高考英语阅读理解训练二

高考英语阅读理解训练二Passage 1Anyone who cares about what schools and colleges teach and how their students learn will be interested in the memoir （回忆录）of Ralph W. Tyler, who is one of the most famous men in American education.Born in Chicago in 1902, brought up and schooled in Nebraska, the 19-year-old college graduate Ralph Tyler became hooked on teaching while teaching as a science teacher in South Dakota and changed his major from medicine to education.Graduate work at the University of Chicago found him connected with honorable educators Charles Judd and W. W. Charters, whose ideas of teaching and testing had an effect on his later work. In 1927, he became a teacher of Ohio State University where he further developed a new method of testing.Tyler became well-known nationally in 1938, when he carried his work with the Eight-Year Study from Ohio State University to the University of Chicago at the invitation of Robert Hutchins.Tyler was the first director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, a position he held for fourteen years. There, he firmly believed that researchers should be free to seek an independent （独立的）spirit in their work.Although Tyler officially retired in 1967, he never actually retired. He served on a long list of educational organizations in the United States and abroad. Even in his 80s he traveled across the country to advise teachers and management people on how to set objectives （目标）that develop the best teaching and learning within their schools.1. Who are most probably interested in Ralph W. Tyler's memoir?A. Top managers.B. Language learners.C. Serious educators.D. Science organizations.2. The words “hooked on teaching” underlined in paragraph 2 probably mean ______.A. attracted to teachingB. tired of teachingC. satisfied with teachingD. unhappy about teaching3. Where did Tyler work as the leader of a research center for over 10 years?A. The University of Chicago.B. Stanford University.C. Ohio State University.D. Nebraska University.4. Tyler is said to have never actually retired because ______.A. he developed a new method of testingB. he called for free spirit in researchC. he was still active in giving adviceD. he still led the Eight-Year StudyPassage 2Money with no strings attached. It's not something you see every day. But at Union Station in Los Angeles last month, a board went up with dollar bills attached to it withpins and a sign that read, “Give What You Can, Take What You Need.”People quickly caught on. And while many took dollars, many others pinned their own cash to the board. “People of all ages, races, and socio﹣economic（社会经济的）backgrounds gave and took,” said Tyler Bridges of The Toolbox, which created the project. “We even had a bride in her wedding dress come up to the board and take a few dollars.” Most of the bills on the board were singles, but a few people left fives, tens and even twenties. The video clip（片段）shows one man who had found a $20 bill pinning it to the board．“What I can say for the folks that gave the most, is that they were full of smiles,” Bridges said. “There's a certain feeling that giving can do for you and that was apparent in those that gave the most.” Most people who took dollars took only a few, but Bridges said a very small number took as much as they could．While the clip might look like part of a new ad campaign, Bridges said the only goal was to show generosity and sympathy. He added that he hopes people in other cities might try similar projects and post their own videos on the Internet．“After all, everyone has bad days and good days,” he said. “Some days you need a helping hand and some days you can be the one giving the helping hand.”1. What does the expression “money with no strings attached” in paragraph 1 mean？A. Money spent without hesitation．B. Money not legally made．C. Money offered without conditions．D. Money not tied together．2. What did Bridges want to show by mentioning the bride？A. Women tended to be more sociable．B. The activity attracted various people．C. Economic problems were getting worse．D. Young couples needed financial assistance．3. Why did Bridges carry out the project？A. To do a test on people’s morals．B. To raise money for his company．C. To earn himself a good reputation．D. To promote kindness and sympathy．Passage 3Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer（征服）Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against theEnglish. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage （短缺）of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived （复兴）its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.1. What does the author tell us in Paragraph 1?A. How the Irish fought against the English.B. How Ireland gained independence.C. How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.D. How two “Irelands” came into being.2. We learn from the text that in Ireland ______.A. food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in populationB. people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countrysideC. it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory workerD. different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments3. The last paragraph is mainly about ______.A. the Irish characterB. Irish cultureC. Irish musical instrumentsD. a famous Irish writer4. What can be the best title for the text?A. Life in IrelandB. A Very Difficult HistoryC. Ireland, Past and PresentD. The Independence of IrelandPassage 4If you walk slowly through downtown Helsinki （赫尔辛基）during the day, taking in the splendid 19th century buildings, white boats and noise of passing trams （有轨电车）, you will start to understand why it is called a city of two colors: white and blue.The sea is always present in Helsinki. When you take a walk over the great open space of thecentral square, you will hear seabirds screaming. When you take the tram, suddenly and unexpectedly, you are faced with a calm, shining blue sea. You may notice that people in Helsinki do not rush about as in other cities. Instead, they walk along the roads, politely letting other people by.A usual way to see Helsinki for the first time is to start out by the boats. You will walk by the elderly women selling fish and vegetables in the market square and find yourself in front of a beautiful park. You may enjoy a pleasant walk in the park for a few hours and then take the tram. Trams are the perfect way to get around in Helsinki. Watching the old houses, parks, theatres, churches, shops, restaurants and people in the streets, you may have a slightly sad film feeling to it.The pale summer nights are another wonder in the city. Following the waterfront（滨水区）of the city after sunset, you couldn't help stopping and listening to the sweet silence, interrupted only by the screaming seabirds and leaving fishing boats.However, in some way, Helsinki is also the most modern city in northern Europe. You will surely want to visit the white Glass Palace, the modern art museum, and all those extremely popular cafes and design stores.1. Helsinki is called a city of two colors mainly because of the colors of its ______.A. 19th century buildings, boats and parksB. 19th century buildings, boats and seabirdsC. old houses, parks and tramsD. old buildings, boats and the sea2. The best way to see most of Helsinki is to go ______.A. by boatB. by busC. by tramD. on foot3. The 19th century buildings, the white Glass Palace, popular cafes and design shops in Helsinki all show that Helsinki is ______.A. both splendid and traditionalB. both quiet and noisyC. both historical and modernD. both old and new4. This passage is most likely to be found in ______.A. a story bookB. a geography textbookC. a research reportD. a travel magazinePassage 5A NATIONWIDE BESTSELLERIt's likely that everything you learned about America's ancient history is wrong.The new book, 1491, completely changes our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.DID YOU KNOW?When Columbus landed there were probably more people in the Americas than there were in Europe.The peoples of North America had such healthy life-styles that as late as the 19th century they continued to be the tallest people on earth.Facts have shown that the Americas were populated as long as 33,000 years ago. 4,000 years ago Mesoamerican farmers developed corn in a feat （技艺）of genetic engineering that still isn't completely understood.COMMENTS ON 1491“In the tradition of Jared Diamond ＆John McPhee, a totally new view of pie-Columbian America.”—Richard Rhodes“Attractively written and really absorbing... Charles C. Mann has produced a book that's part detective story, part epic （史诗）and part tragedy （悲剧）. He has taken on a vast topic: thousands of years, two huge continents, and cultures.”—Charles Matthews, San Jose Mercury News“Powerful and challenging.”—Alan Taylor, Washington Post“A pleasure to read as well as a wonderful education.”—Howard Zinn1. On the whole, 1491 is a book mainly about America's ______.A. life-stylesB. populationC. historyD. agriculture2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the comments on the book 1491?A. It is interesting and instructive.B. It is attractive and culture-related.C. It is challenging and revolutionary.D. It is humorous and persuasive.3. From this passage, we can learn ______.A. people settled in the Americas a little earlier than 1492B. North Americans were the tallest in the 18th century in the worldC. Mesoamerican farmers knew genetic engineering 5,000 years agoD. the population in the Americas was smaller than that in Europe in 1492参考答案Passage 11. C 细节理解题。