高考英語經(jīng)典閱讀解析版

1、2013高考英語精選備考題庫系列（含詳解）閱讀理解（五） LONDON (Reuters) Quiet please Britain s Queen Elizabeth is preparing to have her swans counted.Buckingham Palace has announced that the annual Swan Upping, a tradition dating back to the 12th century which involves a census of the swan population on the River Thames, wil

2、l be conducted by the Queen s official Swan Marker from July 20 24.“With the assistance of the Queen s Swan Warden, Professor Christopher Perrins of the University of Oxford, the swans and young cygnets (小天鵝) are also assessed for any signs of injury or disease，” Buckingham Palace said in announcing

3、 the count.The process involves the Swan Marker, David Barber, rowing up the Thames for five days with the Swan Warden in traditional skiffs while wearing special scarlet uniforms and counting, weighing and measuring swans and cygnets.It may seem eccentric, but it is very important to the Queen, Acc

4、ording to custom, Britain s sovereign owns all unmarked, mute swans in open water, but the Queen now exercises the right only on stretches of the Thames and its nearby tributaries.In medieval times, the Swan Marker would not only travel up the river counting the swans, but would catch as many as pos

5、sible as they were soughtafter for banquets and feasts.This year, the Swan Marker and the Swan Warden are particularly keen to discover how much damage is being caused to swans and cygnets by attacks from dogs and from discarded fishing tackle (漁具)It is also an important year because Queen Elizabeth

6、 has decided to join her team of Swan Uppers for part of the census. She will follow them up the river and visit a local school project on the whole subject of swans, cygnets and the Thames.“Education and conservation are essential to the role of Swan Upping and the involvement of school children is

7、 always a rewarding experience，” Buckingham Palace said.語篇解讀泰晤士河上每年都要舉行一個重要的活動：數(shù)天鵝。英國皇室的這一傳統(tǒng)已經(jīng)延續(xù)了好幾個世紀(jì)。1. In medieval times，_.A. swans were better protected than nowB. a lot of swans were killed by dogsC. swans were a delicious dish on royal banquetsD. common people could catch the swans解析細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從文章倒

8、數(shù)第四段可知，在中世紀(jì)天鵝被捉住，然后成為皇家宴會上的美味。答案C2We can infer from the passage that the process of counting the swans _.A. remains almost unchanged in the past yearsB. involves a lot of royal membersC. sometimes lasts longer than beforeD. is always guarded by special soldiers解析推理判斷題。從文章第四段對數(shù)天鵝過程的描述以及參與清點(diǎn)的官員的穿著打扮可知

9、，其過程幾乎沒有變化，因為這是一項傳統(tǒng)活動。答案A3This year, the Swan Marker and the Swan Warden mainly want to find out_.A. the exact number of swans and cygnetsB. how a local school project is going onC. how much damage the swans and cygnets sufferD. how education and conservation are carried out along the Thames解析細(xì)節(jié)理解題。

10、從文章倒數(shù)第三段內(nèi)容可知答案為C。答案C4Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?A. Britain s Queen is concerned about swans.B. Britain s Queen orders a count of swans.C. An old tradition in Buckingham Palace.D. Queen Elizabeth will count swans herself.解析主旨大意題。文章第一段是本文的主題段，英國女王下令清點(diǎn)泰晤士河上的天鵝的數(shù)量。答案B5The und

11、erlined word “tributaries” can be best replaced by _.A. districts B. banksC. trees D. branches解析詞義理解題。根據(jù)語境和常識可知，此處是指在泰晤士河及其支流上生活的天鵝。故答案為D。答案D長難句解讀In medieval times, the Swan Marker would not only travel up the river counting the swans, but would catch as many as possible as they were soughtafter for

12、 banquets and feasts.在中世紀(jì)，負(fù)責(zé)清點(diǎn)天鵝的人不僅沿河清點(diǎn)天鵝的數(shù)量，還會盡可能多地捕捉一些，因為天鵝當(dāng)時是宴會桌上的美餐。本句是一個并列句，not only.but(also).引導(dǎo)并列句，后面的as引導(dǎo)原因狀語從句。Happiness is contagious,_researchers reported on Thursday.People with the most social connections spouses, friends, neighbors and relatives were also the happiest, the data showed

13、. “Each additional happy person makes you happier，” Christakis said.“Imagine that I am connected to you and you are connected to others and others are connected to still others. It is this fabric of humanity, like an American patch quilt.”Each person sits on a differentcolored patch. “Imagine that t

14、hese patches are happy and unhappy patches. Your happiness depends on what is going on in the patch around you，” Christakis said.“It is not just happy people connecting with happy people, which they do. Above and beyond, there is this contagious process going on.”And happiness is more contagious tha

15、n unhappiness, they discovered.“If a social contact is happy, it increases the likelihood that you are happy by 15 percent，” Fowler said. “A friend of a friend, or the friend of a spouse or a sibling (兄弟姐妹), if they are happy, increases your chances by 10 percent，” he added.A happy thirddegree frien

16、d the friend of a friend of a friend increases a persons chances of being happy by 6 percent.“But every extra unhappy friend increases the likelihood that youll be unhappy by 7 percent，” Fowler said.The finding is interesting and it is useful, too, Fowler said.“Among other benefits, happiness has be

17、en shown to have an important effect on reduced mortality (死亡率), pain reduction, and improved cardiac (心臟的) function. So better understanding of how happiness spreads can help us learn how to promote a healthier society，” he said.The study also fits in with other data suggested in 1984 that having $

18、 5,000 extra increased a persons chances of becoming happier by about 2 percent.“A happy friend is worth about $ 20,000，” Christakis said.語篇解讀美國科學(xué)家的一項最新研究成果表明，快樂感可以互相傳遞。這項研究成果為我們構(gòu)建更為健康、和諧的社會提供了依據(jù)和方法。1According to the research, your happiness _.A. has nothing to do with your workmates or schoolmatesB

19、. has something to do with anyone who has a close relationship with youC. depends on those who are in favour of you or are against youD. has little to do with what social connections you have解析推理判斷題。根據(jù)第二段、第三段內(nèi)容可知，快樂感會不斷傳遞和擴(kuò)散，你的配偶、朋友、鄰居、親戚等的快樂指數(shù)會直接影響你的快樂程度，故選B。答案B2The underlined word “contagious” in

20、the first paragraph means _.A. infectious B. beautifulC. effective D. prior解析詞義猜測題。第一句是全文的主題句。由文章第二、三、四段可知，快樂感可以在人們之間傳播，故contagious的意思是“有感染力的，有傳染性的”。答案A3It can be inferred that_.A. happiness spreads as fast and widely as unhappinessB. unhappiness spreads faster and more widely than happinessC. happi

21、ness spreads faster and more widely than unhappinessD. the spread of unhappiness has not been studied by researchers解析推理判斷題。根據(jù)第六段“And happiness is more contagious than unhappiness，they discovered.”一句可推知選C。答案C4Which of the following will increase your chances of becoming happier most?A. Being in a pa

22、rty with a happy atmosphere.B. A happy experience of your brother or your parents.C. A happy trip to a foreign country of your friends.D. Happiness of your friend s friend.解析事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)第七、第八段講述的別人的快樂感對你的影響幾率可知，排在最前的是“If a social contact is happy”，故選A。答案A5What does Christakis mean by saying “A happy fri

23、end is worth about $ 20,000” ?A. A happy friend can help you bring in a wealth of $ 20,000.B. A happy friend is a wealth which is worth about $ 20,000.C. A happy friend increases your chances of being happy by 2%.D. A happy friend increases your chances of being happy by 8 %.解析句意理解題。結(jié)合上一段中的“that hav

24、ing $5,000 extra increased a persons chances of becoming happier by about 2 percent”可知，一個快樂的朋友帶給你的快樂相當(dāng)于大約$20,000帶給你的快樂，也就是$5,000的四倍，即一個快樂的朋友給你帶來快樂的幾率為8%，故選D。答案D長難句解讀The study also fits in with other data suggested in 1984 that having $ 5,000 extra increased a persons chances of becoming happier by a

25、bout 2 percent.該句為主從復(fù)合句，主句為The study also fits in with other data，suggested in 1984為過去分詞作定語修飾data，后面that引導(dǎo)的是同位語從句，說明data的內(nèi)容。該從句的主語為having $5,000 extra，a persons chances為賓語，of becoming happier為定語修飾chances，by about 2 percent為程度狀語。The Parthenon in Athens is a building with a long and complex history. B

26、uilt nearly 2,500 years ago as a temple celebrating the Greek goddess Athena, it was for thousands of years the church of the Virgin Mary of the Athenians, then a mosque (清真寺), and finally a ruin. The building was changed and the sculptures much damaged over the centuries. By 1800 only about half of

27、 the original sculptural decoration remained.Between 1801 and 1805, Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which controlled Athens, acting with the full knowledge and permission of the Ottoman authorities，removed about half of the remaining sculptures from the fallen ruins and fro

28、m the building itself.Lord Elgin loved Greek history and transported the sculptures back to Britain. The arrival of the sculptures in London had a huge effect on the European public, greatly increasing interest in ancient Greek culture and influencing contemporary artistic trends. These sculptures w

29、ere acquired from Lord Elgin by the British Museum in 1816 and since then they have all been on display to the public, free of charge.Since the early 1980s, however, the Greek government has argued for the permanent removal to Athens of all the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum. They have a

30、lso challenged the British Museum Board of Trustees legal title to the sculptures.The British Museum, however, insists that it exists to tell the story of cultural achievement throughout the world, from the dawn of human history over two million years ago until the present day. The museum considers

31、itself an important resource for the world: the breadth and depth of its collection allows the world public to reexamine cultural identities and explore the complex network of interconnected world cultures.It also says that, within the context of this unparalleled collection, the Parthenon sculpture

32、s are an important representation of ancient Athenian civilization. Each year millions of visitors admire the artistry of the sculptures and gain insights on how ancient Greece influenced and was influenced by the other civilizations that it encountered.1. For most of its history people went to the

33、Parthenon to_.A. admire the goddess AthenaB. pray to their godC. search for sculpturesD. learn about its complex history答案B2. The underlined “it” (in Paragraph 4) refers to “_”A. the British MuseumB. the Greek governmentC. the ParthenonD. the British Museum Board of Trustees答案A3. What can we infer f

34、rom the passage?A. The sculptures introduced ancient Greek culture to the west.B. Ancient Greek culture has greatly influenced world culture.C. The British Museum has made much money from the Parthenon sculptures.D. The British Museum is the place most capable of preserving these sculptures.答案B4. Wh

35、at can we learn about Lord Elgin from the passage?A. He is greatly admired in Greece.B. He worked for the Ottoman Empire.C. He saved the Parthenon sculptures from being destroyed.D. He had a deep interest in Greek culture.答案D5. The authors main intention in writing this passage is to tell_.A. the hi

36、story of the Parthenon and its sculpturesB. what people can see in the British MuseumC. why the British Museum refuses to return the sculpturesD. the influence of Greece on British culture答案CIf you travel to a new exhibit at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, you will have chances to see som

37、e meat-eating plants. Take bladderworts, a kind of such plant, for example. They appear so small and grow in a quiet pond. But these are the fastest-known killers of the plant kingdom, able to capture a small insect in 1/50 of a second using a trap door!Once the trap door closes on the victim, the e

38、nzymes(酶) similar to those in the human stomach slowly digest the insect. When dinner is over, the plant opens the trap door and is ready to trap again.Meat-eating plants grow mostly in wet areas with soil that doesn t offer much food value. In such conditions, these amazing plants have developed in

39、sect traps to get their nutritional needs over thousands of years. North America has more such plants than any other continent.Generally speaking, the traps may have attractive appearance to fool the eye, like pitcher plants, which get their name because they look like beautiful pitchers (a containe

40、r like a bottle) full of nectar(花蜜)The Asian pitcher plant, for example, has bright colors and an attractive half-closed lid. Curious insects are tempted to come close and take a sip, and then slide down the slippery (光滑的)slope to their deaths.Hair-like growths along the pitcher walls ensure that no

41、thing cab escape, and the digestive enzymes can get to work. A tiny insect can be digested in a few hours, but a fly takes a couple of days.Some of these pitchers are large enough to hold two gallons. Meateating plants only eat people in science fiction movies, but sometimes a bird or other small an

42、imals will discover that a pitcher plant isn t a good place to get a drink.語篇解讀本文是一篇說明文，介紹了一些特別的植物靠捕食動物獲得生長所需養(yǎng)分的“食肉植物”。1From the first paragraph, we can know that bladderworts can _.A. capture 50 small insects in a secondB. capture an insect in the shortest timeC. be found floating on a quiet lakeD.

43、 digest an insect in 1/50 of a second解析細(xì)節(jié)理解題。第一段指出，bladderworts能在1/50秒的時間內(nèi)捕獲一只小昆蟲，是植物中已知的捕獲動物速度最快的，因此選B。答案B2If the trap door of a meateating plant is closed, the plant _.A. is fooling insects into taking a sipB. is producing nectarC. is tempting insects to come closeD. is enjoying a dinner解析細(xì)節(jié)判斷題。第二

44、段說，一旦“陷阱門”將獵物關(guān)起來，類似于人胃里的那些消化酶就開始慢慢地消化它了，由此判斷D正確。答案D3Meateating plants can grow in wet and poor soil because they _.A. can get nutrition from animalsB. don t need much food valueC. can make the most of such conditionsD. have developed digestive enzymes解析推理判斷題。這些植物生長在潮濕貧瘠的土壤中，為獲得生長所需的養(yǎng)分，在數(shù)千年的進(jìn)化中，它們演化出

45、了捕獲昆蟲的“陷阱”，由此推出它們主要從動物中獲取養(yǎng)分，而不是從土壤中獲取養(yǎng)分。答案A4Which of the following is the picture of the Asian pitcher plant?解析推理判斷題。根據(jù)第四、五、六段可知亞洲捕蟲草主要有這些特征：狀如水瓶，顏色鮮亮，有半掩的蓋子，綜合此三項可知，只有A項最合適。答案A5According to the passage, which of the following is true?A. South Asia has the most meateating plants.B. Some of the meate

46、ating plants can even eat a human.C. Hairlike growths in the plants help trap insects.D. The traps of these plants have a dull color.解析細(xì)節(jié)理解題。依據(jù)文章第三段最后一句可知，北美洲的食肉植物最多，故A錯。從最后一段中的第二句可知，食肉植物是不吃人的，所以B項錯。從文章倒數(shù)第二段可知，這些須狀的東西可以防止小昆蟲逃跑，故C項正確。從文章第四段可知，食肉植物為了吸引昆蟲一般有漂亮的外形，故D項錯。答案CAfter years of research and tes

47、ting, the hybrid car was developed and put on the market. It s an interesting and exciting new improvement in today s world as we look for better ways to protect the quality of the air we breathe and conserve our natural resources.The quality of our air is affected by many different things. But one

48、of the largest sources of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline which is used to power a car s engine. The EPA has set national standards to help control the level of harmful pollutants sent off into the air, and the automobile industry has acted by producing a hybri

49、d car that uses less gas and therefore causes less pollution.A hybrid car is a combination of a regular car that runs on gasoline and an electric car that is battery powered. Some people tend to think that since the hybrid car is partially electric, you have to plug it in to charge it. But thats not

50、 how it works. The 144volt battery pack is actually recharged through the energy that is produced when the cars brakes are used. This is referred to as “regenerative braking” , because it generates electricity.Although the hybrid car still runs on gasoline most of the time, this helps it use less ga

51、s than a regular car. When the driver stops at a traffic light, the engine automatically shuts off to save fuel. Then, as soon as the driver puts the car in gear and touches the gas pedal, the engine starts back up.Have you ever ridden in a car with someone who ran out of gas? That probably wouldn t

52、 happen if you were riding in a hybrid car. It flashes a waming on its computer screen that says, “I am low on gas”. When it completely runs out, the warning reads，“YOU ARE NOW OUT OF GAS！” Then the electric power supply kicks in to let the driver travel a few more miles to a gas station.語篇解讀本文主要介紹了

53、一種新型汽車hybrid cars的優(yōu)點(diǎn)和生產(chǎn)這種汽車的原因。1Which of the following is true according to the passage?A. The hybrid car will be put on the market.B. Hybrid cars run faster than regular cars.C. When the hybrid car stops at a traffic light, the driver will get a warning.D. The burning of fossil fuels is one of the

54、largest sources of air pollution.解析細(xì)節(jié)判斷題。根據(jù)第二段的“But one of the largest sources of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline which is used to power a cars engine.”可知答案。答案D2According to the passage, the word “hybrid” refers to _.A. a hightech discoveryB. energy savingC. a

55、new inventionD. a combination of two things解析詞義猜測題。由文章的第三段的第一句“A hybrid car is a combination of a regular car that runs on gasoline and an electric car that is battery powered.”可知答案。答案D3“Regenerative breaking” is an important process of the hybrid car because _.A. it allows the car to come to a quic

56、k stopB. it gives the driver a smoother rideC. it produces energy to charge the batteryD. it can control the speed of the car解析細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由文章的第三段的“The 144volt battery pack is.because it generates electricity.”可知答案。答案C4Which of the following is right about the EPA?A. They designed hybrid cars.B. They outl

57、awed (宣布為不合法) the burning of fossil fuels.C. They set important guidelines that help control pollution.D. Their main purpose is to protect endangered plants and animals.解析細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由文章的第二段的第三句可知答案。答案C5Which of the following is the reason for developing hybrid cars?A. They use less gas than regular cars.B. They re safer to drive than most cars.C. Theyre more modern than other cars.D. They cost less than regular cars.解析細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由第四段的第一句“Although the hybrid car still runs on g