02 科学技术-2024年中考英语新热点时文阅读

2024年中考英语新热点时文阅读

02 科学技术 

01

Science and technology will continue to develop fast in 2023. Nature and Forbes have made their predictions（预测）. Let’s have a look.

1．Human-like robots will do many things for people EXCEPT ________.

A．serving as greeters, waiter and companions

B．playing roles in health care and scientific research

C．learning to use some space telescopes

2．Which is NOT mentioned to protect the earth?

A．By making progress in a new clean energy.

B．By using more human-like robots.

C．By dealing with nuclear waste in a safer way.

3．Which space telescope can be used to create a 3 D map of universe?

A．The James Webb Space Telescope.

B．The Euclid Space Telescope.

C．The Xinjiang Qitai Radio Telescope.

4．Which of the following is TRUE?

A．It’s difficult for Chinese people to find where their phones are.

B．China is working on a direct connection between phones and satellites.

C．5 G will continue to influence people’s lives in some areas.

5．Where can you read this passage?

A．In a magazine.               B．In a novel.                         C．In a guidebook.

02

What’s going to happen in the future? Will robots control our planet? Will computers become smarter than us? Not likely. But here are some things that scientists say are most likely to happen in 10 to 30 years from now, according to the BBC．

Digital money

We need to pay with cash for everything we bought. Now when we use a credit card to shop online, money is spent without us seeing it. That means we are already using digital money. Using a card is much easier than searching our pockets for change. It is also safer than carrying a lot of cash.

When ATM cards were first introduced, they were not accepted everywhere. But now it’s hard to live without them. It’s reported that people in Sweden completely stopped using cash last year, and the US might be next.

Bionic（仿生的）eye

It’s no longer something only in a science fiction movie. People who are blind may have a chance to get their sight back-by wearing bionic eyes.

A blind eye can no longer sense light, but a bionic eye can use a camera to “see” the environment and send data to the mind. Now the bionic eye only allows patients to see lights and unclear shapes. A high resolution（高清的）image could be just a few years away.

Self-driving cars

Unlike a human driver, a self-driving car won’t get distracted（分神）by a phone call, the radio or something outside the window. Sensors（探测器）and cameras on the car would allow it to stick strictly to the rules of the road and keep a safe distance from other cars. This would greatly reduce the number of road accidents. You could even take a nap while the car drives itself. In the future, driverless cars would be widely accepted.

6．What does the writer mainly tell us about digital money?

A．We use digital money to shop online without paying money.

B．Digital money is most likely to be used instead of cash.

C．Using cash is easier and safer than a credit card.

D．ATM cards are always popular.

7．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Bionic eyes only appear in the science fiction film.

B．Human drivers won’t get distracted by something outside.

C．The blind wearing bionic eyes may see clearly in the future.

D．There will be no road accident at all if self-driving cars are used.

8．From the report, we can learn some information about ______.

A．culture and art                                      B．industry and farming

C．science and technology                          D．traffic and shopping

9．Which of the following can be predicted（预测）from the passage?

A．There would be a number of self-driving cars on the road.

B．The blind could use cameras to see things around.

C．We would live a hard life with digital money.

D．Robots would control the world.

03

China has completed its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (北斗卫星导航系统), or BDS. It becomes a new system in the world with a global navigation network (全球导航网络). The other three systems are GPS of the US, GLONASS of Russia and Galileo of the European Union.

As the name suggests, the global navigation satellite system provides navigation and location services 24 hours a day. As we know, building a good satellite system costs a lot. Besides, the other systems have been set up. Why does China have a new one if there is nothing special?

The other three systems have 24 satellites. China’s BDS has six more satellites. What’s special about these six satellites is that they have a relatively fixed area of activity. This can improve BDS’ accuracy (精准度) in China and the Asia-Pacific region to 5 meters, compared with a 10-meter accuracy in other areas.

BDS has another advantage-the short message service. It allows users to have a two-way communication. In areas that are not covered by communication signals (信号), users can send short messages. Even in uninhabited areas, such as deserts, forests, mountainous and polar areas, BDS can also make the short message service available. With this service, users who are in danger can tell the rescue team (救援队) their location and condition.

As the most populous country, it’s important for China to have its own global navigation satellite system to meet the needs of the country’s development. In fact, BDS is also good business. According to the official report, China’s satellite industry has kept a 20% yearly growth since 2012. And BDS contributes about 80% of it. In addition, BDS has also created countless high-paying jobs. And with continuous improvement, it will have much more to offer in the future.

10．Which one is the global navigation satellite system of China?

A．BDS.                          B．GPS of the US.                  C．GLONASS of Russia.

11．How many satellites does BeiDou-3 have in total?

A．6.                               B．24.                                    C．30.

12．What does the underlined word “uninhabited” mean in Paragraph 4?

A．人口众多的                 B．无人居住的                       C．风平浪静的

13．What are true about China’s BDS according to Paragraph 5?

a.It has met the needs of China’s development.

b.It is regarded as good business.

c.It has caused a number of people to lose their jobs.

A．a, c                             B．a, b                                   C．b, c

14．In which part of a newspaper can we probably read this passage?

A．Technology.                 B．Culture.                             C．History.

04

The local government of Haidian and the Internet company Baidu had an agreement in January, 2018. They wanted to develop the “smart city” together. Haidian Park was chosen by them. Why was Haidian Park chosen? It is because the park covers about 34 hectares (公顷) near the 4th Ring Road. And it received about 1.2 million tourists last year. It took the workers 10 months to change Haidian Park into an artificial intelligence AI (人工智能) theme park. It was opened to the public in early November.

Now the park has driverless buses, smart lamp posts (灯柱) and smart speakers. The buses themselves can run according to the directions from a computer. The smart lamp posts can record a lot of data quickly and well. The smart speakers can understand human instructions correctly. The park gives people a totally new look. People can experience different artificial intelligence here.

Che Jianguo said that a total of 10 government departments and companies took part in the rebuilding of the park over the past 10 months. He comes from the park office and he is in charge of the program.

In recent years, Chinese high-tech companies begin to do some things in the artificial intelligence industry. The central government also said in October that it would help the development of the country’s new generation of artificial intelligence.

15．Haidian Park was chosen to become the “smart city” because _____.

A．it is the biggest park in Beijing                                    B．it is next to the 4th Ring Road      C．it has large size and is popular

16．The underlined word “driverless” in Paragraph 2 means “_____” in Chinese.

A．无人驾驶的                 B．无座位的                          C．跑得快的

17．Today, Chinese high-tech companies pay more attention to _____.

A．the global economy      B．the artificial intelligence industry      C．the development of our country

18．The best title of the text is “_____”.

A．Haidian Artificial Intelligence Theme Park

B．Chinese High-tech Companies

C．Building A “Smart City”

05

China’s biggest solar-powered drone(太阳能无人机), Qimingxing-50 or Morning Star 50, finished its first test flight in September, 2022. The drone was built by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China(AVIC, 中国航空工业集团有限公司)

Drones have been used for quite a few years now. There are different ways of increasing the flying time. However, all these methods become less useful compared with the unlimited(无限的) power provided by the Sun. That’s why researchers have been working to make solar-powered drones that can not only stay in the air for longer but also perform more tasks while in the sky.

In 2018, China tested the first version(版本) of Morning Star, which was 91 feet wide. Made from a special kind of plastic, the drone was so light, weighing only 41 pounds. Compared with it, the Morning Star 50 is much larger and has a wingspan(翼展) of 164 feet.

On September 3, Morning Star 50 took off from an airport in Yulin City in the Shaanxi province in northwest China and landed back 26 minutes later after a smooth flight. Staff told some local reporters that all flight systems worked normally. This is a good start for future flights of the solar-powered drone that could last for many days or even months at a time.

In the US, Airbus has been testing the Zephyr solar-powered drones for the past few years. Its latest version, the Zephyr S, came close to breaking the record for the longest flight. It stayed in the air for 64 days. Unluckily, the drone fell onto the ground only a few hours before it would have set a new record.

19．Which one is an advantage of solar-powered drones researchers want?

A．They’re cheaper than others.                 B．They can fly in bad weather.

C．They fly at a higher speed.                    D．They can stay in the air for longer.

20．What made the first version of Morning Star light?

A．Its look.           B．Its material.            C．The power it uses.   D．The tasks it performs.

21．What can we know about Zephyr S?

A．It failed to land smoothly.                    B．It flew for only a few hours.

C．It set a new record in the US.                D．It had been tested for many years.

22．What’s the main purpose of the text?

A．To compare different drones.                B．To report a drone’s test flight.

C．To discuss drones’ future.                     D．To tell the importance of drones.

06

Most people have a place to call home on Earth. What about in outer space? The International Space Station(ISS) became our first “home” in space in 2000. It welcomed its first crew that year, paving the way for 20 years of future research.

“You just have this impression that we’re all citizens of not a particular country, but of the planet,” former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly told National Geographic about working in ISS. “We’re all in this thing called humanity together.”

Over the past 20 years, the ISS has mainly been used as a science lab, hosting 241 people from 19 countries, according to NASA．They have gone on spacewalks, done research on how space affects the human body, and even grown plants in space.

The station’s development has also benefited people on Earth. For example, the station’s water purification(净化) technology has been used in poor areas to provide clean drinking water. The station also helps to warn us of natural disasters, such as earthquakes.

However, after being our home in space for over 7000 days, the station is starting to get old. It has leaked(泄露) air a few times. Scientists think that the station can keep working until 2024. After that, scientists will bring it down to Earth. It is believed that Earth’s atmosphere will burn up most of the station. Other debris(残骸) will fall into the Pacific Ocean.

In the future, space will be home to more stations like the ISS. NASA is building a space station that is smaller than the ISS near the moon. Also, China will have its own space station up and running in 2022.

23．What did Scott Kelly feel about his work in space?

A．Comfortable.    B．Proud.                   C．Bored.                    D．Lonely.

24．What haven’t the astronauts done while working in ISS?

A．Clean the raindrops.

B．Walk on space.

C．Study how space affects the human body.

D．Grow plants.

25．What can we infer from the 5th paragraph?

A．Though the ISS getting old, it will be improved and stay in space.

B．The Earth’s atmosphere will help bring the ISS down to Earth.

C．The whole station will soon be burnt up and fall into the ocean.

D．The ISS will be brought back to Earth after a few years.

26．What do we know about the International Space Station?

A．It is the first space station launched by NASA．

B．It mainly develops water purification technology.

C．It benefits all the human beings on Earth.

D．It can keep running until 2023.

27．What can be the best title of this passage?

A．Our Home in Space.                            B．Visiting the ISS.

C．A New Space Station.                          D．Working in Outer Space

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参考答案

1．C    2．B    3．B    4．C    5．A

【导语】本文主要讲述2023年，科学技术将继续快速发展。短文主要介绍了《自然》和《福布斯》对科学做出的一些预测。

1．细节理解题。根据第一框中“These Robots will serve as greeters,  waiters and companions（陪伴）of the elderly.Elon Musk’s company is working hard on making human-like robots that will work in our home.More AI systems will play roles in areas like health care and scientific research.”（这些机器人将充当老人的迎宾员、服务员和同伴。埃隆.马斯克的公司正在努力制造能在我们家工作的类人机器人。更多的人工智能系统将在医疗保健和科学研究等领域发挥作用。）可知，类人机器人会为人们做很多事情，但不包括学习使用一些太空望远镜。故选C。

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