高考英語閱讀理解專題訓練[2]

　　（一）

　　About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.

　　He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and — WHUMP! — it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. " That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"

　　"Please, mister, please....I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!" begged the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. "It’s my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled of the curb (路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. "Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman," Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.

　　Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

　　It was a long walk back to the black, shining 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE — a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

　　1. The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because ________.

　　A. the businessman drove at a high speed

　　B. he envied the brand-new car very much

　　C. he wanted to ask for some money

　　D. he wanted to get help from the driver

　　2. Which of the following is the right order of the story?

　　a. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.

　　b. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.

　　c. The younger brother begged Josh for help.

　　d. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.

　　e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.

　　A. b, a, e, c, d

　　B. a, c, d, b, e

　　C. b, a, c, e, d

　　D. a, c, b, e, d

　　3. What can we learn from the passage? w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

　　A. Josh would accept the money from the kids.

　　B. The two kids were Josh’s neighbors.

　　C. Josh was a kind-hearted man.

　　D. Josh’s new car broke down easily.

　　4. According to the passage, the last sentence means ________.

　　A. trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life

　　B. driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous

　　C. trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble

　　D. protecting oneself from being hurt

　　（二）

　　Washoe, a female chimpanzee (黑猩猩) believed to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the research institute where she was kept.

　　The chimp died on Tuesday night, according to Roger and Deborah Fouts, co-founders of The Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute in Washington, where she lived.

　　Washoe was born in 1965 in Africa, where she was captured by the Air Force and taken to the US for research use in the space program. In 1966, she left the program and began living with two scientists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, who led a project to teach the chimp American Sign Language (ASL) in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named. Washoe had been living on Central Washington University’s Ellensburg Campus since 1980. She had a vocabulary of about 250 words. Also, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimps: Tatu, 31, Loulis, 29, and Dar, 31

　　Primate (靈長類) researcher Jane Goodall, in Fouts’ book Next of Kin, noted the importance of the work with Washoe. “Roger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee’s mind,” Goodall said.

　　Though previous efforts to teach chimps spoken languages had failed, the researchers believed there was a better chance using signs. But Washoe’s language skills were disputed by scientists who believed that language is unique to humans. Among those who doubted that chimps could use language were linguist (語言學家) Noam Chomsky and Harvard scientist Steven Pinker. They believed primates simply learn to perform certain acts in order to receive rewards, and do not acquire true language. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

　　5. As for its first task, Washoe was involved with _______.

　　A. some space research   

　　B. a study on African animals

　　C. an ASL project     

　　D. the program of training the Air Force

　　6. In Goodall’s opinion, teaching Washoe ASL ______.

　　A. was not successful   

　　B. led to the book Next of Kin

　　C. won honor for Fouts   

　　D. made a difference

　　7. In the last paragraph, the underlined word “disputed” probably means “______”.

　　A. supported 

　　B. studied 

　　C. questioned 

　　D. discussed

　　8. What can be inferred from the passage?

　　A. The ASL project was first set up in Africa for the study on Washoe.

　　B. Washoe may communicate with other chimps by signing.

　　C. Washoe must have been able to speak 250 words or so.

　　D. The researchers will prove that most chimps could use language.

　　9. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

　　A. Washoe was the first animal to be taught human language.

　　B. Washoe, the chimp, was named in honor of a place.

　　C. There were four chimps in total at Ellensburg Campus.

　　D. Chomsky believed primates only perform silent signs.

　　【答案解析】本文通過記敘十年前一個叫Josh的非常成功的企業家駕駛著他那嶄新的汽車在芝加哥附近的街道上發生的故事，告訴人們應該多體諒他人疾苦。

　　1. D細節題。由第三段中小孩的話語可知。

　　2. A細節題。根據文章第二、三段的描述及小孩的話語，可確定答案。

　　3. C推斷題。根據文章的第四段的描述可知Josh是個好心人。

　　4. C句意題。由最后一段倒數第二句的含義可知是叫人們多體諒他人疾苦。

　　5. A。從第三段第一句可知，Washoe的第一項任務是參與太空研究項目（research use in the space program）。

　　6. D。倒數第二段中“Roger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee’s mind”是對“the importance of the work with Washoe”的具體說明。

　　7. C。從“who believed that language is unique to humans”和“doubted”等詞句可推知，科學家對Washoe’s language skills持質疑態度。

　　8. B。從第三段中最后一句可知，Washoe還教其它黑猩猩學習手勢語，因此B項推理正確。

　　9. B。從“… in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named”可知，Washoe是為紀念一個地名而起的