高考英语二轮专题复习提升精选阅读理解14.doc

2014届高考英语二轮专题复习提升精选：阅读理解1.plants are flowering faster than scientists predict in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.“global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns.” scientists say.increased carbon dioxide (co2) in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.“predicting species reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researchers of several u.s. universities. they said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.the study, published on the nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. it found that some experiments had underestimated the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing by 4 times.“across all species, the experiments underestimated the speed of the advancefor both leafing and floweringthat results from temperature increases,” the study said.“the design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change,” it said.plants are necessary for life on the earth. they are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis (光合作用) to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. they let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.scientists believe the worlds average temperature has risen by about 0.8 since 1900, and nearly 0.2 every ten years since 1979.so far, efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the earth heating up beyond 2 this centurya point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.68.what is the key information the author wants to give in paragraph 1? a. the increasing speed of flowering is beyond scientists expectation. b. climate change leads to the change of food production patterns. c. plants reaction to weather could have damaging effects on ecosystem. d. food chains have been seriously damaged because of weather.69.we can learn from the study published on the nature website that _. a. scientists should improve the design of the experiments b. plants flowering is 8.5 times faster than leafing c. there are 1,634 plant species on the four continents d. the experiments failed to predict how plants react to climate change70.scientists pay special attention to the study of plants because _. a. they can prove the climate change clearly b. they are very important in the food chains c. they play a leading role in reducing global warming d. they are growing and flowering much faster than before71.what can be inferred from the last two paragraphs about the worlds temperature? a. it has risen nearly 0.2 since 1979. b. it is 0.8 higher in 1979 than that of 1990. c. it needs to be controlled within 2 in this century. d. its change will lead to weather extremes.2. for the people living in the nile basin, the river is their lifethis 6,825 km waterway, whose watershed（流域）covers three million square kilometers, flows through mountains ,woodlands, lakes and desertsits potential for fishing, tourism and shipping is greatbut so are its challenges. water shortage , already serious in egypt and sudan , will soon influence several other countries in the watershed as welltoday, about 160 million people depend on the nile river for their livingwithin the next 25 yeas ,the districts population is expected to double, adding to the demand brought about by growth in industry and agriculturethe frequent drought（干旱）adds to the urgency. water quality is also a problemprecious soil is washed out to seawastes from industry and agriculture create pollutionhigher concentrations of salt influence irrigated soilswater-borne diseases continue uncheckedin areas where its hot and damp, water hyacinths choke off（阻止） lakes, dams and other sections of the river, making it difficult for fishing and other businesses to move forward. native people along the narrow area of farmland have watched the sand move closer day by daytheyve seen the river change course, and their only source（来源） of water thickened with mudtheyre very poor and have few choices. but a new program, the nile basin initiative (nbi), is offering very practical assistancethe program is more than just a water-management projectits a plan for the social and economic development of a vast district: it concentrates on the needs of the poorest of the poor and the environment that supports them. these are whole ecosystem problems, calling for united solutionshalf the nile basins countries are among the worlds poorest nations；yet, somehow, they must find the resources, skills and political will to overcome these challenges.64.what are the great challenges the nile basin faces？ a. the development of shipping industry. b. over fishing of native people. c. water shortage and water quality. d. increasing population and tourism.65.the underlined word “hyacinths” （in paragraph 3） refer to “ ”. a. plants b. animals c. rocks d. salts66.the program nbi is mainly aimed at . a. preventing water pollution b. improving living condition of the poor c. changing the river course d. preventing land from becoming desert67.what would be the best title of this passage？ a. peoples life in egypt and sudan b. frequent drought in egypt and sudan c. the poorest countries in the nile basin d. the ecosystem problems in the nile basin3.imagination and fantasy can play an important role in achieving the things we fear. children know this very well. fred epstein，in his book if i make it to five，tells a story he heard from one of his friends about tom，a four-year-old boy with a cancer in his back bone. he came through several operations and a lot of pain by mastering his imagination.tom loved to pretend，and he particularly loved to play superheroes. dr. epstein explained that it was actually a brilliant way for his young mind to handle the terrifying and painful life he led.the day before his third trip to the operating room，tom was terribly afraid. “maybe i could go as superman，”he whispered to his mom. hearing this, the mother hesitated for a while. she had avoided buying the expensive costume(戏装)，but finally she agreed.the next day tom appeared as the powerful superman，showing off through the hospital halls and coolly waving his hand to the people greeting him along the way. and tom，with the strength of his fantasy，successfully made it through the operation.the power of imagination need not be reserved for children only. we all have the power to use our fantasies to attempt things we never thought possible，to go through those things that seem impossible，and to achieve what we never believed we could. just as dr. epstein puts it，“if you can dream it，you can do it.”it doesnt mean that you should dress as a superhero for your next job interview. but，next time you are tested in a way that seems impossible, imagine what it would take to overcome it. become the person you need to become to win over your challenge and do it in your mind first. so，let your imagination run wild，and dare to dream.67what do we know about tom?ahe was seriously ill. bhe was a dishonest boy.che was crazy about magic. dhe was dr.epsteins patient.68what can be inferred about toms mother?ashe was a rich lady. bshe refused toms request.cshe wanted tom to be a superhero. dshe wanted to get tom through the pain.69when tom went for the third operation，he _apretended to be painful bacted like a superherocappeared in poor spirits dargued with his mother70in the last paragraph，you are advised _ato go through some difficult testsbto wake up from your wild dreamscto become a powerful person in your minddto wear expensive clothes for job interviews4.“people are ruder today because they are rushed and more time poor than ever before，” says patsy rowe, “manners_have_fallen_off_the_radar(雷达)” due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder more people dont wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with a complaint(抱怨)about the noise. here are some examples of rudeness. some people prefer to do almost everything over the internet. to them, dealing with an actual human is like an evolutionary step backward. it feels very slow because humans dont work at 4g speeds. when you have dinner with friends, you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone. we have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings life-changing news, so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with. what is worse, some people even tend to send anonymous(匿名的) rude messages by email. however, rudeness is never acceptable. dont assume it is ok to be rude if the person youre in touch with wont recognize you. if you have something awful to say, have the courage to face the person and say it, write a letter or email and sign it, or forget it. upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.we shouldnt blame technology for our shortcomings. technology is here to help us，but we should not allow it to take over our lives. an important step is acknowledging our shortcomings. people spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more helpful if wed publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.64what can be inferred from the underlined sentence in paragraph 1?apeople can tell good from bad behavior.bradar is able to observe human behavior.cpeople care little about their behavior.dradar can be used to predict human behavior.5.going green seems to be fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days. whether that is good or bad, we cant really say, but for the tow of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.on april22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. this meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond easy things. rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.with the idea of going green every single day for a year, our green year started. my wife and i decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. we wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.over the course of our green year, we completely changed our lifestyle. we now shop at organic(有机的)stores. we consume less meat, choosing green food. we have greatly reduced our buying we dont need. we have given away half of what we owned through websites. our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. we make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. in our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.our minds have been changed by our green year. we are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. we believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.60. what might be the best title for the passage?a. going green.b. protecting the planet.c. keeping open-mindedd. celebrating our green year.61. it was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because_.a. they were expected to follow the green fadb. they didnt know how to educate other peoplec. they were unwilling to reduce their energyd. they needed to perform unusual green tasks62. what did the couple do over the course of our green year?a. they tried to get out of their ungreen habits.b. they ignore others ungreen behavior.c. they chose better chemical cleaners.d. they sold their home-made food.63. what can we infer form the last paragraph?a. the government will give support to the green people.b. the couple may continue their project in the future.c. some people disagree with the couples green ideas.d. our green year is becoming a national campaign.6. phil white has just returned from an 18,000-mile, around-the-world bicycle trip. white had two reasons for making this epic journey. first of all, he wanted to use the trip to raise money for charity which he did. he raised $70,000 for the british charity, oxfam. whites second reason for making the trip was to break the world record and become the fastest person to cycle around the world. he is still waiting to find out if he has broken the record or not.white set off from trafalgar square, in london, on 19th june 2004 and was back 299 days later. he spent more than l,300 hours in the saddle（车座）and destroyed four