英语阅读提升

Class：Name：Mark:（建议用时：30mins）

第二部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）

A

OnedaywhenIwas12,mymothergavemeanorder:Iwastowalktothepubliclibrary,and

borrowatleastonebookforthesummer.Thiswasonemoreweaponforhertodefeatmystrange

problem—inabilitytoread.

Inthelibrary,Ifoundmywayintothe''Children'sRoom."Isatdownonthefloorandpulled

afewbooksofftheshelfatrandom.Thecoverofabookcaughtmyeye.Itpresentedapictureofa

beagle.Ihadrecentlyhadabeagle,thefirstandonlyanimalcompanionIeverhadasachild.He

wasmysecretsharer,butonemorning,hewasgone,givenawaytosomeonewhohadthespace

andthemoneytocareforh：m.Ineverforgotmybeagle.

Thereonthebook'scoverwasabeaglewhichlookedidenticaltomydog.Iranmyfingers

overthepictureofthedogonthecover.Myeyesranacrossthetitle.Amos,theBeaglewithaPlan.

Unknowingly,Ihadreadthetitle.Withoutopeningthebook,Iborroweditfromthelibraryforthe

summer.

Undertheshadeofabush,IstartedtoreadaboutAmos.Ireadvery,veryslowlywith

difficulty.Thoughpageswereturnedslowly,Igotthemainideaofthestoryaboutadogwho,like

mine,hadbeenseparatedfromhisfamilyandwhofinallyfoundhiswaybackhome.Thatdogwas

mydog,andIwas（helittleboyinthebook.A（theendofthestory,mymindcontinuedthefinal

sceneofreunion,onandon,untilmyownlostdogandIwere,inmymind,runningtogether.

Mymother'scallreturnedmetotherealworld.Isuddenlyrealizedsomething:Ihadreada

book,andIhadlovedreadingthatbook.EveryoneknewIcouldnotread.ButIhadreadit.Books

couldbeincrediblywonderfulandIwasgoingtoreadthem.

Inevertokimymotheraboutmy“miraculous”（奇迹般地）experiencethatsummer,butshe

sawaslowbutremarkableimprovementinmyclassroomperformanceduringthenextyear.And

yearslater,shewasproud（hathersonhadreadthousandsofbooks,wasawardedaPhDin

literature,andauthoredhisownbooks,articles,poetryandfiction.Thepowerofthewordshas

held.

48.Whycouldtheauthormanagetoreadthebookthrough?

A.Hewasforcedbyhismothertoreadit.B.Heidentifiedwiththestoryinthebook.

C.Thebooktoldthestoryofhispetdog.D.Thehappyendingofthestoryattractedhim.

49.Whatcanbeinferredfromthelastparagraph?

A.Theauthorhasbecomeasuccessfulwriter.

B.Theauthor'smotherreadthesamebook.

C.Theauthor'smotherrewardedhimwithbooks.

D.Theauthorhashadhappysummerseversince.

B

OncewhenIwasfacingadecisionthatinvolvedhighrisk,Iwenttoafriend.Helookedat

mefbramoment,andthenwroteasentencecontainingthebestadviceI'veeverhad:Beboldand

brave—andmighty（强大的）forceswillcometoyouraid.

ThosewordsmademeseeclearlythatwhenIhadfallenshortinthepast,itwasseldom

becauseIhadtriedandfailed.ItwasusuallybecauseIhadletfearoffailureslopmefromtrying

atall.Ontheotherhand,wheneverIhadplungedintodeepwater,forcedbycourageor

circumstance,IhadalwaysbeenabletoswimuntilIgotmyfeetonthegroundagain.

Boldnessmeansadecisiontobiteoffmorethanyoucaneat.Andthereisnothingmysterious

aboutthemightyforces.rIhcyarcpotentialpowerswcpossess:energy,skill,soundjudgment,

creativeideas—evenphysicalstrengthgreaterthanmostofusrealize.

Admittedly,thosemightyforcesarespiritualones.Buttheyaremoreimportantthanphysical

ones.Acollegeclassmateofmine,Tim,wasanexcellentfootballplayer,eventhoughheweighed

muchlessthantheaverageplayer.uInonegameIsuddenlyfoundmyselfconfrontingahuge

player,whohadnothingbutmebetweenhimandourgoalline/*saidTim."Iwassofrightened

thatIclosedmyeyesanddesperatelythrewmyselfatthatguylikeabullet—andstoppedhim

cod”

Boldness—awillingnesstoextendyourselftotheextreme—isnotonethatcanbeacquired

overnight.Butitcanbetaughttochildrenanddevelopedinadults.Confidencebuildsup.Surely,

（herewillbesetbacks（挫折）anddisappointmentsinlife;boldnessinitselfisnoguaranteeof

success.Butthepersonwhotriestodosomethingandfailsisalotbetteroffthanthepersonwho

triestodonothingandsucceeds.

So,alwaystrytolivealittlebitbeyondyourabilities—andyou'llfindyourabilitiesare

greaterthanyoueverdreamed.

54.WhatcanbelearnedfromParagraph5?

A.Confidencegrowsmorerapidlyinadults.B.Tryingwithoutsuccessismeaningless.

C.Repeatedfailurecreatesabetterlife.D.Boldnesscanbegainedlittlebylittle.

55.Whatistheauthor'spurposeinwritingthispassage?

A.Toencouragepeopletobecourageous.

B.Toadvisepeopletobuildupphysicalpower.

C.lbtellpeoplethewaystoguaranteesuccess.

D.Torecommendpeopletodevelopmoreabilities.

C

ElNifio,aSpanishtermfor“theChristchild”,wasnamedbySouthAmericanfishermansho

noticedthattheglobalweatherpattern,whichhappenseverytwotosevenyears,reducedthe

amountoffishescaughtaroundChristmas.ElNifioseeswarmwater,collectedoverseveralyears

inthewesternPacific,flowbackeastwardswhenwindsthatnormallyblowwestwardsweaken,

orsometimestheotherwayround.

Theweathereffectsbethgoodandbad,arefeltinmanyplaces.Richcountriesgainmore

frompowerfulNifio,onbalance,thantheylose.AstudyfoundthatastrongNifioin1997helped

American'seconomygrowby15billion,partlybecauseofbetteragriculturalharvest,farmersin

theMidwestgainedfromextrarain.Thetotalriseinagriculturalinrichcountriesingrowththan

thefallinpoorones.

ButinIndonesiaextremelydryforestsareinflames.Amulti-yeardrought（干旱）in

south-eastBrazilisbecomingworse.ThoughheavyrainsbroughtaboutbyElNinomayrelieve

thedroughtinCalifornia,theyarelikelytocausesurfacefloodingandotherdisasters.

ThemostrecentpowerfulNino,in1997-98,killedaround21,000peopleandcauseddamage

worth$36billionaroundtheglobe.ButsuchNinoscomewithmonthsofwarning,andsomuchis

knownabouthowtheyhappenthatgovernmentscanorepare.AccordingtotheOverseas

DevelopmentInstitute（ODI）,however,just12%ofdisaster-relieffundinginthepasttwodecades

hasgoneonreducingrisksinadvance,ratherthanrecoveryandrebuildingafterwards.Thisis

despiteevidencethatadollarspentonrisk-reductionsavesatleasttwoonreconstruction.

Simpleimprovementstoinfrastructure（基础设施）canreducethespreadofdisease.Better

sewers（卜水道）makeitlesslikelythatheavyrainisfollowedbyanoutbreakofthediseaseof

badstomach.Strongerbridgesmeanvillagesarelesslikelytobeleftwithoutfoodandmedicine

afterfloods.Accordingtoapaperin2011byMrHsiangandco-authors,civilconflictisrelatedto

ElNino'sharmfuleffects—andthepoorerthecountry,thestrongerthelink.Thoughthe

relationshipmaynotbecausal,helpingdividedcommunitiestopreparefordisasterswouldat

leastreducetheriskthatthosedisastersarefollowedbykillingandwoundingpeople.Sincethe

poorestareleastlikelytomakeupfortheirlossesfromdisasterslinkedtoElNino,reducingtheir

lossesneedstobethepriority.

63.ThedataprovidedbyODIinParagraph4suggestthat.

A.moreinvestmentshouldgotoriskreduction

B.governmentsofpoorcountriesneedmoreaid

C.victimsofElNinodeservemorecompensation

D.recoveryandreconstructionshouldcomefirst

64.Whatistheauthor'spurposeinwritingthepassage?

A.TointroduceElNinoanditsorigin.B.ToexplaintheconsequencesofElNino.

C.ToshowwaysoffightingagainstClNino.D.TourgepeopletoprepareforElNino.

D

Notsolongago,mostpeopledidn'tknowwhoShellyAnnFrancisPrycewasgoingto

become.Shewasjustanaveragehighschoolathlete.Therewaseveryindicationthatshewas

justanotherAmericanteenagerwithoutmuchofafuture.However,onepersonwantstochange

this.StephenFrancisobservedtheneighteen-year-oldShellyAnnasatrackmeetandwas

convincedthathehadseenthebeginningoftruegreatness.Hertimewerenotexactly

impressive,butevenso,heseemedtherewassomethingtryingtogetout,somethingtheother

coacheshadoverlookedwhentheyhadassessedherandfoundherlacking.Hedecidedtooffer

ShellyAnnaplaceinhisverystricttrainingseasons.Theircooperationquicklyproducedresults,

andafewyearlateratJamaica'sOlympicgamesinearly2008,ShellyAnn,whoatthattimeonly

rankednumber70intheworld,beatJamaica'sunchallengedqueenofthesprint（短跑）.

“Wheredidshecomefrom?”askedanastonishedsprintingworld,beforeconcludingthat

shemustbeoneofthoseone-hitwondersthatspringupfromtimetotime,onlytodisappear

againwithoutsigns.ButShellyAnnwastoprovethatshev/asanythingbutaone-hitwonder.At

theBeijingOlympicshesweptawayanydoubtsaboutherabilitytoperformconsistentlyby

becomingthefirstJamaicanwomanevertowinthe100metersOlympicgold.Shediditagain

oneyearonattheWorldChampionshipinBriton,becomingworldchampionwithatimeof

10.73--thefourthrecordever.

Shelly-Annisalittlewomanwithabigsmile.Shehasamentaltoughnessthatdidnotcome

aboutbychance.Herjourneytobecomingthefastestwomanonearthhasbeenanythingbut

smoothandeffortless.ShegrewupinoneofJamaica'stoughestinner-citycommunitiesknown

asWaterhouse,whereshelivedinaone-roomapartment,sleepingfourinabedwithhermother

andtwobrothers.Waterhouse,oneofthepoorestcommunitiesinJamaica,isareallyviolentand

overpopulatedplace.SeveralofShelly-Ann'sfriendsandfamilywerecaughtupinthekillings;

oneofhercousinswasshotdeadonlyafewstreetsawayfromwhereshelived.Sometimesher

familydidn'thaveenoughtoeat.Sheranattheschoolchampionshipsbarefootedbecauseshe

couldn'taffordshoes.HermotherMaxime,oneofafamilyoffourteen,hadbeenanathlete

herselfasayounggirlbut,likesomanyothergirlsinWaterhouse,hadtostopaftershehadher

firstbaby.Maxime'searlyentryintotheadultworldwithitsresponsibilitiesgaveherthe

determinationtoensurethatherkidswouldnotendupinWaterhouse'sroundaboutofpoverty.

OneofthefirstthingsMaximeusedtodowithShelly-Annwastakinghertothetrack,andshe

wasreadytosacrificeeverything.

Itdidn'ttakelongforShelly-AnntorealizethatsportscouldbeherwayoutofWaterhouse.

OnasummereveninginBeijingin2008,allthoselong,hardhoursofworkandcommitment

finallyborefruit.Thebarefootkidwhojustafewyearspreviouslyhadbeenlivinginpoverty,

surroundedbycriminalsandviolence,hadwrittenanewchapterinthehistoryofsports.

ButShelly-Ann/svictorywasfargreaterthanthat.ThenightshewonOlympicgoldinBeijing,

theroutinemurdersinWaterhouseandthedrugwarsintheneighbouringstreetsstopped.The

darkcloudaboveoneoftheworld'stoughestcriminalneighbourhoodssimplydisappearedfora

fewdays."Ihavesomuchfireburningformycountry/She