专练十五 阅读理解(3)

A

After an absence of thirty years， I decided to visit my old school again. I had expected to find changes， but not a completely different building. As I walked up the school drive， I wondered for a moment if I had come to the right address. The grimy（沾满污垢的）， redbrick fortress with its tall windows that had looked down grimly on the playground and playing fields had been swept away. In its place stood a bright， modern block raised from the ground on great concrete bases. A huge expanse of glass extended across the face of the building； and in front， there was a well-kept lawn where previously there had been an untidy gravel yard.

I was pleased to find that it was break-time and that the children were all in the playground. This would enable me to meet some members of staff. On entering the building， I was surprised to hear loud laughter coming from what appeared to be the masters’ common room. I could not help remembering the teachers in my time， all dressed in black gowns and high collars. And above all， I recalled Mr Gaston （whom we had nick-named “Mr Ghastly”）， the headmaster， who had been very strict with staff and pupils alike. I knocked at the common room door and was welcomed by a smiling young man who introduced himself to me as the headmaster. He was dressed casually in a sports jacket， and his cheerful manner quickly dispelled the image of “Mr Ghastly”. After I had explained who I was， the headmaster presented me to the teachers （all of whom were only a little younger than himself）， and said he would take me round the school.

Here the biggest surprise of all was in store for me. Gone were the heavy old desks with their deeply-carved initials （首字母）； gone， too， were the gloomy classrooms with their ink-stained， dark-brown walls， and their raised platforms for the teachers. The rooms now were painted in contrasting colors， and the children， far from sitting rigidly in their places， seemed almost free to do as they liked. I looked at them with envy as I remembered how， as a child， I had gazed at the blackboard， rarely daring to whisper to my neighbor.

1. The writer said that he wondered if he had come to the right address because .

A. he simply lost his way

B. the school was completely changed

C. he didn’t recognize it at first sight

D. the school stayed the same

2. How did the writer find the present headmaster？

A. He behaved much like the former headmaster.

B. He had a cheerful and easy-going character.

C. He thought little of him.

D. He laughed at the top of his voice.

3. The underlined word “dispelled” in the second paragraph probably means .

A. drove away B. called up

C. cooled down D. set up

4. The last sentence of the text implies that .

A. how happy the students are nowadays

B. the writes hated the atmosphere of the school

C. the writer wished to return to school very much

D. the teachers should be more strict with their students

B

Christmas is generally considered to be a time for children. We’ve sorted through Santa’s workshop to find these presents most likely to satisfy children and， more importantly， their parents.

Star Wars Millennium Falcon ￡149.95

This is a gift that， if we’re being honest， many dads will want to own for themselves. The huge ship is the biggest Star Wars toy. It fires missiles， it lights up and it makes noises. Every boy will absolutely adore this， if they have the room for it.

Biscuit the loving pup ￡119.95

President Obama’s greatest problem right now seems to be choosing the ideal dog to live with his family in the White House. He clearly knows that a pet can be a great thing to a child’s development. This robot playmate Biscuit is good choice.

JVC KD-10 Headphone pup ￡22.00

It’s increasingly common for kids to enjoy themselves on long journeys with a DVD player or an iPod， but the headphones that come with expensive electronics are seldom suitable for young ears. These headphones are perfect for younger people.

Holz wooden airport ￡52.95

It might sensibly be said that Britain doesn’t need another airport. But when it’s a traditional wooden toy one like this， even the most eco-conscious of us would agree that it’s a good thing. This play-set is so sturdy that it could easily entertain several generations of young air traffic controllers if treated with a little care.

5. What do we know about Biscuit？

A. Obama’s family has one.

B. It is the ideal robot to live with a family.

C. It is the name of a robot dog.

D. It lives in the White House now.

6. If a father wants to buy a Holz for his daughter and a Millennium Falcon for his son， how much will he pay？

A. ￡202.9. B. ￡171.95.

C. ￡269.9. D. ￡172.9.

7. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage？

A. Only kids are interested in the Millenium Falcon.

B. Obama does not have any pets himself.

C. The headphones do not cost much and are safe for children.

D. The wooden airport is a small model of London airport.

8. The underlined word “sturdy” can be replaced by “ ”.

A. new B. beautiful

C. complex D. strong

C

A rural French village might not be the first place students would think of visiting to improve their English language skills， but 17-year-old Mathilde Berthelot is doing just that.

Berthelot will spend three days speaking the language of Shakespeare at the home of a retired English couple John and Nicky Bolton.

“We don’t do very much spoken English at school， so this visit really allows me to practice my conversation. With few long holidays， I wouldn’t have been able to go to a family in England，” she said. “If you only have a long weekend， it’s not a bad choice.”

Mathilde is the Bolton’s third paying language student and the couple， who retired to France three years ago， say they are more than happy to welcome French people eager to improve their spoken English.

“It’s been very good for both sides，” said John Bolton. “I think it can be easier for the students because for a start they don’t have to make the long journey to the UK，” said Nicky Bolton. “I think John and I probably eat more English food when the students are here than we do normally.”

The English language immersion（浸入） courses in western France are the brainchild of Christine Predery， who has set up a not-for-profit organization called “Bringing People Together” to help French Anglophiles（亲英者） get in touch with English families.

Since setting up the organization in April 2009， she has helped to organize around 100 exchange visits， many of which have led to lasting friendships between the families involved. They’ve gone out to eat restaurants together or invited each other to stay for a weekend. There can be real and lasting contacts established after one of these visits.

“The families often say that the students have already been on an exchange visit to England and that the main problem is that they go in a group. So， yes， they have English lessons in the morning and yes， they stay with an English family at night， but the rest of the time they tend to stick together and speak French to each other， so there is no real English immersion，” she said.

9. Which of the following is TURE according to the passage？

A. A French village might be the best place for students to improve their communicative ability.

B. Berthelot wants to learn Shakespeare’s plays from the retired English couple.

C. Three French people have improved their spoken English with the retired English couple.

D. French people usually have long weekend away in Britain for language practice.

10. We can learn from the fifth paragraph that .

A. the language practice benefits the Boltons because they can try more English dishes.

B. during weekdays the Boltons usually have more French dished at home

C. quite a few people in France speak English and have English dishes

D. the Boltons have more English-dishes to create a better atmosphere for language pratice

11. The underlined word “brainchild” in the sixth paragraph probably means “ ”

A. invention B. gift

C. approach D. experience

12. Which of the following is one of the greatest advantages of the organization “Bring People Together”？

A. Lasting friendships

B. Eating restaurants together

C. Inviting each other to stay for a weekend

D. 100 exchange visits

D

Depression and sadness are good for us， according to the scientists.

Researchers led by Professor Jerome Wakefield of New York University have come to the conclusion that sadness can leave people stronger and better able to deal with life’s problems and challenges.

Today going to the doctors’ or taking pills to kill the pain we suffer is considered to be the first step in dealing with stress， depression and lack of sleep. Professor Wakefield wrote about what medication does to human body in his book The Loss of Sadness， “We are now wondering whether to take medication or not， some of which can have serious side effects. If people deal with the depression and stress without drugs， it would mean that they learn how to control and deal with their emotions， a thing that becomes almost impossible once being on drugs. If medication and drugs are being used as a means of protection from depression， people might stay in a state of stress.”

There are many different reasons causing stress and depression， such as the death of people close to us， relationship break-ups， losing a job and so on. It’s said that one in four people will suffer from depression at some point during their lives， and 5 percent of the population is living with it now.

People who are depressed have low energy levels， and get angry easily. depression is usually associated with dark words， “I am not good enough，”“What is the use of trying，” ... These negative self-talk penetrates gradually in the brain of a person， and eventually lead to depression.

People have been victims of depression for thousands of years and the condition has partly survived because it is beneficial to us in the long-term. There is also the opinion that creativity can be connected to dark moods. Many， many great artists， writers and musicians have suffered from depression. It has never been a secret that historical figures， such as Abraham Lincoln， Sir Isaac Newton，Vincent van Gogh also suffered from some sorts of depression. So to some extent， people with signs of depression performed much better at creative tasks. The researchers suggest that such negative feedback makes people think of the unhappy experience. This bad experience， in its turn， allows creative processes to come first， and makes depressed people work much harder.

A growing number of experts now give their warning against doctors and drug companies who encourage people to take medication in order to handle depression. Sadness， they say， serves an evolutionary purpose， “Depression can lead to great achievements， for people learn from their mistakes and better appreciate what they want from life.”

13. From Professor Wakefield’s book The Loss of Sadness，we can learn that .

A. stress is mainly caused by the lack of sleep

B. he is in favor of taking medication to kill the pain

C. avoiding drugs can help people deal with stress on their own

D. it is mainly about how to deal with the depression and stress

14. According to the passage， if a person is suffering from depression， he .

①has low energy levels

②may get angry more easily

③is more likely to lose his job

④speaks negatively

A. ①②④ B. ①②③

C. ①③④ D. ②③④

15. Why is Vincent van Gogh mentioned in the passage？

A. To prove great artists are more likely to suffer from depression.

B. To prove depressed people should work much harder to succeed.

C. To prove negative self-talk will lead to depression.

D. To prove that dark moods of people may lead to creativity.

16. What can we learn from the passage？

A. Medicine may not be the best way to treat depression.

B. Most doctors discourage people to use medication to handle depression.

C. Depression will one day fail to affect humans eventually according to the research.

D. Everyone will suffer from depression at least once in their lives.

E

Over the long term， driving a car increases global temperatures more than making the same long-distance journey by air， according to a new study. However， in the short run， traveling by air has a larger bad climate impact because airplanes strongly affect short-lived warming processes at high altitudes.

The study， published in the journal， Environmental Science & Technology by a team of researchers from Austria and Norway， compares the effects on global warming of different means of transport. The researchers use， for the first time， a set of climate chemistry models to consider the climate effects of all long-and short-lived gases， and cloud effects， not just carbon dioxide （二氧化碳）， resulting from transport worldwide.

In the long run， the global temperature increase from a car trip will on average be higher than from a plane journey of the same distance. However， in the first years after the journey， air travel increases global temperatures four times more than car travel. Passenger trains and buses have four to five times less effect than car travel for every kilometer a passenger travels. The findings reduce the scientific uncertainties in understanding the earth’s climate system.

The research also showed that when it comes to sea transport， moving goods by plane will increase global temperatures between 7 and 35 times more than moving the same goods the same distance in an average truck. Shipping， on the contour， produces 25 times less warming in the long run， and even cools on shorter time scales.

“Ships contribute to global warming through carbon dioxide， ozone and soot （煤烟）. Currently they are reported to also give off relatively large amounts of sulfur dioxide. Those can cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation back into space，” says co-author， Dr.Jan Fuglestvedt， from CICERO. “In the first decades after a shipment， the cooling effect is bigger than the warming effect. However， in the long term， they also add to global warming.”

The study concluded that as climate changes over various time scales， it is important to have policies to reduce both the air pollutants that have strong， short-term impacts and the long-lived gases that lead to long-term warming. In addition， Dr. Borken-Kleefeld argues， “The best strategy to solve climate change caused by transport is actually to reduce transport as much as possible.”

17. Which is the correct order for the transport that increases global temperatures， from the lowest to the highest over the short term？

A. Train travel car travel air travel.

B. Air travel car travel train travel.

C. Car travel air travel train travel.

D. Air travel train travel car travel.

18. All of the following increase the effect of global warming， EXCEPT .

A. carbon dioxide B. ozone

C. soot D. sulfur dioxide

19. What can we learn from the study？

A. Shipping has the least impact on global warming.

B. Some measures have been taken to reduce transport.

C. A set of climate chemistry models has been used in the study.

D. The cooling effect of sea travel is bigger than the warming effect in the long run.

20. What is the main idea of the passage？

A. How can we reduce the global temperature？

B. The impact of transportation on climate change.

C. The cooling effect of transport has been found.

D. What transport should we choose to protect the environment？