阅读理解（共5小题）AmonthafterHurricane-优题课

Daniel Defoe (about 1660～1731) was an important novelist in the English literature(文学). When he was young, he served as a soldier and had been to Spain, Italy, France and Germany. At the same time, he went in for politics. He cared much about the development of capitalism(资本主义). He had written a lot of articles against it and he was put into prison twice for that. It was not until that he was nearly sixty that he began to write the famous novel “Robinson Crusoe”, which was published in May, 1709. It spread so rapidly that the story was known to every household very soon.
“Robinson Crusoe” can be divided into three parts. The first part is about Crusoe’s three voyages, the second part about his hunting, hiding in caves farming and his hard struggles against nature on a small island, the third about the things which happened after his return from the island. The second part is the body of the novel, in which Robinson’s characters are clearly shown.
Defoe wrote his novel in a simple style and his language is easy to understand. His novel writing set a milestone of the modern English novel. In his later part of life, He was in poor health and lived very poorly. He died on April 24, 1731.
Deniel Defoe was ______ and the writer of ______.

A．an Englishman, “A Tale of Two Cities”

B．an American, “A Million Pound Note”

C．a French, “The Lost Necklace”

D．an English, “Robinson Crusoe”

How old was he when he began to write his famous novel Robinson Crusoe?

A．He was in his sixties.	B．He was in his fifties.
C．He was over 60.	D．He was sixty.

Robinson Crusoe can be divided into ______ parts and the first is about _______.

A．two, his lonely life	B．three, his characters
C．three, his journeys by sea	D．four, his fame

“Every household” in this passage means ______.

A．all members of a family

B．all people

C．every building

D．persons living in the same house

What was Defoe’s contribution(贡献) to the English literature?

A．He wrote a very interesting story.

B．He made people happy while reading his story.

C．He set a milestone of the modern English novel.

D．He was active in politics and was against capitalism.

My husband and children think they are very lucky that they are living and that it’s Christmas again. They can’t see that we live on a dirty street in a dirty house among people who aren’t much good. But Johnny and children can’t see this. What a pity it is that our neighbors have to make happiness out of all this dirt. I decided that my children must get out of this. The money that we’ve saved isn’t nearly enough.
The McGaritys have money but they are so proud. They look down upon the poor. The McGarity girl just yesterday stood out there in the street eating from a bag of candy(糖果)while a ring of hungry children watched her. I saw those children looking at her and crying in their hearts; and when she couldn’t eat any more she threw the rest down the sewer(下水道). Why, is it only because they have money ? There is more to happiness than money in the world, isn’t there?
Miss Jackson who teaches at the Settlement House isn’t rich, but she knows things. She understands people. Her eyes look straight into yours when she talks with you. She can read your mind. I’d like to see the children be like Miss Jackson when they grow up.
This passage mainly suggests that the writer _______.

A．is easy to get along with	B．is unhappy with the life they are living
C．is good at observing and understanding	D．is never pleased with her neighbors

What do you think of McGarity girl?

A．She is proud and hungry.	B．She is selfish and cruel.
C．She is lonely and friendless.	D．She is unhappy and misunderstood.

In this text, the writer tries to tell us that _______.

A．money is the key to everything　　

B．the more money you have, the less happy you’ll be

C．there is something more important than money

D．when talking to people we should look into their eyes

Pick out the one that does NOT describe the writer’s view on money.

A．Why, is it only because they have money?

B．There is more to happiness than money.

C．Miss Jackson isn’t rich, but she knows things.

D．The money we saved isn’t nearly enough.

Trees are useful to man in three very important ways: they provide him with wood and other products, they give him shade, and they help to prevent drought and floods.
Unfortunately, in many parts of the world man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important. In his eagerness to draw quick profit from the trees, he has cut them down in large numbers, only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had.
Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships, with which to gain itself an empire. It gained the empire but, without its trees, its soil became hard and poor. When the empire fell to pieces, the country found itself faced by floods and starvation.
Even though a government realizes the importance of a plentiful supply of trees, it is difficult for it to persuade the villager to see this. The villager wants wood to cook his food with, and he can earn money by making charcoal(木炭) or selling wood to the townsman（城市居民）. He is usually too lazy or too careless to plant and look after trees. So unless the government has a good system of control, or can educate the people, the forests will slowly disappear.
This does not only mean that the villager’s sons and grandsons have fewer trees. The results are even more serious. For where there are trees their roots break the soil up—allowing the rain to sink in and also hold the soil, thus preventing it being washed away easily, but where there are no trees, the soil becomes hard and poor. The rain falls on hard ground and flows away on the surface, causing floods and carrying away with it the rich topsoil, in which crops grow so well. When all the topsoil is gone, nothing remains but a worthless desert.
The purpose that the writer wrote this article is to ______.

A．tell people the use of wood

B．tell people the function of tree roots

C．warn that man mustn’t destroy forests any more

D．explain how trees help to prevent drought and floods

In the writer’s opinion, _____, or the forests will slowly disappear.

A．measures must be taken

B．people shouldn’t draw benefit from the tree

C．government must realize the serious results

D．unless trees never be cut down

According to the article we know it is _____ to prevent the forests from slowly disappearing.

A．necessary but impossible

B．necessary but difficult

C．impossible and unimportant

D．difficult and impossible

In the last two paragraphs the writer wanted to make it clear that _____ .

A．where there are no trees, the soil becomes poor but soft

B．where there are many trees, there are more floods

C．where there are no trees, the land might become desert slowly

D．floods will make the land become desert

Canadian experts have found that so – called self – help books may actually do more harm than good to people who really need help．Researchers say that individuals （个人） with low respect felt much worse after repeating positive statements about themselves．
In their study, psychologists Joanne Wood and John Lee sought to determine how positive thinking affected people with different levels of self – confidence．They questioned dozens of people both made and female, analyzed their self – worth and optimism by means of the standard psychological methods and then asked them to write down their thoughts and feelings．The scoring system ranged from 0 to 35．
During the experiment, the researchers asked a total of 68 participants to repeat the self-help book phrase, “I am a lovable person．” After that they measured the participants’ moods and their feelings about themselves．The results revealed that the participants in the low self – respect group who repeated the mantra （颂歌）, were feeling much worse afterwards, when compared to other participants in low self – respect group who did not repeat the phrase．Those with low self – respect who repeated the phrase scored an average of 10 points．Their counterparts （对比者） with equally low self – respect who were not asked to repeat the statement, were able to score a little higher average of 17 points．
However, individuals with high self – respect reported feeling better after repeating the positive self – statement – but only slightly．They scored an average of 31 points, compared with an average of 25 for those with equally high self – respect who did not repeat the phrase．
Professor Wood urged those who promote self – help books, magazines and television shows to stop telling people that simply repeating a positive mantra could change one’s life．First, people start following this idea and feel like they are not alone．They are told that all they have to do is just to read that book and then to repeat these positive statements in a hope that things will be better, and when it does not work for them and they realize that nothing gets better, then it is really frustration to people．
Researchers concluded: “Repeating positive self – statements may benefit certain people such as individuals with high self – respect but discourage the very people who need confidence the most．”
The experts tried to find out, when repeating positive self – statements, ．

A．the different influences on people with different levels of self - confidence

B．whether males or females will get more benefit from self – help books

C．which group of people self – help books will do the greatest harm to

D．who will get the least benefit from self – help book

How many points did the low self – respect participants get after repeating the self – help book phrase?

A．An average of 10 points．	B．An average of 17 points．
C．An average of 31 points．	D．An average of 25 points．

So – called self – help books do some good to ．

A．people lacking confidence

B．people with high self - respect

C．people with problems to settle urgently

D．people repeating positive self – statements

Sydney – A shark savaged a schoolboy’s leg while he was surfing with his father at a beach in Sydney on February 23．it was the third shark attack along the coast of Australia’s largest city in a month．
The 15 – year – old boy and his father were in the water off Avalon, on Sydney’s northern beaches, around dawn when he was attacked．The city’s beaches are packed with locals and tourists during the summer months．
“The father heard a scream and turned to see his son trashing （扭动） about in the water,” police said．“Fortunately, the shark swam away and the boy was helped to shore by his father．”
Lifesaving Club spokesman Nick Miller: “It got him around the top of his left leg and the father came and dragged him out of water．” He said the boy was bleeding heavily when he was brought to shore．“There was a lot of pain, as you can imagine”．The teenager was airlifted to hospital for treatment for leg injuries．
Police said the bites “cut through to the bone”, but the boy did not appear to have sustained any fractures （骨折）．He was in a stable condition now．
Several beaches were closed after the attack．Water police and lifeguards were searching for the shark, while police hoped to identify its species by the shape of the bite marks．But they said it was too early to say what type of shark attacked the boy．“I don’t even know if he saw it,” Miller said．
Many shark species live in the waters off Sydney’s beaches, but attacks on humans are still relatively rare．However, there were two attacks on successive days earlier this month, one on a navy diver in Sydney harbor, not far from the famous Opera House, and the other on a surfer at the city’s world – famous Bondi beach．
Fishermen say shark numbers are on the rise．There is a ban on commercial fishing in the harbor, which has increased fish stocks．Marine experts also claim environmental protection has created a cleaner environment, attracting sharks closer to shore as they chase fish．Many shark species, including the Great White – the man – eater made famous in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws – are protected in Australian waters．
The report mainly tells us．

A．shark attacks on humans are on the rise

B．sharks attacked humans three times in one month

C．a boy was attacked by a shark at a Sydney beach

D．shark numbers are increasing in the waters off Sydney’s beaches

The underlined word “savaged” in the first paragraph probably means “ ”．

A．attracted

B．dragged

C．bit

D．packed

What do we know about the city of Sydney from the passage?

A．It is one of the largest cities in Australia．

B．Sydney harbor is not far from the famous Opera House．

C．There are many locals and tourists on its coast all year round．

D．There are few shark species in the waters off Sydney’s beaches．

About the injury of the boy we know that．

A．he was losing much blood when he was dragged out

B．he was very nervous when he was sent to hospital

C．he may be in danger of losing his leg

D．he was injured in the right leg

A．④③⑤①②	B．③④⑤②①
C．④③⑤②①	D．③④⑤①②