高三英语阅读初级5.doc

2014届高三英语星级阶梯阅读练习 二星级 5

第一节 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列四篇短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
In South Africa, paragliding(滑翔伞运动) is one of the most popular sports around. Paragliding in South Africa is a delight and, at times, a frightening challenge.
A paraglider is, firstly, someone who has been well taught in the skill of flying. Once you have done the 4-day course and decide that you have the right mental attitude and the basic physical requirements, the mountain slopes(山坡) wait for you. If you have never tried it before, you are sure to learn it in a few days, but safety comes first.
Strangely, the relatively flat Karoo heartland is one of the best areas to paraglide in. The towns of De Aar and Kuruman in the Northern Cape Province are centres of Karoo Paragliding. South African paragliders hold more than 50% of the world records in this sport—most of them set in the Karoo. But why are the paragliders so crazy about the Karoo? “The cloud base there is so high and the wind is proper and stable. You can glide for hours, going up as high as 4,000 metres in the sky,” they explain.
Foreign pilots wanting a taste of South Africa’s paragliding opportunities can get a short-time license. They can hold it for three months at most. Medical examination and insurance are needed by the South African Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.
The Western Cape has more than 60 official paragliding launch and flight sites. Up north along the Drakensberg slopes, you will see the brave “One-Wings” doing their thing daily, flying in the sky or taking the “ridge lift”, riding a wave of wind as it clears a mountain slope.
41. If you want to learn paragliding, you must be _____ .
A. brave and healthy B. calm and delighted
C. young and clever D. excited and powerful
42. Why does Karoo attract paragliders all over the world？
A. Because it has very beautiful scenery.
B. Because it is easy for them to get licenses.
C. Because the conditions and climate are ideal for paragliding.
D. Because it is well-known in the world.
43. What do we know from the passage?
A. De Aar is the only centre of Karoo paragliding.
B. People can go high up in the sky while paragliding.
C. Paragliding needs skills, but it’s very safe.
D. All the world records of paragliding were set in the South Africa.
44. Foreign pilots who want to paraglide in South Africa _____ .
A. needn’t have a medical examination
B. will spend a great deal of money
C. can stay there for two months at most
D. must hold a short-time license
45. The author wrote this passage mainly to _____ .
A. introduce a popular sport in South Africa
B. tell us why paragliding is very popular
C. attract more people to visit South Africa
D. tell us Karoo in South Africa is well known

Ｂ
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table. I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy who could not have been more than seven or eight years old replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike any more. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development depends not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation（揭示）machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.
46．According to the author, feeling depressed is ________ .
A．a sure sign of a mental problem in a child
B．a mental state present in all humans, including children
C．something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development
D．something hardly to be expected in a young child
47．Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world ________ .
A．through connection with society 　B．gradually and under guidance
C．naturally without being taught 　　　D．through watching television
48．According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ________ .
A．the widespread influence of television
B．the poor arrangement of teaching content
C．the fast pace of human scientific development
D．the rising standard of living
49．What does the author think of communication through print for children?
A．It enables children to gain more social information.
B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.
C．It helps children to read and write well.
D．It can control what children are to learn.
50．What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
A．He feels their adultlike behavior is so funny.
B．He thinks the change worthy of note.
C．He considers it a rapid development.
D．He is upset about it.

C
One August afternoon, Richard Allen dropped off his last passenger, Mrs. Carey. Lifting two grocery bags, he followed her across the yard and stood on the step of her house. Glancing up, he saw a large wasp（黄蜂）nest under the roof. Allen had heard that wasps can become more likely to sting (蜇) in summer. He mentioned this to Mrs. Carey, who had opened the door.
“Oh, they don’t bother me,” she said lightly. “I go in and out all the time.”
Anxiously, Allen looked at the nest again, only to see the wasps flying straight at him. “Hurry!” he shouted to Mrs Carey. “Get in!”
She stepped quickly inside. Allen ran for his mini-bus. Too late; they were upon him. Just as he jumped aboard, half a dozen red spots showed on his arm, and he felt more on his back and shoulders.
As he was driving down the road, Allen felt as if something was burning at the back of his neck, and the “fire” was spreading forward toward his face. And immediate anxiety took hold of him. Allen knew that stings could cause some persons to die. But he had been stung the previous summer and the after-effects soon passed. However, what he didn’t know was that the first sting had turned his body into a time bomb waiting for the next to set off an explosion.
Miles from the nearest medical assistance, Allen began to feel his tongue thick and heavy and his heartbeat louder. Most frightening, he felt his breathing more and more difficult. He reached for the radio mike（话筒）, trying to call the mini-bus center, but his words were hardly understandable. Signals were also poor that far out. He knew a rescue team was on 24-hour duty at the Amherst Fire Department’s north station. So his best chance was to make a run for it.
Rushing down the mountain, Allen tried not to panic, focusing his mind on each sharp turn. He was almost through the last of them when he felt sure he was going into shock（休克）. Just then he reached for the radio mike again.
“Call fire station,” he shouted, concentrating to form the words. “Emergency. Bee sting. Emergency. There in ten minutes.”
“Five-ten,” the center replied.
Hold on, Allen thought. Keep your eyes open. Breathe. Keep awake.
At last he reached the station. Two firemen ran out. Allen felt their hands grasp him before he hit the ground. You made it, he thought.
51. It is mentioned in the passage that wasps are more likely to attack when _______.
A. there are huge noises B. strangers are approaching
C. the air is filled with food smell D. the hottest season comes around
52. Allen didn’t know that if stung by wasps again, he would _______.
A. have no after-effects B. suffer from sharper pain
C. surely be in great danger D. become more sensitive
53. Allen failed at his first attempt to send his message to the mini-bus center because _______.
A. he was unable to speak clearly B. his radio equipment was poor
C. he was in a state of shock D. no one was on duty
54. Which of the following is NOT true according to the story?
A. Allen drove to the fire station because he knew there was a rescue team there.
B. Allen managed to make his request of help clear though he had difficulty talking by then.
C. The mini-bus centre did help in that they got the rescue team ready before Allen arrived.
D. Allen shouldn’t have looked at the wasps when he helped Mrs. Carey.
55. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Allen, A Helpless Driver B. Wasps, Bloody Killers
C. A Race Against Death D. War Against Wasps