2014高考英语阅读理解冲刺满分训练16(含解析)

2014高考英语阅读理解冲刺满分训练（16）阅读理解As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating（发电）and transmission（输送）system for the 21st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar pants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.The 19th century saw land grants（政府拨地）offered to railroad c ompanies to build the transcontinental railroads ,leaving public land in be tween privately owned land . In much of the west ,some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped ,and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management, with the completion or the interstate highway system ,many of the small towns which sprang up as railway stops and developed well ,have lost their lifeblood and died .Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the west .this is not an argument against building then ,we need alternative energy badly .and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now .So trade-offs will have to be made .some scenic sport will be sacrificed .some species (物种)will be forced to move ,or will be carefully moved to special accommodations ,deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects .The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter .the 21st century development of the American west as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money to do a lot of good .but it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroad and the highway.The money set aside in negotiated trade –offs and the institution that controlwill shape the west far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines .so let’s remember the effects of the railroad and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the west .( ) 1.What was the problem caused by the construction of the railways?A. small towns along the railways became abandoned.B. some railroad stops remained.C. land in the west was hard to manage.D. land grants went into private hands.( ) 2. What is the major concern in the development of alternative energy according to the last two parag raphs?A. the transmission of powerB. the use of money and powerC. the conservation of solar energyD. the selection of an ideal place( ) 3.What is the author’s attitude towards building solar plants?A. cautiousB. approvingC. doubtfulD. disapproving( ) 4.Which is the best title for the passage?A. h ow the railways have affected the westB. how solar energy could reshape the westC. how the effects of power plants can be reducedD. how the problems of the highways have been settled【文章大意】说明文。

文章说明的是一种新的太阳能电力系统是如何或好或坏的影响美国西部地区的。

1.答案C。

细节理解题。

由文章第二段in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management ,with the completion or the interstate highway system 可知。

2.答案B。

细节理解题。

由文章alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money to do a lot of good和文章最后两段内容可以看出。

3. A 态度题，作者由铁路和高速公路在西部建设过程中出现的好的和坏的影响来说明solarplants 在西部建设也会出现同样的问题。

他是担心的caution4. B 主旨大意题。

文章说明的是一种新的太阳能电力系统是如何或好或坏的影响美国西部地区的。

太阳能电力系统会重塑美国西部。

These days we hear a lot of nonsense ab out the ‘great classless society’. The idea that the twentieth century is the age of the common man has become one of the great clichés of our time. The same old arguments are put forward in evidence. Here are some of them: monarchy as a system of government has been completely discredited. The monarchies that survive have been deprived of all political power. Inherited wealth has been savagely reduced by taxation and, in time, the great fortunes will disappear altogether. In a number of countries the victory has been complete. The people rule; the great millennium has become a political reality. But has it? Close examination doesn’t bear out the claim.It is a fallacy to suppose that all men are equal and that society will be leveled out if you provide everybody with the same educational opportunities. (It is debatable whether you can ever provide everyone with the same educational opportunities, but that is another question.) The fact is that nature dispenses brains and ability with a total disregard for the principle of equality. The old rules of the jungle, ‘survival of the fittest’, and ‘might is right’ are still with us. The spread of education has destroyed the old class system and created a new one. Rewards are based on merit. For ‘aristocracy’ read ‘meritocracy’; in other respects, society remains unaltered: the class system is rigidly maintained.Genuine ability, animal cunning, skill, the knack of seizing opportunities, all bring material rewards. And what is the first thing people do when they become rich? They use their wealth to secure the best possible opportunities for their children, to give them ‘a good start in life’. For all the lip service we pay to the idea of equality, we do not consider this wrong in the western world. Private schools which offer unfair advantages over state schools are not banned because one of the principles in a democracy is that people should be free to choose how they will educate their children. In this way, the new merit ocracy can perpetuate itself to a certain extent: an able child from a wealthy home can succeed far more rapidly than his poorer counterpart. Wealth is also used indiscriminately to further political ends. It would be almost impossible to become the leader of a democracy without massive financialbacking. Money is as powerful a weapon as ever it was.In societies wholly dedicated to the principle of social equality, privileged private education is forbidden. But even here people are rewarded according to their abilities. In fact, so great is the need for skilled workers that the least able may be neglected. Bright children are carefully and expensively trained to become future rulers. In the end, all political ideologies boil down to the same thing: class divisions persist whether you are ruled by a feudal king or an educated peasant.1.What is the main idea of this passage?[A] Equality of opport unity in the twentieth century has not destroyed the class system.Equality means money.[C] There is no such society as classless society.[D] Nature can’t give you a classless society.2.According to the author, the same educational opportunities can’t get rid of inequality because[A] the principle ‘survival of the fittest’ exists.Nature ignores equality in dispensing brains and ability.[C] Material rewards are for genuine ability.[D] People have the freedom how to educate their children.3.Who can obtain more rapid success[A] those with wealth.Those with the best brains.[C] Those with the best opportuniti es.[D] Those who have the ability to catch at opportunities.4.Why does the author say the new meritocracy can perpetuate itself to a certain extent? Because[A] money decides everything.Private schools offer advantages over state schools.[C] People are free to choose the way of educating their children.[D] Wealth is used for political ends.5.According to the author, ‘class divisions’ refers to[A] the rich and the poor.Different opportunities for people.[C] Oppressor and the oppressed.[D] Genius and stupidity.Vocabulary1.discredit 损害，破坏，败坏（某人的名声），不可信2.monarch 国王，女皇，君主政体lennium 千年the millennium 千僖年4.bear out 证实5.level out （升跌之后）呈平稳状态6.meritocracy 英才管理，英才教育，能人统治7.knack 技巧，诀窍8.perpetuate 使永久，永存或持续9.indiscriminate 不加鉴别的，不加分析的，任意的10.boil down 归结为……难句译注1. Close examination doesn’t bear out the claim.【参考译文】深入探索证实此断言不确。