高考英语时文专题训练(五)
—— 现代教育
Passage 41 Improve the world around you
You may think that inventions are far away
from your everyday life. But in fact, almost everyone can invent. It's just
that they do not recognize that their idea could be the start of an invention.
Once inventors
see their ideas have some practical value, they don't let them slip away.
For example, the
inventor of the dishwasher, American Josephine Cochrane, loved to give dinner
parties. But she found it took too long to wash her dishes by hand and too many
of them broke. She decided that a machine could do the job faster and with
fewer mistakes. So, in 1886, she set out to make one for herself.
Like Cochrane's,
most inventions are created to solve a problem. So, the first and most
important step is to find the problem.
You can start by
looking at what is wrong with things you use now. You can ask grandparents or
neighbours if they remember ever saying: "I wish someone would invent
something for..." Or you can look at people in different areas such as on
the street, or at school. Then you might notice situations or things in need of
improvement.
Remember to
record your ideas and work. This will help you develop your invention and
protect it when it is completed.
The next step is to think
about possible solutions. An invention is a new way of solving a problem. So
think of many, varied, and unusual ways.
You can often
come up with a solution for a problem by looking at it from a different angle
(角度) or thinking about it in a new
way.
Example 1
— instead of thinking of shoes as protecting your feet from the ground, think
of using something to protect the ground from your feet.
Example 2
— instead of thinking about how you can carry oranges home from a store, think
of how they can come to you by delivery or growing your own.
Example 3
— instead of experimenting with only one solution, can you put two or three
solutions together, or arrange them in different orders?
And if one
solution doesn't work, can it be put to other uses? That was how yellow post-it
notes (N次贴) came about — a "failed" adhesive (粘合剂) experiment proved a weak adhesive had good
uses too!
After all, most
inventions are not brand new. They do not come out of nowhere, but come out of
things or ideas that already exist (存在).
And the hardest part
of inventing, even for a lot of inventors, is coming up with a problem and
finding a solution. Once you have an idea, you can always get help building
your invention.
This
problem-solving technique can also work in your everyday lives. So, why not try
it in your studies, in your relationship with others, or even in the way you
look at the world?
1. The main idea
of this story is ________.
A. how to improve the world around you
B. that you can invent and how you will be able to do so
C. problem-solving technique
D. how inventors invent
2. What makes
inventors different from other people is probably that __________.
A. they consider every new idea as an invention
B. they are full of creative ideas
C. they enjoy solving problems
D. they look for problems and try to solve them in a new and better way
3．What made Josephine Cochrane decide to invent
the dishwasher?
A. Her love of parties.
B. Her dislike of dishwashing.
C. Her desire for something that could do the dishwashing better.
D. Her love of inventing.
4. Which of the
following is one of the ways to find a problem?
A. Look at the world from a different angle.
B. Find out things that people are not satisfied with.
C. Do experiments.
D. Never let a practical idea slip away.
5.The underlined phrase "come about"
probably means to _______.
A. come into being
B. put to use
C. work
D. become
Passage 42 Simple idea to lighten the load
There
are so many different plastic cards that adults (成年人) have to carry around — library cards, savings cards for different
banks, credit cards (信用卡)
, just to name a few. So why not have one card to replace them all?
Scott Barnhill,
an 11-year-old fifth-grade student in the US, has come up with an idea for a
"Security One Card".
Sound smart? The US Patent (专利)
Office thought so, and it approved (批准)
a patent for his idea in April.
Here's an
example of how Barnhill's idea would work.
Let's say you
have the three cards mentioned above. Instead of carrying them all, you could
have just one by having additional magnetic strips (磁条) added to it.
These magnetic
strips can be added to any plastic card, even a blank one.
Companies could
add their information to one of the strips. For instance, you could ask a
library to add a strip to your bank card.
Barnhill has
lots of hobbies, including designing websites. He got his idea at the age of
nine when he saw his father using a keycard to enter their hotel room. He
thought: "The hotels are wasting money with key cards." So, instead
of using a hotel-issued key card, he thought guests could use their credit
cards — if the hotel added a special magnetic strip. At check-out (退房), the strip would simply be removed.
Now that he has
his patent, Barnhill's next step is a letter-writing campaign to get support
from major credit card companies.
"I'm going
to be writing letters to credit card companies to ask if they can co-operate. I
hope they'll give me money every time someone puts a strip on the back on
another card, or every time the idea is used," he said. "I'll write
the letters and see what they say. If they say no, I'll ask another credit card
company."
He is hoping to
make money from his patent and has decided it would be better to collect royalties
(专利使用费) if the idea takes off
rather than sell his patent.
"The person
who invented the ATM sold the idea outright. If he had chosen royalties, he
would get two cents for every transaction (交易) and he would be a billionaire now,"
the young boy said.
- The advantage of “Security One Card” is that it _________.
A. could remove the burden of taking all kinds of plastic cards
B. would be very safe
C. could save your money
D. could have a lot of magnetic strips on it - The immediate cause of Scott's invention was that _________.
A. he found even a hotel issued its own cards — keycards
B. he realized it's a big waste to make so many plastic cards instead of only one
C. he found adults have to carry around so many plastic cards
D. he realized that it would be a good chance to make big money - To use a “Security One Card”, ________.
A. one has to add additional magnetic strips to it
B. one has to pay Scott Barnhill each time a magnetic strip is added
C. all the companies need to do is add their information to a magnetic strip
D. the permission of the organization that issues a card is needed before it adds its magnetic strip to a “Security One Card” - The underlined phrase “takes off” in the last paragraph but one (倒数第二段) probably means ______.
A. makes money B. wins a lot of support
C. is worth a lot D. is practical - From the story, we can see Scott is ______.
A. more smart than shrewd (精明)
B. a boy with a lot of ideas
C. creative, perseverant (有毅力的) and shrewd
D. far-sighted
Passage 43 Film based on amazing real life story
When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was
working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she
struggled to find a place to sleep on the street.
But she overcame
these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship (奖学金) and gain entry to Harvard
University.
And her amazing
story has inspired a movie, "Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray
Story", shown in late April.
Liz Murray, a
22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and
determination.
Liz grew up in
the shadow of two drug-addicted (吸毒的) parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house.
Liz was the only member of the family who had a job.
Her mother had
AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that loss became a
turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up
with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it.
Liz went back to
school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she
was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets.
"What drove
me to survive had to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a
whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the
society," she wrote in her book "Breaking Night".
She admitted
that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily
to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that
"next to nothing could hold me down".
She finished
high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard
University.
But Liz decided
to leave her top university for a couple of months earlier this year in order
to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. "I love my
parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me
all the time."
Liz wants
moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is "as
simple as making a decision".
1. In which order did the following things
happen to Liz?
a. Mum died
b. Worked at the petrol station
c. Got admitted into Harvard
d. Had trouble finding a place to
sleep
A. badc
B. abdc
C. dbac
D. bdac
2. What decision did Liz make that changed her life?
A. To go back to school.
B. To go to the best university.
C. To survive.
D. To live a different life from
her parents’.
3. What actually drove her on towards her goal?
A. Envy.
B. Her love for her parents.
C. Her mum’s death.
D. Her willpower and determination.
4. When she wrote: “I had only experienced a small part of the society” she
______.
A. wanted to encourage herself
B. suggested something she wanted
for her life.
C. suggested people often look back
D. meant that she had little
experience.
Passage 44
At a loss for words
Hell has no
place in American primary and high school textbooks. And you can't find anyone
sailing a yacht (游艇)
or playing polo on the pages either. The texts also won't talk about blind
people, or the best man for the job, or a bookworm.
All these words are now
banned from US textbooks because they are thought to be either elitist (优越感), offensive or just too strong. God is also
banned because he is too religious (宗教色彩的).
A book called "The
Language Police" lists all the 500 words that are banned and explains why.
It is written by Dianne Ravitch, a New York University professor of education.
Some people say banning
those words pays more attention to family values and equality among ethnic
groups (少数民族). But Ravitch jokes that many
people will have fun finding new titles for famous US writer Ernest Hemingway's
"The Old Man and the Sea". The title presents problems with every
word except "and" and "the".
According to the book,
"old" can't be used because it doesn't include young people, and
"man" doesn't include women. "Sea" also can't be used in
case a student who lives inland doesn't know about large bodies of water.
Ravitch said all this is
because textbook publishers try not to offend anyone. "They don't want
problems so that sales can be as wide as possible," she said.
1. You will not
find the word "bookworm" in US textbooks because ______.
A. it's religious
B. it's too strong
C. it's rude
D. it's elitist
2. From the
story, we can see the writer, Dianne Ravitch ______.
A. finds this ban of certain words funny
B. doesn't agree with the textbook publishers
C. thinks there's good reason for the ban
D. enjoys this control of words
3. Which of the
following book titles is most likely to be suitable, according to the ban?
A. Getting away with Murder
B. Keeper of the Night
C. The Queen of Everything
D. Beauty and Beast
Passage 45 Hard to miss this elephant
The
film starts out as a normal day at a typical American high school. Friends chat
in the dining room and boys play football.
But there's a
big surprise when the movie ends with two students going crazy in the school—
shooting and killing people.
This is
"Elephant". Filmed in just 20 days, it stars real high school kids.
American director Gus Van Sant had no ready made lines (台词). The student actors made up their own
dialogue, with Van Sant asking them to base their characters on their own
lives.
Although it may
not sound very high quality, the film won the Palme d'Or (金棕榈奖) for Best Film and the award for Best
Director at the Cannes film festival in France on May 25.
The film is
based on the shootings at a high school in the US, where two boys killed 13
people and then themselves in 1999.
The title of the
movie refers to the old expression about a problem that's as hard to ignore
(忽略) as an elephant in the house.
The film takes a
close look at a few hours in the lives of the victims (受害者) and the killers. It shows how high school
is a different experience for everyone — fun and friendly, or hard and lonely.
In many ways,
the two boys, who carry out the shooting, act like ordinary kids. They joke
around with one boy's mother as she serves them cakes and play the piano.
But, there are hints
(暗示) of the anger they feel inside.
One of the boys is bullied (欺负)
at school. The other plays violent video games. But Van Sant isn't blaming
their killings on either bullying or violent games. In fact, the film doesn't
offer any reason for why school violence happens.
"I didn't
want to explain anything. It's up to the audience to draw its own
conclusions," said the 51-year-old director.
Do
you know?
Cannes Film Festival began in the
south of France in 1946. Cannes was chosen for the international festival
because of its "sunny and beautiful location". The festival looks at
the artistic quality of world films as well as their commercial (商业的) success.
China's "Farewell my Concubine"(《霸王别姬》) won the Palme d'Or in 1993, and "To
Live"(《活着》) brought Ge You the Best Actor
title in 1994.
1. The
description of a normal day at an American high school in the first paragraph
______.
A. shows what life is like in
American high schools
B. shows that the film was set in
an American high school
C. serves to introduce the
unexpected, dramatic ending of the film
D. suggests that some kind of
danger is hidden in the setting.
2. The lines of
the film were ______.
A. created by student actors
B. given by the director
C. carefully designed by professional people
D. thought out while acting
3. The film doesn't tell why the
school shootings happen ______.
A. because the mental problems of the high school students are hard to present
B. but there are some hints of the reasons
C. because life itself is the maker of problems
D. because this leaves much food for thought so that the audience can come up
with their own reasons
4. The headline of the story ______.
A. cleverly includes the title of the film
B. makes one want to find out what this elephant is
C. suggests that this award-winning film has caught people's attention
D. does all the above
Passage 46 Brothers compete in boat race
Oxford and Cambridge.
These two old, world-famous universities have been competing against each other
in many different fields for hundreds of years. And sometimes the gap is so
narrow that it measures just 30cm.
How can this be? Well,
it's the time-honoured competition between the two universities' boat clubs.
This year, the 149th boat race took place on the River Thames (泰晤士河) in London on April 6.
The rowers of
Cambridge were stronger. But Oxford had the better rowing skills. They were neck
and neck (并驾齐驱) throughout.
When both sped past
the finishing line, almost at the same time, no one was sure who had won the
race. The judges had to replay the finish on video to decide the champion.
Cambridge lost and
coach Robin Williams described it as "a blow to the heart".
The victory was
Oxford's 71st in the history of the event and a repeated success from last year.
But, Cambridge still leads the series with 77 victories. One race finished in a
draw (平局).
As if this close
finish wasn't enough excitement, it also turned out to be the first time two
sets of brothers rowed against each other.
Oxford's David
Livingston was up against his brother James and Oxford's Matt Smith rowed
against his brother Ben.
Both Livingstons were
determined to win and even tried to distance each other before the race. It was
a difficult time for both of them, but especially for James, since it was his
last chance to take part in the boat race. "It was the most agonizing
(痛苦的) gap. I will always be thinking,
if only I pushed a little bit harder, a little bit sooner."
The personal
competition between these two sets of brothers reminded people of 1829. This
was when the yearly tradition was started by two friends who studied at
Cambridge and Oxford.
On March 12 of that
year, Cambridge sent a challenge (挑战书)
to Oxford and thus the "fight" continued to the present day.
Today the race
attracts thousands of onlookers and is broadcast all over the world. It also
inspired China's two most famous universities, Beida and Tsinghua to start a
similar boat race in 1999.
1. What
does the word "time-honoured" in the second paragraph mean?
A. Everlasting.
B. Existing for a long
time.
C. Interesting.
D. Closest in time.
2. We can see Cambridge
coach Robin Williams was ______.
A. sad. B. surprised C. regretful D. displeased
3.
What
was so special about this boat race?
A. It was great fun.
B. It was more exciting than ever.
C. It was very popular.
D. It was moving.
Passage 47 Learning English in the sleep
If you ask some people, “How did you learn English so well?” You may get a surprising answer, “In my sleep!”
These are people who have taken part in one of the recent experiments to test “Learn-While-Sleep” methods, which are now being tried in several countries, and with several subjects, of which English is only one.
Specialists say that this “sleepstudy” method speeds language learning greatly. They say the average person can learn two or three times as much during sleep as in the same period during the day, and does not affect his rest in any way. A word of warning, however, sleep teaching will only strengthen in your mind what you have studied already while you are awake.
In an experiment, lessons were broadcast over the radio. Each lesson lasted twelve hours from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The first three hours of English grammar and vocabulary were given with the student awake. At 11 p.m. a lullaby was broadcast to send the student to sleep and for the next three hours the radio whispered the lesson again into his sleeping ears. At 2 a.m. a sharp noise was sent over the radio to wake the sleeping student up for a few minutes to review the lesson. The soft songs sent him back to rest again while the radio went on. At 5 a.m. his sleep ended and he had to go through the lesson again for three hours before breakfast.
1. During sleep the average person can learn _______as much during the day.
A. four times
B. five times
C. two or three times
D. six times
2. The underlined word “lullaby” means ________.
A. jazz
B. cradlesong
C. rock music
D. brass band
3. At 2 a.m, _________
A. students study vocabulary.
B. Making students to sleep.
C. A sharp noise was sent to wake the sleeping student up tp review the lesson.
D. Students sleep ended
4. From the passage we can conclude that “sleepstudy” is ________.
A. easy and comfortable
B. easy and efficient
C. completely achieved during sleeping
D. not so easy and comfortable as the title suggests
Passage 48 Some “DOS” in an interview
Do plan to arrive on time or a few minutes early. Late arrival for a job interview is never excusable.
If presented with an application, do fill it out neatly and completely. Don’t rely on your application or resume to do the selling for you. Interviewers will want you to speak for yourself.
Do greet the interviewer by last name if you are sure of the pronunciation. If not, ask the employer to repeat it. Give the appearance of energy as you walk. Smile! Shake hands firmly. Be genuinely glad to meet the interviewer.
Do wait until you are offered a chair before sitting. Sit upright, look alert and interested at all times. Be a good listener as well as a good communicator.
Do look a prospective employer in the eye while speaking.
Do follow the interviewer’s leads, but try to get the interviewer to describe the position and the duties to you early in the interview so that you can apply your background, skills and accomplishments to the position.
Do make sure that your good points come across to the interviewer in a factual, sincere manner. Stress achievements. For example: sales records, processes developed, savings achieved, systems installed, etc.
Do always conduct yourself as if you are determined to get job you are discussing. Never close the door on opportunity.
Do show enthusiasm. If you are interested in the opportunity, enthusiastic feedback can enhance your chances of being further considered. If you are not interested, your responsiveness will still demonstrate your professionalism.
1. Why should you stress achievements at a job interview? __________
A. To show your enthusiasm.
B. To let the interviewer know your good points.
C. To show off
D. The passage does not tell us..
2. When you face the interviewer, you should _______
A. shake hands firmly.
B. Wait until you are offered a chair before sitting.
C. Follow the interviewer’s leads
D. All of above
3. Which of the following statement is NOT true? _________
A. Do not tell a lie
B. You should listen to he interviewer carefully
C. Let the interviewer know you are a great man
D. Show as many good points as possible
Passage 49 The zipper
The zipper is a wonderful invention. How did people ever live without zippers? Zippers are very common, so we forget that they are wonderful. They are very strong, but they open and close very easily. They come in many colors and sizes.
In the 1890s, people in the United States wore high shoes with a long row of buttons. Women’s clothes often had rows of buttons, too. People wanted an easier way to put on and take off clothes.
Whitcomb L. Judson invented the zipper in 1893. He was an engineer in Chicago. He called the zipper a slide fastener. However, it didn’t stay closed very well. This was embarrassing, and people didn’t buy many of them. Then Dr. Gideon Sundback from Sweden solved this problem.
A zipper has three parts. 1. There are dozens of metal or plastic hooks (called teeth) in two rows. 2. These are fastened to two strips of cloth. The cloth strips are flexible. They bend easily. 3. A fastener slides along and fastens the hooks together. When it slides the other way, it takes the hooks apart.
Dr. Sundback put the hooks on the strips of cloth. The cloth holds all the hooks in place. They don’t come apart very easily. This solved the problem of the first zippers.
1. Zippers are very common because _______
A. they come in many colors and sizes
B. they’re very strong
C. they can make people’s life much easier
D. Both A and B
2. What’s the general idea of the third paragraph? ________
A. The problem of the zipper.
B. How was the zipper invented?
C. People didn’t like the zipper
D. How did the Dr. Sundback solve the problem?
3. According to the text, we can infer _________
A. the zipper is useless
B. people can’t live without the zipper
C. the zipper is a very important invention
D. the zipper is wonderful invention
Passage 50 The media
How do you learn about topical events? Where can you find out about things which are happening every day all over the world? You can read newspapers, listen to the radio or watch television. These three methods of communication bring daily news to millions of people everywhere. They are known as the mass media.
The main job of a newspaper is to inform us about what is going on in the world. Newspapers are probably the least entertaining of the media, but they are the most informative. The news is gathered by reporters. The editor of a newspaper decides which page they will appear on. It is his job to make sure that the piece is not too long, that the story is interesting and that people will be able to understand it when they read it.
TV and radio stations also have reporters. They interview people and their interviews are filmed. The news editor decides which pieces of film to use in the television news every evening. Radio interviews are tape-recorded. An important source of world news for the broadcasting media is news agencies. There are several worldwide news agencies which employ correspondents in different places all over the world to make reports. These reports are gathered at the agencies’ headquarters and then sent overseas by teleprinters. One of the most important jobs of the news editors at the radio and TV stations is re-writing these reports, for they are originally written for people to read in newspapers and magazines. Written language is often much more formal than spoken language, therefore they have to be re-written so that they sound natural when the news reader reads them over the air.
1. How many ways are available for people to get news? ___________
A. Only one.
B. Tow.
C. Three.
D. Four.
2. In author’s opinion __________
A. Newspapers are most interesting but offer the least news
B. Newspapers are edited by reporters and editors
C. It’s his job for a reporter to make sure his report is short
D. The stories in the newspaper should be interesting and easy to read
3. Which is right according to the third paragraph? __________
A. TV Reporters cover people and make it a film.
B. The reports are gathered and then sent overseas by telephone.
C. News agencies employ reporters only in their country.
D. It’s his duty for an editor at the radio and TV station to rewrite the reports written by the reporters.
4. The last line of the passage, “over the air” means ________
A. over the radio.
B. Over the plane.
C. In the sky.
D．open
专题五 现代教育练习答案及详解
Passage 41 1. B 2. D 3. C 4. B 5. A
发明创造从改造我们身边的事物开始。
1． 主旨题。答案：B。
2． 细节理解。答案：D。
3． 细节理解。文章第三段提供答题依据。
4． 细节题。发现问题的方法。
5． 猜词义。COME ABOUT “产生”的意思。
Passage 42 1. A 2. A 3. D 4. B 5. C
十一岁顽童获专利，聪明？精明？
1． “Security One Card”的优点是不必带各种各样的卡。
2． 最初让他想出这一发明的事件是开门都要用钥匙卡。
3． 细节题。文中四五六段提供解题信息。
4． 猜词义。答案： B。
5． 推理题。答案：C。
Passage 43 1. A 2. D 3. D 4. B
从露宿街头到考取名校，哈佛女孩Liz Murray用决心和毅力证明：其实生活可以更美的。
1． 事件的正确顺序。答案：A。
2． 题干的意思是：LIZ 作出的改变她一生的决定是什么？分析文中Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it. 和 there was a whole other way of being.得到答案：D。
3． 细节题。答案：D。
4． 句义理解。答案：B。
Passage 44 1. C 2. B 3. B
纽约大学一教育学教授写了一本名为"The Language Police"，禁止使用500多个词汇。
1． 细节题。答案：C。
2． 推断作者的观点。从作者的举例来分析，其观点为：B。
3． 推理题。分析禁止使用的几类词，只有B 中不包含其中任何一类。
Passage 45 1. C 2. A 3. D 4. D
看看这篇有关反映美国中学校园暴力的影片的介绍，你会得到什么启示呢？
1． 推理题。答案：C。影片开始对正常平静校园生活的描写是为与影片结尾形成对照。
2． 细节题。答案：A。
3． 细节题。答案：D。
4． 标题理解。答案：D。
Passage 46 1. B 2. A 3, B
牛津险胜剑桥，浪花飞溅的THAMES见证百年名校的青春英姿。
1. 猜词义。容易误选A。注意：Everlasting 是“永恒的、持久的”意思。
2. 细节题。答案：A。
3. 细节题。答案：B。
Passage 47 1. C 2. B 3. C 4. D
在睡眠中学英语。你相信吗？
1． 细节题。答案：C。
2． 猜词义。答案：B。“催眠曲”
3． 细节题。答案：C。
4． 推断题。根据文中对此法的介绍，“睡眠学习法”也并不轻松。
Passage 48 1. B 2. D 3. C
求职面试中该做些什么？有诀窍吗？
1．细节题。答案： B。
2．细节题。答案：D。
3．判断题。答案：C。
Passage 49 1. C 2. A 3. C
拉链是个了不起的发明。
1． 细节题。答案：C。
2． 段落大意。答案：A。
3． 推理题。答案：C。
Passage 50 1. C 2. D 3. D 4.A
关于媒体你了解多少，读读这篇文章。
1． 细节题。答案：C。文中提到报纸、电视、广播三种媒体。
2． 判断作者的观点。答案：D。
3． 段落大意理解。答案：D。
4． 猜词义。答案：C。