【备战2024年高考】（全国通用版）英语新热点时文阅读30 社会问题和现象-试卷

高考英语新热点时文阅读-社会问题和现象

01

（2023·河南郑州·统考二模）Six months before she died, my grandmother moved into an old people’s home and I visited her there. The room was clean and warm, and the care assistants were kind and cheerful. A general knowledge quiz show was on the television, and the only other sound was snoring. People moved only when they needed to be helped to the bathroom. It was disappointing. Grandmother talked a lot about how much she missed seeing her grandchildren, but I knew from my sister that they hated going to visit her there.

So I was interested to read a newspaper article about a new concept in old people’s homes in France. The idea is simple, but revolutionary — combining a residential home for the elderly with a nursery school in the same building. The children and the residents eat lunch together and share activities. In the afternoons, the residents enjoy reading or telling stories to the children, and if a child is feeling sad or tired, there is always a kind lap to sit on.

The advantages are huge for everyone concerned. The children are happy, because they get a lot more individual attention. The residents are happy because they feel useful and needed. And the staff are happy because they see an improvement in the physical and psychological health of the residents and have an army of assistants to help with the children.

Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old and the young in an increasing number of countries. There are many reasons for this, including the breakdown of the extended family, working parents with no time to care for ageing relations, families that have moved away, and smaller flats with no room for grandparents. But the result is the same-increasing numbers of children without grandparents and old people who have no contact with children, and more old people who are lonely and feel useless, along with more and more families with young children who desperately need more support. Ifs a major problem in many societies.

That’s why intergenerational programs, designed to bring the old and the young together, are growing in popularity all over the world.

1．What does the underlined word “residents” in paragraph 2 probably refer to?

A．Old people. B．School teachers. C．Assistants. D．Staff.

2．How were the old people at the home the author’s grandmother was in?

A．They felt lonely and useless. B．They weren’t allowed to be visited.

C．They weren’t looked after properly. D．They lived in a dirty and uncomfortable room.

3．What does the author think is a major problem in many societies today?

A．The extended family is broken down.

B．There isn’t much room for grandparents.

C．Working parents have no time to care for their children.

D．There isn’t much contact between the old and the young.

4．What will be probably talked about later in the passage?

A．Advice on how to communicate with children.

B．Plans for setting up more homes for old people.

C．Examples of successful intergenerational programs.

D．Ways of teaching entertainment skills to old people.

02

（2023春·贵州·高三校联考阶段练习）In a video from Visit Iceland, a crew is seen working on making a horse-sized keyboard out of massive blocks of wood. The keyboard is then put outside against the gorgeous scenery for the typing horses to reply to emails. Unsurprisingly, the replies are nonsense, with examples listed as “bpnisi. // hihaihf＝. sf”. “OutHorse Your Email” is Iceland’s latest stunt (噱头) to promote tourism. Visitors can choose a trained horse to type responses to their work emails when they are on holiday.

Due to the pandemic, many workers have transitioned to remote working, finding that the lines between their work and personal lives have become blurred. A survey conducted by Visit Iceland revealed that 59% of people globally now feel as if their boss, colleagues, and customers expect them to reply when on holiday and 41% of people check their work emails between one and four times a day when on holiday. That’s why Iceland is assigning emails to its horses, asking them to make replies.

“When visitors travel to Iceland, we want them to fully experience everything our nation has to offer, from breathtaking surroundings to endless landscapes," said the head of Visit Iceland. "Our OutHorse Your Email service lets them do just that. With our world-first service, we hope to appeal to people to disconnect and take a well-deserved, uninterrupted break.”

Since “OutHorse Your Email” service was launched, it has got a lot of attention from the Internet. “Is it a ridiculous tourism stunt? Sure. But it indeed encourages me to enjoy my trip wholeheartedly,” said Thom Dunn, an online user from Canada. Hunter Boyce from the USA also made a comment, “The service sounds interesting, but I don’t want to drive my boss mad or be fired.”

5．What can we know about the typing horses?

A．They are trained to reply to emails.

B．They type meaningful emails.

C．They reply to emails in famous scenic spots.

D．They work with a common keyboard.

6．What does the underlined word “blurred” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Unclear.

B．Unimportant.

C．Controllable.

D．Adjustable.

7．What’s the purpose of “OutHorse Your Email”?

A．To reduce people’s pressure.

B．To fight against the pandemic.

C．To encourage undisturbed trips.

D．To improve visitors’ work efficiency.

8．What’s Hunter Boyce’s attitude towards “OutHorse Your Email”?

A．Ambiguous.

B．Negative.

C．Favourable.

D．Indifferent.

03

（2023·河北保定·统考一模）There was a unique restaurant in London that beat out thousands of stylish restaurants to earn the top ranking on the popular TripAdvisor, despite not existing.

The tale began with a belief that Oobah Butler had developed after a part-time job writing fake(虚假的)TripAdvisor reviews for restaurants: The site was a “false reality”, despite millions of genuine reviews. He decided to see how far he could take a fake restaurant on the site so “The Shed at Dulwich” was born. Butler created a web page with a menu based off of emotions and attractive photographs of dishes. He also listed its location as the street he lived on with no address, calling it an “appointment- only restaurant”, to avoid being attacked by fact-checkers.

The Shed was unexpectedly approved by TripAdvisor to be listed in May, starting out as the 18,149th-ranked restaurant in the city: dead last. Butler began having family and friends flood the site with fake reviews. “Spent a weekend in London and heard that this place is a must-visit,” one wrote. “After a few mildly frustrating phone calls I was in.” Soon the customers started calling. “We’re fully booked,” Butler told the would-be diners. However, the restaurant’s reputation started to grow in TripAdvisor’s rankings. Some companies used an estimated location of The Shed on Google to send free samples to Butler, expecting to work with him. In November, Butler received a note from TripAdvisor saying The Shed had become the No.1 ranked restaurant in London!

Butler thought it was time to expose the trick. The story has been praised as an incredible feat(事迹). However, in an era that is increasingly being influenced by all of the disinformation that can be found online, it has also served as another reminder of the ease with which dishonest actors are able to handle online platforms to sometimes unthinkable results.

9．What does Oobah Butler think of TripAdvisor?

A．It is a reliable information source.

B．It creates a false sense of reality.

C．It has too many genuine reviews.

D．It is a useful tool for his part-time job.

10．How was The Shed ranked the No.1 restaurant?

A．By offering discounts and special deals.

B．By sending free samples to customers.

C．By getting a specific location on google.

D．By flooding the site with fake reviews.

11．What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Butler earned people’s trust.

B．False information can be disastrous.

C．Online information is threatening our safety.

D．Online platforms are totally unreliable now.

12．What message does the story convey?

A．No investigation, no right to speak.

B．Well began is half done.

C．Honesty is the best policy.

D．God helps those who help themselves.

04

（2023·重庆·高三重庆巴蜀中学校考阶段练习）Obsessed with Kim Kardashian? Can’t get enough of Bennifer getting back together? Chances are you’re an idiot——at least according to Hungarian researchers.

New research has suggested people obsessed with Hollywood gossip and A-list celebs might not be that smart―which will surely be a jarring revelation for those who love tabloids(八卦小报)magazines.

The study, published in BMC Psychology late last year, claims that “there is a direct association between celebrity worship and poorer performance on cognitive tests” measuring both literacy and numeracy(计算能力).

The study asked 1,763 Hungarian adults to undertake a 30-word vocabulary test and a math test, before completing a “Celebrity Attitude Scale” questionnaire to determine their levels of interest in famous people.

Researchers found that high scores on the Celebrity Attitude Scale correlated with lower performance on the two cognitive ability tests. Participants were also asked about their income, material wealth and levels of education in order to gain the most detailed picture possible.

However, the researchers were unable to determine whether celebrity obsessives perform poorly on cognitive tests because they used their brainpower thinking about A-listers, or whether they were obsessed with Hollywood gossip because they were already less intelligent to begin with.

In other words, it’s unclear whether celebrity worshiping is a cause or consequence of low cognitive function.

“Future studies should seek further support for our suggestion that the cognitive effort invested in maintaining the absorption in a favorite celebrity may interfere with the person’s performance in tasks that require attention and other cognitive skills,” the researchers told PsyPost in a recent interview. “Although our research does not prove that developing a powerful obsession with one’s favorite celebrity causes one to score lower on cognitive tests, it suggests that it might be wise to carefully monitor feelings for them.”

While some tabloid magazine readers may feel personally attacked by this research, folks on Twitter did not seem shocked by the findings. “I don’t think a study was needed to determine this,” wrote one Twitter user.“What worries me is that people who worship celebs are not going to read this article ever,” another added.

13．What do the underlined words “be a jarring revelation for” in the second paragraph mean?

A．Come as a blow to.

B．Serve as an eye-opener for.

C．Have a negative effect on.

D．Give a good laugh to.

14．What can we learn about obsession with celebrities from the research?

A．It is a sign of lower intelligence.

B．It results in poor cognitive function.

C．It has to do with levels of education.

D．It is associated with lower cognitive ability.

15．What do the researchers recommend people to do?

A．Invest more effort in attention-demanding tasks.

B．Avoid developing a powerful celebrity obsession.

C．Reduce the time spent reading tabloid magazines.

D．Seek further support to address celebrity worship.

16．How do Twitter users feel about the research?

A．They feel personally attacked by it.

B．They are surprised at its findings.

C．They are skeptical about its result.

D．They consider it not necessary.

05

（2023·山东·高三专题练习）Parenting styles have changed over the years in response to the rapid changes in the world. Whether it is tapping technology or applying the best parenting practices to meet a parenting need, parents nowadays generally invest more time in finding out how best to raise their children.

Modern parents often look to the internet and social media for parenting advice. The availability of resources has helped modern parents engage more in their children’s development, both academically and emotionally. Modem parents are also more eager to find out effective parenting methods to help them raise disciplined and confident children.

A modem parenting style that has emerged is helicopter parenting, where parents are much too focused on their children. They help children with tasks they’re capable of doing on their own, like selecting activities and friends for them, or calling their teachers about homework matters. Such a parenting style can hold back the development of the children’s ability to handle responsibilities independently. Children might be ill-equipped with life skills such as doing laundry (洗衣),clearing their plates or coping with their schoolwork. Always protecting children from failures may also prevent them developing adaptability and acquiring skills like problem-solving.

On the other hand, parents in the past tended to monitor less. Children were given more control over how to manage their schoolwork and choose their friends. Domestic helpers were also not the norm then, hence children of the past were often expected to shoulder the responsibilities of caring for younger brothers and sisters and managing housework. Living in the pre-internet age, parents were less informed about different parenting methods, and their parenting styles were guided more by their personalities, common sense and friendly advice from the extended family and neighbors, rather than by social media influences or parenting websites.

There is no one right way to raise a child. Each child is unique and should be raised differently by parents who are present but not wandering, who are supportive but not controlling, and who protect but not care too much.

17．What does the underlined word “tapping”  mean in paragraph 1?

A．Employing.

B．Tracking.

C．Monitoring.

D．Identifying.

18．What is a distinctive characteristic of helicopter parenting?

A．Flexible.

B．Efficient.

C．Conventional.

D．Overinvolved.

19．What do we know about parents in the past?

A．They educated kids in a rigid way.

B．They overestimated their kids’ independence.

C．They afforded kids more space for self-growth.

D．They tended to stay away from social activities.

20．What does the text mainly tell us?

A．How to raise all-round children.

B．How to enhance parent-child bonds.

C．How parenting modes have shifted over the years.

D．How information technology boosts people’s lifestyles.

参考答案：

1．A    2．A    3．D    4．C

【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了养老院的老人总是觉得孤独和不被需要，法国有了一个把老人院和幼儿园结合在一栋楼里的想法，介绍了这一做法的好处。

1．词句猜测题。根据第二段中“The idea is simple, but revolutionary — combining a residential home for the elderly with a nursery school in the same building. (这个想法很简单，但却是革命性的——在同一栋楼里把养老院和幼儿园结合起来)”以及画线词后文“eat lunch together and share activities”可知，这个想法把老人院和幼儿园结合了起来，让孩子们和老人们一起吃午饭，分享活动。故画线词意思是“老人”。故选A。

2．细节理解题。根据第一段“Grandmother talked a lot about how much she missed seeing her grandchildren, but I knew from my sister that they hated going to visit her there .(祖母经常说她多么想念孙子孙女们，但我从姐姐那里知道，他们不喜欢去那里看她)”以及第三段中“The residents are happy because they feel useful and needed. (老人们很高兴，因为他们觉得自己是有用的和被需要的)”可知，作者祖母住的那所房子里的老人感到孤独和无用。故选A。

3．细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中“Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old and the young in an increasing number of countries. (如今，在越来越多的国家，老年人和年轻人之间的接触越来越少)”可知，作者认为当今社会的主要问题是老年人和年轻人之间没有太多的接触。故选D。

4．推理判断题。根据最后一段“That’s why intergenerational programs, designed to bring the old and the young together, are growing in popularity all over the world. (这就是为什么旨在将老年人和年轻人结合在一起的代际计划在世界各地越来越受欢迎)”可推知，这篇文章后面可能会讨论成功的代际项目的例子。故选C。

5．A    6．A    7．C    8．B

【导语】这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了冰岛旅游局通过推出让马来代替游客回复邮件这一服务来呼吁大家在疫情使得工作与生活之间的界限越来越不清晰的当下，去享受不被工作打扰的全身心投入的旅行。

5．细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句话 “Visitors can choose a trained horse to type responses to their work emails when they are on holiday.”（游客在度假期间可以选择一个训练的马来回复工作邮件）可知游客可以选择被训练的马来回复邮电，A项符合题意。故选A项。

6．词义猜测题。根据第二段中“Due to the pandemic, many workers have transitioned to remote working, finding that the lines between their work and personal lives have become blurred.”(因为疫情，人们已经开始转为远程工作了，这让他们的工作和私人生活变得 blurred)可知，因为疫情，人们已经开始转为远程工作了，这让他们的工作和私人生活变得模糊不清。这里blurred意思为模糊不清。故选A项。

7．细节理解题。根据第三段中的最后两句话“Our OutHorse Your Email service lets them do just that. With our world-first service，we hope to encourage people to disconnect and take a well-deserved，uninterrupted break.”（我们的这个服务让马来回复邮件。有了我们这个最好的服务，希望可以鼓励人们不再与工作相联系，有一个理所应当且没有被打扰的休息）可知这个服务的目的是想让人们有一次未被打扰的旅行。故选C项。

8．推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句 “The service sounds interesting，but I don’t want to drive my boss mad or be fired.”（这项服务听起来很有趣，但是我不想让老板发疯或者被解雇）可知作者并不看好这个项目能真正开展下去，是否定的态度。故选B项。

9．B    10．D    11．B    12．A

【导语】本文是一篇夹叙夹议文。主要讲述的是一个根本不存在的独特的餐厅，经过网上虚假的评论后，成为TripAdvisor网排名第一的餐厅。

9．细节理解题。根据第二段中的“The tale began with a belief that Oobah Butler had developed after a part-time job writing fake(虚假的)TripAdvisor reviews for restaurants: The site was a “false reality”, despite millions of genuine reviews.(故事开始时，人们认为欧巴·巴特勒(Oobah Butler)是在一个猫途鹰上为餐馆写假评论的兼职工作后发展起来的：该网站是一个“虚假的现实”，尽管有数百万条真实的评论。)”可知，Oobah Butler认为TripAdvisor这个网站提供了一个虚假的真实感。故选B项。

10．推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的“Butler began having family and friends flood the site with fake reviews. “Spent a weekend in London and heard that this place is a must-visit,” one wrote. “After a few mildly frustrating phone calls I was in.” Soon the customers started calling. “We’re fully booked,” Butler told the would-be diners.( Butler开始让家人和朋友在网站上发布虚假评论。“在伦敦度过了一个周末，听说这个地方是必去之地，”一个人写道。“在打了几个有点沮丧的电话后，我就进去了。”很快，顾客们开始打电话来。“我们已经订满了，”巴特勒告诉想要来用餐的人。)”可知，Butler让他的家人和朋友开始在网上发布假的评论，进而引发了很多人都信以为真，很快这家餐厅的声誉在猫途鹰的排名中开始上升，由此可知，The Shed飙升至排名第一位是整个网上充斥着虚假评论的结果。故选D项。

11．推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“However, in an era that is increasingly being influenced by all of the disinformation that can be found online, it has also served as another reminder of the ease with which dishonest actors are able to handle online platforms to sometimes unthinkable results.( 然而，在一个越来越多地受到网上虚假信息影响的时代，它也再次提醒我们，不诚实的行为者能够轻松地利用在线平台，有时产生不可想象的结果。)”可知，不诚实的行为者能够轻松地利用在线平台，有时产生不可想象的结果，由此可推断，虚假信息可能是灾难性的。故选B项。

12．主旨大意题。结合本文讲述的关于The Shed的案例以及最后一段中的“However, in an era that is increasingly being influenced by all of the disinformation that can be found online, it has also served as another reminder of the ease with which dishonest actors are able to handle online platforms to sometimes unthinkable results.(然而，在一个越来越多地受到网上虚假信息影响的时代，它也再次提醒我们，不诚实的行为者能够轻松地利用在线平台，有时产生不可想象的结果。)”可知，在一个受网络虚假信息影响的时代，被不诚实的人利用在线平台会产生不可想象的结果，由此可知，在这个信息时代了，不能在不知事情真相的情况下胡乱写一些虚假的评论，也就是没有调查就没有发言权。故选A项。

13．A    14．D    15．B    16．D

【导语】本篇为说明文。介绍了研究证明过度崇拜名人和认知能力低下有相关联系。

13．词义猜测题。根据第二段划线部分前的内容“New research has suggested people obsessed with Hollywood gossip and A-list celebs might not be that smart(新的研究表明，痴迷于好莱坞八卦和一线明星的人可能没有那么聪明) ”可知，研究证明痴迷于好莱坞八卦和一线明星的人可能并没有那么聪明。所以可以推断这一事实对于喜欢看八卦小报的读者来说是一个打击。A. Come as a blow to. 这对某人来说是一个打击；B. Serve as an eye-opener for. 让人大开眼界；C. Have a negative effect on. 对某人产生负面影响；D. Give a good laugh to. 让人开怀大笑。故选A。

14．细节理解题。从第五段“Researchers found that high scores on the Celebrity Attitude Scale correlated with lower performance on the two cognitive ability tests. (研究人员发现，名人态度量表的高分与两项认知能力测试的低分相关。)”可知，对名人的痴迷与低认知能力有关。故选D。

15．推理判断题。从倒数第二段中““Future studies should seek further support for our suggestion that the cognitive effort invested in maintaining the absorption in a favorite celebrity may interfere with the person’s performance in tasks that require attention and other cognitive skills,” the researchers told PsyPost in a recent interview. (研究人员在最近的一次采访中告诉《心理邮报》:“未来的研究应该为我们的建议寻求进一步的支持。我们认为，为了保持对一个最喜欢的名人的吸引力而投入的认知努力，可能会干扰这个人在需要注意力和其他认知技能的任务中的表现。”) ”可推知，研究人员建议不要过于崇拜名人。故选B。

16．推理判断题。根据最后一段“While some tabloid magazine readers may feel personally attacked by this research, folks on Twitter did not seem shocked by the findings. “I don’t think a study was needed to determine this,” wrote one Twitter user. (虽然一些小报杂志的读者可能会对这项研究感到人身攻击，但推特上的人们似乎并没有对这一发现感到震惊。一位推特用户写道：“我认为不需要进行研究来确定这一点。”) ”可知，推特用户觉得并不需要一个研究来证明这件事情。故选D。

17．A    18．D    19．C    20．C

【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了近些年来“育儿模式”的变化历程。

17．词义猜测题。根据划线词后面的内容“applying the best parenting practices(应用最好的养育方法)”可知，划线词与后文的applying构成并列结构，表示“利用技术”。故划线词与选项A为同义词，意为“利用”。故选A。

18．推理判断题。根据第三段中“A modem parenting style that has emerged is helicopter parenting, where parents are much too focused on their children.(一种现代的育儿方式是“直升机式育儿”，父母把太多的注意力放在孩子身上。)”以及“They help children with tasks they’re capable of doing on their own, like selecting activities and friends for them, or calling their teachers about homework matters. (他们帮助孩子们完成他们自己能够完成的任务，比如为他们选择活动和朋友，或者打电话给他们的老师讨论作业问题。)”可知，“直升机式育儿”的方式中，在孩子的活动中，父母参与的太多。故选D。

19．细节理解题。根据第四段中“On the other hand, parents in the past tended to monitor less. Children were given more control over how to manage their schoolwork and choose their friends. (另一方面，过去的父母往往监督较少。孩子们在如何管理学业和选择朋友方面有了更多的控制权。)”可知，过去的父母对孩子监督较少，给予孩子更多的空间。故选C。

20．主旨大意题。根据第一段中“Parenting styles have changed over the years in response to the rapid changes in the world.(多年来，随着世界的快速变化，育儿方式也发生了变化。)”以及通读全文可知，文章讲述的是近些年来的育儿模式发生的变化。C选项概括文章主题。故选C。