高考英语专题复习——任务型阅读（2017年真题）

    Every animal sleeps,but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month. 

    One idea is that sleep helps us strengthen new memories.  We  know that, while awake,fresh memories are recorded by reinforcing (加强)connections between brain cells, but the  memory processes that take place while we sleep  have been unclear.

    Support is growing for a theory that sleep evolved so that connections between neurons(神经元)in the brain can be weakened overnight, making room for fresh memories to form the next day. 

    Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right.  The synapses in the mice taken at the end of a period of sleep were 18 per cent smaller than those taken before sleep,showing that the connections between neurons weaken while sleeping.

If Tononi's theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night's, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information —our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.

    Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapscs become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size.   “You keep what matters,” Tononi says.

请阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。

注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词。

Population Change

    Why is the world's population growing？The answer is not what you might think. The reason for the explosion is not that people have been reproducing like rabbits, but that people have stopped dropping dead like flies. In 1900,people died at the average age of 30.By 2000 the average age was 65.But while increasing health was a typical feature of the 20^th century, declining birth rate could be a defining one of the 21^st.

     Statistics show that the average number of births per woman has fallen from 4.9 in the early 1960s to 2.5 nowadays. Furthermore, around 50% of the world's population live in regions where the figure is now below the replacement level(i.e.2.1 births per woman)and almost all developed nations are experiencing sub-replacement birth rate. You might think that developing nations would make up the loss(especially since80% of the world's people now live in such nations),but you'd be wrong, Declining birth rate is a major problem in many developing regions too, which might cause catastrophic global shortages of work force within a few decades.

     A great decline in young work force is likely to occur in China, for instance. What does it imply? First, China needs to undergo rapid economic development before a population decline hits the country. Second, if other factors such as technology remain constant, economic growth and material expectations will fall well below recent standards and this could invite trouble.

     Russia is another country with population problems that could break its economic promise. Since 1992 the number of people dying has been bigger than that of those being born by a massive 50%,Indeed official figures suggest the country has shrunk by 5% since 1993 and people in Russia live a shorter life now than those in 1961.Why is this occurring? Nobody is quite sure, but poor diet an above all long-time alcoholism have much to do with it. If current trends don't bend. Russia's population will be about the size of Yemen's by the year 2050.

     In the north of India, the population is booming due to high birth rates, but in the south, where most economic development is taking place, birth rate is falling rapidly. In a further twist, birth rate is highest in poorly educated rural areas and lowest in highly educated urban areas. In total,25% of India's working-age population has no education. In 2030,a sixth of the country's potential work force could be totally uneducated.

    One solution is obviously to import foreign workers via immigration. As for the USA, it is almost unique among developed nations in having a population that is expected to grow by 20% from 2010-2030,Moreover,the USA has a track record of successfully accepting immigrants. As a result it's likely to see a rise in the size of its working-age population and to witness strong economic growth over the longer term.

①  ②  ③  ④  ⑤  

⑥  ⑦  ⑧  ⑨  ⑪  

How to Do Man-on-the-Street Interviews

    The man-on-the-street interview is an interview in which a reporter hits the streets with a cameraman to interview people on the sport. But with these tips, your first man-on-the-street interview experience can be easy.

    ● When your boss or professor sends you out to do man-on-the-street interviews for a story, think about the topic and develop a list of about ten general questions relating to it. For example, if your topic is about environmental problems in America, you might ask, “Why do you think environmental protection is important in America?”

    ● Hit the streets with confidence. Say, “Excuse me, I work for XYZ News, and I was wondering if you could share your opinion about this topic.” This is a quick way to get people to warm up to you.

    Move on to the next person if someone tells you she is not intereste

    Don't get discouraged.

    ● Each interview that you get on the street shouldn't be longer than ten minutes. As soon as you get the answer you need, move on to the next person. Make sure that as you go from interview to interview, you are getting a variety of answers. If everyone is giving you the same answer, you won't be able to use it. A safe number of interviews to conduct is about six to ten.

    ● If your news station or school requires interviewees to sign release forms to appear on the air, don't leave work without them.

    In the years of my growing up, Dad was strict with me. He made sure I made my bed and did my homework. He would call in advance to make sure there was no alcohol at the party. I got so angry with him for laying down the law. I would scream, “ I hate you!” Dad would yell back, “Good! I don't care!” Deep down I knew he did.

    One time at a party, I drank too much alcohol and got so sick. I said, “ Call my dad.” Next thing, Dad was carrying me to the car. I woke up the next morning, thinking I would definitely be criticised. As expected, I got a roasting, but I now understand why I need discipline.

    Dad was 29 when he got his big roles in films. I had an early start at the age of nine with a role in a 1990s TV series, but it wasn't until I finished film studies that I pursued my career as an actress. Like those early days for Dad, I faced lots of rejections. Working in such a competitive industry, I've sometimes thought, “ I can't do this any more.”

    Once, after a trip to Hollywood, I returned to Australia so depressed and spent months in my bedroom painting, listening to Eckhart Tolle's music and trying to find myself again. Dad sat me down and said,“Alice, I know it's hard, but it's all about persistence(坚持不懈).”

    Now I get to work with Dad a lot, which I love. We both passionate about acting, which comes from us being so interested in people. If it weren't for Dad, I wouldn't be where I am today. He's my biggest fan, and when you have that in your life you can go a long way.

    Lots of people find it hard to get up in the morning and put the blame on the alarm clock. In fact, the key to easy morning wake-up lies in resting your body clock Here is how to make one.

    ●  In order to make a change, you need to decide why it's important. Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise, or just be better prepared for your day? Once you are clear about your reason, tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make.

    ● Rethink mornings. Now that you know why you want to wake up, consider re-arranging your morning activities. If you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags.That's a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping if you bought a coffee maker with a timer.

    ● Keep your sleep/wake schedule on weekends. If you're tired out by Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday could sound wonderful. But compensating on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week, a recent study found.

    ● Keep a record and evaluate it weekly. Keep track of your efforts and write down how you feel. After you've tried a new method for a week, take a look at your record.If not, take another look at other methods you could try.

    Interruptions are one of the worst things to deal with while you're trying to get work done. , there are several ways to handle things. Let's take a look at them now.

    .Tell the person you're sorry and explain that you have a million things to do and then ask if the two of you can talk at a different time.

    When people try to interrupt you, have set hours planned and let them know to come back during that time or that you'll find them then.. It can help to eliminate(消除) future interruptions.

    When you need to someone,don't do it in your own office.， it's much easeier to excuse yourself to get back to your work than if you try to get someone out of your space even after explaining how busy you are

     If you have a door to your office, make good use of it. . If someone knocks and it's not an important matter，excuse yourself and let the person know you're busy so they can get the hint(暗示) that when the door is closed, you're not to be disturbed.

    If anyone had told me three years ago that I would be spending most of my weekends camping. I would have laughed heartily. Campers, in my eyes, were people who enjoyed insects bites, ill-cooked meals, and uncomfortable sleeping bags. They had nothing in common with me. .

The friends who introduced me to camping thought that it meant to be a pioneer. We sleep in a tent, cooked over an open fire, and walked a long distance to take the shower and use the bathroom. This brief visit with Mother Nature cost me two days off from work, recovering from a bad case of sunburn and the doctor's bill for my son's food poisoning.

    I was, nevertheless, talked into going on another fun-filled holiday in the wilderness.    Instead, we had a pop-up camper with comfortable beds and an air conditioner. My nature-loving friends had remembered to bring all the necessities of life.

     We have done a lot of it since. Recently, we bought a twenty-eight-foot travel trailer complete with a bathroom and a built-in TV set. There is a separate bedroom, a modern kitchen with a refrigerator. The trailer even has matching carpet and curtains.

     It must be true that sooner or later, everyone finds his or her way back to nature. I recommend that you find your way in style.