时文阅读
2014湖南卷C
【文章大意】根据UKERC的最新研究发现房屋居住者的行为和房屋的设计在环保节能方面一样重要。文章号召人们要注意自己的生活习惯即消费质量，进而来达到节能环保的作用。         The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放）by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own — though extremely important- is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behaviour of the people using the building has to change too.    The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency (效率)，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.“Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,” explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher, “consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design.” In other words, old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill-payers don’t have the knowledge they need to change their energy-use habits. Without specific information, it’s hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback (反馈) facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors, could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.Social science research has added a further dimension (方面), suggesting that individuals’ behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted 一 whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒温器) , for example. Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused programme to teach people about buildings and their own behaviour in them. 
2014湖北卷C
【语篇解读】本文通过叙述Dr Alecia Carter在狒狒身上进行的分组研究，显示了动物的性格在社会化的学习中起着很重要的作用。同样人类也与此相似，我们正是通过交换信息等社会学习活动而形成相关文化的。 Working with a group of baboons (狒狒) in the Namibian desert, Dr. Alecia Carter of the Department of Zoology, CambridgeUniversityset baboons learning tasks involving a novel food and a familiar food hidden in a box. Some baboons were given the chance to watch another baboon who already knew how to solve the task, while others had to learn for themselves. To work out how brave or anxious the baboons were, Dr Carter presented them either with a novel food or a threat in the form of a model of a poisonous snake.She found that personality had a major impact on learning. The braver baboons learnt, but the shy ones did not learn the task although they watched the baboon perform the task of finding the novel food just as long as the brave ones did. In effect, despite being made aware of what to do, they were still too shy to do what the experienced baboon did.The same held true for anxious baboons compared with calm ones. The anxious individuals learnt the task by observing others while those who were relaxed did not, even though they spent more time watching.This mismatch between collecting social information and using it shows that personality plays a key role in social learning in animals, something that has previously been ignored in studies on how animals learn to do things. The findings are significant because they suggest that animals may perform poorly in cognitive (认知的) tasks not because they aren’t clever enough to solve them, but because they are too shy or nervous to use the social information.The findings may impact how we understand the formation of culture in societies through social learning. If some individuals are unable to get information from others because they don’t associate with the knowledgeable individuals, or they are too shy to use the information once they have it, information may not travel between all group members, preventing the formation of a culture based on social learning. 
2014湖北卷D
【文章大意】本文描述了泰国美丽的海滨度假胜地Huaplee。介绍了这里美丽的景色，可口的饭菜以及慢节奏的生活方式。 You’ve flown halfway around the world; you’ve sniffed out this place that nobody in Falongland or Thailandseems to have ever heard of; so what on earth is there to do here? You consider this question as you sink into an old wooden beach chair that holds you above the sand.It was a long journey fromBangkokto Huaplee. By the time you found the bus station and got yourself sorted out, it took almost as long as the flight from Falongland.Huaplee is located just south of Hua Hin, about two hundred kilometres fromBangkok, down the west side of theGulfofThailand. Not many tourists find this place, and the ones that do wonder if finding it has been their purpose all along.There’s an apparent laziness that surrounds you here. It’s what this place offers, and it’s free of charge. The small waves that tap the shoreline seem to slow everything down. You settle into your beach chair in preparation for a long rest. You sit there and watch the sea.It’s early afternoon, so the cook comes out and asks what you’d like to eat this evening. Before long he’s rushed off to the market to buy the ingredients for whatever it was that you ordered—every meal fresh and to order. No menu here.There is no poolside noise here but just that wonderfully warm, clear blue sea. There’s no street noise. The only sounds are the murmurs of nature.For now you just count your blessings (福祉), listing them in the sand with your toe (脚趾). You don’t have to worry about being late for work. You don’t have to do anything.The beach to your right stretches off to the horizon (地平线), slowly narrowing to nothingness only to re-emerge again on your left, now steadily widening until it covers the chair beneath you. Sand to your left and sand to your right; it’s unbroken, endless. No start, no end, just sand, sun, and peace. Step off it, and you re-enter the world of traffic, stress, work, and hurry.Normally you’re the type who can’t sit still for more than ten minutes, but you’re onHuapleeLazyBeachnow and, in the right frame of mind, it stretches all the way around the world.“How could it take me so long to find it?” you wonder. 
2014福建卷C
【语篇解读】本文是一则公益广告，号召人们为了那些需要进行骨髓移植的人捐献骨髓。文章同时介绍了捐献骨髓需要注意的相关具体信息。 BLOOD DRIVE ＆ MARROW（骨髓）REGISTRATION“These patients deserve a chance at a normal, happy future and they rely on the kindness of the strangers to make that happen.                      — Daisy, Isabelle’s MotherIsabelle is the daughter of Daisy and Saman Mirzaei. In January 2008 Isabelle was diagnosed（诊断）with a genetic blood disorder，beta thalassemia. Isabelle’s body is unable to produce healthy red blood cells. As a result, Isabelle has been receiving blood transfusions (输血) every 4-6weeks since she was 11 months old. A lifetime of regular transfusions can lead to serious medical problems. Her only chance at a normal, healthy life is to have a marrow transplant. Isabelle is an only child, so doctors have started a search for an unrelated marrow donor through The Match Registry. The Mirzaei family asks that you consider helping patients like Isabelle by registering to be a marrow donor and give the gift of life, the gift of blood.Held at Wiley HallWednesday, March 26, 2014Behind Heathman Dormitory/Butterfield Rd.12:00 PM - 6 :00 PM      Don’t forget to bring your driver’s license or another form of identification when you donate. Visit www.ribc.org to make an appointment, Sponsor Code 3390.              FREE KingstonPizza ! ! !                                                                                     Marrow Donors:                             BE THE MATCH                                                bethematch.org·be 18 to 44 years old           ·in good health·give a swab(化验标本)of your cheek cells for marrow typing -->
2014大纲卷D
【语篇解读】本文是一则地铁乘坐指南，介绍了乘坐地铁以及城市公交要注意的各种信息，包括零钱，时间以及注意事项等等。 Metrorail(地铁)Each passenger needs a farecard to enter and go out. Up to two children under age five may travel free with a paying customer.Farecard machine are in every station. Bring small bills because there are no change machines in the stations and farecard machine only provide up to $ 5 in change.Get one of unlimited Metrorail rides with a One Day Pass. Buy it from a farecard machine in Metro stations. Use it after 9:30 a.m. until closing on weekdays, and all day on weekends and holidays.Hours of Service   Open: 5 a.m Mon—Fri                      7a.m. Sat—Sun.   Close: midnight Sun—Thur.                  3a.m. Fri—Sat. nights   Last train time vary. To avoid (避免) missing the last train, please check the last train time posted in the stations.MetrobusWhen paying with exact change, the fare is $ 1.35. When paying with a SmatTripâ card, the fare is $1.25Fares for the Senior /disabled customersSenior citizens 65 and older and disabled customers may ride for half the regular fare. On Metrorail and Metrobus, use a senior/disabled farecard or SmarTripâ card. For more information about buying senior/disabled farecards, SmarTripâ cards and passes, please visit MetroOpenDoors.com or call 202-637-7000 and 202-637-8000.Senior citizens and disabled customers can get free guide on how to use proper Metrobus and Metrorail services by calling 202-962-1100Travel tips·Avoid riding during weekday rush periods –before 9:30 a.m. and between 4 and 6 p.m.·If you lose something on a bus or train or in a station, please call Lost & Found at 202-962-1195. 
2014福建卷E
【语篇解读】本文是新闻报道类文章，作者在文中阐述了在英国Balcombe人们对于发展风电项目持有两种截然不同的意见，进而提出了自己的看法：如实报道这个问题，以便人们对此进行讨论并做出抉择。         As has been all too apparent in recent days at Balcombe, few issues cause greater concern than energy policy. Many village communities feel their countryside is being ruined by the power-producing machines of wind farms; yet they never take “direct action”, even though the planning laws put them at a severe disadvantage. And the generous subsidies (财政补贴) , which encourage the expansion of wind power, are not favorable to the village communities and set landowners in conflict with other residents (居民) .       Those who disagree with the rapid expansion of wind farms state that the damage they cause is out of proportion(比例) to the benefits they bring, because their energy output cannot match that of the carbon-based power stations they are supposed to replace. Supporters insist that wind must be part of a mix of renewables, nuclear and carbon, and that the country is committed to meeting EU (European Union) targets for non-carbon energy generation.       Against this background, the fact that there is an argument within the Government over whether to publish an official report on wind farms’ impact on the countryside becomes even more extraordinary. The two parties in the coalition (联合) government are in disagreement over what it should say.      We have some advice for the two parties: publish the report, and let the country be the judge.  Even if it contains evidence that wind farms are harmful, it will hardly be a pleasant surprise to people who do not like them. Equally, supporters must argue their case by acknowledging the concerns and explaining why they are either misplaced or worthy of much attention.      The suggestion that further negotiations are to take place to produce an “acceptable” report suggests that the politics of coalition government are doing the country harm in a certain way. Given the sensitivities involved, all the information should be available so that people can reach their own conclusions, rather than being left with the suspicion（猜疑）that facts are being replaced by political beliefs. 
2014大纲卷B
  【语篇解读】作者在本文中通过对几项数据的对比，显示了美国之前的与当今的环境问题的不同。进一步说明当今人们的环境保护意识得到了加强，尤其是环境教育对此所起的作用。  Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment(环境). “We didn’t know at that time there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it,” says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement. Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many, many times,” says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first Earth Day.According to US government reports, emissions（排放）from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons. The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9. Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with, the world is a safer and healthier place .A kind of “Green thinking” has become part of practices.Great improvement has been achieved. In 1988 there were only 600 recycling（回收利用）programs; today in 1995 there are about 6,600. Advanced lights, motors, and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.Twenty –five years ago, there were hardly any education programs for environment. Today, it’s hard to find a public school, university, or law school that does not have such a kind of program.” Until we do that, nothing else will change!” say Bruce Anderson. 
2014北京卷D
【语篇解读】本文介绍了在众多商店中都运用的一个新方法，即用香味促进产品的销售。并解释了香味产品销售的原因。 What is the first thing you notice when you walk into a shop? The products displayed (展示) at the entrance? Or the soft background music?But have you ever notice the smell? Unless it is bad, the answer is likely to be no. But while a shop’s scent may not be outstanding compared with sights and sounds, it is certainly there. And it is providing to be an increasing powerful tool in encouraging people to purchase.A brand store has become famous for its distinctive scent which floats through the fairly dark hall and out to the entrance, via scent machines. A smell may be attractive but it may not just be used for freshening air. One sports goods company once reported that when it first introduced scent into its stores, customers’ intension to purchase increased by 80 percent.When it comes to the best shopping streets in Pairs, scent is just as important to a brand’s success as the quality of its window displays and goods on sales. That is mainly because shopping is a very different experience to what it used to be.Some years ago, the focus for brand name shopping was on a few people with sales assistants’ disproving attitude and don’t-touch-what-you-can’t-afford displays. Now the rise of electronic commerce (e-commerce) has opened up famous brands to a wider audience. But while e-shops can use sights and sounds, only bricks-and-mortar stores (实体店) can offer a full experience from the minute customers step through the door to the moment they leave. Another brand store seeks to be much more than a shop, but rather a destination. And scent is just one way to achieve this.Now a famous store uses complex man-made smell to make sure that the soft scent of baby powder floats through the kid department, and coconut (椰子) scent in the swimsuit section. A department store has even opened a new lab, inviting customers on a journey into the store’s windows to smell books, pots and drawers, in search of their perfect scent. 
2014安徽卷B
 【语篇解读】本文讲述了非洲大陆的大象害怕发怒的蜜蜂，科学家Lucy的团队正在研究并验证这个现象，以便能利用它来保护庄稼。 Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says. Beehives (蜂窝)—either recorded or real—may even prevent elephants from damaging farmer’s crops.In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them. Today, Lucy wants to see if African honeybees might discourage elephants from eating crops. But before she asked farmer to go to the trouble of setting up beehives on their farms, she needed to find out if the bees would scare elephants away.Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenyaand set up a recorder. Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life. Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down. Next，Lucy searched out elephant families in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya and put a speaker in a close to each family.From a distance, Lucy switched on the pre-recorded sound of angry bees while at the same time recording the elephants with a video camera. Half the elephant groups left the area within ten seconds. Out of a total of 17 groups, only one group ignored the sound of the angry bees. Lucy reported that all the young elephants immediately ran to their mothers to hide under them. When Lucy Played the sound of a waterfall (瀑布) instead of the angry bees to many of the same elephant families, the animals were undisturbed. Even after four minutes, most of the groups stayed in one place.Lucy is now studying whether the elephants will continue to avoid the sound of angry bees after hearing it several times. She hasn't tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers. She has now begun placing speakers in the fields to see if elephants are frightened away. 
2014安徽卷E
 【语篇解读】本文介绍了一个公益组织Ashoka组织人们和贫穷做斗争，改善教育事业，致力于解决社会问题。鼓励人们做小生意，敢于变化，并为自愿改变社会环境的青年提供资金和帮助。  You may not have heard of Ashoka, but for the past 27 years, this association, founded by Bill Drayton, has fought poverty(贫穷) and sickness, promoted education and encouraged small businesses. To support these worthy causes, Ashoka provides money for the world’s most  promising “changemakers” seeking to solve (解决) urgent problems and would like to create a  world in which every citizen is a changemaker.Drayton believes that anyone can become an agent for change. The important thing is to simply give you permission. If you see a problem that you care about, you can help solve it. The young in particular are willing to accept this concept because at heart every child wants to grow into a happy, healthy, contributing adult. In fact, it is many young people’s ambition to set up programmes or businesses that improve social conditions. An excellent example is an Ashoka project started in 1995 in Dhaka, which handled the rubbish problem facing the city, helped local farmers and provided an income for poor people there.When Masqsood and Iftekhar began to study the problem of all the uncollected rubbish that lay inDhaka’s streets, attracting rats and disease, they discovered that 80% of it was natural waste. So they educated the poor people in the city to compost (把……制成堆粪)this waste. They knew that they would have a market for the end product because local farmers were struggling with chemical fertilisers (化肥) which were expensive and had reduced the natural minerals in the soil over the years. At first, they were refused, but once they were able to persuade them that there was money to be made, the project took off. In 2009 sales were $14,000.Drayton is optimistic that in ten years Ashoka will be making really serious, practical progress in bringing about social change by changing the way we look at economic development.