山西省2017高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解（3）

　　山西省2017高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解（3）

　　阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

　　A

　　My grandmother's eightieth birthday was approaching and I was at a loss as to what to give her. She had recently moved into a nursing home and didn't have room for extra "stuff". She insisted that she didn't need a thing.

　　Finally, I came up with an idea. In her birthday card, I sent her a gift certificate for "A letter a week for the next year!" It was a big promise. I've never been much of a letter writer, but now I was living far from home, and should be able to find plenty of news. Growing up just a mile from my grandparents, we'd always been close. I knew that she'd love to hear what was going on in my life.

　　The letter gift certificate was a huge hit. She got fifty-two letters that first year. As her next birthday rolled around, she asked for another letter gift certificate for her birthday. In fact, that's also what she wanted for her next eight birthdays.

　　For nine and a half years I wrote her. She was rarely able to write back. So much happened in those nine years! At first I wrote about the cold Michigan winters. Then I wrote about my pregnancy! During the kids' preschool years I shared every funny thing they did and said, and as they grew they started adding "picture letters" to the envelope. I sent postcard letters from vacations.

　　I flew home annually to visit and soon realized that the entire nursing home staff knew all the details of my life, as more and more often they were reading the letters to her.

　　My last letter arrived the day after her death. I've always wanted relationships with no regrets. None of that "I wish I had told her I loved her" for me! I felt I had given her the best gift I could.

　　Months later, while going through her things, my dad found a box. It was filled with letters from me. Those letters are a journal of my life. Some were unremarkable. Others were filled with moments and pictures I had completely forgotten. In some ways it seems I missed those years due to motherly exhaustion. She saved those memories for me in my letters.

　　Life really does fly by. Loved ones come and go. But sometimes our gifts to others come back to us in unexpected ways. This is one of those times.

　　1. From the second paragraph we can infer that the author _______.

　　A. usually didn’t write letters a lot

　　B. was afraid of writing a letter

　　C. often found no words to write

　　D. promised to write each birthday

　　2. The underlined phrase “a huge hit” may mean _______.

　　A. a big surprise

　　B. a big success

　　C. a big wonder

　　D. a big regret

　　3. How did the author feel after her grandmother died?

　　A. sad

　　B. relaxed

　　C. pitiful

　　D. unregretful

　　4. By writing the story, the author meant to _______.

　　A. thank her grandma for saving memories for her

　　B. expect people to write more to the elderly

　　C. prove the importance of writing letters

　　D. show her grandma’s love to her

　　B

　　Authorities in India warn that the world-famous Taj Mahal desperately needs repairs. Some say that this architectural landmark could eventually collapse unless efforts are made to protect and preserve it.

　　The Taj Mahal, completed in 1648, was built in Agra, India, on the edge of the Yamuna River. The wooden foundation that holds up the building stays strong because of the moist environment around the river. If the river were to dry out, the wooden foundation could crack and fall apart. Over the past decade, the Yamuna has been shrinking, especially during the summer months. This is partly because of overuse of the river water by residents and businesses.

　　Some officials have said the building may collapse in as little as five years. Other experts disagree and question whether the building really faces any danger. Certain politicians and historians, however, are pushing the government to begin preservation efforts, or work to repair and take care of the monument. This is not the first time the Taj Mahal has been threatened. In 1996, officials thought air pollution was turning the building yellow. The Indian government ordered nearby factories to stop burning coal or leave the area.

　　Shah Jahan, a former emperor of India, began building the Taj Mahal in 1631. He had it built in honor of his deceased wife, Mumtaz Mahl, who was buried inside the Taj Mahal with Jahan. Many architects say the building is a masterpiece of symmetry. Symmetry is a visual technique where the right side of an object looks the same as the left side of the object.

　　The Taj Mahal has been named one of the Seven Wonders of the World, a list of amazing human-made landmarks. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) lists the Taj Mahal as a World Heritage Site and helps preserve the famous structure. Because of the building’s importance in Indian culture, Minister of Parliament Ramshankar Katheria has taken the case to both the Prime Minister and President of India. Katheria has said, “I am demanding a high-level inquiry to analyze the severe threat posed to the wooden structures in the foundation of the Taj.”

　　5. According to the first paragraph, it is suggested that ___________.

　　People like the Taj Mahal worldwide.

　　Some repair work has ever been done with the Taj Mahal.

　　The Taj Mahal is in danger.

　　The Taj Mahal will be rebuilt

　　6. Which of the following is TRUE of the Taj Mahal according to the text?

　　It was built over the Yamuna River.

　　It almost fell down due to the air pollution there.

　　Its left and right sides look almost the same.

　　It is well managed by the UNESCO.

　　7. What would be the best title of the text?

　　The Taj Mahal, the symbol of Indian culture

　　The Taj Mahal, a great wonder

　　Mumtaz Mahal and the Taj Mahal

　　Trouble at the Taj Mahal

　　C

　　Youtube and Lenovo, the computer manufacturer, announced on Monday a science contest called SpaceLab for students around the world aged 14 to 18, and it is not quite like any other science contest. For one, the students do not actually have to perform any experiments. Instead, they will make videos to express ideas for experiments that could be conducted in the zero-gravity environments of the space station.

　　The two winning entries(参赛作品) will be built and flown there, and astronauts will conduct a demonstration that will be broadcast to classroom via YouTube.

　　These will not be the first student experiments to get to the space station. Students at 12 school districts around the country are currently writing proposals for experiments to fly there next spring, part of a program run by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education(NCESSE) in Capitol Heights, Maryland. “It’s changing the way kids are looking at science,” said Jeff Goldstein, the center’s director. Earlier this year, 27 student experiments, out of 1,027 proposals, flew on two space shuttle flights.

　　For the YouTube contest, NASA has signed an agreement with Space Adventures, a company in Vienna, Virginia, which is best known for arranging trips by space tourists to the space station. Space Adventures will act as a middleman to prepare the winning experiments for flight.

　　Restrictions for experiment proposals include no dangerous animals, no explosions and nothing sharp. Entries will be selected and the finalists(参加决赛的选手) will be distributed among three geographical regions. For each region, there will be 10 finalists in the 14-16-year-old category and 10 in the 17-18-year-old category.

　　A popular vote among YouTube visitors will provide a quarter of the final score. Also judging the finalists will be a group of experts including Stephen W. Hawking.

　　8. Which of the following is true of Space Lab?

　　A. Two winners will be sent to the space station.

　　B. Astronauts will do the chosen experiments.

　　C. All students can enter the contest.

　　D. NCESSE will manage the contest.

　　9. Paragraph 3 mainly tell us ______.

　　A. that flying to space is many kids’ dream

　　B. why Goldstein launched a program

　　C. that there are other projects similar to Space Lab

　　D. that only a few students’ experiments can be chosen

　　10. How many participants will enter the finals?

　　A. 10

　　B. 20

　　C. 40

　　D. 60

　　11. It can be inferred from the text that ______.

　　A. Hawking will present the prizes personally

　　B. any experiment idea is welcome without limitation

　　C. YouTube visitors determine the result of the contest to some degree

　　D. YouTube will invite scientists to help the participants

　　D

　　Lately, I am often asked about my favorite current TV show. The questioner is shocked to hear I rarely watch TV. Whether it is an at-home date night or some good time alone, I can always find something fun to do without the noise and distraction of a TV show. That’s not to say there aren’t times when I do turn to DVD’s or the Internet to watch shows. It’s just that there are so many things to do.

　　There are many games that are grown-up enough to hold my interest. Another activity that kills time is putting to use the building block sets I still have from my childhood. It’s very satisfying to achieve a feat of engineering by the end of an evening. It’s likewise great fun to create playful artwork by bedtime while avoiding overstimulation from electronic devices.

　　Nothing sucks up creativity like an entire evening spent watching TV. So, whether I’m in the mood to paint, play my flute, or make something out of clay, I make time to do it. I always hear people complain there isn’t enough time to do what they want, but some are the same people who are shocked that I rarely watch TV. Considering their complaints, it is ironic that on June 22, 2011 the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the results of the American Time Use Survey and stated “Watching TV was the leisure activity occupying the most time (2.7hours per day), accounting for about half of leisure tine on average, for those aged 15 and over”.

　　Sometimes I just come home to find stillness and release the tensions of the day. I

　　turn on neither TV nor the computer, but opt for yoga, a hot bath, a good book, or an early bedtime. Though it might seem extravagant(奢侈的) to go to bed around 9:00p.m., it can really make a difference. Especially when something is bothering me, the distraction of TV only complicates my thoughts, and I can better cope with the world if I just relax.

　　My evenings of rare TV are enjoyable. It’s these evenings of play, creativity and

　　relaxation that make a better-rounded lifestyle.

　　12. The text mainly talks about ________.

　　the author’s hobbies

　　some disadvantages of watching TV

　　some healthy lifestyle

　　the author’s evenings of rare TV

　　13. Some people can’t find enough time to do what they want because________.

　　A. watching TV occupies too much of their time

　　B. they spend too much time complaining

　　C. they just don’t bother to find the time

　　D. they are too busy to spare time

　　14. We can conclude from the text that ______.

　　A. the author is only interested in adult games

　　B. the author won’t play the flute when he doesn’t have time

　　C. going to bed before 9:00 p.m. makes a person better deal with the world

　　D. the author rarely watches TV and also doesn’t watch shows on the Internet

　　15. According to the text, watching too much TV can lead to the following EXCEPT

　　_______.

　　A. distraction

　　B. sleepiness

　　C. less creativity

　　D. over-stimulation