The Biggest Stadiums in the World
People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.
These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan’s desire for a good view and comfortable seat—tend to keep stadium capacities（容量） slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are the days of thousands standing to watch the match.
For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.
All these stadiums are still funtiona1, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.
·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D.P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.
·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.
·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.
·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.
·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.
21. How many people could the Circus Maximus hold?
A. 104,944. B. 107,601. C. About 150,000. D. About 250,000.
22. Of the following stadiums, which is the oldest?
A. Michigan Stadium. B. Beaver Stadium. C. Ohio Stadium. D. Kyle Field.
23. What do the listed stadiums have in common?
A. They host big games. B. They have become tourist attractions.
C. They were built by Americans. D. They are favored by architects.
答案：
21.细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句“However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.” (然而，与这座城市容纳了25万人的大竞技场相比，这只是小巫见大巫。)可知，Circus Maximus的可以容纳250,000人。故选D项。
22.细节理解题。根据文章最后部分中的“Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened October 7, 1922.” (美国俄亥俄州哥伦布市俄亥俄体育场，容纳人数：104,944人。1922年10月7日开业。)及其他四个著名竞技场的开放时间介绍可知，Ohio Stadium开放时间最早在1922年，属于年代最久远的。故选C项。
23.细节理解题。根据文中“All these stadiums are still functional, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.” (所有这些体育场馆仍在使用，仍在开放，仍在举办世界上最大的体育赛事。)可知，这些体育馆都还在承办大型的体育赛事。故选A项。
解析：
这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了世界上著名的大型竞技场的基本情况。目前这些竞技场仍在运行并且还在承办大型体育赛事。
When almost everyone has a mobile phone, why are more than half of Australian homes still paying for a landline（座机）?
These days you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Australia over the age of 15 who doesn’t own a mobile phone. In fact plenty of younger kids have one in their pocket. Practically everyone can make and receive calls anywhere, anytime.
Still, 55 percent of Australians have a landline phone at home and only just over a quarter （29%） rely only on their smartphones according to a survey （调查）. Of those Australians who still have a landline, a third concede that it’s not really necessary and they’re keeping it as a security blanket — 19 percent say they never use it while a further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies. I think my home falls into that category.
More than half of Australian homes are still choosing to stick with their home phone. Age is naturally a factor（因素）— only 58 percent of Generation Ys still use landlines now and then, compared to 84 percent of Baby Boomers who’ve perhaps had the same home number for 50 years. Age isn’t the only factor; I’d say it’s also to do with the makeup of your household.
Generation Xers with young families, like my wife and I, can still find it convenient to have a home phone rather than providing a mobile phone for every family member. That said, to be honest the only people who ever ring our home phone are our Baby Boomers parents, to the point where we play a game and guess who is calling before we pick up the phone（using Caller ID would take the fun out of it）.
How attached are you to your landline? How long until they go the way of gas street lamps and morning milk deliveries?
24. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about mobile phones?
A. Their target users. B. Their wide popularity.
C. Their major functions. D. Their complex design.
25. What does the underlined word “concede” in paragraph 3 mean?
A. Admit. B. Argue.
C. Remember. D. Remark.
26. What can we say about Baby Boomers?
A. They like smartphone games. B. They enjoy guessing callers’ identity.
C. They keep using landline phones. D. They are attached to their family.
27. What can be inferred about the landline from the last paragraph?
A. It remains a family necessity.
B. It will fall out of use some day.
C. It may increase daily expenses.
D. It is as important as the gas light.
答案：
24.主旨大意题。根据文章第二段“These days you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in Australia over the age of 15 who doesn't own a mobile phone. In fact plenty of younger kids have one in their pocket. Practically everyone can make and receive calls anywhere, anytime. (现在你很难在澳大利亚找到15岁以上的没有手机的人。事实上，很多年幼的孩子口袋里都有手机。几乎每个人都可以随时随地拨打和接听电话)”可推知，本段主要说明手机在澳大利亚广受欢迎。故选B项。
25.词句猜测题。根据划线单词的上文“Of those Australians who still have a landline (在那些仍然有固定电话的澳大利亚人中)”可知，这个调查的目标人群是仍然有固定电话的澳大利亚人；根据下文“it's not really necessary and they're keeping it as a security blanket — 19 percent say they never use it while a further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies (固定电话并不是必须的，他们将其作为一种安全保障——19%的人表示他们从未使用过固定电话，另有13%的人保留固定电话以防紧急情况)”可知，很多人认为固定电话并不是必须拥有的，有些人保留固定电话只是为了防止紧急情况。从而推知，在调查中，他们应该是承认了固定电话的非必要性。由此推知，划线单词“concede”意为“承认”。故选A项。
26.推理判断题。根据文章第四段“84 percent of Baby Boomers who've perhaps had the same home number for 50 years.(婴儿潮时代中有84%的人可能已经有50年相同的家庭号码了)”以及文章第五段“That said, to be honest the only people who ever ring our home phone are our Baby Boomers parents (也就是说，老实说，唯一打过我们家电话的人是婴儿潮一代的父母)”可推知，婴儿潮时代的人一直用固定电话。故选C项。
27.推理判断题。根据文章最后一段“How attached are you to your landline? How long until they go the way of gas street lamps and morning milk deliveries? (你有多喜欢你的座机？它们还要多久才能走上煤气路灯和早晨送牛奶的道路？)”可推知，本段使用类比的方式，使用煤气路灯以及早晨送牛奶已经被淘汰的例子，侧面说明了固定电话总有一天会废弃的。故选B项。
解析：
本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了澳大利亚使用固定电话的情况，并且表达了固定电话是非必需品的观点。
You’ve heard that plastic is polluting the oceans — between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes enter ocean ecosystems every year. But does one plastic straw or cup really make a difference? Artist Benjamin Von Wong wants you to know that it does. He builds massive sculptures out of plastic garbage, forcing viewers to re-examine their relationship to single-use plastic products.
At the beginning of the year, the artist built a piece called “Strawpocalypse,” a pair of 10-foot-tall plastic waves, frozen mid-crash. Made of 168,000 plastic straws collected from several volunteer beach cleanups, the sculpture made its first appearance at the Estella Place shopping center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Just 9% of global plastic waste is recycled. Plastic straws are by no means the biggest source（来源）of plastic pollution but they’ve recently come under fire because most people don’t need them to drink with and, because of their small size and weight, they cannot be recycled. Every straw that’s part of Von Wong’s artwork likely came from a drink that someone used for only a few minutes. Once the drink is gone, the straw will take centuries to disappear.
In a piece from 2018, Von Wong wanted to illustrate（说明） a specific statistic: Every 60 seconds, a truckload’s worth of plastic enters the ocean. For this work, titled “Truckload of Plastic,” Von Wong and a group of volunteers collected more than 10,000 pieces of plastic, which were then tied together to look like they’d been dumped（倾倒） from a truck all at once.
Von Wong hopes that his work will also help pressure big companies to reduce their plastic footprint.
28. What are Von Wong’s artworks intended for?
A. Beautifying the city he lives in. B. Introducing eco-friendly products.
C. Drawing public attention to plastic waste. D. Reducing garbage on the beach.
29. Why does the author discuss plastic straws in paragraph 3?
A. To show the difficulty of their recycling.
B. To explain why they are useful.
C. To voice his views on modern art.
D. To find a substitute for them.
30. What effect would “Truckload of Plastic” have on viewers?
A. Calming. B. Disturbing.
C. Refreshing. D. Challenging.
31. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. Artists’ Opinions on Plastic Safety
B. Media Interest in Contemporary Art
C. Responsibility Demanded of Big Companies
D. Ocean Plastics Transformed into Sculptures
答案：
28.推理判断题。根据第一段“But does one plastic straw or cup really make a difference? Artist Benjamin Von Wong wants you to know that it does. He builds massive sculptures out of plastic garbage, forcing viewers to re-examine their relationship to single-use plastic products.(但一根塑料吸管或一个塑料杯真的有什么区别吗？艺术家本杰明·冯·王（Benjamin Von Wong）想让你知道，它确实如此。他用塑料垃圾建造巨大的雕塑，迫使观众重新审视他们与一次性塑料产品的关系。)”可知，Von Wong用塑料垃圾制作的雕塑想让人们重新审视与一次性塑料制品的关系，由此可知他做这个雕塑的目的是为了引起公众对塑料垃圾的关注。故选C项。
29.推理判断题。根据第三段“Just 9% of global plastic waste is recycled. Plastic straws are by no means the biggest source(来源) of plastic pollution, but they’ve recently come under fire because most people don’t need them to drink with and, because of their small size and weight, they cannot be recycled. Every straw that’s part of Von Wong’s artwork likely came from a drink that someone used for only a few minutes. Once the drink is gone, the straw will take centuries to disappear.(全球只有9%的塑料垃圾被回收。塑料吸管绝不是最大的塑料污染源，但它们最近却受到了抨击，因为大多数人不需要吸管喝饮料，而且由于它们体积小、重量轻，无法回收利用。冯·王作品中的每一根吸管都很可能来自只喝了几分钟的饮料。一旦饮料消失了，吸管也要几个世纪才能消失。)”可知，吸管由于体积小，重量轻，无法回收利用，由此可推知，作者在第三段讨论吸管是为了展示它们回收的困难。故选A项。
30.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“In a piece form 2018, Von Wong wanted to illustrate(说明) a specific statistic: Every 60 seconds, a truckload’s worth of plastic enters the ocean. For this work, titled “Truckload of Plastic,” Von Wong and a group of volunteers collected more than 10,000 pieces of plastic, which were then tied together to look like they’d been dumped(倾倒) from a truck all at once.(在2018年的一个作品中，冯·王(Von Wong)想要说明一个具体的统计数字：每60秒，就有一卡车塑料进入海洋。这项名为“一卡车塑料”的作品，冯·王和一组志愿者收集了一万多块塑料，然后把它们绑在一起，让它们看起来像是同时从卡车上倾倒下来的。)”可知，这个作品以创新的方式让人们了解到塑料垃圾以很快的速度和很大的量倾入海洋，刷新了观众对海洋塑料污染的认知，由此可推断，这个作品会让观众对塑料垃圾进入海洋这件事“耳目一新”。故选C项。
31.标题判断题。通读全文，结合第一段“But does one plastic straw or cup really make a difference? Artist Benjamin Von Wong wants you to know that it does. He builds massive sculptures out of plastic garbage, forcing viewers to re-examine their relationship to single-use plastic products.(但一根塑料吸管或一个塑料杯真的有什么区别吗？艺术家本杰明·冯·王(Benjamin Von Wong)想让你知道，它确实如此。他用塑料垃圾建造巨大的雕塑，迫使观众重新审视他们与一次性塑料产品的关系。)”和倒数第二段“In a piece form 2018, Von Wong wanted to illustrate(说明) a specific statistic: Every 60 seconds, a truckload’s worth of plastic enters the ocean. For this work, titled “Truckload of Plastic,” Von Wong and a group of volunteers collected more than 10,000 pieces of plastic, which were then tied together to look like they’d been dumped(倾倒) from a truck all at once.(在2018年的一个作品中，冯·王(Von Wong)想要说明一个具体的统计数字：每60秒，就有一卡车塑料进入海洋。这项名为“一卡车塑料”的作品，冯·王和一组志愿者收集了一万多块塑料，然后把它们绑在一起，让它们看起来像是同时从卡车上倾倒下来的。)”可知艺术家本杰明·冯·王(Benjamin Von Wong)通过利用塑料垃圾制作巨型雕塑的方法来提示人们重新思考与一次性塑料的关系，唤醒和提高人们循环利用的意识，促进环保的发展。由此可知，D项“海洋塑料变成雕塑”符合文章主旨，适合作为标题。故选D项。
解析：
本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了艺术家Benjamin Von Wong用塑料垃圾制作了一个巨大的雕塑作品，让人们通过这个雕塑重新审视自己与一次性塑料制品的关系。此外他在2018的一件作品“Truckload of Plastic”说明了每60秒，就有一卡车塑料进入海洋。Von Wong通过用塑料垃圾制造巨型雕塑来唤醒和提高人们的环保意识。
During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by the level of distraction（干扰）in his open office, he said, “That’s why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street — so I can focus”. His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an open office layout（布局）. But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.
The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking. They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total silence to 50 decibels（分贝）, 70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however, the participants in the 70 decibels group — those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop — significantly outperformed the other groups. Since the effects were small, this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels of background noise.
But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background noise — not too loud and not total silence — may actually improve one’s creative thinking ability. The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander, without making it impossible to focus. This kind of “distracted focus” appears to be the best state for working on creative tasks.
So why do so many of us hate our open offices? The problem may be that, in our offices, we can’t stop ourselves from getting drawn into others’ conversations while we’re trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.
32 Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?
A. It helps him concentrate. B. It blocks out background noise.
C. It has a pleasant atmosphere. D. It encourages face-to-face interactions.
33. Which level of background noise may promote creative thinking ability?
A. Total silence. B. 50 decibels C. 70 decibels. D. 8 5 decibels.
34. What makes an open office unwelcome to many people?
A. Personal privacy unprotected. B. Limited working space.
C. Restrictions on group discussion. D. Constant interruptions.
35. What can we infer about the author from the text?
A. He’s a news reporter.
B. He’s an office manager.
C. He’s a professional designer.
D. He’s a published writer.
答案：
32.细节理解题。根据第一段“That’s why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street - so I can focus.（这就是为什么我在街对面的公用办公空间有会员资格——这样我就可以集中精力了。）”可知，采访者喜欢共享办公空间的原因是那里可以帮助他集中精力。故选A项。
33.细节理解题。根据第二段“The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however, the participants in the 70 decibels group - those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop - significantly outperformed the other groups.（大多数组之间的差异在统计学上是不显著的；然而，音量为70分贝的那组参与者（置身于类似于咖啡店背景噪音的环境中）的表现明显好于其他组。）”和第三段“But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background noise - not too loud and not total silence - may actually improve one's creative thinking ability.（但由于70分贝的结果很显著，该研究还表明，适当的背景噪音——不要太大声，也不要完全安静——实际上可能会提高一个人的创造性思维能力。）”可知，70分贝的那组参与者表现好于其他组，所以70分贝的噪音背景环境更有可能促进创造性思维能力。故选C项。
34.细节理解题。根据最后一段“So why do so many of us hate our open offices? The problem may be that, in our offices, we can't stop ourselves from getting drawn into others' conversations while we're trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.（那么，为什么我们中有那么多人讨厌开放式办公室呢？问题可能是，在我们的办公室里，当我们试图集中注意力时，我们无法阻止自己卷入别人的谈话中。的确，研究人员发现，面对面的互动和对话会影响创作过程，然而，共同工作空间或咖啡馆在提供一定程度的噪音的同时，也提供不受干扰的自由。）”可知，开放式办公室不受人们欢迎的原因是让我们不断地卷入别人的谈话中，受到很多干扰。故选D 项。
35.推理判断题。根据第一段“During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often.（在一次采访我的一本书时，我的采访者说了一些我至今还经常想起的话。）”可知，作者提到有人采访自己的书，所以可以推断，作者是一位作家。故选D项。
解析：
这是一篇说明文。作者通过自身经历讲述人们为什么不喜欢开放性办公室以及有关多少分贝的噪音最有利于人们的创造性思维的研究。