2014高考英语阅读理解二轮基础训练精品题(27)及答案
【2014高考英语广东省华侨中学四模】D
A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech integrated systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.
“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components (元件),” said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.
They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencies on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.
While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.
Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day to day basis.”
41. The robotic fly project has been conducted __________.
A. just by accident B. within a decade
C. just by a professor D. for more than ten years
42. The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that __________.
A. they had no model in their mind
B. they did not have sufficient time
C. they had no ready-made components
D. they could not assemble the components
43. It can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4 that the robotic fly __________.
A. consists of a flight device and a control system
B. can just fly in limited areas at the present time
C. can collect information from many sources
D. has been put into wide application
44. Which of the following can be learned from the passage
A. The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects.
B. Animals are not allowed in biological experiments.
C. There used to be few ways to study how insects fly.
D. Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments.
45. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage
A. Father of Robotic Fly
B. Inspiration from Engineering Science
C. Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect
D. Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study
【参考答案】41-45. DCBDC
Passage 4
Development of a widely accepted chronology for the arrival of humans has been equally difficult, and it was only with the development of optically stimulated luminescence dating that a human presence in Australia was confirmed at 53,000 to 60,000 years ago. Older dates for a human presence in Australia have now been shown to be erroneous .
The importance of Australia as a separate natural laboratory in which to test extinction theories lies in the fact that humans arrived there much earlier than they arrived in the other continental areas (the Americas and northern Eurasia) that experienced substantial megafaunal extinction. What Miller et al. have shown is that the extinction of Genyornis occurred simultaneously across southeastern Australia (indeed probably right across the continent) about 50,000 years ago. This is very close to the presently accepted time of arrival of humans in Australia. It was also a period of modest climate change, well before the dramatic climatic fluctuations of the terminal Pleistocene. The data of Miller et al., therefore, support those who see human hunting rather than climate as causing the extinction of the megafauna.
Genyornis was a ponderous bird, around 80 to 100 kg in weight, about twice as heavy as the living emu and cassowary. It was an inhabitant of Australia?s inland plains and some coastal regions, but its legs were relatively short and thick, suggestion that it was a slower runner than the emu. Proponents of human?caused extinction suggest that it is just such characteristics that made the megafauna vulnerable to human hunting.
A new school of thought has recently established itself in the extinction debate. It advocates the idea that a combination of human impact and climate change was responsible for the extinction of the world?s megafauna. The new Genyornis data also weaken that argument, for the following reason. Fifty thousand years ago, Australia was experiencing mild cooling; 11,000 to 12,000 years ago, the Americas were experiencing rapid warming. These disparate climatic conditions, all coincident with megafaunal extinction, suggest that whatever was happening with climate, it was bad for the big animals. Under these conditions, the hybrid model becomes indistinguishable from the human?caused extinction model for the influence of climate becomes extremely weak, and only the arrival of humans is important in predicting extinction.
66. The last word “megafauna” in Paragraph 2 most probably means
A birds. B plants.
C big animals. D small animals.
67. Genyornis was vulnerable to human hunting because it was
A a delicacy. B very weak.
C very small in size. D clumsy.
68. How many models have been put forward for the extinction of Genyoris
A One. B Two.
C Three. D Four.
69. That Australia experienced mild cooling and the Americas rapid warming suggests that
A the climatic conditions were unfit for Genyornis to live.
B Genyornis were highly adaptable to different climatic conditions.
C The two climatic conditions were both bad for Genyornis.
D The climatic conditions had nothing to do with the extinction of Genyoris.
70. The selection is mainly about
A the debate over the time of the human presence in Australia.
B the relationship between the human presence and magafaunal extinction.
C the relationship between human activities and climatic changes.
D the debate over factors causing megafaunal extinction.
Passage 4
66. 【正确答案】 [C big animals.
【本题考点】 词语释义题。
【试题精解】 考生如果有一定的构词法知识一眼就可看出该题的答案。 “mega”在英文中指 “big”;fauna指 “animals” ,显然[C 为正确答案。考生如果没有这方面的知识,也可以利用上下文来判断。作者在提到megafauna后紧接着提到了Genyornis,在第三段开始对其进行了描述: “Genyornis was a ponderous bird, around 80 to 100kg in weight, about twice as heavy as the living emu and cassowary.” 足见其大。
【考点出处】 第二段末句,但对该词的推断却应联系上下文。
67. 【正确答案】 [D clumsy.
【本题考点】 细节判断题。
【试题精解】 第三段中指出 “it is such characteristics that made the megafauna vulnerable to human hunting” “such characteristics” 指的是其 “heavy, short and thick”, 即 “clumsy”。
【考点出处】 根据第三段第二句可知它的腿短而粗,跑得慢,[D 项clumsy“笨拙的”与句意一致。
68. 【正确答案】 [C Three.
【本题考点】 细节判断题。
【试题精解】 文中共提到了三种:(1)Human hunting;(2)Climate;(3)Human impact and climate change。
【考点出处】 第二、三、四段中。
69. 【正确答案】 [D The climatic conditions had nothing to do with the extinction of Genyoris.
【本题考点】 推理暗示题。
【试题精解】 澳大利亚经历了 “mild cooling”, 美洲经历了 “rapid warming”, 而两个地方都出现了Genyornis的灭绝,说明气候对其灭绝并未产生什么影响。在文中最后一段作者也指出 “the influence of climate becomes extremely weak, and only the arrival of humans is important in predicting extinction.”
【考点出处】 第二段和第四段。
70. 【正确答案】 [D the debate over factors causing megafaunal extinction.
【本题考点】 主旨大意题。
【试题精解】 本文重点介绍了造成“magafaunal extinction”的三种原因,所以[D 为正确答案。
【考点出处】 考察对全文的理解能力,实际上从第三题的做答中我们就可得出解答该题的部分相关信息。
■核心词汇
1.chronologyn.年代学
2.luminescencen.发光
3.erroneousa.错误的 [同义 false, incorrect, inexact
4.megafaunan.巨型动物
5.fluctuationn.变化 [同义 oscillation, rolling
6.ponderousa.笨重的 [同义 heavy, weighty, massive, bulky
7.cassowaryn.食火鸡
■全文精译
澳洲古代巨鸟灭绝探因
要创建人类是何时到来的、且为人们所广为接受的年代表同样也是困难的。并且只有在光学模拟发光测定年代的方法发展起来后,人们才确定53,000年到60,000年前澳洲有了人类,现在已证明更久远的年代是错误的。
之所以把澳洲称为试验种族灭绝理论的天然实验室,其重要性在于(lie in):人类到达这儿的年代要远远先于到达经历过巨型动物灭亡的其他大陆(如欧洲和欧亚大陆北部)的年代。Miller等人向我们说明,“巨鸟”于50,000年前在澳洲南部同时灭绝,这和人们普遍接受的人类到达澳洲大陆的时间相当接近。这也是气候温和的时期,随后很久才发生了更新世晚期灭绝性的气候剧变。Miller的资料支撑了认为人类捕猎而非气候变化是巨兽灭绝的原因的观点。
“巨鸟”是远古时期一种巨型鸟类,重约80到100公斤,是鸸鹋和食火鸡的两倍重。它是澳洲内陆和沿海地区的动物,但它的腿相对短而粗,证明它不如鸸鹋跑得快。坚持人类导致这种鸟灭绝的人说,它们的这种特性使它们很容易受到(be vulnerable to ...)捕杀。
在这一“灭绝争论”中,新的学派又建立了。他们赞成人类及气候因素结合导致(be responsible for ...)了世界范围巨型动物的灭绝的观点。新的巨鸟资料也削弱了这种争论,原因如下:50,000年前,澳洲气候逐渐变冷;11,000到12,000年前,美洲气温迅速上升。这些完全相异的气候条件正好与巨鸟灭绝时期相吻合(be coincident with)。这说明,无论气候怎样变化,巨型动物还是难逃厄运。在这种情况下(under these conditions),这种结合两种说法的观点就变得与人类导致其灭绝的观点难以区别了。因为在他们看来,气候影响是那么微弱,只有人类的到来才预示了巨型动物的灭绝。
阅读理解-----A
Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.
Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. “I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder."
Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination . The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts.
The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richter. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dolly wood for a look-see. “We didn’t want to give the children rubbish,” says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dolly wood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series.
Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: “This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of.”
The Richter spend about $400 a month sending books to 200 children. “Some people sit there and wait to die,” says Tim. “Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left.”
( ) 1.What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life
A. His health problem. B. His love for teaching.
C. The influence of his wife. D. The news from the Web.
( ) 2.What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library
A. Give out brochures. B. Do something similar.
C. Write books for children D. Retire from being a teacher.
( ) 3.According to the text, Dolly Parton is .
A. a well-known surgeon B. a mother of a four-year-old
C. a singer born in Tennessee D .a computer programmer
( ) 4.Why did the Richter go to Dolly wood
A. To avoid signing up online.
B. To meet Dolly wood board members.
C. To make sure the books were the newest.
D. To see if the books were of good quality.
( ) 5.What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph
A. He needs more money to help the children.
B. He wonders why some people are so busy.
C. He tries to save those waiting to die.
D. He considers his efforts worthwhile.
【文章大意】文章通过介绍Richter夫妇从接触一个名为Imagination Library的项目到成立自己的基金会的历程并找到生活的真正价值
61.答案A。细节理解题。由文章第1段的he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.可知答案。
阅读理解-----A
People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions — and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly(均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
"We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions," Jack said. "Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth."
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of. expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than did Westerners. "The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions," Jack said. "Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less."
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.
( ) 1. The discovery shows that Westerners .
A. pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth
B. consider facial expressions universally reliable
C. observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways
D. have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions
( ) 2. What were the people asked to do in the study
A. To make a face at each other. B. To get their faces impressive.
C. To classify some face pictures. D. To observe the researchers' faces.
( ) 3. What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 6 refer to
A. The participants in the study.
B. The researchers of the study.
C. The errors made during the study.
D. The data collected from the study.
( ) 4. In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to .
A. do translation more successfully
B. study the mouth more frequently
C. examine the eyes more attentively
D. read facial expressions more correctly
( ) 5. What can be the best title for the passage
A. The Eye as the Window to the Soul
B. Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions
C. Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills
D. How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding
【语篇解读】本文为科普说明文。主要介绍了最新的科学研究发现:东方人比西方人更难于读懂他人的面部表情。
66. 答案:A
考点:细节理解题
解析:根据第三段 “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth.” 可以得出答案
67. 答案:C
考点:细节理解题
解析:根据第五段 “…by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of. expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral.”可以判断选C
68. 答案:A
考点:词义猜测
解析:根据定语从句 “that they show”所修饰的 eye movements 在研究中为the participants 所作(从the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people”可知)可判断选A
69. 答案:C
考点:细节理解题
解析:根据第六段 “It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than did Westerners.”可判断选C
70. 答案:B
考点:主旨大意题
解析:文章首先指出科学研究的最新发现:东方人比西方人更难于读懂人的面部表情。之后更具体地介绍研究的结构及其研究过程,最后得出结论:文化差异丰富了理解情感的基本社会技巧,即:不同的文化背景使人理解他人情感的方式也不尽相同。由此判断最佳标题应为B
【2014高考英语广东省华侨中学四模】C
How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments-mostly for entertainment purposes-is fair and respectful
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. How ever, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.
Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range. The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs.
The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusual and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding (圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.
36. How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos
A. Dangerous. B. Unhappy. C. Natural. D. Easy.
37. In the state of zoochosis, animals _________.
A. remain in cages B. behave strangely
C. attack other animals D. enjoy moving around
38. What does the author try to argue in the passage
A. Zoos are not worth the public support.
B. Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals.
C. Zoos should treat animals as human beings.
D. Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment.
39. The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _____.
A. discussing the advantages of natural habitats
B. using evidence he has collected at zoos
C. questioning the way animals are protected
D. pointing out the faults in what zoos do
40. Although he argues against zoos, the author would still agree that _______.
A. zoos have to keep animals in small cages
B. most animals in zoos are endangered species
C. some endangered animals are reproduced in zoos
D. it’s acceptable to keep animals away from their habitats
【参考答案】36-40. BBADC
Passage 3
In 1935, the clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman, aged just twenty?six, left New York with his fourteen?piece “swing” band and, traveling in a ragtag group of cars, headed for the huge Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. It was not an easy trip. ?There were half a dozen dismal, sparsely attended one?nighters and three weeks at a dance hall in Denver, where the band was forced to play waltzes, tangos, and novelty numbers. On the opening night at the Palomar, the band played ballad numbers in the first set, and there was little response from the dancers. Then one of the musicians said, if they were going to bomb again they might well do it in style. So Goodman called for his hot, often uptempo arrangements, many of them by the ingenious black bandleader and arranger Fletcher Henderson, and the kids stopped dancing, clustered around the bandstand, and began roaring. ?Before the weeks at the Palomar were over, it was clear that Goodman had suddenly made jazz—still a suspect and largely subliminal American folk music, despite the brilliant inventions during the previous decade of Jelly Roll Morton and others—into a popular music.
Goodman?s surprising ways continued. In 1936, he shook up the white entertainment establishment by hiring two black musicians—the elegant pianist Teddy Wilson and the plunging vibraphonist Lione Hampton. (To be sure, Wilson and Hampton did not play in the band; instead, they appeared with Goodman and the drummer Gene Krupa during intermissions.) A year later, when the band went into the Paramount Theater in New York for three weeks, legions of kids appeared, and a screaming, dancing riot nearly took place. ?It was the first great American show frenzy, and it prepared the way for the Sinatra frenzy of 1947, and for all the Beatles frenzies, and for all the mindless rock?borne frenzies of the Seventies and Eighties.
Then, on the night of January 16, 1938, Goodman, challenging the long?hairs, took his band into a sold?out Carnegie Hall. The big band played a dozen numbers, the trio two numbers, and the quartet five numbers. ?Despite the immediate rumblings from Olin Downes, the Times?s classical music critic (“The playing last night, if noise, speed and beat, all old devices, are heat, was “hot” as it could be, but nothing came of it all, and in the long run it was decidedly monotonous”), Goodman?s concert moved jazz even further up the American popular register. [412 words]
61. This passage is mainly
A a general review of Jazz music.
B a biography of Benny Goodman.
C about the origin of American folk music.
D about how jazz became popular in America.
62. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage
A The band?s first music show in Los Angles was an immediate success.
B Goodman is considered the father of Jazz music.
C Benny Goodman was unknown to public when he left New York.
D The band scheduled to play waltzes, tangos and novelty numbers at a dance hall in Denver.
63. It could be inferred from the passage that
A Jazz is a style of music native to America.
B Classic music had become outdated at Goodman?s time.
C Morton and Goodman were contemporaries.
D Goodman was the first bandleader who hired Black musicians in 1930s.
64. The phrase “shake up” (Line 1,Paragraph 2) in the context probably means
A to give a very unpleasant shock.
B to make changes to an organization.
B to get rid of a problem.
D to point out, designate.
65. Towards Goodman?s music show frenzy, Olin Downes, the classical music critic has
A approving attitude. B satirizing attitude.
C regretting mind. D exaggerated tone.
【参考答案】Passage 3
61. 【正确答案】 [D about how jazz became popular in America.
【本题考点】主旨大意题。
【试题精解】 本文主要讲述音乐家Benny Goodman如何使爵士乐成为一种美国通俗音乐。选项[A “爵士乐概观”和[B “Benny Goodman传记”都涉及面太宽,所以不选。选项[C “美国民族音乐的起源”与本文大意无关。
【考点出处】
62. 【正确答案】 [C Benny Goodman was unknown to public when he left New York.
【本题考点】 细节判断题。
【试题精解】 此题可利用排除法来做。文章第一段提到在洛杉矶巴罗默演奏厅的演出是一次艰难的跋涉,因此可排除选项[A 。文中还提到在此前10年中其他人在爵士乐方面也有卓越的创作,故排除[B 项。文章还提到乐队不得已演奏了华尔兹、探戈及新奇的乐曲。由此排除[D 。而选项[C 中说Benny Goodman悄悄离开纽约恰合题意,故选[C 。
【考点出处】 文中第一段。
63. 【正确答案】 [A Jazz is a style of music native to America.
【本题考点】 推理暗示题。
【试题精解】 根据文章第一段末句“...still a suspect and largely subliminal American folk music...”可以推断:爵士乐是源于美国一种音乐风格。
【考点出处】 第一段末句。
64. 【正确答案】 [B to make changes to an organization.
【本题考点】 主旨大意题。
【试题精解】 shake up在语境中意为:大力整顿,重组,使受到变动很大的安排或组织。分析四个选项可知只有[B 项合乎题意,故选[B 。
【考点出处】 根据语境及上下文联系推断词组意思。
65. 【正确答案】 [B satirizing attitude.
【本题考点】 语义归纳题。
【试题精解】 文章所引用的Olin Downes 的话,显然是一段针对Goodman?s 乐队演出的讽刺性的评论。因此本题的正确答案是[B 。
【考点出处】 通过对全文的归纳总结来分析人物的态度,关键信息在最后一段。
■核心词汇
1.clarinetistn.单簧管演奏者
2.bandleadern.伴舞乐队的指挥
3.ragtagn.平民,穷人 [例 ragtag and bobtail 下层社会
4.numbern.乐曲 [例 My sister sang several numbers from the musical. 我姐姐唱了歌舞片里的几部选曲。
5.subliminala.下意识的,潜在意识的
6.legionn.大批,一大群人 [例 a legion of admirers 一群仰慕者
7.frenzyn.狂暴,狂乱 [例 In a frenzy of hate he killed the boss and revenged his friend.在一阵痛恨的狂乱中,他杀死了老板,为朋友报了仇。
8.trio三人一组,三件一套;三重奏,三重唱
■难句注释
(1)There were half a dozen dismal, … and novelty numbers.
【解析】 复合句。关系副词where 引导定语从句。
【译文】 有六、七场沉闷的夜间演出,观众寥寥无几。乐队又在丹佛的一家舞厅演出了三个星期,不得已演奏了华尔兹、探戈及一些新奇的舞曲。
(2)Before the weeks at the Palomar were over, … and others—into a popular music.
【解析】 注意此处make sth. into sth. 的结构表示“将……变成了……”。
【译文】 很清楚,在帕罗玛几个星期的演出结束之前,Goodman 突然间将爵士乐——一种尚不明确的很大程度上是潜意识的美国民间音乐,尽管有早先十年中Jelly Roll Morton 和其他人的卓越创造——变成了一种通俗音乐。
(3)It was the first great American show frenzy, … frenzies of the Seventies and Eighties.
【解析】 句中三个介词for后接三个并列成分。
【译文】 那是美国第一次由于演出引发的狂热现象,后来又出现了1947年的Sinatra狂热,披头士合唱队狂热及七十年代和八十年代忘我的摇滚演出狂热。
(4)Despite the immediate rumblings … even further up the American popular register.
【解析】 “if noise, speed and beat, all old devices, are heat”是插入语。despite: 介词,意为:不管,不顾;the Times: 美国《时代》杂志;in the long run: 最后,终究;register 此处意为:记录。
【译文】 尽管美国《时代》杂志古典乐评论家Olin Downes 立即发出批评怨言,(“如果噪音、快速的音乐节奏和节拍以及所有的旧乐器就意味着热烈,昨天晚上的演出很‘热’,却毫无意义,终究无疑是单调乏味”),Goodman 的音乐会推进了爵士乐在美国通俗乐中的地位。
■全文精译
爵士乐的流行
1935年,只有26岁的单簧管演奏者兼乐队指挥 Benny Goodman率领由14件乐器组成的“摇摆”乐队,乘坐不甚显耀的车队离开纽约,前往(head for)洛杉矶巨大的巴罗默演奏厅。这是一次艰难的跋涉(be not an easy trip)。有六、七场(half a dozen)沉闷的(dismal)夜间演出,观众寥寥无几(sparsely attend)。乐队又在丹弗的一家舞厅演出了三个星期,不得已(be forced to)演奏了华尔兹、探戈及一些新奇的乐曲。在巴罗默首场演出晚会上,乐队首先演奏了芭蕾曲,却没有得到舞友的回应。一位乐师说:要想制造爆炸性效果就制造点新花样吧!Goodman便要求(call for)乐队演奏狂热、快速的改编乐曲,其中许多曲子是这位天才的黑人乐队指挥和乐曲改编者Fletcher Henderson演奏的。年轻人们都不跳舞了,他们全欢呼着围到了演奏台周围。很清楚,在帕罗马几个星期的演出结束前,Goodman突然将爵士乐——尽管在此前10年中Jelly Roll Morton和其他人都有卓越的创作,爵士乐当时仍然没有为人们所接受、在很大程度上仍然是潜意识的美国民间音乐——变成了一种通俗音乐。
Goodman令人惊奇的方式继续着。1936年,他邀请两位黑人乐师——优雅的钢琴演奏家(the elegant pianist)和专注的(the plunging)电颤琴演奏家Lione Hampton——加盟,这极大地影响了(shake up)白人娱乐圈。(而事实上(to be sure),两位黑人乐师都没有在乐队中演奏,只是在演奏间歇时同Goodman和鼓手Gene Krupa一起露露面。)一年后,当乐队入驻纽约市派拉蒙剧院演奏三周,大群年轻人到场,他们尖叫着、狂舞着,几乎发生了混乱。那是美国第一次由于演出引发的狂热现象(show frenzy),它为后来出现的1947年的西纳特拉狂热、披头士合唱队狂热和70、80年代忘我的摇滚乐产生的狂热铺平了道路。
接着,1938年1月16日晚,Goodman率领乐队进入已卖出的卡耐基大厅,对古典音乐发起挑战。庞大的乐队演奏了十多首乐曲、两曲三重奏、五曲四重奏。尽管美国《时代》杂志古典音乐评论家Olin Downes立即提出批评(“昨天晚上的演奏,如果噪音、快速的音乐节奏和节拍以及所有的旧乐器就意味着热烈,昨天晚上的演出很“热”,却毫无意义(nothing come of it all),终究无疑是单调乏味(monotonous)”), Goodman的音乐会进一步提高了爵士乐在美国通俗乐中的影响。
阅读理解-----B
Every year 2.2 million tons of oil are spilled ( 散落,溅出 ) into the ocean. Actually, this only amounts to a small percentage of the total 1.6 billion tons of oil shipped around the world each year.However, this spilled oil has terrible effects on ocean life, including the coastlines where the off washes up onto shore. Some of the largest spills in history were caused by oil tankers running into each other or by an oil tanker sailing into shallow water and hitting the bottom of the ocean. After these spills, officials try to discover who or what was at fault to help prevent similar accidents in the future.
One of the worst oil spills in history occurred along the Alaskan coastline in 1989. In this accident, 42,000 tons of oil spilled from a tanker which resulted in terrible damage to this sensitive natural area. In this spill, the tanker's captain, who was tired from overwork and drinking alcohol, had gone to take a rest. He gave control of the ship to the third mate. The third mate was unfamiliar with the path the ship took, and he ran the ship onto Blighe Reef. Blighe Reef is a natural underwater rock wall near the Alaskan coast. Damaged by the reef, the ship leaked oil out into the ocean. More than 1,600 kilometers of coastline were affected by the oil spill. Some scientists who studied nature in the area guessed that 580,000 birds and 5,500 otters died when the oil from the spill covered their skin. As well, smaller shellfish and other sea creatures were later eaten by seals, whales, and other animals.
The most oil ever spilled was actually dumped on purpose as an act of ecological warfare. The term ecological warfare means to fight by doing harm to nature in the area under attack. In 1990, Iraq sent soldiers into Kuwait and set off the Persian Gulf War. As part of the Iraq war plan,900,000 tons of oil were let out into the Persian Gulf Way Iraq. This oil covered 1,500 square kilometers of water in the Persian Gulf. The oil also damaged 650 kilometers of the coastline of both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In some places, oil floating on the water was measured to be 43 centimeters thick. Water birds, water plants, and baby fish were all seriously affected by the oil. The long-term effects of this act on the food chain in the area are bound to cause problems tar into the future.
1. Which cause of oil spills is described in the second paragraph
A. Dumping B. War
C.Accidents D.Throwing about carelessly
答案解析:答案为C。本题为细节理解题。从第二段的前半部分可知,由于油轮的船长过度工作并且喝醉,将船交给了船上的另外一名对船的航线不熟悉的人,从而导致了触礁事件。故选C。
2. The creatures affected by the oil spill near Alaska were_________.
A. birds and otters B. shellfish
C. seals and whales D. all of the above
答案解析:答案为D。本题为细节题。从第二段最后两句话 “Some scientists who studied nature in the area guessed that 580,000 birds and 5,500 otters died when the oil from the spill covered their skin. As well, smaller shellfish and other sea creatures were later eaten by seals, whales, and other animals.”可知,答案为D。
3. The third mate ran the thanker agound (触礁) in this accident because_______.
A. he was tired B. he was drunk
C.he was talking on the phone D.he did not know the sea
答案解析:答案为D。本题为细节理解题。从第二段 “The third mate was unfamiliar with the path the ship took, and he ran the ship onto Blighe Reef.”可知,导致触礁事件的原因是驾驶油轮的人不知道航线,与D选项意思符合。
4. ________ was responsible for dumping oil into the Persian Gulf.
A.The United States B. Kuwait C .Saudi Arabia D. Iraq
答案解析: 答案为D。本题为细节题。从最后一段第三句话 “In 1990, Iraq sent soldiers into Kuwait and set off the Persian Gulf War.”可知,对波斯湾倾油事件负责的是伊拉克。
阅读理解
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
A
F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24, 1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St. Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton. University for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.
His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary: “My own happiness in the past often approached such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary.” K^S*5U.C#O%
This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. Encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Thales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, which quick brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security. Then, in 1926, he published another collection of short stories All the Sad Young Men.
However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The Love of the Last Tycoon in 1940. While his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism. K^S*5U.C
( ) 1. How many novels written by Fitzgerald are mentioned in the passage
A. 5 B. 6 C. 7 D. 8
( ) 2. Which of the following is the correct order to describe Fitzgerald’s life according to the passage
a. He became addicted to drinking.
b. He studied at St. Paul Academy.
c. He published his first novel This Side of Paradise.
d. The Great Gatsby won high praise.
e. He failed to reorder his life.
f. He joined the army and met Zelda.
A. f-c-e-a-b-d B. b-e-a-f-c-d C. f-d-e-c-b-a D. b-f-c-d-e-a
( ) 3. We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald .
A. had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama.
B. was well educated and well off before he served in the army
C. would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down
D. helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital
( ) 4. The passage is probably followed by a concluding paragraph about .
A. Zelda’s personal life
B. Zelda’s illness and treatment
C. Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham
D. Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary world
【语篇解读】本片文章为记叙文,主要讲述了英国著名文学家弗兰西斯·司各特·菲茨杰拉德的生平、生活及其重要作品
56.答案A。
【解析】细节理解题。据题意,由文章中关键词novel可知,文章中提及到的弗兰西斯·司各特·菲茨杰拉德的小说有:This side of paradise,The Beautiful and Damned,The Great Gatsby,Tender Is the Night and The love of the last Tycoon,共计5篇。故选A项
57.答案D。K^S*5U.C
【解析】细节理解题。根据第一段中“……was once a student of St. Paul Academy……In 1917 he joined the army……”可知弗兰西斯·司各特·菲茨杰拉德先在圣保罗学院学习,然后参加的军队。由此可知答案应为D项
58.答案C。
【解析】推理判断题。由第四段第一句“However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing”可以判断出C项
59.答案D。K^S*5U.C
【解析】推理判断题。根据人物传记的特点和本段对菲茨杰拉德生活、作品的描述,说明了菲茨杰拉德的作品对学界的意义,因此最后总结的一段是关于菲茨杰拉德对文学界的贡献的。故选D项