高一英语阅读理解强化训练Day 5

高一英语阅读理解强化训练Day 5

Passage 1

I was drowned(淹没) in work. I was convinced that it was because my job was demanding, but as I changed my job and eventually became self-employed and I could call my own shots, I was still drowned in work and things were still out of control. Now I come to realize that I have a tendency to drown myself in work and the problem is not the job I’m in.

One of the reasons why work--life balance is hard is that we attribute (把……归咎于) the problem to our environment when we ourselves are the problem actually. I enjoy making my clients happy. “Dushka, your work is unbelievable. ” “Dushka, we would not have survived without you. ” This is my instinctive (本能的) desire. I, a good girl, should make someone I love proud. What can get in the way of work--life balance is that approval often matters more than the balance I claim I want.

I am ambitious and want to do great things and as soon as a project is done I’m hungry for the next one. I want hard work. I want to push myself and test myself. I want to learn. Sometimes work--life balance is hard because there is a difference between what I say I want and what I really want.

My life is constantly changing. If a friend visits me from out of town I want to work less, if I happen to be particularly inspired I want to work more, and if a family member needs me I don’t want to have to worry about work at all. Work--life balance is hard because my definition of it is a moving target. It means different things to me depending on different situations.

What is work--life balance, anyway? Does it mean I get to go home every day when the clock strikes 5:00 pm? Does it mean that I work hard for a few weeks and then take a long weekend off? Do I want daily balance, or do I want things to balance out over the course of a few weeks, even months?

On one side, work--life balance doesn’t mean that the only way to do something well is to do it yourself. Your ego (自我) gets in the way of your being free. On the other side, work--life balance can be hard if you are worried that someone else can do your job better than yourself. Then you live in a constant state of suspicion (怀疑) and never allow yourself to step away. Your fear is calling the shots, not your ambitions.

Work--life balance can be hard if you are more worried about looking good than doing good work. If you want to make sure everyone sees you are the first one to come and the last one to leave, what others think of you has more weight than your desire of getting home in time for dinner.

My boss assures me that employees come first and that people are the most important, yet I don’t see him telling me it’s time to go home because I worked really late the night before.

Wait a minute. Why should my work--life balance be the company’s problem, in particular when I’ve already identified that my needs are ever--changing? How can I expect someone else to stay on top of that? The only person responsible for that is me.

1. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. Demand less from myself.

B. Pay more attention to work.

C. Complete more excellent jobs.

D. Control a situation by myself.

2. The author enjoys making her clients happy because ________.

A. she is afraid to lose her job

B. she always desires to be approved

C. she wants to gain work--life balance

D. she could make a profit in that way

3. What can we learn about the author?

A. Her ego gets in the way of her success.

B. She is always satisfied with the current situation.

C. The achievement of work--life balance is easy for her.

D. She doesn’t have an exact definition of work--life balance.

4. What does the example of the author’s boss tend to indicate?

A. Work--life balance relies on our own selves.

B. It’s no use working hard for our boss.

C. Profits are more important than employees.

D. Some leaders don’t mean what they say.

Passage 2

On average, American kids ages 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more that they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet (芭蕾舞). Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log half that time. All in all, however, children’s leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%

“Children are affected by the same time crunch (危机) that affects their parents, ” says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of children’s timetable. A chief

reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double--income and “male breadwinner” households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers. )

All work and no play could make for some very messed--up kids. “Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself, ” says T. Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School Unstructured(unorganized) play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to handle their relationships with their peers, but kids ages 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.

The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time” watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they’re spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren’t replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. Let’s face it, who’s got the time?

1. By mentioning “the same time crunch” (Line 1, Para. 2) Sandra Hofferth means ______.

A. children have little time to play with their parents

B. both parents and children suffer from lack of leisure time

C. children are not taken good care of by their working parents

D. both parents and children have trouble managing their time

2. According to the author a child develops better if _______.

A. he has plenty of time reading and studying

B. he has more time participating in school activities

C. he is left to play with his peers in his own way

D. he is free to interact with his working parents

3. We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. extracurricular activities(after--class activities) promote children’s intelligence

B. most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched off

C. efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful

D. most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children

Passage 3

Ricky lived in a modern house. Though he didn't help much around the house, Ricky was still pleased when his parents brought him the latest model of butler(管家) robot. Upon his arrival, cooking, cleaning, gathering up clothes from Rick's bedroom floor, which Ricky didn't like having to work on, were all done by the robot. On that first day, Ricky had left his bedroom in a truly disastrous state before bed. When he woke up the next morning, everything was perfectly arranged.

It comes to Ricky's turn to face the music. He could find his favorite T-shirt nowhere, nor his newly-bought model plane. No matter how he searched, it was in vain. To make matters worse, the same was starting to happen to other items. Ricky cast a suspicious eye on the butler robot. He hatched a plan to spy on the robot, and began following it around the house. Finally, it was caught picking up one of his toy to hide it.

Considering the robot being bad programmed, Ricky turned to his parents,

and asked them to have it fixed, but his parents turned his advice down.

On hearing the complaints, the robot returned with Ricky's missing items and apologized, "Hey, sir. I've no idea that I'm bothering you. "Angrily, Ricky fought back. "You've been stealing my stuff for weeks!"

"They were left on the floor, I therefore thought that they were cast away. I am programmed to collect all unwanted, and I gave them away to the less fortunate at night. Am I a maximum efficiency machine? "

Ricky was ashamed of having treated those things as if they were useless. He was aware that the robot was not misprogrammed, and that, or rather, it had been programmed extremely well! Since then, no Ricky's useful items disappeared.

1. The underlined part in Para 2can be replaced by________ .

A. changed a plan bravely

B. announced a plan publicly

C. carried out a plan hurriedly

D. developed a plan secretly

2. What happened to the robot? ________

A. It was given away to the less fortunate.

B. It was badly programmed actually.

C. It was misunderstood by its young master.

D. It was designed to teach Ricky a lesson.

3. What influence did the robot have on Ricky? ________

A. Ricky would trust his parents and help the poor.

B. Ricky would do as much housework as he could.

C. Ricky would design more robots like the butler robot.

D. Ricky would make a change and better himself.

Passage 4

Winter sports are very popular in European and North American countries. These places usually receive a lot of snow during the winter months.

Skiing and skating become the major sports activities for Westerners during the winter. People from Norway, Italy, the United States, Sweden and Canada all like winter sports.

Winter sports such as alpine skiing and skating are very popular because they allow people to keep warm while enjoying outdoors.

People can exercise outdoors in beautiful surroundings: snow-covered mountains and pine trees among endless white snow. Putting oneself into the white world and breathing fresh air, one can relax and forget all worries. Of course, the practice of flying down the hills excites people.

The Alps (阿尔卑斯山脉) in Europe is the most ideal place for skiing. The Rocky Mountains (落基山) in the Western United States is another good place. Some people call winter sports "royal sports". That is because of their high cost. These sports always require expensive equipment. They also need high-standard places to be enjoyed.

Winter sports are not as popular in China. The southern and coastal areas have no skiing and skating. And the snow-blanketed northeastern and southwestern areas have

very poor equipment.

But thanks to the efforts of our government, China has caught up with world class competition in short track speed skating. This is also true for women's figure (花样) skating. However, in alpine skiing events, China has a long way to go.

1. Winter sports are popular in places ________ .

A. where there is a lot of snow

B. where it rains often

C. among high mountains

D. near the sea?

2. Winter sports are called "royal sports" because ________.

A. excellent equipment are needed

B. the best skiers are great

C. their expenses are great

D. they need high-standard places to be enjoyed

3. Which of the following is true? ________

A. alpine skiing level of china is rather low.

B. china's skating level is higher than Western countries.

C. china's skiing level is a bit lower than that of the world class.

D. china's women's figure skating is much lower than that of western countries.

4. "The most ideal" underlined in the fifth paragraph can be replaced by________ .

A. the farthest

B. the best

C. the highest

D. the most difficult

5. The writer of this passage is probably a(n)________.

A. swiss

B. american

C. russian

D. chinese

Passage 5

The largest land animal remaining on the earth, the African elephant is of much importance to African ecosystem. Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a giant plant-eater, it significantly shapes the forest-ad-savanna (大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.

It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it both a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, as well as pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in not only deep tropical forests but also the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth, which attract a variety of other plant-eaters.

Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants create open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large-hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small-sized plant-eaters to obtain their food as well.

Scientists are worried now that the African elephant has become an endangered

species. If the elephant dies out, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.

1. What is the passage mainly about? ________

A. Disappearance of African elephants.

B. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

C. The effect of African elephants' search for food.

D. The eating habit of African elephants.

2. The African elephant influences the ecosystem in the following ways except that________ .

A. it creates open areas in deep tropical forests as well as woodlands

B. it pulls off the branches and leaves, shutting out the sunshine

C. its eating habit can be made use of by large-hoofed and small-sized animals

D. it encourages some kinds of plants growing in an indirect way

3. What does the underlined phrase "setting the terms" most probably mean? ________

A. Deciding the conditions

B. Worsening the state

C. Improving the quality

D. Fixing the time

4. The passage is developed mainly by________.

A. presenting the changes in time order

B. making comparisons and giving examples

C. classifying similarities and differences

D. showing the effect and then explaining the reasons.

参考答案

Passage 1

1. D习语猜测题。根据第一段中“I was convinced that it was because my job was demanding, but as I changed my job and eventually became self--employed. . . . . . ” 我坚信那是因为我的工作对我的需要很多, 但是当我换工作并最终成为自雇人士时. . . . . . 。结合句中的转折连词but可知前后句之间存在转折关系, 前句表示我在为别人打工的时候工作对我的需要很多, 因此后文意在表明换工作自己做老板后, 可以自己掌控局面。故选D项。

2. B细节理解题。根据第二段中“What can get in the way of work--life balance is that approval often matters more than the balance I claim I want. ” 在平衡工作与生活中遇到的关键问题是, 得到认可通常比我想要的平衡更为重要。可知作者喜欢让客户满意, 因为她一直渴望被认可。故选B项。

3. D细节理解题。根据第四段中“Work--life balance is hard because my definition of it is a moving target. ”工作与生活之间的平衡很困难, 因为我对它的定义是一个动态的目标。可知作者对于工作与生活平衡没有准确的定义。故选D 项。

4. A推理判断题。根据最后一段中“How can I expect someone else to stay on top of that? The only person responsible for that is me. ” 我怎么能指望别人为我的工作与生活平衡负责？唯一对此负责的人是我。由此判断出作者想用老板的例子表明工作与生活之间的平衡取决于我们自己。故选A项。

Passage 2

1. B词义猜测题。第一段的种种数据提供了1981年到1997年美国儿童时间

安排的变化, 但最关键的是最后一句话“All in all, however, children’s leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%“(然而, 总的来说, 儿童的休闲时间从1981年的40%下降到了25%) ”再根据第二段中“A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. “(她说, 一个主要原因是越来越多的母亲在外工作。)” “In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers. (相比之下, 孩子们和单身母亲在一起的时间只有9个小时。)”由此推知, 划线部分的意思是父母和孩子都缺少闲暇时间。故选B。

2. C推理判断题。根据第三段中“Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself, (玩耍是孩子探索世界和了解自己最有力的方式)”和“play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to handle their relationships with their peers, (玩耍鼓励独立思考, 并允许年轻人处理与同龄人的关系, )”由此可知, 根据作者的说法, 如果让孩子以自己的方式和同龄人一起玩, 他会发展得更好。故选C。

3. D推理判断题。根据最后一段中“Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading. (尽管努力让孩子们对书籍更感兴趣, 孩子们每周花在阅读上的时间还是刚刚超过一个小时。)”由此可知, 我们可以从这篇文章中推断, 大多数父母认为阅读对孩子有益。故选D。

Passage 3

1. D细节理解题。根据第二段He hatched a plan to spy on the robol, and began following it around the house 可知他策划一个计划去刺探Robo1，并开始跟踪它，可知意为秘密的计划。故选D

2. C推理判断题。根据最后一段He was aware that the robot was not

misprogrammed, and that, or rather, it had been programmed extremely well 可知机器人它被它的年轻主人误解了。故选C

3. D细节理解题。根据最后一段He was aware that the robot was not misprogrammed, and that, or rather, it had been programmed extremely well!Since then, no Ricky's useful items disappeared 可知机器人帮助瑞奇改变自己，改善自己。故选D

Passage 4

1. A 细节理解题。根据第一段的"Winter sports are very popular in European and North American countries. These places usually receive a lot of snow during the winter months. "可知在下大雪的地方冬季运动都比较受欢迎。故选A

2. C 推理判断题。根据第六段的"That is because of their high cost. "可知冬季运动之所以称为“皇家运动”那是因为他们的成本高。故选C

3. A推理判断题。根据第七段的"Winter sports are not as popular in China. The southern and coastal areas have no skiing and skating. And the snow-blanketed northeastern and southwestern areas have very poor equipment. "可知，滑雪在中国不受欢迎自然高山滑雪水平较低。故选A

4. B推理判断题。根据下文的"The Rocky Mountains (落基山脉) in the Western United States is another good place. "可知，阿尔卑斯山脉是滑雪最佳地点。故选B

5. 推理判断题。D根据文章最后一段的"But thanks to the efforts of our government, China has caught up with world class competition in short track speed skating. "但由于我国政府的努力，中国在短道速度滑冰项目上已经赶上了世界级的竞争。可知作者是中国人。故选D

Passage 5

1. C主旨大意题。本文主要讲述的就是在非洲草原的生物链中大象的重要作用，它不断的寻找食物拓宽了其它动物的生存空间等。故选C

2. B细节理解题。根据句子Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor 可知，热带雨林伸展的枝干挡住阳光是自然的状态，而不是非洲大象影响的。故选B

3. A推理判断题。根据文章句子As a big planteater, it largely shapes the forestandsavanna (稀树草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat. 说明非洲大象塑造了草原的环境，也决定了其它的动物的生存的条件。故选A

4. D推理判断题。本文主要通过描述大象的行为带来的具体的影响以及对这些影响的原因的解释。故选D