高考英语 阅读微技能训练 词义句义推断题(3)

1 阅读微技能训练阅读微技能训练 2 2 词义句义推断题词义句义推断题 3 3 巩固练习巩固练习 A With the average temperature for January standing at 50 it is no wonder the village is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world Known as the Pole of Cold the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon was 71 2 This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern Hemisphere Ironically Oymyakon actually means non freezing water due to a nearby hot spring Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer meat and horse meat A single shop provides the town s bare necessities and the locals work as reindeer breeders hunters and ice fisherman Doctors say the reason the locals don t suffer from malnutrition is that their animals milk contains a lot of micronutrients Unsurprisingly locals are hardened to the weather and unlike in other countries where a flurry of snow brings things grindinggrinding toto a a halthalt Oymyakon s solitary school only shuts if temperatures fall below 52 There are few modern conveniences in the village with many buildings still having outdoor toilets and most people still burn coal and wood for heat When coal deliveries are irregular the power station starts burning wood If the power ceases the town shuts down in about five hours and the pipes freeze and crack Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing glasses freezing to people s faces and batteries losing power Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them Even if there was coverage for mobile phone reception the phones themselves would not work in such cold conditions Another problem caused by the frozen temperatures is burying dead bodies which can take anything up to three days The earth must first have melted sufficiently in order to dig it so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole couple of inches deep is dug The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin Travel companies offer tourists the opportunity to visit the village and sample life in the freezing conditions 1 Which of the following statements about this village is true A Local children don t go to school because of the extreme cold B People there live a hard and simple life with few modern conveniences C People there have a healthy and balanced diets by eating vegetables and meat D The name of this village Oymyakon suggests that it s extremely cold here 2 The sentence If you thought it was cold where you are at the moment then 2 a visit to the Russian village of Oymyakon might j ust change your mind can be put A before the first paragraphB after the first paragraph C after the sixth paragraphD before the last paragraph 3 3 WhatWhat doesdoes thethe underlinedunderlined phrasephrase grinding grinding toto a a halt halt probablyprobably meanmean inin thisthis passage passage A stoppingB growingC continuingD failing 4 What is the purpose of writing this passage A To attract more people to visit this village B To inform readers of this special village C To help solve problems facing the village D To draw readers attention to poor people B I was puzzled Why was this old woman making such a fuss about an old copse which was of no use to anybody She had written letters to the local paper even to a national protesting about a projected by pass to her village and looking at a map the route was nowhere near where she lived and it wasn t as if the area was attractive I was more than puzzled I was curious The enquiry into the route of the new by pass to the village was due to take place shortly and I wanted to know what it was that motivated her So it was that I found myself knocking on a cottage door being received by Mary Smith and then being taken for a walk to the woods I ve always loved this place she said it has a lot of memories for me and for others We all used it They called it Lovers lane It s not much of a lane and it doesn t go anywhere important but that s why we all came here To be away from people to be by ourselves she added It was indeed pleasant that day and the songs of many birds could be heard Squirrels gazed from the branches quite bold in their movements obviously few people passed this way and they had nothing to fear I could imagine the noise of vehicles passing through these peaceful woods when the by pass was built so I I feltfelt thatthat sheshe probablyprobably hadhad somethingsomething therethere but as I hold strong opinions about the needs of the community over riding the opinions of private individuals I said nothing The village was quite a dangerous place because of the traffic especially for old people and children their safety was more important to me than an old woman s strange ideas Take this tree she said pausing after a short while To you it is just that a tree Not unlike many others here She gently touched the bark Look here under this branch what can you see It looks as if someone has done a bit of carving with a knife I said after a cursory inspection Yes that s what it is she said softly She went on He had a penknife with a spike for getting stones from a horse s hoof and I helped him to carve my initials We were very much in love but he was going away and could not tell me what he was involved in the army I had guessed of course It was the last evening we ever spent together because he went away the next day back to his Unit Mary Smith was quiet for a while then she sobbed His mother showed me 3 the telegram Sergeant R Holmes Killed in action in the 9 invasion of France I had hoped that you and Robin would one day get married she said He was my only child and I would have loved to be a Granny they would have been such lovely babies she was like that Two years later she too was dead Pneumonia following a chill on the chest was what the doctor said but I think it was an old fashioned broken heart A child would have helped both of us There was a further pause Mary Smith gently caressed the wounded tree just as she would have caressed him And now they want to take our tree away from me Another quiet sob then she turned to me I was young and pretty then I could have had anybody I wasn t always the old woman you see here now I had everything I wanted in life a lovely man health and a future to look forwards to She paused again and looked around The breeze gently moved through the leaves with a sighing sound There were others of course but not a patch on my Robin she said strongly And now I have nothing except the memories this tree holds If only I could get my hands on that awful man who writes in the paper about the value of the road they are going to build where we are standing now I would tell him Has he never loved has he never lived does he not know anything about memories We were not the only ones you know I still meet some who came here as Robin and I did Yes I would tell him I turned away sick at heart 5 The main purpose of this passage is to A draw attention to the damage that wars cause B persuade people to give up private interest C arouse the awareness of being environmentally friendly D introduce a touching but sad love story 6 6 TheThe underlinedunderlined sentencesentence I I feltfelt thatthat sheshe probablyprobably hadhad somethingsomething there there meansmeans A I thought there might be something hidden in the woods by Mary Smith B I guessed there might be a story related with Mary Smith C I thought there might be some reason for Mary Smith s protest D I guessed there might be a secret purpose of Mary Smith 7 What was probably the carving on the wounded tree A Their names and a heart with a sign of arrow through it B Their wish that this place and tree would last long C The date when Robin Holmes would leave for army D Their protest against the war which tore them apart C What s the most important thing you ve done in your life The question was put to me during a presentation I gave to a group of lawyers The answer came to me in an instant But it s not the one I gave because the setting wasn t right As a lawyer in the entertainment industry I knew the audience wanted to hear some amusing stories about my work with well known persons But here s the true answer The most important thing I ve ever done occurred in October 8 1990 I 4 began the day playing tennis with a secondary school friend I hadn t seen for a while Between points we talked about what had been happening in each other s lives He and his wife had just had a baby boy who was keeping them up at night While we were playing a car came screaming up the road toward the courts It was my friend s father who shouted to my friend that his baby had stopped breathing and was being rushing to the hospital In a flash my friend was in the car and gone disappearing in a cloud of dust For a moment I just stood there paralyzed 呆若木鸡 Then I tried to figure out what I should do Follow my friend to the hospital There was nothing I could accomplish there I convinced myself My friend s son was in the care of doctors and nurses and nothing I could do or say would affect the outcome Be there for moral support Well maybe But my friend and his wife both had large families and I knew they d be surrounded by relatives who would provide more than enough comfort and support whatever happened All I could do at the hospital I decided was get in the way Also I had planned a full day with my family who were waiting for me to get home So I decided to head back to my house and check in with my friend later As I started my car I realized that my friend had left his truck and keys at the courts I now faced another problem I couldn t leave the keys in the truck So I decided to go to the hospital and give him the keys When I arrived I was directed to a room where my friend and his wife were waiting As I had thought the room was filled with family members silently watching my friend comfort his wife I slipped in and stood by the door trying to decide what to do next Soon a doctor appeared He approached my friend and his wife and in a quiet voice told them that their son had died For a long time the two held each other and cried unaware of the rest of us standing around in pained silence After they had calmed themselves the doctor suggested they might want to spend a few moments with their son My friend and his wife stood up and walked past their family When they reached the door my friend s wife saw me standing in the corner She came over and hugged me and started to cry My friend hugged me too and said Thanks for being here For the rest of that morning I sat in the emergency room of that hospital and watched my friend and his wife hold the body of their infant son and say goodbye It s the most important thing I have ever done The experience taught me two lessons First The most important thing I ve done happened when I was completely helpless None of the things I had learned in university in there years of law school or in six years of legal practice were of any use in that situation Something terrible was happening to people I cared about and I was powerless to change the outcome All I could do was stand by and watch it happen And yet it was critical that I do just that just be there when someone needed me Second The most important thing I ve ever done almost didn t happen because of things I had learned in classrooms and professional life Law 5 school taught me how to take a set of facts break them down organize them These skills are critical for lawyers When people come to us for help I almost forgot how to feel Today I have no doubt that I should have leapt into my car without hesitation and followed my friend to the hospital From that one experience I learned that the most important thing in life isn