2021年北京卷
第二部分 阅读理解(共两节，38分)
第一节(共14小题;每小题2分，共28分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑.
A
If you are planning to start a career in the field of education，science，or culture，then an internship(实习) at UNESCO will be ideal for you.
Who can apply?
l You have completed your full-time university studies;or.
l You are studying in a graduate program for a master's degree.
l Applicants in technical assignments must have reached the last year of their studies in a technical institution.
What are the requirements?
l You must be at least 20 years old.
l You should have a good command (掌握) of either English or French.
l You must have an excellent knowledge of office-related software.
l You should be able to work well in a team and adapt to an international working environment.
l You should possess strong interpersonal and communication skills.
What do you need to prepare?
l Visa：You should obtain the necessary visas.
l Travel：You must arrange and finance your travel to and from the location where you will do your internship.
l Medical insurance：You must show proof of a comprehensive health insurance valid(有效的)in the target country for the entire period of the internship.UNESCO will provide limited insurance coverage up to USD30,000 for the internship period.
l Medical certificate：You must provide a medical certificate indicating you are fit to work.
l motivation letter：You should have your motivation letter ready before filling out the application form.
Your application will be accessed by UNESCO managers and will stay in our database for six months.We do not respond to every candidate.If selected，you will be contacted by a manager.If you do not receive any update within six months，it means that your application has not been successful.
21. according to this passage，applicants are required to________.
A. hold a master's degree in science
B. have international work experience
C. be fluent in either English or French
D. present a letter from a technical institution
22. What will UNESCO provide for the internship period?
A. Limited medical insurance coverage.
B. Training in communication skills.
C. A medical certificate for work.
D. financial support for travel.
23. What should applicants do before filling out the application form?
A. contact UNESCO managers.B. Get access to the database.
C. Keep a motivation letter at hand.D. Work in a team for six months.
答案解析：
21. C. be fluent in either English or French。根据文章中的要求部分，申请者应该具有良好的英语或法语能力，选项C中的"be fluent in either English or French"与原文中的"have a good command of either English or French"相符。
22. A. Limited medical insurance coverage。文章中提到，UNESCO将为实习期间提供最多30,000美元的有限保险覆盖，选项A中的" Limited medical insurance coverage"与原文描述相符。
23. C. Keep a motivation letter at hand。根据文章中的准备事项列表，申请者在填写申请表之前应该准备好动机信，选项C中的"Keep a motivation letter at hand"与原文中的"have your motivation letter ready before filling out the application form"相符。
B
I remember the day during our first week of class when we were informed about our semester(学期) project of volunteering at a non-profit organization.When the teacher introduced us to the different organizations that needed our help，my last choice was operation Iraqi Children (OIC).My first impression of the organization was that it was not going to make enough of a difference with the plans I had in mind.
Then，an OIC representative gave us some details，which somewhat interested me.After doing some research， I believed that we could really do something for those kids.When I went online to the OIC website，I saw pictures of the Iraqi children.Their faces were so powerful in sending a message of their despair(绝望) and need that I joined this project without hesitation.We decided to collect as many school supplies as possible，and make them into kits——one kit，one child.
The most rewarding day for our group was project day，when all the efforts we put into collecting the items finally came together.When I saw the various supplies we had collected，it hit me that every kit we were to build that day would eventually be in the hands of an Iraqi child.Over the past four months，I had never imagined how I would feel once our project was completed.While making the kits，I realized that I had lost sight of the true meaning behind it.I had only focused on the fact that it was another school project and one I wanted to get a good grade on.When the kits were completed，and ready to be sent overseas，the warm feeling I had was one I would never forget.
In the beginning，I dared myself to make a difference in the life of another person.Now that our project is over，I realize that I have affected not only one life，but ten.With our efforts，ten young boys and girls will now be able to further their education.
24. How did the author feel about joining the OIC project in the beginning?
A. It would affect his/her initial plans.
B. It would involve traveling overseas.
C It would not bring him/her a good grade.
D. It would not live up to his/her expectations.
25. What mainly helped the author change his/her attitude toward the project?
A. Images of Iraqi children.B. research by his/her classmates.
C. A teacher's introduction.D. A representative's comments.
26. The author's OIC project group would help ten Iraqi children to________..
A. become OIC volunteersB. further their education
C. study in foreign countriesD. influence other children
27. What can we conclude from this passage?
A. One's potential cannot always be underrated.
B. First impression cannot always be trusted.
C. Actions speak louder than words.
D. He who hesitates is lost.
答案解析：
24. D. It would not live up to his/her expectations。作者最初认为Operation Iraqi Children组织不会达到他/她的预期，这从第一段中的"My first impression of the organization was that it was not going to make enough of a difference with the plans I had in mind."可以看出。
25. A. Images of Iraqi children。作者在OIC网站上看到的伊拉克儿童的图片帮助他/她改变了对项目的态度，这从第二段中的"I saw pictures of the Iraqi children... that I joined this project without hesitation."可以看出。
26. B. further their education。通过项目，十名伊拉克儿童将能够继续他们的教育，这从最后一段中的"With our efforts, ten young boys and girls will now be able to further their education."可以看出。
27. B. First impression cannot always be trusted。作者最初对项目的看法是负面的，但后来通过参与和了解，态度发生了改变，这说明第一印象并不总是可靠的。其他选项虽然可能是文章中的主题，但并不是从整篇文章中得出的结论。
C
Hundreds of scientists, writers and academics sounded a warning to humanity in an open letter published last December: Policymakers and the rest of us must engage openly with the risk of global collapse. Researchers in many areas have projected the widespread collapse as “a credible scenario(情景) this century”.
A survey of scientists found that extreme weather events, food insecurity, and freshwater shortages might create global collapse. Of course, if you are a non-human species, collapse is well underway.
The call for public engagement with the unthinkable is especially germane in this moment of still-uncontrolled pandemic and economic crises in the world's most technologically advanced nations. Not very long ago, it was also unthinkable that a virus would shut down nations and that safety nets would be proven so disastrously lacking in flexibility.
The international scholars’ warning letter doesn't say exactly what collapse will look like or when it might happen. Collapseology, the study of collapse, is more concerned with identifying trends and with them the dangers of everyday civilization. Among the signatories(签署者) of the warning was Bob Johnson, the originator of the “ecological footprint” concept, which measures the total amount of environmental input needed to maintain a given lifestyle. With the current footprint of humanity, “it seems that global collapse is certain to happen in some form, possibly within a decade, certainly within this century,” Johnson said in an email.
“Only if we discuss the consequences of our biophysical limits,” the December warning letter says, “can we have the hope to reduce their speed, severity and harm”. And yet messengers of the coming disturbance are likely to be ignored. We all want to hope things will turn out fine. As a poet wrote,
Man is a victim of dope(麻醉品)
In the incurable form of hope.
The hundreds of scholars who signed the letter are intent(执着) on quieting hope that ignores preparedness. “Let's look directly into the issue of collapse,” they say, “and deal with the terrible possibilities of what we see there to make the best of a troubling future.”
28. What does the underlined word “germane” in paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Scientific.B. Credible.
C. Original.D. Relevant.
29. As for the public awareness of global collapse, the author is________.
A. worriedB. puzzled
C. surprisedD. scared
30. What can we learn from this passage?
A. The signatories may change the biophysical limits.
B. The author agrees with the message of the poem.
C. The issue of collapse is being prioritized.
D. The global collapse is well underway.
答案解析：
28. D. Relevant。划线词"germane"在第三段中的意思是“相关的”，在这个上下文中，它指的是公众参与讨论全球崩溃的风险在当前疫情期间尤其相关。选项D中的"Relevant"与这个意思相符。
29. A. worried。作者对于公众对全球崩溃的意识表示担忧，这从文章的最后几段可以看出，作者提到了人们倾向于忽视即将到来的混乱的使者，并且希望事情会有好的结果，这表明作者担心公众可能不会认真对待全球崩溃的警告。
30. B 原文诗歌可知，人类无视未来全球崩塌的巨大危险，把头埋进沙子里，假装不知道，充满不切实际的幻想和希望。而诗歌前面的段落就提到，未来崩溃的先行信号很可能被忽略，我们都希望事情在未来会变好，结合上下文，这里指的是人们都幻想着未来就会变好。诗歌之后的最后一段则提到执着于掐灭不做准备的空有幻想，接着又借学者之口，提议，让我们直面全球崩塌的议题，真正去解决我们看到的可能的糟糕情况，以便使未来没那么糟。可见，作者对于这首诗表达的信息是赞同的，故选B。
D
Early fifth-century philosopher St.Augustine famously wrote that he knew what time was unless someone asked him.Albert Einstein added another wrinkle when he theorized that time varies depending on where you measure it.Today's state-of-the-art atomic(原子的) clocks have proven Einstein right.Even advanced physics can't decisively tell us what time is, because the answer depends on the question you're asking.
Forget about time as an absolute.What if，instead of considering time in terms of astronomy,we related time to ecology?What if we allowed environmental conditions to set the tempo(节奏) of human life?We're increasingly aware of the fact that we can't control Earth systems with engineering alone，and realizing that we need to moderate(调节)our actions if we hope to live in balance.What if our definition of time reflected that?
Recently，I conceptualized a new approach to timekeeping that's connected to circumstances on our planet，conditions that might change as a result of global warming.We're now building a clock at the Anchorage Museum that reflects the total flow of several major Alaskan rivers，which are sensitive to local and global environmental changes.We've programmed it to match an atomic clock if the waterways continue to flow at their present rate.If the rivers run faster in the future on average，the clock will get ahead of standard time.If they run slower，you'll see the opposite effect.
The clock registers both short-term irregularities and long-term trends in river dynamics.It's a sort of observatory that reveals how the rivers are behaving from their own temporal frame(时间框架)，and allows us to witness those changes on our smartwatches or phones.Anyone who opts to go on Alaska Mean River Time will live in harmony with the planet.Anyone who considers river time in relation to atomic time will encounter a major imbalance and may be motivated to counteract it by consuming less fuel or supporting greener policies.
Even if this method of timekeeping is novel in its particulars，early agricultural societies also connected time to natural phenomena.In pre-Classical Greece，for instance，people“corrected”official calendars by shifting dates forward or backward to reflect the change of season.Temporal connection to the environment was vital to their survival.Likewise，river time and other timekeeping systems we're developing may encourage environmental awareness.
When St.Augustine admitted his inability to define time， he highlighted one of time 's most noticeable qualities：Time becomes meaningful only in a defined context.Any timekeeping system is valid，and each is as praiseworthy as its purpose.
31 What is the main idea of paragraph 1?
A. Timekeeping is increasingly related to nature.
B. Everyone can define time on their own terms.
C. The qualities of time vary with how you measure it.
D. Time is a major concern of philosophers and scientists.
32. The author raises three questions in Paragraph 2 mainly to________.
A. present an assumptionB. evaluate an argument
C. highlight an experimentD. introduce an approach
33. What can we learn from this passage?
A. Those who do not go on river time will live an imbalanced life.
B. New ways of measuring time can help to control Earth systems.
C. Atomic time will get ahead of river time if the rivers run slower.
D. modern technology may help to shape the rivers’ temporal frame.
34. What can we infer from this passage?
A. It is crucial to improve the definition of time.
B. A fixed frame will make time meaningless.
C. We should live in harmony with nature.
D. History is a mirror reflecting reality.
答案解析：
31. B. 根据第一段最后一句可知，即使是先进的物理学也不能决定性地告诉我们时间是什么，因为答案取决于你要问的问题，以及上文列举的哲学家St.Augustine和爱因斯坦对于时间的定义可推断，第一段主要讲述每个人都可以用自己的话来定义时间。故选B项。
32. D. introduce an approach. 第二段中作者提出了三个问题，这是为了引出一种新的时间观念，即与环境条件相关的时间观念。选项D中的"introduce an approach"与这个目的相符。
33. C. Atomic time will get ahead of river time if the rivers run slower. 根据第三段，如果河流的平均流速变慢，原子时钟将会超过河流时间。选项C与这个描述相符。
34. C. We should live in harmony with nature. 整篇文章都在强调与自然和谐相处的重要性，特别是在提到阿拉斯加平均河流时间时，作者强调了这一点。选项C与文章的整体信息相符。其他选项虽然可能在文章中有提及，但不是文章的主要推论。
