河南省郑州市2014高考英语考前冲刺 阅读理解考前自练题9
河南省郑州市2014高考英语考前冲刺 阅读理解考前自练题2

郑州市2014高考英语阅读理解考前自练题阅读理解Science can't explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure (血压) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.Any owner will tall you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people - half of them pet owners –while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a hu sband/wife, a close friend or with a pet. People wit h pets didIt best .Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returnedMost quickly to baseline heart rates .With pets in the room ,people also made fewer math mistak esThan when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel mor e released (放松)aroundPet s, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don’t judge.A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwesterm Memorial Hospital spent aYear studying 36 fat people and were put on a diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of56 fat people without pets were put on a diet program. On average,people lost about 11 pounds,Or 5% of their body weight .Their dogs did even better,losing an average of 12 pounds,more then15%of their body weight .Dog owners didn’t lose any more weight than those without dogs but ,sayResearchers,got more exercise o verall –mostly with their dogs –and found it worth doing.( ) 1. What does the text mainly discuss?A.What pets bring to their ownersB.How pets help people calm downC.people’s opinions of keeping petsD.Pet’s value in medical research( ) 2. We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if____________A.he has a pet companionB.he has less stress of workC.he often dose mental arithmeticD.he is taken care of by his family( ) 3. According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing stressful tasks?A.They have lower blood pressure.B.They become more patient.C.They are less nervous.D.They are in higher spirits.( ) 4. The research mentioned in the last paragraph report s thatA.people with dogs did more exerciseB.dogs lost the same weight as people didC.dogs liked exercise much more than people didD.people without dogs found the program unhelpfulB篇1.选A。
2014最新高考英语考试考前冲刺密卷(全国通用)

最新普通高等学校招生全国统一考试考前冲刺密卷英语注意事项:1. 本试卷分第I卷(选择题)和第II卷(非选择题)两部分,第I卷1至8页,第II卷9至10页。
2. 答题前,考生务必将自己的姓名、准考证号填写在本试卷相应的位置。
3. 全部答案在答题卡上完成,答在本试卷上无效。
4. 第I卷听力部分满分30分,不计入总分,考试成绩录取时提供给高校作参考。
5. 考试结束后,将本试卷和答题卡一并交回。
第I卷第二部分阅读理解(共两节,满分40分)第一节(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)AEP Portable HeaterWe all know that the cost of heating our homes will continue to be a significant burden on the family budget. Now millions of people are saving on their heating bills with the EP Portable Heater. With over one million satisfied customers around the world, the new EP heats better and faster, saves more on heating bills, and runs almost silent.The EP has no exposed heating parts that can cause a fire. The outside of EP only gets warm to the touch so that it will not burn children or pets.The EP will not reduce oxygen in the room. With other heaters, you’ll notice that you get sleepy when the heat comes on because they are burning up oxygen.The advanced EP also heats the room evenly, wall to wall and floor to ceiling. it comfortably covers an area up to 350 square feet. Other heaters heat rooms unevenly with most of the heat concentrated to the center of the room. And they only heat an area a few feet around the heater. With the EP, the temperature will not vary in any part of the room.The EP comes with a 3-year warranty(保修) and a 60-day. no questions asked. Satisfaction guarantee. If you are not totally satisfied, return it to our expertise and your money will be given back to you.Now, we have a special offer for 10 days, during which you can enjoy a half price discount and a free delivery. if you order that, we reserve the right to either accept or reject order requests at the discounted price.Take action right now!21. What is mainly discussed in paragraph 2?A. the heat of the EPB. the safety of the EPC. the appearance of the EPD. the material of the EP22. From the passage, we can learn that the EP____.A. doesn’t burn up oxygenB. runs without any noiseC. makes people get sleepyD. is unsuitable for children and pets23. The und erlined word “evenly” in paragraph 4 probably means____.A. continuouslyB. separatelyC. quicklyD. equally24. The main purpose of the passage is to____.A. persuade people to buy the productB. advise people to save on heating billsC. report the new development of portable heatersD. compare the difference of different heart brandsBThey baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视)starts to lose its focus —until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地)when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.25. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.A. sense of hearingB. sense of sightC. sense of touchD. sense of smell26. Babies are sensitive to the change in______.A. the size of cardsB. the colour of picturesC. the shape of patternsD. the number of objects27. Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.B. To see how babies recognize sounds.C. To carry their experiment further.D. To keep the babies’ interest.28. Where does this text probably come from?A. Science fiction.B. Children’s literature.C. An advertisement.D. A science report.CDoes Fame Drive You Crazy?Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s star, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world’s attention. Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature.According to psychologist Christina Villareal, celebrities — famous people — worry constantly about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. “Over time,” Villareal says, “they feel separated and alone.”The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B.C., painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain (抱怨) about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.If fame is so troublesome, why aren’t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.29. It can be learned from the passage that stars today____.A. are often misunderstood by the publicB. can no longer have their privacy protectedC. spend too much on their public appearanceD. care little about how they have come into fame30. What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?A. Great heroes of the past were generally admired.B. The problem faced by celebrities has a long history.C. Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids.D. Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers.31. What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?A. Availability of modern media.B. Inadequate social recognition.C. Lack of favorable chances.D. Huge population of fans.32. What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?A. Sincere.B. Sceptical.C. Disapproving.D. Sympathetic.DThe National GalleryDescription:The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entranceLayout:The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th- to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titan and Veronese.The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Claude and Vermeer.The East Wing houses 18th- to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.Opening Hours:The Gallery is open every day from 10am to 6pm (Fridays 10am to 9pm) and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.Getting There:Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).33. In which century’s collection can you see religious paintings?A. The 13th.B. The 17th.C. The 18th.D. The 20th.34. Where are Leonardo da Vinci’s works shown?A. In the East Wing.B. In the main West Wing.C. In the Sainsbury Wing.D. In the North Wing.35. Which underground station is closest to the National Gallery?A. Piccadilly Circus.B. Leicester Square.C. Embankment.D. Charing Cross.第二节(共5小题;每小题2分,满分10分)根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能坡入空白处的最佳选项。
河南省郑州市高考英语考前冲刺 阅读理解考前自练题3

郑州市2014高考英语阅读理解考前自练题阅读理解(2013·西安市标准化考练,C)On a visit to Japan, Wangari Maathai learned the story of the hummingbird (蜂鸟) and the forest fire. While the other animals run in fear, the hummingbird flies above the fire time and again, leaving a few drops of water from its beak.“Why do you bother?” the other animals shout at the hummingbird. “I'm doing the best that I can,” the hummingbird replies.“It's such a beautiful story,” Ms. Maathai says, thinking of the world's environmental problems. “There's always something we can do with our little beak like the little hummingbird.”In 2004 Maathai was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for her work founding the Green Belt Movement (GBM), which hires villagers, especially women, to improve the environment. Since then, she's realized that people's values are what inspire them. If the values are good ones, good actions will follow.“If you don't have good values, you'll develop vices (恶劣行径),” says Maathai. “And if we give in to the vice, we destroy ourselves. We destroy the environment.” That's the message of her new book.In 1971, Maathai received a doctor's degree from the University of Nairobi, the largest university in Kenya. She's now back in her homeland beginning work on the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies (WMI) at the University of Nairobi. “They want to call it after me,” she says.WMI will pay more attention to “learning by doing” and use knowledge to deal with real problems. “What Africa needs is people who are willing to get their fingers dirty and work with the people,” says Maathai.Planting trees is one way people connect with the natural world. She continues to inspire others. “There is no lasting peace until we have peace with the earth itself,” she says.文章大意:本文是一篇报道。
河南省郑州市2014高考英语考前冲刺 阅读理解考前自练题8

郑州市2014高考英语阅读理解考前自练题科普知识类阅读理解Federal regulators Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergency alert(警报) system using text messages delivered to cell phones.Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people. The wireless industry’s trade association, CTIA, estimates(估计)more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month.The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires improvement to the nation’s eme rgency alert system. The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.“The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.Participation in the alert system by carriers—telecommunications companies—is voluntary, but it has received solid support fro m the wireless industry.The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.There would be three different types of messages, according to the rules.The first would be a national alert from the president, likely involving a terrorist attack or nat ural disaster. The second would involve “approaching threats”, which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings.The third would be reserved for child abduction(绑架) emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts.The service could be in place by 2010.1. What is the purpose of the approved plan?A. To warn people of emergencies via messages.B. To popularize the use of cell phones.C. To estimate the monthly number of messages.D. To promote the wireless industry.2. The improvement to the present system is in the charge of .A. CTIAB. the Warning Alert and Response Network ActC. FCCD. federal regulators3. The carriers’ participation in the system is determined by.A. the US federal governmentB. mobile phone usersC. the carriers themselvesD. the law of the United States4. Which of the following is true of cell phone users?A. They must accept the alert service.B. They may enjoy the alert service for free.C. They must send the alerts to others.D. They may choose the types of messages.5. An alert message will NOT be sent if .A. a child loses his wayB. a university shooting happensC. a natural disaster happensD. a terrorist attack occurs6. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?A. Cell Phone Alerts Protecting StudentsB. Cell Phone Alerts by Wireless IndustryC. Cell Phone Alerts of Natural DisastersD. Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soo n【参考答案】 ACCBA 6 D阅读理解---科普常识类(2013·浙江,B)Below is a selection from a popular science book.If blood is red,why are veins(静脉) blue?Actually,veins are not blue at are more of a clear,yellowish blood looksred when it's outside the body,when it's sit ting in a vein near the surface of the skin,it's more of a dark reddish purple the right depth,these bloodfilled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin,making them look blue by comparison.Which works harder,your heart or your brain?That kind of depends on whether you're busy thinking or busy heart works up to three times harder during exercise,and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a ,in the long run,your brain probably tips it,because even when you're sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart,and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.Why do teeth fall out,and why don't they gr ow back in grownups?Baby (or “milk”) teeth do not last long;they fall out to make room for bigger,stronger adult teeth later teeth fall out when they become damaged,decayed and infected by this second set of teeth has grown in,you're they're gone,they're is because nature figures you're set for life,and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off.Do old people shrink as they age?Yes and people do get shorter as they ,when they do,it isn't because they're shrinking all simply lose height as their spine(脊柱) becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects of gravity(重力).Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get lose an average of 34 cm in height as they age,while women may lose 5 cm or you live to be 200 years old,would you keep shrinking till you were,like 60 cm tall,like a little boy again?No,because old people don't really shrink!It is not that they are growing backwards—their legs,arms and backbones getting they do get shorter,it's because the spine has shortened a ,more often,become more bent and curved.Why does spinning make you dizzy(眩晕的)?Because your brain gets confused between what you're seeing and what you're brain senses that you're spinning using special gravityandmotionsensing organs in your inner ear,which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance ,when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out of control,and your brain thinks you're moving while you're not!Where do feelings and emotions come from?Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic mammals have thisbrain area—from mice to dogs,cats,and all mammals feel basic emotions like fear,pain and since human feelings also involve other,newer bits of the brain,we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on the planet.If exercise wears you out,how can it be good for you?Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to as far as your body is concerned,it's “use it,or lose it”!It's not that exercise makes you healthy;it's more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease.1.What is the colour of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?A.Blue. B.Light yellow.C.Red. D.Dark reddish purple.解析细节理解题。
高中英语真题-2014高考英语阅读理解抓分精品练习(9)及答案

高中英语真题:2014高考英语阅读理解抓分精品练习(9)及答案阅读理解A 篇Until late in the 20th century most Americans spent time with pe ople of different generations. Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until the y are old themselves.That's because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sport activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior citizen homes. Why?We live far away from the old for many reasons. Young peo ple sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of becoming old and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappe ar before our eyes. Sometimes it’s got hard that we stay away fr om the people who need us the most.Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.A reporter moved her family into a block filled with old people. A t first her children were disappointed. But the reporter made ba nana bread for the neighbors and had her children send it and v isit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom t hey shared food, stories and projects. "My children have never been lonely, "the reporter said.The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home (an organization where old people are cared for) when a visitor sho wed up with a baby, she was immediately surrounded. People who hadn't gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing fo r a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort a nd cure.Grandparents are a special case. They give their grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it "My grandparents gave me a deep sense that t hings would turn out right in the end." Grandchildren speak of attention they don't get from worried parents. "My parents were always telling me to hur ry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down," one friend s aid. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer and more trusting.46. Now in an American family, people can find that__________ _.A. children never live with their parentsB. not all working people live with their parentsC. old people are supported by their grandchildrenD. grandchildren are supported by their grandparents47. Seeing a baby, the old people got excited because _______.A. they had never seen a baby beforeB. the baby was clever and beautifulC. the baby brought them the image of lifeD. the baby's mother would take care of them48. Why are some children quieter, calmer and more trusting ?A. Because they have relationships with their grandparents.B. Because their worried parents ask them to act like that.C . Because they have nothing to worry about.D. Because their teachers ask them to act like that.49. Which of the following can show the fact that the old often s ave the young?A. The old can become friends of the children and the childr en may not feel lonely.B. The old get excited when they see a baby.C. The old can cure the young when they are sick.D. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure. 参考答案46—49、BCAAAs thousands of communities in the USA — especially in the South — became booming gateways for immigrant families fro m Central and South America during the 1990s and the early ye ars of the new century, public schools struggled with the unfami liar task of serving the large numbers of English learners arrivin g in their classrooms.Education programs needed to be built from scratch. “We had no teaching resources suitable for English learners here before. We had to develop them all ourselves,” a Texas principal sai d. Throughout the country, districts had to train their own teachers to teach English to non-native speakers or recruit teachers from elsewhere. School staff members had to figure out how to communicate with parents w ho spoke no English.But even as immigration has slowed or stopped in many plac es, and instructional programs for English-learners have matured, serving immigrant families and their chil dren remains a work in progress in many public schools, especi ally those in communities that are skeptical, or sometimes unwe lcoming, to the newcomers. One of the biggest challenges educ ators face, is communicating effectively with parents who don’t speak English — an issue that, in part, has contributed to recen t complaints of discrimination by Latino students in some cities.“The parents’ role is very important for the success of these s tudents, but it's also one of the most difficult things we’ve had to tackle,” said Jim D. Rollins, the president of the Springdale sch ool district, where the 19,000-student school system has gone from having no English-learners 15 years ago to more than 7,500 now. “You have to m ake it a priority and work on it, work on it, and work on it.”Aside from the practical challenges, such as finding bilingual (会说两种语言的) staff members, guiding districts through such dramatic changes requires school leaders to bridge difficult political and cultur al divides. For school leaders in the South, especially in the last few years, this difficult job has been made harder still by the ne gative attitudes of some locals towards immigrants.36. According to the passage, what is the problem that public s chools are facing?A. Handling more cases from the immigrant Mexican commun ities.B. Offering services to immigrant families in the southern stat es.C. Offering enough communicative lessons to immigrant pare nts.D. Providing education for non-native English learners.【答案】D【解析】细节理解题。
河南省郑州市2014高考英语考前冲刺 阅读理解考前自练题12

郑州市2014高考英语阅读理解考前自练题阅读理解Plants can’t communicate by moving or making sounds, as most animals do. Instead, plants produce volatile compounds, chemicals that easily change from a liquid to a gas. A flower’s sweet smell, for example, comes from volatile com pounds that the plant produces to attract insects such as bugs and bees.Plants can also detect volatile compounds produced by other plants. A tree under attack by hungry insects, for instance, may give off volatile compounds that let other trees know about the attack. In response, the other trees may send off chemicals to keep the bugs away—or even chemicals that attract the bugs’ natural enemies.Now scientists have created a quick way to understand what plants are saying: a chemical sensor(传感器) called an electronic nose. The“e-nose” can tell compounds that crop plants make when they’re attacked. Scientists say the e-nose could help quickly detect whether plants are being eaten by insects. But today the only way to detect such insects is to visually inspect individual plants. This is a challenging task for managers of greenhouses, enclosed gardens that can house thousands of plants.The research team worked with an e-nose that recognizes volatile compounds. Inside the device, 13 sensors chemically react with volatile compounds. Based on these interactions, the e-nose gives off electronic signa ls that the scientists analyze using computer software.To test the nose, the team presented it with healthy leaves from cucumber, pepper and tomato plants, all common greenhouse crops. Then the scientists collected samples of air around damaged leaves from each type of crop. These plants had been damaged by insects, or by scientists who made holes in the leaves with a hole punch(打孔器).The e-nose, it turns out, could identify healthy cucumber, peper and tomato plantsbased on the volatile compounds they produce. It could also identify tomato leaves that had been damaged. But even more impressive, the device could tell which type of damage—by insects or with a hole punch—had been done to the tomato leaves.With some fine-tuning, a device like the e-nose could one day be used in greenhouses to quickly spot harmful bugs, the researchers say. A device like this could als o be used to identify fruits that are perfectly ripe and ready to pick and eat, says Natalia Dudareva, a biochemist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. who studies smells of flowers and plants. Hopefully, scientists believe, the device could bring large benefits to greenhouse managers in the near future.1. We learn from the text that plants communicate with each other by .A. making some soundsB. waving their leavesC. producing some chemicalsD. sending out electronic signals2. What di d the scientists do to find out if the e-nose worked?A. They presented it with all common crops.B. They fixed 13 sensors inside the device.C. They collected different damaged leaves.D. They made tests on damaged and healthy leaves.3. According to the writer, the most amazing thing about the e-nose is that it can .A. pick out ripe fruitsB. spot the insects quicklyC. distinguish different damages to the leavesD. recognize unhealthy tomato leaves4. We can infer from the last paragraph that the e-nose .A. is unable to tell the smell of flowersB. is not yet used in greenhousesC. is designed by scientists at PurdueD. is helpful in killing harmful insects【参考答案】25.1-4 CDCB阅读理解-------文学赏析类(2013·江西,D)Mark Twain has been called the inventor of the American novel.And he surely deserves additional praise:the man who popularized the clever literary attack on racism.I say clever because antislavery fiction had been the important part of theliterature in the years before the Civil War.H.B.Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is only the most famous example.These early stories dealt directly wi th slavery.With minor exceptions,Twain planted his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely.He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story.Again and again,in the postwar years,Twain seemed forced to deal with the challenge of race.Consider the most controversial,at least today,of Twain's novels,Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.Only a few books have been kicked off the shelves as often as Huckleberry Finn,Twain's most widely read tale.Once upon a time,people hated the book because it struck them as rude.Twain himself wrotethat those who banned the book considered the novel “trash and suitable only for the slums(贫民窟).”More recently the book has been attacked because of the character Jim,the escaped slave,and many occurences of the word nigger.(The term Nigger Jim,for which the novel is often severely criticized,never appears in it.)But the attacks were and are silly—and miss the point.The novel is strongly antislavery.Jim's search through the slave states for the family from whom he has been forcibly parted is heroic.As J.Chadwick has pointed out,the character of Jim was a first in American fiction—a r ecognition that the slave had two personalities,“the voice of survival within a white slave culture and the vo ice of the individual:Jim,the father and the man.”There is much more.Twain's mystery novel Pudd'nhead Wilson stood as a challenge to the racial beliefs of even many of the liberals of his day.Written at a time when the accepted wisdom held Negroes to be inferior(低等的)to whites,especially in intelligence,Twain's tale centered in part around two babies switched at birth.A slave gave birth to her master's baby and,for fear that the child should be sold South,switched him for the master's baby by his wife.The slave's lightskinned child was taken to be white and grew up with both the attitudes and the education of the slaveholding class.The master's wife's baby was taken for black and grew up with the attitudes and intonations of the slave.The point was difficult to miss:nurture(养育),not nature,was the key to social status.The features of the black man that provided the stuff of prejudice—manner of speech,for example—were,to Twain,indicative of nothing other than the conditioning that slavery forced on its victims.Twain's racial tone was not perfect.One is left uneasy,for example,by the lengthy passage in his autobiography(自传)about how much he loved what were called“nigger shows”in his youth—mostly with white men performing in blackface—and his delight in getting his mother to laugh at them.Yet there is no reason to think Twain saw the shows as representing reality.His frequent attacks on slavery and prejudice suggest his keen awareness that they did not.Was Twain a racist?Asking the question in the 21st century is as wise as asking the same of Lincoln.If we read the words and attitudes of the past through the“wisdom”of the considered moral judgments of the present,we will find nothing but error.Lincoln,who believed the black man the inferior of the white,foughtand won a war to free him.And Twain,raised in a slave state,briefly a soldier,and inventor of Jim,may have done more to anger the nation over racial injustice and awaken its collective conscience than any other novelist in the past century.【语篇解读】通过研究马克·吐温的作品,来判定他是否是一名种族主义者。
2014高考英语阅读理解基础训练极品题(9)

2014高考英语阅读理解根底训练极品题〔9〕与答案A“People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help deal with climate change,〞the world’s leading authority on global warming has told The Observer.Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel’s chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions (排放) and other environmental problems associated with raising cattle and other animals. “It was relatively easy to change eating habits compared to changing means of transport,〞 he said.The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are produced during the production.For example, ruminants (反刍动物), particularly cows, give offa gas called methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than CO2.Pachauri can expect some opposite responses from the food industry to his advice, though last night he was given unexpected support by Masterchef presenter and restaurateur John Torode. “I have a little bit and enjoy it,〞said Torode.“Too much for any person is bad. But there’s a bigger issue here: wherethe meat comes from. If we all bought British and stopped buying imported food, we’d save a huge amount of carbon emissions.〞Professor Robert Watson, the chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, said government could help educate people aboutthe benefits of eating less meat, but it should notregulate.“Eating less meat would help, there’s no question about that,〞Watson said.However, Chris Lamb, head of marketing for pig industry group BPEX, said the meat industry had been unfairly targeted and was working hard to find out which activities had the biggest environmental impact and reduce them. “Some ideas were contradictory,〞 he said. “For example, one solution to emissions from cattle and other animals was to keep them indoors, but this would damage animal welfare.Climate change is a very young science and our view is there are a lot of simple solutions being proposed.〞1. What is directly related to global warming?A. Consumption of meat.B. Growth of cattle.C. Methane from ruminants.D. Processing of meat.2. Who holds a view opposite to the others’ in the passage?A. Rajendra Pachauri.B. John Torode.C. Robert Watson.D. Chris Lamb.3. It is implied in the passage that _____.A. we should try to keep away from cattleB. ruminants should not be left outdoorsC. the meat industry will soon close downD. we must do our duty to save the earth4. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?A. Less meat, slower global warmingB. More animals, more greenhouse gasC. Less imported food, better our environmentD. Greater diet change, smaller climate change【参考答案】1—4、CDDA阅读理解-------B(2013·合肥市二模,C)Traditional businessmen feel worried that growing ecommerce will reduce their share of the market.According to a survey, 90% of some people's purchases are made on the computer. As they find that by being able to go online and choose the things that they need to choose, and have them delivered right to their doorsteps, they could no longer be bothered with driving, the crowds, the noise of that, and they usually get a better selection.Cornell University Marketing Professor, MeLaughlin says traditional stores can keep their customers by offering goods like clothing, which customers may want to see and try on before purchasing, as well as items that are difficult to ship. He says some traditional stores are also pleasing customers with services that set up or repair computers and electronics.Traditional stores also offer a social experience that some shoppers enjoy. There is still a lot of emotion in the buying decision that takes place. Oftentimes, you ne ed that last sense of “this is exactly what I want〞 before you part with money. And you can't always get that online. It's a rather cold process.As more and more people have Internet access and smart phones, online commerce is likely to continue its growth here in the United States and in other countries.文章大意:本文为一篇议论文。
2014高考英语疯狂冲刺倒计时 完形填空+阅读理解

2014高考英语疯狂冲刺倒计时完形填空+阅读理解(限时35分钟)Ⅰ.完形填空A few weeks ago,our dog,which we had kept for more than ten years,had to be put down.First,a tumor on her stomach got worse,and she was very __1__.Then,the pain in her back got so bad that sometimes she __2__ lie down in the middle of a walk and couldn't take another __3__.When I first found out,I was very sad and cried a lot.She was more like a sister to me than a __4__.But I was also angry at my stepfather,Steve,who told us the __5__ a week after it happened.He __6__ because he didn't want to worry us,and he didn't want me to get depressed (抑郁的)and fail my exams.I just thought she was __7__ at the animals' hospital.I think you know all the __8__ that went through my head:She was my dog!Why didn't he tell us earlier?I didn't even get to say goodbye.People in my family have a __9__ of keeping things from me to protect me,such as only telling me that my aunt had cancer __10__ she had already improved.All I could think was:Not again!I __11__ to my mum,and she said,“I know.I'm __12__,too.〞I opened my mouth to shout.And then she added,“I'm so angry with Steve that he had to __13__ through all this on his own.〞Hearing my mum's words,I shut up my mouth.I had been so __14__ on myself.I hadn't thought about __15__ Steve was going through.That dog was his baby.He'd had her for longer than he'd had us—and he had to make the decision to __16__ her life,and then kept in silence for an entire __17__.All my anger melted away,and all I felt was __18__.It makes me realize that we focus so much on ourselves that we __19__ the pain ofothers.At that moment,my mum's words were an incredible __20__ that I'll never forget. 本文为记叙文。
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郑州市2014高考英语阅读理解考前自练题科普知识类阅读理解The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I. Q. , a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. If you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or, shared the same birthday.This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would give her some idea of a fascinating circle she might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary know-ledge of her field. She’d be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking anderror-focused. By practising in this way, she delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skil ls into unconscious, automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance from the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems—how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she cancall upon in order to understand or solve future prob lems.The prima ry quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine. The latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is oft en neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.1. The passage mainly deals with .A. the function of I. Q. in cultivating a writerB. the relationship between genius and successC. the decisive factor in making a geniusD. the way of gaining some sense of distinction2. By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could.A. come to understand the inner structure of writingB. join a fascinating circle of writers somedayC. share with a novelist her likes and dislikesD. learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security3. In the girl’s long painstaking trainin g process, .A. her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her successB. her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performanceC. she acquires the magic of some great achievementsD. she c omes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write4. What can be concluded from the passage?A. A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success.B. A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing.C. As to the growth of a genius, I. Q. doesn’t matter, but just his/her efforts.D. What really matters is what you do rather than who you are.【参考答案】22.1-4 CABD阅读理解-----社会现象类(2013·湖北,D)A German study suggests that people who were too optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than those pessimists who expected their future to be worse.The paper, published this March in Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96.The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.Surve y respondents (受访者) were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.The researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middleaged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future.Adults of 65 and older, however, were far more likely to underestimate their future life satisfaction.Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio (比率) of disability and death for the study period.“We observed that being too optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of death within the following decade,” wro te Frieder R.Lang, a professor at the University of ErlangenNuremberg.Lang and his colleagues believed that people who were pessimistic about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who expected a rosy future.“Seeing a dark futu re may encourage positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions(预防措施),”the authors wrote.Surprisingly, compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline.Also, the researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.The authors of the study noted that there were limitations to their conclusions.Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.However, the researchers said a pattern was clear.“We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their expectations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate, to pessimistic,” the authors concluded.5.According to the study, who made the most accurate prediction of their future life satisfaction?A.Optimistic adults. B.Middleaged adults.C.Adults in poor health. D.Adults of lower income.解析细节理解题。