《阅读理解特训：3真2模含解析》2016届高三英语二轮突破43
阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Dear Rudyard Kipling,
Father has consistently tried to instill(灌输) a sense of being a man in me ever since I was very young. When I reached the age of twelve he began taking me to his auto body shop. He told me this tough job would build me into a man of character. But this all changed a year ago when my mother passed away and stumbled upon your poem, If.
My mother was the person who could understand me. If I ever got tired during my work hours at the shop I could call her to come and pick me up. It was my mother who instilled the love of literature and languages in me. My mother spoke six languages fluently and had thousands of books, which still sit in the attic of our house. It was in this “library” of hers that I picked up a book of poetry from a cold metal shelf and found your poem, If.
Because of the death of my mother I felt alone, as if I belonged to no family. The image of a man was completely shattered when I saw him break down and cry, which looked so pathetic（凄惨的）and “unmanly” compared to his usual stoic（禁欲主义者）and emotionless countenance. Yet I remained silent remembering the golden words: “If you can keep your head when all about you/ Are losing theirs and blaming it on you… you’ll be a Man, my son!”
If reminded me to remain calm and “keep my head” because I wanted to be a man and wanted to be the one supporting my family. I sacrificed my ability to compete in a winter sport so that I could stay home and cook for my family and clean the house. My father saw this and our relationship has grown much stronger. He finally respected me for who I was and told me he was proud to have a man for his son. Through this poem, I realize that to be a man is not about putting weights on a barbell（杠铃）but rather putting the weight of others on your back.
Your poem was so much more than just a simple list of guidelines or morals that some see it as; it really changed my life and my relationship with my dad.
41. According to the passage, what kind of person does the author’s father expect him to be?
A. A person who will shoulder responsibilities.
B. A person who knows how to earn a lot of money.
C. A person who knows how to do housework.
D. A person who respects his parents.
【答案】A
【解析】细节理解题。根据Father has consistently tried to instill(灌输) a sense of being a man in me ever since I was very young.作者的父亲想要他成为一个真正的能肩负起责任的男人，故选A。
42. Who does the underlined word “him” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A. the character in the poem
B. the author’s father
C. the author
D. an unknown person
【答案】C
【解析】词义猜测题。根据The image of a man was completely shattered when I saw him break down and cry,可知这里指的是作者自己，是作者痛苦，因为自己的母亲去世，故选C。
43. According to the passage, a man in the author’s mind would have the following qualities EXCEPT _________.
A. responsible
B. calm
C. caring
D. enthusiastic
【答案】D
【解析】细节理解题。responsible有责任心的； calm镇静的； caring爱心，有同情心的；
enthusiastic热情的。根据because I wanted to be a man and wanted to be the one supporting my family. 作者认为人要有责任心；If you can keep your head when all about you/ Are losing theirs and blaming it on you… you’ll be a Man, my son 这里作者引用母亲的话来说明人在遇到事情时要镇静；要If I ever got tired during my work hours at the shop I could call her to come and pick me up.作者认为要有爱心；只有选项D的热情没有提到，故选D。
44. We can learn from the passage that ___________.
A. the poem has helped to improve the relationship between the author and his father
B. the author would not know how to help his family without the poem
C. the author’s father must have read the poem as well
D. the author’s mother had told him about this poem before
【答案】A
【解析】细节理解题。根据Your poem was so much more than just a simple list of guidelines or morals that some see it as; it really changed my life and my relationship with my dad.那首诗帮助改善了作者和父亲的关系，故选A。
45. The author has written this letter to ___________.
A. share with Rudyard Kipling his sadness resulting from the death of his mother
B. show his appreciation for the positive influence the poem has brought to him
C. share his opinion on the poem
D. tell Rudyard Kipling how he got the poem
【答案】B Ks5u
【解析】作者意图题。根据短文的内容可知作者想让我们知道那首诗带给他的积极的影响。
B
This is an old tale. It’s the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf that blew down a house made of straw and one made of sticks. The only house left standing was the one made of bricks. Now there is new evidence to suggest that houses built with bales of straw can be very strong. They are also environmental.
Pete Walker is a professor at the University of Bath in Britain. He and a team of researchers there have built a house made out of straw bales and hemp material.
During the next twelve months the team will study the effectiveness of these materials in home building. Professor Walker says there are many good reasons for using straw.
Professor Walker says that one of the benefits is that it’s a relatively inexpensively renewable material that’s readily available.
According to Professor Walker, straw takes in carbon dioxide as it grows. So it can be seen as having no harmful effects on the environment. He says straw helps the environment in other ways.
Professor Walker: “The straw bale walls are relatively thick and so all that straw provides very good thermal(of heat)
insulation. So we make buildings that require very little heating in the winter or indeed very little cooling in the summer. So they require very little additional energy.”
Professor Walker says this reduces home operating expenses. It also reduces the effect on the environment. He says the current interest in straw bale houses is a direct response to the problem of climate change.
David Lanfear owns an eco-friendly home building service in the United States called Bale on Bale Construction.
He says he laughed when some friends first told him about houses built of straw. But after doing his own research, he learned that building with straw bales made a lot of sense. He has now helped to build more than ten straw bale houses and says the building material is becoming more widely accepted.
To build the houses, he fills a wood frame with tightly packed bales of straw. Next he coats the walls inside and out with layers of clay plaster. He says the common ideas about straw houses continue, including stories about the threat of fire. Mr. Lanfear says straw bale houses have done well when tested for fire resistance. And he says his builders use the same building methods as traditional builders to keep out rain.
David Lanfear: “We use what we call good shoes and a good hat, and that would be a solid foundation and a really good roof.”
46. The function of the story in the first paragraph is to _____________.
A. amuse the readers
B. introduce the topic of this passage
C. help the readers to recall their childhood memory
D. remind the readers that bricks are no longer the best choice for building
【答案】B
【解析】推理判断题。根据用这个寓言故事来引出下文，因为它们有相同之处都是叙述的房子的问题，故选B。
47. Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word “insulation” in paragraph six?
A. protection
B. condition
C. transmission
D. expansion
【答案】A
【解析】词义猜测题。根据The straw bale walls are relatively thick及So we make buildings that require very little heating in the winter or indeed very little cooling in the summer.可以猜出厚厚的草起保护的作用，故选A。
48. What’s David Lanfear’s attitude towards the straw houses at last?
A. Doubtful
B. Approving
C. Defensive
D. Negative
【答案】B
【解析】推理判断题。根据He has now helped to build more than ten straw bale houses and says the building material is becoming more widely accepted. 最后David Lanfear是同意接受了用草做成的房子的。故选B。
49. Which of the following is NOT the advantage of the house built with straw bales?
A. It is environmentally friendly.
B. The supply of its building materials is easily guaranteed.
C. It is comparatively economical.
D. It is free from fires.
【答案】D
【解析】细节理解题。根据So it can be seen as having no harmful effects on the environment.这种房子是环保的，选项A符合原文；that’s readily available.这些草是可以再生的，更新快，所以房子的原料是可以保证的，选项B符合原文；it’s a relatively inexpensively renewable material that’s readily available. 这种房子是经济适用，花费不多，选项C符合原文；以上都是草屋的优点，只有选项D没有提到，故选D。
50. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Professor Walker is still not very sure about whether the straw bales and hemp material are as useful as they expect.
B. According to Professor Walker, climate change contributes to people’s present attention to straw bale houses.
C. People’s idea about the straw houses remains the same.
D. The straw bale house built by David Lanfear share the same method to keep out rain as the traditional ones.
【答案】C
【解析】细节理解题。根据the common ideas about straw houses continue, including stories about the threat of fire.人们的对于草房子的观点不可能完全一致，故选C。
C
This is our country, America. The country where everyone is supposed to have a shot at financial success. The country of dreams and ambition. Yet, caused by the endless pursuit of individual profit, our country is a mess. And we owe it all to capitalism.
We live in a society where people are forced to live without health coverage. A country where the poor can hardly feed themselves while the rich decide which one of their 10 homes to stay at for the night. All of these sad things arise out of capitalism.
Sadly, our country values little more than money. It motivates our decisions and even influences entire political parties. We have gotten to the point in society where a human life comes secondary to our financial security. Any rational society would value life above all else and realize that health is a basic human right. Yet in our world, money comes first.
I never once have claimed to be an economist and have no interest in debating the financial advantages of any economic system. Yet socialism surely looks better than what we have.
If we lived in a socialist society, we would be a country without such an unfair wealth distribution. We would value friendship over business and we would treat one another as humans. Most importantly, however, is that money would stop controlling our lives and we could act how humans should act.
Capitalism has created an “every man for himself” existence. Everything is a battle for limited resources and fuels. We have become so accustomed to the life value that we will do whatever we have to look out for ourselves. Yet is this really the kind of life we want?
We have become so illusioned. We are tired of the misdirection. All economic systems have their issues, but I feel like ours is turning our country into something it shouldn’t be. The good of man falls secondary to money. In our world, it is all about dollars and cents, which, unfortunately for most, makes no sense.
51. In the author’s opinion, the root cause of the present situation in his country is __________.
A. money
B. people’s value
C. social unfairness
D. social system
【答案】D
【解析】细节理解题。根据we owe it all to capitalism所有的一切都是因为是资本主义社会，也就是他们国家的制度，故选D。
52. According to the passage, which is NOT the characteristic of capitalism?
A. individualism
B. endless pursuit of wealth
C. humanism
D. great gap between the rich and the poor
【答案】C
【解析】细节理解题。individualism个人利己主义； endless pursuit of wealth 无休止追求财富；humanism 人道主义；great gap between the rich and the poor富人和穷人的距离拉大；根据Capitalism has created an “every man for himself” existence.利己主义；caused by the endless pursuit of individual profit, 无休止追求财富；If we lived in a socialist society, we would be a country without such an unfair wealth distribution. 财富分配不均；这些都是资本主义的特征，只有人道主义是社会主义的特征，故选C。
53. How does the author feel about his country?
A. concerned
B. angry
C. skeptical
D. hopeless
【答案】A Ks5u
【解析】细节理解题。concerned关心的； angry生气的； skeptical 怀疑的； hopeless绝望的。根据Yet is this really the kind of life we want? I feel like ours is turning our country into something it shouldn’t be.这里显示出作者很关心自己的国家，故选A。
54. Which of the following would the author agree with?
A. Life should be placed at the top of our considerations.
B. Socialism is perfect.
C. Health is equally important as wealth.
D. The pursuit for wealth should be restricted.
【答案】A K
【解析】细节理解题。根据Any rational society would value life above all else 及The good of man falls secondary to money.作者同意钱放在第二位，生命放在第一位，故选A。
55. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A. How to Save America
B. Capitalism Is in Trouble
C. Why Is America in Trouble
D. America Is in Trouble
【答案】C
【解析】标题归纳题。根据本文的内容叙述了美国为什么处于困境之中，故选C。
D
A lot of interesting things have happened in the past several months as people from all walks of life learn how to stretch their money. A lot of changes have been accelerated by the fuel shocks during the summer of 2008; in a lot of ways we seem to be reverting to the frugal(economical) sensibilities of a past generation. More people are choosing to be more picky when they swipe their credit cards even if that means not buying things until they have money in their bank accounts, the days of the $0-down mortgage(抵押贷款)seem to be murdered, and there is a lot more acceptance of environmentally-friendly technologies that promise to reduce our overall dependency on foreign oil even if it means taking a hit to the excesses that used to define our quality of living.
An interesting new trend being taken by small businesses is the practice of offering discounted prices to customers willing to pay in cash. This is not the same as paying “under the table”---rather, the store saves its merchant processing fees and passes those savings on to the customers. The idea is a good one in principle---paying in cash forces consumers to take stock of what they are spending as much as it saves stores from transaction(交易) fees.
Of course there are drawbacks to the plan. When people pay in cash, they tend to be more conservative with their spending since they tangibly(really) feel their money leave their possession. That will cause stores to lose profits because customers will think twice before buying high—margin “impulse” products at checkout whereas before they might not have thought twice before charging it. Increased volume of cash handling opens stores to loss through employee theft at the till(抽屉), not to mention controls that need to be put into place to count and deposit physical currency.
Our family has saved a fortune by switching to cash. When getting to the bottom of your change jar means no more purchase power until your next pay period, you really start to appreciate the fine art of merchandising(做买卖) and the expertise applied to make you want to buy more and more. Cold hard cash feels more organic, and helps us to appreciate the effort it takes to maintain our lifestyle.
56. From the passage, we can learn that __________.
A. customers are in a more favorable position by paying in cash.
B. people will not be allowed to use their credit cards if there is no money in their bank account.
C. people have adjusted their way of living to the new situation.
D. people are living better than before by paying in cash.
【答案】C
【解析】细节理解题。根据全文的内容可知出现了新的现象时，人们会慢慢地去适应，故选C。
57. By saying “people from all walks of life learn how to stretch their money”, the author means that _________.
A. people walk to work in order to save money.
B. people of all professions learn to make the best use of their money.
C. people of the whole society learn to earn more money.
D. all people learn to extend money so that it is worth more.
【答案】B
【解析】句意理解题。all walks of life各行各业；stretch their money充分利用钱；这句应该是来自各行各业的人们都充分利用他们自己的钱，也就是让钱发挥最大的作用，故选B。
58. When the customers pay their goods in cash, the stores will be affected in the following ways EXCEPT ___________.
A. the sale of their goods will decrease as the customers are more reluctant to buy things.
B. there is a potential danger of money loss by their staff.
C. it brings a burden to the stores as they need to deal with the cash.
D. the stores make less money as they need to give some money back to the customers.
【答案】D
【解析】细节理解题。根据That will cause stores to lose profits because customers will think twice因为顾客不是情愿地去买东西所以商店的销售量会有所下降，选项A符合原文；Increased volume of cash handling opens stores to loss through employee theft at the till(抽屉), not to mention controls that need to be put into place to count and deposit physical currency.
有大量地现金使员工处理现金时负担增大，同时也增加了员工丢失钱的危险，选项CD符合原文；只有选项D没有提到，故选D。Ks5u
59. What caused people to start to use cash instead of credit cards?
A. The rising prices.
B. High unemployment.
C. The fuel shocks.
D. The economic crisis.
【答案】C K
【解析】细节理解题。根据A lot of changes have been accelerated by the fuel shocks during the summer of 2008; in a lot of ways we seem to be reverting to the frugal(economical) sensibilities of a past generation.由于燃料的冲击，我们为了节俭，又开始使用现金来代替信用卡，故选C。
60. What’s the author’s attitude towards the practice of paying in cash?
A. Approving
B. Ridiculous
C. Uninterested
D. Opposed
【答案】A
【解析】细节理解题。approving赞成的； ridiculous荒谬的； uninterested不感兴趣的；
opposed 反对的。根据Cold hard cash feels more organic, and helps us to appreciate the effort it takes to maintain our lifestyle.可知作者对于现金支付是赞成的，故选A。