高考英语阅读冲刺

高一年英语阅读理解练习 （一） A Early one morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle. Though he was tired, Howe slept badly. He turned and turned. Then he had a dream. He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle. The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something. There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle. This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practised sewing machine. Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist Albert Einstein. Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre. To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious(无意识的), but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day. It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed. It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. However, the unconscious part acts in a special way. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves”. 1..According to the passage, Elias Howe was________. A. the first person we know of who solved problems in his sleep B. much more hard-working than other inventors C. the first person to design a sewing machine that really worked D. the only person at the time who knew the value of dreams 2.The problem Howe was trying to solve was________. A. what kind of thread to use B. how to design a needle which would not break C. where to put the needle D. how to prevent the thread from getting caught around the needle 3.Thomas Edison is spoken of because________. A. he also tried to invent a sewing machine B. he got some of his ideas from dreams C. he was one of Howe’s best friends D. he also had difficulty in falling asleep 4.Dreams are sometimes called“secret messages to ourselves” because___. A. strange images are used to communicate ideas B. images which have no meaning are used C. we can never understand the real meaning D. only specially trained people can understand them B Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners .Most children will “obey” spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word “obey” is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child .Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises. Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight, pain, friendliness, and so on. But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s intention to communicate ,they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self-imitation（模仿）leads on to deliberate（有意的）imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech. It is a problem we need to get out teeth into. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world .Thus the use at seven months of “mama” as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at other times for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself, I doubt, however whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds . 5.Before children start speaking________. A.they need equal amount of listening B.they need different amounts of listening C.they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obeying spoken instructions D.they can’t understand and obey the adult’s oral instructions 6.Children who start speaking late ________. A.may have problems with their listening B.probably do not hear enough language spoken around them C.usually pay close attention to what they hear D.often take a long time in learning to listen properly 7.A baby’s first noises are ________. A.an expression of his moods and feelings　　 B.an early form of language C.a sign that he means to tell you something　　 D.an imitation of the speech of adults 8.The problem of deciding at what point a baby’s imitations can be considered as speech________. A.is important because words have different meanings for different people B.is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually C.is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age D.is one that should be completely ignored（忽略）because children’s use of words is often meaningless 9.The speaker implies________. A.parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds B.children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak C.children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly D.even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitating C The greatest recent changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman’s life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children ,her work is lightened by household appliances（家用电器）and convenience foods. This important change in women’s way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’ s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age ,and though women tend to marry younger ,more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Many more after wads, return to full or part-time work.Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each of them. 10.We are told that in an average family about 1990________. A.many children died before they were five B.the youngest child would be fifteen C.seven of eight children lived to be more than five D.four or five children died when they were five 11.When she was over fifty, the late 19th century mother________. A.would expect to work until she died B.was usually expected to take up paid employment C.would be healthy enough to take up paid employment D.was unlikely to find a job even if she is now likely 12.Many girls, the passage says, are now likely to ________. A.marry so that they can get a job B.leave school as soon as they can C.give up their jobs for good after they are married D.continue working until they are going to have a baby 13.According to the passage,it is now quite usual for women to ________. A.stay at home after leaving school B.marry men younger than themselves C.start working again later in life D.marry while still at school D Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors. A mistake on one inexpensive postage stamp has made the stamp worth a million and a half times its original value. The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the British colony of Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. In 1847 an order for stamps was sent to a London printer-Mauritius was to become the fourth country in the world to issue stamps. Before the order was filled and delivered, a ball was planned at Mauritius’ Government House, and stamps were needed to send out the invitations. A local printer was instructed to copy the design for the stamps. He accidentally inscribed the words“Post Office” instead of“Post Paid” on the several hundred stamps that he printed. Today there are only twenty-six of these misprinted stamps left fourteen One Penny Orange-Reds and twelve Two Penny Blues. Because of the Two Penny Blue’s rareness and age, collectors have paid as much as ＄16 800 for it. 14.Over a century ago, Mauritius ________. A.was an independent country B.belonged to India C.was one of the British colonies D.was a small island in the Pacific Ocean 15. The mistake on the stamps was made ________. A.in Mauritius B.at Mauritius Government House C.in a post office D.in London 16. Stamp collectors have paid 16 800 for ________. A. fourteen One Penny Orange-Reds B. twelve Two Penny Blues C. one One Penny Orange-Red D. one Two Penny Blue E Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time. Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience. E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool. The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun see a great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story. With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience. E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college. We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways. 17. The purpose of this passage is to ________. A. explain how to use the Internet B. describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technology C. tell the merits(价值) and usefulness of the Internet D. introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet 18. The use of E-mail has made it possible for the writer to ________. A. spend less time working B. have more free time with his child C. work at home on weekends D. work at a speed comfortable to him 19. According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former helps one ________. A. reach a group of people at one time conveniently B. keep one’s communication as personal as possible C. pass on much more information than the later D. get in touch with one’s friends faster than the later 20. The best title for this passage is ________. A. Computer: New Technological Advances B. Internet: New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship C. Computers Have Made Life Easier D. Internet: a Convenient Tool for Communication 参考:CDBABDABDDDDCCA DCBAD (二) A “How can I learn English well?” This is a question many students ask. In my opinion, the most effective way is to learn lessons by heart. If you can recite the text and write it out, you’ve learned it fairly well. And if you can tell, in your own words, what the lesson says you’re a very successful learner indeed. Your English will be quite perfect. This is a difficult task. However, if you try to learn by heart only part of each lesson, you’ll find it not half so hard as you might have thought. Learning this way, you will make rapid progress. Of course, writing is also necessary. It helps you a lot on our way to success in English. Equally important is to feel the language. You should be able to laugh at jokes and be shocked at bad news. When using English, try to forget your mother tongue. Instead of helping you, your own language gets in your way. So, never try to see English through translation. 56.In the writer’s opinion, the most effective way in learning English is ____. A.to practise speaking, writing and feeling it B.to forget your own native language C.to translate everything into his own language D.to memorize the English words and grammatical rules 57. “Instead of helping you, your own language gets in your way.”This sentence means that memorizing your own language can ________. A.help you to study English well B.stop you mastering English C.make English easy to learn D.help you notice mistakes 58.Equally important is to feel the language. “to feel the language” here means________. A.to get a knowledge of English by touching B. to be able to read and write English C.to translate English into your own by imagining D.to be able to experience the rich sensation of the language B When we can see well, we do not think about our eyes often. It is only when we can not see perfectly that we come to see how important our eyes are. People who are nearsighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Many people who do a lot of close work, such as writing and reading, become nearsighted. Then they have to wear glasses in order to see distant things clearly. People who are farsighted face just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses too. Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts. Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them. When night falls, colors become fainter to the eyes and finally disappear. After your eyes have grown used to the dark, you can see better if you use the side of your eyes rather than the centers. Sometimes, after dark, you see a small thing to one side of you, which seems to disappear if you turn your head in its direction. This is because when you turn your head, you are looking at the thing too directly. Men on guard duty sometimes think they see something moving to one side of them. When they turn to look straight at it, they can not see it any more, and they believe they were mistaken. However, this mistake happens because the center of the eye, which is very sensitive in daylight, is not as sensitive as the sides of the eye after dark. 59.We don’t know that our eyes are of great importance until ________. A. we think about our eyes B. we cannot see clearly C. we wear glasses D. we have to do much reading 60.According to the passage, a ________ is more likely to be nearsighted. A.tailor B. doctor C. guard D.painter 61.People who are farsighted ________ . A.cannot do a lot of close work without glasses B.can only see things that are very close to their eyes C.have difficulty reading a book if they hold it at arm’s length D.have the same problem as the nearsighted people 62.To see a small thing at night, it is better to look ________ . A.with wide open eyes B.with half shut or narrowed eyes C.straight at it D.in a slightly different direction C Trees are useful to man in three important ways: they give him wood and other useful things, they give him cool places, and they help to stop drought and flood. Unluckily, in many parts of the world, man has not found that the third of these points is the most important. Man wants to make money from trees,so he has cut them down in large numbers, only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had. And also, he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees. So the forests slowly disappear. This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees. The results are even worse: for where there are trees, their roots break up soil-make the rain in-and also bind the soil, thus stopping it from being washed away easily; but where there are no trees, the rain falls on hard ground and flows away, causing floods and carrying away the rich top-soil. When all the top-soil is gone, nothing is left but useless desert. 63.The most important points of trees to man is ________. A.they help him to make money B.they give him cool C.they give him wood and other things D.they help him to stop drought and floods 64.In many places forests slowly disappear because ________ . A.many trees have been cut down by man B.new trees are not well looked after C.man has not paid enough attention to planting trees D.all the above 65.Land becomes desert after all trees are cut down because ________ . A. roots of trees break up the soil B. there are too many rainfalls C. strong winds bring a lot of sand D. there are no longer trees to keep the rain and protect the top-soil. 66.Which title best fits the passage? A.Trees and Man B.The Function of Tree Wood C.How do People do with Trees? D.The Usage of Tree Roots D Laptop computers are popular all over the world. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms. Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of