1、阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。Have you ever noticed the colour of the water in a river or stream after a heavy rainfall?What do you think caused this change in colour?It is soil that has been washed into the river from the riverbank or from the nearby fields.Components of SoilSoil is made up
2、of a number of layers(层),each having its own distinctive colour and texture. The upper layer is know as the litter. It acts like a blanket,limiting temperature changes and reducing water loss. The topsoil layer is made up of small particles of rock mixed with rotten plant and animal matter called hu
3、mus(腐殖质),which is black and gives the topsoil its dark colour. This layer is usually rich in nutrients,oxygen,and water. Below the topsoil is the subsoil,a layer that contains more stones mixed with only small amounts of organic matter. This layer is lighter in colour because of the lack of humus. B
4、eneath the soil lies a layer of bedrock.Soil forms from the bottom up. Over time bedrock is attacked by rain,wind,frost,and snow. It is gradually broken down into smaller particles in a process called weathering. Plants begin to grow,and rotten materials enrich the topsoil. Most of the soil in Easte
5、rn Canada,for example,was formed from weathered rock that was exposed when the ice disappeared 12,000 years ago.Water Beneath the SoilSurface water collects and flows above the ground in lakes,ponds,and rivers. Once in the soil or rock,it is called groundwater. Gravity pulls groundwater through the
6、soil in a process called percolation(渗透). Eventually the water reaches a layer called the water table. Under this is bedrock through which water cannot percolate.As water percolates downward,it dissolves organic matter and minerals from the soil and carries them to deeper layers. This causes a serio
7、us problem because plants require these nutrients for growth.Soil pHSoil can be acidic,neutral,or basic. The pH of the soil is determined by the nature of the rock from which it was formed,and by the nature of the plants that grow and rot in it.The acidity of rain and snow can lower the pH of the gr
8、oundwater that enters the soil. By burning fossil fuels such as coal,oil and gasoline,humans have been contributing to higher levels of acidity in many soils. When fossil fuels are burned,gases are released into the air and then fall back to earth as acid rain. Acid soil increases the problem of car
9、rying nutrients to lower soil levels. As nutrients are removed,soil is less fertile. Plants grow more slowly in acidic soil,and also become easily attacked by diseases.1. The layer of soil that provides necessary nutrients for plant growth is called.A. litterB. topsoilC. humusD. subsoil2. According
10、to the text,which of the following isNOT true?A. Soil forms from weathered rock on the earth surface.B. The deeper layer of soil is darker in colour than the surface soil.C. Air pollution is partially responsible for acid soil.D. Groundwater tends to carry away nutrients for plant growth.3. We can i
11、nfer from the passage that the water table lies.A. between the topsoil layer and the subsoil layerB. in the subsoil layer above bedrockC. between the subsoil layer and bedrockD. in the bedrock layer beneath the subsoil4. The underlined word“dissolve” is used to express the idea that organic matter a
12、nd minerals from soil are.A. rushed away into the river B. cleaned and purified by waterC. destroyed and carried away by water D. mixed with water and become part of it【参考答案】1-4、BBCD【附】阅读理解概述（4）题型探究探究点三语义推测题猜词悟义是应用英语的重要能力，也是高考阅读理解中必考的题型。它不但需要准确无误地理解上下文，而且要有较大的泛读量，掌握或认识较多的课外词汇。考生应学会通过构词、定义、同位、对比、因果、常
13、识、同义、反义及上下文线索等确定词义。一、题型特点与命题方式此类题型有逐渐增加的趋势，尤其是猜测词组、句义题。因为猜测词组、句义题涉及题材背景、句子结构、文章主旨、作者的观点态度等。联系主旨、整合上下文信息是解答这类题的关键。近几年阅读理解的生词率略有上升，加大了猜测力度。命题者着重考查考生利用同义或反义关系、构词法、语法和语篇文脉等理解生词的能力。 【题型特点】1要求根据阅读材料所提供的信息，结合中学生应有的常识和经验，正确判断生词词组的含义或熟词在特定语境中表达的具体含义以及一些句子的意思。2要求猜测词义的词一般为实词，可通过构词法、定义、对比、因果、联想、上下文等线索确定词义。3代词复指
14、理解题也是猜测词义的常考类型。用“逻辑关系梳理法”、“逆向寻踪法”理清人物及事物之间的逻辑关系是关键所在。【设问形式】1The underlined word“.” in the second(third.) paragraph refers to(means) _. 2By saying “.” in the first(second.) paragraph, the author means that _.3In paragraph.，“.” can be replaced by “_”4The meaning of “.” in paragraph.is related to _.5Wh
15、ich of the following has the closest meaning to.(paragraph.)?6The underlined sentence in the first (second.)paragraph probably means that _. 二、解题思路与应试技巧做这种类型的题，要根据词、词组、句子所在的语境来判断其意义。因此熟练掌握一些猜词技巧是做好这类题的关键。命题者在出这类题时惯用常规词义来麻痹考生，我们要特别注意熟词生义，切不可脱离语境主观臆断。下面结合近几年高考试题，对猜词悟义的技巧加以解读。1根据定义或上下文解释进行猜测有时短文中出现一个需要
16、猜测其意义的词或短语，下面接着出现其定义或解释，这就是判断该词或短语意义的主要依据。例如： It will be very hard but also very brittle that is, it will break easily.从后面that is(也就是说)的解释中我们可以了解到brittle是“脆”的意思。The herdsman,_who looks after sheep, earns about 650 yuan a year.定语从句中 looks after sheep 就表明了herdsman的词义为“牧羊人”。 例1 【2009福建卷】In his book, he
17、 had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping_points,_such as the melting(融化)of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica.The underlined words “tipping points” most probably refer to “_”Afreezing pointsBburning points
18、Cmelting points Dboiling points【解析】 C根据后一句的such as the melting(融化)of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica.可知tipping points的意思是“融点”。 2根据同位关系进行猜测阅读中出现的难词有时后面紧跟一个同位语，对前面的词进行解释，这时可利用同位关系对前面或后面的词义或句意进行猜测。例如：They traveled a long way, at last got to a_castle,_a large building in old times.同位语部分a
19、large building in old times 给出了castle 的确切词义，即古时候的“城堡”。We are on the_night_shiftfrom midnight to 8 am. this week.两个破折号之间的短语很清楚地表明night shift 是“夜班”的意思。 The “Chunnel”， a tunnel(隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.此句中a tunnel connecting England and France是Chunnel的同位语。由此可知，The “Chunnel”就是英
20、法之间的海底隧道。 例 2 The Coalition for the Homeless is an organization that seeks to address the needs of the homeless population in the United States.It is a network of offices, some of which provide food and houses for the homeless population, and some of which fight for the passing of laws that would gi
21、ve every American the right to a place to call home.The word “address” in the first sentence probably means _ .Atalk about Bdeal withCfight for Dwrite to 【解析】 B猜测词义题。根据文中第二句“It is a network of offices, some of which provide food and houses for the homeless population.”，可知，该组织通过两种方式解决美国无家可归的人的住房问题，故可
22、知B项正确。 3根据构词法(合成、派生、转化等)进行猜测在英语中，有很多词可以在前面加前缀，或在后面加后缀，从而构成一个词，乍看起来，这个词可能是新词，但掌握了一定的构词知识，就不难猜出它的词义。例如：“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10，” Anaclerio said, “and theyre very interactive_and creative in that they built a sense of drama based on a subject.”文中interactive是由前缀inter(相互的)和active(活动的，
23、活跃的)而构成的，同时根据上下文的意思可以判断，该词的含义应是“互动的”。 例 3 The new type of pineapple was selling fast, and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eater.The underlined word “fixture” probably refers to something _.Athat people enjoy eatingBthat is always presentCth
24、at is difficult to getDthat people use as a gift【解析】 B从文章意思可知，这种新型菠萝很畅销，当然成为了健康饮食人士购物筐中的常客。另外根据构词知识可知，该词的词根是fix，含有“固定”之意。 4根据因果关系进行猜测在一篇阅读文章中，根据原因可以预测结果，根据结果也可以找出原因。例如：The lack of movement caused the muscles to weaken.Sometimes the weakness was permanent.So the player could never play the sport agai
25、n.从后面的结果“永远不能再运动”，可以推测 permanent 的意思是“永远的，永久的”。The low test score, they think, will make it impossible for them to get into a good college.And without a degree from a prestigious_university,_they fear that many of lifes doors will remain forever closed. 学生认为考试分数低就不可能进入一所好大学，而没有“名校”的毕业文凭，将来生活中的很多大门可能
26、就会对他们永远关闭。由此推知a prestigious university应是指名校，即a famous university。 例 4 【2011福建卷】.The problem is that if we invest little time in a person, our engagement_with that person will decline(减弱)until eventually it dies into “someone I once knew”.The underlined word “engagement” in the second paragraph proba
27、bly means “_”Aappointment BconnectionCinterview Dagreement【解析】 B词义猜测题。根据文中人们投入时间的多少将决定其关系的时长，可知投入时间少，我们和那个人的关系将被削弱，所以engagement是“关系”的含义，与B项一致。 5根据上下文的指代关系进行猜测文章中的代词it, that, this, he, him 或them可以指上文提到的人或物，其中it和that还可以指一件事。有时代词指代的对象相隔较远，要认真查找；有时需要对前面提到的内容进行总结，才能得出代词所指代的事。例如：However, the question that
28、 “moon people” asked is still an interesting one.A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.it指的是月球人(moon people)所问的问题(the question)。 例 5 【2011福建卷】.To get rid of alcohol from the body is a very slow process and it is not possible to speed it up with any measures like taking a sho
29、wer or having a cup of tea or coffee.The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “_”Aalcohol BabsorptionCblood Dprocess 【解析】 D代词指代题。根据“To get rid of alcohol from the body is a very slow process and it is not possible to speed it up with any measures like taking a shower or having a cu
30、p of tea or coffee.”可知排除身体内的酒精是一个非常缓慢的过程，所以也不可能通过任何手段如洗澡或者喝一杯茶或咖啡加速这个排除过程，这样可以猜测出it指代排除身体内的酒精这一个过程，故选择D。 6根据同义关系进行猜测当词或短语之间有并列连词and 或or时，其连接的两项内容在含义上是接近的或递进的，由此确定同等关系中的某个生词所属的义域，由此可推知其大致意思。Although he often had the opportunity, Mr.Tritt was never able to steal money from a customer.This would have e
31、ndangered his position at the bank, and he did not want to jeopardize his future.作者为避免重复使用endanger一词，用其同义词jeopardize来替代它，由此推知其词义为“使陷入危险，危及，危害”。Doctors believe that smoking cigarettes is detrimental to your health.They also regard drinking as harmful.句中detrimental是个生词，但判断出harmful替代detrimental后，不难推断出其
32、词义为“不利的，有害的”。 例 6【2009重庆卷】.When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I cant achieve something.Then, there are other distractions,_such as family or hobbies.What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to? AWays that help one to focus.BWords that help one to fe
33、el less tense.CActivities that turn ones attention away.DHabits that make it hard for one to relax. 【解析】 C由前面的other可知distractions与第一句意思基本相同，第一句话表达的是让人注意力分散的事情，结合上下文可知答案为C。 7根据转折或对比关系进行猜测根据上下句的连接词，如but, however, otherwise等就可以看到前后句在意义上的差别，从而依据某一句的含义来确定另一句的含义。另外，分号也可以表示转折、对比或不相干的意义。例如：She is usually pr
34、ompt for all her class, but today she arrived in the middle of her first class.but一词表转折，因此but 前后的意思正好相反。后半句的意思是她今天“第一节上了一半才来”，因此反向推理，可得出她平时一向“准时”的结论。8通过上下文理解猜测词义通过上下文的具体信息猜测词义是目前高考阅读理解题中最常见的一种命题形式。 例 8 【2011课标全国卷】.The familys old farm house has become a chicken house, its residents arriving next mon
35、th.What does the word “residents” in paragraph 1 probably refer to? Achickens BtomatoesCgardens Dpeople 【解析】 A词义理解题。联系句子The familys old farm house has become a chicken house，its residents arriving next month.我们知道，这里所说的“房子的居住者”就是这些小鸡。 【2014四川省资阳市第一次诊断性考试】An alcohol breath test (ABT) is often used by
36、the police to find out whether a person is drunk while driving. In the United States, the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.08% for people aged 21 years or older, while people under 21 are not allowed to drive a car with any level of alcohol in their body. A “positive” test result, a result over the le
37、gal limit, allows the police to arrest the driver. However, many people who tested positive on the test have claimed that they only drank a “non-alcoholic” energy drink. Can one of these energy drinks really cause someone to test positive on an ABT? Researchers in Missouri set up an experiment to fi
38、nd out.First, the amount of alcohol in 27 different popular energy drinks was measured. All but one had an alcohol level greater than 0.005%. In nine of the 27 drinks, the alcohol level was at least 0.096%.The scientists then investigated the possibility that these small levels of alcohol could be d
39、iscovered by an ABT. They asked test subjects to drink a full can or bottle of an energy drink and then gave each subject an ABT one minute and 15 minutes after the drink was finished.For 11 of the 27energy drinks, the ABT did find the presence of alcohol if the test was given within one minute afte
40、r the drink was taken. However, alcohol could not be discovered for any of the drinks if the test was given 15 minutes after the drink was consumed. This shows that when the test is taken plays an important role in the test result. The sooner the test is conducted after the consumption of these drin
41、ks, the more likely a positive alcohol reading will be obtained.39. What is the legal alcohol level for a 20-year-old driver in the US?A. 0.000%.B. 0.005%.C. 0.080%.D. 0.096%.40. What is the purpose of the Missouri experiment?A. To warn people of the dangers of drinking energy drinks.B. To introduce
42、 a new method of calculating blood alcohol levels.C. To discover the relation between energy drinks and ABT test results.D. To change the current legal alcohol limit for drivers in the United States.41. The underlined word “subjects” in Paragraph 2 refers to_.A. the things that are being discussedB.
43、 areas of knowledge studied in schoolC. the person in an experimentD. the people who belong to a country42. Which of the following affects the ABT test result most for energy drink consumers?A. The age of the person who takes the test.B. The place where the test is given.C. The equipment that the te
44、st uses.D. The time when the test is taken.【参考答案】39、AC41-45 CD 【2014四川省资阳市第一次诊断性考试】DAn American educational expert, Frederick M. Hess, says that a long summer vacation doesnt make sense in todays world.This summer, 50 million kids will spend much time talking online, watching TV, playing video games
45、 and asking older brothers or sisters to take them to the supermarket. They will also be putting their academic futures at risk.During much of the 20th century, many Americans worked in factories that did not need a college degree but still offered a high salary. Also, in the 19th century, there was
46、 no air condition. And poor hygiene (卫生) meant that crowded schools had health risks.Things have changed. For todays students, academic skills are key to future success. Many countries dont give kids an American-style summer vacation. They offer no more than seven consecutive (连续的) weeks of vacation
47、. Most American school districts offer up to 13 weeks. To compete in global marketplace, Americans must be prepared to go up against international competitors.Summer vacation also causes challenges for todays families. In the 1960s, more than 60% of families had a stay-at-home mum. Now, two-thirds o
48、f American children live families where every adult works. For these families, summer vacation can be more burden than break. Someone must watch the kids. But the biggest problem may be how summer vacation hurts academic achievement. Scientist have found that disadvantaged students lose important gr
49、ound in the summertime.A school year can allow time-limited teachers to conduct richer and more imaginative lessons. Schools would have more time for sports, languages, music and the arts.43. Before the 20th century, a long summer vacation might _.A. reduce income for AmericansB. reduce health risks
50、 for studentsC. cause career failure for AmericansD. cause loss in global market for America44. How long does an American-style summer vacation last？A. No more than two months.B. Less than three months.C. As long as three months.D. As long as four months.45. According to the text, who will benefit f
51、rom a long school year?A. American students, teachers and parents.B. American students, parents and shop owners.C. American students, parents and international competitors.D. American students, teachers and international competitors.46. How many reasons did the writer give to support his/her opinion?A. One.B. Two.C. Three.D. Four.【参考答案】43、BCA46、 D
