高二英语阅读训练

高二英语阅读训练

A

They are the sort of friends who are so close they trust each other with their lives. If one falls, the other is there to catch him.

They are Wellman, whose legs were permanently injured nine years ago in a rock-climbing accident, and Corbett, an experienced rock climber. Together, they climbed up Half Dome, the famous 2,000-foot rock in the Yosemite National Park, through one of the most difficult routes(路线).

During the climb, Corbett took the lead, hit in the metal spikes（尖状物）that guided the ropes and climbed up. Then, after Wellman pulled himself up the rope, Corbett went down to remove the spikes and climbed up again. This process was repeated time and again, inch by inch, for 13 days. Wellman's job was not easy either. He got himself up the rope through upper body strength alone. In all, Wellman figured that he had done 5,000 pull-ups up the rope on the climb.

However, when the two men first met, they never talked about climbing. "He knew that was how I got injured." Wellman said. Until one day Wellman decided that he wanted to climb again and they started training.

Their climb of Half Dome was not all smooth. At one point, pieces of rock gave way, and Corbett dropped down quickly. Wellman locked their rope in place, stopping the fall at 20 feet. His quick action probably saved his friend's life.

"Your partner can save your life - you can save your partner's life," Wellman said as the pair received congratulations from friends. "There are real close ties."

1. Which of the following was a challenge for Corbett in climbing Half Dome?

A. To climb up to remove the spikes.

B. To climb it twice

C. To do 5,000 pull-ups up the rope.

D. To lock the rope in place.

2. How long did it take the two men to climb Half Dome?

A. 13 days.

B. 14 days.

C. 19 days.

D. 20 days.

3. Why did the two men never talk about climbing when they first met?

A. Corbett was poorly trained.

B. Wellman had lost interest in climbing.

C. Corbett didn't want to hurt Wellman.

D. Wellman hadn't decided whether to climb again.

4. What do we know about Wellman?

A. He climbed Half Dome by himself.

B. He was disabled in a traffic accident.

C. He stopped rock-climbing for some time.

D. He was saved by Corbett during the climb.

5. The main idea of the text is that _________. .

A. two heads are better than one

B. friendship is precious in life

C. the disabled should never give up

D. a man can be destroyed but cannot be defeated

B

One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap (包装).

On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, "I promised you a gift, and here it is." What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!

One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded ominous.

Christmas was coming, "don't expect any presents this year," Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. "If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough." I'd never seen him cry before.

The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, "What? He's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs. "The hospital said we can bring Richard home!"

"Thank god!" I heard Mum cry.

From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!

6. What happened to the author on September 11th, 1958 ?

A. He got a baby brother

B. He got a Christmas gift

C. He became four years old

D. He received a doll

7. What does the underlined word "ominous" in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A. Impossible.

B. Boring

C. Difficult

D. Fearful

8. The socks the author hung in the living room are probably used to ____.

A. decorate the room

B. receive gifts

C. amuse his doll brother

D. wear on Christmas

9. Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?

A. Excitement.

B. Happiness.

C. Sadness.

D. Disappointment.

10. What is the passage mainly about?

A. A sad Christmas day

B. Life with a lovely baby

C. A special Christmas gift.

D. Memories of a happy family

C

Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, “ Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us.” That “ quite” saddened me. I thought he was saying “ we’re kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else.” Then I discovered that in American English “ quite” sometimes means “ very”, while in British English it means “ fairly”.

So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don’t just mean the words people speak. It is the body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures.

Some of these differences may be only on the surface—dress, food and hours of work—while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate, while getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality(准时). If you invite people to a party at 7 o’clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word “ late” because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.

11. The author was unhappy as mentioned in Paragraph 1 because he thought______.

A. the American bank didn’t think much of him

B. the American bank might hire another person

C. it’s difficult to get used to American culture

D. it’s easy to misunderstand Americans

12. The word “ highlight” in Paragraph 2 probably means____________.

A. encourages

B. helps to narrow

C. increases

D. draws attention to

13. According to the author, what should we do with most cultural differences?

A. Ask the native people for help

B. Understand and accept them

C. Do things in your own way

D. Do in-depth research

14. When invited to a party the people who are usually punctual are__________.

A. Italians

B. Germans

C. Greeks

D. The British

15. What’s the passage mainly about?

A. Language differences.

B. Different languages.

C. Cultural differences.

D. Different cultures.

D

Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, additional learning trials (尝试) increase the length of time we will remember it.

In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.

The multiplication tables (乘法口诀表) are an exception to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.

The law of overlearning explains why cramming (突击学习) for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one's future development.

16. Who is the main idea of paragraph I?

A. People remember well what they learned in childhood.

B. Children have a better memory than grown-ups.

C. Poem reading is a good way to learn words.

D. Stories for children are easy to remember.

17. The author explains the law of overlearning by_________.

A. presenting research findings

B. selling down general rules

C. making a comparison

D. using examples

18. According to the author, being able to use multiplication tables is ________.

A. a result of overlearning

B. a special case of cramming

C. a skill to deal with math problems

D. a basic step towards advanced studies

19. What does the word “ they” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. Commonly accepted rules.

B. The multiplication tables.

C. Things easily forgotten.

D. School subjects.

20. What is the author's opinion on cramming?

A. It leads to failure in college exams.

B. It's helpful only in a limited way.

C. It's possible to result in poor memory.

D. It increases students' learning interest.

答题卡

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