2016届安徽省高考英语专题落实应用复习：史地自然型阅读理解1

　　[史地自然型阅读理解(一)]

　　(限时：25分钟)A

　　The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place.Now it is an ecological disaster area.Nauru's heartbreaking story could have one good consequence—other countries might learn from its mistakes.

　　For thousands of years，Polynesian people lived in the remote island of Nauru，far from Western civilization.The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798.He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship.He called the island Pleasant Island.because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first.The whaling ships and other traders began to visit it，bringing guns and alcohol.These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island.A ten­year civil war started，which reduced the population from 1，400 to 900.(磷酸盐)on the island.In fact，it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate，which was a very important fertilizer for farming.The company began mining the phosphate.；it is a strip mine.When a company discovers strip mining，it removes the top layer of soil.Then it takes away the material it wants.Strip mining totally destroys the land.Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.，Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world.Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars.In addition，they used millions more dollars for personal expenses.Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem—their phosphate was running out.Ninety per cent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing.By 2000，Nauru was financially ruined.Experts say that it would take approximately$433，600，000 and more than 20 years to repair the island.This will probably never happen.To seek help for Nauru's problems.

　　B．To give a warning to other countries.

　　C．To show the importance of money.

　　D．To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.

　　2. What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?

　　A．Rich and powerful.

　　B．Modern and open.

　　C．Peaceful and attractive.

　　D．Greedy and aggressive.

　　3. The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from________．soil pollution

　　B．phosphate overmining

　　C．farming activity

　　D．whale hunting

　　4. Which of the following was a cause of Nauru's financial problem?

　　A．Its leaders misused the money.

　　B．It spent too much repairing the island.

　　C．Its phosphate mining cost much money.

　　D．It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.

　　5. What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?

　　A．The ecological damage is difficult to repair.

　　B．The leaders will take the experts' words seriously.

　　C．The island was abandoned by the Nauruans.

　　D．The phosphate mines were destroyed.

　　B

　　That the Leaning Tower of Pisa no longer leans quite so much after a ￡20 million project to save it has proved to be a great success. The tower, which was on the edge of collapse, has been straightened by 18 inches, returning it to its 1838 position.

　　but very little helps，”said Prof.

　　John Burland, the only British member of the rescue committee.

　　“The tower is still very slightly moving towards being upright.

　　”which has been leaning almost since building work first began in 1173, was closed to the public in 1990 because of safety fears.

　　The 183­foot tower was nearly 15 feet off vertical and its structure was found to have been weakened by centuries of strain(作用力).

　　urland said it could have collapsed “at any moment”.

　　However, it took nine years of quarrelling before any work was done.

　　The last attempt at straightening the tower was carried out.

　　Concrete(混凝土) was poured into the foundations, but the result was that the tower sank further into the soil.

　　The straightening work involved digging out around 70 tonnes of earth from the northern side of the tower, causing it to sink on that side.

　　Before the digging started, the tower was fixed with steel ropes and 600 tonnes of lead weights.

　　However, halfway through the project, concerns at the ugliness of the weights led to their removal and the tower leaned greatly.

　　The weights were hurriedly reattached. One night, the tower moved more than it had averaged in an entire year.

　　The tower's stonework has also been restored.

　　The Italian government stepped in after a tower collapsed in Pavia in 1989, killing four people.

　　Experts suddenly realized that the tower at Pisa, which was similarly built and on the same sort of earth, could do the same.

　　1.

　　What would be the best title for the passage?

　　A．The building of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

　　B．Saving the Leaning Tower of Pisa

　　C．The collapse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

　　D．The history of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

　　2.

　　According to the passage, the Leaning Tower of Pisa ________．closed for the straightening work in 1990

　　B．began to lean more than 800 years ago

　　C．has a history of more than 1, 000 years

　　D．has become vertical

　　3.

　　What drove the Italian government to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

　　A．The development of new technology.

　　B．The advice of Prof.

　　John Burland.

　　C．The expectation of the rescue committee.

　　D．The collapse of a tower in Pavia.

　　4.

　　What most probably played the most important part in straightening the tower?

　　A．The lead weights fixed to the tower.

　　B．Restoring the stonework.

　　C．Pouring concrete into the foundations.

　　D．Digging earth from the southern side of the tower.

　　5.

　　Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A．The position of the tower has been restored to what it was 172 years ago.

　　B．Hundreds of years of strain has weakened the tower's structure.

　　C．The tower doesn't lean any more after the straightening work finished.

　　D．People spent nine years in discussing about the straightening work.

　　C

　　Today, one can trace Venice's rich past from its buildings. Most cities can claim at least a handful of outstanding churches, palaces or houses of historical interest, but in Venice very nearly everything is remarkable, from the magnificent Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square ) and the palaces that line the Grand Canal to the centuries­old homes of simple fishermen. It would be easy to say that the city itself is an enormous museum if it were not for the fact it is so obviously alive.

　　At first sight, Venice looks unbelievably permanent, an apparently complete Renaissance (文艺复兴) city so untouched by time that there seems no reason why it should not go on forever. Now the city is slowly sinking, as the clay on which it is built loses its elasticity (弹性) and the massive wooden piles rot (腐烂) away. Flooding, such a rare occurrence a hundred years ago now happens several times each winter.and the fabric of the ancient buildings is now being further damaged by pollution from the mainland town as well as by the wash produced by the constantly increasing number of motor boats that speed up and down the canals.

　　A further threat to Venice comes from the Venetians themselves, some of whom are not particularly interested in preserving the city as one of the wonders of the world and would prefer to see it modernized.

　　“What better place is there for the meeting of dear friends? See how it glows with the advancing summer; how the sky and the sea and the rosy air and the marble of the palaces all glimmer and melt together.” Thus wrote the famous author Henry James, of Venice, which provided the setting for his story The Aspern Papers, in the nineteenth century. The Splendor of Venice has captured the imagination of artists for centuries—and not just of the great painters and novelists. How tragic now that she is faced with the double threat of man and nature. Venice indeed will be lucky to survive.

　　1．Venice proudly boasts

　　________．its beautiful churches, palaces and houses

　　B．its unique St. Mark's Square and the Grand Canal

　　C．its picturesque waterscape

　　D．its marvelous ancient buildings

　　2．The writer thinks that

　　________．Venice can be regarded as a big museum

　　B．Venice is no longer a big museum

　　C．Venice is different from a big museum

　　D．Venice can never be a big museum because of its modernization

　　3．How do the motor boats endanger the buildings?

　　A．They produce violent movements of water.

　　B．They pollute the air.

　　C．They pollute the water.

　　D．They produce too much noise.

　　4．From the fourth paragraph, we know that

　　________．Venetians are eager to modernize their city

　　B．Venetians value the Grand Canal

　　C．Venetians don't care about any threat to the Grand Canal

　　D．the threat of man is greater than the threat of nature

　　5．In the last paragraph, the writer

　　________．is very confident that Venice will survive

　　B．is doubtful whether Venice will survive

　　C．thinks that Venice will have luck

　　D．is afraid that Venice will no longer attract artists and novelists

　　专题限时训练(十八)A

　　【要点综述】 文章主要讲述了太平洋岛国瑙鲁如何从一个环境优美的天堂岛变成一个生态失衡、满目疮痍的小岛。　由文章第一段的“Now it is an ecological disaster area.Nauru's heartbreaking story could have one good consequence—other countries might learn from its mistakes.”可以看出，作者的目的是给当前很多只注重发展经济而忽略环境保护的国家一个警告。故选B项。　从第一段提到的“太平洋上的国家瑙鲁岛曾经是一个美丽的地方”看出，瑙鲁岛很吸引人；由第二段第一句以及第三段第一句可知，上千年来，瑙鲁岛的人们生活在偏远的小岛上，过着平静的生活。故选C项。　最后一段的“Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem－their phosphate was running out.Ninety per cent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing.”即“磷酸盐逐渐减少，开采殆尽”。由此可以看出，“磷酸盐的过量开采”导致了瑙鲁岛的生态灾难。故选B项。　由最后一段的“Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars.In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses.”看出，是领导人不正确地使用资金导致了财政问题。故选A项。　文章最后告诉我们：Experts say that it would take approximately $433，600，000 and more than 20 years to repair the island.也就是说，瑙鲁岛上的生态损失弥补起来需要大量的资金和时间，即选项所说的“修复起来很难”。故选A项。【要点综述】 本文主要讲述了比萨斜塔的倾斜历史及政府为此做出的努力。　文章第一段就提到“…has proved to be a great success.”，并且下文也是围绕拯救比萨斜塔进行阐述的。　第三段第一句提到比萨斜塔自1173年建立(至今已有800多年的历史)时就开始倾斜。D　文章最后一段提到“The Italian government stepped in after a tower collapsed in Pavia in 1989…”，说明正是另一个地方的塔的倒塌才使政府意识到拯救比萨斜塔的迫切性，故答案为D。　文章第六段提到把lead weights移走后，导致塔lead weights所起的作用。　从第一段第一句“…no longer leans quite so much…”可知C项与文章内容不符。从第一段最后一句“塔被扶正18英寸后，恢复到了它1838年时的位置”，即172年前的样子，可推知A项符合文章内容；从第三段最后一句可知B项符合文章内容；从第四段第二句可知D项符合文章内容。【要点综述】 本文为说明文，主要介绍威尼斯引以为豪的古建筑正承受着来自人类与大自然的双重威胁。　推理判断题。根据第一段“…but in Venice very nearly everything is remarkable, from the magnificent Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square ) and the palaces that line the Grand Canal to the centuries­old homes of simple fishermen.”可判断威尼斯以它杰出的古建筑而闻名，故选D。A　细节理解题。根据第一段“It would be easy to say that the city itself is an enormous museum if it were not for the fact it is so obviously alive.”可推断作者认为威尼斯是巨大的博物馆，故选A。　细节理解题。根据第三段“the wash produced by the constantly increasing number of motor boats that speed up and down the canals.”可判断选A。　细节理解题。根据第四段“A further threat to Venice comes from the Venetians themselves…”可知人为因素比自然因素对威尼斯造成的损坏更大，故选D。　推理判断题。根据最后一段“How tragic now that she is faced with the double threat of man and nature. Venice indeed will be lucky to survive.”可知威尼斯面临着来自人类和自然的双重威胁，要想幸存下去将也是一件碰运气的事，即可推断作者对威尼斯的未来持怀疑态度，故选B。