四川省仁寿县城北教学点高三英语阅读理解限时训练(7).doc

高三英语阅读理解限时训练（7）

A
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choice in life.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors’ code for preparing yourself to die.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. I was completely in despair. Later that evening, I had another examination and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’ m fine now.
This was the closest I’ve been to facing death. To tell the truth, no one wants to die. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
Your time is so limited that you shouldn’t waste it repeating someone else’s life. Don’ t be trapped by dogma（教条）— which is living with the results of other people’ s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
41. The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because ______.
A. he had to rest at home B. his disease couldn’t be cured
C. his disease was not serious at all D. he had to wait for the result of the test
42. What does the author think of death?
A. He thinks it is impossible to avoid. B. He thinks it is not the end of life.
C. He thinks it is nothing to be scared of. D. He thinks it is the beginning of a new life.
43. In the author’s opinion, we should ______.
A. follow others’ advice B. take no notice of diseases
C. take exercise and keep healthy D. have the courage to follow our heart
44. What does the underlined word in Para.3 mean?
A. came across B. dealt with C. survived D. supported
B
If women are mercilessly exploited（剥削） year after year, they have only themselves to blame. Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste. Many women spend large sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time changing their old-fashioned dresses. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with necessary things like warmth, comfort and durability （耐用）. They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn’t at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or picking her way through deep snow in high heeled shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Do the constantly changing fashions of women’s clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability稳定耐用）? That is for you to decide.
45. Designers and big stores always make money ______.
A. by mercilessly exploiting women in the clothing industry
B. because they are good at predicting new fashions
C. by constantly changing the fashions in women's clothing
D. as they attach great importance to quality in women’s clothing
46. To the writer, the fact that women change their old-fashioned dresses is seen as ______.
A. a waste of money B. a waste of time
C. an expression of taste D. an expression of beauty
47. New fashions in clothing are created for ______.
A. the commercial exploitation of women
B. the women’s strength of character
C. basic qualities of inconstancy and instability
D. an important contribution to society
48. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. women’s inconstancy in choosing clothes is often laughed at
B. women are better able to put up with discomfort
C. men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers
D. men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion
C
Labor force is defined as being the total number of people who are available to work and earn income. This definition includes everyone who is employed or seeking paid employment, so it includes employers and the self-employed. Labor is one of the country's resources which can be combined with other resources to produce the goods and services wanted by the community.
Although the size of the workforce depends a great deal on the size of the total population, there are several other influences which also affect it. The age distribution (分布) of the total population has a very marked effect on the available workforce. If the population has a high proportion of very young people or of those too old to work, then the available workforce would be lower than if there were a balanced spread age distribution. If the population naturally grows rapidly, the number of births greatly exceeds (超出) the number of deaths then as a total population increases proportion of the workforce declines.
Sometimes a population is described as aging which means that the birth rate is either falling or growing very slowly, and as people retire from the workforce there are insufficient numbers of young people entering it to replace those who are leaving it. In that situation the population is top-heavy with older people. So the percentage of the population in the workforce declines when there is either a rapid increase in births or a falling birth rate.
The age distribution of the population has several important effects on the economy. If the population is aging and there is an increase in the number of people retiring without a corresponding increase in the number entering the workforce, this raises the problem of the ability of the economy to provide a reasonable level of social services to the retired group. If the aged are to be cared for in special homes, finance must be available for that purpose. If the size of the workforce is small relative to the total population, then the government tax revenue (税收) is relatively low and either the government has less money available to it or workforce members have to be taxed more heavily.
49. In the passage “labor force” is defined as ______.
A. people who are available to work and earn income
B. self-employed people who have the ability to work
C. people who are looking for an employment
D. employers who have created job opportunities
50. From the second paragraph we can draw the conclusion that ______.
A. a natural growth of population always leads to a balanced workforce
B. a large population does not necessarily mean a higher proportion of workforce
C. the larger the population is, the higher the proportion of the workforce will be
D. the workforce will be lower if the population has a balanced age distribution
51. When a population is said to be aging，______.
A. there are more people retiring than those entering the workforce
B. the birth rate in the area must be lower that that of death there
C. there should be an oversupply of the workforce members
D. there are more people entering the workforce than those retiring
52. The population which is top-heavy with older people ______ of a country.
A. leads to the high rate of unemployment
B. results in low tax on workforce members
C. affects employees’ incomes
D. places pressure on the economy
D
Many people have been talking about the way in which the world will come to an end in 2012. Everybody wants to find out if December 21, 2012 is the last day of the earth. The rumor has already been spreading for a very long time. The Mayan’s prediction can account for the rumor. According to the rumor, the earth will experience dramatic changes in 2012 and the changes will be disastrous to all of the living creatures on earth. It is widely assumed that a Planet X will return to orbit the solar system. The return of Planet X will have a destructive effect on the solar system as well as on some planets including the Neptune, the Jupiter and the earth. Planet X will cross into their orbits. There’s a possibility that Jupiter will change into a little sun at this time, so folks will be well placed to see two suns in the sky in 2012.
The solar flares (耀斑) that occur in a 11-year cycle will reach their highest point in 2012. The powerful solar flares will affect the magnetic field of the earth and cause disasters. On December 21, 2012, the sun and the earth will line up in the same line at the equator(赤道). The winter solstice(冬至) only occurs once every 25,800 years. The events in the universe are signals that the world will come to an end. As a result of the solar flares, lots of disasters will happen that will destroy the face of the whole earth. Scientists are making the guess primarily based on the Mayan Long Count Calendar.
Many films have been made about the end of the world including End Game by Alex Jones and End Clock: Nostradamus 2012. The former provides insights about the way the world will become one state. After the world government is in place, it’s going to be easy to exterminate 80% of the people in the world. The rest will continue to live with assistance from advanced technology.
No one knows whether the world will end on December 21, 2012. There is no clear answer until the day arrives. Just as the Mayans claim, it will not be the time for the world to end. Instead, it will be the dawn of a fresh start.
53. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Information about end-of-the-world predictions.
B. Different opinions about end-of-the-world predictions.
C. Some doubts about end-of-the-world predictions.
D. Destructive effects of the end of the world.
54. Which of the following things will NOT happen if the end of the world really happens?
A. Humans will see two suns at the same time.
B. The earth will look completely different.
C. The earth and the moon will line up in the same line.
D. The solar flares will become stronger than before.
55. The underlined word “exterminate” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.
A. save B. kill C. help D. rule
56. What is the author’s attitude to the rumor that the world will end?
A. Optimistic. B. Sad. C. Unconcerned. D. Scared.
E
Levi Strauss, who was born in 1830 and went to the USA at the age of 17, sat in the saloon and drank his beer slowly. He began to think. Business was not good. Nobody wanted to buy anything. He thought about the canvas and the pots and pans on the wagon. Then he remembered the hole in Hank’s trousers. Suddenly, he had an idea — “pants”, he jumped up and shouted, “Everyone needs pants.” He hurried to a tailor and gave him all his canvas.
“I want you to make pants with this canvas,” he said. “Can you do that?”
“Yes, of course,” said the tailor, “What name is it?”
“Strauss, Levi Strauss.”
It was the beginning of jeans. Now more than a hundred years later, people wear jeans all over the world and everyone knows the name of Levi Strauss. In the 1860s, farmers, rail-road workers, cowboys and miners helped to develop the new land. Life was hard. They worked for long hours in all kinds of weather. They wore trousers made by Levi Strauss. They were the first people to wear jeans in America.
Jeans first came to Europe with the American soldiers during World War II. Soon, workers in Europe were wearing them. Workers liked them: they were cheap, hardwearing and practical. They were not popular with young people generally until the late 1950s and early 1960s.
It came suddenly. It started in America and it crossed the Atlantic quickly. It was a new kind of music, a new kind of dance. Rock’ n Roll. The king of Rock’ n Roll was Elvis Presley. Teenagers loved him. At home he wore a T shirt, an old leather jacket and blue jeans, so more and more teenagers began to wear jeans. They liked them tight.
57. All the following statements are TRUE except ______.
A. Jeans could first be seen in Europe during the Second World War
B. Jeans were not popular with all Americans until the late 1950s and early 1960s
C. Many people all over the world show interest in jeans at the present time
D. Farmers, railroad workers, cowboys and miners were the first people to wear jeans in America
58. Which of the following is the right order in jeans’ spreading?
a. More and more teenagers began to wear jeans.
b. More than a hundred years later people wear jeans all over the world.
c. Farmers, railroad workers, cowboys and miners started to wear jeans.
d. Soon, workers in Europe were wearing jeans.
e. Not until the late 1950s and early 1960s were jeans popular with young people.
f. Levi Strauss had jeans made at 17.
A. f,c,d,b,e,a B. c,d,f,e,a,b C. a,c,d,e,b,f D. f,c,d,e,a,b
59. Jeans became popular among the teenagers because
A. they were cheap, hardwearing and practical
B. they liked them tight
C. their idol liked wearing them
D. they came out like a new kind of music or dance
60. The best title for the passage can be _____.
A. Levi Strauss, First Man to Invent Jeans B. The Best Trousers — Jeans
C. How Jeans Comes Out And Spreads D. Reasons for Jeans’ Spreading

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