英語閱讀理解(附答案)

53

Today,rollerskatingiseasyandfun.Butalongtimeago,itwasn'teasyat

all.Before1750,theideaofskatingdidn*texist.Thatchangedbecauseofaman

namedJosephMerlin.Merlin'sworkwasmakingmusicalinstruments.Inhisspare

timehelikedtoplaytheviolin.JosephMerlinwasamanofideasanddreams.People

calledhimadreamer.

OnedayMerlinreceivedaninvitationtoattendafancydressball.Hewas

verypleasedandalittleexcited.Asthedayofthepartycamenear,Merlinbeganto

thinkhowtomakeagrandentranceattheparty.Hehadanidea.Hethoughthewould

getalotofattentionifhecouldskateintotheroom.

Merlintrieddifferentwaystomakehimselfroll.Finally,hedecidedtoput

twowheelsundereachshoe.Thesewerethefirstrollerskates.Merlinwasveryproud

ofhisinventionanddreamedofarrivingatthepartyonwheelswhileplayingthe

violin.

OnthenightofthepartyMerlinrolledintotheroomplayinghisviolin.

Everyonewasastonishedtoseehim.Therewasjustoneproblem.Merlinhadnoway

tostophisrollerskates.Herolledonandon.Suddenly,heranintoahugemirrorthat

washangingonthewall.Downfellthemirror,breakingtopieces.Nobodyforgot

Merlin'sgrandentranceforalongtime!

1.Thetextismainlyabout.

A.astrangeman

B.anunusualparty

C.howrollerskatingbegan

D.howpeopleenjoyedthemselvesinthe18thcentury

2.PeoplethoughtMerlinwasadreamerbecausehe.

A.oftengaveotherssurprisesB.wasagiftedmusician

C.inventedtherollerskatesD.wasfullofimagination

3.Merlinputwheelsunderhisshoesinorderto.

A.impressthepartyguestsB.arriveatthepartysooner

C.testhisinventionD.showhisskillinwalkingon

wheels

4.Whatisthemainpointthewriteristryingtomakeinthelastparagraph?

A.Therollerskatesneededfurtherimprovement.

B.ThepartygueststookMerlinforafool.

C.Merlinsucceededbeyondexpectation.

D.Merlingothimselfintotrouble.

54

Forthousandsofyears,manhasenjoyedthetasteofapples.Apples,which

areabout85percentwater,growalmosteverywhereintheworldbutthehottestand

coldestareas（地區(qū)）.AmongtheleadingcountriesinappleproductionareChina,

FranceandtheUnitedStates.

Therearevariouskindsofapples,butaveryfewmakeupthemajorityofthose

grownforsale.ThethreemostcommonkindsgrownintheUnitedStatesare

Delicious,goldenDelicious,andMcIntosh.

Applesaredifferentincolour,size,andtaste.Thecolouroftheskinmay

bered,green,oryellow.Theyhavevarioussizes,withDeliciousapplesbeingamong

thelargest.Thetastemaybesweetortart（酸的）.Generally,sweetapplesareeaten

freshwhiletartapplesareusedtomakeapplesauce（蘋果醬）.

Appletreesmaygrowastallastwelvemetres.Theydobestinareasthat

haveverycoldwinters.Althoughnofruitisyieldedduringthewinter,thiscoldperiod

isgoodfbrthetree.

1.ItcanbelearnedfromthetextthatDeliciousapplesare

A.growninFrance.B.soldeverywhere.

C.verybig.D.quitesweet.

2.Coldwinterweatherisgoodfor

A.thegrowthofappletrees.

B.producinglargeapples.

C.improvingthetasteofapples.

D.theincreaseofwaterinapples.

3.China,FranceandtheUnitedStatesareconsideredto

A.belargeproducersofapples.

B.belargeproducersofapplesauce.

C.havethelongesthistoryinappleproduction.

D.havethecoldestwinteramongappleproducingcountries.

4.Thewordyieldedinthelastsentencemeans

A.improved.B.increased.

C.produced.D.sold.

55

Maybeten-year-oldElizabethputitbestwhenshesaidtoherfather,"But,

Dad,youcan'tbehealthyifyou'redead."

Dad,inahurrytogethomebeforedarksohecouldgoforarun,had

forgottentowearhissafetybelt—amistake75%ofUSpopulationmakeeveryday.

Thebigquestioniswhy.

Therehavebeenmanymythsaboutsafetybelteversincetheirfirst

appearanceincarssomefortyyearsago.Thefollowingarethreeofthemost

common.

MyththeNumberOne:It*sbesttobeHthrownclear"ofaseriousaccident.

Truth:Sorry,butanyaccidentseriousenoughto"throwyouclear"isable

goingtobeseriousenoughtogiveyouaverybadlanding.Andchancesareyou*ll

havetraveledthroughawindshield（擋風(fēng)玻璃）ordoortodoit.Studiesshowthat

chancesofdyingafteracaraccidentaretwenty-fivetimesincaseswherepeopleare

"thrownclear".

MythNumberTwo:Safety-bets"trap"peopleincarsthatareburningor

sinkinginwater.

Truth:Sorryagain,butstudiesshowthatpeopleknockedunconscious（昏

迷）duetonotwearingsafetybeltshaveagreaterchanceofdyingintheseaccidents.

Peoplewearingsafetybeltsareusuallyprotectedtothepointofhavinginthese

accidents.Peoplewearingsafetybeltsareusuallyprotectedtothepointofhavinga

clearheadtofreethemselvesfromsuchdangeroussituation,nottobetrappedin

them.

MythNumberThree:Safetybeltsaren'tneededatspeedsoflessthan30

milesperhour(mph).

Truth:Whentwocarstravelingat30mphhiteachother,anunbelteddriver

wouldmeetthewindshieldwithaforceequaltodivingheadfirstintothegroundfrom

aheightof10metres.

1.WhydidElizabethsaytoherfather,"But,Dad,youcan*tbehealthyifyou're

dead"?

A.Hewasdrivingatgreatspeed.

B.Hewasrunningacrossthestreet.

C.Hedidn'thavehissafetybelton.

D.Hedidn*ttakehismedicineontime.

2.Thereasonfatherwasinahurrytogethomewasthathe.

A.wasn'tfeelingverywellB.hatedtodriveinthedark

C.wantedtotakesomeexerciseD.didn'twanttobecaughtbythepeople

3.Accordingtothetext,tobe"thrownclear*1ofaseriousaccidentisvery

dangerousbecauseyou.

A.maybeknockeddownbyothercars.

B.maygetserioushurtthrownoutofthecar

C.mayfinditimpossibletogetawayfromtheseat

D.maygetcaughtinthecardoor

4.Somepeopleprefertodrivewithoutwearingasafetybeltbecausethey

believe.

A.thebeltpreventsthemfromescapinginanaccident

B.theywillbeunabletothinkclearlyinanaccident

C.theywillbecaughtwhenhelpcomes

D.carscatchfireeasily

5.Whatistheadvicegiveninthetest?

A.Neverdrivefasterthan30milesanhour.

B.Tryyourbesttosaveyourselfinacaraccident.

C.Neverforgettowearthesafetybeltwhiledriving.

D.Driveslowlywhileyou'renotwearingasafetybelt.

56

Whenagroupofchildrenpolitelystopaconversationwithyou,saying:

“Wehavetogotoworknow,^^you'releftfeelingsurprisedandcertainlyuneasy.After

all,thisisthe1990sandtheideaofchildrenworkingisjustunthinkable.Thatis,until

youaretoldthattheyareallpupilsofstageschools,andthatthe6<work^^theygooffto

istogoonthestageinatheatre.

Stageschoolsoftenactasagencies(代理機(jī)構(gòu))tosupplychildrenforstage

andtelevisionwork.Moreworthyofthename“stageschool“arethosefewplaces

wherechildrenattendfulltime,withatrainingforthetheatreandageneraleducation.

Avisittosuchschoolswillleaveyouinnodoubtthatthechildrenenjoy

themselves.Afterall,whatlivelychildrenwouldn'tsettleforspendingonlyhalfthe

daydoingordinaryschoolwork,andacting,singingordancingtheirwaythroughthe

otherhalfoftheday?

Thenofcoursetherearetimesforthechildrentomakeanameandmakea

littlemoneyinsomebigshows.Somestageschoolsgivetheirchildrentoomuch

professionalworkatsuchayoungage.Butthelawisverytightontheamountthey

cando.Thoseunder13arelimitedto40daysintheyear;thoseover13to80days.

Theschoolsthemselvesadmitthatnotallchildrenwillbesuccessfulinthe

professionforwhichtheyarebeingtrained.Sowhathappenstothosewhodon't

makeit?Whilealltheleadingschoolssaytheyplacegreatimportanceonchildren

gettinggoodstudyresults,thefactsseemtosuggestthisisnotalwaysthecase.

1.Peoplewouldstopfeelinguneasywhenrealizingthatthechildren

they'retalkingto.

A.attendastageschoolB.aregoingtothetheatre

C.havegotsomeworktodoD.lovesinginganddancing

2.Inthewriter'sopinion,agoodstageschoolshould.

A.producestarperformers

B.helppupilsimprovetheirstudyskills

C.trainpupilsinlanguageandperformingarts

D.provideageneraleducationandstagetraining.

3."Professionalwork”asusedinthetextmeans.

A.ordinaryschoolworkB.money-makingperformances

C.stagetrainingatschoolD.acting,singingordancingafter

class

4.Whichofthefollowingbestdescribeshowthewriterfeelsaboutstage

schools?

A.Hethinkshighlyofwhattheyhavetooffer.

B.Hefavoursanearlystartinthetrainingofperformingarts.

C.Hefeelsuncomfortableaboutchildrenputtingonnightshows.

D.Hedoubtsthestandardofordinaryeducationtheyhavereached.

57

ExpertshaveputforwarddetailedplansforatunneltojoinTaiwanwith

theChinesemainland.

Theshortestproposedroutewouldbe126kilometers-morethantwicethe

lengthoftheEnglishChannelTunnel.Andthelongestproposedroutewouldbe207

kilometers.

ArecentconferenceinXiamen,FujianProvincebroughttogethermore

than70experts.Theeventwasco-sponsored（共同發(fā)起）byuniversitiesfromTaiwan

andtheChinesemainland.

Fujianistheprovincewherebothproposedrouteswouldbegin.

ThereisnodirectpassengeraccessbetweenthemainlandandTaiwanbyairor

seaatthemoment.

Expertssaythatitisbettertostartresearchsoonerratherthanlater,

althoughthereisalackofgovernmentfunding.Therearenotechnicalproblemsto

buildaTaiwantunnel.Butitwillrequireanimprovedpoliticalrelationshipacrossthe

Straits（海峽）.

AprofessorofTsinghuaUniversitysaid,"Aspecialfeatureofhuge

projectsisthattheperiodofpreparationislongerthantheperiodofconstruction.M

Forexample,hesaid,theEnglishChannelTunneltook14yearsof

planningandhadbeendiscussedfortwocenturies.Andpreparationsforthehuge

ThreeGorges（三峽）damontheYangtzeRiverbeganinthe1950s.

TheXiamenconferencefocusedonthelongestsouthernroute,which

wouldusetheTaiwan-controlledislandsofJinmenandPenghuassteppingstones.

Thefirststageofthenewprojectcouldbeabridgetocrossthefive

kilometresbetweenXiamenandJinmen.Thiswouldmeanthattravellingfrom

XiamentoJinmenbycarwouldonlytakefiveminutes.

Thelongesttunnelnowbeingplannedanywhereintheworldisthe

54-kilometrelandtunneltolinkLyoninFrancewithTurininItaly.Thetunnelwill

notbecompleteduntil2015?2020.

1.Whichisthelongesttunnelintheworldatpresent?

A.TheEnglishChannelTunnel.

B.ThetunnelbetweenLyonandTurin.

C.TheTaiwanStraitstunnel.

D.Thepassagedoesn*tmentionit.

2.TheexampleofEnglishChannelTunnelshows.

A.it*snoteasytocompleteahugeproject

B.therearemanyproblemstobesolvedbeforedoingsomething

C.discussionsamongcountriesusuallytakealotoftime

D.thepreparationtakeslongertimethantheconstruction

3.WhichofthefollowingisNOTtrue?

A.Universitiesbothathomeandabroadhavesponsoredtheplan.

B.Iftheprojectiscompleted,theworld'slongesttunnelwillappear.

C.Youcan*treachTaiwanfromthemainlanddirectlyatpresent.

D.ThestartingpointoftheproposedtunnelisinFujian.

4.Whatisthepossibledifficultyincarryingouttheplan?

A.Thelackofmoneyfortheprojectfromthegovernments.

B.ImprovingtherelationshipbetweenTaiwanandthemainland.

C.Thedetailedplansforthetunnel.

D.Thetechnicalproblemswiththetunnel.

58

Athiefwhodroppedawinninglotteryticket（彩票）atthesceneofhiscrimehas

beengivenalessoninhonesty.Hisvictim,whopickeduptheticket,thenclaimedthe

￡25000prize,managedtotracehim,andhandedoverthecash.Therobbery

happenedwhenmathsprofessorVinicioSabbatucci,58,waschangingatyreonan

Italianmotorway.Anothermotorist,whostoppedto"tohelp**,stoleasuitcasefrom

hiscaranddroveoff.Theprofessorfoundthedroppedticketandputitinhispocket

beforedrivinghometoAscoliineasternItaly.

Nextday,hesawthelotteryresultsonTVand,takingouttheticket,

realizeditwasawinner.Heclaimedthe60millionlire（里拉）prize.Thenhebegana

battlewithhisconscience.Finally,hedecidedhecouldnotkeepthemoneydespite

havingbeenrobbed.Headvertisedinnewspapersandonradio,saying:"Fmtryingto

findthemanwhorobbedme.Ihave60millionforhim-alotterywin.Pleasemeet

me.Anonymity（匿名）guaranteed.n

ProfessorSabbatuccireceivedhundredsofcallsfrompeoplehopingto

trickhimintohandingthemthecash.Buttherewasonevoiceherecognizedandhe

arrangedtomeetthemaninapark.Therobber,a35-year-oldunemployedfatherof

two,gavebackthesuitcaseandburstintotears.Hecouldnotbelievewhatwas

happening."Whydidn'tyoukeepthemoney?”heasked.Theprofessorreplied:"I

couldn'tbecauseit'snotmine."Thenhewalkedoff,spurningthethiefsofferofa

reward.

l.Thesentence"Thenhebeganabattlewithhisconscience."Inparagraph2

impliesallofthefollowingEXCEPTthat.

A.heknewwhatheshoulddoassoonashesawthelotteryresults

B.hehesitatedaboutkeepingthemoneyforsometime

C.hethoughtfbramomentofavenginghimselfontherobber

D.hecametorealizethathonestyismoreimportantthanmoney

2.HundredsofpeoplephonedprofessorSabbatuccibecausethey.

A.wantedtomakefunofhim

B.hopedtogetthemoney

C.knewwhotherobberwas

D.lostthelotteryticket

3.Theword"spurning"inthelastsentencecanbereplacedby.

A.acceptingB.claimingC.rejectingD.canceling

4.Ifthestoryappearsinanewspaper,thebesttitlemightbe.

A.AThiefsLuckyDayB.APopularMathsProfessor

C.AMagicLotteryD.ARewardofHonesty

答案與解析

531.C2.D3.A4,C

541-4CAAC

55

1.答案：Co2.答案：Co3.答案：B?4.答案：Ao5.答案：C。

561-4ADCD

56.1-4ADCD

57.1-4ABCA

58.1-4CDAC

（三）（2011?重慶高考）Skepticsareastrangelot.Someof

themrefusetoadmittheseriousthreatofhumanactivitiestotheenvironment,and

theyaretiredofpeoplewhodisagreewiththem.Thosepeople,sayskeptics,spread

nothingbutbadnewsabouttheenvironment.The"eco??guilt“broughtonbythe

discouragingnewsaboutourplanetgivesrisetothepopularityofskepticsaspeople

searchformorecomfortingworldviews.

PerhapsthatexplainswhyanewbookbyBjornLomborgreceivedsomuch

publicity.Thatbook,TheSkepticalEnvironmentalist,declaresthatitmeasuresthe

“realstateoftheworld^^asfine.Ofcourse,anotherexplanationisthedeeppocketsof

somebigbusinesseswithspecialinterests.Indeed,Mr.Lomborg*sviewsaresimilarto

thoseofsomeindustry??fundedorganizations,whichstarthugeactivitiesthroughthe

mediatoconfusethepublicaboutissueslikeglobalwarming.

SoitwasstrangetoseeMr.Lomborg'sbookgolargelyunchallengedinthe

mediathoughhisbeliefswerecontrarytomostscientificopinions.Onenational

newspaperinCanadarananumberofarticlesandreviewsfullofwordsofpraise,

evenwiththeconclusionthat“AfterLomborg,theenvironmentalmovementwill

begintodiedown.”

Suchone??sidedviewsshouldhaveimmediatelybeenchallenged.Butonlya

differentreviewappearedinNature,arespectedsciencemagazinewithspecific

readership.ThereviewremarkedthatMr.Lomborg's"preferenceforunexamined

materialsisincredible（不可信的）

Acritical（批判的）eyeisvaluable,andthemediashouldpresentinformationin

suchawaythatcouldallowpeopletomakeinformeddecisions.Unfortunately,thatis

ofteninaccessibleasblockedbythedesiretobeshockingortodefendsomespecial

interests.Peoplemightbecomehalf??blindbeforeaworldpartiallyexhibitedbythe

media.That'sashame,becausemattersconcerningthehealthoftheplanetarefar

tooimportanttobetreatedlightly.

1.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingmayberegardedas

“skeptics”?

A.Peoplewhoagreeonthepopularityof64eco??guilt,\

B?Peoplewhodisbelievetheserioussituationofourplanet.

C?Peoplewhodisliketheharmfuleffectofhumanactivities.

D.Peoplewhospreadcomfortingnewstoprotectourenvironment.

2.WhichofthefollowingcanbeareasonforthepopularityofLomborg'sbook?

A.Somebigbusinessesintendtoprotecttheirowninterests.

B.Thebookchallengesviewsaboutthefinestateoftheworld.

C.Theauthorconvincespeopletoseekcomfortingworldviews.

D.Industry??fundedmediapresentconfusinginformation.

3.TheauthormentionedthereviewinNatureinorderto

A.voiceadifferentopinion

B.findfaultwithLomborg'sbook

C.challengetheauthorityofthemedia

D.pointoutthevalueofscientificviews

4.Whatistheauthor*smainpurposeinwritingthepassage?

A.Toencouragetheskepticstohaveacriticaleye.

B.Towarnthepublicofthedangerofhalf??blindnesswithreviews.

C.Toblamethemedia'slackofresponsibilityinpresentinginformation.

D.Toshowtheimportanceofpresentingoverallinformationbythemedia.

答案與解析

1.B細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第一段第三句“他們中的一些不承認(rèn)人類活動對環(huán)境造

成的嚴(yán)重危害”可知B項正確。

2.A細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第二段第一句“那或許能解釋這本書為什么這么受歡

迎”及第三句“另一種解釋是一些特別的利益”可知A項正確。

3.A主旨大意題。前文提到很多人對有關(guān)環(huán)境問題不好的消息質(zhì)疑，文章

倒數(shù)第二段提到這種片面的觀點應(yīng)該立刻受到挑戰(zhàn)，然而在Nature上僅僅出現(xiàn)

了為數(shù)不多的評論，故作者在此處提到thereviewinNature是為了發(fā)表不同的觀

點。故選A項。

4.D推理判斷題。本文是觀點類議論文，開頭部分提出了一種反面的觀點，

然后對此提出批判，最后點明了本文的中心——媒體應(yīng)該展現(xiàn)一些能讓公眾作出

明智決定的信息。這g是作者的目的所在。故選D項

（二）（2011?四川高考）Inbusiness,there'saspeed

difference:It'sthedifferencebetweenhowimportantafirm'sleaderssayspeedisto

theircompetitive（競爭的）strategy（策略）andhowfastthecompanyactually

moves.Thedifferenceisimportantregardlessofindustryandcompanysize.

Companiesfearfuloflosingtheircompetitiveadvantagespendmuchtimeandmoney

lookingforwaystopickupthespeed.

Inourstudyof343businesses,thecompaniesthatchosetogo,go,gototryto

gain_an_edgeendedupwithlowersalesandoperatingincomesthanthosethatpaused

atkeymomentstomakesuretheywereontherighttrack.What'smore,thefirmsthat

“sloweddowntospeedup“improvedtheirtopandbottomlines,averaging40%

highersalesand52%higheroperatingincomesoverathree??yearperiod.

Howdidtheydisobeythe_laws_of_business_physics,_takingmore

timethancompetitorsyetperformingbetter?Theythoughtdifferentlyabout

what“slower”and"ftrster"mean.Firmssometimesfoiltounderstandthedifference

betweenoperationalspeed（movingquickly）andstrategicspeed（reducingthetimeit

takestodelivervalue）.Simplyincreasingthespeedofproduction,forexample,may

beonewaytotrytoreducethespeeddifference.Butthatoftenleadstoreducedvalue

overtime,intheformoflower??qualityproductsandservices.

Inourstudy,higher??performingcompanieswithstrategicspeedalwaysmade

changeswhennecessary.Theybecamemoreopentoideasanddiscussion.They

encouragednewwaysofthinking.Andtheyallowedtimetolookbackandlearn.By

contrast（相比而言），performancesufferedatfirmsthatmovedfastallthetime,paid

toomuchattentiontoimprovingefficiency,stucktotestedmethods,didn'tdevelop

teamspiritamongtheiremployees,andhadlittletimethinkingaboutchanges.

Strategicspeedservesasakindofleadership.Teamsthatregularlytaketimeto

getthingsright,ratherthanploughaheadfullbore,aremoresuccessfulinmeeting

theirbusinessgoals.Thatkindofstrategymustcomefromthetop.

1.Whatdoestheunderlinedpart"gainanedge“inParagraph2mean?

A.Increasethespeed.

B.Getanadvantage.

C.Reachthelimit.

D.Setagoal.

2.Theunderlinedpart“thelawsofbusinessphysics“inParagraph3means

A.spendingmoretimeandperformingworse

B-spendingmoretimeandperformingbetter

C.spendinglesstimeandperformingworse

D.spendinglesstimeandperformingbetter

3.Whatcanwelearnfromthetext?

A.Howfastafirmmovesdependsonhowbigitis.

B.Howcompetitiveafirmisdependsonwhatitproduces.

C.Firmsguidedbystrategicspeedtaketimetomakenecessarychanges.

D.Firmsguidedbyoperationalspeedtaketimetodevelopnecessaryteam

spirit.

4.Whichcouldbethebesttitleforthetext?

A.Improvequality?Servebetter.

B.Delivervalue?Ploughahead.

C.Reducetime?Movefaster.

D.Needspeed?Slowdown.

答案與解析

l.B詞義猜測題。許多公司都想選擇提速來獲取優(yōu)勢，而不是達(dá)到極限或

設(shè)定目標(biāo)，故getanadvantage正確。

2.D細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由文中第三段第一句和第二句的含義：他們怎樣違反商

業(yè)物理規(guī)則，比做得更好的競爭對手花了更多的時間？他們不同地看待更慢和更

快的意思?？芍虡I(yè)物理規(guī)則應(yīng)是用更少的時間做得更好。故選D項。

3.C推理判斷題。文章主要講述了strategicspeed的重要性，且在文中第四

段第一句也說明了這一點：運用策略速度的公司往往在必要時作出改變。故選C

項。

4.D主旨大意題。文章圍繞speed展開，且區(qū)分了operationalspeed與

strategicspeed,強(qiáng)調(diào)了后者的重要性，故D項正確。

（說理議論類）（一）（2011?湖北高考）

Feelingblueabouttheworld?”Cheerup."sayssciencewriterMattRidley.<4The

worldhasneverbeenabetterplacetolivein,anditwillkeepongettingbetterboth

forhumansandfornature.”

Ridleycallshimselfarationaloptimist-rational,becausehe'scarefullyweighed

theevidence;optimistic,becausethatevidenceshowshumanprogresstobeboth

unavoidableandgood.Andthisiswhathe*ssetouttoprovefromauniquepointof

viewinhismostrecentbook,TheRationalOptimist.Heviewsmankindasagrand

enterprisethat,onthewhole,hasdonelittlebutprogressfor100,000years.Hebacks

hisfindingswithhardfactsgatheredthroughyearsofresearch.

Here*showheexplainshisviews.

1）Shoppingfuelsinvention

Itisreportedthattherearemorethantenbilliondifferentproductsforsalein

Londonalone.Evenallowingforthemanypeoplewhostillliveinpoverty,ourown

generationhasaccesstomorenutritiousfood,moreconvenienttransport,bigger

houses,bettercars,and,ofcourse,morepoundsanddollarsthananywholivedbefore

us.Thiswillcontinueaslongasweusethesethingstomakeotherthings.Themore

wespecializeandexchange,thebetteroffwellbe.

2）Brilliantadvances

Onereasonwearericher,healthier,taller,cleverer,longer??livedandfreerthan

everbeforeisthatthefourmostbasichumanneeds-food,clothing,fueland

shelter-havegrownalotcheaper.Takeoneexample.In1800acandle

providingonehour*slightcostsixhours*work.Inthe1880sthesamelightfroman

oillamptook15minutes1worktopayfor.In1950itwaseightseconds.Todayit's

halfsecond.

3）Let'snotkillourselvesforclimatechange

Mitigating（減輕）climatechangecouldprovejustasdamagingtohuman

welfareasclimatechangeitself.Achildthatdiesfromindoorsmokeinavillage,

wheretheuseoffossil??fiiel（化石燃料）electricityisforbiddenbywell??meaning

membersofgreenpoliticalmovementstryingtosavetheworld,isjustasgreata

tragedyasachildthatdiesinafloodcausedbyclimatechange.Ifclimatechange

provestobemild,butcuttingcarboncausesrealpain,wemaywellfindthatwehave

stoppedanose??bleedbyputtingatourniquet（止血帶）aroundournecks.

1.WhatisthethemeofRidleyrsmostrecentbook?

A.Weaknessofhumannature.

B.Concernaboutclimatechange.

C.Importanceofpracticalthinking.

D.Optimismabouthumanprogress.

2.HowdoesRidleylookatshopping?

A.Itencouragesthecreationofthings.

B.Itresultsinshortageofgoods.

C.Itdemandsmorefossilfuels.

D.Itcausesapovertyproblem.

3.Thecandleandlampexampleisusedtoshowthat.

A.oillampsgiveoffmorelightthancandles

B.shorteningworkingtimebringsaboutahappierlife

C.advancedtechnologyhelpstoproducebettercandles

D.increasedproductionrateleadstolowercostofgoods

4.Whatdoesthelastsentenceofthepassageimply?

A.Cuttingcarbonisnecessaryinspiteofthehugecost.

B.Overreactiontoclimatechangemaybedangerous.

C.People'shealthiscloselyrelatedtoclimatechange.

D.Carelessmedicaltreatmentmaycausegreatpain.

答案與解析

1.D細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段第一句"Ridleycallshimselfarational

optimist-rational,becausehe'scarefullyweighedtheevidence;optimistic,because

thatevidenceshowshumanprogress...,,Ridley自稱是一個理性的樂觀主義者，所

謂理性是因為他仔細(xì)權(quán)衡證據(jù)；所謂樂觀是因為這些證據(jù)表明人類進(jìn)步是不可避

免的，而且也是十分美好的。這就是他在近期的一本書當(dāng)中以全新的視角向人們

證明的主題。故此處D項正確。

2.A推理判斷題。根據(jù)第一個小標(biāo)題題目“Shoppingfuelsinvention”以及

其內(nèi)容最后一句"Themorewespecializeandexchange,thebetteroffwe'llbe."可

知，購物刺激發(fā)明創(chuàng)造，刺激消費，促進(jìn)生產(chǎn)，這種情況越多，我們將會越富有。

故此處A項正確。

3.D細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第二個標(biāo)題內(nèi)容可知，我們生活遠(yuǎn)比以前富裕，健

康，長壽，人也長得高了，也比以前聰明了，其中一個原因是我們?nèi)祟惖乃姆N基

本需求一一衣，食，住，行比以前便宜了很多。因此以油燈和蠟燭為例進(jìn)一步闡

述，故此處D項正確。

4.B推理