TheUnitedStatesisfullofcars.Th-优题课

第三部分：阅读理解
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项.
A
In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined(露天矿) ? Strip mining tears up top soil and plants. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating “uglies” to be in someone else’s backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere.
How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transport systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to spread? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it?
However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.
1. The word “priorities” in the sentence means ____.
 A. the various needs B. the most important goal
 C. the number one necessity D. the first thing to be considered
2. “…, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. ” tells us that ____.
 A. people are thinking to develop their living space into the sky
 B. people noticed the need for unoccupied land
 C. people are struggling to get more land from the space 
D. people are becoming more active on the space issue
3. How do we find our way out of the land use problems?
A. One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions.
B. Everyone has to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots.
C. We have to have more energy. We need strip-mine coal to provide it.
D. We may develop mass transit systems which use less land.
4. “Everyone wants the big, land-eating ‘uglies’ to be in someone else s backyard.” shows that .
 A. people don t want more big projects
 B. people don t want to live in the neighborhood of the big projects
 C. people regard the large construction projects are “uglies ”
 D. people don t like the undesirable building projects
5. The main idea of this article is ____.
 A. The Limits of Land B. Land
C. Land and Our Life Styles D. Land and Space

II. 阅读理解（Reading comprehension）（共20小题；选择题5小题，每小题1分；非选择题15小题，每小题2分，计35分）
A) 选择题：阅读下面的短文，根据文意从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和D）中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳选项。(Read the following passage which is followed by five questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the passage.)
Mexic Past and Present
Hundreds of years ago,Native-American tribes lived in Mexico. The Aztecs built beautiful cities. They had a calendar (历法) and a written language. However, the Spanish destroyed the Aztecs in 1521. For the next 300 years, Spain ruled over Mexico. That's why Mexicans speak Spanish.
Every September 16 the Mexican people hold a celebration in Mexico City, their country's capital. It is their Independence Day. On that date in 1821 they told Spain they would no longer be ruled.
Breaking free from Spain caused a war. When it was over, the Mexicans had their own government. They made their own laws.
Today America and Mexico are friends, but it wasn't always that way. President James Polk wanted America to reach from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. He tried to buy what is now the American southwest from Mexico. Mexico would not sell. So from 1846 to 1848 Mexico and America fought a war to ascertain where their borders would be. When the war ended, Mexico had lost a lot of land. Now the Rio Grande River forms the border between the two nations. America is on the north side of the river. Mexico is on the south side.
Mexico has mountains and a hot, dry climate. Crops can grow on only a small part of the land. Still, Mexicans grow much of the coffee, oranges, and sugar used in the US. Mexicans have influenced building styles in southwestern US and added words such as patio and canton to American English. Americans also enjoy eating many Mexican foods like burritos, tacos, tortillas, and tamales.
46. According to the passage, what happened second on a historical timeline?
A. Mexicans declared their independence from Spain.
B. The Spanish ruled Mexico.
C. The Aztecs lived in Mexico.
D. Americans fought a war with Mexico.
47. The passage says that President Polk wanted ________.
A. the US to expand its borders to the Pacific Ocean
B. Mexico to change its Independence Day to July 4th
C. Mexico to become one of the states of the Union
D. Americans to adopt the Mexican language
48. Another word for the underlined word “ascertain” is ________.
A. inspect B. discover C. change D. determine
49. Mexicans have the following influences on America EXCEPT ________.
A. building stylesB. vocabulary
C. clothes D. food
50. Before the Aztecs were conquered, these Native Americans probably ________.
A. didn't speak Spanish
B. couldn't read or write any language
C. didn't have tools
D. didn't understand the concept of time

What will man be like in the future--in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make a guess, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on the average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller.
Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change too. The head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald!
Perhaps, all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
72. The reason for believing that future man will be different is that he ______.
A. began to change five hundred years ago
B. never stops changing
C. never stops growing
D. has recently begun to change
73. People's heads will eventually grow larger. This is because their brains ______.
A. will grow faster than at present
B. will be in use
C. will play an important part
D. will need more room than at present
74. Future man will probably ______.
A. have bigger eyes
B. get weaker eyes
C. see better
D. have to wear better glasses
75. Future man's hair will ______.
A. grow darker B. stop growing completely
C. fall out more often D. get longer

You either have it, or you don’t------ a sense of direction, that is. But why is it that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, while others can lose themselves in the next street?
Scientists say we’re all born with a sense of direction, but it is not properly understood how it works. One theory is that people with a good sense of direction have simply worked harder at developing it. Research being carried out at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don’t use it, we lose it.
“Children as young as seven have the ability to find their way around,” says Jim Martland, Research director of the project. “However, if they are not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they never develop the skills.”
Jim Martland also emphasizes that young people should be taught certain skills to improve their sense of direction. He makes the following suggestions:
●If you are using a map, turn it so it relates to the way you are facing.
●If you leave your bike in a strange place, put it near something like a big stone or a tree----- something easy to recognize. Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike. When you return, go back along the same route.
●Simplify the way for finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams, or walls in the countryside to guide you. Count your steps so that you know how far you have gone and note any landmarks such as tower blocks or hills which can help to find out where you are.
Now you will never get lost again!
68. Scientists believe that ______.
A. some babies are born with a sense of direction
B. people learn a sense of direction as they grow older
C. people never lose their sense of direction
D. everybody has a sense of direction from birth
69. What is true of 7-year-old children according to the passage?
A. They never have a sense of direction without maps.
B. They should never be allowed out alone if they lack(缺乏) a sense of direction.
C. They have a sense of direction and can find their way around.
D. They can develop a good sense of direction if they are driven around in a car.
70. If you leave your bike in a strange place, you should ______.
A. tie it to a tree so as to prevent it from being stolen
B. draw a map of the route to help remember where it is
C. avoid taking the same route when you come back to it
D. remember something easily recognizable on the route
71. According to the passage, the best way to find your way around is to ______.
A. ask policemen for directions
B. use walls, streams, and streets to guide yourself
C. remember your route by looking out for steps and stairs
D. count the number of landmarks that you see

Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States and Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes which will give them a head in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children are very skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills that they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and lots of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.
64. Parents in China, according to this passage, ______.
A. are too strict with their children
B. are too rich to educate their children
C. have some problems in educating their children correctly
D. are too poor to educate their children
65. Generally speaking, children’s skills ______.
A. come from their parents
B. have nothing to do with their education
C. may be different from child to child
D. have something to do with their marks in the exams
66. The writer of this passage does not seem to be satisfied with ______.
A. the parents’ ideas of educating their children
B. the education system
C. children’s skills
D. children’s hobbies
67. Doing some cooking at home helps children ______.
A. learn how to serve their parents
B. learn how to become strong and fat
C. benefit from it and prepare themselves for the future
D. make their parents believe that they are clever

A．too many cars are being driven	B．there are too many car pools
C．people put fewer cars on the roads	D．there is less gas