2016高考英语二轮阅读理解八十集之连载训练（71）
科普知识类
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I. Q. , a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. If you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or, shared the same birthday.
This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would give her some idea of a fascinating circle she might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary know-ledge of her field. She’d be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.
Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practising in this way, she delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious, automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance from the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems—how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.
The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine. The latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.
1. The passage mainly deals with .
A. the function of I. Q. in cultivating a writer
B. the relationship between genius and success
C. the decisive factor in making a genius
D. the way of gaining some sense of distinction
2. By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could .
A. come to understand the inner structure of writing
B. join a fascinating circle of writers someday
C. share with a novelist her likes and dislikes
D. learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security
3. In the girl’s long painstaking training process, .
A. her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success
B. her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance
C. she acquires the magic of some great achievements
D. she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write
4. What can be concluded from the passage?
A. A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success.
B. A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing.
C. As to the growth of a genius, I. Q. doesn’t matter, but just his/her efforts.
D. What really matters is what you do rather than who you are.
【参考答案】1—4、CABD
科普知识类
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Find Which Direction Is South
Do you have a good sense of direction?If not,please take with you a compass. But if you forget to take a compass,you can still find your way.
It’s never a good idea to imagine that the family member who was entrusted(委托)with the job of map-reading actually knows where the family is. You can tell by the slightly confused look on their faces that nothing on the ground seems to match the map. Never mind. The sun is shining and it’s still morning. If you don’t know the exact time,you can still find out where south is,but you’ll need to be patient.
①Find a straight stick and put it in the ground in a place where you can mark its shadow.
②Try to position the stick as vertically(垂直)as you can. You can check this by making a simple plumb line(铅锤线) with a piece of string and weight. You haven’t got any string?OK,use a thread from your clothes with a button tied at the end to act as a weight.
③Mark the end of the shadow cast by the stick.
④Wait approximately half an hour and mark the end of the shadow again.
⑤Keep doing this until you have made several marks.
⑥The mark nearest the stick will represent the shortest shadow,which is east at midday,when the sun is highest in the sky and pointing to the exact south.
⑦Pick a point in the distance along the line between the shortest shadow and the stick.
⑧That point is south of where you are.
⑨Now you can turn the map,like you did before,and find which way you should be travelling.
1. To find the direction,we ought to be patient probably because .
A. it is not easy to find a proper stick
B. it is not easy to position the stick
C. it takes hours to make the marks
D. it takes about half an hour to make the marks
2. The passage would probably be most helpful to .
A. those who draw maps
B. those who get lost
C. those who make compasses
D. those who do experiments
3. Which of the following pictures best shows the way of finding the direction of south?
4. The author presents this passage by .
A. telling an interesting story
B. describing an activity in a lively way
C. testing an idea by reasoning
D. introducing a practical method
【参考答案】1—5、CBAD
科普知识类
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Federal regulators Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergency alert(警报) system using text messages delivered to cell phones.
Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people. The wireless industry’s trade association, CTIA, estimates(估计)more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month.
The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires improvement to the nation’s emergency alert system. The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.
“The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.
Participation in the alert system by carriers—telecommunications companies—is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry.
The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.
There would be three different types of messages, according to the rules.
The first would be a national alert from the president, likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The second would involve “approaching threats”, which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction(绑架) emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts.
The service could be in place by 2010.
1. What is the purpose of the approved plan?
A. To warn people of emergencies via messages.
B. To popularize the use of cell phones.
C. To estimate the monthly number of messages.
D. To promote the wireless industry.
2. The improvement to the present system is in the charge of .
A. CTIA
B. the Warning Alert and Response Network Act
C. FCC
D. federal regulators
3. The carriers’ participation in the system is determined by .
A. the US federal government
B. mobile phone users
C. the carriers themselves
D. the law of the United States
4. Which of the following is true of cell phone users?
A. They must accept the alert service.
B. They may enjoy the alert service for free.
C. They must send the alerts to others.
D. They may choose the types of messages.
5. An alert message will NOT be sent if .
A. a child loses his way
B. a university shooting happens
C. a natural disaster happens
D. a terrorist attack occurs
6. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Cell Phone Alerts Protecting Students
B. Cell Phone Alerts by Wireless Industry
C. Cell Phone Alerts of Natural Disasters
D. Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soon
【参考答案】1—5、ACCBA
6、D
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt.
In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. Henry IV, King of France, was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.
Though the belief in the merit of dirt was longlived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War Ⅱ.Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea; clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?
Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays.Many firsttime parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease.On the contrary，Mary Ruebush，an American immunologist(免疫学家)，encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system.And the latter position is gaining some ground.
本文介绍了人们对灰尘的不同态度和看法。16世纪早期，人们认为灰尘能阻挡疾病。人们不能洗澡。18世纪时人们认为洗掉灰尘对身体有好处，能阻止疾病。而现在，人们对灰尘有不同看法，有人认为不能碰灰尘，而有人认为灰尘能增强免疫力。
1．The kings of France and England in the 16th century closed bath houses because ________.
A．they lived healthily in a dirty environment
B．they thought bath houses were too dirty to stay in
C．they believed disease could be spread in public baths
D．they considered bathing as the cause of skin disease
答案：C。细节理解题。根据短文第二段第二、三句话可知。人们认为公共浴池是特别危险的，法国和英国的国王都关闭了他们的浴池，由此可知C项正确。
．Which of the following best describes Henry IV's attitude to bathing?
A．Afraid.
B．Curious.
C．Approving.
D．Uninterested.
答案：A。推理判断题。根据短文第二段最后两句话可知，享利四世以脏出名，当他得知有人洗澡，为了避免疾病侵袭，他下令不准这人出门。由此可知享利四世对于洗澡是相当害怕的。
. How does the passage mainly develop?
A. By providing examples. B. By making comparisons.
C. By following the order of time. D. By following the order of importance.
答案：C。细节理解题，本文是以时间为线索进行写作的。先写16世纪人们对灰尘的态度，然后是17世纪，最后写到今天人们的态度。
．What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?
A. To stress the role of dirt.B. To introduce the history of dirt.
C. To call attention to the danger of dirt. D. To present the change of views on dirt.
答案：D。细节理解题。整篇文章作者陈述了三个不同的时间，人们对待灰尘的看法，由此向我们展示了人们对灰尘观点的改变。