四川省成都市2016届高考英语阅读理解二轮提升训练（15）（含解析）

　　【2016高考训练】阅读理解—词义猜测题、观点态度题。

　　Carrier Pigeons

　　People have used pigeons to carry messages to one another for hundreds of years. In fact, pigeons were a common way to send messages right up through World War Ⅱ.

　　In 1815 an English banker named Nathan Rothschild made his fortune by relying on messages sent to him by carrier pigeons. English troops were fighting Napoleon's forces in France, and the English were believed to be losing. A financial panic gripped London. Government bonds were offered at low prices. Few people noticed that Rothschild was snapping up these bonds when everyone else was desperately trying to sell them. A few days later, London learned the truth; the Duke of Wellington had defeated Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo. The value of the bonds went up, and Rothschild became extremely wealthy-all because his pigeons had brought him news of the victory before anyone else knew of it.

　　Most of the time, however, carrier pigeons were used to benefit an entire country, not just one individual. The United States, England, France, Germany, and Italy, in both World War I and World War , used carrier pigeons. Not only were the birds often the fastest, most reliable way to send messages, they could also be used to reach soldiers far behind enemy lines, where radios and field telephone lines were useless. Since they could easily be released from airplanes or ships, every branch of the armed services used the birds. In World War Ⅱ, more than 3,000 soldiers and 150 officers were needed to care for and train the tens of thousands of birds in the US Pigeon Service.

　　Carrying messages could be a dangerous job. Some pigeons performed with such bravery that they became famous and were even awarded medals, such as England's Dicken Medal of Gallantry. In a few cases, pigeons even became prisoners of war. In 1918 American forces captured a pigeon named The Kaiser, which had been trained to fly special missions for Germany during battle. He was taken to America. Where he lived to the age of 32.

　　The most famous pigeon of all may have been Cher Ami. Stationed in France during World War I. he carried twelve important messages for American forces. On his last mission, though wounded, he carried a message that saved the lives of 194 American soldiers. For his extraordinary service, he was awarded the French” Croix de guerre”.

　　Carrier pigeons are a slightly different breed from the kind of pigeon you see on city streets. They ate much thinner and taller, with longer legs. Many people find carrier pigeons ugly because of their big wattle, a knobby buildup of skin on the beat; however, people who raise pigeons often enjoy this odd appearance and consider carriers the best of their breeds.

　　Today, modern communication methods can carry information from one place to another hundreds of times faster than a pigeon could do it. However, few people would argue with the fact that carrier pigeons—especially those that served in the military(军队)—have earned their place in history. Stories about brave pigeons such as Cher Ami, President Wilson, and Colonel's Lady have the power to inspire us as no fax machine or high-speed Internet connection could ever do.

　　The author provides specific dates throughout the passage in order to

　　.

　　Make a comparison between pigeons in different periods

　　Describe the development of us of pigeons during wartime

　　Indicate greater importance of pigeons in the past then now

　　Show the impact of carrier pigeons at particular points in history

　　The underlined phrase “snapping up” in Paragraph 2 means”

　　“

　　Giving away

　　B. putting aside

　　C. getting in

　　D. using up

　　The passage leads us to believe that

　　.

　　There were more civil carrier pigeons than military ones during wartime

　　Not all types of pigeon can be used to carry messages for human beings

　　Nobody could succeed in stopping carrier pigeons carrying out their tasks

　　Modern devices give us even greater enthusiasm than the famous pigeons

　　The passage suggests the successful use of carrier pigeons depends on

　　.

　　Their nature

　　B. proper training

　　C. their quality

　　D. the geography

　　语篇解读

　　本文主要介绍了在过去没有其他快捷的通讯方式的情况下，信鸽起到的巨大作用。比如，两次世界大战期间，信鸽成为传递信息的主要途径。另外，文章还列举了几个著名的信鸽的事迹。

　　D 推理判断题。文章里列举了一些具体时段里信鸽起到的重要作用，比如1815年时Rothschild利用信鸽提供的信息变成富翁、第一次世界大战和第二次世界大战期间信鸽传递信息救助士兵等。由此可推知，D项正确

　　C 词义猜测题。第二段讲述的是英法战争期间，多数人认为英国要失败了，因此政府债券价格大跌，很多人绝望地抛售政府债券，而Rothschild 偷偷地收购这些债券。Snap up 意为“抢购”， 只有C 项有“购进”的意思。

　　B 推理判断题。根据第六段第一句“Carrier pigeons are a slightly different breed from the kind of pigeon you see on city

　　streets.” 可知，信鸽和普通的鸽子是不同的。由此可以推断出，不是所有的鸽子都可以作为信鸽的。故答案选B。

　　B 推理判断题。根据第三段最后一句“In World War Ⅱ … US Pigeon Service.” 可知，二战期间，美国有关机构有3000多名士兵和150多名官员专门负责照顾和培训信鸽用来为战争服务。由此可以推断出，信鸽需要专业训练才能更好地传递信息。故答案选B。

　　阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。Will Nanfang University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen announce a new beginning for China’s higher education reform? It’s too early to answer.But its presence is challenging the Ministry of Education.Even without the approval of the ministry it seems that the school is determined to move forward and enroll 50 students, so-called child prodigies(奇才), to begin classes on March l, 2011.On graduating in 2015, these students will receive a diploma unauthorized by the Ministry of Education-unlike the students of their age from the state-run universities.

　　The school is committed to modeling itself on Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, but if the government will not approve the school, the situation could cause a lot of trouble for those 50 students if they want to do graduate studies at other higher learning institutions.Other schools could turn their applications down for their unauthorized diplomas.

　　The difficulties, however, have not frightened students and their parents away.On Dec.18, 2010 more than 1,000 students and their parents visited Nanfang University of Science and Technology for interviews.

　　Private investment marks the school out from other higher learning institutions in the nation.Not a penny comes from the government. So the government will have no voice in how the school will be run.

　　The Ministry of Education has published a comprehensive plan for education reform and development between 2011 and 2020.The goal is to make China’s higher education internationally competitive.To accomplish this goal, the government should have the courage to let the educators who have big ideas try them out.The ministry should have applauded the independence the school in Shenzhen has shown and encouraged more to do likewise.

　　Education reform in China has reached a new and crucial stage.Nanfang University of Science and Technology has a long way to go to prove itself competitive rather than a diploma mill.

　　1．Over 1,000 students and parents visited the school because

　　.

　　A．they believe that the school will have a bright future

　　B．they believe the government is sure to approve the school

　　C．the school models itself on Hong Kong University successfully

　　D．they will never do graduate studies at other higher learning institutions

　　2．The trouble the students in the school may have is that

　　.

　　A．the government will have no voice in the school

　　B．they won’t receive any diploma when graduating from the school

　　C．other schools are unlikely to accept their diploma from the school

　　D．they will not learn how to be competitive

　　3．What does the author think of Nanfang University of Science and Technology?

　　A．It is another kind of diploma mill.

　　B．It’s impossible for the school to be competitive.

　　C．It will never get the approval from the Ministry of Education.

　　D．Its independence from the government may benefit the education reform.

　　4．What is the best title of the passage?

　　A．University of New Style.

　　B．China’s Education Reform.

　　C．Modeling Hong Kong University.

　　D．Authorized or Not?

　　【参考答案】1—4

　　ACDA

　　2016高考训练题。阅读理解阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。Twenty years ago, most experts believed that differences in how boys and girls behaved were mainly due to differences in how they were treated by their parents, teachers, and friends. It’s hard to cling to that belief today. Recent research has shown that there are biological differences between boys and girls. Understanding these differences is important in raising and educating children.

　　For example, girls are born with more sensitive hearing than boys, and the difference increases as kids grow up. So when a grown man speaks to a girl in what he thinks is a normal voice, she may hear it as yelling. Conversely (反过来), boys who appear to be inattentive in class may just be sitting too far away too hear the teacher.

　　Likewise, girls are better in their expression of feelings. Studies reveal that negative emotions are seated in an area of the brain called the amygdala. Girls develop all early connection between this area and the cerebral cortex (大脑皮层), enabling them to talk about their feelings. In boys these links develop later. So if you ask a troubled adolescent boy to tell you what his feelings are, he often cannot say much.

　　Dr. Sax, an advocate of single-sex education, points out that keeping boys and girls separate in the classroom has yielded striking educational, social, and interpersonal benefits. Therefore, parents and teachers should try to recognize, understand, and make use of the biological differences that make a girl a girl, and a boy a boy.

　　1．What is the main idea of the passage?

　　A. Boys tend to pay less attention in class than girls.

　　B. Girls are better than boys in their ability to detect sounds.

　　C. Single-sex schools are not good because they keep boys and girls separate.

　　D. Boys and girls behave differently because of biological differences.

　　2．Why do girls express negative feelings better than boys?

　　A. Girls are more emotional than boys.

　　B. The links between certain parts of the brain develop earlier in girls than in boys.

　　C. The amygdala is located in different areas of the brain for boys and girls.

　　D. Girls have more brain cells than boys.

　　3．Which of the following does the author believe?

　　A. Boys and girls should be educated in different ways.

　　B. Girls need more training in communication.

　　C. Parents should pay more attention to boys.

　　D. Sex differences should be ignored in education。

　　．What does the phase “cling to” in the first paragraph mean?

　　A. evaluate

　　B. abandon

　　C. maintain

　　D. challenge

　　—4、DBAC

　　社会生活类阅读理解。

　　Some people believe that a Robin Hood is at work, others that a wealthy person simply wants to distribute his or her fortune before dying. But the donator who started sending envelopes with cash to deserving causes, accompanied by an article from the local paper, has made a northern German city believe in fairytales(童话)．

　　The first envelope was sent to a victim support group. It contained 10,000 with a cutting from the Braunschweiger Zeitung about how the group supported a woman who was robbed of her handbag; similar plain white anonymous(匿名) envelopes, each containing 10,000, then arrived at a kindergarten and a church.

　　The envelops keep coming, and so far at least 190, 000 has been distributed. Last month, one of them was sent to the newspaper's own office. It came after a story it published about Tom, a 14­year­old boy who was severely disabled in a swimming accident. The receptionist at the Braunschweiger Zeitung opened an anonymous white envelope to find 20 notes of 500 inside, with a copy of the article.The name of the family was underlined.

　　“I was driving when I heard the news，”Claudia Neumann, the boy's mother, told Der Spiegel magazine.“I had to park on the side of the road; I was speechless.”

　　The money will be used to make the entrance to their house wheelchair­accessible and for a course of treatment that their insurance company refused to pay for.

　　“For someone to act so selflessly, for this to happen in such a society in which everyone thinks of himself, was astonishing，” Mrs.Neumann said. Her family wonder whether the donator is a Robin Hood character, taking from banks to give to the needy.

　　Henning Noske, the editor of the Braunschweiger Zeitung, said：“Maybe it is an old person who is about to die. We just do not know.”However, he has told his reporters not to look for the city's hero, for fear that discovery may stop the donations.

　　1．The Braunschweiger Zeitung is the name of ________.

　　A．a church

　　B．a bankC．a newspaper

　　D．a magazine

　　．Which of the following is TRUE about the donation to Tom?

　　A．The donation amounted to 190, 000.

　　B．The donation was sent directly to his house.

　　C．The money will be used for his education.

　　D．His mother felt astonished at the donation.

　　．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

　　A．the donator is a rich old man

　　B．the donation will continue to come

　　C．the donation comes from the newspaper

　　D．the donator will soon be found out

　　．What would be the best title for the passage?

　　A．Money Is Raised by the Newspaper

　　B．Newspaper Distributes Money to the Needy

　　C．Unknown Hero Spreads Love in Envelopes

　　D．Robin Hood Returns to the City

　　【要点综述】本文是一篇记叙文。介绍了城市英雄以匿名信封的形式在经济上帮助需要帮助的人。

　　. C　推理判断题。从第一段“But the donator who started sending envelopes with cash to deserving causes, accompanied by an article from the local paper”和第二段“with a cutting from the Braunschweiger Zeitung”可推出Braunschweiger Zeitung是当地一家报纸。

　　. D　细节理解题。从倒数第二段Tom的妈妈所说的话可知答案。

　　. B　推理判断题。从最后一段“he has told his reporters not to look for the city’s hero, for fear that discovery may stop the donations.”可知捐赠还会继续。

　　. C　主旨大意题。本文介绍了城市英雄以匿名信封的形式在经济上帮助需要帮助的人。