《2026年高中必刷题高二下英语人教版》

语篇类型：议论文
主题：科学研究
词数：340
难度：偏难
建议用时：8分钟
[湖北“荆、荆、襄、宜”四地七校考试联盟2024高二期中联考] In America, the “Big Dig”, a highway project that has resulted in a mess of traffic in the centre of Boston for years, came in five times over its initial budget. Even the Germans get huge projects wrong. Conception to operation of Berlin Brandenburg Airport took 30 years, with six missed opening dates. The airport ended up costing about $8.9 billion. However, the original estimate was about $2.8 billion.
Huge projects like Berlin Brandenburg Airport are the subject of an amusing new book called *How Big Things Get Done* by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner. Mr Flyvbjerg sets up a database of over 16,000 projects and data analysis reveals that only 8.5% of the projects meet their initial estimates on costs and time, and 0.5% of them achieve what they set out to do on costs, time and benefits.
Over - optimistic time and cost estimates originate from both psychological and political perceptions: the reliance on intuition (直觉力) rather than data, and a problem that Mr Flyvbjerg calls “strategic misrepresentation”. This is why budgets are intentionally reduced in order to get things going. And once the projects are under way, they will not be stopped, because money spent on them will thus be wasted.
Mr Flyvbjerg speaks highly of Pixar's methodical approach to developing and testing films in great detail before they go into production. He also tells the story of how Frank Gehry's well - developed architectural models helped ensure the success of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Narrowing down the producing window of a project before it is actually carried out reduces the probability of unexpected events.
Big customised projects are particularly likely to run into trouble. However, the more a project can be divided into standardised processes, the better its prospects are. Projects run into problems for specific reasons as well as general ones: Britain's trouble is not something that China has to worry about, for instance. But the iron law is that if you plan strictly and standardise where possible, you are less likely to dig yourself into a hole.
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the passage?
A. By making a contrast.
B. By giving an explanation.
C. By presenting examples.
D. By showing an experience.
2. What message does Bent Flyvbjerg's data analysis convey?
A. Projects' success rates can be estimated.
B. Projects' desired outcome can't be achieved.
C. Most projects suffer overspending and delays.
D. Most projects lack comprehensive data analysis.
3. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?
A. Failures in decision - making.
B. Methods of reducing massive costs.
C. Strategies for getting work done.
D. Reasons behind inaccurate estimates.
4. What is the key to preventing projects getting into trouble?
A. Planning thoroughly in advance.
B. Analysing specific and general reasons.
C. Focusing on efficiency of projects.
D. Drawing lessons from former experiences.

答案： 1.C 推理判断题。由第一段内容可知，该段以美国波士顿“大开挖”和德国柏林勃兰登堡机场这两个工程项目超时、超预算为例，引出本文话题。故选C项。
2.C 细节理解题。根据第二段中的“data analysis reveals that only 8.5% of the projects meet their initial estimates on costs and time, and 0.5% of them achieve what they set out to do on costs, time and benefits”可知，仅少数项目在成本和时间上符合最初的预估，实现预期收益，由此可知，大多数项目超预算并且超过预期时间。故选C项。
3.D 主旨大意题。由第三段内容，尤其是其中的“Over-optimistic time and cost estimates originate from... ‘strategic misrepresentation’.”可知，该段主要介绍了过于乐观的时间和成本估算源于对直觉的依赖和战略性误传问题，故本段主要解释产生不精确预估背后的原因。故选D项。
4.A 细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“But the iron law is that if you plan strictly and standardise where possible, you are less likely to dig yourself into a hole.”可知，提前作好周密的规划是避免项目超预算和超时的关键。故选A项。