专题2 阅读理解37

2012高考英语二轮复习专题限时训练专题2 阅读理解37（25分钟）AThe Cave Crawler mining robotWhy do human beings still risk their lives under ground and doing one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the world? It’s an increasingly urgent question,given the recent high-profile(引人注目的)mining accidents in Sago, W. Va., and Huntington, Utah. A small group of engineers and robotics experts envision(展望)a day in the not-too-distant future when robots and other technology do most of the dangerous mining work..One of the first mining robots was developed five years ago at Carnegie-Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. It was called Groundhog and it looked like a golf cart. It used lasers to “see” in dark tunnels and map abandoned mines—some of the most dangerous work in the business.The latest prototype is called Cave Crawler. It’s a bit smaller than Groundhog, and even more advanced. It can take photos and video and has sensors mounted that can detect the presence of dangerous gases. Incredibly, the robot has a real sense of logic. If it comes across an obstacle it gets momentarily confused, it has to think through the process and where to go next, and sometimes it throws a fit just like a real person.The biggest obstacle, though, is cost. The original research project was federally funded, but that money has dried up, and it’s not clear where future funding will come from. Partly for that reason, and partly because of advances in safety, mining is not nearly as dangerous as it was in the past. Since 1990, fatalities have declined by 67 percent, and injuries by 51 percent, according to the National Mining Association.Some experts predict that robots in mines will serve much of the same function that they do in the automotive industry. The robots do the most repetitive and dangerous jobs, but don’t eliminate the need for human workers.1.The latest robot is more advanced than Groundhog mainly because .A. it can map abandoned minesB. the robot has a real sense of logicC. it can see in the dark tunnelD. it’s a bit smaller than Groundhog2.We can infer from the last paragraph that .A. the mine robots will have a very bright futureB. robots in mines will serve much in the automotive industryC. there will be no need for human workers in minesD. robots in mines have a long way to go3. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?A. High-profile mining accidents in America.B. The development of robot.C. Could robots replace humans in mines?D. Cave Crawler, the latest robot.BACBWal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer （零售商）. It's the world's largest company, which sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year.Wal-Mart exercises its power for just one purpose: to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers. At Wal-Mart, that goal is never reached. The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers: On basic products that don't change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year. But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and none of its 21,000 suppliers know is the high cost of those low prices. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bikes to jeans have had to close US plants in favor of obtaining products from abroad.Indeed, the real story of Wal-Mart, the story that never gets told, is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer constantly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us "every day low prices".The giant retailer' s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart' s pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Of course, US companies have been moving jobs offshore for decades, long before Wal-Mart was a retailing power. But there is no question that the chain is helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as Thailand.People ask, "How can it be bad for things to come into the US cheaply?" Sure, it's great to have bargains. But you can' t buy anything if you' re not employed.There is no question that Wal-Mart's drive to squeeze out cost has benefited consumers. By now, it is accepted wisdom that Wal-Mart makes the companies it does business with more efficient and focused. Wal-Mart itself is known for continuous improvement in its ability to handle, move, and track goods. It is legendary （传奇）for forcing its suppliers to redesign everything from their packaging to their computer systems. It is also legendary for quite straightforwardly telling them what it will pay for their goods.1. How do suppliers meet the requirements of Wal-Mart?A. To sell even more goods in three months.B. To cut down the employment rate sharply.C. To charge shoppers at a much higher price.D. To run the business in a well-organized way.2. Wal-Mart's low price policy results in ____.A. more high-paying jobsB. better designed packagesC. bigger profit of its partnersD. more jobless American workers3. What can we infer from the passage?A. Still more quality goods will be provided.B. The food you get at Wal-Mart costs least.C. The value of Mal-Mart is over assessed.D. Wal-Mart is a very demanding company.4. What's the best title for the passage?A. The Fortune Wal-Mart MakesB. The Wal-Mart you don't KnowC. The Biggest Retailer—Wal-MartD. The Money Saving Tip in Wal-MartDDDBCThroughout the 1990s and 2000s until today, Domingo continued performing, singing many of the same roles but adding new roles as well, among them the title roles in Wagner‘s Parsifal and Mozart‘s Idomeneo, Rossini‘s Il barbiere di Siviglia as Figaro, Wagner’s Die Walküre as Siegmund, Lehár‘s The Merry Widow as Danilo and Alfano‘s Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano. From the middle 1990s to early in 2008 alone, he added 38 new roles, covering opera in six different languages (English, Italian, French, German, Russian and Spanish). The latest was the Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, Tamerlano.Giving him even greater international recognition outside of the world of opera, he participated in The Three Tenors（男高音）concert at the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final in Rome with José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti. The event was originally planned to raise money for the José Carreras International Leukemia（白血病）Foundation and was later repeated a number of times, including at the three later World Cup finals (1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002in Yokohama). Alone, Domingo again made an appearance at the final of the 2006 World Cup in Berlin, along with rising stars Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. On 24 August 2008, Domingo performed a duet with Song Zuying, singing Ài de Huǒyàn (The Flame of Love) at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing.The Beijing Olympics were the second Olympics he performed at; he sang the Olympic Hymn at the closing ceremonies of the Barcelona Olympics.At the Olympic games that followed, he would meet Sissel Kyrkjebø, who performed the Olympic Hymn at both the opening and closing ceremonies at those games.In what has been called his ‘final career move’, Plácido Domingo announced on 25 January2007 that in 2009 he would take on one of Verdi‘s most demanding baritone（男中音）roles, singing the title role in Simon Boccanegra. The first performance was at Berlin State Opera on October 24, followed by 29 other performances during 2009/2010 at major opera houses around the world.He would, however, continue to sing tenor roles beforehand and afterwards.On 16–17 April 2008 he sang during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI at Nationals Park and at the Italian embassy in Washington D.C. Since 1990 Plácido Domingo has received many awards and honors for his achievement in the field of music and in recognition of his many benefit concerts and contributions to various charities.On 15 March 2009, The Metropolitan Opera celebrated Domingo’s 40th anniversary with the company with an on-stage gala dinner at the Met’s 125th anniversary, in honour of his first performance in Adriana Lecouvreur as Maurizio opposite Renata Tebaldi on 28 September 1968. On 29 August 2009 he sang Panis Angelicus at the funeral mass of Senator Ted Kennedy in the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston, Massachusetts.On September 20, 2010, Domingo announced that he would renew his contract as General Director of the Los Angeles Opera through 2013.On September 27, 2010, Domingo announced that he will not renew his contract as General Director of the Washington National Opera beyond its June 2011 expiration date.Ever a sympathetic colleague, in March 2011 he refused to sing in Buenos Aires until the city settled a bitter musicians strike at the Teatro Colon.1. What can we conclude from the passage?A. Domingo can only sing in six different languages.B. Domingo won many awards because he sang a lot.C. José Carreras was later diagnosed with Leukemia.D. Domingo enjoyed world-wide popularity as a Tenor.2. Domingo does the following EXCEPT ___________.A. charity workB. promoting world sportsC. organizing anniversary celebrationsD. forming a peaceful society3. Singing at different events of world sports shows that Domingo ___________.A. prefers to try singing in different languages including ChineseB. enjoys watching sports events despite his busy performancesC. would be more than happy to do some benefit work for the worldD. knows clearly that singing for sports events helps him to be famous4. From paragraph 3, we can see that Domingo is a ___________ person.A. challengingB. strictC. responsibleD. hard-working DCCA。