1、2012届高考英语实战演练专题阅读理解（36-40）附详析 (第36篇) Runners in a relay(接力)race pass a stick in one direction. However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction. They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road.The Silk Road was not a simple trading netw
2、ork. It passed through thousands of cities and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200 B. C. to about A. D. 1300, when sea travel offered new routes (路线). It was sometimes called the worlds longest
3、highway. However，the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe.The Silk Road got its name f
4、rom its most prized product. Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia.Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants trade
5、d salt and other valuable goods.Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome.The Chinese had learned to graft(嫁接)different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Roma
6、ns. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to worldwide business 2000 years before the World Wide Web.The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also shared their beliefs. The Silk Road provided pathways for learning，diplomacy(外交)，and religion
7、(宗教)5. Its probable that traders along the Silk Road needed_.A. to remember the entire trade routeB. to know the making of productsC. to receive certain special trainingD. to deal with a lot of difficulties解析细节理解题。根据“The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun，deep snow
8、and even battles.Only experienced traders could return safe.”可知D项正确。答案D6. The Silk Road became less important because_.A. it was made up of different routesB. silk trading became less popularC. sea travel provided easier routesD. people needed fewer foreign goods解析细节理解题。根据“It was used from about 200
9、B.C.，to about AD1300，when sea travel offered new routes”能找到原因是“sea travel provided easier routes”。答案C7. New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people_.A. learned from one anotherB. shared each others beliefsC. traded goods along the routeD. earned their living by traveling解析细节理解题。
10、根据“The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods.They also shared their beliefs.The Silk Road provided pathways for learning，diplomacy，and religion”能看出人们彼此之间能学习一些东西。答案A8. What is the best title for the passage?A. The Silk Road：Past and PresentB. The Silk Road: East Meets WestC. The Silk Ro
11、ad：Routes Full of DangersD. The Silk Road：Pathways for Learning解析主旨大意题。根据“The Silk Road was not a simple trading network.It passed through thousands of cities and towns.It started from eastern China，across Central Asia and the Middle East，and ended in the Mediterranean Sea.”可知The Silk Road：East Meet
12、s West是最佳标题。答案B (第37篇)Four people in England ，back in 1953, stared at Photo 51.It wasn t much a picture showing a black X. But three of these people won the Nobel Prize for figuring out what the photo really showed the shape of DNA. The discovery brought fame and fortune to scientists James Watson,
13、Francis Crick，and Maurice Wilkins. The fourth, the one who actually made the picture, was left out.Her name was Rosalind Franklin. “She should have been up there，” says historian Mary Bowden.“ If her photos hadn t been there, the others couldn t have come up with the structure.” One reason Franklin
14、was missing was that she had died of cancer four years before the Nobel decision.But now scholars doubt that Franklin was not only robbed of her life by disease but robbed of credit by her competitors.At Cambridge University in the 1950s, Watson and Crick tried to make models by cutting up shapes of
15、 DNA s parts and then putting them together. In the meantime, at King s College in London, Franklin and Wilkins shone Xrays at the molecule (分子). The rays produced patterns reflecting the shape.But Wilkins and Franklins relationship was a lot rockier than the celebrated teamwork of Watson and Crick.
16、 Wilkins thought Franklin was hired to be his assistant. But the college actually employed her to take over the DNA project.What she did was produce Xray pictures that told Watson and Crick that one of their early models was inside out. And she was not shy about saying so. That angered Watson, who a
17、ttacked her in return，“ Mere inspection suggested that she would not easily bend. Clearly she had to go or be put in her place.”As Franklins competitors, Wilkins, Watson and Crick had much to gain by cutting her out of the little group of researchers, says historian Pnina AbirAm. In 1962 at the Nobe
18、l Prize awarding ceremony, Wilkins thanked 13 colleagues by name before he mentioned Franklin. Watson wrote his book laughing at her. Crick wrote in 1974 that “Franklin was only two steps away from the solution.”No, Franklin was the solution.“ She contributed more than any other player to solving th
19、e structure of DNA. She must be considered a codiscoverer，” AbirAm says. This was backed up by Aaron Klug, who worked with Franklin and later won a Nobel Prize himself. Once described as the “Dark Lady of DNA”， Franklin is finally coming into the light.语篇解读谁发现了DNA，仅仅只有James Watson，Francis Crick和Maur
20、ice Wilkins吗？本文作者告诉我们，功劳也有Rosalind Franklin的一份。1What is the text mainly about?A. The disagreements among DNA researchers.B. The unfair treatment of Franklin.C. The process of discovering DNA.D. The race between two teams of scientists.解析主旨大意题。通读全文，可知Franklin在DNA的发现中也做出了重要贡献，但却由于某些原因而不为人知。由此答案选B项：她受到
21、了不公正的对待。答案B2Watson was angry with Franklin because she_.A. took the lead in the competitionB. kept her results from himC. proved some of his findings wrongD. shared her data with other scientists解析逻辑推理题。从第五段前两句可知，Franklin直言不讳地指出他们犯的错误，这引起了Watson的不满。答案选C。答案C3Why is Franklin described as “Dark Lady of
22、 DNA” ?A. She developed pictures in dark labs.B. She discovered the black X the shape of DNA.C. Her name was forgotten after her death.D. Her contribution was unknown to the public.解析逻辑推理题。从全文可知，作者认为Franklin的贡献被忽略掉了，她的贡献理应得到人们的承认。所以答案选D。答案D4What is the writers attitude toward Wilkins ，Watson and Cri
23、ck?A. Disapproving.B. Respectful.C. Admiring. D. Doubtful.解析态度推测题。从全文知，作者肯定了Franklin的贡献，对另外三个科学家的行为表示“不满，不赞成”，所以答案选A。答案A (第38篇)This was no ordinary class. The students who came together were all science or engineering professors at Cornell University. They had interrupted their research to accept an
24、 invitation to take part in an unusual experiment: “an interesting week of poetry.” This class was part of a study to answer the questions: Why is science difficult for many nonscience students? What can teachers learn about teaching if they take a class that is not in their field?The students in th
25、e poetry class listened to lectures and took notes. They had reading tasks and had to write three short papers. All students noticed one thingthe importance of spoken words. In science and engineering classes, the instructors put tables and drawings on the blackboard. But in this poetry class, the i
26、nstructors just talked. They didnt write anything on the board.The scientists and engineers noticed one similarity between science and poetry. In both subjects, students need to find layers(层次) of meaning. Some layers are simple, clear, and on the surface；other layers are deeper and more difficult.
27、This search for different levels of meaning doesnt happen much in undergraduate (本科) science classes, but it is important later, in graduate school. And it is always important in humanities(人文学科)Both the poetry instructors and their students learned something about teaching from this experience. One
28、 poetry instructor, for example, now sees the importance of using careful，clear definitions (定义)when he explains a poem. He also plans to be more informative as he teaches. Most of the scientists agreed on several points. First, humanities classes might help science students to see patterns and deci
29、de which information is important. Second, the poetry class was fun. One engineer decided, “We need to change the way we teach engineering to make it an enjoyable experience for students.”But perhaps the most important result of the experience was this：All of the professors began to think about how
30、they teach and how they can teach better.5. What do we know about this unusual class?A. The teachers did lots of writing on the board.B. The teachers were invited to attend several lectures.C. The students were professors from a university.D. The students were studying science and humanities.解析细节理解题
31、。根据“This was no ordinary class.The students who came together were all science or engineering professors at Cornell University”可知C项正确。答案C6. The experiment was designed to find out_.A. how to teach the students in the science classB. whether poetry is difficult for science studentsC. what to be taugh
32、t in the humanities classD. why many humanities students find science hard解析细节理解题。根据“why is science difficult for many nonscience students？”找到答案。答案D7. Finding levels of meaning is_.A. important for graduate students in humanitiesB. difficult for graduate students in humanitiesC. common for undergrad
33、uate students in scienceD. easy for undergraduate students in science解析细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句“And it is always important in humanities”可知选A项。答案A8. What did the science professors learn after the experiment?A. They should change the way they teach.B. A poem could be explained in clear definitions.C. A poetr
34、y class could be more informative.D. Their teaching was an enjoyable experience.解析细节理解题。由“But perhaps the most important result of the experience was this：All of the professors began to think about how they teach and how they can teach better.”我们可知道全文的中心思想。答案A (第39篇)When I was going home to India la
35、st year, I called up my mother to ask if she wanted anything from China.When India had not opened up its markets to the world, I carried suitcase loads of dark glasses and jeans. Thankfully，we can get all these anywhere in India now.Still, her answer surprised me，“ Green tea.”As long as I can rememb
36、er she didn t even drink Indian tea.I dutifully bought a big packet of Longjing and headed home to hear the story. My mother and her brother, both regular newspaper readers, believed that Chinese green tea was the wonder drug for all illnesses.At the turn of the century, China was not really familia
37、r to the average Indian. It was a strange country.How things change! And how soon! Now every town of any size seems to have a “China Market”. And everyone is talking about China.The government of India has planned to send a team to China to see how things are done. A minister once said that India mu
38、st open the doors for more foreign investment(投资) and such a step would “work wonders as it did for China”But it_s_a_twoway_street. I just heard about a thousand Shenzhen office workers who have gone to Bangalore to train in software. Meanwhile, all the Indian IT majors are setting up a strong prese
39、nce in China.No wonder that trade, which was only in the millions just ten years ago, was expected to hit about US $15 billion for last year and US $20 billion by 2008, a goal set by both governments.No wonder, my colleague wrote some weeks ago about this being the SinoIndian (中印)century as the two
40、countries started on January 1 the SinoIndian Friendship Year.But what is still a wonder to me is my mother drinking Chinese tea.语篇解读文章主要讲述了一个印度人对中国的印象：中国的发展令他惊讶不已。另外，中国和印度相互合作，实现了双赢。1Why did the mother ask for Chinese green tea?A. She was tired of Indian tea.B. She had a son working in China.C. She
41、 believed it had a curing effect.D. She was fond of Chinese products.解析根据第五段最后一句话可知答案。答案C2What does the author mean by “it s a twoway street” in Paragraph 10?A. China and India have different traffic rules.B. Tea trade works wonders in both India and China.C. Chinese products are popular in both Chi
42、na and India.D. The exchanges between India and China benefit both.解析结合上下文可知，这句话的意思是“中国和印度互惠互利，共同发展”。答案D3What do we know about the Indian IT industry?A. It will move its head office to Shenzhen.B. It is seeking further development in China.C. It has attracted an investment of US $15 billion.D. It ca
43、ught up with the US IT industry in 2008.解析由第十段可知，B项正确。答案B4In the text the author expresses_.A. his concern for his mother s healthB. his support for drinking Chinese green teaC. his surprise at China s recent developmentD. his wonder at the growth of India s IT industry解析综观全文可知，作者对中国的发展变化惊讶不已。因此C项正确
44、。答案C (第40篇)People believe that climbing can do good to health. Where can you learn the skill of climbing then? If you think that you have to go to the mountains to learn how to climb, youre wrong. Many Americans are learning to climb in city gyms(体育馆). Here，people are learning on special climbing wa
45、lls. The climbing wall goes straight up and has small holding places for hands and feet.How do people climb the wall? To climb，you need special shoes and a harness (保护带) around your chest to hold you.There are ropes(绳索)tied to your harness. The ropes hold you in place so that you dont fall.A beginne
46、rs wall is usually about 15 feet high, and you climb straight up. There are small pieces of metal that stick out for you to stand on and hold on to. Sometimes its easy to see the next piece of metal. Sometimes, its not. The most difficult part is to control your fear.Its normal for humans to be afra
47、id of falling, so its difficult not to feel fear. But when you move away from the wall, the harness and the ropes hold you，and you begin to feel safe. You move slowly until you reach the top.Climbing attracts people because its good exercise for almost everyone. You use your whole body, especially y
48、our arms and legs.This sport gives your body a complete workout. When you climb，both your mind and your body can become stronger.5. What can we infer from the passage?A. People are fairly interested in climbing nowadays.B. It is impossible to build up ones body by climbing.C. People can only learn t
49、he skill of climbing outdoors.D. It is always easy to see holding places in climbing.解析推理判断题。由本文第一段中“People believe that climbing can do good to health.Where can you learn the skill of climbing then”和第三段中“Climbing attracts people because its good exercise for almost everyone.”可推断出答案。答案A6. The most d
50、ifficult thing to do in wall climbing is_.A. to tie ropes to your harnessB. to control your fearC. to move away from the wallD. to climb straight up解析细节理解题。根据第二段“The most difficult part is to control your fear.”可以推断出应该控制一下恐惧心理。答案B7. The word “workout” underlined in the last paragraph most probably m
51、eans_.A. settlementB. exerciseC. excitement D. tiredness解析词义猜测题。由文中最后一段最后一句“When you climb，both your mind and your body can become stronger.”可知，该词意为“锻炼”。答案B8. Why does the author write this passage?A. To tell people where to find gyms.B. To prove the basic need for climbing.C. To encourage people to climb mountains.D. To introduce the sport of wall climbing.解析主旨大意题。通读全文可以判断出作者主要介绍了wall climbing这项运动。答案D