1、高考资源网（） 您身边的高考专家江西省2012届高三英语二轮专项训练：阅读理解（36）AThe iPhone, the iPad: each of Apples products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” and many other brands are following suit. The BBCs iPlayer which allows Web users to watch TV programs
2、on the Internet adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear popular in the US and UK that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of Londons Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.In general, single-letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s, whe
3、n terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.Most “i” products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independents “i”, its no surprise that theyve selected this fashionable name.But its hard to see whats so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”,
4、or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at Kings College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created
5、 the iPod, it seems it didnt have one clear definition,” he says.“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own n
6、eeds, and we love personalized products for this reason.Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names
7、 became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably disappeared.1. People use iPlayer to _.A. listen to music B. make a callC. watch TV programs online D. read newspapers2. We can infer that the Independents
8、 “i” is aimed at _.A. young readersB. old readers C. fashionable women D. engineers3. The underlined word “ambiguous” means “_”.A. popular B. uncertain C. definite D. unique4. Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are _.A. portable B. environmentally friendlyC. advanced D
9、. recyclable5. The writer suggests that _.A. “i” products are often of high quality B. iTeddy is alive bearC. the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the productsD. the popularity of “i” products may not last longBUnconventional in every way, Edward Estlin Cummingsmade striking use of grammar. Hi
10、s arts were poetry, painting, and drama, and in all of them he was an experimenter and innovator. The poetryfor which he is best rememberedwas marked by strange combinations of words and expressions and produced in very strange printing. The unusual techniques that Cummings used served to present hi
11、s ideas more forcefully and effectively than would have been the case with more ordinary styles.Cummings was born in Cambridge, Mass, on Oct. 14, 1894. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1915 and received a masters degree in 1916. During World War I he served as an ambulance driver in France.
12、He spent six months in a detention camp because of his friendship with another American who had supposedly criticized the Allied war effort. This experience increased his distrust for all officialdom（官场）, a distrust that showed itself in many of his later poems as well as in his first book, The Enor
13、mous Room, published in 1922.Between the two world wars Cummings divided his time between Paris and New York City. His first book of verse was Tulips and Chimneys (1923). In all he wrote 12 volumes of verse, which were collected in Complete Poems (1968). The strangeness of his style was criticized b
14、y some, but others found it meaningful.Among Cummings plays were Him, first performed in 1927, and Tom (1935), a work based on Uncle Toms Cabin. An experimental prose（散文） book, Eimi (1933), recorded a 36-day visit to the Soviet Union. Cummings died at his home in North Conway, N.H., on Sept. 3, 1962
15、. He was the second most widely read poet in the United States, after Robert Frost. He was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.6. The text is mainly about Edward Estlin Cummings _.A. life and works B. greet artistic abilitiesC. creative ideas D. influence on American literature7
16、. Cummings was chiefly famous as _.A. a novelist B. an artist C. a poet D. a playwright8. What does the underlined part “This experience” refer to?A. Cummings served as a driver in France.B. Cummings spent half a year in prison.C. Cummings made friends with an enemy.D. Cummings criticized the countr
17、ies fighting against Germany.9. What do we know about Cummings from the text?A. His writing style was unique.B. He wrote three plays during his life.C. He published his first book of poetry in 1922.D. His poems were seldom read in the United States.10. The passage is mainly developed by _.A. giving
18、questions B. examining difference C. following the time order D. making comparisonsCPresident Obama ranks 15th out of 44 in a poll of the best and worst Presidents while former President George W. Bush earns a place in the bottom five, according to the Siena College Research Institutes recent survey
19、 released ThursdayObama won a top ten place in two skill set categories, communication ability (7th) and ability to compromise (用折衷的方法解决争端)(10th), and in two personality trait categories, imagination (6th) and intelligence (8th). Background, described as family, education, and experience, proved his
20、 lowest score at 32nd.This is the 5th time the institute has conducted the survey of U.S. presidents, which is done a year after a new president takes office. The first survey was done in 1982. Obviously, theres not great validity to the poll since the Presidents have only been in office for one yea
21、r, says the surveys co-director and statistician Douglas Lonnstrom. But its a benchmark for us to see how they move. Presidents tend to rank around 20th while they are in office, and Obama is no exception. His actions over the next few years will decide if he stays roughly the same like Reaganwho mo
22、ved from 16th to 20th, 22nd, 16th again, and finally to 18th this yearor like Bush, who fell from 23rd to 39th.Franklin D. Roosevelt has held his title as top president since 1982 with the same four following as top five: Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.T
23、he survey, which ranks Presidents using 20 different factors, shows Jefferson was the most intelligent president, Richard Nixon was the worst at honesty and avoiding serious mistakes, Lincoln had the best overall ability, and Washington was the best leader.11. In which category did Obama win his bes
24、t place?A. Imagination. B. Intelligence. C. Background. D. Communication ability.12. What can we learn about the Siena College Research Institutes survey?A. It has been carried out five times.B. It has a history of more than 30 years.C. It is made after a President leaves office.D. It is done accord
25、ing to 10 different factors.13. Which of the following words can best replace the underlined word “validity”?A. Lightness B. Curiosity. C. Correctness D. Purpose14. Which of the following shows the right order about the ranking?a. Obamab. George W. Bushc. Ronald Reagand. Abraham LincolnA. c, d, a, b
26、 B. d, a, c, b C. d, c, b, a D. c, a, d, b15. Which of the following statements is TRUE?A. Thomas Jefferson is not among the top five Presidents on the list.B. George Washington is thought of as the most intelligent President.C. Richard Nixon has always been among the bottom five Presidents.D. Frank
27、lin D. Roosevelt has always been regarded as the top President.DBonus（奖金） culture has become the subject of many studies nowadays. Many people have been angered by the way some bankers and high officials seem to have been rewarded for failure. Others find the idea of offering many-million-dollar bon
28、uses morally disgusting.But few have asked whether performance-related bonuses really do improve performance. The answer seems so obvious that even to ask the question can appear ridiculous. Indeed, in spite of all the complaints about them, financial encouragements continue to be introduced in more
29、 and more areas, from healthcare and public services to teaching and universities.So it may come as a shock to many to learn that paying for results can actually make people perform badly in many circumstances, and that the more you pay, the worse they perform.No one is arguing that bonuses can help
30、 companies and institutions attract and keep the best staff. Nor does anyone argue against the idea that you can encourage people to do specific tasks by linking payments to those tasks. Rather, the point is about how to get the best out of people. Do employees really perform better if you promise t
31、o pay them more for getting results?There are some obvious reasons why such payments can fail. It has been argued, for instance, that cash bonuses contributed to the financial crash, because traders had little enthusiasm to make sure that their companies enjoyed long-term survival.Most bonus project
32、s are poorly designed, says Professor Malcolm Higgs. He thinks the reason is that organizations try to keep bonus arrangements simple. Nevertheless, he thinks bonus projects can work as long as they link the interests of individual employees with the long-term goals of a business.Bonuses can also en
33、courage cheating. “Once you start making peoples rewards dependent on outcomes rather than behaviors, the evidence is people will do whatever they can to get those outcomes,” says Professor Edward Deci. “In many cases the high officials simply lied and cheated to make the stock (股票) price go up so t
34、hey got huge bonuses.”But the work of Deci and others suggests the problem with bonuses runs far deeper than poor design or cheating. In 1971, he asked students to solve puzzles, with some receiving cash prizes for doing well and others getting nothing. Deci found those offered cash were less likely
35、 to keep working on puzzles after they had done enough to get paid.These studies suggest that offering rewards can stop people doing things for the pure joy of it. This was the basis for a series of books by Kohn in which he argues that rewarding children, students and workers with grades, scholarsh
36、ips and other “bribes” (贿赂) leads to low-quality work in the long run.Those who believe in the power of bonuses fail to distinguish between inner drive and outside pressure wanting to do something because you like it for itself in contrast to doing something because you want the reward, Kohn says. “
37、Its not just that these two are different, its often that the more you reward people for doing something, the more their inner drive tends to decline.”A “do this and get that” approach might improve performance in the short term, but over longer periods it will always fail, Kohn says. People who rec
38、eive bonus will naturally play safe, become less creative, cooperate less and feel less valued, he adds. Whats more, the studies also suggest that offering rewards can also stop people taking responsibility.16. The effect of performance-related bonuses has not been well studied because people _.A. t
39、ake the function of bonuses for grantedB. see that bonus offering is done everywhereC. think financial encouragement is disgustingD. are shocked by the practice of rewarding for failures17. According to Malcolm Higgs, designs that _ are the good ones.A. drive people to finish short-term tasksB. help
40、 to attract and keep good employeesC. link financial rewards with the quality of the outcomesD. connect individual interests with long-term business goals18. If a person plays safe to get a bonus, he is probably being _.A. more enthusiastic B. more risk-takingC. less daringD. less responsible19. Whi
41、ch of the following do you think the author would most probably agree with?A. Companies should make their bonus projects simple.B. The benefit of bonus helps to get the best out of people.C. The biggest problem with bonus is it creates cheating.D. Bonus offering can stop people doing things for pure joy.20. Which do you think is the best title of the passage?A. What Is Bonus? B. Does Bonus Work?C. Why Bonus Offered? D. How Bonus Works?. CABAD ACBAC AACBD ADCDB高考资源网独家精品资源，欢迎下载！高考资源网Ks5uK&S%5#UKs5uKs%U高考资源网高考资源网高考资源网 高考资源网版权所有，侵权必究！
