1、2015届高考英语二轮复习优化训练：阅读理解AEnglish as a Foreign LanguageWho taught you to speak English? Your parents, while you were a young child? Your teachers at school? Perhaps even the BBC as a grown-up. Whoever it was, somehow you have developed an understanding of what is rapidly becoming a truly global languag
2、e. There are now about 376 million people who speak English as their first language, and about the same number who have learnt it in addition to their mother tongue. There are said to be one billion people learning English now and about 80% of the information on the Internet is in English. Is this a
3、 good thing, or a bad thing? Should we celebrate the fact that more and more of us can communicate, using a common language, across countries and cultures? Or should we worry about the dangers of“mono-culturalism”, a world in which we all speak the same language, eat the same food and listen to the
4、same music? Does it matter if an increasing number of people speak the same language? On the contrary, I would have thought-although I have never accepted the argument that if only we all understood each other better, there would be fewer wars. Ask the people of India(where many of them speak at lea
5、st some English)and Pakistan(the same situation with India). . . If we all speak English, will we then all start eating McDonalds burgers? Surely not. If English becomes more dominant(占主导地位的), will it kill other languages? I doubt it. When I travel in Africa or Asia, I am always surprised by how man
6、y people can speak not only their own language but often one or more other related languages, as well as English and perhaps some French or German as well. When we discussed this on Talking Point a couple of years ago, we received a wonderfully poetic email from a listener in Ireland. “The English l
7、anguage is a beautiful language. Maybe its like a rose, ”he said. “But who would ever want their garden just full of rose? ”Well, I love roses, and I think they make a beautiful addition to any garden. But the way I see it, just by planting a few roses, you dont necessarily need to pull out everythi
8、ng else. If more and more people want to plant English roses, thats fine by me. 【文章大意】作者以独特的视角分析了英语的发展前景和人们的种种顾虑。越来越多的人会讲英语是好事吗? 战乱会因此而减少吗? 将来人们会只讲一种语言, 吃同样的食物, 听同样的音乐吗? 作者借用一位爱尔兰听众的邮件说: 英语好比玫瑰花, 它很漂亮, 但是我们不能因为它漂亮就把花园全种上玫瑰花, 也不能把其他花草都拔掉。1. How many people learn English as their second language? A. A
9、bout 80%. B. About 376 million. C. About one million. D. We dont know. 【解析】选B。细节理解题。从第二段第一句话可知, 把英语当作第二语言的人的数量是about 376 million。故选B。2. What does“garden”in the last two paragraphs stand for? A. Language. B. Family. C. The world. D. The Earth. 【解析】选C。词义猜测题。因为这两段中rose用来指代English, 所以garden自然是指代the worl
10、d。故选C。3. The author would probably agree that. A. its very hard to plant many kinds of flowers in a gardenB. its good for people from other countries to learn EnglishC. more and more people like to plant roses in their gardensD. English is easier to learn than other languages【解析】选B。作者意图题。根据全文内容, 尤其最
11、后一句If more and more people want to plant English roses, thats fine by me. 可以了解作者的态度倾向。故选B。4. This passage is mainly about. A. why English has become a global languageB. how many people in the world speak EnglishC. how people in the world learn English as a foreign languageD. whether we need to worry
12、 about English being a world language【解析】选D。主旨大意题。通过理解全文内容以及作者的观点, 我们可以知道人们大可不必顾虑英语作为世界语言的前景问题。故选D。BFor high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find an internship(实习). In some countrie
13、s, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programs are still few and far behind. Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years. The students are more likely to s
14、tay in school, graduate and go on to higher education. In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment. But in America, education reform programs focus on ho
15、w well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education school professor Robert Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track. Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the cou
16、ntrys most vulnerable(易受影响的)kids with no jobs and no skills. Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teach them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose cla
17、sses on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while theyre still at high school. However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting. In the US, unemployment rates for 16-to-19-year-olds are above
18、 20 percent for the third summer in a row. “The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they will become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job, ”said Michael, a researcher in the US. 【文章大意】文章通过与德国中学情况的比较, 说明在美国中学里很缺乏有关职业生涯的基本课程。5. In the authors o
19、pinion, American high school leavers. A. have enough career-related coursesB. need more career advice from their schoolsC. perform better in exams than German studentsD. can get higher earnings in later years【解析】选B。作者观点题。根据第四段内容可知。6. What can be inferred from the text? A. Unemployment rates for US t
20、eenagers remain high at the moment. B. Students with career-based courses never have problems finding a job. C. US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment. D. High school leavers with no practical skills cant find a job absolutely. 【解析】选A。推理判断题。根据第六段的In the US, unem
21、ployment rates for 16-to-19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row. 推出答案。7. Whats the main idea of the text? A. Arguments about recent US education reform. B. Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers. C. The lack of career-based courses in US high schools. D. Advice for Ame
22、rican high school leavers. 【解析】选C。主旨大意题。文章第一段的In some countries, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programs are still few and far behind. 点出了主题。8. The underlined word“daunting”in Paragraph 6 most probably means“”. A. discouragingB. inte
23、restingC. creativeD. unbearable【解析】选A。词义猜测题。从下文的In the US, unemployment rates for 16-to-19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row. 可猜出词义。C根据短文内容, 从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。(2014北京模拟)Urbanization(都市化)Until relatively recently, the vast majority of human beings lived and
24、died without ever seeing a city. The first city was probably founded no more than 5, 500 years ago. 1. In fact, nearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural(乡村的)villages. It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in historya society in which the majority
25、of people live in cities and do not farm for a living. Britain was only the beginning. 2. The process of urbanizationthe migration(迁移)of people from the countryside to the citywas the result of modernization, which has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live. In 1990, fewer than 40%
26、of Americans lived in urban areas. Today, over 82% of Americans live in cities. Only about 2% live on farms. 3. Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized. Even in advanced agricultural societies, it took about ninety-five people on farms to feed five people in cities. 4. U
27、ntil modern times, those living in cities were mainly the ruling elite(精英)and the servants, laborers and professionals who served them. Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus
28、from farm to city. Over the past two centuries, the Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 5. Today, instead of needing ninety-five farmers to feed five city people, one American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred non-farmers. A. That kept cities very
29、 small. B. The rest live in small towns. C. The effects of urban living on people should be considered. D. Soon many other industrial nations became urban societies. E. But even 200 years ago, only a few people could live in cities. F. Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more pr
30、oductive. G. Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings. 答案: 15. EDBAFDAs children reach kindergarten and early grade-school age, they continue to become increasingly more aware of the wider world beyond home, school and their neighborhood. If you havent already don
31、e so, this can be an excellent time to teach your child about the environment, and how you can work together to go green as a family. If youve already introduced some eco-friendly habits in your home, here are some ways your growing child can contribute more to the greening of his world and beyond.
32、My 7-year-old son discovered a magazine cover on the table that featured a cover line about polar bears being endangered because of global warming. I decided to be straight with himI said yes, there is a danger to polar bears and other wildlife because of pollution. But I told him that we can all do
33、 something to go green and help make a difference, and perhaps help the polar bears and all living things on our planet. My grandmothers were immigrants(移民)who lived through wars in South Korea. They used to constantly remind me to turn off the lights, and even not to use too much toilet paper. As i
34、t turns out, these were great lessons. Have your child get into the habit of turning off lights and electronic equipment when hes not using them. A nice bonus(意外收获): reducing electricity use can help cut down your bills. A grade-schooler is old enough to understand that water comes from lakes and po
35、ols. Explain that wasting it can affect everyone who depends on that water. Wasting water also means wasting energy. A tap that runs for five minutes is equal to letting a 60-watt bulb run for 14 hours, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Make it easier for your grade-schooler to go gr
36、een by choosing different baskets for glass, metal, paper, and plastic. Have your child draw pictures of recyclable types to mark each basket. Once a season or more, have your child help you look for used clothing, books, toys and other things around the house to give away to local shelters(避难所). 【文
37、章大意】本文作者以自己的亲身经历告诉其他母亲应该如何在生活中帮助孩子变得更有环保意识, 让他们从小就有保护环境的观念。1. The underlined word“contribute”in Paragraph 1 means. A. buyB. useC. giveD. find【解析】选C。词义猜测题。由于本句里的introduced说明如果你已经介绍给孩子一些环保习惯了, 而且在接下来的三个段落中作者本人又给出一些关于绿色生活的建议。所以这里的contribute的意思是“给出”。2. What makes polar bears in danger according to the p
38、assage? A. The global warming at present and in future. B. The pollution of the air in developed countries. C. The loss of the forest all over the world at present. D. The hunt for them by people from across the world. 【解析】选A。细节理解题。第二段第一句里的being endangered because of global warming是本题的解题线索。需注意的是B选项,
39、 虽然第二段说到了污染危及一些野生动物的生存, 但并不是针对空气污染而言, 所以不能选B。3. What does the author learn from her grandmothers? A. Make peace with any other country. B. Not moving to other foreign countries. C. Turn off the lights and the water to go green. D. Live a simple life without spending too much. 【解析】选C。推理判断题。第三段作者提到了自己
40、的祖母和外祖母经历过战争后尤其重视节省, 本段的第二句话是解题线索, 第三、四句是作者的体会和经验, 第五句开始给出了自己也身体力行的理由, 所以答案选C。但是注意D项虽然不错, 但是和第二句作者的祖母和外祖母的要求相比, 没有确切说明为了环保而做的具体措施, 所以不能选。4. What is the best title of the passage? A. Ways to Help Your Child Make Money. B. Ways to Help Your Child Go Green. C. Setting up a Recycling Centre for Your House. D. Setting up Eco-friendly Habits Is Necessary. 【解析】选B。主旨大意题。首先要明确这篇文章的作者是一个母亲, 她在以自己的经历告诉别的母亲应该帮助自己的孩子更环保, 所以选项里的关键词是child和green。