Wildweather,unexpectedcoralree-优题课

D
Equipped only with a pair of binoculars(双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a rare bullfinch(红腹灰雀), Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show bird-watching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.
Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches(雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.
“Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book.—A bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching — which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.
Television wildlife programmes have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million views and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.
Birdwatchers networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera—a golden-winged songbird from North America—to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and the next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent., where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sighting texted to their phones.
“Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers.” Said David Croack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”
68. The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “______”.
A. affected B. shared C. satisfied D. narrowed
69. What happened after the message of seeing a Vermivora Chrysoptera was put on the network?
A. Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent.
B. Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird.
C. Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details.
D. Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird.
70. Which of the following CANNOT be true according to the passage?
A. Television wildlife programmes started the popular pastime of birdwatching.
B. The network service has contributed to the rapid development of birdwatching.
C. Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers.
D. The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment.
71. The passage mainly tells us about _______ in UK.
A. the history of birdwatching. B. a growing passion for birdwatching
C. the impact of media on birdwatching D. birdwatching as a popular expensive sport

C
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. Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike. When you return, go back along the same route.
Simplify the way of 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 need never get lost again!
64. 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 possesses a sense of direction from birth
65. What is true of seven-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 a sense of direction.
C. They have a sense of direction and can find their way around.
D. They can develop a good sense or direction if they are driven around in a car.
66. If you leave your bike in a strange place, you should ______.
A. tie it to a tree so as to present 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 recognized on the route.
67. 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.

B
The medical world is gradually realising that the quality of the environment in the hospital may play an important role in helping patients to get better.
As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the museums and into public places, some of the country’s best artists have been called in to change older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings.
These recent movements were first started by one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital on northeastern England during the early 1970s. He felt that the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.
A common hospital waiting room might have as many as 5,000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art! The effect is striking. Now in the passages and waiting rooms, the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colours, playful images and restful courtyards.
The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view of garden needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.
60. Some artists have been gathered to ________.
A. pull down older hospitals and build up new ones
B. make the corners of the hospital building round
C. bring art into hospitals
D. help patients recover from illnesses
61. From this passage, we learn that ________.
A. artists in Britain have completely lost their places in modern society
B. it is encouraged to place art works in British hospitals
C. hospitals in Britain should be changed into art museums
D. patients should be encouraged to learn art
62. After the improvement of the hospital environment, patients ________.
A. need fewer pain killers when recovering from illnesses
B. no longer need drugs to ease their pains
C. needn’t buy any expensive drugs
D. can take fewer pills each time
63. It can be inferred from this passage that ________.
A. hospital artists have done a great deal for patients
B. the role of hospital environment is being recognised
C. hospitals in Britain look more beautiful than those in other countries
D. exhibitions of art in hospitals attract more audience than those in museums

第三部分: 阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
A
When I was struggling with cancer a few years ago, my wife and I formed our own “couple caution circle”. Anytime a doctor came with news of my progress, my wife would give me a big hug. The reports were seldom good during the early stages of my illness. One day a doctor brought particularly frightening news. Staring at my reports, the doctor said in a low voice, “It doesn’t look like you’re going to make it.”
Before I could ask him a question, my wife stood up, handed me my clothes, adjusted the tubes fastened to my body and said, “Let’s get out of here. This man is a risk to your health.” As she helped me struggle to the door, the doctor came near us. “Stay back,” demanded my wife. “Stay away from us.”
As we walked together down the hall, the doctor attempted to catch up with us. “Keep going,” said my wife. “We’re going to talk to someone who really knows what is going on.” Then she held up her hand to the doctor, “Don’t come any closer to us.”
The two of us moved as one. We found a doctor who gave us hope, even though the diagnosis was bad. I could never have made that walk toward wellness alone.
56. From the passage we learn ________.
A. when the wife learned her husband would not make it, she went crazy
B. the wife’s decision in crisis contributed to the husband’s wellness
C. the husband was diagnosed with cancer by mistake, which upset him
D. the husband became weaker as a result of the doctor’s poor treatment
57. What’s the writer’s feeling when he wrote the passage?
A. Angry. B. Thankful. C. Excited. D. Sad.
58. It can be inferred from the passage that the ________.
A. wife was hard to get along with
B. doctor was a dangerous man
C. wife loved her husband very much
D. husband believed everything would be OK
59. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A Happy Couple in Crisis
B. Struggle with Cancer
C. In Crisis, Be Positive
D. Don’t Believe the Doctor

E
“NOW I just don't believe that." Surely all of us, at some point, have watched a movie and thought: It's simply badly researched, or, the makers must think we're idiots (白痴).
Recently, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph ran a humorous piece on unconvincing(不让人信服的) tech moments from some top movies. Let's see what all the fuss (激动) is about.
Telegraph writer Tom Chiver's first example is from the end-of-the-world movie Independence Day, in which a character comes up with a virus capable of destroying Windows, the computer system the alien spacecraft uses. “It's a good thing they didn't have Norton Antivirus,” jokes Chivers.
It's just one case of a movie that takes a lot of license with its science. Another one Chivers mentions is from Star Wars, where glowing beams (闪亮的光束) of light traveling through space look very impressive. The problem is that in space there are no air particles (粒子) for the light to reflect off. In reality, they'd be invisible, which wouldn't look so cool on the big screen.
Chiver's second piece of Star Wars nonsense is the sound the fighters make in the movies: “the bellow (咆哮) of an elephant mixed with a car driving on a wet road”. But sound needs a medium (介质) to travel through, like air. In space, there wouldn't actually be any sound at all.
Few people would deny that the mind-bending Matrix films make for great viewing, but for Chivers, the science in the movies is a little silly.
He comments “…the film is based on the idea that humans are kept alive as electricity generator (发电机). This is not just unlikely – it's fundamentally impossible. They would need more energy to stay alive than they would produce. It's like saying you'll power your car with batteries, and keep the batteries charged by running a dynamo (发电机) from the wheels.”
And finally: as Chivers points out, DNA is not replaceable. But this bit of elementary genetics (遗传学) passed the makers of the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day by. In the film the villain (坏人) has “gene therapy (疗法)” to change his appearance and his DNA, which is completely impossible.
71. The following are all movies mentioned in the article except _______.
A. Die Another Day. B. Matrix C. Star War D. Norton Antivirus
72. Chivers uses the car as an example to show that _______.
A. cars can’t be powered by batteries
B. humans consume more power that they could have made
C. the villain has “gene therapy” to change his appearance and his DNA
D. it would take so much power to keep humans alive by electricity generator that it’s hardly possible
73. Which of the following is a scientific fact?
A. No virus can destroy Windows.
B. Light can be reflected with the help of air particles.
C. DNA is replaceable as long as there is enough energy.
D. We can design a car powered with batteries which are charged from the wheels.
74. What kind of people Chivers may be?
A. Humorous. B. Brave. C. Sensitive. D. Careless.
75. Chivers probably writes the article in order to _______.
A. persuade people not to watch some silly movies
B. criticize movie makers’ carelessness
C. provide readers with something to read for fun
D. educate the public on some basic scientific knowledge

A．In 2012	B．In 2010
C．In 2009	D．In 2011

A．offering analyses	B．providing explanations
C．giving examples	D．making comparisons

A．Modest and optimistic	B．Patient and strong
C．Brave and generous	D．Brave and determined