专题限时集训二十三 任务型阅读(Ⅱ)
(对应学生用书第161页)
A
(2017·南京、盐城高三二模)“HELL is a city much like London，” said Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1819.Modern academics agree.Last year Dutch researchers showed that city dwellers(居民)have a 21% higher risk of suffering from anxiety disorders than do their calmer rural countrymen，and a 39% higher risk of suffering from mood disorders.But exactly how the inner workings of the urban and rural minds cause this difference has remained unclear—until now.A study just published in Nature by Andreas Meyer Lindenberg of the University of Heidelberg and his colleagues has used a scanning technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging(功能性磁共振成像，简称fMRI)to examine the brains of city dwellers and countrymen when they are under stress.
In Dr Meyer Lindenberg's first experiment，participants lying with their heads in a scanner took maths tests that they were bound to fail(the researchers had designed success rates to be just 25%－40% )．To make the experience still more embarrassing，the team provided negative feedback through headphones，all the while checking participants for indications of stress，such as high blood pressure.
The city people's general mental health did not differ from that of the rural countrymen.However，their brains dealt with the stress caused by the experimenters in different ways.These differences were noticeable in two regions：the amygdalas(杏仁核)and the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex(前扣带皮层，简称PACC)．
People living in the countryside had the lowest levels of activity in their amygdalas.Those living in towns had higher levels.City dwellers had the highest.In the case of the PACC，however，what mattered was not where someone was living now，but where he or she was brought up.The more urban a person's childhood，the more active his PACC，regardless of where he was dwelling at the time of the experiment.
The amygdalas thus seem to respond to the here-and-now while the PACC is programmed early on，and does not react in the same，flexible way as the
amygdalas.Second-to-second changes in its activity might，though，be expected to be connected with changes in the amygdalas，because of its role in regulating them.fMRI allows such connections to be measured.
In the cases of those brought up in the countryside，regardless of where they now live，the connections were as expected.For those brought up in cities，however，these connections broke down.The regulatory mechanism of the native urbanite，in other words，seems to be out of order.
Dr Meyer Lindenberg and his team conducted several more experiments to check their findings.They asked participants to complete more maths tests—and also tests in which they had mentally ups and downs—while investigators scolded them about their performance.The results matched those of the first test.They also studied another group of volunteers，who were given stress-free tasks to complete.These experiments showed no activity in either the amygdalas or the PACC，suggesting that the earlier results were indeed the result of social stress rather than mental effort.
As is usually the case in studies of this sort，the sample size was small and the result showed an association，rather than a definite，causal relationship.That association is，nevertheless，interesting.Living in cities brings many benefits，but Dr Meyer Lindenberg's work suggests that Shelley and his fellow Romantics had at least half a point.
Title：Do urban brains behave differently from rural ones?
The research was conducted to explain Purpose of the research why city dwellers are more likely to 1.________ serious disorders than countrymen. ●The researchers made the participants take difficult maths tests and provided Process of the research negative feedback，which served as the Design of the research source of 2.____ for the participants. ●Meanwhile the researchers scanned their brains and got indications by a scanning technique called fMRI. ●The activity level in the amygdalas is highest in city dwellers，3.________by those living in towns and the countryside.Besides，the amygdalas respond 4.________. Findings of the research ●The activity level of a person's PACC，regulating the amygdalas，is 5.________ by the place where he was raised，and the PACC works when a person is at a 6.________ age. ●The association between the amygdalas and the PACC depends on a person's living 7.________. 8.______ on the findings Several more experiments were carried out with9.________ results. It is the social stress rather than mental Conclusion of the research effort that leads to mental disorders，so living in cities also bring some 10.________. 【语篇解读】 本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了一项研究。该研究发现，城市居民的大脑活动不同于农村居民的大脑活动。这或许解释了城市居民患焦虑症和情感障碍症的概率较高的原因。
1．develop/catch/have/suffer [直接信息题。根据第一段中的“Last year Dutch
researchers showed that city dwellers(居民)have a 21% higher risk of suffering from anxiety disorders than do their calmer rural countrymen”可知答案。] 2．stress/embarrassment [信息转换题。根据第二段中的“To make the experience
still more embarrassing” “stress”可知答案。]
3．followed [信息归纳题。通过对第四段中的“People living in the countryside had
the lowest levels of activity in their amygdalas.Those living in towns had higher levels.City dwellers had the highest”进行概括可知答案。followed by“紧随其后的是”。]
4．flexibly/differently [信息转换题。根据第五段中的“...and does not react in the
same，flexible way as the amygdalas”可知答案。]
5．decided/determined [信息归纳题。根据对第四段中的“what mattered was not
where someone was living now，but where he or she was brought up”进行概括可知答案。decide/determine“决定”。]
6．young [信息转换题。根据第四段中的“The more urban a person's childhood”
可知答案。at a young age“小时候”。]
7．environment/surroundings [信息归纳题。根据第四段至第六段的内容可以
概括出amygdalas和PACC的关系取决于一个人的生活环境。]
8．Checks/Checking [信息转换题。根据第七段中的“Dr Meyer Lindenberg and his
team conducted several more experiments to check their findings”可知答案。] 9．similar/consistent [信息归纳题。通过对第七段的内容的概括可知所进行的
几个实验所得出的结果是类似的(或一致的)。]
10．disadvantages/drawbacks/shortcomings [信息归纳题。根据全文内容，尤
其是最后一段中的“Living in cities brings many benefits，but ...”可知生活在城市也有弊端。]
B
(2017·苏锡常镇高三二模 )
Molecules(分子)found on phones
reveal lifestyle secrets
What does your phone say about you? Molecules found on mobile phones
