

C.Theywereaskedtotaketwopillsofflavonescapsulesperday.

D.Theyweregivenbrainimagingandmemorytests.

11.What'sthesimilarityofthetwoexperiments?

A.Bothusehigh-levelflavonescapsules.

B.Thesubjectsaredividedintotwogroupsinbothexperiments.

C.Drinksandplacebosareusedinbothexperiments.

D.Thenumberofthesubjectsisthesame.

12.WhywillDr.Mansoncarryoutthefour-yearstudy?

A.Toprovethefirstexperimentiswrong.

B.Totesthowmuchflavonescanimproveourmemory.

C.Tocarryouttheexperimentfurther.

D.Toshoweatingchocolateisbettertoimprovememory.

13.Whatcanwelearnfromthelastparagraph?

A.Inthefuturewecangetflavoneswithouteatingchocolate.

B.Themoreweeatflavones,thebetterourhealthwillbe.

C.It'snotnecessaryforustoeatchocolate.

D.It'seasyforpeopletogetthesamelevelofflavonesgiventothetestsubjects.

D

Let'sfaceit.Noonedrinksdiet（饮食）soda（苏打）forthetaste.Peopledrinkdietsodain

thehopethatitwillhelpthemloseweightoratleastkeepthemfromgainingit.Yetitseems

tohaveexactlytheoppositeeffect,accordingtoanewstudy.

ResearchersfromtheUniversityofTexassaidthosewhodranktwoormoredietsodasa

dayhadwaist（腰）sizeincreasesthatweresixtimesgreaterthanthoseofpeoplewhodidn't

drinkdietsoda."Whatwesawwasthatthemoredietsodasapersondrank,themoreweight

theywerelikelytogain,“saidSharonFowler.

Thestudywasbasedondatafrom474participantsinalarge,ongoingresearchproject,

wheretheparticipantswerefollowedfornearly10years.

Whilethefindingsaresurprising,theyalsooffersomeexplanations.

Nutrition（营养）expert,MelanieRogers,whoworkswithoverweightpatientsinNew

York,hasfoundthatwhenpatientsareswitched（改变）fromregulartodietsoda,theydon't

loseweightatall."Weweren'tseeingweightlossnecessarily,andthatwasconfusingtous,

saidRogers.

Sowhywoulddietsodacauseweightgain?Nooneknowsforsureyet,butitcouldbe

thatpeoplethinktheycaneatmoreiftheydrinkdietsoda,andsoover-compensate（补偿）for

themissingcalories（卡路里热量单位）.

Arelatedstudyfoundsomesweeteners（甜味齐tl）raisedbloodsugarlevelsinsome

mice."Data