2024屆高考英語二輪專題總復習精選綜合能力專練：閱讀理解14
2024屆高考英語二輪專題總復習精選綜合能力專練：閱讀理解14
Audrey Hepburn won an Academy Award as Best Actress for her first major American movie, Roman Holiday, which was released in 1953. But she is remembered as much for her aid work as for her acting.
Born in Belgium in 1929, Audrey’ s father was British and her mother was Dutch.
Audrey was sent to live at a British school for part of her childhood. During World War II , she lived and studied in the Netherlands. Her mother thought it would be safe from German attacks. Audrey studied dance as a teenager and during college when she returned to London after the war. But she realized she wasn’ t going to be a ballerina. So she began taking acting parts in stage shows. Later she began to get small parts in movies.
But it was Audrey Hepburn’ s move to America that brought her true fame. In 1951 she played the character “Gigi” in the Broadway play of the same name to great critical praise. Two years later, Roman Holiday made her a star at the age of 24.
Audrey made more than 25 movies. Among her most popular roles was Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961. Three years later she played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
She was married two times and had one son by each husband. In 1989, the UN Children’ s Fund named Audrey a goodwill ambassador. She travelled all over the world in support of UNICEF projects. The UN agency said she was a tireless worker. She often gave 15 interviews a day to gain money and support for UNICEF projects.
Audrey Hepburn often said her loyalty to UNICEF was the result of her experiences as a child during World War Ⅱ. She said she knew what it was like to be starving and to be saved by international aid. She was a goodwill ambassador until her death in 1993 from colon cancer.
[語篇解讀] 本文介紹著名影星Audrey Hepburn(奧黛麗·赫本)的生平事跡。1953年主演的《羅馬假日》使她一舉成名。從1989年直至1993年去世，赫本一直擔任聯合國兒童基金會的特使，為拉美和非洲兒童提供了很大幫助。
1．In Paragraph 1, “her aid work” means ________.
A. winning an Academy Award as Best Actress
B. taking acting parts in stage shows
C. making movies
D. acting as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF
[解析] 推理判斷題。此題應根據全文內容來判斷。第一段是全文的概括，其重心在后面，即奧黛麗·赫本盡管獲得奧斯卡最佳女主角獎，但她擔當的援助工作同樣使人銘記。再結合文章接下來的敘述可知答案為D。
[答案] D
2．The reason why Audrey lived and studied in the Netherlands was that ________.
A. she wanted to be a ballerina
B. her parents were from Britain
C. the education there was excellent
D. it was safe there
[解析] 細節理解題。根據第三段中的“Her mother thought it would be safe from German attacks”和“she returned to London after the war”可知D項正確。
[答案] D
3．We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. Audrey’ s parents lived in Germany during World War Ⅱ
B. Audrey lived in America in the 1950s
C. Audrey was made to give up dancing
D. the character “Gigi” in the Broadway play was her most popular role
[解析] 推理判斷題。根據第二段和第三段前半部分可知，A項錯誤；根據第三段中“she realized she wasn’t going to be a ballerina”可知是她主動放棄的，C項錯誤；根據第四段中“In 1951 she played the character‘Gigi’in the Broadway play”及后文可判斷，這個角色并不是她扮演的最有名的角色，因此D項錯誤。由文章第四、五兩段可知B項正確。
[答案] B
4．________is NOT mentioned in the passage about Audrey Hepburn.
A. Marriage
B. Identity
C. Contribution
D. Religion
[解析] 細節理解題?？梢赃\用排除法。她的婚姻、身份和貢獻在文章中都提到了，唯獨沒有提及她的宗教信仰，故選D。
[答案] D
5．________is the right order for Audrey’ s life.
①The first time she began to play in movies.
?、赟he returned to London from the Netherlands.
?、跾he won an Academy Award as Best Actress.
?、躍he travelled all over the world in support of UNICEF projects.
?、軸he played a part in My Fair Lady.
A．②①③⑤④
B. ①②③⑤④
C. ②①⑤③④
D. ①②⑤③④
[解析] 排列順序題。結合文章內容可以判斷A項順序正確。
[答案] A
[長難句解讀] But it was Audrey Hepburn’s move to America that brought her true fame.是奧黛麗·赫本移居美國給她帶來了真正的名聲。這是一個強調句型，強調主語Audrey Hepburn’s move to America。
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2024, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2024, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200milliondollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths (虛構的故事) backed by the Mayan calendar. It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X — or Nibiru — heads toward or collides with the Earth.
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’ s existence, but the US space agency denounced such stories as an “Internet hoax(惡作劇) ”. “There is no factual basis for these claims，” NASA said in a questionandanswer posting on its website. “If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2024，” it insisted. “After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years，” added NASA.
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space. But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.
Initial theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2024 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2024, as another period begins immediately afterward.
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible”， NASA said.
“And while comets and asteroids (小行星) have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare，” NASA noted. The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago，resulting in the end of dinosaurs.
“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs，” the space agency said.
[語篇解讀] 好萊塢災難大片《2024》使網絡上盛傳的“2024年12月21日為世界末日”這一所謂的瑪雅預言再次進入人們的視野。為此，美國宇航局重申，2024年12月21日并不是世界末日，傳言中的X星球將與地球相撞也并不屬實。
1．________played a key role in the spread of the rumors.
A. A new book
B. The Internet and a new Hollywood movie
C. NASA
D. An Indian calendar
[解析] 細節理解題。根據第一段中to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Intermet and a new Hollywood movie可知因特網和一部好萊塢新片對傳播世界末日的謠言起到了推波助瀾的作用。
[答案] B
2．The film 2024 is________.
A. about the end of the world
B. based on the scientific prediction
C. well accepted in the science field
D. about a romantic love story
[解析] 細節理解題。根據第二段第一句可知《2024》這部電影是關于世界末日的。根據文章內容可先排除D項；由第二段中based on myths(虛構的故事)可知B項錯誤；由宇航局的講話可推出C項錯誤。
[答案] A
3．We can infer that________.
A. people didn’t take the rumor seriously
B. Planet X — or Nibiru does exist
C. astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
D. the rumor caused a panic among some people
[解析] 推理判斷題。根據the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors可知謠言傳播之廣以至于美國宇航局不得不出來辟謠，由此可見事態嚴重，故可判斷謠言有可能造成了一些人的恐慌。
[答案] D
4．NASA thinks that Eris________.
A. might pose a threat to the Earth
B. doesn’t pose any threat to the Earth
C. is too far away to be visible
D. is similar to our planet, where life might exist
[解析] 細節理解題。根據第四段內容可知Eris行星并沒有對我們的地球構成威脅。
[答案] B
5. Which of the following is the best title?
A. New Hollywood movie 2024
B. December 21, 2024, NOT the end of the world
C. End of the ancient Mayan calendar
D. How rumors came into being
[解析] 主旨大意題。本文主要講美國宇航局駁斥“2024年12月21日是世界末日”的謠言。故B項為最佳標題。
[答案] B
[長難句解讀] The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2024, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200milliondollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths(虛構的故事) backed by the Mayan calendar.
本句為簡單句。句子的主語為The latest big screen offering，意為“最新銀幕作品”。介詞短語“with a．..”作狀語。過去分詞短語supposedly based on myths作定語，修飾the end of the world。過去分詞短語backed by the Mayan calendar作定語，修飾myths。
Angus MacLeod was fifty and he had spent his entire life as a shepherd in the remote mountainous region of northwest Scotland. He had never owned a radio or television nor had he travelled further than forty kilometres from his birthplace. His knowledge of the world was gained only from his brief trips to the village to sell his sheep and buy food. However, he had lately come to rely on the growing number of hillwalkers in the region as sources of international news.
In the spring of 1992, a Spanish student came across Angus high in the mountains. Eager to practise his English he engaged Angus in conversation. The student told Angus of the forthcoming Olympic Games in Barcelona. Excited by the student’s colourful description of Spain and the Games, Angus decided to attend the event in person and two months later arrived in Barcelona.
The ticketless Angus stood outside the stadium with his canny brain working overtime，watching a growing number of individuals entering the stadium through a small entrance at the side. He noticed that they all seemed to be carrying objects. Perhaps they were workmen, he thought. He moved closer and watched.
Within minutes a thin young man came along carrying an extremely long pole.
He approached the official at the door and said “Pole Vault”. The official moved to the side and the man entered. Next came a heavyset man with a spear. Angus wondered how a man could carry such a dangerous weapon in a modern city. The man shouted “Javelin” and was presently admitted. Angus was puzzled. Perhaps they were all connected with security. His puzzlement grew when a huge man appeared with a steel ball in his hand. He shouted “Shot Putt” and walked past the official.
It suddenly dawned on Angus that these people were competitors. He opened his programme and sure enough under the heading “events” he saw the three words the men had said. Angus laughed to himself as a plan began to take shape in his mind. First he needed to buy one or two things.
An hour later he reappeared dressed in a tracksuit with “Scotland” written across the chest.Over his shoulder he carried a roll of barbed wire (鐵絲網). Smiling to himself he walked up to the official and as casually as he could, shouted, “Fencing！”
1. Which was Angus’ new way of getting information about the outside world?
A. Travelling from his birthplace.
B. Listening to radio and watching TV.
C. Going to the nearby village to sell sheep.
D. Talking to hillwalkers in the region.
[答案] D
2. What are “Javelin”， “Pole Vault”， “Shot Putt” and “Fencing” in the passage?
A. Olympic events.
B. Names of competitors.
C. Security weapons.
D. Names of countries.
[答案] A
3. From the passage we can learn that________.
A. more and more people went to Scotland to practise their English
B. the Spanish student’s description of his country excited Angus
C. Angus had been planning a trip to Barcelona to see the Olympic Games
D. Angus became a member of the Scottish Olympic team
[答案] B
4. From the passage we know that Angus seemed to be________.
A. poorlyinformed
B. intelligent
C. strongminded
D. athletic
[答案] A
5. What do you expect the official would do in the end?
A. Help him carry the wire.
B. Refuse to let him in.
C. Give him a close inspection.
D. Lead him to the competition.
[答案] B
In the quest for better health, many people turn to doctors, selfhelp books or herbal supplements. But they overlook a powerful weapon that could help them fight illness and depression, speed recovery, slow aging and prolong life: their friends.
Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health. A 10year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age.
“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’ t well appreciated，” said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. “There are a lot of things on families and marriage, but very little on friendship. It baffles me. Friendship has a bigger impact on our psychological wellbeing than family relationships.”
Bella DePaulo, a visiting psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, whose work focuses on single people and friendships, notes that in many studies, friendship has an even greater effect on health than a spouse or a family member.
It isn’ t entirely clear why friendship has such a big effect. It may be because people with strong social ties also have better access to health services and care. Beyond that, however, friendship clearly has a profound psychological effect. People with strong friendships are less likely than others to get colds, perhaps because they have lower stress levels.
Last year, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. Some participants stood next to friends during the exercise, while others were alone.
The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.
