河源市2016高考英语二轮：（寒假）阅读理解选练（4）及答案.doc

1、阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A,B,C或D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。Mail carriers will be delivering some good news and some bad news this week.The bad news:Stamp prices are expected to rise 2 cents in May to 41 cents, the Postal Regulatory Commission announced yesterday. The good news:With the introduction of a “forever stamp,”

2、it may be the last time Americans have to use annoying 2-or 3-cent stamps to make up postage differences.Beginning in May, people would be able to purchase the stamps in booklets of 20 at the regular rate of a first-class stamp. As the name implies, “forever stamps” will keep their first-class maili

3、ng value forever, even when the postage rate goes up.The new “forever stamp” is the United States Postal Services (USPS) answer to the complaints about frequent rate increases. The May increase will be the fifth in a decade. Postal rates have risen because of inflation(通货膨胀), competition from online

4、 bill paying, and the rising costs of employee benefits, including healthcare, says Mark Saunders, a spokesman for USPS.The USPS expects some financial gain from sales of the “forever stamp” and the savings from not printing as many 2-or 3-cent stamps. “Its not your grandfathers stamp,” says Mr. Sau

5、nders. “It could be your great-grandchildrens stamp.”Other countries, including Canada, England, and Finland use similar stamps.Don Schilling, who has collected stamps for 50 years, says hes interested in the publics reaction. “This is an entirely new class of stamps,” Mr. Schilling says. He adds th

6、at hell buy the stamps because he will be able to use them for a long period of time, not because they could make him richthe volume printed will be too large for collectors. “We wont be able to send our kids to college on these,” he says, laughing.The USPS board of governors has yet to accept the P

7、ostal Regulatory Commissions decision, but tends to follow its recommendations. No plans have been announced yet for the design of the stamps.1. The main purpose of introducing a “forever stamp” is.A. to reduce the cost of printing 2-or 3-cent stampsB. to help save the consumers cost on first-class

8、mailingC. to respond to the complaints about rising postal ratesD. to compete with online bill paying2. By saying “It could be your great-grandchildrens stamp”, Mr Saunders means that forever stamps .A. could be collected by ones great-grandchildrenB. might be very precious in great-grandchildrens h

9、andsC. might have been inherited from ones great-grandfathersD. could be used by ones great-grandchildren even decades later3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?A. The investment in forever stamps will bring adequate reward.B. America will be the first country to issue forever

10、stamps.C. The design of the “forever stamp” remains to be revealed.D. 2-or 3-cent stamps will no longer be printed in the future.4. What can be concluded from the passage?A. With forever stamps, there will be no need to worry about rate changes.B. Postal workers will benefit most from the sales of f

11、orever stamps.C. The inflation has become a threat to the sales of first-class stamps.D. New interest will be aroused in collecting forever stamps.【参考答案】1-4 CDCA揭阳市2016高考英语二轮：（寒假）阅读理解选练（4）及答案AMy husband and I had just opened up a pet sitting business earlier that year. Our customers had slowly risen

12、 from three to thirty a month. We were busy through those hot summer months, driving between visits. Our services were strictly held at the pet owners home. It was almost too busy for the two of us, but we were making good money!We asked pet owners new to our services to phone two weeks ahead so we

13、had enough time to meet the owners and pets at their homes and make any following meetings before the owner leaves.One day, we decided to take on a new customer just two days before they would leave. We met the family, filled in a form, and spent some time with their dog, Hercules. He playfully jump

14、ed on us and touched our hands and arms using his tongue. The family laughed as he did this, showing us that he was very loving.Two days later I appeared at the house, alone. I came up to Hercules and said hello happily. I filled up his water bowl and cleaned any messes he made. Meanwhile, he was so

15、 lovely sitting beside. I thought this would be the good picture to send to the owners, a usual service. After the light and “click” sound went off, Hercules rushed at me. I didnt know what had just happened until I noticed the drops of blood. I ran out and did the only thing calling my husband.Then

16、 I went to neighbors for help. My husband arrived after ten minutes. The helpful neighbor and my husband led Hercules back into his pen (圈). Then my husband and I took off to the hospital.I must have looked like I was shot when I walked into the hospital. The nurses quickly moved me to a room. I ask

17、ed the doctor in a weak but playful manner, “ Am I going to die？” He replied, “Finally.”1. According to the text, the authors work was _.A. tiring and dangerous B. well paidC. easy and freeD. done outdoors2. It can be inferred from the text that the author was attacked because _.A. Hercules feared t

18、he sound and the flashB. the author attacked Hercules firstC. Hercules was very hungry thenD. the author treated Hercules badly3. The doctors answer gave us a sense of _.A. anger B. patienceC. carelessness D. humor参考答案A篇1-3 BADB Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food9:00-9:45a.m. Blue TentPanelis

19、ts(讨论会成员): Jami Bernard, David Kamp, Marion Nestle and Peter Singer.Hosted by Denise Gray, science writer for The New York Times. How does what we eat not only affect our bodies, but also the world? The food and nutrition experts debate the role that the diet plays in both personal and global health

20、, and present a look at food politics. Sports writing: For the Love of the Game9:50-10:35a.m. Blue TentPanelists: Christine Brennan, Ira Rosen, Joe Wallace and Joe Drape.Hosted by William C. Rhoden, sports writer for The New York Times.Whether catching that key moment of victory or defeat, or coveri

21、ng breaking news, sports writers are anything but audience. Listen as some professionals discuss the special experience in reporting of sports news. The Art of the Review11:15-12:00a.m. Green TentPanelists: John Freeman, Barry Gewen, David Orr, Celia McGee and Jennifer Schuessler.Hosted by Sam Tanen

22、haus, editor for the Book Review The New York Times. How much of an effect does the book review have on book sales? Join this group of critics as they discuss the reality of the book review and bestseller lists, and how they choose books for review. New York Writers, New York Stories3:00-3:45p.m. Gr

23、een TentPanelists: Cindy Adams, Richard Cohen, Ric Klass and Lauren Redniss.Hosted by Clyde Haberman, columnist(专栏作家) for the City Section of The New York Times. Join this inspiring group of New Yorkcentric writers as they talk about why New York is a gold mine of ideas for their work.4. If you are

24、free in the afternoon, you can attend _.A. The Art of the ReviewB. Health, Wellness and the Politics of FoodC. New York Writers, New York StoriesD. Sports Writing: For the Love of the Game5. Sam Tanenhaus is in charge of _.A. The Art of the ReviewB. Health, Wellness and the Politics of FoodC. New Yo

25、rk Writers, New York StoriesD. Sports Writing: For the Love of the Game6. All the four activities above _. A. are about writingB. can be attended freelyC.will last 45 minutes eachD. will attract many readers7. We can learn from the text that _. A. sports writers are a type of audienceB. book reviews

26、 may affect book salesC. Denise Grady will discuss political policyD. The New York Times is popular参考答案B篇 4-7 CACB C“Plants were expected to get larger with increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but changes in temperature, humidity and nutrient availability seem to have trumped the benefits of

27、 increased carbon dioxide,” said researchers from the National University of Singapore45 percent of the species studied now reach smaller adult sizes than they did in the past. The researchers pointed out that warmer temperatures and changing habitats, caused by climate change, are possible reasons

28、for shrinking creatures“ We do not yet know the mechanisms involved, or why some organism are getting smaller while others are unaffected,” the researchers said“Until we understand more, we could be risking negative consequences that we can t yet quantify”The change was big in cold - blooded animals

29、Only two decades of warmer temperatures were enough to make reptiles (爬行动物) smaller. An increase of 1 degree centigrade caused nearly a 10 percent increase in metabolism(新陈代谢). Greater use of energy resulted in tiny tortoises and little lizards. Fish are smaller now too. Though overfishing has playe

30、d a part in reducing numbers, experiments show that warmer temperatures also stop fish growth. There is a recent report on warmer temperatures negative effects on plankton(浮游生物), the base of the marine ecosystemWarm - blooded animals werent immune from the size change caused by climate changeMany bi

31、rds are now smaller. Mammals have been miniaturized too. Soay sheep are thinner. Red deer are weakerAnd polar bears are smaller, compared with historical recordsThis is not the first time this has happened in Earth s history55 million years ago, a warming event similar to the current climate change

32、caused bees, spiders and ants to shrink by 50 to 75 percent over several thousand yearsThat event happened over a long time than the current climate changeThe speed of modem climate change could mean organisms may not respond or adapt quickly enough, especially those with long generation timesSo, it

33、 is likely that more negative influences of climate change will be shown in future8. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?A. Why do some species become smaller?B. How does temperature change in Earth s history?C. Climate change has many negative effectsD. Species become sma

34、ller as climate warms9. The underlined word trumped in the first paragraph can be replaced by _A.beaten B. increasedC. strengthened D. equaled10. Researchers from the National University of Singapore believe that _A. too many studies on animals size have been done.B. all the animals on the earth hav

35、e become smaller.C. how climate change effects animals size has not been found clearly.D. climate change has more negative effects on warm-blooded animals.11. What can we learn from the passage?A. Bird have suffered more from climate change than fishB. Climate change have even affected plankton nega

36、tivelyC. Cold-blooded animals become smaller because of the lack of food.D. The warming event has never happened in Earth s history before.参考答案C篇8-11 DACBDSeven years of careful design and planning all came together on Monday, when James Cameron became the first human to make a solo trip to the deep

37、est known point on earth - the Challenger Deep! More importantly though, he appeared safely seven hours later,completing with exciting-photos and videos from this dark mysterious world that has been visited by only two humans before!Seated inside a specially built 12-ton green submersible (潜水器)calle

38、d the Deep Sea Challenger, the brilliant filmmaker caught every moment of his 2-hour-36-minute journey down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench on video given that it is 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon and a mile deeper than Mount Everest.Absolutely nothing! There were no large alien creature

39、s or mysterious footprints just a flat desolate (荒凉的) landscape, 50 times larger than the Grand Canyon. Mr.Cameron describes it as devoid (缺乏)of sunlight, any heat, any warmth.The only things swimming around, were some tiny shrimp-like (虾状的)creatures no bigger than an inch. While the 57-year-old had

40、 expected to spend six hours at the bottom, he was forced to return in three hours, because the robotic arm that was supposed to help him collect samples went wrong and began leaking oil. He also lost some thrusters (推进器) and a whole starboard side, causing the submersible to spin around in circles.

41、 However, these small setbacks did not make the whole trip any less exciting for Mr. Cameron. The director, who returned to the surface in a speedy seventy minutes, believes this is just one of many trips he and other adventurers will be taking. In fact, Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgi

42、n Group, is currently in the midst of planning a similar trip to the Puerto Rico Trench that lies five miles below the surface of the water. Though Mr. Camerons is promising to move his historic trip into an exciting 3-D National Geographic documentary, he is tight-lipped about how the experience wi

43、ll be used in his next movie! We cannot wait to see!12. According to Paragraph one，we can know that _.A. Cameron is the first man to the deepest known point on earthB. the trip had been well prepared in the past few yearsC. the trip lasted for about nine and a half hoursD. the pictures Cameron took

44、are dark13. On the bottom of Challenger Deep, _. A. there are some mysterious footprintsB. the landscape is not very largeC. there are many fishD. it is dark and cold14. Why did Mr.Cameron return earlier than planned?A. Because he finished all his tasks.B. Because he couldnt stand the environment.C.

45、 Because there was something wrong with his submersible.D. Because he was eager to show his photos and videos to others.15. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _.A. many similar trips will be taken in the near futureB. the small setbacks had a great effect on Mr. CameronC. some people have known how Camerons experience will be used in his next movieD. the trip to the Puerto Rico Trench is more dangerous and difficult than to the Mariana Trench参考答案D篇 12-15 BDCA