2023年浙江省中考英语真题分类汇编：阅读理解（第三题）

 Cyclocross is cross-country bicycle racing. Racers spend only part of a race on their bikes because only part of the two-mile race is smooth. Other parts of the race have the challenge of obstacles (障碍). When racers reach them, they can ride over them, or pick up their bikes and run.  

 To be a top racer, you must dismount without slowing down at all. To do this, swing your right leg over the bike seat. At the same time, move the bike away from your body. This makes room for your right foot to hit the ground next to your left foot. As your right foot nears the ground, take your left foot away from the bike. Put both feet on the ground and start running! 

As soon as you are running, you have to decide what to do with your bike. You may shoulder it or lift it. It's important to practice both skills. Sometimes you need to run fast and jump over some obstacles. As your feet hit the ground, you reach down and catch the bottom of your bike. Lift up carefully and keep the bike on your right shoulder while you run. Sometimes you may lift your bike. You catch the top of your bike. Then you lift the bike high enough to get over the obstacles and carefully put the bike on the ground.

 After you have carried your bike across an obstacle, you will need to remount. As soon as your bike is on the ground, push off with your left leg, swing your right leg over the bike seat, and move into riding position. Remounting can be the hardest skill of cyclocross. You can learn by watching someone who remounts well.  

 Cyclocross is a great way to stay active and have fun. However, it can be dangerous. Make sure that you are well prepared. Then, you will just need to go! 

Taihu Tunnel, 10.79 kilometres long and 43.6 metres wide, has been the longest underwater tunnel in China. It stands out as one of the "2022 China's Top 100 Buildings in the New Era".

When building Taihu Tunnel, the project team faced many challenges, such as high safety risks and time limit. To deal with them, they made workable plans. They divided the tunnel construction into 19 parts. The construction of each part mainly took four steps.

Step 1 Remove. The team built a cofferdam to remove water from the area, so the workers could go inside and do their work in dry conditions.

Step 2 Clear. The team dug deep into the lake bed, and cleared the soil and stones out in order to make space for the next step.

Step 3 Build. The team built the floor, walls and roof of the tunnel in this step. They used high-quality building materials to waterproof the tunnel.

Step 4 Backfill. The team put the soil and stones back. Then this part of the tunnel was buried deep down the lake bed.

The construction of the 19 parts was streamlined. The project team used a new method. The work group of each step moved to the next part and repeated their work after they finished the work in the previous part. Different work groups co-operated well with each other. From part to part, the construction started from the opposite ends, and got connected somewhere in the middle. The construction took about four years to complete, shorter than people had expected.

The drivers' safety is fully considered in Taihu Tunnel. There are 200,000 LED lights on the ceiling of the tunnel. They show vivid pictures of blue sky, starry night and so on. The pictures can help drivers fight tiredness and travel through the tunnel safely. Besides, there are two systems in the tunnel. The police can check the traffic situation through a monitoring system. If traffic accidents happen, the police can give instructions and warn drivers in the tunnel over an audio system to prevent further accidents.

The construction of Taihu Tunnel shows great value in engineering and the tunnel brings much convenience to people living nearby.

What time is it? The answer you give can be different, because you are in different Earth's time zones(时区). But how could you tell the time if you aren't anywhere on Earth? 

Scientists are now thinking of creating a lunar(月球的) time zone. They believe it would be better for astronauts to communicate by using Moon Time, as they travel to, from, and across the Moon. At the moment, astronauts are using time zones of their own countries. But there could be safety problems caused by the differences in time-telling. 

____ Gravity(引力) influences how quickly or slowly time passes. Since gravity is weaker on the Moon, clocks run a bit faster there. After 24 hours, a lunar clock would be 56 microseconds ahead of a clock on Earth. Another point to consider is that a full day on Earth is about 24 hours between two sunsets. While on the Moon, it is nearly 709 hours, about 29.5 Earth days. This means that lunar nights can be around two weeks long, with only the Earth and the stars in the sky. With all this to think about, scientists need to decide whether it would be better to follow a time zone on Earth, or for the Moon to have its own special zone, which would have much longer days. 

Scientists must consider other problems too. For example, who should be responsible for keeping the time zone going? And how can it be made practical for astronauts to use? 

There are more countries planning Moon trips in the future. The idea of creating a time zone on the Moon would make these easier. And if a lunar time zone is set up, scientists could create time zones for other planets like Mars.

①According to UNESCO, there are 740 million people unable to read or write in this world. And 250 million children of primary school age have no basic reading and writing skills. However, reading makes everything possible in life: education, work and escaping poverty(贫困). Considering that, the Global School Community aims to bring digital books to all the children of the world and their families.

②Digital technology makes a real difference. It can reach across the world and is fairly inexpensive. The Global School Community makes e-books available to children all around the world, either through mobile phones, Ipads or computers, saving the cost of making books and transport. Technology also helps improve our communication skills. Through the use of technology, teachers and children around the world can meet online to share lessons and discuss ideas. Remote schooling (远程教学) is one example of the success of communication through the Internet.

③The first books a child reads can have a great influence on that child. The greater the influence, the more likely the child is to continue reading and learning throughout his life. E-books, which are actually the electronic versions of printed books, not only provide knowledge and information, but help people grow healthily in mind. They can provide hours of entertainment and can connect schools all over the world. Studies have shown that children make much progress after only five months of reading e-books. Bido Hafrag, a child from Egypt, said, "Reading e-books not only helps me learn to read and write, but gives me much confidence. It also helps me have a better understanding of the world."

④The Global School Community has a huge e-book library for every school to enter. It aims to bring digital books to all children and their families, and helps schools, colleges and universities to connect with each other. Please join our family of schools, write an e-book or share resources资源) at globalschoolcommunity.com.

①Have you ever thought about what's more important, looking fashionable or feeling comfortable? You might have noticed many people choosing style over comfort and some even go to extremes（极端）to follow fashion. But we should remember: being fashionable isn't everything. It's more important to be healthy.

②Some people believe that they need to be a certain size to look good. So, they start extreme diets（日常饮食）that are not good for their health. They might not eat meals or eat too little, which can make them feel sick. Is it a healthy way to live?

③Also, many girls wear shoes with very high heels. They might think high heels make them look taller. But these shoes can actually hurt their feet and make it hard to walk comfortably, and it can increase risks of falls. Some even wear tight（紧的）clothes that influence blood circulation（循环）making it hard to breathe. Should we put fashion over comfort and physical health?

④Besides, some boys and girls spend a lot of time and money changing their hair color. The material they use is usually harmful to their health. To make their hair straight or curly, they also use tools that are hot enough to burn their hair. But using these tools too often or at very high temperatures can make the hair dry or even burnt. Is it really worth it to risk our health, spending so much time and money?

⑤So, let's rethink what's really important. Is it fashion or is it our well-being? Clothes or hairstyles don't tell us anything about a person's character. Instead of spending a lot of time choosing clothes, we could use that time to do fun things with friends. And instead of following extreme diets, let's eat properly and exercise regularly. Remember, your worth is not decided by your appearance, but by who you are as a person.

Has a person ever warmly held a door open for you? How do you feel after playing with friends? And what would you say is your favourite family memory? These questions have one thing in common: they're all about connecting with people. "Let's Connect" is the theme of this year's Children's Mental (心理的) Health Week. It improves mental health by building healthy social connections.

Humans naturally connect with others, whether that's family, friends or people in our community. Healthy connections give people energy and support we all need people to celebrate and share our worries with. Social connections aren't just about mental health; they improve physical health too, helping us to live a long life. Research suggests being lonely can slowly harm your health. Humans' need for connection is different from person to person, but what's important is not how many relationships you have, but how good your relationships are.

Then how to connect with others? "You can reach out and connect with people in so many different ways," says Julia Clements of Place2Be, the organizer behind Children's Mental Health Week. You can connect in person or online, with your friends, parents, teachers or classmates. It's not just people, either. "Some people feel connected with their pets or in nature," says Clements. She advises making time to build more connections through actions as well as words. Being kind, listening to others and trying new experiences are all good tools.

Everybody may feel lonely sometimes and refuse to talk to others. Keep in mind that connections change—some become stronger, while others stop. "Remember that there are always people that care for you," advises Clements. She says it's important to tell someone you trust about how you are feeling, or safe organizations such as Childline or Shout. They can help, whether you're looking to form new connections or repair a strained (紧张) relationship that is important to you.

Tom always lived for grades. He was always interested in books and ideas. Why should he care about people? They only made fun of him. They were jealous (妒忌的) because he was so smart, or so he thought. It seemed that Tom knew everything — except one thing. He didn't know how to get along with other people.

He made his parents believe that school was a waste of time, so he began home schooling with special teachers. He dreamed of being the youngest person to enter university, and he sent letters to famous professors (教授) to see if it was possible.

One day, the doorbell rang. When Tom opened the door, there was his idol－Professor Rosen. Tom was so excited that he could hardly speak. The two talked for a long time, exchanging ideas. The professor was surprised at what this young boy knew. "Tom, tell me about your friends. What do you do for fun?" the professor wanted to know.

There was silence as Tom realised that he didn't really have any friends. "Well, I don't have time for all that. I'm too busy with my studies," he said.

"That's a problem, Tom. You have to learn that the world is not just filled with ideas. It's filled with people. And you have to remember to be what you are … a boy. Boys need to have fun."

The professor talked a bit more and then said, "I have to go, but I have a test for you. In this box, there are three things. I want you to learn how to use them. It is not very simple and you'll need another person to help you. Experiment and learn how to use them, and I'll be back in a week to see how you're doing. Then, I'll have another test for you."

The professor left and Tom opened the box. Inside were two baseball gloves and a ball. He tried on a glove and picked up the ball, looking at the other glove with a bright smile …

Seagrass, an underwater plant that grows on the ocean floor, is very important for sea life. It also helps prevent global warming by storing carbon, a harmful gas. However, scientists don't know exactly how much seagrass is at the bottom of the ocean. With the help of tiger sharks, a team of researchers has discovered the world's largest seagrass meadow (grassland) on the seafloor near the Bahamas.

Seagrass meadows are home to many different kinds of fish, shellfish and so on, Large sea animals, such as sharks, also spend a lot of time there looking for food. Seagrass can grow in very as deep and dark waters making it difficult to find. But sharks can dive deep into the water and get to the areas people cannot reach.

After noticing tiger sharks swimming through seagrass off the Bahamas, an American scientist worked with a seagrass expert, trying to map the locations of the plants. The researchers fitted seven tiger sharks with cameras. Since tiger sharks swim in groups, they placed satellite tracking tags （卫星跟踪器） on eight other sharks to find out exactly where the animals swam. They collected hours of videos of the tiger sharks swimming through seagrass.

The researchers found more seagrass growing near the Bahamas than they expected-in fact, they believe that there is more seagrass there than anywhere else on Earth. The new finding increased the total number of seagrass known to exist by 41%. However, more research is needed to discover the true size of the seagrass meadow.

Scientists often depend on findings from divers and boats to study about the underwater world, but this team found that working with animals improved their understanding. They are now placing cameras on sea turtles. to study seagrass in the Red Sea. Hopefully, more mysteries about seagrass will be solved.