2023届高考英语三轮复习·冲刺押题·外刊阅读理解训练 (16)（含答案）.doc

2023届高考英语三轮复习·冲刺押题 外刊阅读理解训练16 ——改编自How much does a cloud weigh? 【文章】 Have you ever wondered how much a cloud weighs? Clouds may look light and fluffy, but they are much heavier than air. Clouds are formed from air and tiny water droplets when water condenses around a "seed" particle such as nitric acid or vapors released by trees. There are a few ways that the weight of a cloud can be measured. One method involves weighing the water vapor within the cloud, which requires understanding the dimensions of the cloud along with how densely packed its droplets are. Margaret LeMone, an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, estimated the water weight of an average cumulus cloud. She measured the size of its shadow and estimated the height, since cumulus clouds tend to be roughly the same height as they are wide. Based on prior research, LeMone calculated the density of water droplets to be around 1/2 gram per cubic meter and arrived at an estimate of 550 tons of water for the cloud she was studying. That's equivalent to about 100 elephants! Despite their weight, clouds don't fall down because the droplets within them are minute and don't fall very quickly. They're approximately one million times smaller than raindrops, and high-altitude wind currents keep them afloat longer. Additionally, heat convection helps keep these droplets airborne, as warm air is more buoyant than the cold air located beneath it. Eventually, clouds will release their contents in the form of rain. The droplets cool and conglomerate until they become heavy enough to plummet back to Earth. However, each raindrop is still only around 0.08 inches (2 millimeters) in diameter, which distributes the weight and prevents several hundred pounds of water from crashing onto someone's head all at once. In conclusion, clouds may appear gentle and feathery, but they're actually quite heavy due to the numerous water droplets that comprise them. Thanks to various wind currents and heat convection, clouds can remain aloft for an extended period until they eventually release their contents in the form of rain. 【重点词汇&词组】 clouds - /klaʊdz/ - n. 云 weighs - /weɪz/ - v. 重量为 light - /laɪt/ - adj. 轻的 fluffy - /ˈflʌfi/ - adj. 毛茸茸的 air - /er/ - n. 空气 formed - /fɔrmd/ - v. 形成 tiny - /ˈtaɪni/ - adj. 微小的 water droplets - /ˈwɔtə ˈdrɑpləts/ - 水滴 condenses - /kənˈdɛnsɪz/ - v. 凝结 seed particle - /siːd ˈpɑrtəkl/ - 种子颗粒 nitric acid - /ˈnaɪtrɪk ˈæsɪd/ - 硝酸 vapors - /ˈveɪpərz/ - n. 水汽 measured - /ˈmɛʒərd/ - v. 测量 method - /ˈmɛθəd/ - n. 方法 weighing - /ˈweɪɪŋ/ - v. 称量 vapor - /ˈveɪpər/ - n. 水蒸气 dimensions - /daɪˈmɛnʃənz/ - n. 尺寸 densely packed - /ˈdɛnsli pækt/ - 密集的 atmospheric scientist - /ˌætməˈsfɛrɪk ˈsaɪəntɪst/ - 大气科学家 National Center for Atmospheric Research - /ˈnæʃənəl ˈsɛntər fɔr ˌætməˈsfɛrɪk rɪˈsɜrtʃ/ - 国家大气研究中心 Colorado - /ˌkɑːləˈrædoʊ/ - n. 科罗拉多州 estimated - /ˈɛstəmeɪtɪd/ - v. 估算 cumulus cloud - /ˈkjumjʊləs klaʊd/ - 积云 shadow - /ˈʃædoʊ/ - n. 阴影 height - /haɪt/ - n. 高度 width - /wɪdθ/ - n. 宽度 research - /rɪˈsɜrtʃ/ - n. 研究 density - /ˈdɛnsəti/ - n. 密度 gram - /ɡræm/ - n. 克 cubic meter - /ˈkjubɪk ˈmitər/ - 立方米 equivalent - /ɪˈkwɪvələnt/ - adj. 等同的 elephants - /ˈɛləfənts/ - n. 大象 minute - /ˈmɪnɪt/ - adj. 微小的 fall - /fɔl/ - v. 掉下来 quickly - /ˈkwɪkli/ - adv. 快速地 approximately - /əˈprɑksəmətli/ - adv. 大约 one million - /wʌn ˈmɪljən/ - 一百万 times - /taɪmz/ - n. 次数 smaller - /ˈsmɔlər/ - adj. 更小的 high-altitude - /haɪ ˈæltɪtud/ - 高空的 wind currents - /wɪnd ˈkɜrənts/ - 气流 aloft - /əˈlɔft/ - adv. 在空中 eventually - /ɪˈvɛn(t)ʃuəli/ - adv. 最终 release - /rɪˈlis/ - v. 释放 contents - /ˈkɑntɛnts/ - n. 内容 rain - /reɪn/ - n. 雨 droplets - /ˈdrɑpləts/ - n. 微小的水滴 cool - /kʊl/ - v. 冷却 conglomerate - /kənˈɡlɑmərət/ - v. 结合 plummet - /ˈplʌmɪt/ - v. 坠落 back to Earth - 回到地球 diameter - /daɪˈæmətər/ - n. 直径 distributes - /dɪˈstrɪbjuts/ - v. 分配 prevents - /prɪˈvɛnts/ - v. 防止 several hundred pounds - 几百磅 【阅读理解习题】 1. How are clouds formed? A. From air and tiny water droplets. B. From nitric acid and vapors released by trees. C. From heavy raindrops in the atmosphere. D. From condensed moisture in the air. 答案：A 中文解析：云是由空气和微小的水滴形成的。 2. How is the weight of a cloud measured? A. By weighing the water vapor within the cloud. B. By measuring the distance between the cloud and the ground. C. By calculating the density of the cloud's shadow. D. By estimating the size of the seed particle that formed the cloud. 答案：A 中文解析：测量云的重量的方法之一是称量云内的水蒸汽，并需要了解云的尺寸以及其水滴有多密集。 3. What did Margaret LeMone do to estimate the weight of a cloud? A. She weighed the water droplets within the cloud. B. She estimated the dimensions of the cloud based on its shadow. C. She calculated the density of the cloud's "seed" particle. D. She measured the height of the cloud using a device. 答案：B 中文解析：Margaret LeMone估算了一个平均积云的重量。她通过测量云的阴影大小并估计高度，计算出水滴的密度约为每立方米1/2克，并估计她正在研究的云的水重量约为550吨。 4. How does heat convection help keep water droplets in the air? A. It makes the water droplets smaller. B. It prevents cold air from rising. C. It makes the air more buoyant. D. It creates wind currents. 答案：C 中文解析：热对流帮助保持这些水滴在空气中漂浮，因为温暖的空气比下面的冷空气更具浮力。 5. Why don't clouds fall down to the ground? A. Because they are made of air. B. Because they are too light. C. Because they are carried by wind currents. D. Because they are kept afloat by heat convection. 答案：C 中文解析：云不会掉下来是因为它们内部的水滴非常微小，不会很快地下落，并且高空的风流保持它们处于漂浮状态。 6. How do clouds eventually release their contents? A. By evaporating into the air. B. By forming raindrops. C. By breaking apart into smaller clouds. D. By being blown away by strong winds. 答案：B 中文解析：云最终会以雨的形式释放其内容，水滴冷却并汇聚在一起，直到足够重以至于能够坠落回到地面。 7. Why do raindrops distribute their weight and prevent a large amount of water from falling at once? A. Because they are small in size. B. Because they are light in weig