山西省太原双语中学2012届高考英语-专题阅读理解强化训练集(二十五).doc

山西省太原双语中学2012届高考英语专题精选阅读理解强化训练集（二十五）
阅读理解
A
One August afternoon, Richard Allen dropped off his last passenger, Mrs. Carey. Lifting two grocery bags, he followed her across the yard and stood on the step of her house. Glancing up, he saw a large wasp（黄蜂）nest under the roof. Allen had heard that wasps can become more likely to sting（蜇）in summer. He mentioned this to Mrs. Carey, who had opened the door.
　　“Oh, they don’t bother me,” she said lightly, “I go in and out all the time.”
　　Anxiously, Allen looked at the nest again－to see the wasps flying straight at him. “Hurry!” he shouted to Mrs. Carey. “Get in!” ks5u
　　She stepped quickly inside, Allen ran for his mini-bus. Too late; they were upon him. Just as he jumped aboard, half a dozen red spots showed on his arm, and he felt more on his back and shoulders.
　　As he was driving down the road, Allen felt as if something was burning at the back of his neck, and the “fire” was spreading forward toward his face. An immediate anxiety took hold of him. Allen knew that stings could cause some persons to die. But he had been stung the previous summer and the after-effects soon passed. However, what he didn’t know was that the first sting had turned his body into a time bomb waiting for the next to set off an explosion.
　　Miles from the nearest medical assistance, Allen began to feel his tongue thick and heavy and his heartbeat louder. Most frightening, he felt his breathing more and more difficult. He reached for the radio mike（话筒）, trying to call the mini-bus center, but his words were hardly understandable. Signals were also poor that far out. He knew a rescue team was on 24-hour duty at the Amherst Fire Department’s north station. So his best chance was to make a run for it.
　　Rushing down the mountain, Allen tried not to panic, focusing his mind on each sharp turn. He was almost through the last of them when he felt sure he was going into shock（休克）. Just then he reached for the radio mike again.
　　“Call fire station,” he shouted, concentrating to form the words. “Emergency. Bee sting. Emergency. There in ten minutes.”
　　“Five-ten,” the center replied.
　　Hold on, Allen thought. Keep your eyes open. Breathe. Keep awake.
　　At last he reached the station. Two firemen ran out. Allen felt their hands grasp him before he hit the ground. You made it, he thought.
1. It is mentioned in the passage that wasps are more likely to attack when___ ．
A．there are huge noises B．strangers are approaching
C．the air is filled with food smell D．the hottest season comes around
2. Allen didn’t know that if stung by wasps again, he would___ ．
A．have no after-effects B．suffer from sharper pain
C．surely lose his life D．become more sensitive
3. Allen failed at his first attempt to send his message to the mini-bus center because ____．
A．he was unable to speak clearly B．his radio equipment was poor
C．he was in a state of shock D．no one was on duty
4. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A．Allen, A Helpless Driver B．Wasps, Bloody Killers
C．A Race Against Death D．War Against Wasps
B
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   A. you can use it to guarantee things as you wish
   B. you can draw your money from cash machines conveniently
   C. you can spend as much money as you like without a limit
   D. you have to pay some extra money when you pay for services in the UK
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   A. ￡4         B. ￡4.5        C. ￡5.25            D. ￡5.3
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C. You can use the card in any shop across the world.
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   A. play your cards right          B. use your cards abroad
   C. draw cash with your cards      D. pay for goods with your cards
C
The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen's Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.
Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany's University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.
He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don't notice from year to year.”
“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”
The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch. (传统火鸡午餐).
The results were published in the Journal of Phonetics.
9. The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ______.
A. she has been Queen for many years
B. she has a less upper-class accent now
C. her speeches are familiar to many people
D. her speeches have been recorded for 50 years
10. Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?
     A. “Duaty”.   B. “Citee”.      C. “Hame”.       D. “Lorst”.
11. What is the text mainly about?
  A. The relationship between accents and social classes.
  B. The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV.
    C. The changes in a person’s accent.
D. The recent development of the English language.
D
Harvard University named historian Drew Gilpin Faust as its first female president on Sunday, ending a lengthy and secretive search to find a successor to Lawrence Summers .
The seven-member Harvard Corporation elected Faust, a noted scholar on History of the American South and dean of Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, as the university’s 28th president.
“This is a great day, and a historic day, for Harvard,” James R. Houghton, chairman of the presidential search committee, said in a statement. “Drew Faust is an inspiring and accomplished leader, a superb scholar, a dedicated teacher, and a wonderful human being.”
Her selection is noteworthy given the heated debates over Summers’ comments that genetic differences between the sexes might help explain the lack of women in top science jobs.
Faust has been dean of Radcliffe since 2001, two years after the former women’s college was combined into the university as a research center with a mission to study gender issues.
Some professors have quietly groused that the 371-year-old university is appointing a fifth president who is not a scientist. No scientist has had the top job since James Bryant Conant retired in 1953; its last four have come from the fields of classics, law, literature and economics.
Faust is the first Harvard president who did not receive a degree from the university since Charles Chauncy, a graduate of Cambridge University, who died in office in 1762. She attended the University of Pennsylvania.
“Teaching staff turned to her constantly,” said Sheldon Hackney, a former president of the University of Pennsylvania and historian who worked closely with Faust. “She’s very clear. She has a sense of humor, but she’s very strong-minded. You come to trust in her because she’s so solid.”
12. Which might be the best title for the passage?
A. Harvard named its first female president.
B. History of Harvard University changed.
C. Debates on female equality ended.
D. Drew Gilpin Faust, a famous woman historian.
13. Which is NOT true about Drew Gilpin Faust?
A. She is the 28th president of Harvard University.
B. She is a famous scholar from the American South.
C. She isn’t a graduate from Harvard University.
D. She was head of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
14. The underlined word “groused” in the 6th paragraph means____ .
A. approved B. commented C. complained D. indicated
15. This passage probably appears in a____ .
A. biography B. personal letter C. research paper D. newspaper report

E
Federal regulators Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergency alert (警报) system using text messages delivered to cell phones.
Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people. The wireless industry’s trade association, CTIA, estimates（估计） more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month.
The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires improvement to the nation’s emergency alert system. The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.
“The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.
Participation in the alert system by carriers–telecommunications companies—is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry.
The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.
There would be three different types of messages, according to the rules.
The first would be a national alert from the president, likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The second would involve “approaching threats,” which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction (绑架) emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts.
The service could be in place by 2010.
16. What is the purpose of the approved plan?
A. To warn people of emergencies via messages.
B. To popularize the use of cell phones.
C. To estimate the monthly number of messages.
D. To promote the wireless industry.
17. The improvement to the present system is in the charge of ____.
A. CTIA     B. the Warning Alert and Response Network
C. FCC      D. federal regulators
18. The carriers’ participation in the system is determined by _____.
A. the US federal government B. mobile phone users
C. the carriers themselves D. the law of the United States
19. Which of the following is true of cell phone users?
A. They must accept the alert service.
B. They may enjoy the alert service for free.
C. They must send the alerts to others
D. They may choose the types of messages
20. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Cell Phone Alerts Protecting Students B. Cell Phone Alerts by Wireless Industry
C. Cell Phone Alerts of National Disasters D. Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soon

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