2024廣東番禺縣高考英語閱讀理解二輪選練（5）

　　【2024模擬】

　　閱讀理解。請認真閱讀下列短文 ,從短文后各題所給的A.B. C.D四個選項中 ,選出最佳選項。

　　Scientists from the University of East Anglia have identified four new man-made gases that are contributing to the damage to the ozone(臭氧) layer. Two of the gases are accumulating at a rate that is causing concern among researchers.

　　Worries over the growing ozone hole have seen the production of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases restricted since the mid 1980s. But the precise origin of these new, similar substances remains a mystery.

　　Lying in the atmosphere, the ozone layer plays a critical role in blocking harmful UV rays, which cause cancers in humans and reproductive problems in animals.

　　Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey were the first to discover a huge "hole" in the ozone over Antarctica in 1985. The evidence quickly pointed to CFC gases, which were invented in the 1920s, and were widely used in refrigeration. Extraordinarily, global action was rapidly agreed to deal with CFCs and the Montreal Protocol to limit these substances came into being in 1987. A total global ban on production came into force in 2010.

　　Now, the newly discovered four new gases can destroy ozone and are getting into the atmosphere from as yet unidentified sources. Three of the gases are CFCs and one is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), which can also damage ozone.

　　The research has shown that four gases were not around in the atmosphere at all until the 1960s, which suggests they are man-made. The scientists discovered the gases by analyzing polar snow pack. Air from this snow is a natural archive of what was in the atmosphere up t0 100 years ago. The researchers also looked at modern air samples, collected at remote Cape Grim in Tasmania.

　　They estimate that about 74,000 tonnes of these gases have been released into the atmosphere. Two of the gases are accumulating at significant rates. However, they don't know where the new gases are being released from and this should be investigated. Possible sources include chemicals

　　for insecticide（殺蟲劑） production and solvents（溶液）

　　for cleaning electronic components. The three CFCs are being destroyed very slowly in the atmosphere - so even if emissions（散發） were to stop immediately, they will still be around for many decades to come.

　　Of the four species identified, CFC-113a seems the most worrying as there is a very small but growing emission source somewhere, maybe from agricultural insecticides. We should find it and take it out of production.

　　63. What do we know about the newly discovered gases?

　　A. Some are surely produced by the development of agriculture.

　　B. The CFCs will have a long impact once they are released.

　　C. They gather together in the atmosphere at a medium speed.

　　D. Their amounts are not large enough to cause damage to us.

　　64. The underlined word "archive" in Paragraph 6 is closest to the meaning of"____ "

　　A. state

　　B. resource

　　C. phenomenon

　　D. storeroom

　　65. What will the scientists probably attempt to do about the gases next?

　　A. Find out what can replace things like insecticides and put them into use.

　　B. Find out how they destroy ozone and get rid of those in the atmosphere.

　　C. Find out where they are exactly from and stop them from being released.

　　D. Find out if HCFC is more harmful than CFCs and take proper measures.

　　【參考答案】63—65、BDC

　　【2024模擬】閱讀理解。請認真閱讀下列短文 ,從短文后各題所給的A.B. C.D四個選項中 ,選出最佳選項。

　　Charles Dickens was one of the most beloved storytellers in the English language. His novels made him famous in his own time, and continue as classics in ours.

　　Dickens began his literary career with almost no formal education. He was born in Landport, on Feb. 7, 1812, the second of eight children. When he was 12, his father was sent to debtor's prison. Dickens was forced to quit school and work in a London blacking factory. He would rework that terrible experience into his fiction for the rest of his life.

　　"He was a social reformer," says actor Simon Callow, author of a new biography called Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World.

　　"He knew what poverty was. He knew what it was to be rejected, to be cast aside, to

　　live in squalor (悲慘)."

　　And so Dickens wrote with great sympathy for the suffering of innocent and vulnerable (易受攻擊的) children - characters like David Copperfield, Little Dorrit and the orphan, Oliver Twist:

　　With his slice of bread in his hand, and his little brown parish cap on his head, Oliver was now led away from the wretched home, where one kind word or look never lighted the gloom of his infant (幼兒) days.

　　Yet he burst into an agony of childish grief as the cottage gate closed after him.

　　Wretched as were the little companions in，misery he was now leaving behind him, they were the only friends he had ever had.

　　His first book Sketches by Boz came out in 1836. With the appearance of Oliver Twist in London periodicals in 1837, the 25-year-old Dickens became the most popular writer in England. But his first love was theater, and he considered becoming an actor.

　　"When he was actually writing, he became his characters," says Peter Ackroyd, author of Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion. "He would get up from his desk, go over to the mirror and mouth the words - do the expressions, grimaces (嵬臉), whatever, and then laugh, chuckle to himself, then go back to his desk and write it down."

　　Dickens created 989 named characters, which increased his popularity. Every one of his major works has been adapted for either stage or screen. A Christmas Carol inspired more than a dozen films, from Alistair Sims' Scrooge in 1951 to Jim Carrey's voicing of the same character in Disney's 2009, 3-D animated film.

　　The original 1843 manuscript（手稿） of A

　　Christmas Carolis on display at the Morgan Library. Dickens wrote everything by hand, in tiny script, with a quill pen. Remarkably, the manuscript is both the first and the final draft, says Kiely, the curator. You can see where Dickens has changed the name of the first chapter from "Old Marley's Ghost" to "Marley's Ghost". Further down the page, he has canceled an entire section.

　　"He realizes he's not writing a novel, and he only has a very short time in which to write this," Kiely explains. "He's got to keep it tight, in order for it to be published in time for Christmas."

　　Dickens wrote all the time. He traveled with a portable inkwell and a supply of quill pens. He was working on his last novel, Our Mutual Friend, en route from France to London when the train he was on crashed.

　　Dickens died five years later in 1870, after a stroke at age 58. As a comic talent and a social reformer, Dickens' achievement was extraordinary, says novelist T.C. Boyle, who eamed a doctorate in Victorian literature.

　　"He achieved what any great artist achieves - a body of work that has entertained and delighted and instructed people down through the ages. That's what we all hope for," says Boyle.

　　But Dickens' greatest fiction was his own character, says Callow, the biographer: "People think of him as a cheerful man ... but he was increasingly suffering from depression and a sense of hopelessness. And that's worth knowing. I think it's always good to know that great creative individuals have their struggle, their drama."

　　66. What can probably be reflected in Dickens' works?

　　A. His love for his family.

　　B. His childhood sufferings.

　　C. His desire for formal education.

　　D. His reason to choose literary career.

　　67. The author quotes Dickens' description of Oliver Twist mainly to show

　　A. that Dickens was full of pity for poor children

　　B. that Dickens knew well about poor children

　　C. what real poverty was like in his days

　　D. what kind of life Oliver Twist lived

　　68. It can be inferred from the passage that _

　　A. Sketches by Boz is nothing but a complete failure

　　B. Oliver Twist made Dickens first known to the public

　　C. A Christrwas Carol proved Dickens an efficient writer

　　D. Our Mutual Friend came into being on a train

　　69. We can learn from the passage that

　　A. all the characters created by Dickens are popular

　　B. people prefer films based on Dickens' novels to his works

　　C. Dickens were more interested in performing than in writing

　　D. the films and plays based on Dickens' novels raise his popularity

　　70. What did Dickens intend to do by telling his stories?

　　A. To amuse his readers and change society.

　　B. To analyze the nature of society he was m.

　　C. To make an attack on the upper class of the time.

　　D. To get rid of his depression and sense of hopelessness.

　　【參考答案】66—70、BACCA

　　閱讀理解。

　　As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.

　　In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this, I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.

　　On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落傘）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.

　　Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.

　　6. What happened to the author in 2001?

　　A. She flew an airplane.

　　B. She entered a competition.

　　C. She went on a hot air balloon ride.

　　D. She moved into a retirement community.

　　7. The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to

　　.

　　A. make her argument persuasive

　　B. show her admiration for him

　　C. compare their health condition

　　D. build up her own reputation

　　8. How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

　　A. Excited.

　　B. Regretful.

　　C. Nervous.

　　D. Scared.

　　9. What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

　　A. The beautiful clouds.

　　B. The wonderful view.

　　C. The company of Jay.

　　D. The one-minute free fall.

　　10. What is the best title of the passage?

　　A. Impossible is nothing.

　　B. A dream made come true.

　　C. An unforgettable skydiving.

　　D. I Went Skydiving at 84!

　　【參考答案6--10】C A B B D

　　閱讀理解。

　　An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.

　　In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit(追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched(發起) the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.

　　In Chicago, the mayor(市長) appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.

　　The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved. Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.

　　Ultimately, as Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.

　　11. What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?

　　A. To invite authors to guide readers.

　　B. To encourage people to read and share.

　　C. To involve people in community service.

　　D. To promote the friendship between cities.

　　12. Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?

　　A. They had little interest in reading.

　　B. They were too busy to read a book.

　　C. They came from many different backgrounds.

　　D. They lacked support from the local government.

　　13. According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?

　　A. In large communities with little sense of unity.

　　B. In large cities where libraries are far from home.

　　C. In medium-sized cities with a diverse population.

　　D. In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached.

　　14. The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean

　　.

　　A. exchanged ideas with each other

　　B. discussed the meaning of a word

　　C. gained life experience

　　D. used the same language

　　15. According to Nancy, the degree of students of the project is judged by

　　.

　　A. the careful selection of a proper book

　　B. the growing popularity of the writers

　　C. the number of people who benefit from reading

　　D. the number of books that each person reads

　　【參考答案11--15】B C D A C

　　閱讀理解。

　　Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked.