浙江省2012高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解(37).doc

浙江省2012高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解（37）
阅读下列材料，从每题所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
A
A three-year independent investigation into the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon has yielded new eyewitness evidence which, according to the Southern California-based researchers who conducted the investigation conclusively (and unfortunately), establishes as a historical fact that the violence which took place in Arlington that day was not the result of a surprise attack by suicide hijackers, but rather a military black operation involving a carefully planned and skillfully executed deception."
A CNN Reporter at the scene states that there is no evidence that a 757 hit the Pentagon.
　 What hit the Pentagon? A Boeing 757 loaded with passengers and fuel right? Who was on Flight 757? According to the Flight Information there were No Arabs on it. That makes me wonder if Flight 757 actually existed at all.
　　From the pictures and the videos, people can find that there are several doubtful points that need to be taken into consideration, for example the marker line on the grass in the satellite and ground pictures, the different colors of the smoke, the hole which the plane impacted, and the standing pylons (架线塔).
　　Also, from the comparison of the different pictures, people can find some other strange points. For example, the gear (齿轮) is not the matching one. The wreckage of the plane is not the one from the American Airlines. The glass on the pavement of the pole is another doubtful point. The last thing that need considering is about the collapse. One of the gif video shows the plane impacting the Pentagon. The only problem with this video footage is that it has been altered (改变) and can not be fully trusted.
　　These crash photos and videos shown here clearly have been doctored (篡改) and don't even match the physics of what happened. So where is the real video? It leaves me many questions. Is this a missile? It is a real enigma.
1. Where can you possibly read this article?
A. In a newspaper. B. In a book. C. In a magazine. D. On a website.
2. What the word “yielded” mean in the first sentence?
A. given in B. surrendered C. produced D. given away
3. Which of the following doubtful points is not mentioned in the passage?
A. the colors of the smoke B. the marker line on the grass
C. the standing pylons D. the model of the plane
4. What is the author’s attitude towards the 911 investigation?
A. Positive. B. Skeptical. C. Neutral. D. NG.

B
There is increasing evidence that the impacts of meteorites (陨星) have had important effects on Earth, particularly in the field of biological evolution. Such impacts continue to pose a natural hazard to life on Earth. If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period (白垩纪期) of geological history. This break in Earth's history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the species on the planet became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always intrigued paleontologists (古生物学者) because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they disappeared.
The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10 kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact in 1980 from the worldwide layer of sediment (沉积物) deposited from the dust cloud that enveloped the planet after the impact. This sediment layer is enriched in the rare metal iridium (铱) and other elements that are relatively abundant in a meteorite but very rare in the crust (地壳) of Earth. Even diluted (稀释) by the terrestrial (地球的) material excavated (挖掘) from the crater, this component of meteorites is easily identified. By 1990 geologists had located the impact site itself in the Yucat region of Mexico. The crater, now deeply buried in sediment, was originally about 200 kilometers in diameter.
This impact released an enormous amount of energy, excavating a crater about twice as large as the lunar crater Tycho. The explosion lifted about 100 trillion tons of dust into the atmosphere. Such a quantity of material would have blocked the sunlight completely from reaching the surface plunging Earth into a period of cold and darkness that lasted at least several months. The explosion is also calculated to have produced vast quantities of nitric acid (硝酸) and melted rock that sprayed out over much of Earth, starting widespread fires that must have consumed most terrestrial forests and grassland. Presumably, those environmental disasters could have been responsible for the mass extinction, including the death of the dinosaurs.
Several other mass extinctions in the geological record have been tentatively identified with large impacts, but none is so dramatic as the Cretaceous event. But even without such specific documentation, it is clear that impacts of this size do occur and that their results can be catastrophic. What is a catastrophe for one group of living things, however, may create opportunities for another group. Following each mass extinction, there is a sudden evolutionary burst as new species develop to fill the ecological niches opened by the event.
Impacts by meteorites represent one way that could cause global catastrophes and seriously influence the evolution of life all over the planet. According to some estimates, the majority of all extinctions of species may be due to such impacts. Such a perspective fundamentally changes our view of biological evolution. The standard criterion for the survival of a species is its success in competing with other species and adapting to slowly changing environments. Yet an equally important criterion is the ability of a species to survive random global ecological catastrophes due to impacts.
5. In paragraph 2, why does the author include the information that dinosaurs had flourished for tens of millions of years and then suddenly disappeared?
A. To support the claim that the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous is the best-documented of the dozen or so mass extinctions in the geological record.
B. To explain why as many as half of the species on Earth at the time are believed to have become extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.
C. To explain why paleontologists have always been intrigued by the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous.
D. To provide evidence that an impact can be large enough to disturb the environment of the entire planet and cause an ecological disaster.
6. According to paragraph 3, how did scientists determine that a large meteorite had impacted Earth?
A. They discovered a large crater in the Yucat region of Mexico.
B. They found a unique layer of sediment worldwide.
C. They were alerted by archaeologists who had been excavating in the Yucat region.
D. They located a meteorite with a mass of over a trillion tons.
7. According to paragraph 4, all of the following statements are true of the impact at the end of the Cretaceous period EXCEPT:
A. A large amount of dust blocked sunlight from Earth.
B. Earth became cold and dark for several months.
C. New elements were formed in Earth's crust.
D. Large quantities of nitric acid were produced.
8. The phrase tentatively identified in the passage is closest in the meaning to ____________.
A. identified without certainty B. identified after careful study
C. occasionally identified D. easily identified
9. Paragraph 6 supports which of the following statements about the factors that are essential for the survival of a species?
A. The most important factor for the survival of a species is its ability to compete and adapt to gradual changes in its environment.
B. The ability of a species to compete and adapt to a gradually changing environment is not the only ability that is essential for survival.
C. Since most extinctions of species are due to major meteorite impacts, the ability to survive such impacts is the most important factor for the survival of a species.
D. The factors that are most important for the survival of a species vary significantly from one species to another.
C
Passage 1 is from the introduction to a Zen Buddhist (禅宗的佛教僧侣) manual on the art of “mindfulness”, the practice of paying close attention to the present moment. Passage 2 is from an essay by a United States author.
Passage 1
Every morning, when we wake up, we have 24 brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these 24 hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and to others.
Peace is right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We don’t have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. We don’t have to leave our city or even our neighborhood to enjoy the eyes of a beautiful child. Even the air we breathe can be a source of joy.
We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing how to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with joy, peace, and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.
Passage 2
The argument of both the hedonist (享乐主义者) and the guru (印度教的宗师) is that we were but to open ourselves to the richness of the moment, to concentrate on the feast before us, we would be filled with bliss. I have lived in the present from time to time and can tell you that it is much overrated. Occasionally, as a holiday from stroking one’s memories or brooding (担忧) about future worries, I grant you, it can be a nice change of pace. But to “be here now,” hour after hour, would never work. I don’t even approve of stories written in the present tense. Ads for poets who never use a past participate, they deserve the eternity they are striving for.
Besides, the present has a way of intruding whether you like it or not. Why should I go out of my way to meet it? Let it splash on me from time to time, like a car going through a puddle, and I, on the sidewalk of my solitude (孤独), will salute it grimly like any other modern inconvenience.
If I attend a concert, obviously not to listen to the music but to find a brief breathing space in which to meditate on the past and future. I realize that there may be moments when the music invades my ears and I am forced to pay attention to it, note for note. I believe I take such intrusions gracefully. The present is not always an unwelcome guest, so long as it doesn’t stay too long and cut into my remembering or brooding time.
10．The author of Passage 1 would most likely view the author of Passage 2 as _______.
A. attaching too much importance to the views of others
B. advocating an action without considering the consequences
C squandering (浪费) a precious opportunity on a daily basis
D. failing to respect the feelings of other people
11. The author of Passage 1 would most likely respond to the “argument” (line 1 Passage 2) with_______.
A. complete agreement B. partial acceptance
C. absolute neutrality D. surprised disbelief
12. In Passage 1 line 11, the list (“a job…house”) presents things that most people ________.
A. assume they will eventually obtain B. eventually realize are overrated
C. are unwilling to make sacrifices for D. see as worth much effort to acquire
13. In Passage 2 lines 8—10, the “present” is characterized as _________.
A. a dangerous threat B. an unsolvable puzzle
C. an unavoidable imposition (强加) D. a burdensome obligation
14. Which of the following phrases from Passage 2 would the author of Passage 1 most likely choose as a title for Passage 1?
A. “the hedonist and the guru” (line 1) B. “the feast before us” (line 2)
C. “a brief breathing space” (line 11) D. “an unwelcome guest” (line 14)

D
Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly. He looked at it, and all joy left him. The fence was long and high. He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence. He repeated the operation. He felt he could not continue and sat down.
He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day. They would walk past him and laugh. They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday. The thought burned him like fire.
He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned. Perhaps he could find some way to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him. But there was nothing of value in his pockets —nothing that could buy even half an hour of freedom. So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea
At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It filled his mind with a great, bright light. Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash.
While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared. Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street. As he walked along, he was making noises like the sound of a riverboat. First he shouted loudly, like a boat captain. Then he said “Ding-Dong-Dong”, “Ding-Dong-Dong” again and again, like the bell of a riverboat. And he made other strange noises. When he came close to Tom, he stopped.
Tom went on whitewashing. He did not look at Ben. Ben stared a moment and then said: “Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working.
Ben said, “Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?”
Tom turned suddenly and said, “Why, it’s you, Ben! I wasn’t noticing.”
“Say —I’m going swimming. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work — wouldn’t you? Of course you would.”
Tom looked at the boy a bit, and said “What do you call work?”
“Why, isn’t that work?”
Tom went back to his whitewashing, and answered carelessly.
“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to say that you like it?”
The brush continued to move.
“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his b