阅读理解。     The tower of Big Ben, London"s most famous building, has always leaned

阅读理解。     The tower of Big Ben, London"s most famous building, has always leaned

题型:北京高考真题难度:来源:
阅读理解。     The tower of Big Ben, London"s most famous building, has always leaned (倾斜) slightly, but
construction work on a new line for the London Underground seemed likely to give the tower a
real lean. Engineers have had to prop up (支撑) its base to prevent it from damaging the rest of the
Houses of Parliament.
     To control the tower"s movement,engineers pumped grout (水泥浆) into the soil under the tower.
The tower not leans an extra few centimeters, but the lean can only be seen by the most sharp-eyed
observer.
     Between 1995 and 1997, to lengthen the Jubilee line of the Underground, builders dug a
40-metre-deep hole just 31 metres north of the clock tower. And the new tube (underground ) tunnels
were even nearer to the tower. John Burland, who recently helped stop the increasing lean in the
Leaning Tower of Pisa and was an adviser to the Jubilee line project, believed the work would affect
the tower. In his opinion,no further lean should go beyond a safety limit of 27.5 millimetres over the
existing lean of 220 millimetres.
     To keep the lean within this limit,Burland told the British Association about the new method of
pumping grout immediately unde the base of the tower.More than 300 tons of grout were pumped
in during construction.The tower"s additional lean went between 10 and 25 millimetres,but never
passed 27.5 millimetres.
      After the construction work was completed in last 1997, a review of movements in nearby walls
showed that the building was in better shape than had been thought before and the safety limit was
raised to 35 millimetres before any action needs to be taken.
     Since 1997,the tower had continued to lean, Burland told Modern Constuction.The latest
measurements,taken this year,suggest that the tower"s lean had just reached 35 millimetres.But
following regular re-examinations of the tower,experts are sure that the tower has stabilised(稳定).
A spokesman for London Underground says: "We understand the tower has stabilised and retuned to
its normal movement cycle."
                                                                                   From Modern Construction, 16 September 2000 1. Which of the following drawings correctly shows how the propping up construction was carried out? 2. What does the word " review"(in Paragraph 5) mean? A. Observation
B. Description
C. Discussion
D. Re-examination 3. Why was the propping up construction necessary? A. To stop the tower of Big Ben from leaning
B. To stop sharp-eyed people from seeing the lean
C. To stop the Tower Pisa from leaning too much
D. To stop the clock tower from leaning beyond its safety limit 4. What was the existing lean of the tower at the time when the article was written? A. 220 millimetres
B. 255 millimetres
C. 35 millimetres
D. 27.5 millimetres 5. We can infer from the article that _____.A. the tower of Big Ben will damage the Houses of Parliament
B. the Jubilee line should be stopped in Burland"s opinion
C. the writer is blaming Burland for making a mistake
D. the propping up work has proved to be successful
答案
1-5: ADDBD
举一反三
阅读理解。     A newspaper in Helsinki, Finland, recently published a cartoon of a baby with a mobile phone, telling
his parents that his diaper (尿布) needed changing. But it"s hardly a joke. Helsinki is home to Nokia, the
mobile-phone maker. It"s one of the most "mobile" cities in the world: About 92 percent of its households
have at least one mobile phone. And the kids start young.
     "A relatively normal age to get a mobile phone is now 7," says Jan Virkki, marketing manager for a
mobile-phone company. Among the second graders at the Kulosaari Elementary School, the most popular
object of desire this year is not a Barbie or a Gameboy. It is a Nokia mobile phone with a picture of their
own choice on the screen.
      "One of the first things we discuss when school starts is the rules for mobile phones," says Tiia Korppi,
a teacher. Among the rules: You have to put it away out of sight. You cannot turn it on. You cannot send
text messages to your friends, or play amusing tunes (令人发笑的曲调) in class, or call your parents or
call for a pizza during history.
1. The author uses the newspaper cartoon to show that _____. A. he is good at telling jokes
B. he cares much for children
C. mobile phones are toys for new-born babies
D. mobile phones are widely used in Finland 2. The passage is mainly about _____. A. different uses of mobile phones
B. a successful mobile-phone maker
C. effects of mobile phones on children
D. school rules for the use of mobile phones
题型:北京高考真题难度:| 查看答案
阅读理解。     If you dream of going someplace warm to escape the cold winter weather, a trip to a recently discovered
planet would certainly warm you right up, The planet, named OCLE-TR-56b, has temperatures of more than
3,000 °F. "This is the hottest planet we know about," says Dr. Dimitar Sasselov, a scientist who led the
discovery team, "It is hot enough to have an iron fog and to rain hot iron droplets (细沫)"
     The new planet is 30 times farther away than any planet discovered by scientists before. It is in the Milky
Way (银河) but it is not in our solar (太阳的) system The new planet moves around a star much like our sun,
however. Seientists discovered the planet by using a new planet-searching method, called "transit technique"
They were able to catch sight of the planet when it moved in front of its star, causing the star"s light to dim
(变暗). Scientists compare the method to discovering the shadow of a bee flying in front of a searchlight 200
miles away. "We believe the door has heen opened wide to go and discover planets like Earth," says Sasedlov. 1. We can infer from the passage that _____. A. there is iron on the new planet
B. we could go to the new planet in winter
C. the star could block our view of the new planet
D. scientists are studying the weather on the new planet 2. The "transit technique" can _____. A. help dim the light of a star.
B. help scientists with a searchlight
C. help discover a bee on a planet
D. help find a planet moving before its star 3. Which is the best title for the passage? A. New Planet-searching Technique
B. New Distant Discovery
C. Space Searching
D. Dream Planet
题型:北京高考真题难度:| 查看答案
阅读理解。     Elephants don"t forget-at least, female (雌性的) elephants don"t. Elephant families are matriarchal. And
the social knowledge gained by the oldest females is the key to a family group"s survival (生存), according
to a study published in April by Karen McComb, a biologist at Sussex University in England.
     Elephants announce their presence by making a deep, long sound, a practice referred to as contact calling
(联络呼叫). An unfamiliar call may mean that an elephant from outside the family group is nearby. A stranger
can cause trouble. Interrupting feeding or disturbing the young. So an elephant matriarch signals the family to
gather around her; then they all lift their trunks in the air to smell the unfamiliar caller. False alarms can disturb
the group and take time and energy away from feeding, so survival may depend in part on getting it right.
     Working with Cynthia Moss, who founded the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in Kenya 30 years ago,
McComb tested the social knowledge of 21 Amboseli elephant families with matriarchs 27 to 67 years old. She
played recordings of contact calls to each family and found that the oldest matriarchs were much better at
picking out unfamiliar calls. In fact, a group with a matriarch in her fifties was several thousand times more
likely to form into a group upon hearing an unfamiliar contact call than when hearing a familiar call. However,
families with younger matriarchs were less than twice as likely to gather together upon hearing an unfamiliar
contact call as compared with a familiar call. And they gathered together a lot. Moreover, the social knowledge
of older matriarchs translated into favourable results: Families with older matriarchs produced more baby
elephants in each female-reproductive year.
     This finding shows how difficult it is to protect the oldest members of elephant families. As elephants age,
they continue to grow larger,as do their much wanted tusks (象牙). So the older-and wiser-a matriarch is, the
greater the chance she will be killed. About 800,000 elephants have been killed by people in the past 20 years.
1. What does the underlined word "matriarch" mean? A. An old member of an elephant family.
B. A female head of an elephant family
C. A wise elephant.
D. A large elephant. 2. When do elephants form into a group?A. When they are feeding the young.
B. When they see a familiar elephant.
C. When they are giving birth to baby elephants.
D. When the leading elephant gives out a warning.3. The research with recordings of contact calls shows _____. A. how fast elephants form into groups
B. how important the age of a leading elephant is
C. how frightened elephants are when hearing a strange call
D. how frequently old elephants call other members of the family 4. The older a female elephant is, _____. A. the stronger she will be
B. the poorer memory she will have
C. the more useless her tusks will be
D. the more likely she will be killed 5. We can infer from the passage that elephants may _____.  A. run into other elephant families
B. give wrong warnings to their mothers
C. run away open hearing a strange sound
D. produce more babies by gathering together often
题型:北京高考真题难度:| 查看答案
阅读理解。     If there is no difference in general intelligence (智力) between boys and girls, what can explain
girls" poor performance in science and mathematics?
     It seems to be that their treatment at school is a direct cause. Mathematics and science are seen
as subjects mainly for boys, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them.
Interestingly, both boys and girls often regard the subjects for boys as more difficult. Yet it has been
suggested that girls do not take mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social
reasons. Girls do not want to be in open competition with boys because they are afraid to appear less
feminine (女性的) and attractive. However, if we examine the performance of boys and girls who have
taken mathematics courses, there are still more high-achieving boys than there are girls. This difference
appears to be world-wide. Biological explanations have been offered for this, but there are other
explanations too. Perhaps the difference which comes out during the teenage years has its roots in much
earlier experiences. From their first days in kindergarten, boys are enoouraged to work on their own and
to complete tasks. Facts show that outstanding (杰出的) mathematicians and scientists have not had
teachers who supplied answers.
     Besides, there can be little doubt that teachers of mathematics and science expect their boy students
to do better at these subjects than their girl students. They even appear to encourage the difference
between boys and girls. They spend more time with the boy students, giving them more time to answer
questions and working harder to get correct answers from them. They are more likely to call on boys
for answers and to allow them to take the lead in classroom discussion. They also praise boys more
frequently. All of this seems to encourage boys to work harder in science and mathematics and to give
them confidence (信心) that they are able to succeed.
     Such a way of teaching is not likely to encourage girls to take many mathematics and science courses,
nor is it likely to support girls who do. When it comes to these subjects it seems certain that school widens
the difference between boys and girls. 1. Girls are likely to think that _____. A. science courses are for both boys and girls
B. science courses make them more popular
C. science courses make them successful
D. science courses are difficult for them 2. The text mainly discusses _____ reasons for the difference between boys and girls in scientific
achievements. A. biological
B. historical
C. social
D. personal 3. What are boys usually encouraged to do at school? A. To get help with their homework.
B. To play the leading role in class.
C. To work with girl students in class.
D. To learn to take care of others . 4. What does the passage say about great mathematicians?A. Their teachers did not supply answers to them.
B. They started learning mathematics at an earlier age.
C. They showed mathematical abilities in their teenage years.
D. Their success resulted from their strong interest in mathematics.5. The author would probably agree that _____. A. boys and girls learn in the same way
B. boys and girls are equal in general intelligence
C. girls are more confident in themselves than before
D. girls should take fewer science courses than boys
题型:北京高考真题难度:| 查看答案
阅读理解。     In July 1994 Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was struck by 21 pieces of a comet (彗星).
When the fragment (碎片)landed in the southern part of the giant planet, the explosions were watched by
scientists here on earth. But what if our own planet was hit by a comet?
     The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss
our plant, but two fragments will probably hit the southern part of the Earth. The news has caused panic.
     On 17 July, a fragment four kilometers wide enters the Earth"s atmosphere with a huge explosion. About
half of the fragment is destroyed. But the major part survives and hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the
speed of sound. The sea boils and an enormous wave is created and spreads. The wall of water rushes
towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and
millions of people are drowned. The wave moves into the Indian Ocean and heads towards Asia.
     Millions of people are already dead in the southern part of the Earth, but the north won"t escape for long.
Tons of broken pieces are thrown into the atmosphere by the explosions. As the sun is hidden by clouds of
dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. Wars break out as countries fight
for food. A year later civilization has collapsed. No more than 10 million people have survived.
     Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The
dinosaurs (恐龙) were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly
disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a space fragment. The dinosaurs couldn"t
survive in the cold climate that followed and they became extinct. Will we meet the same end? 1. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the author"s description of the disaster in 2094? A. The whole world becomes extremely cold.
B. All the coastal cities in African are destroyed.
C. The whole mankind becomes extinct.
D. The visit of the comet results in wars. 2. Why does the author mention dinosaurs at the end of the passage? A. Because they could only live in the warm climate.
B. Because they once dominated the Earth.
C. Because their extinction indicates future disasters.
D. Because dinosaurs and humans never live in the same age.3.  In writing the passage, the author intends to _______.A. give an accurate description of the possible disaster in the future
B. prove that humans will sooner or later be destroyed
C. tell the historical development of the Earth
D. warn of a possible disaster in the future 4.  It can be concluded that the passage is most probably part of a(n) ______. A. horror story
B. news report
C. research paper
D. article of popular science
题型:上海高考真题难度:| 查看答案
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