Reading comprehension. My father was chief engineer of a merchant ship, whic

题型：湖南省高考真题难度：来源：

Reading comprehension.     My father was chief engineer of a merchant ship, which was sunk in world war. The book night of the
U-boats told the story.
    Memories
     In September, 1940, my mother, sister and I went to Swansea, where my father "s ship was getting ready
to sail,we brought him a family photography to be kept with him at all times and keep him safe.
     Then I remember my mother lying face down, sobbing. She had heard from a friend that the ship had
been sunk by a torpedo (鱼雷).
    I can remember the arrived of the telegram (电板), which in those days always brought bad news. My
grandmother opened it, it read, safe. love dad."
     My most vivid memory is being woken and brought down to sit on my father"s knee, his arm in a bandage.
     He was judged unfit to return to sea and took a shore job in Glasgow for the rest of the war, for as long
as I can remember, he had a weak heart,mother said it was caused by the torpedoes. He said it was because
of the cigarette, whichever, he died suddenly in his early 50s.
     Ten years later I read night of the U-boat and able to complete the story.
     A toast
     In my room there is the book and the photograph. Often, glass in hand, I have wondered how I would have
dealt with an explosion, a sinking ship, a jump into a vast ocean and a wait for rescue lest (以免) we forget
I have some more whisky and toast the heroes of the war. 1. We can infer that the mother and children went to Swansea _____. A. to meet a friend
B. to see the father
C. to take a family
D. to enjoy the sailing of the ship 2. What did the author learn about the father from the telegram? A. he was still alive
B. his knee was broken
C. his ship had been sunk
D. he had arrived in Glasgow 3. The underlined word "it" in paragraph 6 refers to the father "s _____. A. weak heart
B. taking a shore job
C. failure to return
D. injury caused by a torpedo 4. What can we know about the author "s father after his ship was attacked? A. He lost his arm.
B. He repaired the engines.
C. He managed to take a lifeboat.
D. He was the last to leave the ship. 5 What is the passage mainly about? A. A group of forgotten heroes.
B. A book describing a terrifying battle.
C. A ship engineer"s wartime experience.
D. A merchant"s memories of a sea rescue.

答案

1-5. BAADC

举一反三

任务型阅读。请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意：每个空格只填一个单词。      When Should a Leader Apologize and When Not?
     Why Difficult?
     When we wrong someone we know, even not intentionally, we are generally expected to apologize so as
to improve the situation. But when we"re acting as leaders, the circumstances are different. The act of apology
is carried out not merely at the level of the individual but also at the level of the institution. It is a performance
in which every expression matters and every word becomes part of the public record. Refusing to apologize
can be smart, or it can be stupid. So, readiness to apologize can be seen as a sign of strong character or as a
sign of weakness. A successful apology can turn hate into personal and organizational harmony-while an
apology that is too little, too late, or too obviously strategic can bring on individual and institutional ruin. What,
then, is to be done? How can leaders decide if and when to apologize publicly?
     Why Now?
     The question of whether leaders should apologize publicly has never been more urgent. During the last
decade or so, the United States in particular has developed an apology culture-apologies of all kinds and for all
sorts of wrongdoings are made far more frequently than before. More newspaper writers have written about
the growing importance of public apologies. More articles, cartoons, advice columns, and radio and television
programs have similarly dealt with the subject of private apologies.
     Why Bother?
     Why do we apologize? Why do we ever put ourselves in situations likely to be difficult, embarrassing, and
even risky? Leaders who apologize publicly could be an easy target. They are expected to appear strong and
capable. And whenever they make public statements of any kind, their individual and institutional reputations
are in danger. Clearly, then, leaders should not apologize often or lightly. For a leader to express apology, there
needs to be a good, strong reason. Leaders will publicly apologize if and when they think the costs of doing so
are lower than the costs of not doing so.
     Why Refuse?
     Why is it that leaders so often refuse to apologize, even when a public apology seems to be in order? Their
reasons can be individual or institutional. Because leaders are public figures, their apologies are likely to be
personally uncomfortable and even professionally risky. Leaders may also be afraid that admission of a mistake
will damage or destroy the organization for which they are responsible. There can be good reasons for hanging
tough in tough situations, as we shall see, but it is a high-risk strategy.

题型：江苏高考真题难度：| 查看答案

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。     Informal conversation is an important part of any business relationship. 1_____ Latin Americans enjoy
sharing information about their local history, art, and customs. They expect questions about their family
and are sure to show pictures of their children. The French think of conversation as an art form. 2_____
For them, arguments can be interesting-and they can cover pretty much or any topic-as long as they occur
in a respectful and intelligent manner.
     In the United States, business people like to discuss a wide range of topics, including opinions about
work, family, hobbies, and politics. 3_____ They do not share much about their thoughts, feelings, or
emotions because they feel that doing so might take away from the harmonious business relationship they"re
trying to build. Middle Easterners are also private about their personal lives and family matters. It is considered
rude, for example, to ask a businessman from Saudi Arabia about his wife or children.
     4_____ This can get you into trouble, even in the United States, where people hold different views. Sports
is typically a friendly subject in most parts of the world, although be careful not to criticize a national sport.
5_____ A. Instead, be friendly and praise your host"s team.
B. You may feel free to ask your Latin American friends similar questions.
C. Before you start a discussion, however, make sure you understand which topics are suitable in a particular
    culture.
D. In Japan, China, and Korea, however, people are much more private.
E. In addition, discussing one"s salary is usually considered unsuitable.
F. They enjoy the value of lively discussions as well as disagreements.
G. As a general rule, it"s best not to talk about politics or religion with your business friends.

题型：河南省模拟题难度：| 查看答案

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。      1_____. "We have a difficult time controlling our shopping behavior," says Alexander Chemev, a associate
professor of Northwestern University in Evanston. "It"s influenced by lots of forces we usually don"t take into
account." "2_____"
    We should take account of some of them below.
     The five senses
     What you see; Retailers (零售商) work to present their merchandise (商品) in the best light. "They use
lighting to make something that looks good look even better," Underhill says, "3_____"
     What you hear: If you like the music a store plays, chances are that you"ll like the products it sells-and vice
versa, 4_____ That"s a because customers respond to the tempo(节奏) of a store"s music, says Deborah
McInnis, professor of the USC Marshall School of Business. "Studies show that the slower the tempo, the
slower people walk through the store, so the more they put in their baskets and the more they end up buying.
If the tempo is faster, people walk faster too. They don"t stop to look so much, and they don"t buy as much."
     What you smell and taste: The sweet arose of roasting chestnuts. Free samples of Christmas cookies. Like
music, those are effective ways of inviting customers into a store and making them feel welcome.
     What you touch: Signs encouraging customers to touch the merchandise are far less common in stores
than signs imploring them not to. "Touching an object can make you willing to pay more for it. 5_____" says
Joann Peck, an associate professor of Wisconsin School of Business. A. But the rule of thumb should probably be, "If you don"t want it, don"t touch it."
B. Stores" music, lighting, "deals" and pricing ranges can all influence what you buy.
C. You may be willing to pay more for a cashmere sweater just because you like how it feels.
D. Retailers often identify potential"impulse buys" and put them close to the checkout stand.
E. Just as music can attract people into a store, it can help to keep them there, or hurry them out the door.
F. They try to engage you with all five senses.
G. Everything tends to look better in the store than it does when you get it home.

题型：河南省模拟题难度：| 查看答案

阅读理解。     Mail was usually carried west on ships that sailed around the bottom of South America and then north to
California. That could take several months.
     So, in eighteen fifty-seven, D. C. Lawmakers in Congress (国会) in Washington wanted to make it possible
to send mail all the way across the United States by land. Congress offered to help any company that would
try to deliver mail overland to the West Coast. A man named John Butterfield accepted this offer. He developed
plans for a company that would carry the mail-and passengers, too.
    Congress gave John Butterfield six hundred thousand dollars to start his company. In return, he had to
promise that the mail would travel from Saint Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, in twenty-five days
or less.
     It was not possible to travel straight through because of the Rocky Mountains and the deep snow that fell
in winter. So the stagecoach (马车) would travel south from Saint Louis to El Paso, Texas, then over to
southern California, then north to San Francisco. The distance was about four thousand five hundred kilometers.
     Two hundred of these stations were built, each about thirty-two kilometers apart. The workers were to
quickly change the horses or mules whenever a stagecoach reached the station. There could be no delay. Each
stagecoach was to travel nearly two hundred kilometers a day.
     One hundred stagecoaches were built and painted red or dark green. They were the most modern coaches
that money could buy. They were designed to hold as many as nine passengers and twelve thousand pieces of
mail. The seats inside could be folded down to make beds. Passengers either slept on them or on the bags of
mail.
    The cost would be one hundred fifty dollars to travel from Saint Louis to San Francisco. If a passenger was
not going all the way, the cost was about ten cents a kilometer. The passengers had to buy their own food at
the stations. The stagecoach would stop for forty minutes, two times a day.
     The company warned passengers about the possible dangers. A poster said:"You will be traveling through
Indian country and the safety of your person cannot by granted by anyone but God." 1. What is the passage mainly about? A. Different ways of sending mail in the United States.
B. The difficulty in sending mails across the USA by land.
C. The first stagecoaches that carried both passengers and mail.
D. The history of the first stagecoaches carrying mail to the American West. 2. The reason why Lawmakers wanted to send mail by land was that _____. A. mail was usually carried west on ships
B. it was safer to travel to send mail by land
C. it would take less time to send mail by land
D. stagecoaches could carry passengers and mail 3. As is described in the passage, the stagecoach _____. A. could only stop once a day
B. was modern with seats, beds and cooking equipment
C. was a closed wagon operated only by skillful drivers
D. had different horses or mules pulled all the way 4. What can we learn from the passage? A. John Buttterfield got thousands of dollars for delivering mail in stagecoaches.
B. John Buttterfield kept his promise to deliver mail straight to the West Coast.
C. Passengers might be robbed by Indians when traveling through the West.
D. Passengers needed to pay one hundred dollars for their journey.

题型：北京模拟题难度：| 查看答案

阅读理解。     What is red but green, open but closed and old but new?
     The answer is: London"s new double-decker (双层) buses.
     Red double-deckers are a symbol of the city. Their status was sealed (确定) in 2008 when one bus made
the longer-than-usual trip to Beijing to collect a special passenger: the Olympic Flame.
     On November 11, a life-size model of the new bus was shown to the media. The Guardian reported that
the new design shares some of the features of the much-missed double-decker Routemaster bus. The original
Routemaster was introduced in 1956 but December 2005 saw the end of the old bus"s general service. It was
because the bus was difficult for some passengers to use and not environmentally friendly. But it can still be
seen on two heritage routes in the city.
     Its replacements-boxy, modern double-deckers-have failed to win Londoners" affection.
     London mayor Boris Johnson told the BBC that the new buses were "a combination of nostalgia (怀旧) and
the latest technology". "Standing on the back platform of this bus brings a sense of nostalgia but also shows
the best part of the latest technology and design, making this bus fit for the 21st Century," he said.
     The new bus also returns to the driver-and-conductor model-a key feature of the original version. It will be
quieter than the old type and have a platform offering passengers the traditional hop-on hop-off service.
    The first five new buses will be seen on the roads by early 2012. 1. Which of the following shows that red double-deckers are a symbol of London? A. They have a long history and are seen everywhere in London.
B. They have nothing in common with the traditional Routemaster bus.
C. One such bus went from London to Beijing to collect the Olympic Flame.
D. They carried British athletes from London to attend the Beijing Olympics. 2. Which of the following is true of the original Routemaster?A. The bus came into use in the 1960s.
B. The bus was banned because it was harmful to the environment.
C. Passengers didn"t like the bus because it was slow.
D. Visitors to London cannot see such buses on the roads any more. 3. According to London mayor Boris Johnson, the new Routemaster _____. A. has not been as well received as was expected
B. will be widely used in London in 2012
C. is the most environmentally friendly bus in the UK
D. combines the latest technology with key traditional features 4. What is the characteristic of the new red double-deckers? A. The buses will make no noises.
B. The buses will have no conductors.
C. They will be equipped with air-conditioning.
D. The bus platform will offer passengers a traditional service.

题型：河南省模拟题难度：| 查看答案