【英语】高考英语阅读理解练习题及答案一、高中英语阅读理解1．阅读理解There might be as many as 10 million species of complex life on this planet today —— a huge number. But add up all of the complex species that ever lived and some biologists think the grand total would be about five billion. The estimate leads to an astonishing conclusion: a staggering 99% of species are not around any more. They have been driven to extinction.More species are joining the ranks of the extinct every year. Many scientists believe we are living through an episode of remarkably rapid extinction, on a scale that has been seen only five times in the last half a billion years.They call this current episode the sixth mass extinction —— a large, global decline in a wide variety of species over a relatively short period of time. And they tend to agree that humans arethe main cause.Over-hunting, overfishing, and human-driven habitat loss are pushing many species to the brink. In fact, we have changed the planet so much that some geologists are now suggesting thatwe have entered a new phase in Earth's history; an epoch they call the ＂Anthropocene＂. By 2100, it is expected that humans will have caused the extinction of up to half of the world's current species.Because we are living through this extinction, it is relatively easy for us to study the driving forces behind it. But how do we determine what caused other mass die-offs that happened long ago? To do so we have to look at what archaeologists, palaeontologists, geologists and other scientists have concluded from the evidence they have gathered.The trouble is, those scientists do not always agree with one another —— even about the most recent extinction event. As well as the five-or six- mass extinctions, there have also been many smaller extinctions.One of these mini extinction events happened towards the end of the Pleistocene, a few tensof thousands of years ago. It is sometimes called the ＂megafaunal＂ extinction because many ofthe species it claimed were particularly large animals, weighing more than 97lb (44kg). However,its cause remains a debate amongst scientists.（1）What can we learn about the sixth mass extinction？A. Humans are the main cause of it.B. It means a global decline over a long time.C. It occurred towards the end of the Pleistocene.D. Scientists still disagree about the causeof it.（2）What can be inferred from the text about species？A. 99% of species will not be around any more by 2100.B. By the 22nd century, there will probably be about five million on this planet.C. About eight years later we will enter what is called the ＂Anthropocene＂.D. It is not easy for us to figure out causes behind the＂Anthropocene＂.（3）Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word in the last paragraph ?A. Land animals.B. Marine life.C. Huge animals.D. Flesh-eating creatures.【答案】（1）A（2）B（3）C【解析】【分析】本文是一篇说明文，许多科学家认为，我们正经历着地球史上第六次大规模物种灭绝，主要原因是人类的过度捕猎、过度捕捞和人类栖息地的丧失。
但是，各个科学家对过去物种灭绝原因有着不同的看法，即便是最近的一次小规模物种灭绝——大型动物灭绝，有关的灭绝原因，科学家仍在争论。
(1)考查细节理解。
第三段提到大规模物种灭绝是在a relatively short period of time，所以B错误；最后一段提到大型动物的灭绝发生在the end of the Pleistocene，而第六次大规模物种灭绝是当下正在发生的，所以C错误；根据第三段中的＂They call this current episode the sixth mass extinction ——a large, global decline in a wide variety of species over a relatively short period of time. And they tend to agree that humans are the main cause.＂可知，科学家认为人类是第六次大规模物种灭绝的主要原因，没有不同意见，因此D错误，因此选A。
(2)考查推理判断。
根据第一段中的“There might be as many as 10 million species of complex life on this planet today ”，以及第四段中的＂By 2100, it is expected that humans will have caused the extinction of up to half of the world's current species.＂可知，到22世纪，地球还会有目前物种的1/2会灭绝，也就是10million的半，即five million，因此选B。
(3)考查词义猜测。
根据最后一段中的＂because many of the species it claimed were particularly large animals, weighing more than 97lb (44kg).＂可推知＂megafaunal＂应为大型动物，因此选C。
【点评】本题考点涉及细节理解，词义猜测和推理判断三个题型的考查，是一篇科普类阅读，考生需要准确捕捉细节信息，并根据上下文进行逻辑推理，选出正确答案。
2．阅读理解Scientists found that sleeping considerably improves our creativity. After taking a nap people are able to think faster and put more imagination into their thinking. Besides, if we dream, the thinking abilities are improved even more.Researchers consider that sleeping on a problem in most cases leads to elucidation(解释). They say when a person enters a phase called Rapid Eye Movement (REM) during sleep, it increases the effect. Such phase takes place right before we awake and according to scientists it helps our brain make links between unrelated subjects.In the study, led by Professor Sara Mednick, scientists made a conclusion that the REM was "important for assimilating(消化) new information into past experience" in order to find solutions to creative problems.Prof. Mednick is a psychiatrist at the University of California. Her study involved the analysis of 77 adults. Each participant was given several word-associated creative tasks. All tasks were given in the morning, with participants being shown a number of groups of 3 words, for example: cookie, heart and sixteen. They were asked to come up with a word that would be associatedwith all three given terms—like sweet. Sometime later, after some participants were allowed to sleep, they were asked to perform the same tasks and some new ones. It is worth mentioning that while some people slept, researchers used brain scans to see the type of sleep each participant entered.When given the same tasks, participants, who took a nap, were able to give more varied solutions, some of which were much better than they gave earlier. But when given new tasks, researchers found that those who entered REM sleep had a 40 percent better result compared to the performance they showed in the morning.（1）What does "it" refer to in the second paragraph?A. The effect.B. REM.C. Sleep.D. A problem.（2）Why do the researchers study the REM?A. Because REM takes place just after you sleep.B. Because REM can store more information.C. Because REM can help find creative solutionsD. Because REM can make a creative invention.（3）What can we know from this passage?A. Taking a short nap is good for your thinking during the day.B. Sleeping has three processes which is good for creativity.C. Each adult was allowed to sleep after the task was given.D. REM is a process taking place right after we awake when we nap.（4）The important stage in the study is________.A. to think of a creative wordB. to show a group of 3 wordsC. to give participants time to thinkD. to let some participants sleep for a while【答案】（1）B（2）C（3）A（4）D【解析】【分析】文章讲述了科学研究发现，睡眠能大大提高我们的创造力。