必修五
Module 4
阅读理解提速练——练速度
(限时：20分钟)
A
(2016·石家庄高三教学质检二)If your parents were to surprise you with a present on your birthday, which one would you prefer, a trip to the amusement park or a new pair of shoes?
According to Science Daily, about onethird of the people are likely to prefer shoes to a fun trip. These people are called “materialists”， namely, those who value material goods more than experiences. But which of the two choices makes people happier?
Back in 2009, Ryan Howell, a professor at San Francisco State University, found that in the long run, experiences make people happier than possessions. This is because the joy of receiving a new object fades over time as you get used to seeing it every day. Experiences, on the other hand, can continue to bring you joy in the future through happy memories.
But materialists should at least be happy when they first buy something, shouldn't they?
To figure it out, Howell did another study. He classified a group of adults according to their personality types, ranging from less materialistic to more materialistic. Each person was asked different questions to see how they felt about spending money on material goods versus spending money on experiences.
As expected, the more materialistic participants got less happiness from purchases than the less materialistic, because such purchases didn't fit with their personalities and values. But to Howell's surprise, he found that materialists weren't any happier even if they spent money on material items.
This is because materialists worry that others may criticize or look down on their choices. “There are certain value systems that are rejected by society，” said Howell. “When we find out someone is materialistic, we think less of them, and that drives their happiness down.”
Another reason is that materialistic people always focus on what they don't have instead of what they have now. This makes them feel less satisfied and grateful.
If you happen to be a materialistic person, there's something you can try. “If materialists make more accurate purchases, rather than trying to impress others, they will be happier，” Howell said.
You should also remember what an ancient Greek philosopher once said, “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
语篇解读：本文是一篇议论文。作者通过引用 Ryan Howell 的研究结果证实经历比有形物质更能给人带来快乐。
1．What did Ryan Howell find in his studies?
A．Material goods bring people less happiness than experiences.
B．About onethird of the people prefer material goods to experiences.
C．Materialists have more fun spending money on goods than on experiences.
D．Receiving a new object brings lasting joy while the joy of an experience fades soon.
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据第三段中的“... found that in the long run, experiences make people happier than possessions”可知，经历比物品更能使人感到高兴。根据第六段中的“the more materialistic participants got less happiness from purchases than the less materialistic”可知，比较倾向物质主义的参与者比不太倾向物质主义的参与者从购物中得到的快乐更少。由此可见， Ryan Howell 在他的研究中发现：有形物质比经历给人带来的快乐更少。因此，该题选A。
2．What did Ryan Howell want to find out by doing another study?
A．How to judge whether a person is a materialist.
B．Why materialists are not happy with their purchases.
C．How materialists feel when they spend money on goods.
D．Whether materialists are happy when they first make purchases.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第四段“But materialists should at least be happy when they first buy something, shouldn't they？”及第五段第一句“To figure it out, Howell did another study.”可知该题选D。
3．Why does the author use the ancient Greek philosopher's words in the last paragraph?
A．To advise materialistic people not to try to impress others.
B．To persuade people to be satisfied with what they have.
C．To prove it's unwise to be materialistic and desire too much.
D．To tell readers what they desire now might one day become theirs.
解析：选B 推理判断题。根据最后一段中那位哲学家的话“不要因期望你没有的东西而毁掉了你现在拥有的东西。记住：你现在拥有的东西就在你曾经渴望得到的东西之中”，再结合上文 Ryan Howell 研究得出的结论可知，作者引用这位哲学家的话旨在说服人们要对目前拥有的事物感到知足。因此，该题选B。
4．What can be the best title for the passage?
A．Are You a Materialist?
B．How To Acquire Happiness?
C．The Best Present for the Birthday
D．Which Can Make People Happier?
解析：选D 标题归纳题。通读全文可知，作者通过引用 Ryan Howell 的研究结果证实经历比有形物质更能给人带来快乐，故D项作文章标题最佳。
B
(2016·甘肃省高三第一次诊断)College is not just about studying, writing essays and burning the midnight oil in the library. Making friends and enjoying yourself is also necessary for the courses. Parties are social events for students to gather and chat with each other.
Drinking and music College parties in the US are always lacking in creativity and full of wine and music. The basic form rarely changes — drink until you cannot anymore and play loud music at an earthshaking volume. There is plenty of beer involved, and some mixed cocktails.
Creativity in dress The creativity comes in how parties are dressed up. Parties often have a specific theme, like a 90s party or a sports party. At a 90s party, guests might show up dressed like oncefamous celebrities. At a sports party, guests might wear their favorite team's uniforms.
Held in apartments The party is usually held in the apartment of a particular outgoing friend. Everyone will be invited, which means strangers will wander in and out of the apartment where you can get to know and make some new friends.
Ugly sweater party On holidays, parties frequently take on a proper theme. A popular theme around Christmas is the ugly sweater party. The goal is to wear the ugliest sweater you can find, creating an atmosphere of fun.
Whatever the occasion is, there will be no shortage of booze. If you are smart enough, you won't have so much as to lose your consciousness. Parties are always better when you can remember them the next day.
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了美国大学里的派对。大学生活不仅有挑灯夜战的苦读，还应该有社交的乐趣。派对是交流、交友的一种方式。
5．This passage introduces ________.
A．what to wear at the US college parties
B．how much to drink at the US college parties
C．how to make friends at the US colleges
D．parties of the US colleges
解析：选D 主旨大意题。根据第一段的最后一句和第二段的第一句“Now let's follow a foreign friend to see what parties in the US are like.”可知，本文主要介绍了美国大学里的派对，故选D项。
6．The passage is probably written for ________ in colleges.
A．the freshmen
B．the party lovers
C．the graduates
D．the excellent students
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据第二段的第二句“Get some inspiration to have fun with your friends in your new life.”可知，本文是针对开始新的校园生活的人，也就是大一的新生，故选A项。
7．The author attaches importance to ________ at the parties in colleges.
A．creativity arising from inspiration
B．drinking to your heart's content
C．communication combined with fun
D．dressing in a fancy style
解析：选C 推理判断题。根据第一段中的“Making friends and enjoying yourself is also necessary for the courses.”可推知，作者认为交友和玩得开心是很必要的，故选C项。
8．What does the underlined word “booze” in the last paragraph mean?
A．Juice.
B．Alcohol.
C．Food.
D．Music.
解析：选B 词义猜测题。根据最后一段的最后两句可知，作者建议在派对上不要喝太多的酒，不能失去意识，要保持清醒，由此可判断，booze是“酒”的意思，故选B项。
C
(2016·郑州市高中毕业年级质量预测)“A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smart phone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website” is the definition of “selfie” in the Oxford English Dictionary. In fact, it wasn't even in the dictionary until August of 2017. It earned its place there because people are now so obsessed with (对……痴迷) selfies — we take them when we try on a new hat, play with our pets or when we meet a friend whom we haven't seen in a while.
But is there any scientific explanation for this obsession? Well, you should probably ask James Kilner, a neuroscientist (神经系统科学家) at University College London.
Through our lifetime we become experts at recognizing and interpreting other people's faces and facial expressions. In contrast, according to Kilner, we have a very poor understanding of our own faces since we have little experience of looking at them — we just feel them most of the time.
This has been proved in previous studies, according to the BBC.
Kilner found that most people chose the more attractive picture. This suggests that we tend to think of ourselves as betterlooking than we actually are. To further test how we actually perceive our own faces, Kilner carried out another study. He showed people different versions of their own portrait — the original, one that had been edited to look less attractive and one that was made more attractive — and asked them to pick the version which they thought looked most like them. They chose the more attractive version.
But what does it say about selfies? Well, isn't that obvious? Selfies give us the power to create a photograph — by taking it from various angles, with different poses, using filters (滤色镜) and so on — that better matches our expectations with our actual faces.
“You suddenly have control in a way that you don't have in nonvirtual (非虚拟的) interactions，” Kilner told the Canadabased CTV News. Selfies allow you “to keep taking pictures until you manage to take one you're happy with”， he explained.
语篇解读：本文是一篇研究报告。分析了人们喜欢自拍的原因。
9．What is the passage mainly about?
A．The definition and fun of taking selfies.
B．A study of why people love taking selfies.
C．How taking selfies influences people's daily lives.
D．How to interpret people's facial expressions in their selfies.
解析：选B 主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章从不同角度分析了人们喜欢自拍的原因。故B项正确。
10．The underlined word “perceive” in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by “________”．
A．interpret
B．beautify
C．choose
D．explain
解析：选A 词义猜测题。根据语境可知，大多数人选择的是更有魅力的照片，这表明我们都喜欢把自己想象得比实际更漂亮一些。为了进一步测试我们实际上如何“认知”自己的脸部，Kilner又进行了另一项研究，即把不同的照片进行编辑，一张忠实于本人，一张更具魅力，他们往往会选择后者。此处perceive与下文中的“thought”相照应，意为“理解，认知”。故A项正确。
11．According to Kilner, people like taking selfies probably because they think ________.
A．it is a good chance to learn more about their actual faces
B．it is a way to respond to others' facial expressions correctly
C．it enables them to interact with their friends in social media
D．it allows them to satisfy their expectations with their appearances
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据最后两段中的“that better matches our expectations with our actual faces”和“Selfies allow you ‘to keep taking pictures until you manage to take one you're happy with’”可知，自拍能够让我们实际的容貌与期望的一致，即满足对于自我容貌的期待。故D项正确。