2025屆高考英語外刊閱讀天天練綜合訓(xùn)練十二閱讀理解①ChineseChainIsBiggerThanMcDonald’s【TheWallStreetJournal(March3,2025)】Itsellsicecreamandsugarydrinksforunder$1.ItsmascotlookslikethelovechildofFrostytheSnowmanandtheMichelinMan.Anditsstoresrelentlesslyblareajinglesettothetuneof“Oh!Susanna.”ThisrecipehelpedMixueIceCreamandTeabecometheworld’sbiggestfood-and-beveragechainbynumberoflocations,toppingMcDonald’sandStarbucks.PronouncedME-schway,theChinesecompanyisfoundacrossAsiaandAustralia.Itendedlastyearwith45,000storesaftermorethandoublingitslocationsinthreeyears.Thecompanyraisedmorethan$400millioninaninitialpublicofferingofitssharesinHongKongonMonday.Thesharesrosenearly30%inearlytrading,givingMixueavaluationofmorethan$10billion.Mixuefeaturesicecreamanddrinkspricedat6Chineseyuan,about83cents.ThatresonatesinChina,whichisgrapplingwithaneconomicslump.Spendingisdownbecauseofabrokenhousingmarketandotherissues.“Peoplearechasingmorecost-efficientproducts,”saidErnanCui,aBeijing-basedanalyst.ShesaidMixueispopularinsmallercities,wherethecompanyhasfocuseditsexpansion.Itsblisteringexpansioncanbeexplainedbythesimplicityofitsbrightredstores,oftenstallswedgednexttophone-repairkiosksordumplingshops.Themenuisshortandverysweet.Itincludesthesignatureice-creamcone,variationsonbubbleteaandalemonadethatmadeMixueChina’sbiggestpurchaseroflemons.IthelpsthatMixuechargesbelow-averagefranchisingfees.Itgeneratesmostofitsrevenuebysellingsuppliestofranchisees.Lowpricesalonedon’texplainhowMixueembeddeditselfinChinesepopculture.CredittheSnowKing—andthejingle.Aroly-polymascot,SnowKinghasbecomeanationalicononparwithRonaldMcDonaldandColonelSanders.JustasubiquitousisMixue’sthemesong,whichplaysinstores.ThelyricstotheEnglishversion:“Iloveyou.Youloveme.MixueIceCreamandTea.”MixuesaidinitsIPOfilingthatitintendedtobecomemoreglobalbutdidn’tmentionplanstoentertheU.S.Roughly90%ofitsstoresareinChina,withtherestin10otherAsiancountriesandAustralia.OnarecentafternooninSingapore,aMixuestoredrewinJulianEymann,anAmericanwhovisitsthecountryoften.Heskippedtherivalshopacrossthestreet.“ThisicecreamisbetterthanMcDonald’s,”Eymannsaid.Buthehadonecomplaint:“Thesong’sgottago.It’sgottotorturetheemployees.”1.WhatisthemainreasonforMixue’spopularityinChina,accordingtothepassage?A.Itshigh-qualityingredients.B.Itslowpricesandcost-efficientproducts.C.Itsglobalexpansionstrategy.D.Itsuniquemascotdesign.HowdoesMixuegeneratemostofitsrevenue?A.Bycharginghighfranchisingfees.B.Bysellingsuppliestofranchisees.C.ByexpandingintotheU.S.market.D.Byofferingpremiumproducts.3.Whatdoestheword“ubiquitous”inparagraphfivemostlikelymeaninthecontextofthepassage?A.Rareandhardtofind.B.Presenteverywhere.C.Expensiveandluxurious.D.Unpopularanddisliked.4.WhatisJulianEymann’sattitudetowardMixue’sthemesong?A.Hefindsitenjoyableandcatchy.B.HebelievesitisakeyfactorinMixue’ssuccess.C.Hethinksitisannoyingandunpleasant.D.Hehasnoopinionaboutit.②Whybeingbilingualreallydoesseemtodelaydementia【NewScientist(March1,2025)】LEARNINGanotherlanguagemaystaveoffAlzheimer’sandothertypesofdementia--andit’snevertoolatetostart.Theanswerastowhyisstillincomplete,inpartbecausetherearesomanywayspeoplecanuseasecondlanguage.Forinstance,theymayspeakitwithonlyonepersonorforjustafewyearsordecades.However,recentimagingstudieshavegivenusaclearerideaofwhat’sgoingon.Itcomesdowntobrainresilience,saysNataliePhillipsatMcGillUniversityinMontreal,whichbilingualismseemstohelpinthreeways.First,itboostsyourbrainreserve,oritssize.Ifyouassumethatcognitivedeficitsassociatedwithdementiaoccuratafixedthresholdofdamage,apersonwithagreaterbrainreservecansustainmoredamagebeforereachingthatthreshold.Thosewhoarebilingualhavemoreneuronsinbrainareaslinkedwithlanguageandincreasedvolumeinlearningandemotionregions.Beingbilingualalsobenefitsyourcognitivereserve---theefficiencyandadaptabilityofyourbrain.Someonewithahighcognitivereservecanusedifferentpathwaystoaccessthesameinformationinthefaceofbrainatrophy.Bilingualismisthoughttoboostcognitivereserveinpartbecauseofthecompetitionbetweenlanguagesinthebrain:whensomeonewhospeaksEnglishandFrenchhears“for”,theirbrainactivatespathwaysforrelatedwordsinbothlanguages.Thisconstantswitchingandinhibitingofpathwaysstrengthensaspectsofcognitivereserveknownasexecutivefunctions---asuiteofabilitiesthatincludedecisionmaking,planningandattention.Finally,wehavebrainmaintenance,whichreferstobiologicalprocessesthatkeepyourbrainhealthywhenfacedwithpathologicaleffects.LastSeptember,Phillips’steamshowedalinkbetweenbilingualismandbrainmaintenancebystudyingbilingualandmonolingualpeoplewhohadearly-orlate-stageAlzheimer’s,aswellasindividualswhofeltliketheirmemorywasgettingworsebutwhohadnoobjectiveevidenceofdementia.Theteamfounddifferencesinthehippocampus,theprimarymemorycentre,withbilingualpeopleshowinglessdeclineinthisregionascognitiveproblemsprogressed.“Whatthisallsaysisthatbilingualismchangesthewayyoucopewithanincreasinglycompromisedbrain,”saysEllenBialystokatYorkUniversityinToronto.“Itdoesn’tpreventdementia,itholdsbacktheflood.Whenbilingualpeopleeventuallyshowcognitiveproblems,theydeclinefaster,butitstartslater.Imaginewhatfamiliescoulddowiththatextratime.”1.Accordingtothepassage,whatisonewaybilingualismhelpsthebrain?A.Itincreasesthenumberofneuronsinthebrain.B.Itreducesthesizeofthehippocampus.C.Iteliminatestheneedforcognitivereserve.D.Itpreventsallformsofdementia.2.Whatdoestheterm"cognitivereserve"refertointhecontextofthepassage?A.Theabilitytospeakmultiplelanguagesfluently.B.Thebrain'sabilitytousedifferentpathwaystoaccessinformation.C.Thesizeofthebrain'smemorycenter.D.Theprocessoflearninganewlanguage.3.WhatdidPhillips’steamdiscoveraboutbilingualindividualswithAlzheimer’s?A.Theyshowednosignsofmemorydecline.B.Theyhadasmallerhippocampuscomparedtomonolingualindividuals.C.Theyexperiencedlessdeclineinthehippocampusascognitiveproblemsprogressed.D.Theywereunabletomaintainbrainhealth.4.Whatisthemainideaofthepassage?A.Bilingualismcancompletelypreventdementia.B.Bilingualismdelaystheonsetofcognitiveproblemsassociatedwithdementia.C.Learningasecondlanguageisonlybeneficialforyoungpeople.D.Bilingualismhasnosignificantimpactonbrainhealth.七選五It'sacelebrationofcommunity:Artistonprojecttopaintentirepopulationofhiscity【TheGuardian(March1,2025)】Fromadistance,theylooklikevividpiecesofabstractart-butmovealittlecloseranddozensofsmall,characterfulportraitsshineout.___1____Sofar,theartistGrahameHurdWoodhaspainted1,000portraits.ThisweekheloadedthemintohisVwvanandtookthemtoCardiff,wheretheyarebeingshowntogetherforthefirsttimefromtomorrow.Itisnotalljoy.___2____HedidnotcompletethepaintinguntilafterBest,alsoanartist,haddied.Butshehadtoldhimtomakesurehekeptonpaintingportraitsaftershedied.___3___TheprojectevolvedintoahomagetoStDavidsandthecommunityofindividualswhocallithome.Eachportraitisanattempttocatchtheessenceofthepersoninfrontofhim.Ithasalsohelpedhimcopewithloss.___4____Peopleaskhim:“DoIcount?"Hetellsthemtheydo---theprojectisnotrestrictedbycityboundaries.Theportraitsarepaintedinoilsoracrylicsand35facesareassembledoneachonemetresquaredgrid.Hedoesnotknowhowmanyaremenandwomen---hehasn'tthoughttocount.___5___Andthereisnoself-portrait.Hurd-WoodrealisesthatthenaturalfluctuationsofpopulationmeansCityofPortraitswillneverbecomplete,andthatthe1,800markisnotional.“I'mnotgoingtostopdoingthem,"hesaid."There'sali