江西省高三英语二轮专项训练 阅读理解(59)

江西省2012届高三英语二轮专项训练：阅读理解（59）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．AA newly-wed couple on a four-monthhoneymoon were hit by six natural disasters,including the Australian floods,Christchurch earthquake and Japanesetsunami.Stefan and Erika Svanstrom leftStockholm, Sweden, on December 6 and wereimmediately stranded in Munich, Germany,due to one of Europe’s worst snowstorms.Stefan Svanstrom和Erika Svanstrom.Travelling with their baby daughter, they flew on to Cairns in Australia which was then struck by one of the most tremendous cyclones(龙卷风) in the nation’s history. From there, the couple, in their 20s, were forced to shelter for 24 hours on the cement floor of a shopping centre with 2,500 others. “Trees were being knocked over and big branche s were scattered across the streets,” Mr Svanstrom told Sweden’s Expressen newspaper. “We escaped by the skin of our teeth,”said Svanstrom.They then headed south to Brisbane but the city was experiencing massive flooding, so they crossed the country to Perth where they narrowly escaped raging bush fires. The couple then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, arriving just after a massive magnitude 6.3 earthquake destroyed the city on February 22.Mrs. Svanstrom said, “When we got there the whole town was a war zone.”“We could not visit the city since it was completely blocked off, so instead we travelled around before going to Japan.”But days after the Svanstroms arrived, Tokyo was rocked by Japan’s largest earthquake since records began. “The trembling wa s horrible and we saw roof tiles fly off the buildings,” Mr. Svantrom said. “It was like the buildings were swaying back and forth.” The family returned to Stockholm on March 29 after a much calmer visit to their last destination China.But Mr. Svanstrom, who also survived the destructive Boxing Day tsunami that hit southeast Asia in 2004, said the marriage was still going strong. He added, “I know marriages have to endure some trials, but I think we have been through most of them.”“We’ve certainly experi enced more than our fair share of catastrophes, but the most important thing is that we’re together and happy.”1. How many countries did the couple visit during their honeymoon?A. 3.B. 4.C. 5.D. 6.2. In which country were they not hit by natural disaster ?A. Australia.B. China.C. New Zealand.D. Germany.3. What’s the right order of the following things according to the passage ?a. The couple headed south to Brisbane.b. The couple flew to Cairns.c. The couple flew to Christchurch.d. The couple were stranded in Munich.A. a-b-c-dB. d-b-c-aC. d-b-a-cD. a-c-b-d4. By saying “We escaped by the skin of our teeth.”, Mr. Svanstrom meant that .A. They had a narrow escape from the cyclonesB. There was something wrong with their teethC. They escaped from the cyclones easily.D. The cyclones was tremendous5. According to the last two paragraphs, which word can best describe Mr. Svanstrom ?A. indifferentB. depressedC. considerateD. optimisticBWhen a dirty and untidy orange cat showed up in the prison yard，I was one of the first to go out there and pet it．I hadn’t touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years．I spent at least 20 minutes，knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around，relaxed．What he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly．It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care．Over the next few days，there were other prisoners responding to the cat．Every yard period，a group of prisoners gathered there．They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat．These were guys you wouldn’t usually find talking to each other．Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．Bowls of milk and water appeared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it．The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape．People said that the cat came to the right place．He's getting treated like a king．This was true．but as I watched I was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us．There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America．We need more programs．We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds．Some may even talk about making prisons more kind．But I think what we really need is a chance to practise our own kindness．Not receive it，but give it．After more than two decades here，I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged．It's often seen as a weakness．Instead，the culture encourages keeping your head down，minding your own business，and never letting yourself be weak．The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here．By simply saying，”I need some help here”，he did something important for us．He neededus．And we needed to be needed．I believe we all do．6．From the passage，we can learn that the author was ．A．an animal protector B．the cat owner C．a prison officerD．a prisoner7．Which of the following statements is true?A．The cat was dirty because it was kept in prison．B．The officer in the prison enjoyed petting the cat．C．The prisoners prepared food for both the cat and birds．D．The author realized the importance of practising kindness．8．We can infer from the third paragraph that ．A．showing love to others can make prisoners strongB．the American prison culture will be improvedC．the author is not content with the prison cultureD．caring for others is encouraged in American prisons9．What is the best title for the passage?A．Caring Makes Us Human．B．Prison Culture is Important．C．Animals Need Care．D．Everyone Needs to be Cared for．10．In Paragraph 2，the author mentioned that “Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．”to ．A．show us the officer and prisoners get along well with each otherB．show us the American prison culture does need improvementC．show us the officer and prisoners all like catD．show us the American prison culture is greatCBeing a mother is apparently not like it was in the good old days.Today’s parents yearn for the golden age that their own mothers enjoyed in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers found. Mothers have less time to themselves and feel under greater pressure to handle work and family life than the previous generation. As a result, 88 per cent said they felt guilty about the lack of time they spent with their children.The survey of 1,000 mothers also found that more than a third said they had less time to themselves than their mothers did – just three hours a week or 26 minutes a day. And 64 per cent said this was because they felt they ‘had’ to go out to work, while nearly a third (29 per cent) said they were under constant pressure to be the ‘perfect mother’, the report found.Other findings showed social networking and parenting websites, as well as technology such as Skype, were important in providing help and support among female communities. Kate Fox, a member of the Social Issues Research Centre, which conducted the survey for Procter & Gambl e, said: ‘With increasing pressure on mothers to worka “double shift” — to be the perfect mother as well as a wage-earner — support networks are more important than ever.It comes as a separate report examining childcare in the leading industrialized nations found that working mothers in Britain spend just 81 minutes a day caring for their children as a ‘primary activity’. Mothers who stay at home, on the other hand, manage twice as much time – more than two and a half hours – looking after their offspring, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.Critics say the pressure on women to work long hours, and leave their offspring in the hands of nurseries or childminders, is putting the well-being of their children at risk.The study also reveals that, despite the fact that more and more modern mothers go out to work, the burden of childcare still falls on them - even if their husband is not in work. A father who is not in work tends to spend just 63 minutes a day looking after his child - 18 minutes less than a mother who goes out to work. Working fathers spare less than three quarters of an hour with their children.11. What does the passage mainly talk about?A. The good old days of mothers in the 1970s and 1980s.B. The great sufferings of today’s children.C. The statistics of working mothers and full-time mothers.D. The big problems that today’s working mothers face.12. What does the underlined phrase “yearn for”in paragraph 2 probably means __________.A. hateB. missC. abandonD. control13. Which of the following problems is NOT mentioned in the passage?A. Today’s mothers have less time left for their children and themselves.B. The working mothers can hardly strike the balance between work and family.C. Most of the mothers can not control their husbands nowadays.D. Modern fathers do not spend enough time with their children.14. From para. 4, we can infer that ___________.A. working mothers can seek help on lineB. Skype is a very famous expert in studying social issuesC. w orking mothers’ double shift is to be a wife and a motherD. Kate Fox has opened a website offering help to working mothers15. What critics say means that _____________.A. it is wise for working mothers to put their kids in nurseries or childmindersB. too much time in nurseries or childminders is bad for kids’ mental and physical healthC. nurseries or childminders are dangerous places for childrenD. children do not like nurseries or childminders at allDStandardized exam in American public education are being reformed. Over the next four years, hundreds of university professors and testing experts will work together to design new assessment system.The new tests will be computer-based and will measure higher-order skills ignored by the multiple-choice exams used in all states，including students’ ability to read complex texts, synthesize(合成)information and do research projects．Because the new tests will be computerized and will be administered several times throughout the school year, they can provide faster feedback(反馈)to teachers．If these plans work out, It’ll turn the current testing system upside down．One group，led by Florida，will be made up of 25 states and the District of Columbia．The group was awarded $170 million．The other group, whose membership over-laps the first，has31 states and is led by Washington．The group was given $160 million．Twelve of the 44 states areparticipating in both groups but are expected eventually to choose one set of tests． The two groups are supposed to work in a friendly competition，though their plans are very similar．Both groups will produce tests that rely heavily on technology and both groups’ tests will include so-called performance-based tasks，designed to mirror complex，real-world situations．In performance-based tasks，students are given a problem－they could be told, for example, to suppose they are a mayor who needs to reduce a city’s pollution—and must write about how they would solve the problem．The new tests could be useful to teachers by giving them information on what their students are learning, but it might also require some mid-course adjustments. Over the past decade, the federal No Child Left Behind law has emphasized helping low-achieving students improve their basic reading and math by encouraging states to produce tests that measure relatively low-1evel skills. Although the Bush-era law is still on the books, twoyears of Obama administration policy have been leading schools in new directions．16. What is the main idea of this passage?A. Obama’s education policy takes the lead.B. A computer-based testing system is adopted.C. American education system has been changed.D. Experts are reinventing the student testing system.17. Why are multiple-choice exams to be given up?A. Because they are not computer-based.B. Because they can’t test students’ higher-order skills.C. Because they can’t provide proper feedback for teachers.D. Because they can’t test students’ general reading ability.18. The underlined part in Para. 4 probably means________.A. the two groups have some shared membersB. the other group is more demanding than the firstC. the groups have different tasks of their ownD. the other group does better than the first group in the task19. According to the passage, performance-based tasks may refer to tasks that______.A. are related to real-world problemsB. have to be performed in an imaginary worldC. teach us theories through complex problemsD. can only be completed by relying heavily on technology20. From the last paragraph, we can infer that_________.A. the No child Left Behind policy is not helpfulB. the Obama administration’s policy is highly praisedC. the two policies both emphasize math and reading abilitiesD. the two policies both emphasize the development of practical skills CBCAD DDCAB DBCAB DBAAD。