2019高考英语:山西二模英语之阅读理解

“Don’t answer it,” I said to Sam. Our door in the inner city is constantly knocked on; our previous door in the suburbs rarely so. Sam has a full-time job and cannot spend his days answering requests to fix leaking baths or carry cash to the bank.

Sam opened the door and it was Mervin.

“There’s a bird on the second floor,” he said. “It’s in trouble.”

Sam followed Mervin upstairs. Mervin pointed and turned to let Sam look. It was a pigeon, the most common of all birds, the bird most likely to foul (弄脏)your newly washed car. And it wasn’t flying away. It was stamping in circles. As Sam bent to look, Mervin coughed, “Number two.”

Sam asked him to repeat that. “Number two,” Mervin said. "The pigeon has been sitting in his own number two, and now it’s stuck to his foot.”

It had rained for five days, and the bird was young. It could have been sheltering in a wet nest of its own waste, which had then dried on its foot, preventing it from flying away. The pigeon moved in a few more circles. Sam bent to take another look. Mervin said, “All right, then.” and walked away.

“Why does everyone think you must solve the problems around here?” I said to Sam when he returned with his story. “It’s a bird. Just leave it on the stairs, and let nature take its course.” Sam didn’t agree. Then he went to the garage and emptied the cardboard box containing our imported camping mats. He returned with the gray pigeon in the box. He showed the bird to our children and they decided to keep it.

They put its foot in the warm water bath and got rid of its waste. Immediately the pigeon erupted in a bomb of feathers and began flying.

24. How did the author feel about the knocks?

A. She felt bored. B. She was frightened.

C. She got excited. D. She was surprised.

25. Why was the pigeon moving in circles?

A. It was learning to fly.

B. It was badly injured.

C. It got caught in the rain.

D. It was trapped by its waste.

26. What did Sam use the cardboard box to do?

A. Shelter from rain.

B. Give it to Mervin.

C. Wash camping mats.

D. Make a nest for the bird.

27. What can we learn about Sam from the text?

A. He was brave. B. He was clever.

C. He was warm-hearted. D. He was easy-going.

The Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, is one of the most brilliant structures on Earth. It is nearly 400 years old. Emperor Shah Jahan had it built in memory of his wife. It took about 20 years to build the monument. Some 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants helped get the job done. Today, the Taj Mahal is not just a symbol of cultural history. It’s also India’s most famous tourist attraction. About 8 million people visit it each year.

But pollution is turning the white marble monument shades of green, yellow, and brown. The Taj Mahal stands on the polluted Yamuna River. Insects are attracted to the dirty water. They leave greenish droppings on the building. Air pollution is also a big threat. Factories and cars release pollution into the air. It sticks to the Taj Mahal’s surface. In the 1990s, India’s Supreme Court ordered hundreds of factories near the monument to close. Also, car and bus traffic was restricted. From time to time, workers clean the Taj Mahal. But doing so is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming; And it doesn ’ t prevent the discoloration.

On July 11, India’s Supreme Court gave the city of Agra a warning:“Either you destroy the Taj Mahal or you restore it”. Authorities in the city submitted a draft of an action plan on July 24. It suggests banning plastics and construction from the area. It also calls for the closing of more factories.

“In order to preserve the Taj Mahal, people must come together to work toward a solution. There needs to be positive pressure on people to act. We need to act immediately,” Sachchida Tripathi says. He worked on a 2014 study of pollution at the Taj Mahal. “We are trying,” he adds, “but we need to try more.”

28. Why did Emperor Shah Jahan build the Taj Mahal?

A. To attract tourists. B. To honour his wife.

C. To represent India. D. To mark his greatness.

29. What can we infer about the Taj Mahal from the second paragraph?

A. It is getting dirty. B. It is under repair.

C. It attracts insects. D. It is losing tourists.

30. What should people do to save the Taj Mahal according to Sachchida Tripathi?

A. Close factories. B. Become united.

C. Make a new plan. D. Prevent the discoloration.

31. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A. Immediate Action Must Be Taken B. The Taj Mahal Must Be Rebuilt

C. Factories and Cars Led to Pollution D. Pollution Destroyed the Taj Mahal

During the period from 1660 through 1800, Great Britain became the world’s leader. Language itself became submitted to rules during this period. This need to fix the English language is best illustrated(描述)in the making of The Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson. Guides to the English language had been in existence before Johnson began his project in 1746. These, however, were often little more than lists of hard words. When definitions of common words were supplied, they were often unhelpful. For example, a “horse” was defined in an early dictionary as “a beast well known”.

Johnson changed all that, but the task was not an easy one. Renting a house at 17 Gough Square, Johnson began working in the worst of conditions. Supported only by his publisher, Johnson worked on the Dictionary with five assistants. Compared to the French Academy’s dictionary, which took forty workers fifty-five years to complete (1639-1694), Johnson7 s dictionary was completed by very few people very quickly.

Balanced on a chair with only three legs, Johnson sat against a wall in a room filled with books. Johnson would read widely from these books, mark passages illustrating the use of a particular word, and give the books to his assistants so that they could copy the passages on slips of paper. These slips were then stuck to eighty large notebooks under the key words that Johnson had selected. Fixing the word by this method, Johnson could record a word's usage and its definition.

How many passages were used? According to Johnson’s modern biographer Walter Jackson Bate，the original total number could have been over 240,000. How many words were defined by the lexicographer? Over 40,000 words appeared in two large books in April of 1755. Did Johnson fully understand the huge task he was undertaking when he began? As he told his contemporary biographer James Boswell, “I knew very well what I was undertaking — and very well how to do it — and have done it very well.”

32. What is the problem of early English dictionaries?

A. They only offer simple pictures.

B. They list just a few foreign words.

C. They simply give some translations.

D. They add no more than some big words.

33. What does the underlined word “lexicographer” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A. A publisher. B. A biographer.

C. A maker of dictionaries. D. An assistant.

34. What can we infer about Samuel Johnson from the text?

A. He standardized English.

B. He cared about authority a lot.

C. He gained much financial support.

D. He complained of working conditions.

35. What is the purpose of this passage?

A. To discuss the problems of dictionaries.

B. To encourage people to work on a project.

C. To persuade people to buy the new dictionary.

D. To introduce how Johnson complete his dictionary.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Most people will agree that it is good to read, but not all reading is equal. Here are some tips for productive reading.

1. Take notes.

Even if you never refer to your notes again, the process of taking notes helps you sort out something important and will help you remember it. You can choose between computers or paper for your notes. 36 On the other hand, many people feel they recall information better when they write it by hand.

2. 37 .

If you are like me, once you commit to reading a book, it is very hard to give up until you’ve finished it. Given the number of books that are available and our limited life, it just doesn’t make sense to read a book that you aren’t getting anything from.

3. Variety is good.

While you don’t want to give up on a book that you are benefiting from, it is important to give yourself variety. You can pick up a book at random or intentionally looking for something different from what you normally read. 38 .

4. Review what you’ve read.

If you want to remember what you read, take the time to review. 39 When you finish a book, spend 15 minutes examining your notes in 2 to 4 days. Then 2 to 4 weeks after that and then 2 to 4 months after that. This will strengthen the knowledge in your mind.

5. Discuss what you read with others.

40 If you can talk with people in person, that is ideal, but don’t overlook the power of the Internet in connecting people with similar interests but different geography.

A. Don’t be afraid to give up

B. Make full use of reading time

C. It’s hard to get more out of your normal reading

D. This can be very valuable in giving you a different opinion

E. And you ’ d better go over things at ever increasing time intervals

F. Using computers will make it easy to find your notes later by search

G. The best way to get more from your reading is to discuss it with others
 

阅读理解参考答案

第一节

21. B【解析】根据第一段中get guidance on photography basics ...可知，在这里你可以学到摄影知识。

22. C 【解析】根据第二段中 as your guide tells you the interesting, sometimes sad tales of the people who helped ... 可知答案为C。

23. B 【解析】根据最后一段中 After the boat ride, return to dry land just in time for a free, hearty meal 可知，它提供免费而且丰盛的一餐。

24. A 【解析】根据文章第一段第一句 Don’t answer it 及最后一句 cannot spend his days answering requests to fix leaking baths or carry cash to the bank 可知答案为 A。

25. D【解析】根据文章第六段which had then dried on its foot, preventing it from flying away可知，它被自己的粪便困住了。

26. D【解析】根据文章第八段最后两句 He returned with the gray pigeon in the box. He showed the bird to our children and they decided to keep it 可知，Sam 用箱子做鸟巢。

27. C【解析】全文介绍了作者如何救助一只鸽子，由此可知作者很有爱心。

28. B【解析】根据第一段Emperor Shah Jahan had it built in memory of his wife可知，是为了纪念他的妻子。

29. A 【解析】根据第二段前五句 But pollution is turning the white marble monument shades of green, yellow, and brown ... 可知，泰姬陵现在变得越来越脏了。

30. B【解析】根据文章最后一段people must come together to work toward a solution可知，人们必须团结一致寻找解决办法。

31. A【解析】根据全文可知，本文主要呼吁人们立马采取措施保护泰姬陵。

32. D 【解析】根据文章第一段中 These, however, were often little more than lists of hard words 可知。

33. C【解析】根据划线单词前后句可知，这里指的是词典编纂者。

34. A【解析】根据文章第一段 This need to fix the English language is best illustrated in the making…及最后一段可知，Samuel Johnson使得英语标准化。

35. D【解析】阅读全文可知，本文主要是告诉读者Johnson编纂词典的故事，故选D。

第二节

36. F【解析】根据上文的computers和下文的On the other hand可知。

37. A 【解析】根据下文 it just doesn’t make sense to read a book that you aren’t getting anything from 可知。

38. D【解析】根据上文可知，选项D符合题意。

39. E【解析】选项E表示递进关系，故符合题意。

40. G【解析】选项G句意照应该段标题，符合题意。