湖北省武汉市高考英语二轮复习 阅读理解基础训练(2)

湖北武汉市2016高考英语阅读理解基础训练（2）

【2016模拟题】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。 Anyone who is afraid of failure and afraid to face challenges will never taste success, so said our professor in marketing. I laughed it off at that time, but got frightened when it actually happened in my life.

I landed in a small city in the Middle East to set up a firm, a world-class car rental firm. Having decided on the project, I earnestly settled in preparation. With a positive mind, I told myself nothing should stop me now, and was more than keen to make it a success.

However, the least expected thing happened. Iraq invaded Kuwait. Tension ran high in the region. Eventually the war broke out, and many people fled the country, leaving my firm in deep trouble.

As usual, “things become difficult, and every effort seems to bring disappointment, it can be tempting to lower your expectations or even water down your goals and ambitions.”I was no exception. I thought of running away. I remembered the words of Thomas Edison, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to succeed when they gave up.”

I decided to hang on, telling myself, “I am not afraid of challenges and obstacles.” I stayed on through months of uncertainty and insecurity. Finances ran low, and banks could not wait to get their dues. To add to all this, the banks even threatened to take all my vehicles. I felt I made a wrong decision to move there. I was now ready to face failure.

I was living against all hopes, believing that something good would happen. After 2 months the war ended. My persistence paid off: people started flooding back and the car bookings picked up, five times over.

Success comes to the one who dares, even after failure, to think positively and look forward confidently. After all, it is only the experience that makes a man tough. Failure does not mean you will never make it. It means that it will take a little longer. It provides us with a learning experience.

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1. The main method the author uses to support his understanding of his professor’s viewpoint is _______.

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

2. How did the author feel when the war between Iraq and Kuwait broke out? A. Unconfident B. Indifferent C. Nervous D. Calm

3. What does the underlined phrase “water down” in the 4th paragraph probably mean? A. get rid of B. smooth away C. make less forceful D. improve on 4. The author’s purpose of writing the passage is most likely to ________. A. inform B. persuade C. describe D. entertain 【参考答案】

1. D. 推理判断题。本文一开始介绍了作者的教授提出的一个观点，但是当时作者不以为然，但是在今后自己的实际上生活中真正遇到了失败或挑战时，自己才认识到了教授的观点。下文主要通过自己的亲身经历阐述了自己的观点，即通过举例来说明。故正确答案为D想。 2. A. 推理判断题。根据第四段中提到的“I was no exception. I thought of running away.”以及第五段中提到的“I felt I made a wrong decision to move there.”可知，在伊拉克和科威特发生战争期间，因为作者的生意遭到重创，所以他曾一度很是没有了自信。所以该题答案应为A项。

3. C. 词义猜测题。该下划线短语所在的句子含义是：当事情变得困难，所付出的努力带来的是失望时，那么降低自己的期望值或者削弱自己当初的目标或抱负变成诱人的做法。所以，该下划线短语的意思是“削弱”，与C项含义接近。

4. B. 主旨大意题。根据全文内容，尤其是文章最后一段可知，作者写这篇文章的意图是在劝说人们面对挑战或失败时要大胆去应对，要有积极的心态。所以答案应为B项。 第二节：

【由江苏省盐城市2014模拟改编】

阅读理解。阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

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Spanish explorers called them Las Encantadas, the Enchanted Isles, and Charles Darwin used his studies of the islands as the foundation for his theory of natural selection. The Galapagos are among the world's most important scientific treasures, a group of volcanic islands surrounded by deserted beaches and inhabited by unique varieties of giant tortoise, lizards, and birds.

Yet life on this United Nations world heritage site has turned sour. Battles have broken out between fishermen and conservationists. Ecuador, which owns the islands, has sent a naval patrol (海军巡逻队) to put down disturbances.

The controversial director of the Galapagos National Park—which controls 97 percent of Galapagos land and the reserve extending to 40 miles offshore—has been fired, while an air of uneasy tension hangs over the islands, as the islanders prepare for election when they pick their representatives in Ecuador’s national assembly. “It’s a very tense situation,” said Leonor Stjepic, director of the London-based Galapagos Conservation Trust, which raises money to help projects on the islands. “We are watching it with concern.”

The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands’ population. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island, housed just 45 inhabitants in the 50s. Today there are more than 10,000, while the islands' total population is more than 19,000 and growing by 6 percent a year, despite recently introduced a law to limit waves of immigrants fleeing the poor areas of Ecuador for a life “in paradise (天堂)”. On top ofthis, more than 100,000 tourists visit the islands every year. Such numbers have put the islands, special ecology under intense pressure. Conservationists backed by the Ecuador government, have replied by exercising strict controls to protect the islands* iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and giant tortoises. These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit (开发利用) the islands’ waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in Japan and South Korea.

Angry fishermen surrounded the Charles Darwin research station on Santa Cruz last February, threatened to kill Lonesome George—the last surviving member of the Pinta Island species of the Galapagos giant tortoise.

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The situation got improved after the Ecuador government made concessions (让步) by increasing fishing quotas (配额), which angered conservationists. “It is tragic, the short-term gain of a few fishermen versus the long-term survival of the Galapagos,” said John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences. “They are killing the golden goose.”

Then, the Ecuador government appointed Fausto Cepeda as the national park's new director, a post that has become a political football for the mainland government. There have been nine directors in the past 18 months.

This appointment was particularly controversial, however. Cepeda was known to have close ties with the fishing industry, and the rangers (管理员),who run the national park and reserve, rebelled.

More than 300 staged a sit-in at the park’s headquarters and prevented Cepeda from taking up his post. A battle broke out, and at least two people suffered serious injuries. Eventually, Cepeda—with the fishermen’s help- entered the park. “I am in office, i am in control. And I am trying to lower the tension,” he announced. The Ecuador government took no chances, and sent a patrol boat to maintain the peace. A few days later, Ecuador Environment Minister Fabian Valdivicso met representatives of rangers. After discussions, he told newspapers that he had decided to remove Cepeda from the post.

However, as the population continues to rise, the long-term pressures on the islands are serious and will not disappear that easily.

“We have to balance its special environment with the needs of local people. In that sense, it is a microcosm (缩影) for all the other threatened parts of the world. So getting it right here is going to be a very, very important trick to pull off,” said Stjepic.

1、What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 5 refer to? A．The island’s swelling population. B．The law to limit waves of immigrants. C．A life in paradise.

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