高考·阅读综合
2020-2021学年
2021年新高考全国II卷
阅读理解C篇
In May 1987 the Golden Gate Bridge had a 50th birthday party. The bridge was closed to motor traffic so people could enjoy a walk across it. Organizers expected perhaps 50,000 people to show up. Instead, as many as 800,000 crowded the roads to the bridge. By the time 250,000 were on the bridge, engineers noticed something terrible: the roadway was flattening under what turned out to be the heaviest load it had ever been asked to carry. Worse, it was beginning to sway (晃动). The authorities closed access to the bridge and tens of thousands of people made their way back to land. A disaster was avoided.
The story is one of scores in To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure, a book that is at once a love letter to engineering and a paean (赞歌) to its breakdowns. Its author, Dr. Henry Petroski, has long been writing about disasters. In this book, he includes the loss of the space shuttles (航天飞机) Challenger and Columbia, and the sinking of the Titanic.
◎真题再现◎
Though he acknowledges that engineering works can fail because the person who thought them up or engineered them simply got things wrong, in this book Dr. Petroski widens his view to consider the larger context in which such failures occur. Sometimes devices fail because a good design is constructed with low quality materials incompetently applied. Or perhaps a design works so well it is adopted elsewhere again and again, with seemingly harmless improvements, until, suddenly, it does not work at all anymore.
Readers will encounter not only stories they have heard before, but some new stories and a moving discussion of the responsibility of the engineer to the public and the ways young engineers can be helped to grasp them.
“Success is success but that is all that it is,” Dr. Petroski writes. It is failure that brings improvement.
◎真题再现◎
◎语篇分析◎
美国著名的工程和历史学教授亨利·波卓斯基的书《请原谅设计:理解失败》中记录了许多震惊世界的工程失败案例,诸如旧金山金门大桥50周年事件、航天飞机挑战者号和哥伦比亚号的坠毁,以及泰坦尼克号的沉没等。这些失败案例虽然是人类在工程技术史上遭受的挫折,但它们也成为了人类工程技术进步的驱动力,促使人类不断探索、进步。
主题语境:人与社会——文学
What
◎语篇分析◎
Why
选取本文旨在让大家认识到:任何一个伟大的工程都是无数个工程师们精雕细琢的成果,但工程师也是人,失误难免,少一些苛责,多一些探索,心平气和地接受失败、分析失败的原因,总结经验教训,向更高的方向发展。
本文是一篇书评。文章以1987年5月旧金山的金门大桥50周年事件为例,引出著名的工程和历史学教授亨利·波卓斯基的书《请原谅设计:理解失败》,该书中波卓斯基教授通过举例分析了工程事故的原因;接下来,作者概括了读者能从阅读该书中获得的益处;最后作者引用波卓斯基教授的话“成功就是成功,仅此而已”和“失败却能带来进步”概括结束全文。文中出现了许多与书评相关的词汇,如story, book, author, writing, readers等,构成词汇同现关系。
◎语篇分析◎
How
◎
语
篇
分
析
◎
Though he acknowledges that engineering works can fail because the person who thought them up or engineered them simply got things wrong, in this book Dr. Petroski widens his view to consider the larger context in which such failures occur. (para. 3)
◎语言知识◎
【难句解码】
①本句是一个主从复合句。
②句子主干是:Dr. Petroski widens his view。
③Though引导的让步状语从句中,分别包含了that引导的宾语从句、because引导的原因状语从句和who引导的定语从句(修饰先行词person,且在从句中作主语)。
④which引导定语从句,修饰先行词context,且在从句中作介词in的宾语。
句意:
尽管他承认工程施工的失败可能是因为提出或设计它们的人只是把事情弄错了,但在这本书中,波卓斯基博士拓宽了思路,他考虑了此类失败发生的更大背景。
enjoy a walk 享受散步
show up 到来
make one’s way back 往回走
think up 想出
get things wrong 出错
low quality materials 低材质
widen one’s view 拓宽思路,开拓视野
bring improvement 带来进步,有所提升
【语块积累】
与
主题
相关
◎语言知识◎
as many as ... 像……一样多
by the time … 到……时
at once 立刻,马上
again and again 一次次地
not … at all 一点也不……
tens of thousands of 数以万计的……
turn out to be … 证明是……,原来是……
not only … but (also) … 不但……而且……
【语块积累】
其
他
◎语言知识◎
◎语言知识◎
【背景知识】
1. Golden Gate Bridge: 金门大桥,又称“金门海峡大桥”,是美国境内连接旧金山市区和北部的马林郡的跨海通道,位于金门海峡之上,是美国旧金山市的主要象征。
◎语言知识◎
【背景知识】
2. Challenger: 挑战者号航天飞机,它是美国正式使用的第二架航天飞机。1986年1月28日,挑战者号在进行第10次太空任务时,因为右侧固态火箭推进器上面的一个O形环失效,并且导致一连串的连锁反应。在升空后73秒时,爆炸解体坠毁。机上的7名宇航员都在该次事故中丧生。
◎语言知识◎
【背景知识】
3. Columbia: 哥伦比亚号航天飞机,1981年4月12日首次发射,是美国第一架正式服役航天飞机。2003年2月1日美国东部时间上午9时,在得克萨斯州北部上空解体坠毁,7名宇航员全部遇难。
4. Titanic: 泰坦尼克号,又译作铁达尼号,是当时世界上体积最庞大、内部设施最豪华的客运轮船,有“永不沉没”的美誉 。然而不幸的是,在它的处女航中,泰坦尼克号与一座冰山相撞,船体断裂成两截后沉入大西洋底3700米处。2224名船员及乘客中,1517人丧生,其残骸直至1985年才被再度发现。目前受到联合国教育、科学及文化组织的保护。
◎语言知识◎
【背景知识】
28. What happened to the Golden Gate Bridge on its 50th birthday?
A. It carried more weight than it could.
B. It swayed violently in a strong wind.
C. Its roadway was damaged by vehicles.
D. Its access was blocked by many people.
解题思路:
根据第一段中的By the time 250,000 were on the bridge, engineers noticed something terrible: the roadway was flattening under what turned out to be the heaviest load it had ever been asked to carry和Worse, it was beginning to sway可知,桥面道路的承载力远远超出了它的最大载荷力,而且开始摇摆。
◎试题分析◎
A。细节理解题
29. Which of the following is Dr. Petroski’s idea according to paragraph 3?
A. No design is well received everywhere.
B. Construction is more important than design.
C. Not all disasters are caused by engineering design.
D. Improvements on engineering works are necessary.
解题思路:
根据第三段中的Dr. Petroski widens his view to consider the larger context in which such failures occur,以及后面给出的两种工程失败的可能性:a good design is constructed with low quality materials incompetently applied和perhaps a design works so well it is adopted elsewhere again and again, with seemingly harmless improvements, until, suddenly, it does not work at all anymore可推知,波卓斯基博士认为并不是所有的灾难都是因为工程设计造成的。
◎试题分析◎
C。
推理判断题
30. What does the last paragraph suggest?
A. Failure can lead to progress.
B. Success results in overconfidence.
C. Failure should be avoided.
D. Success comes from joint efforts.
解题思路:
根据最后一段中的It is failure that brings improvement可推知,A项Failure can lead to progress是它的同义表达。
◎试题分析◎
A。推理判断题
31. What is the text?
A. A news report.
B. A short story.
C. A book review.
D. A research article.
解题思路:
本文主要介绍了亨利·波卓斯基的书《请原谅设计:理解失败》,故本文是一篇书评。
◎试题分析◎
C。推理判断题
◎拓展练习◎
假定你班即将举行一次英语班会,主题为“我们该如何正确应对失败?”请你就此话题发表个人见解,内容包括:
1. 正确应对失败的方法;
2. 你对待失败的态度。
注意:
1. 词数100左右;
2. 至少使用5个【语言知识】中列出的知识点,并用下划线标出。
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
One possible version:
Knowing how to deal with failure in a healthy way turns out to be beneficial for your pain so you can bounce back better than before. You can think up some activities like practicing deep breathing, enjoying a walk, or playing with your pet. If you struggle with bad habits when you’re stressed out, create a list of healthy activities and hang it in an obvious place. Then, use your list to remind yourself of the healthier strategies you can turn to when you’re feeling bad. Not every activity works for everyone, however, so it’s important to find what does for you.
It’s believed that failure brings improvement. Accept it bravely and widen your view to embrace the future.