阅读理解专练（二）

耿让

（一）

Apple， a 34-year-old doctor， had been on call at Atlanta Medical Center for more than two days， with only a few hours sleep. And now tiredness was clouding her eyes as she drove to a meeting in Kentucky， nearly seven hours away. She tried turning on her CB radio， which enthusiasts used to warn one another about road conditions， but the airwaves were silent. Soon Apples car started to weave.

A 41-year-old trucker named Woody Key found a car ahead， drifting （漂移） off the road. Key shouted into his CB microphone， “Four-wheeler， are you all right？”

Apple woke up. She talked on her CB radio. “Im tired， and Im lucky Im still alive driving this tired. Thanks！”

“Call me Woodpecker， my CB nickname，” the trucker said. “Im going to Kentucky. And you？”

“Kentucky.”

“Ill travel behind and help keep you awake. Whats your CB nickname？”

“Dr. Froot Loops，” she told him.

As they drove， they shared stories， and the time passed quickly. They parted near the Kentucky state line. She thanked him for keeping her awake and safe on the long， dark road.

Years later， Apple found several doctors checking a person brought in from an accident. His head was badly hurt. She put both hands on his head， hoping to calm him. “Its not your time to die！” she said.

Then， he asked for her name.

“Dr. Sherry Apple，” she replied.

“No ... your CB nickname.”

“How did you guess I have a CB？”

“... I know your voice ...”

“My nickname is Dr. Froot Loops.”

“Oh ... Its me ... Woodpecker！”

It was the truck driver！ She said， “Its not your time， Woodpecker！” Then Key was rushed into the operating room.

The first days out of the operating room were very painful for Key. Often Apple would get home and find her phone ringing. Nurses， unable to calm Key， asked her to return. She always did.

About two months after his accident， Key was ready to leave the hospital. As he was leaving， he told Apple， “I dont think I could have made it without you.” Apples eyes welled up. “And I wouldnt have made it without you.”

1. How did Key help Apple reach Kentucky？

A. By giving her a lift. B. By driving her car instead.

C. By talking with her by phone. D. By keeping her eyes on the road.

2. What can we learn about Key after his accident？

A. He fought to survive. B. He returned home quickly.

C. He stayed quite calm in the hospital. D. He was looked after by Apple every day.

3. How did Key and Apple look at their relationship？

A. It was heart-breaking. B. It was life-saving.

C. It was serious. D. It was strange.

（二）

This planet has a hard enough time feeding 7.6 billion mouths. But what happens when the population reaches 9 billion in just a few decades？

Were getting bigger and hungrier， according to a new study from Norwegian scientists. “It will be harder to feed 9 billion people in 2050 than it would be today，” Gibran Vita， a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology explained.

For the study， researchers compared average adult humans from 1975 and 2014 from 186 countries. They noted that the average human in 2014 was 14 percent heavier than his 1975 counterpart. He was also 1.3 percent taller and required 6.1 percent more energy than that 1970s human. “An average global adult consumed 2，465 kilocalories per day in 1975，” Vita explained. “In 2014， the average adult consumed 2，615 kilocalories.” Nor is that all， 2014 human populations were older—on average， they lived 6.2 percent longer. So， over 40 years， humans got bigger and hungrier and hung around longer than before.

Our population will hit the 9 billion mark by 2050， although some scientists suggest well rocket to 12 billion by the end of this century.

In any case， there are already plenty of scientific models that forecast how well feed these fresh， hungry mouths. But until now， weve supposed those mouths will eat at a fairly standardized rate： every human requires a fixed amount of energy from food.

The new research suggests those energy levels are anything but fixed. Bigger humans will need a bigger piece of the pie. In other words， we need to change food supply models.

“Previous studies havent taken the increased demands of larger people and aged societies into consideration when calculating the future food needs of a growing population，” study co-author Felipe Vásquez noted.

If the new research holds true， and were really getting hungrier across the board， then those older models will need to change.

“These suppositions can lead to mistakes in finding out how much food well actually need to meet future demand，” Vásquez says.

Prepare yourself， Mother Earth. Youve got a lot more giving to do.

1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “counterpart” in Paragraph 3？

A. Match. B. Weight. C. Imagination. D. Explanation.

2. What happened to humans from 1975 to 2014？

A. They got bigger and hungrier. B. They had more family members.

C. They looked older at the same age. D. They wasted more energy than before.

3. What has Vásquez concluded from the new research？

A. Energy levels are always changeable. B. Food supply models need to be changed.

C. Human demand for food is actually dropping.

D. Humans consume more than they actually need.

4. How does the author sound when writing the text？

A. Satisfied.      B. Humorous. C. Confused.      D. Worried.