2020年高考英语模拟卷及答案解析（全国卷）第二部分阅读理解(共两节，满分40分)第一节 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A．Kids' imaginations are in overdrive when it comes to composing Christmas lists - as they ask for a live walrus（海象）, the power of invisibility（隐身） and Taylor Swift. Christmas is less than two months away, and little ones are already planning their letters to Santa. But one survey has revealed the weirdest items to turn up on Christmas lists, and they include mythical monsters and mega-selling pop stars.Conducted by GAME, the study also reveals a significant break from festive tradition when it comes to writing wish lists. One in three, 29%, children now use technology such as iPads or mobile phones instead of the traditional pen and paper, while a further one in five (19%) will rely on parents to take note of all the things they point at during TV adverts and during trips to the shops. With more than three million lists likely to be drafted, parents are prepared for a flurry of requests including many that even Santa would struggle to achieve.As part of the study, parents were asked to reveal some of the weird and wonderful items that made it onto their child's Christmas lists.Fred Prego, marketing director at GAME, says: "Choosing what to get your kids at Christmas can be a bit of a minefield(雷区).” As the research shows, most kids will be making note of the things that they want this half term and a lot of lists are going to be written."21. The underlined word “overdrive” in paragraph one means _______.A. running with a high speedB. slowing down sometimesC. driving forth and backwardsD. getting stuck somewhere【答案】：A【解析】：根据背景可知，孩子们在选择圣诞礼物时，要求颇多，在脑风暴什么礼物时，想象力也十分充沛。
overdrive v.& n.大脑“高速运转”。
22. Which of the following is unlikely to be a gift taken into the list of a child?A. live walrusB. Taylor SwiftC. pens and erasersD. iPads and iPhones【答案】：C【解析】：本题【答案】主要在文章第二段。
根据原文可知，现在孩子们对礼物要求越来越高，多为高科技产品或难以实现的东西。
当然就不可能是传统的笔和橡皮了。
23. What might be the main idea of the passage?A. Kids are losing their imagination when it comes to Christmas.B. Choosing a Christmas gift for you child good be challenging.C. Are you suffering from choosing a best gift?D. Advantages of having a second child.【答案】：B【解析】：本文考查对文章大意的把握。
孩子的对圣诞礼物的要求不断提高，要想挑到让他们满意的礼物当然也就很有“挑战性”了。
challenging adj.有挑战性的BCertain personality traits（特质） are often attributed to oldest, middle and youngest children. But a new study found that birth order itself had no effect on character, though it may slightly affect intelligence.Researchers analyzed three large ongoing collections of data including more than 20,000 people: a British study that follows the lives of people who were born in one particular week in 1958, a German study of private households started in 1984 and a continuing study of Americans born between 1980 and 1984.They searched for differences in extroversion（外向）, emotional stability, agreeableness（随和性）, conscientiousness（责任心）, self-reported intellect, IQ, imagination and openness to experience. They analyzed families with sisters and brothers, large and small age gaps and different numbers of siblings. But no matter how they spliced the data, they could find no association of birth order with any personality characteristic.The study, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, did find evidence that older children have a slight advantage in IQ scores, but the difference was apparent only in a largesample, with little significance for any individual. The lead author, Julia M. Rohrer, a graduate student at the University of Leipzig, said that birth order can have an effect — if your older brother bullie d you, for example.” But these effects are highly idiosyncratic（个例）,” she said. “There is no such thing as a typical older, middle or younger sibling. It’s important to stop believing that you are the way you are because of birth order.”24. According to the first paragraph, _______.A. We should attribute personality traits to oldest childrenB. There isn’t much relation between birth order and characterC. Birth order can strongly affect your intelligence level. D. Birth order makes no difference to intelligence【答案】：B【解析】：本题为细节题。
根据原文“But a new study found that birth order itself had no effect on character, though it may slightly affect intelligence.可知，出生顺序和性格没有什么关系。
25. Which of the following isn’t analyzed by the researchers?A. emotional stabilityB. self-reported intellectC. openness to experienceD. ability in public speech【答案】：D【解析】：本题为细节题“They searched for differences in extroversion（外向）, emotional stability, agreeableness（随和性）, conscientiousness（责任心）, self-reported intellect, IQ, imagination and ope nness to experience..”可知。