2012全国各省高考英语卷阅读 课标话题之1.个人情况

话题1 个人情况Personal informationWhen Frida Kahlo’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven. Her spine（脊柱）become bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but noting was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953.For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last. (NMET 2012 安徽)64. What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?A. a far better artistB. a for more gifted artistC. a much stronger personD. a much more famous person65. The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by .A. polioB. her bent spineC. back injuriesD. the operations she had66. Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the .A.1930sB. 1940sC. 1950sD. 1970s67. What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?A. DevotionB. SympathyC. WorryD. EncouragementPeanuts to ThisProudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This wasthe first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade.I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!(NMET 2012北京)60. What did the author’s classmates think about his report?A. Controversial.B. Ridiculous.C. Boring.D. Puzzling.61. Why was the author confused about the task?A. He was unfamiliar with American history.B. He followed the advice and flipped a coin.C. He forgot his teacher’s instruction.D. He was new at the school.62. The underlined word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _______.A. annoyedB. ashamedC. readyD. eager63. In the end, the author turned things around _______.A. by redoing his taskB. through his own effortsC. with the help of his grandfatherD. under the guidance of his headmasterI was blind, but I was ashamed of it if it was known. I refused to use a white stick and hated asking for help. After all, I was a teenager girl, and I couldn’t bear people to look at me and think I was not like them. I must have been a terrible danger on the roads, coming across me wandering through the traffic; motorists probably would have to step rapidly on their brakes. Apart from that, there were all sorts of disasters that used to occur on the way to and from work.One evening, I got off the bus about halfway home where I had to change buses, and as usual I ran into something,“I’m awfully sorry,”I said and stepped forward only to run into it again. When it happened a third time, I realized I had been apologizing to a lamppost. This was just one of the stupid things that constantly happened to me. So I carried on and found the bus stop, which was a request stop, where the bus wouldn’t stop unless passengers wanted to get on or off. No one else was there and I had to try to guess if the bus had arrived.Generally in this situation, because I hated showing I was blind by asking for help, I tried to guess at the sound. Sometimes I would stop a big lorry and stand there feeling stupid as it drew away. In the end, I usually managed to swallow my pride and ask someone at the stop for help.But on this particular evening no one joined me at the stop; it seemed that everyone had suddenly decided not to travel by bus. Of course I heard plenty of buses pass, or I thought I did. But because I had given up stopping them for fear of making a fool of myself, I let them all go by. I stood there alone for half an hour without stopping one. Then I gave up .I decided to walk on to the next stop. (NMET 2012 广东)36. The girl refused to ask for help because she thought_________.A. she might be recognizedB. asking for help looked sillyC. she was normal and independentD. being fond blind was embarrassing37. After the girl got off the bus that evening, she_________.A. began to runB. hit a person as usualC. hit a lamppost by accidentD. was caught by something38. at the request stop that evening, the girl___________.A. stopped a big lorryB. stopped the wrong busC. made no attempt to stop the busD. was not noticed by other people39. What was the problem with guessing at the sound to stop a bus?A. Other vehicles also stopped there.B. It was unreliable for making judgments.C. More Lorries than buses responded to the girl.D. It took too much time for the girl to catch the bus.40. Finally the girl decided to walk to the next stop, hoping__________.A. to find people thereB. to find more buses thereC. to find the bus by herself thereD. to find people more helpful there36-40 DCCBAAstronauts on shorter shuttle missions（使命）often work very long days. Tasks are scheduled so tightly that break times are often used to finish the day’s work. This type of schedule is far too demanding for long missions on the International Space Station（ISS）. ISS crewmembers usually live in space for at least a quarter of a year. They work five days on and two days off to mimic the normal way they do things on Earth as much as possible . Weekends give the crew valuable. Weekends give the crew valuable time to rest and do a few hours of housework. They can communicate with family and friends by email , Internet phone and through Private video conferences.While astronauts cannot go to a baseball game or a movie in orbit, there are many familiar activities that they can still enjoy . Before a mission. The family and friends of each ISS crewmember put together a collection of family photos, messages, videos and reading material for The astronauts to look at when they will be floating 370 kilometers above the Earth. During their mission, the crew also receives care packages with CDs, books, magazines, photos and letters . And as from early 2010, the internet became available on the ISS , giving astronauts the chance to do some“web surfing（冲浪）”in their personal time. Besides relaxing with these more common entertainments, astronauts can simply enjoy the experience of living in space.Many astronauts say that one of the most relaxing things to do in space is to look out the window and stare at the universe and the Earth’s vast land mass and oceans. （NMET 2012 辽宁）60. What does the word “mimic”in Paragraph 1 probably mean?A. FindB. CopyC. ChangeD. Lose61. Which of the following best describes the families of the astromauts on the ISS ?A. The are caring and thoughtfulB. The are impatient and annoyedC. The are impatient and annoyed.D. The are excited and curious.62. In the final paragraph, the author shows that astronauts .A. get more pleasure in space than on the EarthB. find living in space a bit boring and tiringC. regard space life as commonD. love to see the Earth from space63. The passage mainly discusses how astronauts .A. work for longer missions in spaceB. connect with people on the EarthC. observe the Earth from spaceD. spend their free time in spaceI left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journal ism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.It takes confidence to make a new start —there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a n o vel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal —that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract（合同）of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding（有回报的）.(NMET 2012四川)49. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?A. I was waiting for good fortune.B. I was trying to find an admirable job.C. I was being aimless about a suitable job.D. I was doing several jobs for more pay at a time.50. The author decided to write a novel ______ .A. to finish the writing courseB. to realize her own dreamC. to satisfy readers’ wishD. to earn more money51. How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?A. Disturbed.B. Ashamed.C. Confident.D. Uncertain.52. What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?A. It pays to stick to one’s goal.B. Hard work can lead to success.C. She feels like being unexpectedly lucky.D. There is no end in sight when starting to do something.。