高考英语阅读理解全程提升训练(21)

2014高考英语阅读理解全程提升训练（21）及答案

社会生活类

Franz Kafka wrote that “a book must be the ax (斧子) for the frozen sea inside us.” I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, and it didn’t seem to require any explanation.

We’d just finished John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. When we read the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little, and so did I. “Are you crying? ”one girl asked, as she got out of her chair to take a closer look. “I am, ” I told her, “and the funny thing is I’ve read it many times. ”

But they understood. When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen. In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I’ve taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless; kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods. They understand, more than I ever will, the novel’s terrible logic—the giving way of dreams to fate (命运) .

For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature with small groups of students from grades six to eight. I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school—one that often attracts the literary- minded children of Manhattan’s upper classes—into a less competitive setting. The daughter of immigrants, with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates. I thought additional “cultural capital”could help students like her develop better in high school, where they would unavoidably meet, perhaps for the first time, students who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph. D’s.

Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read: Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. The students didn’t always read from the expected point of view. About The Red Pony, one student said, “it’s about being a man, it’s about manliness. ” I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies (独白) read as raps (说唱) , but both made sense; the interpretations were playful, but serious. Once introduced to Steinbeck’s writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that “all these people hate each other, and they’re all white. ”His historical view was broadening, his sense of his own country deepening. Year after year, former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes.

Year after year, however, we are increasing the number of practice tests. We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts, not for emotional punch (碰撞) but for text complexity. Yet, we cannot enrich(充实) the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts. We are teaching them that words do not amaze but confuse. We may succeed in raising test scores, but we will fail to teach them that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them.

1. The underlined words in Paragraph 1 probably mean that a book helps to_____ .

A. realize our dreams

B. give support to our life

C. smooth away difficulties

D. awake our emotions

2. Why were the students able to understand the novel Of Mice and Men?

A. Because they spent much time reading it.

B. Because they had read the novel before.

C. Because they came from a public school.

D. Because they had similar life experiences.

3. The girl left the selective high school possibly because_____.

A. she was a literary- minded girl

B. her parents were immigrants

C. she couldn’t fit in with her class

D. her father was then in prison

4. To the author’s surprise, the students read the novels_____ .

A. creatively B. passively C. repeatedly D. carelessly

5. The author writes the passage mainly to____.

A. introduce classic works of literature

B. advocate teaching literature to touch the heart

C. argue for equality among high school students

D. defend the current testing system

【参】43.DDCAB

阅读 (共两节，满分50分)

第一节 阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

(A)

Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.

The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety－five would have the same effect.

Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in the oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales（鲸鱼）.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals.

The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales' ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected(被感染的).

Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds are against a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists don’t think that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean. 【文章大意】本文叙述了研究表明噪音污染引起了海洋生物的危险，科学家将来要采取措施拯救海洋生物，阻止噪音对海洋生物的伤害，提醒我们也要意识到保护海洋生物的重要性。 26. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to

sea creatures?

A. The sound of cars. B. The sound of voices. C. Man-made noise pollution. D. The sound of steps. 【答案】C

【 解析】细节理解题。由第一段Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. 可知噪音污染引起了海洋生物的危险，故选C。

27. According to the passage, natural sounds include all of the following EXCEPT________.

A. sounds made by animals themselves C. underwater earthquakes 【答案】B

【 解析】细节理解题。由第二段These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves. 可知ocean drilling不是自然的声音，故选B。

28. Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?

A. The same noise level produces a different effect on land and in the ocean. B. Different places may have different types of noises.

C. The decibel is not a right unit (单位) for measuring underwater noise. D. Different ocean animals may have different reactions to noises. 【答案】A

【 解析】段落大意题，根据Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. 这是中心句可知同一种噪音在陆地和水面产生的效果是不一样，故选A。 29. Which of the following is true of whales?

A. They won't be confused by noises. B. They are deaf to noises.

C. Their ability to reproduce will be lowered by high-level noises. D. Their hearing will be damaged by high-level noises.

B. ocean drilling

D. the breaking of ice fields

【答案】D

【 解析】推理判断题。根据第六段The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing.可知水下巨大的爆炸声会使鲸失去听力，故选D。

30. According to the passage, what will scientists most probably do in the future?

A. They will work hard to reduce ocean noise pollution. B. They will protect animals from harmful noises. C. They will try to set a limit of 120 decibels. D. They will study the effect of ocean noise pollution. 【答案】B

【 解析】推理判断题。由文章的最后一句话They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean. 可知科学家将来要采取措施阻止噪音对海洋生物的伤害，故选B。

社会生活类

Blogging may have psychological（心理的）benefits for teens suffering from social anxiety, improving their self-esteem（自尊）and helping them relate better to their friends, according to the new research published by the American Psychological Association. \"Research has shown that writing a personal diary and other forms of expressive writing is a great way to reduce emotional stress and just feel better,\" said the study's lead author, Meyran Boniel-Nissim, PhD, of the University of Haifa, Israel.\"Teens are online anyway, so blogging enables free expression and easy communication with others.\"

Blogging has a stronger positive effect on troubled students' well-being than merely expressing their social anxieties and concerns in a private diary, according to the article published online in the APA journal Psychological Services.Opening the blog up to comments from the online community strengthens those effects.

The researchers randomly surveyed high school students in Israel,who had agreed to fill out a questionnaire about their feelings on the quality of their social relationships. A total of 161 students -- 124 girls and 37 boys, with an average age of 15 -- were selected because their scores on the survey showed they all had some level of social anxiety or stress. All the teens reported difficulty in making friends or relating to the friends they had. The researchers assessed the teens' self-esteem, everyday social activities and behaviors before, immediately after and two months after the 10-week experiment.

Four groups of students were assigned to blog. Two of those groups were told to focus their posts on their social problems, with one group opening the posts to comments; the other two groups could write about whatever they wanted and, again, one group opened the blog up to comments. The number and content of comments were not evaluated for this experiment. The students could respond to comments but that was not required. Two more groups acted as controls—either writing a private diary about their social problems or doing nothing. Participants in the writing and blogging groups were told to post messages at least twice a week for 10 weeks.

Four experts, who held master's or doctoral degrees in consulting and psychology, assessed the bloggers' social and emotional condition by way of their blog posts. Students were assessed as having a poor social and emotional state if they wrote a lot about personal problems or bad relationships or showed evidence of low self-esteem.

Self-esteem, social anxiety, emotional stress and the number of positive social behaviors improved significantly for the bloggers when compared to the teens who did nothing and those who wrote private diaries.Bloggers who were instructed to write specifically about their difficulties and whose blogs were open to comments improved the most. All of these results agreed with the two month follow-up.

The authors admitted that the skewed（有偏向的）sex rate was a limitation to the study.

However, the researchers analyzed the results separately by sex and found that boys and girls reacted similarly to the experiment and there were no major differences. They said future research should attempt to control the subjects for sex.

50．The selection of students for the experiment was largely based on .

A．their social relationships B．their self-esteem

C．their problems in social life D．their willingness to fill out a question naire

51．What’s the function of“controls” (Paragraph 4) in the experiment?

A．To write down some social problems in a private diary.

B．To post messages to the blog and respond to comments.

C．To help evaluate the number and content of blog comments.

D．To offer a comparison for checking the experimental result.

52．From the experiment we can know that .

A．writing private diaries makes no difference to the relief of one’s emotional stress

B．teenagers opening their blogs up to comments have more psychological benefits

C．the positive effects of expressing one’s emotions by blogging don’t last very long

D．those describing bad relationships on blogs tend to develop more mental problems

53．What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The authors insisted that all the research findings were accurate.

B．Sexrate had been taken into account before the survey was conducted.

C．The authors were intended to improve the experiment in the future.

D．Similar reactions of boys and girls indicated the failure of the experiment.

．What is the main idea of thepassage?

A．Blogging can help reduce social stress and anxiety.

B．The research into blogging attracts public attention.

C．Blogging provides a simple way for communication.

D．Blog comments have a positive effect on teenagers.

【参】79.CDBCA

阅读理解------(B)

The USA is a land of immigrants. Between 1815 and 1914, the world witnessed the greatest peaceful migration in its history: 35 million people, mostly Europeans, left their homelands to start new lives in America. Why did these people risk everything by leaving their homes and families?

First, what forced emigrants to make the decision to leave? One major cause for European farmers to leave was the rise in population which in turn led to land hunger. Another was politics. There was an increased taxation（税收） and the growth of armies, and many young men fled eastern Europe to avoid being forced to join the army.

Physical hunger provided another pressing reason. Following the collapse （衰退）of the economy of southern Italy in the 1860s, hundreds of thousands decided to start a new life in America. Religion also encouraged millions to leave the Old World.

In short, people chose to leave their homes for social, economic and religious reasons. As a result, by 10 among a total population of 63 million, there were more than nine million foreign-born Americans.

But what were the attractions? First of all, there was the promise of land which was so scarce in Europe. Next, factories were calling for workers, and pay conditions were much better than back home. Men were needed to open up the West and build the long railroads, and new towns needed settlers to live in and to develop business. There was the space for religious people to practice their faith in peace.

This immigration meant that by around the 1850s Americans of non-English had started to be more than those of English. As we know, there were losers. To start with, there were those unwilling immigrants, the slaves who had been used as a source of cheap labour. Nor should we forget the equally unlucky American Indians. By 1860 there were 27 million free whites, four million slaves and a mere 488,000 free blacks.

Nowadays, the USA is still seen by millions as the Promised Land. As always, it remains an attractive place to those who think it will offer them a second chance. 【文章大意】本文叙述了在 1815 和 1914之间,美国成了移民最好的去处，由于政治，经济、宗教信仰等的原因，欧洲的一些人开始向美国迁移，因为在这里人们有更多的就业机会、有商机有宗教自由，现在美国仍然是许多人的想去的乐土。

31. What is not the cause for people to leave their homeland?

A. The search for religious freedom. B. The search for adventure. C. Unwillingness to join the army. D. Economics. 【答案】B

【 解析】细节理解题。根据many young men fled eastern Europe to avoid being forced to join the army.In short, people chose to leave their homes for social, economic and religious reasons. 他们由于社会经济，宗教自由，不愿入伍等原因离开了自己的家乡，

不是为了冒险，故选B。

32. Why was life of the 19th Century European farmers difficult?

A. There was no land. B. There was no peace.

C. The population had gone down. D. There were too many of them. 【答案】D

【 解析】细节理解题。根据One major cause for European farmers to leave was the rise in population which in turn led to land hunger. 农民人数的增加，而相对土地的平均少了，故选D。

33. Which of the following was not an attraction of the USA?

A. Employment

B. A healthy life D. Business opportunities

C. freedom of religion 【答案】B

【 解析】细节理解题。根据First of all, there was the promise of land which was so scarce in Europe. Next, factories were calling for workers, and pay conditions were much better than back home. Men were needed to open up the West and build the long railroads, and new towns needed settlers to live in and to develop business. There was the space for religious people to practice their faith in peace.在美国有就业机会，有商机还有宗教自由吸引了外国的移民，没有提到健康的生活，故选B。 34. What is the topic of this passage?

A. The USA is still seen by millions as the Promised Land. B. The USA is a land of immigrants.

C. Religion encouraged millions to leave the Old World.

D. About one-eighth of non-native born Americans live in the USA in 10. 【答案】B

【 解析】主旨大意题。根据The USA is a land of immigrants.文章开始点题，短文主要论述了美国为什么会成为外国移民的主要去向，故选B。 35. The American Indians __________.

A. were as fortunate as the slaves

B. were more unfortunate than the slaves C. were the most unfortunate

D. were as unfortunate as the slaves 【答案】D

【 解析】细节理解题。根据Nor should we forget the equally unlucky American Indians.美洲的印第安人与奴隶一样地不幸，故选D。