阅读理解四题

精品文档-下载后可编辑阅读理解四题（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下面的短文，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

Earlyonemorning,morethanahundredyearsago,anAmericaninventorcalledEliasHowefinallyfellasleep.Hehadbeenworkingallnightonthedesignofasewingmachinebuthehadrunintoaverydifficultproblem:Itseemedimpossibletogetthethreadtorunsmoothlyaroundtheneedle.

Thoughhewastired,Howesleptbadly.Heturnedandturned.Thenhehadadream.Hedreamtthathehadbeencaughtbyterriblesavageswhosekingwantedtokillhimandeathimunlesshecouldbuildaperfectsewingmachine.Whenhetriedtodoso,Howeranintothesameproblemasbefore.Thethreadkeptgettingcaughtaroundtheneedle.ThekingflewintothecageandorderedhissoldierstokillHowe.Theycameuptowardshimwiththeirspearsraised.Butsuddenlytheinventornoticedsomething.Therewasaholeinthetipofeachspear.Theinventorawokefromthedream,realizingthathehadjustfoundtheanswertotheproblem.Insteadoftryingtogetthethreadtorunaroundtheneedle,heshouldmakeitrunthroughasmallholeinthecenteroftheneedle.ThiswasthesimpleideathatfinallymadeHowedesignandbuildthefirstreallypractisedsewingmachine.

EliasHowewasnottheonlyoneinfindingtheanswertohisprobleminthisway.

ThomasEdison,theinventoroftheelectriclight,saidhisbestideascameintohimindreams.SodidthegreatphysicistAlbertEinstein.CharlotteBrontealsodrewinherdreamsinwritingJaneEyre.

Toknowthevalueofdreams,youhavetounderstandwhathappenswhenyouareasleep.Eventhen,apartofyourmindisstillworking.Thisunconscious(无意识的),butstillactivepartunderstandsyourexperiencesandgoestoworkontheproblemsyouhavehadduringtheday.Itstoresallsortsofinformationthatyoumayhaveforgottenorneverhavereallynoticed.Itisonlywhenyoufallasleepthatthispartofthebraincansendmessagestothepartyouusewhenyouareawake.However,theunconsciouspartactsinaspecialway.Itusesstrangeimageswhichtheconsciouspartmaynotunderstandatfirst.Thisiswhydreamsaresometimescalled“secretmessagestoourselves”.

1.Accordingtothepassage,EliasHowewas________.

A.thefirstpersonweknowofwhosolvedproblemsinhissleep

B.muchmorehard-workingthanotherinventors

C.thefirstpersontodesignasewingmachinethatreallyworked

D.theonlypersonatthetimewhoknewthevalueofdreams

2.TheproblemHowewastryingtosolvewas________.

A.whatkindofthreadtouse

B.howtodesignaneedlewhichwouldnotbreak

C.wheretoputtheneedle

D.howtopreventthethreadfromgettingcaughtaroundtheneedle

3.ThomasEdisonisspokenofbecause________.

A.healsotriedtoinventasewingmachine

B.hegotsomeofhisideasfromdreams

C.hewasoneofHowe’sbestfriends

D.healsohaddifficultyinfallingasleep

4.Dreamsaresometimescalled“secretmessagestoourselves”because________.

A.strangeimagesareusedtocommunicateideas

B.imageswhichhavenomeaningareused

C.wecanneverunderstandtherealmeaning

D.onlyspeciallytrainedpeoplecanunderstandthem

B

Languagelearningbeginswithlistening.Childrenaregreatlydifferentintheamountoflisteningtheydobeforetheystartspeaking,andlaterstartersareoftenlonglisteners.Mostchildrenwill“obey”spokeninstructionssometimebeforetheycanspeak,thoughtheword“obey”ishardlyaccurateasadescriptionoftheeageranddelightedcooperationusuallyshownbythechild.Beforetheycanspeak,manychildrenwillalsoaskquestionsbygestureandbymakingquestioningnoises.

Anyattempttostudythedevelopmentfromthenoisesbabiesmaketotheirfirstspokenwordsleadstoconsiderabledifficulties.Itisagreedthattheyenjoymakingnoises,andthatduringthefirstfewmonthsoneortwonoisessortthemselvesasparticularlyexpressiveasdelight,pain,friendliness,andsoon.Butsincethesecan’tbesaidtoshowthebaby’sintentiontocommunicate,theycanhardlyberegardedasearlyformsoflanguage.Itisagreed,too,thatfromaboutthreemonthstheyplaywithsoundsforenjoyment,andthatbysixmonthstheyareabletoaddnewwordstotheirstore.Thisself-imitation（模仿）leadsontodeliberate（有意的）imitationofsoundsmadeorwordsspokentothembyotherpeople.Theproblemthenarisesastothepointatwhichonecansaythattheseimitationscanbeconsideredasspeech.

Itisaproblemweneedtogetoutteethinto.Themeaningofaworddependsonwhataparticularpersonmeansbyitinaparticularsituationanditisclearthatwhatachildmeansbyawordwillchangeashegainsmoreexperienceoftheworld.Thustheuseatsevenmonthsof“mama”asagreetingforhismothercannotbedismissedasameaninglesssoundsimplybecausehealsousesitatothertimesforhisfather,hisdog,oranythingelsehelikes.Playfulandmeaninglessimitationofwhatotherpeoplesaycontinuesafterthechildhasbeguntospeakforhimself,Idoubt,howeverwhetheranythingisgainedwhenparentstakeadvantageofthisabilityinanattempttoteachnewsounds.

5.Beforechildrenstartspeaking________.

A.theyneedequalamountoflistening

B.theyneeddifferentamountsoflistening

C.theyarealleagertocooperatewiththeadultsbyobeyingspokeninstructions

D.theycan’tunderstandandobeytheadult’soralinstructions

6.Childrenwhostartspeakinglate________.

A.mayhaveproblemswiththeirlistening

B.probablydonothearenoughlanguagespokenaroundthem

C.usuallypaycloseattentiontowhattheyhear

D.oftentakealongtimeinlearningtolistenproperly

7.Ababy’sfirstnoisesare________.

A.anexpressionofhismoodsandfeelings

B.anearlyformoflanguage

C.asignthathemeanstotellyousomething

D.animitationofthespeechofadults

8.Theproblemofdecidingatwhatpointababy’simitationscanbeconsideredasspeech________.

A.isimportantbecausewordshavedifferentmeaningsfordifferentpeople

B.isnotespeciallyimportantbecausethechangeovertakesplacegradually

C.isonethatshouldbeproperlyunderstoodbecausethemeaningofwordschangeswithage

D.isonethatshouldbecompletelyignored（忽略）becausechildren’suseofwordsisoftenmeaningless

9.Thespeakerimplies________.

A.parentscanneverhopetoteachtheirchildrennewsounds

B.childrennolongerimitatepeopleaftertheybegintospeak

C.childrenwhoaregoodatimitatinglearnnewwordsmorequickly

D.evenaftertheyhavelearnttospeak,childrenstillenjoyimitating

C

Thegreatestrecentchangeshavebeeninthelivesofwomen.Duringthetwentiethcenturytherewasanunusualshorteningofthetimeofawoman’slifespentincaringforchildren.Awomanmarryingattheendofthe19thcenturywouldprobablyhavebeeninhermiddletwenties,andwouldbelikelytohavesevenoreightchildren,ofwhomfourorfivelivedtilltheywerefiveyearsold.Bythetimetheyoungestwasfifteen,themotherwouldhavebeeninherearlyfiftiesandwouldexpecttoliveafurthertwentyyears,duringwhichcustom,chanceandhealthmadeitunusualforhertogetpaidwork.Todaywomenmarryyoungerandhavefewerchildren.Usuallyawoman’syoungestchildwillbefifteenwhensheisforty-fiveandislikelytotakepaidworkuntilretirementatsixty.Evenwhileshehasthecareofchildren,herworkislightenedbyhouseholdappliances（家用电器）andconveniencefoods.

Thisimportantchangeinwomen’swayoflifehasonlyrecentlybeguntohaveitsfulleffectonwomen’seconomicposition.Evenafewyearsagomostgirlsleftschoolatthefirstopportunityandmostofthemtookafull-timejob.However,whentheymarried,theyusuallyleftworkatonceandneverreturnedtoit.Todaytheschool-leavingageissixteen,manygirlsstayatschoolafterthatage,andthoughwomentendtomarryyounger,moremarriedwomenstayatworkatleastuntilshortlybeforetheirfirstchildisborn.Manymoreafterwads,returntofullorpart-timework.Suchchangeshaveledtoanewrelationshipinmarriage,withbothhusbandandwifeacceptingagreatershareofthedutiesandsatisfactionoffamilylife,andwithbothhusbandandwifesharingmoreequallyinprovidingthemoneyandrunningthehome,accordingtotheabilitiesandinterestofeachofthem.

10.Wearetoldthatinanaveragefamilyabout1990________.

A.manychildrendiedbeforetheywerefive

B.theyoungestchildwouldbefifteen

C.sevenofeightchildrenlivedtobemorethanfive

D.fourorfivechildrendiedwhentheywerefive

11.Whenshewasoverfifty,thelate19thcenturymother________.

A.wouldexpecttoworkuntilshedied

B.wasusuallyexpectedtotakeuppaidemployment

C.wouldbehealthyenoughtotakeuppaidemployment

D.wasunlikelytofindajobevenifsheisnowlikely

12.Manygirls,thepassagesays,arenowlikelyto________.

A.marrysothattheycangetajob

B.leaveschoolassoonastheycan

C.giveuptheirjobsforgoodaftertheyaremarried

D.continueworkinguntiltheyaregoingtohaveababy

13.Accordingtothepassage,itisnowquiteusualforwomento________.

A.stayathomeafterleavingschool

B.marrymenyoungerthanthemselves

C.startworkingagainlaterinlife

D.marrywhilestillatschool

D

Anymistakemadeintheprintingofastampraisesitsvaluetostampcollectors.Amistakeononeinexpensivepostagestamphasmadethestampworthamillionandahalftimesitsoriginalvalue.

ThemistakewasmademorethanahundredyearsagointheBritishcolonyofMauritius,asmallislandintheIndianOcean.In1847anorderforstampswassenttoaLondonprinter-Mauritiuswastobecomethefourthcountryintheworldtoissuestamps.

Beforetheorderwasfilledanddelivered,aballwasplannedatMauritius’GovernmentHouse,andstampswereneededtosendouttheinvitations.Alocalprinterwasinstructedtocopythedesignforthestamps.Heaccidentallyinscribedthewords“PostOffice”insteadof“PostPaid”ontheseveralhundredstampsthatheprinted.

Todaythereareonlytwenty-sixofthesemisprintedstampsleftfourteenOnePennyOrange-RedsandtwelveTwoPennyBlues.BecauseoftheTwoPennyBlue’srarenessandage,collectorshavepaidasmuchas＄16800forit.

14.Overacenturyago,Mauritius________.

A.wasanindependentcountry

B.belongedtoIndia

C.wasoneoftheBritishcolonies

D.wasasmallislandinthePacificOcean

15.Themistakeonthestampswasmade________.

A.inMauritius

B.atMauritiusGovernmentHouse

C.inapostoffice

D.inLondon

16.Stampcollectorshavepaid16800for________.

A.fourteenOnePennyOrange-Reds

B.twelveTwoPennyBlues

C.oneOnePennyOrange-Red

D.oneTwoPennyBlue

E

PersonalcomputersandtheInternetgivepeoplenewchoicesabouthowtospendtheirtime.

Somemayusethisfreedomtosharelesstimewithcertainfriendsorfamilymembers,butnewtechnologywillalsoletthemstayinclosertouchwiththosetheycaremostabout.Iknowthisfrompersonalexperience.

E-mailmakesiteasytoworkathome,whichiswhereInowspendmostweekendsandevenings.Myworkinghoursaren’tnecessarilymuchshorterthantheyoncewerebutIspendfewerofthemattheoffice.ThisletsmesharemoretimewithmyyoungdaughterthanImighthaveifshe’dbeenbornbeforeelectronicmailbecamesuchapracticaltool.

TheInternetalsomakesiteasytosharethoughtswithagroupoffriends.Sayyoudosomethingfunseeagreatmovieperhaps-andtherearefourorfivefriendswhomightwanttohearaboutit.Ifyoucalleachone,youmaytireoftellingthestory.

WithE-mail,youjustwriteonenoteaboutyourexperience,atyourconvenience,andaddressittoallthefriendsyouthinkmightbeinterested.Theycanreadyourmessagewhentheyhavetime,andreadonlyasmuchastheywantto.Theycanreplyattheirconvenience,andyoucanreadwhattheyhavetosayatyourconvenience.

E-mailisalsoaninexpensivewaystayinclosetouchwithpeoplewholivefaraway.Morethanafewparent