2017届高考英语二轮专题总复习阅读能力培养精品系列（四十一）
完形填空
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to __1__ the house－building business to live a more __2__ life with his wife and __3__ his extended family. He would miss the paycheck(工资) each week, but he wanted to retire. They could __4__.
The employer was __5__ to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, __6__ over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He used bad workmanship and __7__ materials. It was an unfortunate way to __8__ a dedicated(献身的)career.
When the carpenter finished
his work, his employer came to __9__ the house. Then he handed the front－door __10__ to the carpenter and said, “This is your house... my __11__ to you.”
The carpenter was shocked!
What a __12__！ If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
__13__
it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting __14__ than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we __15__ we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.
But, you cannot __16__. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall. Someone __17__ said, “Life is a do－it－yourself project.” Your __18__，
and the choices you __19__ today, help build the “house” you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, build __20__！
1. A. continue
B. start C. leave D. find
2. A. leisurely
B. lonely
C. orderly
D. friendly
3. A support
B. share
C. enjoy
D. care
4. A. go off
B. get byC. pass on
D. work away
5. A. polite
B. nervous
C. proud
D. sorry
6. A. but
B. while
C. which
D. before
7. A. perfect
B. inferior
C. superior
D. tough
8. A. satisfy
B. improve
C. meet
D. end
9. A. buy
B. repair
C. inspect
D. sell
10. A. roof
B. window
C. key
D. design
11. A. gift
B. promise
C. salary
D. words
12. A. disappointment
B. shame
C. pleasure
D. success
13. A. So
B. Yet
C. As
D. Such
14. A. worse
B. more
C. rather
D. less
15. A. realize
B. explain
C. think
D. admit
16. A. step forward
B. go back C. come out
D. look around
17. A. never
B. again
C. once
D. nearly
18. A. attitude
B. experience
C. skill
D. advantage
19. A. learn
B. take
C. see
D. make
20. A. badly
B. wisely
C. early
D. confidently
阅读理解
A
George Spilich at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, decided to find out whether, as many smokers say, smoking helps them to “think and fix their attention on (集中精力于)their work”. Spilich put young non－smokers, active smokers and smokers deprived(被剥夺)of cigarettes through a series of tests.
In the first test, each subject sat before a computer screen and pressed a key as soon as he or she recognized a certain letter among a grouping of 96. In this simple test, smokers, deprived smokers and non－smokers performed equally well. The next test was more difficult, requiring all to scan(扫描) groups of 20 letters and find the one of the letters changed into a different one. Non－smokers were faster, but under the stimulation(刺激)of nicotine, active smokers were faster than deprived smokers. In the third test of short－term memory, non－smokers made the fewest mistakes, but deprived smokers made fewer mistakes than active smokers. The fourth test required people to read a passage, then answer questions about it. Non－smokers remembered 19 percent more of the most important information than active smokers, and deprived smokers did better than those who had smoked a cigarette just before testing. Active smokers were likely not only to have poorer memories but also had trouble separating important information from unimportant details.
“As our tests became more difficult，” says Spilich, “non－smokers performed better than smokers by far.” he says, “Smokers might perform adequately(准确)at many jobs until they got very difficult. A smoking airline pilot could fly adequately if no problems arose, but if something went wrong, smoking might damage his mental capacity(思维能力)．”
1. Smokers usually think that smoking ________.
A. helps them to be less nervous
B. helps them to do better work
C. helps them to think and act quickly
D. does some good to their health
2. George Spilich's experiment was organized in such a way as to ________.
A. force the subjects to separate major information from minor details
B. check the effectiveness of nicotine on smokers
C. put the subjects through increasing difficult test
D. make a written and formal record of the answers of the subjects
3. Which fact does this passage lead us to believe?
A. Active smokers generally performed better than deprived smokers.
B. Active smokers answered more quickly than the other subjects.
C. Deprived smokers gave the slowest answers to the various tasks.
D. Non－smokers were not better than other subjects in performing simple tasks.
4. We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
A. smokers should not expect to become airline pilots
B. smokers may prove unequal to dealing with emergency (紧急) cases
C. no airline pilots smoke during flights
D. smoking in emergency cases causes mental illness
B
Danielle Steel, America's sweetheart, is one of the hardest working woman in the book business. Unlike other productive authors who write one book at a time, she can work on up to five. Her research long before writing takes at least three years. Once she has fully studied her subjects, ready to dive into a book, she can spend twenty hours nonstop at her desk.
Danielle Steel comes from New York and was sent to France for her education. After graduation, she worked in the public relations and advertising, industries. Later she started a job as a writer which she was best fit for. Her achievements are unbelievable: 390 million copies of books in print, nearly fifty New York Times best－selling novels, and a series of Max and Martha picture books for children to help them. Deal with the real－life problem of death, new babies and new schools. Her 1998 book about the death of her son was shot to the top of the New York Times best－selling list as soon as it came out. Twenty－eight of her books had been made into film. She is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for one of her books being the Times best－seller for 381 weeks straight.
Not content with a big house, a loving family, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Danielle Steel considers her readers to be the most important resource and has kept in touch with them by e－mail. While she is often compared to the heroines(女主人公) of her own invention. Her life is undoubtedly much quieter. But if she does have anything in common with them, it is her strength of will and her inimitable style. There is only one Danielle Steel.
5. Danielle Steel is different from other writers in that ________.
A. she can write several books at the same time
B. she often does some research before writing a book
C. she is one of the most popular American women writers
D. she can keep writing for quite a long time without a break
6. Children who have read Max and Martha picture books may know ________.
A. how to deal with affairs at school
B. what to do if Max and Martha die
C. what to do when new babies are born into their families
D. how to solve the difficult problems in their writing classes
7. One of Danielle Steel's achievements is that
________.
A. some TV plays were based on her books
B. her picture books attracted a lot of young men
C. one of her books became a best－seller in 1998
D. she wrote the Guinness Book of World Records
8. We can learn from the passage that Danielle Steel ________.
A. lives an exciting life
B. values her readers a lot
C. writes about quiet women
D. is pleased with her achievements
9. What does the underlined word “inimitable” mean?
A. Hardworking.
B. Attractive.
C. Strange.
D. Unique.
参考答案
1. 解析：选C。根据上文的retire可知，他想离开自己从事的工作，故选leave。
2. 解析：选A。leisurely悠闲的，慢悠悠的；lonely孤独的；orderly有秩序的，有条理的；friendly友好的。根据常识可知，人们退休了以后，生活常是悠闲的，故选A项。
3. 解析：选C。由文意可知，退休以后，老人可以更好的享受家庭的乐趣，enjoy最佳。
4. 解析：选B。go off开火、爆炸，(电灯等)熄灭；get by维持生计，设法过活；pass on转交，递给；work away连续不停地工作。根据前面的extended family和miss the paycheck可推知，老人生活上悠闲，但没有了工资，生活可能不如以前宽松，但他们能设法维持，故选B项。
5. 解析：选D。根据上文retire和下文的his good worker可知，作为老板，自己的好员工要走了，自然惋惜，故sorry符合情理。
6. 解析：选A。从下文得知，老木匠的最后一座房子造的很不好，是因为他不用心。所以此处表示转折，A项but表示转折，意为“他虽然答应了，但并不用心工作”。注意while是并列连词，表示前后对比，而非转折。
7. 解析：选B。根据前文的bad workmanship和下文可知，老木匠用的建筑材料是劣质的，故inferior正确。
8. 解析：选D。根据前文的retire，go and asked if he could build just one more house可知，这是老木匠为老板建造的最后一座房子，是他一生事业的结束，故选D。
9. 解析：选C。作为老板，自己让人建设的房子完工了，自然来查看一下。下文也提到他并非来购买、出售或修理房子。
10. 解析：选C。从下文的“If he had only known he was building his own house”可以看出，老板把刚刚建设的房子作为礼物(gift)送给了老木匠，故应该给他房门钥匙。
11. 解析：选A。根据上下文可知，这是老板给老木匠的礼物，以表示感谢。
12. 解析：选B。根据上文的shock和下句“If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently”可知，老木匠为自己做的蠢事感到羞耻、后悔，故选B项。
13. 解析：选A。So it is with sb.意为“……也如此”。注意此题易错选as，误认为是定语从句。as可以引导定语从句，但注意此句句末的标点是句号，因此缺少先行词，无法构成定语从句。其他选项在意思、结构均不正确。
14. 解析：选D。根据文意，作者在向我们阐述一个道理：我们的生活也像老木匠建房子一样，没有投入全身心，即用的努力少(less)，因此，选D项符合文意。
15. 解析：选A。根据文意可知，开始我们没有觉察，但后来当我们认识到自己的愚蠢行为时，为时已晚。所以，此处选择realize。
16. 解析：选B。根据上文If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.可知此处表达，我们虽认识到错误，但有些事情是无法重新再做一遍的。step forward走出，向前进；go back回到、重新再来；come out(太阳、星星……)出现；look around环视、环顾。四个词组中只有go back符合文意。
17. 解析：选C。根据下文可知，作者在引用某人(曾经说过)的话，所以用副词once最合适。其他选项与文意不符。
18. 解析：选A。根据上文，老木匠既有经验，技艺也高超，但因为态度不端正结果犯了大错。因此，一个人做事的态度决定结果，故选attitude。
19. 解析：选D。make a choice/choices意为“作出选择”。
20. 解析：选B。根据最后一段和上文中的therefore可知，作者是在告诫读者：我们既然明白了这个道理，那么“建造自己的房子时”就明智些吧！所以wisely正确。
1. 解析：选B。细节理解题。从第一段“as many smokers say，smoking helps them to ‘think and fix their attention on their work’”可知答案。
2. 解析：选C。主旨大意题。本题要求对George Spilich的实验过程进行总结。由文意可知，他首先对实验者进行“recognized a certain letter among a grouping of 96”，然后“The next test was more difficult, requiring all to scan(扫描)groups of 20 letters and find the one of the letters changed into a different one, In the third test of short－term memory”，而在第四次他“required people to read a passage, then answer questions about it”，由此可知，C项正确。
3. 解析：选D。细节理解题。从第一个测试中可以得出这样的结论。
4. 解析：选B。推理判断题。从最后一句“A smoking airline pilot could fly adequately if no problems arose, but if something went wrong, smoking might damage his mental capacity”可知答案选B。
5. 解析：选A。细节理解题。第一段第二句“不像其他多产作者一次只写一本书，她一次能写五本”这句话交代了她与其他作者的不同之处。
6. 解析：选C。细节理解题。第二段中间部分关于一套为孩子们写的Max and Martha故事书，目的是帮助他们解决现实生活中有关死，新的生命及新学校的问题，说明读了此书就该知道家里一旦有新的生命诞生如何去做。
7. 解析：选C。细节理解题。由第二段“Her 1998 book about the death... it came out”可知答案。她的28部书已拍成电影并非电视剧；her picture books for children而非young men；D项内容与第二段最后一句不符。
8. 解析：选B。推理判断题。最后一段中交代Danielle Steel认为她的读者是最重要的资源，她一直和他们通过e－mail保持联系，可见她非常重视她的读者。
9. 解析：选D。词义猜测题。根据文章最后两句话意思推知。