2016高考英语二轮阅读理解八十集之连载训练（51）
介绍说明类
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Kingda Ka, the tallest roller coaster （过山车） on Earth, drops its passengers a life-flashing 418 feet. Ferrari World's Formula Rossa, the fastest, takes riders' breath away at speeds of up to150 mph. BRC Imagination Arts, a Southern California design firm, has proposed something entirely new: a ride that creates the sensation of zero gravity for up to eight seconds at a time.
BRC drew its concept from the "Vomit Comet," the plane NASA uses to train astronauts. Its proposed theme-park ride would travel up and then back, similar to the existing "Superman: Escape from Krypton" coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. But unlike Superman and other open-car coasters, the vomit-comet ride would be fully enclosed. Riders would enjoy the illusion of floating within a stable chamber.
To create that illusion, a special motor system would speed coasters up the track with great precision（精确度）. As the coaster approached a top speed of more than 100 mph, it would suddenly and ever so slightly slow down—just enough to throw the passengers up from their seats and then quickly adjust its speed to fly in formation with and around the passengers. As the coaster reached the top of the track and began to drop back down, the computer system would continue to match its speed to that of the falling passengers, extending the sensation of weightlessness for several additional seconds, and finally rapidly slow down to a stop back at the base station.
Roller coasters typically cost no more than $30 million, but the zero-gravity ride would cost $50 million or more, to a large extent because the precision-response propulsion system（推进系统） is so complex. But if someone were to write a check today, Rogers says, his company could be sending riders on weightless journeys by the end of 2016.
1. What makes BRC's coaster different?
A. It's the tallest roller coaster in the States.
B. It's the fastest roller coaster on Earth.
C. It can bring a sensation of zero gravity to its riders.
D. It is a NASA product.
2. Why would people in BRC's coaster have an illusion of floating in the chamber?
A. Because it's designed with the inspiration of Superman.
B. Because a special functioning motor system is applied to it.
C. Because the coaster can approach a top speed of more than 100 mph.
D. Because the coaster would cost $20 million more than normal ones.
3. At what point could a rider begin to feel weightless?
A. When the coaster reduced its speed immediately after it reached its top speed.
B. When the coaster began to increase its speed.
C. When the coaster reduced its speed to a stop back at the base station.
D. When the coaster reached the top of the track.
4. What can we infer from the passage?
A. BRC is a famous design firm.
B. You feel like a superman when riding BRC coaster.
C. BRC's budget can't make the project complete until 2016.
D. Kingda Ka and Ferrari World's Formula Rossa will close down soon.
【参考答案】1—4、CBAC
较难题目特训：介绍说明类
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
For millions of Facebook users, choosing which photo to use for an online profile is an important decision. According to a study by researchers at the UT Dallas Center, the photos we select may reflect individual preferences, but they also appear to reflect more deeply rooted, unconscious cultural differences.Previous research has shown that culture can affect not only language and custom, but also how we experience the world and process information. Western cultures，for example，condition people to think of themselves as highly independent entities (实体)，whereas East Asian cultures stress collectivism and interdependence.
Dr. Denise Park, co-director of the Center at UT Dallas, and former graduate student Dr. ChihMao Huang of the University of Illinois, were curious about whether these patterns of cultural influence extend to cyberspace. In a paper published in the International Journal of Psychology, they examined the profile photographs of more than 500 active Facebook users from the United States a nd East Asia. Overall, they found that profile photos of Americans are more likely to focus on the individual's face，while the profiles of East Asians tend to less emphasize the face and include more background features. Americans also show greater smile intensity compared to East Asian Facebook users.
The findings show marked cultural differences in the focus of attention among East Asian and American Facebook users. Moreover, they echo previous research on cultural influences on visual perception(感知），attention, and reasoning in the offline world.
“We believe these findings relate to a cultural bias to be more individualistic and independent in the US and more communal and interdependent in Asia”，said Park.
The research also found that cultural influences over our self-presentation online can shift over time and from place to place. In one of the study samples, Americans studying in Japan and Japanese studying in the US both showed a tendency to adjust their profile photos to the general preferences of their host country.
“ Facebook constitutes an extended social context in which personal profiles mirror various individual characteristics，private thoughts，and social behaviors，” noted Huang. “ As such，the study presents a new approach to investigate cognition and behaviors across cultures by using Facebook as a data collection platform. ”
1. The underlined word ‘‘condition” in the first paragraph probably means _______.
A. adviseB. instructC. shapeD. forbid
2. We can know from the passage that Mongolians probably emphasize________.
A. cultural influencesB. social behaviors
C. independent existenceD. collective power
3. It can be inferred that a Korean studying in the US is likely to _______.
A. use a picture of his face on Facebook
B. adjust to American preferences quickly
C. change his profile photos from time to time
D. put up a photo of his apartment on Facebook
4. According to Dr. Huang, Facebook can help to _______.
A. make up a more extended social context
B. study the diversity of worldwide cultures
C. promote communication between east and west
D. combine different cultures from different aspects
【参考答案】1—4、CDAB
较难题目特训：介绍说明类
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Researchers have just offered evidence in a study that says obesity appears to spread through social ties, much like a virus. When one person gains weight, their close friends often follow. But the finding might also offer hope.
If friends help make obesity acceptable, then might also be influential in losing the fat. The researchers note that support groups are already an effective tool in dealing with other socially influenced problems, like alcoholism.
The findings appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, The researchers used information collected from 12,000 people. It was collected between 1971 and 2003 as part of the Framingham Heart Study.
The information was highly detailed. There was even contact information for close friends of the people in the study.
The researchers examined more than 40,000 social ties. They found that a person’s chances of becoming severely overweight increased by 57% if a friend had become obese.
A sister or brother of a person who became obese had a 40% increased chance of becoming obese. The risk for a wife or husband was a little less than that.
Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School was a lead investigator in the study. He says there is a direct causal relationship between a person getting fat and being followed in weight gain by a friend.
The study found that the sex of the friends was also an influence. In same-sex friendships a person had a 70% increased risk of becoming obese.Men had a 44% increased risk of becoming obese after weight gain in brother. In sisters, it was 67%.
The researchers also considered the effect of where people lived in relation to each other. James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, was the other lead investigator. He says a friend who lives a few hundred kilometers away has as much influence as one in the same neighborhood. He says the study demonstrates the need to consider that a major part of people’s health is tied to their social connections.
Both investigators say their research shows that obesity is not just a private medical issue, but a public health problem.
1. What does the underlined sentence in Para. 2 mean?
A. Obesity has a negative influence on a close friend.
B. Friends might also play a part in losing weight.
C. One might have a positive influence on one’s friend.
D. Friends usually don’t follow each other to lose weight.
2. Who is mostly likely to gain weight?
A. A man who has a fat brotherB. A husband who has a fat wife
C. A wife who has a fat husbandD. A woman who has a fat female friend
3. Which of the following statements doesn’t the passage agree with?
A. You are sure to lose weight if you have a skinny friend.
B. If one gains weight, one’s friends are likely to get fat.
C. A person’s health is closely linked with his /her social relationship.
D. Even if the friend lives far away, the influence still remains.
4. The reason why the study involves both family members and friends is that_______.
A. researchers fail to find a more different sample
B. researchers have different ideas for family members and friends
C. researchers can meet these people regularly
D. researchers can compare the results
【参考答案】1—4、BDAD