ChooseYourVirginiaRockHouseMus-优题课

第三部分阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Why You Should Celebrate Your Mistakes
When you make a mistake, big or small, cherish (珍视) it like it’s the most precious thing in the world. Because in some ways, it is.
Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes, beat ourselves up about it, feel like failures, get mad at ourselves.
And that’s only natural: most of us have been taught from a young age that mistakes are bad, that we should try to avoid mistakes. We’ve been scolded when we make mistakes—at home, school and work. Maybe not always, but probably enough times to make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.
Yet without mistakes, we could not learn or grow. If you think about it that way, mistakes should be cherished and celebrated for being one of the most amazing things in the world: they make learning possible; they make growth and improvement possible.
By trial and error—trying things, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes—we have figured out how to make electric light, to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, to fly.
Mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler, make speech possible, make works of genius possible.
Think about how we learn: we don’t just consume information about something and instantly know it or know how to do it. You don’t just read about painting, or writing, or computer programming, or baking, or playing the piano, and know how to do them right away. Instead, you get information about something, from reading or from another person or from observing usually … then you construct a model in your mind … then you test it out by trying it in the real world … then you make mistakes … then you revise the model based on the results of your real-world experimentation … and repeat, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, until you’ve pretty much learned how to do something. That’s how we learn as babies and toddlers, and how we learn as adults. Mistakes are how we learn to do something new—because if you succeed at something, it’s probably something you already knew how to do. You haven’t really grown much from that success—at most it’s the last step on your journey, not the whole journey. Most of the journey was made up of mistakes, if it’s a good journey.
So if you value learning, if you value growing and improving, then you should value mistakes. They are amazing things that make a world of brilliance possible.
56. Why do most of us feel bad about making mistakes?
A. Because mistakes make us suffer a lot.
B. Because it’s a natural part in our life.
C. Because we’ve been taught so from a young age.
D. Because mistakes have ruined many people’s careers.
57. According to the passage, what is the right attitude to mistakes?
A. We should try to avoid making mistakes.
B. We should owe great inventions mainly to mistakes.
C. We should treat mistakes as good chances to learn.
D. We should make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.
58. The underlined word “toddler” in Paragraph Six probably means _______.
A. a small child learning to walk B. a kindergarten child learning to draw
C. a primary pupil learning to read D. a school teenager learning to write
59. We can learn from the passage that _______.
A. most of us can really grow from success
B. growing and improving are based on mistakes
C. mistakes are the most precious things in the world
D. we read about something and know how to do it right away

E
Edwin Powell Hubble was born in 1889 in Marshfield , Missouri . He spent his early years in the state of Kentucky . Then he moved with his family to Chicago , Illinois . He attended the University of Chicago . He studied mathematics and astronomy .
He was a member of the University of Chicago championship basketball team in 1909 . He was also an excellent boxer . Several people urged him to train for the world heavyweight boxing championship after college . Instead , he decided to continue his studies . He went to Queen’s College at Oxford , England . At Oxford , Hubble studied law . He was interested in British Common Law , because his family had come to America from England many years before . He spent 7 years at Oxford .
In 1913 , Hubble returned to the United States . He opened a law office in Louisville , Kentucky . After a short time , however , he decided he did not want to be a lawyer . He returned to the University of Chicago . There , once again , he studied astronomy .
Hubble watched the night sky with instruments at the university’s Yerkes Observatory . His research involved a major question astronomers could not answer : What are nebulae（星云）?
In his research paper , Hubble said the issue could be decided only by more powerful instruments . And those instruments had not yet been developed .
Soon after , Hubble bagan working with a larger and more powerful telescope at Mount Wilson . Its mirror was 250 centimeters across . It was the most powerful telescope in the world for 25 years .It had the power Hubble needed to make his major discoveries .
From 1922 on , Edwin Hubble began examining more and more distant objects . His first great discovery was made when he recognized a Cepheid variable star . It was in the outer area of the great nebula called Andromeda . Cepheid variable stars are stars whose brightness changes at regular periods .
Hubble’s discovery ended a long dispute . He proved wrong those who believed nebulae lay inside the Millky Way . And he proved that nebulae were galaxies themselves . Astronomers now agree that far distant galaxies do exist .
72. Why did Hubble close his law office ?
A. Because it could not bring him fortune .
B. Because he was tired of office work .
C. Because he wanted to be devoted to astronomy .
D. Because he couldn’t control himself sometimes .
73. The larger and more powerful telescope at Mount Wilson_______.
A. belonged to the state of Kentucky
B. was once the most powerful
C. cost Hubble all his money
D. was of little help to Hubble’s research
74. Which of the following statements is NOT true about Edwin Powell Hubble ?
A. He studied law for three years at Oxford , England .
B. He corrected people’s wrong idea about nebulae .
C. He made some important discoveries at Mount Wilson .
D. He showed little interest in sports while studying astronomy at college .
75. Cepheid variable stars’ brightness can be described as__________.
A. changeable B. fixed C. weak D. colorful

D
We can make mistakes at any age . Some mistakes we make are about money . But most mistakes are about people . “ Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen ?” “ When I got that great job , did Jim really feel good about it , as a friend ? Or did he envy my luck ?” When we look back , doubts like these can make us feel bad . But when we look back , it’s too late .
Why do we go wrong about our friends—or our enemies ? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning . And if we don’t really listen we miss the feeling behind the words . Suppose someone tells you , “ You’re a lucky dog ,” and that’s being friendly . But “ lucky dog ”? There’s a bit of envy in those words . Maybe he doesn’t see it himself . But bringing in the “dog ” bit puts you down a little , what he may be saying is that he doesn’t think you deserve your luck .
“ Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for ” is another noise that says one thing and means another . It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole . But is he ? Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn’t important . It’s telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven’t got a date for Saturday night .
How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words ? One way is to take a good look at the person talking . Do his words fit the way he looks ? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice ? His posture ? The look in his eyes ? Stop and think . The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save another mistake .
68. This passage is mainly about_______.
A. how to understand what people say
B. what to do when you listen to others talking
C. why we go wrong with people and how to avoid these mistakes
D. why we go wrong with people sometimes
69. According to the author , the reason why we go wrong about our friends is that_______.
A. we fail to listen carefully when they talk
B. people tend to be angry when we check what they say
C. people usually state one thing but mean another
D. we tend to doubt what our friends say
70. The underlind word “ it ” in the second paragraph refers to_______ .
A. being friendly B. a bit of envy C. lucky dog D. your luck
71. When we listen to a person talking , the most important thing for us to do is _______.
A. notice the way the person is talking
B. take a good look at the person talking
C. mind his tone , his posture and the look in his eyes
D. consider the real meaning of what he says based on his manner , his tone and his posture

C
The African elephant , the largest land animal remaining on earth , is of great importance to African ecosystem（生态系统）. Unlike other animals , the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment . As a big plant-eater , it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna（大草原） surroundings in which it lives , therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat（栖息地）.
It is the elephant’s great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat . In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day , it kills small trees and underbushes , and pulls branches off big trees . This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas . In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters .
Take the rain forests for example . In their natural state , the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor . By pulling down trees and eating plants , elephants make open spaces , allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor . In such situations , the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well .
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species . If the elephant disappears , scientists say , many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna , greatly chaning and worsening the whole ecosystem .
64. What is the passage mainly about ?
A. Disappearance of African elephants .
B. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants .
C. The effect of African elephants’ search for food .
D. The eating habit of African elephants .
65. What does the underlined phrase “ setting the terms ” most probably mean ?
A. Fixing the time . B. Worsening the state .
C. Improving the quality . D. Deciding the conditions .
66. What do we know about the open spaces in the passage ?
A. They result from the destruction of rain forests .
B. They provide food mainly for African elephants .
C. They are home to many endangered animals .
D. They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds .
67. The passage is developed mainly by_______.
A. showing the effect and then explaining the causes
B. pointing out similarities and differences
C. describing the changes in space order
D. giving examples

B
Read the advertisements carefully . Then answer the questions that follow .

60. You may find the above advertisements_______.
A. in a store window B. in a school magazine
C. in a newspaper D. on a company notice-board
61. The position of a(n) _______is a part-time job .
A. florist B. artist C. preschool teacher D. dental nurse
62. Which of the following is the most important for the childcare job ?
A. Cooking skills .
B. Childcare experience .
C. The ability to start work in two weeks .
D. The ability to work well with other people .
63 . The office cleaners will be required to work about_______hours a week .
A. 5 B. 10 C. 15 D. 20