2020年北京卷
第二部分：阅读理解(共两节，40 分)
第一节(共 15 小题;每小题 2 分，共 30 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
Lancom is a worldwide language learning app and a leader in the online language learning industry with millions of active subscribers. We house a broad range of experts united by the common goal of creating the best language learning tools possible. With advice from AI specialists, art designers and culture researchers, our multi-language experts endow ( 赋 予 ) Lancom with an enormous potential for innovation within the world of language learning. Our courses, totalling 20,000 hours of content in 20 different languages, guarantee you language skills you can use right away.
At the core of Lancom is a world-class effective method that enhances language learning with advanced technology. Examples and dialogues are recorded with real native speakers instead of automatic computers. Lancom trains your brain to learn efficiently, so you absorb more information while in the app and continue learning outside of it. The app makes our practical language lessons available wherever and whenever. We work directly for our learners, not for any third party. And it’s all supported by an efficient customer service team, available through telephone, email and online chat.
Millions of learners have their own stories and their own reasons for learning a new language. Lancom cares about you and addresses your individual learning type. Lancom is the only product to offer courses tailored to your native language, building on grammar and words you already know. Our content is about real-life topics that are relevant because we know what matters to you is what sticks best. You will find it very rewarding to learn with Lancom.
Buy with confidence: 21-day money back guarantee! If you aren’t satisfied, just write to customer service within 21 days.
Contact & Support: customerservice@lancom.com
31. Who can provide Lancom with a huge potential for innovation in learning?
A. Culture researchers. B.AI specialists.
C.Language experts. D.Art designers.
32. What lies at the core of the Lancom app?
A.A flexible system. B.An effective method.
C.The brain-training technique. D.The informative content.
33. Lancom claims that it is unique in its .
A. personalised courses B.multiple languages
C.pricing policy D.service team
答案解析：
31.C答案解析：根据文章第一段中的“our multi-language experts endow (赋予) Lancom with an enormous potential for innovation within the world of language learning”可知，多语言专家赋予了Lancom在语言学习领域巨大的创新潜力，因此选项C“语言专家”是正确答案。
32.B答案解析：根据文章第二段中的“At the core of Lancom is a world-class effective method that enhances language learning with advanced technology”可知，Lancom应用的核心是一个世界级的有效方法，它利用先进技术来增强语言学习，因此选项B“一个有效的方法”是正确答案。
33.A答案解析：根据文章第三段中的“Lancom is the only product to offer courses tailored to your native language”可知，Lancom是唯一一个提供针对你的母语定制课程的产品，因此它声称其独特之处在于个性化课程，选项A“个性化课程”是正确答案。
B
Baggy has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by recording pollutant levels near the ground.
Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Her monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level,
which has helped highlight concerns that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems.
Conventional air pollution monitors are normally fixed on lampposts at about nine feet in the air. However, since Baggy stands at about the same height as a child in a pushchair (婴儿车), she frequently records pollution levels which are much higher than the data gathered by the environment Agency.
The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy’s 13-year-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt. The English youngster noticed that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the height where they are recorded by the agency. Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma (哮喘).
Matt Hunt said he was “very proud” of his son because “when the boy gets an idea, he keeps his head down and gets on with it, and he really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma.”
“Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age,” Matt added. “He became very interested in gadgets (小装置). About one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, ‘why don’t we put it on Baggy’s collar and let her monitor the pollution?’ So we did it.”
Tom said, “Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and we are all really proud of her.”
34. With a monitor on her collar, Baggy can .
A. take pollutant readings B.record pollutant levels C.process collected data D.reduce air pollution
35. What can we learn from the Baggy data?
A.High places are free of air pollution. B.Higher pushchairs are more risky for kids.
C.Conventional monitors are more reliable. D.Air is more polluted closer to the ground.
36. What is Tom’s purpose of doing the research?
A. To warn of a health risk. B.To find out pollution sources.
C.To test his new monitor. D.To prove Baggy’s abilities.
37. according to the passage, which word can best describe Tom Hunt?
A. Modest. B.Generous.
C.Creative. D.Outgoing.
B(record pollutant levels)
答案解析：
34.根据文章第二段“Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground.”可知，Baggy脖子上戴着一个污染监测器，可以记录地面附近的污染物水平。因此，选项B“记录污染物水平”是正确的。
35.根据文章第二段和第三段的内容可知，Baggy的数据表明地面附近的空气污染水平更高，这有助于突出婴儿和小孩可能面临更高的患肺部疾病风险的问题。因此，选项D“地面附近的空气更污染”是正确的。
36.根据文章第四段“Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma (哮喘).”可知，Tom向政府报告了这一惊人的发现，以强调婴儿患哮喘的风险更高。因此，选项A“警告健康风险”是正确的。
37.根据文章第六段和第七段的内容可知，Tom从小就对环境保护充满热情，并且非常感兴趣于小装置。他利用自己的新技术和想法，让Baggy成为了监测空气污染的“超级狗”。因此，选项C“有创造力的”是描述Tom的最佳词汇。
C
For the past five years, Paula Smith, a historian of science, has devoted herself to re-creating long-forgotten techniques. While doing research for her new book, she came across a 16th-century French manuscript (手稿) consisting of nearly 1,000 sets of instructions, covering subjects from tool making to finding the best sand.
The author’s intention remains as mysterious (神秘) as his name; he may have been simply taking notes for his own records. But Smith was struck mainly by the fact that she didn’t truly grasp any of the skills the author described. “You simply can’t get an understanding of that handwork by reading about it,” she says.
Though Smith did get her hands on the best sand, doing things the old-fashioned way isn’t just about playing around with French mud. Reconstructing the work of the craftsmen ( 工 匠 ) who lived centuries ago can reveal how they viewed the world, what objects filled their homes, and what went on in the workshops that produced them. It can even help solve present-day problems: In 2015, scientists discovered that a 10th-century English medicine for eye problems could kill a drug-resistant virus.
The work has also brought insights for museums, Smith says. One must know how an object was made in order to preserve it. What’s more, reconstructions might be the only way to know what treasures looked like before time wore them down. Scholars have seen this idea in practice with ancient Greek and Roman statues. These sculptures were painted a rainbow of striking colours. We can’t appreciate these kinds of details without seeing works of art as they originally appeared—something Smith believes you can do only when you have a road map.
Smith has put the manuscript’s ideas into practice. Her final goal is to link the worlds of art and science back together. She believes that bringing the old recipes to life can help develop a kind of learning that highlights experimentation, teamwork, and problem solving.
Back when science—then called “the new philosophy”—took shape, academics looked to craftsmen for help in understanding the natural world. Microscopes and telescopes were invented by way of artistic tinkering (修补), as craftsmen experimented with glass to better bend light.
If we can rediscover the values of hands-on experience and craftwork, Smith says, we can marry the best of our modern insights with the handiness of our ancestors.
38. How did Smith feel after reading the French manuscript?
A. Confused about the technical terms. B.Impressed with its detailed instructions.
C.Discouraged by its complex structure. D.Shocked for her own lack of hand skills.
39. according to Smith, the reconstruction work is done mainly to .
A. restore old workshops B.understand the craftsmen
C.improve visual effects D.inspire the philosophers
40. Why does the author mention museums?
A. To reveal the beauty of ancient objects.
B. To present the findings of old science.
C. To highlight the importance of antiques.
D. To emphasise the values of hand skills.
41. Which would be the best title for this passage?
A. Craftsmen Set the Trends for Artists
B.Craftsmanship Leads to New Theories
C.Craftsmanship Makes Better Scientists
D.Craftsmen Reshape the Future of Science
答案解析：
38. D.根据第二段，史密斯在读过这份手稿后，她主要感到震惊的是她并不真正理解作者描述的任何技能。她说：“你仅仅通过阅读是无法理解那些手工艺的。”
39. B. 根据第三段，重建工匠的工作可以揭示他们如何看待世界，他们的家中充满了什么物品，以及生产这些物品的车间里发生了什么。因此，重建工作主要是为了理解工匠。
40. D. 第四段提到，史密斯说，重建工作也为博物馆带来了见解。为了保护一个物体，你必须知道它是如何制作的。更重要的是，重建可能是了解这些宝藏磨损前样貌的唯一方式。这强调了手工技能的价值。
41. C.文章讲述了史密斯通过重建古老技术来理解过去的工匠，并且她认为将这些古老的配方复活可以帮助发展一种强调实验、团队合作和解决问题的学习方式。最后一段提到，如果我们能够重新发现实践经验和手工艺的价值，我们就可以将现代洞察力的最佳与现代祖先的实用性结合起来。因此，最佳标题应该是“手工艺造就更好的科学家”。
D
Certain forms of AI are indeed becoming ubiquitous. For example, algorithms ( 算 法 ) carry out huge volumes of trading on our financial markets, self-driving cars are appearing on city streets, and our smartphones are translating from one language into another. These systems are sometimes faster and more perceptive than we humans are. But so far that is only true for the specific tasks for which the systems have been designed. That is something that some AI developers are now eager to change.
Some of today’s AI pioneers want to move on from today’s world of “weak” or “narrow” AI, to create “strong” or “full” AI, or what is often called artificial general intelligence (AGI). In some respects, today’s powerful computing machines already make our brains look weak. AGI could, its advocates say, work for us around the clock, and drawing on all available data, could suggest solutions to many problems. DM, a company focused on the development of AGI, has an ambition to “solve intelligence”. “If we’re successful,” their mission statement reads, “we believe this will be one of the most important and widely beneficial scientific advances ever made.”
Since the early days of AI, imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable. In 1965, an imaginative mathematician called Irving Good predicted the eventual creation of an “ultra-intelligent machine … that can far surpass all the intellectual (智力的) activities of any man, however clever.” Good went on to suggest that “the first ultra-intelligent machine” could be “the last invention that man need ever make.”
Fears about the appearance of bad, powerful, man-made intelligent machines have been reinforced ( 强 化 ) by many works of fiction—Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Terminator film series, for example. But if AI does eventually prove to be our downfall, it is unlikely to be at the hands of human-shaped forms like these, with recognisably human motivations such as aggression (敌对行为). Instead, I agree with Oxford university philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes that the heaviest risks from AGI do not come from a decision to turn against mankind but rather from a dogged pursuit of set objectives at the expense of everything else.
The promise and danger of true AGI are great. But all of today’s excited discussion about these possibilities presupposes the fact that we will be able to build these systems. And, having spoken to many of the world’s foremost AI researchers, I believe there is good reason to doubt that we will see AGI any time soon, if ever.
42. What does the underlined word “ubiquitous” in paragraph 1 probably mean?
A. Enormous in quantity. B.Changeable daily.
C.Stable in quality. D.Present everywhere.
43. What could AGI do for us, according to its supporters?
A. Help to tackle problems. B.Make brains more active.
C.Benefit ambitious people. D.Set up powerful databases.
44. As for Irving Good’s opinion on ultra-intelligent machines, the author is .A. supportive B.disapproving
C.fearful D.uncertain
45. What can be inferred about AGI from the passage?
A. It may be only a dream.
B. It will come into being soon.
C. It will be controlled by humans.
D. It may be more dangerous than ever.
答案解析：
42. D.第一段中提到了一些AI的应用，如算法在金融市场上进行大量交易，自动驾驶汽车出现在城市街道上，智能手机可以进行语言翻译等，这些应用已经变得无处不在，因此可以推断出“ubiquitous”的意思是“到处存在的，普遍的”。因此，答案为D。
43. A. 根据第二段中的句子“AGI could，its advocates say，work for us around the clock，and drawing on all available data，could suggest solutions to many problems.”可知，AGI的支持者认为AGI可以全天候为我们工作，利用所有可用的数据，提出许多问题的解决方案。因此，AGI可以帮助我们解决问题，答案为A。
44. B.作者在第三段中提到“Since the early days of AI，imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable.”，表明作者对人工智能的想象持怀疑态度，因此可以推断出作者对Irving Good关于超智能机器的观点持反对态度，答案为B。
45. A. 最后一段提到“我相信有很好的理由怀疑我们是否能在任何时候看到AGI，甚至是否能看到它”，因此可以推断出AGI可能只是一个梦想，即选项A。
