广西贺州市高考英语二轮复习 社会文化阅读理解精练（2）.doc

社会文化阅读理解精练（2）社会文化（阅读理解）由 (2011安徽,d)改编ireland has had a very difficult history.the problems started in the 16th century when english rulers tried to conquer (征服) ireland.for hundreds of years,the irish people fought against the english.finally,in 1921,the british government was forced to give independence to the south of ireland.the result is that today there are two “irelands”.northern ireland,in the north,is part of the united kingdom.the republic of ireland,in the south,is an independent country.in the 1840s the main crop,potatoes,was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger.this,and a shortage (短缺) of work,forced many people to leave ireland and live in the usa,the uk,australia and canada.as a result of these problems,the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.for many years,the majority of irish people earned their living as farmers.today,many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices.life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside,where things move at a quieter and slower pace.the irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly.oscar wilde,a famous irish writer,once said that the irish were “the greatest talkers since the greeks”.since independence,ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music,language,literature and singing.different areas have different styles of old irish songs which are sung without instruments.other kinds of irish music use many different instruments such as the violin,whistles,etc.1.what does the author tell us in paragraph 1?()a.how the irish fought against the english.b.how ireland gained independence.c.how english rulers tried to conquer ireland.d.how two “irelands” came into being.2.we learn from the text that in ireland .a.food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in populationb.people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countrysidec.it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory workerd.different kinds of old irish songs are all sung with instruments3.the last paragraph is mainly about .a.the irish characterb.irish culturec.irish musical instrumentsd.a famous irish writer4.what can be the best title for the text?()a.life in irelandb.a very difficult historyc.ireland,past and presentd.the independence of ireland语篇解读:本文为说明文,主要介绍了爱尔兰的历史、人口、生活、文化等内容。答案及剖析:1.d主旨大意题。概括第一段可知,本段主要介绍了爱尔兰一段与众不同的历史,即在被英国统治了几百年后,北爱尔兰成为英国的一部分,而南爱尔兰则获得独立,成立了“爱尔兰共和国”。由此可以看出,本段主要介绍了“两个爱尔兰”是如何形成的。故答案为d项。2.a推理判断题。根据第二段首句提到,在19世纪40年代,爱尔兰的主要农作物土豆受到病害的影响,有大约750000人死于饥饿,且还讲到,食物缺乏是爱尔兰人移民的一个原因。由此可知,食物缺乏导致了人口减少。3.b主旨大意题。概括最后一段可知,本段主要介绍了爱尔兰的文化,故答案为b项。其余选项本段虽有所提及,但都属于本段的部分内容,无法概括本段大意,故可排除。4.c主旨大意题。概括全文可知,本文主要从几个方面介绍了过去的爱尔兰和现在的爱尔兰。故答案为c项。其余选项都是本文的部分内容,a项是第三段的内容;b项是第一段的内容;d项也是第一段的内容。【长难句子分析】today,状语 many people主语 still work谓语 onthe land状语 but并列 more and more定语 people主语 are moving谓语 tothe cities状语 to work in factories and offices.状语如今,很多人仍然在田地里劳作,但是为了能在工厂和办公室工作,进城的人越来越多。本句中,but为并列连词,连接了两个句子。在第二个句子中,采用了现在进行时态,表示现阶段一直在进行的动作,不定式短语to work in factories and offices在句中作目的状语。阅读理解。阅读下列短文, 从给的四个选项 (a、b、c和d) 中, 选出最佳选项。why should mankind explore space? why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on earth? these are questions that, understandably, are very often asked.perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup(基因构成) as human beings. what drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? the wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival. perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible.nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for. without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger. with knowledge, we can lessen its effects.exploration also allows minerals and other potential(潜在的) resources to be found.even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later. resources may be more than physical possessions. knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration. the techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives. we have already benefited from other spinoffs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems. even nonstick pans and mirrored sunglasses are byproducts(副产品) of technological developments in the space industry!while many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us. while space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers. the danger exists, but knowledge can help human beings to survive. without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.while earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets. it is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future.1why does the author mention the questions in paragraph 1?ato express his doubts.bto compare different ideas.cto introduce points for discussion.dto describe the conditions on earth.2what is the reason for exploring space based on paragraph 2?ahumans are natureborn to do so.bhumans have the tendency to fight.chumans may find new sources of food.dhumans dont like to stay in the same place.3the underlined word “spinoffs” in paragraph 4 probably refers to _.asurvival chances bpotential resourcescunexpected benefits dphysical possessions4what makes it possible for humans to live on other planets?aour genetic makeup. bresources on the earth.cthe adaptive ability of humans.dbyproducts in space exploration.解题导语 本文是一篇议论文，向我们阐述了人类进行太空探索的原因。人类的基因构成决定了人类探索其他领域包括太空的能力。人类探索太空可能暂时没有多大用处，但是在将来这可能会帮助人类生存下去。1解析：选c。推理判断题。作者在第一段提出问题目的是引出下面要讨论的话题。2解析：选 a。细节理解题。根据第二段的第一句可知人类探索太空的原因是其基因的构成。3解析：选 c。词义猜测题。后面所说的“improvements in earthquake prediction，in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems”可知此处的划线短语意为“益处，好处”。4解析：选c。细节理解题。根据最后一段的第一句话可知，人类的适应能力会让人类在其他星球生存下去。阅读理解。阅读下列短文, 从给的四个选项 (a、b、c和d) 中, 选出最佳选项。stephen william hawking was born on january 8,1942(300 years after the death of galileo)in oxford，england.his parents house was in north london，but during the second world war oxford was considered a safer place to have babies.when he was eight，his family moved to st albans，a town about 20 miles north of london.at eleven stephen went to st all.school，and then on to university college，oxford，his fathers old college.stephen wanted to do mathematics，although his father would have preferred medicine.mathematics was not available at university college，so he did physics instead.stephen then went on to cambridge to do research in cosmology(宇宙论)after gaining his phd，he became first a research fellow，and later on a professional fellow at gonville & caius college.after leaving the institute of astronomy in 1973 stephen came to the department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics，and since 1979 has held the post of lucasian professor of mathematics.the chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the reverend henryucas，who had been the member of parliament for the university.it was first held by isaac barrow，and then in 1669 by isaac newton.his many publications include the large scale structure of spacetime with gf.r.ellis，general relativity ：an einstein centenary survey with wisrael，and 300 years of gravity with wisrael.stephen hawking had two popular books published：his best seller a brief history of time，and his later book，black holes and baby universes and other essays.“my goal is simple.it is a complete understanding of the universe，why it is as it is and why it exists at all，”hawking said.1hawkings father would like hawking to learn_.amathematics bphysicscmedicine dcosmology答案：c根据第一段倒数第二句“stephen wanted to do mathematics，although his father would have preferred medicine.”可知，父亲想让霍金学习医学。2which one of the following is not right about the description of hawking?a. hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of galileos death.bhawking went to school at the age of eleven.chawking liked physics best when he was young.dhawking，together with wisrael wrote two of his works.答案：c根据第一段的内容可知，斯蒂芬霍金最早较喜欢数学，但学习了物理专业，是因为那所大学没有数学专业。3all the people has held the post of lucasian professor of mathematics except_.ahenry lucas bstephen hawkingcisaac barrow disaac newton答案：a文章第二段中介绍了艾萨克贝若，艾斯克牛顿和斯蒂芬霍金都担任这个职务，故a项符合题意。4what hawking said in the last passage means that_.a. he would like to lead a simple lifebhe would devote his life to the research of the universeche has understood the great law of the universedit is easy for him to understand the universe答案：b联系上下文和最后一段霍金所说的“my goal is simple.it is a complete understanding of the universe.”反映了他献身宇宙科学研究的决心。5the best title for this passage is most likely to be“_”ahawkings happy familybhawking and his colleagueschawkings great worksdhawkinga great scientist答案：d本文主要介绍了斯蒂芬霍金的生平，他对宇宙科学理论的研究成果以及他献身宇宙科学研究的决心，故d项符合题意。阅读理解。阅读下列短文, 从给的四个选项 (a、b、c和d) 中, 选出最佳选项。us researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on mars recently，increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the red planet hosted life.the lake，which dates back some 3.4 billion years，appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep，said the team from the university of colorado.“this is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of mars，”said boulder s research associate，gaetano di achille，in a study published in the latest edition of geophysical rese arch letters.“the identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake，which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon(溪谷)in which it was found，which then opened out into a valley depositing(使淤积)sediment(沉积)which formed a delta(三角洲)“finding shorelines is a great discovery to us，”said assistant professor brian hynek，adding it showed the lake existed at a time when mars was thought to have been cold and dry.scientists believe the oldest surfaces on mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the noachan epoch，about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.the newly discovered lake is believed to date from the hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on mars by 300 million years，according to the study.scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on mars as such places on earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other marke