阅读理解精讲精炼03
11.
Like any good mother; when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what．she could to help her 3 - year - old son, Michael, prepare for a new baby．They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's stomach．
Finally, Michael's little sister is born．But she is in serious condition．With alarm in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal (初生的) intensive care unit at St．Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee．The days go by．The little girl gets worse．The pediatric (儿科的) specialist tells the parents, “There is very little hope．Be prepared for the worst．”
Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot．They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby , but now they plan a funeral．Michael, keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he says．
Karen makes up her mind．She will take Michael whether they like it or not．If he doesn’t see his sister now, he may never see her alive．
She dresses him in an oversized suit and marches him into ICU．He looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and shouts, " Get that kid out of here now! No children are allowed．Never disturb patients here．The mother rises up strongly and said?" He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!"
Karen leads Michael to his sister's bedside．He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live． And he begins to sing．In die pure hearted voice of a 3 - year - old, Michael sings: " You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray．．．" Instantly the baby girl responds．The pulse rate becomes calm and steady．
The next day, the very next day, the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it " the miracle of a brother's song．" The medical staff just called it a miracle．Karen called it a miracle of Gods love!
Never give up on die people you love．
1．What may the underlined words "the infant" refer to?
A．The baby．
B．Karen． C．Mary．
D．Michael
2．What do we know about the little sister after she was born?
A．She was driven to St．Mary's shop．
B．A doctor came to see her in her house．
C．She was very thin and couldn't speak．
D．She was in great danger．
3．Why did Karen firmly let little Michael see his sister in ICU?
A．Because he could make his sister alive．
B．Because his sister would be sent to a far hospital．
C．Because his sister was going to die soon．
D．Because his father wanted to take him away．
4．What do we know about the head nurse?
A．The head nurse was careful．
B．The head nurse was rude．
C．The head nurse was responsible．
D．The head nurse had no sympathy．
5．What is the general idea of the text?
A．A boy' s singing saved his sister' s life．
B．The little girl is well enough to go home．
C．Michael's little sister is born with a serious disease．
D．No children are allowed to enter the intensive care unit．
【答案与解析】这是一篇记叙文。Michael的妹妹生下来情况非常糟糕，面临着生命危险，在医院的重症监护室里，是Michael的歌声拯救了妹妹的生命，创造了生命的奇迹。.【答案】A
【解析】Michael's little sister is born．But she is in serious condition和the neonatal (初生的) intensive care unit at St．Mary's Hospital看出是“新生儿”。故选A项。2.【答案】D
【解析】文章第二段的Michael's little sister is born．But she is in serious condition和The days go by．The little girl gets worse．The pediatric （儿科的） specialist tells the parents, “There is very little hope．Be prepared for the worst．看出答案。
3.【答案】C
【解析】If he doesn’t see his sister now, he may never see her alive看出答案。
4.【答案】C
【解析】Get that kid out of here now! No children are allowed．Never disturb patients here推出答案。
5.【答案】A
【解析】Michael的妹妹生下来情况非常糟糕，面临着生命危险，在医院的重症监护室里，是Michael的歌声拯救了妹妹的生命，创造了生命的奇迹。.
It’s true that quite a few most respected scientific authorities have confirmed that the world is becoming hotter and hotter. There’s also strong evidence that humans are contributing to the warming. Countless recent reports have proved the same thing. For instance, a 2010 summary about the climate science by the Royal Society noted that: “The global warming over the last half-century has been caused mainly by human activity.”
You may not believe that humans could change the planet’s climate, but the basic science is well understood. Each year, billions of tons of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere because of human activity. As has been known for years, these gases hold heat that would otherwise escape to space, wrapping the planet in an invisible(看不见的) blanket.
Of course, the earth’s climate has always been changing due to “natural” factors such as volcanic eruption（熔化） or changes in solar, or cycles concerning the Earth’s going around the sun. According to the scientific research, however, the warming observed by now matches the pattern of warming we would expect from a build-up of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere – not the warming we would expect from other possible causes.
Even if scientists did discover another reasonable explanation for the warming recorded so far, that would give birth to a difficult question. As Robert Henson puts it: “If some newly discovered factor is to blame for the climate change, then why aren’t carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases producing the warming that basic physics tells us they should be?”
The only way to prove with 100% certainty that humans are responsible for global warming would be to run an experiment with two identical Earths – one with human influence and one without. That obviously isn’t possible, and so most scientists are careful not to state human influence as an absolute certainty.
1. In most scientists’ opinion, the global warming is mainly caused by ________.
A. solar activity
B. volcanic activity
C. natural factors
D. human factors
2. The text is developed by ________.
A. giving typical examples
B. following the order of space
C. analyzing a theory and arguing it
D. comparing and finding differences
3. The underline word “identical” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
A. totally different
B. exactly the same
C. extremely important
D. partly independent
4. Which of the following can be the best title?
A. Are All the Scientists Really Scientific?
B. Where Is Global Warming Leading Us to?
C. Are Humans Definitely Causing Global Warming?
D. What’s Relation of Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases?
【答案与解析】这是一篇关于全球气候变暖的文章。文章分析了导致全球变暖的各种原因，并指出人类活动因素是导致气候变暖的主要原因。
1.D考查事实细节。根据第一段第二句“here’s also strong evidence that humans are contributing to the warming”(这儿也有强有力的证据表明人类为全球气候变暖做出了“贡献”)可知人类因素是导致气候变暖的主要原因。
human factors(人类因素).。
2.C考查综合理解。纵观全文，第一段提出人类活动因素是导致全球气候变暖的主要原因。接下来分析讨论为什么说人类活动可以导致气候变暖。文章就是按这种方式叙述的。analyzing a theory and arguing it(分析理论并进行辩论)符合本文描述方式。
3.B考查词义猜测。根据最后一段句意，要用两个同样的地球做实验(一个有人类影响，另一个没有)来证明人类的确应该为全球气候变暖承担责任。exactly the same(极端相似)符合该词词义。
4.C标题判断题。文章开始提出人类活动因素导致了全球气候变暖，然后分析讨论为什么人类活动能够导致全球气候变暖。文章通篇都贯穿人类的活动。Are Humans Definitely Causing Global Warming？(的确是人类导致全球气候变暖吗)符合该文章标题。
.
It may be obvious, but the best way to get better at a language is to speak it. Even if there is no one around to speak to, talk to yourself. Name things as you pass them – chair, television, cat, tree, school. Learn basic phrases like – ‘it is cold today’ or ‘it is sunny today’ and use whichever is appropriate when you first look out of the window. This simple language learning tip will help this everyday vocabulary sink in and become second nature.
Talk to friends
Even if they don’t speak the language, talk to the people you know in your new language. Warm them in advance that you are practicing your new knowledge and they will know what’s coming. Even a simple ‘good morning ’ or ‘see you later’ in your new language will make those phrases more natural to you. Your friends may even start to pick up a few phrases as well.
Listen to music
Listen to music in your new language. You’ll hear the language used in a real context and this will help you pick out the rhythm and the pronunciation even better. You will also come to further understand and better appreciate the culture behind the language.
Make mistakes
The easiest language learning tip to try! Go ahead and speak and write! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because I guarantee you will! In fact, you will learn as much from your mistake as you will learn from your success. Never let the fear of making any mistakes hold you back. Without making any mistakes, how will you ever to be fluent or even comfortable with the language?
Find a language club
When you are ready, try to find a language club in your area. Speaking with other people who have already gone through or are still going through the process of learning the language can be extremely helpful. They will give you lots of language learning tips and helpful advice.
1. If you want to keep everyday vocabulary in your mind, you’d better _____________.
A. try to find a language club in your area
B. talk to yourself and name things as you pass them
C. not to be afraid to make mistakes
D. listen to music in your new language
2.According to the passage , we know ___________
A. the more mistakes we make, the more fluent our English might be
B. "talking to yourself" is the best way to learn a language
C. If someone doesn’t speak your new language, you should not practice with them.
D. Not all language clubs are helpful.
3. You will master the usage of your new language if you ________ according to the material.
A. talk to yourself
B. talk to friends
C. listen to music
D. find a language club
4.The main idea of this passage is ___________ .
A. the more practice, the better your English will be
B. practicing speaking English in different ways
C. language learning tips
D. some advice on English learning
【答案与解析】文章向我们介绍了5种有效的学习语言的建议。
1.B细节理解题。第一段的“This simple language learning tip will help this everyday vocabulary sink in and become second nature. ”所说的“This simple language learning tip”就是“Talk to yourself”。
2.A推理判断题。倒数第二部分告诉我们：Without making any mistakes, how will you ever to be fluent or even comfortable with the language?由此可以推断，犯的错误越多，英语就会说的越流利。
3.C推理判断题。由listen to music 部分可以看出，通过听音乐学习语言，可以感受真实的语境，还能更深层的理解语言背后的文化，这也就是题干所说的真正掌握了语言的用法。
4.C主旨大意题。纵观全文可以看出，文章向我们介绍了5种语言学习的建议，即：language learning tips。
14.
Does a Tea Break Make You More Efficient?
China has been drinking tea since the time of Shennong, 5,000 years ago. Britain’s relationship with tea is much shorter, but tea enjoys pride of place as the UK’s national drink. According to the UK Tea Council, British people drink an average of three cups a day or a national total of 165 million cups every day.
With figures like these, it is no surprise that time spent taking tea affects the working day in Britain. A recent survey found that 24 minutes a day are lost to making, buying and drinking tea and coffee. That is, £400 a year is lost in working hours per employee, or 190 days over a lifetime. So, should employers be worried about this lost working time, or does the tea break make up in other ways?
One argument is that caffeine improves mental state: a drink of tea or coffee can make you active and focus on work.
Professor Rogers of the University of Bristol disagrees. After years of studying caffeine he sees nothing can prove that. “Workers would perform equally well if not drinking it at all,” he says. “But if they’re often drinking it and then go without, they’ll feel tired and won’t work well.”
Psychologist Cooper instead emphasizes the role tea breaks play in office life, and in building social relationships. “We need to make people more active and see other people. The tea break is one way of doing this,” says Cooper.
And Professor Rogers also points out the comfort effect of a hot drink: “We warm our hands on them on a cold day; they’re comforting and play a big role in our everyday life. Whatever the caffeine’s doing, I’d say these 24 minutes aren’t wasted.”
1. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Tea Breaks cannot make people more active at work.
B. British people drink more tea than people in other countries.
C. Tea break plays an important role in people’s life in Britain.
D. A lot of time has been wasted drinking tea in the working day.
2. We learn from a recent survey that in Britain _______.
A. £400 is lost in working hours for each person
B. tea breaks take up 24 minutes in a working day
C. people spends 190 days drinking tea and coffee each year
D. people drink 165 million cups in working hours every day
3. What’s Psychologist Coopers’ attitude towards tea break?
A. Doubtful.
B. Uncertain.
C. Negative.
D. Positive.
【答案与解析】
喝茶已经成为英国人的习惯、，且不论喝茶休息是否真的可以提高工作效率，一旦人们戒除了这个习惯，他们的工作将会受到影响。
1．C主旨大意题。文章首先阐述了茶在英国的重要地位，之后大部分内容都在叙述喝茶休息的优点，所以C项最能概括文章大意。
2．B细节理解题。结合第一段最后一句、第二段第二句和第三句的内容可知最近的调查表明英国人一个工作日中喝茶和咖啡的时问有24分钟。
3．D推理判断题。根据倒数第二段的内容可推测cooper对喝茶休息持”肯定”态度。