陕西省咸阳市高考英语阅读理解(6)

【2014高考英语安徽省六校联考】C

I once had a house guest from Cuba. During his visit, I happened to throw an old broken blender (搅拌机) in the trash. The next day it was sitting on my counter – in working order. In his world, people simply cannot afford to replace an item which doesn't work properly. They take the time and figure out how to fix it. In Cuba, they are still driving cars from the 1960’s, mainly because they do not have a choice.

In contrast, the U.S. is a “throw-away society.” Statistics show that each American produces six pounds of trash per day. I believe a combination of factors has contributed to this phenomenon.

“Planned obsolescence(废弃)” is not a secret. It is a manufacturing (制造业) philosophy developed in the 1920’s and 1930’s, when mass production became popular. The goal is to make a product or part that will fail, or become less desirable over time or after a certain amount of use. This pressures the consumer to buy again.

Planned obsolescence does keep costs down. Instead of making an expensive product that will last a long time, businesses produce more affordable, disposable(一次性的) items. Some electronic items have become so inexpensive that it is cheaper to replace them than to repair them.

Busy people often value their time and convenience more than money. If a car starts to have mechanical problems, replacing it with a newer, more reliable model may be more appealing than tolerating it being in the garage for a week.

In addition, advertising trains consumers to want what is new and improved. It convinces them that the more they have, the happier they will be.

Unlike people in many developing countries, we live in a world of abundance. A study by Dr. Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona also found that in the U.S., 40-50 percent of all food ready for harvest is wasted. Abundance and waste soon became closely associated in the American way of life.

. In Cuba, people usually fix a broken item instead of buying a new one because __________.

A. wasting is prohibited there

B. they are poor

D. they live a low-carbon life

C. they are interested in fixing things

65. According to the article, planned obsolescence ___________. A. began before mass production became popular

B. is intended to encourage consumers to buy more things C. results in higher prices of items

D. requires factories to produce high-quality products

66. Which of the following is NOT true about the “throw-away society” in the U.S.?

A. People prefer to buy a new blender rather than repair the broken one. B. A large quantity of food has been wasted.

C. People believe that the more they have, the happier they will be. D. People all hold the belief that money comes first.

67. What may be the writer’s attitude towards a throw-away society? A. Supportive. Optimistic.

【参】~67 BBDB 68~71 CBCC 72~75 BADB

【2014高考英语安徽省六校联考】D

XI’AN – China has introduced various emergency responses and long-term measures against air pollution in the central and eastern regions.

The air quality index (AQI) for Xi’an reached 500 on Wednesday afternoon, at the top of the AQI scale, according to the national air quality monitoring website. Xi’an weather forecasters predict the smog (雾霾) will continue for the next week and air pollution may worsen.

“I have to keep buying masks for my family,” said Liu, buying masks at a pharmacy

B. Critical.

C. Tolerant.

D.

(药店) near her home in downtown Xi’an. “This is the only thing we can do to protect ourselves.”

On Wednesday, a city government emergency response plan was put into action, suspending all construction and taking at least 50 percent of government vehicles off the road. Power plants must limit their output and reduce emissions.

Nearly half the country, more than 100 cities in 20 provinces, has suffered from smog since last December. Many have taken action, including experimenting with artificial methods to reduce smog, limiting vehicle use and fining polluters.

Assessments based on GDP alone were abandoned last month and more emphasis has been put on public well-being and the environment. Whether the move will be effective in forcing local governments consider environmental issues over economic growth remains to be seen. Environmental protection professionals are doubtful about the immediacy of the effects of these measures.

Xiao Hang, an urban researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said it took London 50 years to lose the moniker (绰号) “foggy London town”, and Los Angeles still struggles to control its photochemical (光化学) smog. “We can’t ignore environmental problems during the development process and China has a long way to go,” he said.

68. What would be the best title for the article? A. AQI for Xi’an reached 500

B. Smog crisis tries the limits of people’s patience C. Smoggy Chinese cities to clear the air D. Dust masks become hot sellers

69. The underlined word “suspending” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by ________. A. encouraging expanding

70. We can infer from the article that _________. A. China is the only country suffering from smog

B. environmental professionals believe the air quality will soon be improved with these measures

B. stopping

C. continuing

D.

C. assessments based on GDP alone were harmful to environmental protection D. Xi’an was the most polluted city in China 71. What Xiao Hang said indicates _____________.

A. London still has serious air pollution after 50 years of effort B. the development of China is more important

C. solving environmental problems requires great effort D. it’s normal for China to have environmental problems 【参】68~71 CBCC

【2014高考英语广东省中山市华侨中学二模试题】D

Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago, the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast-food concepts reaching the market, the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse, its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.

Sparrow failed to grow for another two years. Until a new CEO, Carl Pearson, decided to build up its market share. He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.

Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain’s owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy’s restaurants. Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success, rather than customers’ speeding power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.

The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast-food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product, the intension was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.

Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example, he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover (营业额).

These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated.

41. Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO? A. The number of its customers was declining B. Its customers found the food unhealthy C. It was in need of financial support D. Most of its restaurants were closed

42. What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to? A. customers of Sparrow restaurants B. Sparrow restaurants

C. customers of other fast-food chains D. other fast-food chains

43. For what purpose did Pearson start the advertising campaign? A. To build a good relationship with the public B. To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow C. To learn about customers’ spending power. D. To meet the challenge from Marcy’s restaurants. 44. The TV ads of Sparrow ________. A. changed people’s views on pop stars B. amused the public with original songs C. focused on the superiority of its products D. influenced the eating habits of the audience

45. What was Pearson’s achievement as a CEO? A. He managed to pay off Sparrow’s debts. B. He made Sparrow much more competitive C. He helped Sparrow take over a company D. He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees 【参】41-45. CDABB

Passage Twenty (NCB in Interpol)

The organization known to the world as Interpol has sometimes been described as an outfit of chisel-jawed gimlet-eyed crime fighters who put their lives in jeopardy every working hour. Less flatteringly, Interpol has also been described as a huge filing cabinet, stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics.

As with most generalities, there is some truth in both statements. There are, certainly, some grim battlers of crime to be found working with Interpol. There are, just as surely, those drones shuffling mountains of paper whose cheeks are sallow from indoor life. Consider the charisma of the name alone: INTERPOL, the international police force. Continents leaped in a single bound, oceans crossed in the space of a breath, villains watched by eyes that never sleep. Surprisingly, a lot of it happens almost that way.

Four groups coordinate and direct the activities of Interpol. One of them is the National Central Bureaus, or NCBs, bodies designated by the member nations to serve as their link with Interpol. These are the front-line troops, the action people. IN the United States, the Treasury Department is the National Central Bureau. In the United Kingdom, it is Scotland Yard; the Questura in Italy and the Melbourne City Police in Australia. Because police organization varies from country, the NCBs were established to act as the one special group to handle Interpol chores and unsure maximum cooperation between nations. Each NCB is usually an official government body with police powers if a country has only one central police authority, that body

becomes the National Centre Bureau. Of course, any service appointed as an NCB is bound to its nation’s law and authority and retains its national title.

Each NCB is connected by radio to the regional station for its geographic zone. The regional stations are connected to the Central Station in France. The radio network is versatile. Network stations can monitor the Central station or any regional station. Because of this messages can be broadcast to more than one station at a time. A coding system determines the urgency of each message so that those with high priority can be given precedence. Besides, other communication tools, such as radio-teleprinters and phototelegraphy equipment. Permit rapid transfers of fingerprints and photographs. Sometimes ever more advanced technology is employed. When the police all over the world were looking for a Canadian named George Leray, they turned to the Early Bird Satellite. Leray had led his gang on a daring holdup of a Montreal bank and gotten away with $4 million. Scotland Yard broadcast Leray’s photo to the world by satellite. An American who saw the picture in Florida recognized Leray as a man who was living on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale under an assumed name. The police were alerted and arrested Leray.

1. What is the best title for this passage?

[A]. The Function of the Interpol. . The Quality of the Interpol. [C]. The Organization of the Interpol. [D]. The Rapid Development of the Interpol.

2. The organization of this passage is

[A]. general to specific. . cause and effect. [C]. comparison and contrast. [D]. development.

3. The sentence “stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to [A]. a lot of employees busying in their work. . many office workers busying with various documents.

[C]. crowded with office workers busying with their own collected data. [D]. workers busying in their own information.

4. Which is the easiest tool to communicate?

[A]. Satellite. . Radio.

. Teleprinter. [D]. Phototelegraphy.

Vocabulary

1. Interpol 国际刑警组织 2. 团体

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 来

8. 9. 10. 11. （纸牌）12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 一定……19. 20. outfit chisel-jawed gimlet-eyed jeopardy flatteringly choke choking on their own statistics as with most generalities grim drone shuffle charisma National Central Bureaus Treasury Department Questura Melbourne chore to be bound to geographic zone versatile 全班人马，有组织 仪表英俊的 目光锐利的 危险 奉承 闷死

被自己的统计数字弄的喘不过气 和大多数笼统说法一样 冷酷的

懒汉，懒洋洋的人 反复挪动，乱翻，洗 超凡的魅力 国家中心局 财政部（美） 局（意） 墨尔本局 日常零星工作 受……的约束，义务， 地区，地带

有多方面用途的

21. radio-teleprinter 无线电打印机 22. phototelegraph 传真 23. daring 大胆的 24. holdup 抢劫

25. alert 使警惕，使处于待命状态 难句译注

1. The organization known to the world as Interpol has sometimes been described as an outfit of chisel-jawed gimlet-eyed crime fighters who put their lives in jeopardy every working hour. Less flatteringly, Interpol has also been described as a huge filing cabinet, stuffed with clerks choking on their own statistics. [结构简析] 两个句子都是被动语气，都有分词短语。前一句known 修饰organization，后一句stuffed 修饰 cabinet.

[参考译文] 闻名于世的国际刑警组织长被描述成一群仪表英俊，目光犀利和罪犯斗争的战士的群体组织。他们的生命无时无刻不处于危险之中。国际刑警组织也被描述为一个大型的档案室，里面挤满了工作人员，他们被自己的统计数字忙得喘不过气来。

2. There are, certainly, some grim battlers of crime to be found working with Interpol. There are, just as surely, those drones shuffling mountains of paper whose cheeks are sallow from indoor life.

[结构简析] 这是两个句子，都是引导词there句型。

[参考译文] 这里肯定能见到和罪犯斗争的冷酷无情的斗士在国际刑警组织工作，同样可以肯定，这里有那些懒洋洋的人在翻动如山的文件档案，他们的脸颊由于室内生活而消瘦如刀。 3. Continents leaped in a single bound, oceans crossed in the space of a breath, villains watched by eyes that never sleep.

[结构简析] 这是省略句。正常句型应该是Continents are leaped in…，Oceans are crossed in…, villains are watched by …。

[参考译文] 大洲可一步跨过。大洋可以在转眼之间越过，坏蛋可以由日夜不眠的眼睛紧盯着。 4. These are the front-line troops, the action people. [参考译文] 这些人是前线军，具体行动的人（执行人）。

写作方法与文章大意

这是一篇介绍国际刑警组织的文章。采用一般到具体的写作方法。头二段是对国际刑警组织的一般介绍，后面是具体到NCB，组成国际刑警组织四个部门之一——国家中心局是各国负责和国际刑警保持联系部门，如英国的苏格兰场，美国的财政部等，最后一段讲联系的多种渠道和方式方法。 答案祥解

1. C. 国际刑警组织。上面文章大意已经说明介绍国际刑警组织，其职能性质只是附带涉及。所以

A. B. 不对。 D. 迅速发展，文章没有涉及。 2. A. 文章是一般到具体的组织结构。

B. 因果 和 C. 对比。 不对。 D. 展开，任何文章都得展开。

3. C. stuff=crowd 办公室挤满了工作人员，忙于分析处理收集来的信息和数据。见难句译注1参考译文。

A. 有许多雇员忙于工作； B. 许多办公室人员忙于各种文件； D. 忙于自己信息的工人。 这三项都没有。

4. B. 无线电通讯。纵然第四段内提及种种手段：卫星，无线电，打印机，传真电报。但无线电通讯仍是他们运用的最方便和最得力的工具，因为他们的无线电网络灵活多用，网络站能监控和各地区站点，而且一次能把信息传至好几台。至于卫星，电报，传真电报只是在特殊情况下运行，如快速传送照片，指纹等。所以A. 卫星， C. 无线电打印机， D. 传真电报，不对。