CLittleBrotherByCoryDoctorow,3-优题课

第三部分: 阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，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。
Liverpool, with its half a million citizens, is a big city. It's a city with variety and options.
Every year, tourists from all over the world go to Liverpool, most of whom head straight for the stadium to catch the city's two football teams in action. Liverpool and Everton are both world－famous clubs with fans from all corners of the World, as well as a good number of home grown supporters.
Another big draw to the city is the four local boys. Paul, John, George and Ringo, collectively famous as The Beatles. The pop group first put Liverpool on the world map in the 1960s. The Beatles Story, situated at the Albert Dock, is a huge draw for fans, and you'll find the Beatles shop and ever－popular Cavern Club, the “birthplace of the perfect Four”, in the Cavern Quarter of the city. Fans can also join one of the coach trips around the sights associated with the band, from the houses they grew up in, to the places including Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields.
But Liverpool is about more than music and sport. It is rich in history, with some of the most shocking architecture in the UK. The city has two great cathedrals: Anglican－the largest of its kind in Europe; and the more modern－styled Metropolitan. The famous waterfront, with the Pierhead and the Albert Docks, is also worth a visit. Many of the city's great museums are situated here, including the Walker Art Gallery, the Liverpool Maritime Museum, and the Tate Gallery, which is home to the largest modern art collection in the North. The nightlife in the city also has a lot to offer. With more than 250 bars, pubs and restaurants, there is always something for everyone to do in Liverpool. Music, museums, shopping, history, pubs and bars——it's all there. It is the world in one city, a place truly deserving of the Capital of Culture title.
51. Liverpool and Everton are_____________clubs.
A. architecture B. music C. tourist D. football
52. What made Liverpool first known to the world?
A. The Beatles Story. B. Cavern Club. C. The Beatles. D. The Beatles shop.
53. Compared with Metropolitan, the cathedral Anglican is___________
A. more traditional B. more shocking C. better－known D. smaller
54. Why does the author say “It is the world in one city” in the last paragraph?
A. Liverpool belongs to the world.
B. Liverpool is world famous now.
C. Liverpool owns lots of museums well－known in the world.
D. Liverpool is a lively city with various cultures.

Just as our degree of individual freedom uncomfortable to many foreign visitors, foreign attitudes toward truth seem uncertain to Americans.
In many countries people will tell you what they think you want to hear, whether or not it is true. To them, this implies politeness. To Americans, it is considered misleading-even dishonest--to distort facts on purpose, however kind the motive. The point is ---our priorities(优先) are different; in the United States truth has a higher priority than politeness. We are taught from babyhood that “Honesty is the best policy.” Elsewhere, politeness, honor, family loyalty, “machismo” or many other values might come far ahead of honesty if one is listing priorities.
But with us, trust and truth are of paramount importance. If we say of a man, “You cannot trust him.” This is one of the most damning statements that can be made about him.
In view of such profound differences in values, it is natural that misunderstandings and irritations often occur, especially in exact areas such as the negotiation of contracts. A Mexican has said, “With us b business is like a courtship(求爱).” Americans lack this grace, but on the other hand you can count on their word. You know where you are with them; except in advertising, they will not be “whispering sweet nothings” that they do not mean in order to make you feel desirable!
“How far is it to the next village?” the American asks a man standing by the edge of the road. In some countries, because the man realizes that the traveler is tired and eager to reach his destination, he will politely say “Just down the road.” He thinks this is more encouraging, gentler, and therefore the wanted answer. So the American drives on through the night, getting more and more angry, feeling “tricked.” He thinks the man deliberately lied to him, for obviously he must have known the distance quite well.
Had conditions been reversed, the American would feel he was “cheating” the driver if he implied the next town was close when he knew it was really 15miles further on. Although, he, too, would be sympathetic to the weary driver, he would say, “you have a good way to go yet; it is at least 15 more miles.” The driver might be disappointed, but he would know what to expect.
This often-epeated question of accuracy versus courtesy leads to many misunderstandings between people of different cultures. If you are aware of the situation in advance, it is sometimes easier to recognize the problem.
67．The best title for the passage should be_______.
A．Truth or politeness B．Truth or lying
C．Cultural differences D．Honest Americans
68．In American’s view, people who tell you what they think you want to hear, whether or not it is true, are_______.
A．polite B．honest C．kind D．misleading
69．According to the author, misunderstandings and angers often occur as a result of_______.
A．the exactness of negotiation B．the importance in trust and truth
C．deep differences in values D．lack of respect
70．According to the author, Americans_______.
A．treat a business deal like a courtship
B．list honor on the top of the list of values
C．do not whisper sweet nothings in advertising
D．expect to know the exact distance when asking the way

In 1993, researchers at the University of California at Irvine discovered the so – called “Mozart Effect” – that college students who listened to ten minutes of Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major (D大调) before taking an IQ test scored nine points higher than when they had sat in silence or listened to relaxation tapes. Other studies also have indicated that people gain information better if they hear classical or baroque (a style of art) music while studying.
It is said that Albert Einstein was an average student until he began playing the violin. "Before that, he had a hard time expressing what he knew," says Hazel Cheilek, orchestra director at Fairfax County's Thomas Jefferson High School. “Einstein said he got some of his greatest inspirations while playing the violin. It liberated his brain so that he could imagine." In the early 1700s, England's King George I also felt he would make better decisions if he listened to good music. Reportedly, Handel responded by composing his Water Music suites to be played while the king floated the Thames on his royal boat. Even Plato in ancient Greece believed studying music created a sense of order and harmony necessary for intelligent thought.
The deepest effects take place in young children, while their brains are growing. This year, the same researchers at Irvine’s Center for Neurobiology of Leaming and Memory found that preschoolers who had received eight months of music lessons scored 80 percent higher on certain tasks than other youngsters who received no musical training.
Music students continue to beat their non – arts peers (同龄人) on the SAT, according to the 1999 “Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers” from The College Board. Students with coursework in music appreciation scored 42 points higher on the math section of the test than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.
All of this to say "you are the judge" but listening to Mozart certainly won't hurt you. My point always is that making music is preferable to passive listening and that listening to live music is always preferable to listening to recorded music. Mozart WILL NOT raise your IQ, but it might help you organize your thoughts better before taking a standardized test.
63．When people mention Albert Einstein, King George I and Plato, they believe that the effect of music is_______.
A．positive B．negative C．suspicious D．sensitive
64．So far researchers at the University of California at Irvine have done studies about_______.
A．college students who listen to rock music every day
B．people who hear classical music while studying
C．preschoolers with music lessons
D．music students in SAT
65．Which of the following is an opinion rather than a fact?
A．Handel composed Water Music to be played while the kind floated the Thames on his boat.
B．Mozart might help you organize your thought better before taking a standardized test.
C．Preschoolers with music training scored higher on object – assembly tasks.
D．Music students continue to beat their non – arts peers on the SAT.
66．What is the author’s opinion about music?
A．He thinks that listening to music is better than making music.
B．He has a doubt whether listening to Mozart will hurt the listeners.
C．He is sure that listening to the music of Mozart will raise people’s IQ.
D．He thinks that live concert is better worth listening to than recorded music.

Barack Obama
In the past hundred years, the U.S. presidency has turned more and more to the left – not in policy, but in handedness. Barrack Obama is the latest to join a long list of left – handed presidents from the 20th century: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Henry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were all southpaws.
What makes lefties so electable? Some experts think left-handed people have a greater aptitude for language skills, which may help them craft the rhetoric necessary for political office. And as for the bout of recent left-handed presidents, some think it’s because teachers only recently stopped working to convert lefties to rightist at an early age.
Bill Gates
Claiming the nation’s richest man among their number is a source of considerable pride for America’s society of southpaws. In fact, the Microsoft titan and philanthropist(巨头兼慈善家) is one of a surprising number of U.S. business moguls to be left-handed, including Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and former IBM head Lou Gerstner. But the club seems to be a guys-only fraternity — research suggests that while left-handed men tend to earn more than their right-handed colleagues, there is no similar advantage for women. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research floated the idea that left-handed men favor "divergent" thinking, a form of creativity in which the brain moves "from conventional knowledge into unexplored association." Maybe that’s what it takes to develop a net worth estimated at $ 57 billion.
Oprah Winfrey
The talk-show queen doesn’t need much more to set her apart from the rest — what with her estimated $ 2.7 billion fortune and a magic ability to sell books just by glancing at them — but she also has the distinction of being a member of the left-handed club. Since men are more likely to be left-handed than women, that makes Oprah doubly impressive. She’s in good company: Other show-business ladies of the left – handed persuasion include Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie
Marie Curie
Not only was atomic scientist Marie Curie left-handed, but she was the matriarch of a whole family of accomplished, southpaw scientists. Curie, who discovered the principles of radioactivity and won two Nobel Prizes, was married to fellow lefty Pierre Curie, who was instrumental in helping Marie’s atomic research and shared one of her Nobel awards. Historians believe their daughter, Irene, was also left-handed. Irene went on to win a Nobel Prize of her own with her husband — who, you guessed it, was also left-handed.
59．The underlined word “southpaws” in the last sentence of Paragraph 1 means_______.
A．people coming from the south B．powerful presidents
C．people who use their left hand D．forceful speakers
60．What makes it so easy for lefties to be elected as presidents according to the passage?
A．Their great gift for foreign language.
B．Their great language skills to make speeches.
C．The need of left – hinders in the political office.
D．Teachers stopping to force them to use their right hand.
61．It can be implied that Bill Gates, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and Lou Gerstne_______.
A．have creative thinking B．have formed a special club.
C．earn more money than their wives D．are wealthy philanthropists
62．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 “She is in good company” means “_______”.
A．she works in a very good company B．she has many good friends
C．she has got on well with others D．she is among many female lefties

Vampires (吸血鬼), creatures of myth, have been around in one form or another for centuries. Terrifying but also attractive, they are as popular in the early 21 st century as ever, as the current popularity of Twilight series, and its hero Edward Cullen, show.
Vampires first appeared in fiction in the 1700s. in 1895 Irish novelist Bram Stoker published Dracula, introducing the world’s most famous vampire.
But just what is it about these drinkers of human blood that continues to fascinate us? Speaking to Eric Lewis of the Times and Transcript website, academic Deborah Wells said that vampires are “culturally adaptive”. “We create very different vampires to fit different times. Edward Cullen is not the same as Count Dracula,” she said.
Different as they are, Wells believes vampires are “the perfect containers into which we can pour our current cultural anxieties”, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is powerful, yet old and physically ugly. Stoker’s book dealt with fear of the fall of the British Empire, real fears in the day in which it was written.
According to the website Bookrags, today’s vampires have all our cultural desires, money, power and sexual attraction. Represented by Cullen, they are noble, handsome young men whom women find irresistible. What’s more, vampires challenge traditional ideas about death, science and parental authority. This may be why teenagers are drawn to vampire tales.
“In many ways, the vampire story shows up teenage concerns,” said wells. “The emotional intensity (强度) of the relationship with the vampire matches the intensity of how it feels to have your first real love affairs. Your first real love, it really feels like life and death.”
55．The best title for this passage should be_______.
A．Vampires may continue to drink our blood
B．Vampires have been around us for long
C．Why Twilight is so popular nowadays
D．We still like the story about vampires
56．What is the image of the vampire in Bram Stoker’s book?
A．Anxious but perfect.
B．Powerful, old and ugly.
C．Terrifying but also attractive.
D．Afraid of the fall of the British Empire.
57．According to the website Bookrages, today’s vampires_______.
A．desire money, power and sexual attraction
B．may not think highly of parental authority
C．dare to give up traditional ideas
D．are likely to be resisted by women
58．Which of the following statements is true according to Wells?
A．People need different vampires in different times.
B．Our current cultural anxieties are hidden in vampires.
C．The vampire story reflects the conches of the teenagers.
D．The relationship with the vampire equals your first real love.