发布时间 : 星期日 文章[英语]广东省执信中学2013-2014学年高二下学期期中更新完毕开始阅读45562a4deef9aef8941ea76e58fafab069dc44fd
that society is approaching certain limits on growth. These include the fixed supply of natural resources, the possible negative effects of industry on the natural environment, and the continuing increase in the world’s population. As society reaches these limits, economic growth can no longer continue, and the quality of life will decrease.
People who want more economic growth, on the other hand, argue that even at the present growth rate there are still many poor people in the world. These proponents of economic growth believe that only more growth can create the capital needed to improve the quality of life in the world. Furthermore, they argue that only continued growth can provide the financial resources required to protect our natural surroundings from industrialization.
This debate over the desirability of continued economic growth is of vital importance to business and industry. If those who argue against economic growth are correct, the problems they mention cannot be ignored. To find a solution, economists and business community must pay attention to these problems and discuss them with one another.
36. According to those who argue against economic growth we must slow down for the
following reasons EXCEPT that _______.
A. our natural surroundings are in danger of being destroyed by industry B. the fixed supply of natural resources marks a point beyond which economic
growth cannot continue
C. the world population is ever increasing
D. more efforts should be made to improve the quality of our material life 37. Those who want more economic growth believe that continued economic growth _______.
A. is essential to the well-being of society as a whole
B. can provide the solution to many of our social problems today C. can protect our environment from being polluted by industry
D. can provide us with more natural resources for industrialization 38. The word “proponents” (in Paragraph 3) probably means _______.
A. arguments in support of something B. disagreements with other people
C. people who argue for something D. people who argue against something 39. The passage is mainly about _______.
A. the conflict between economists and the industrial business B. the present debate on economic growth
C. the advantages and disadvantages of economic growth D. the importance of the debate on economic growth 40. We may infer from the passage that _______.
A. the author describes the case as it is B. the author is for economic growth
C. the author is against continued economic growth
D. the author is very much worried about the problems of continued economic growth
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C
Franz Kafka wrote that “a book must be the ax (斧子) for the frozen sea inside us.” I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, and it didn’t seem to require any explanation.
We’d just finished John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. When we read the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little, and so did I. “Are you crying?” one girl asked, as she got out of her chair to take a closer look. “I am,” I told her, “and the funny thing is I’ve read it many times.”
But they understood. When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen. In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I’ve taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless; kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods. They understand, more than I ever will, the novel’s terrible logic — the giving way of dreams to fate (命运).
For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature with small groups of students from grades six to eight. I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred (转学) out of a selective high school — one that often attracts the literary-minded children of Manhattan’s upper classes — into a less competitive setting. The daughter of immigrants, with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates. I thought additional “cultural capital” could help students like her develop better in high school, where they would unavoidably meet, perhaps for the first time, students who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph. D.’s.
Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read: Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. The students didn’t always read from the expected point of view. About The Red Pony, one student said, “it’s about being a man, it’s about manliness.” I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies (独白) read as raps, but both made sense; the interpretations (解释) were playful, but serious. Once introduced to Steinbeck’s writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that “all these people hate each other, and they’re all white.” His historical view was broadening, his sense of his own country deepening. Year after year former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes.
Year after year, however, we are increasing the number of practice tests. We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts, not for emotional punch (碰撞) but for text complexity. Yet, we cannot enrich the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts. We are teaching them that words do not amaze but confuse. We may succeed in raising test scores, but we will fail to teach that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them.
41. The underlined words in Paragraph 1 probably mean that a book helps to _______. A. realize our dreams B. give support to our life
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C. smooth away difficulties D. awake our emotions
42. Why were the students able to understand the novel Of Mice and Men? A. Because they spent much time reading it. B. Because they had read the novel before. C. Because they came from a public school. D. Because they had similar life experiences.
43. The girl left the selective high school possibly because _______.
A. she was a literary-minded girl B. her parents were immigrants C. she couldn’t fit in with her class D. her father was then in prison 44. To the author’s surprise, the students read the novels _______.
A. creatively B. passively C. repeatedly D. carelessly 45. The author writes the passage mainly to _______. A. introduce classic works of literature
B. advocate teaching literature to touch the heart C. argue for equality among high school students D. defend the current testing system
D
An out-of-body experience? It’s just your brain playing tricks on you. Some report feeling as if they are floating above their own bodies, while others find themselves drawn towards a blinding light. But out-of-body experiences are nothing more than a trick of the mind, scientists claim.
They say that common spooky scenarios, such as floating above a hospital bed or walking towards the light at the end of a tunnel, can be explained by the brain trying to make sense of the process of death.
Scientists from the universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge reviewed studies into changes in the brain that cause certain strong feelings associated with near-death experiences.
Researcher Caroline Watt said one common vision — that of people seeing a bright light which seems to be drawing them into the afterlife — is probably produced by the death of the cells we use to process the light picked up by our eyes and turn it into pictures.
“It is simply your brain trying to make sense of the unusual experiences you are having,” Dr Watt said.
Feelings of being out of the body can also be explained by the brain’s behavior, the journal Trends in Cognitive Science reports.
“If you put on a virtual (虚拟的) reality headset (耳机) showing an image of yourself three feet in front, you can trick your brain into thinking that is you over there, and get the sense you are outside your body,” Dr Watt added.
The scientific evidence suggests that all aspects of the near-death experience have a biological basis.
In another example, the hormone noradrenalin, which is released when we suffer from stress and injuries, could be behind the feelings of love and peace that many experience when they seem to be approaching death.
However, other scientists say we should not be so quick to dismiss (stop
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considering) people’s accounts (descriptions).
Sam Parnia, of the University of Southampton, stressed that being able to trace something back to the brain does not mean it is not real.
Dr Parnia, who is close to completing a three-year study of hospital patients’ recollections of their near-death experiences, said, “Every experience, whether near-death or otherwise — such as depression, happiness and love — is mediated (调节) by the brain.”
46. According to the passage, when people are dying, some may have the following
feelings except that _______.
A. they are floating above their own bodies B. they are walking towards a light C. they are flying in the sky D. they are seeing a bright light
47. How did scientists study the cause of out-of-body experience?
A. By studying chemical materials in dying people’s brains. B. By studying changes in the brain that cause such experience.
C. By listening to people’s descriptions of out-of-body experience. D. By monitoring (监控) patients’ behavior on a screen.
48. The “hormone noradrenalin” (in Paragraph 10) is probably_______.
A. a chemical material released by human bodies
B. a medicine to help people with stress and injuries C. a medicine which helps people feel love and peace D. a chemical material to cause the death of people
49. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A. Sam Parnia doesn’t think that people’s near-death experiences are real. B. Sam Parnia hasn’t finished the study of people’s near-death experiences. C. The causes of near-death experiences and other feelings are different. D. It’s impossible to know the causes of people’s near-death experiences. 50. This passage is probably taken from _______.
A. a science fiction B. a scientific reference book C. a book of fairy tales D. a popular science magazine 第三部分 非选择题(共49分)
Ⅰ按NH课文内容填空 (共10空；每空1分，满分10分)
1) It is over 40 years since Marilyn Monroe died, 1 her death still 2 . 3 her name is mentioned, people 4 of her final hours and although the official verdict was suicide, many believe that she 5 the Mafia or the FBI.
2) How do these people spend their time? Buying clothes is top, 6
purchasing and listening to CDs, both of which are 7 going to clubs, bars and pubs. 8 eating out, and then drinking alcohol. Travel, going to the cinema or theatre, and reading books 9 sporting events and gigs and concerts, 10 of the list.
II 语法填空 (共10空；每空1分，满分10分)
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