第三章 阅读理解模拟题

记叙文

Passage 1

河北省正定中学2017届高三上学期第三次月考(期中)

“We are good mothers,” I said to my friend, as we sat on our comfortable beach chairs under our beach umbrella and watched our children playing in the waves.

Out of nowhere, the children took off running. About fifty yards from us, a man—maybe in his fifties—was fishing. The children stood next to him and watched with their little mouths hanging open as he cast the fishing lines. He smiled at them. They ran back to us—all except my three-year-old daughter, Drew.

My heart beat fast with horror. “Drew! Come here! Play with your friends!” I shouted, very aware that my speeches about not talking to strangers weren’t working. It seemed that many parents heard of horrible stories about children being taken away by strangers. Responsible mothers should teach their children that the world is a dangerous place. So I felt relieved when Drew ran towards me and took hold of a shovel (铲子) . Then she looked me in the eye: “I want to be with the person.”

Again, she approached the middle-aged man, and started digging next to him.

Several seconds later, she returned, waving something shiny.

“Look, Mommy! A toy fish!”

It was, indeed, a toy fish—yellow and rubber. This must have been what he was using to attract the fish. And he’d given it to Drew. The three other children were deeply impressed, and they didn’t try to hide how jealous (妒忌的) they were—clearly, they all wanted the fish.

“My friend gave me that fish!” Drew shouted loudly. The sand in front of the umbrella turned into a preschool cage match with a yellow rubber fish flying through the air. I felt like I might cry myself.

Unexpectedly, there he was: the man, standing right next to us with three more rubber fish in hand. He handed them to each of the children. By their faces, you would have thought he was actually the really kind big brother.

“Thank you,” I said, realizing that there is good and kindness in strangers.

1. How did the author feel when Drew stood beside the man?

A. Relieved.

B. Angry.

C. Concerned.

D. Calm.

2. What does the author think good mothers should do?

A. Be around their kids.

B. Warn their kids of danger.

C. Teach their kids to behave well.

D. Devote themselves to helping their kids.

3. When was the author at a loss (迷茫) ?

A. Drew handed her the toy fish.

B. The kids fought for the toy fish.

C. The toy fish was covered with sand.

D. The stranger appeared from nowhere.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A. Give a kid a fish.

B. We are good mothers.

C. The world is dangerous.

D. Teach kids to be kind.

Passage 2

广东省肇庆市2017届高三上学期第二次模拟考试

Master painter Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) was well known for having a large number of friends and students. Among them, painter Li Qiujun was special.

They got to know each other through Li’s elder brother, who was one of Zhang’s best friends.

They admired each other’s artistic talent and became confidants, which resulted in a romantic relationship.

In 1948, Zhang produced Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape, a mountain-and-water ink painting featuring gongbi (meticulous brushwork), as a gift for Li’s 50th birthday.

A year later, Zhang permanently departed from the mainland, and traveled and exhibited around the world before settling down in Taipei in 1976.

After leaving the mainland, he often said that he missed Li, who died in Shanghai in 1973.

Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape will be auctioned in Hong Kong on Oct 4.

The painting not only marks a friendship between the two painters, but it deserves special attention because it shows Zhang at the top of his game as he sought to master the mountain-and-water style, according to C.K. Cheung, head of Sotheby’s Chinese painting department.

Sotheby’s will auction the work at its major autumn sale, which runs from Oct 1 to 5.

Cheung says the painting’s composition and Zhang’s attention to details reflect his incorporation of traditional touches, especially from Song Dynasty (960-1279) paintings, while also developing his own style.

1. The underlined word “confidants” in Paragraph 3 probably means______.

A. enemies

B. colleges

C. friends

D. painters

2. How old was Li Qiujun when she died?

A. 50

B. 75

C. 78

D. 84

3. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape was originally a gift for Li’s 50th birthday.

B. Zhang Daqian permanently departed from the mainland in 1949.

C. Sotheby’s will auction Spring Clouds Amid Autumn Landscape in Hong Kong.

D. Li Qiujun’s elder brother was also one of Zhang Daqian’s students.

Passage 3

湖北省荆门市2017届高三1月调研考试

Two years ago I fell off the steps of a bus while climbing down and twisted my ankle. What followed was the usual way that is common in the US. A few hours later I was treated and discharged. What was uncommon was that I received extra care while going to ER (emergency room) and while I was in the hospital.

People were kind to me, men and women alike. They wheeled me into a private room instead of making me wait in the crowded waiting room. Someone came and asked me if the temperature was OK. When I said I was cold, he brought me a blanket and some magazines, in case I got bored. The nurses stopped by, making pleasant chats with me. People always came to ask me if I was in too much pain and if I needed anything...

There were other people who were brought in while I was waiting. Patients groaning in pain were given the care they needed and then ignored. My injury was not the priority, so while I was not pushed to the front of the line, my several hours’ stay in the hospital was made as pleasant as possible. Why would people do that? They gave others care, while I got kindness.

Like any other good looking, healthy, independent person, man or woman, it looks as if the world is nicer to rich people, and the world is nicer to attractive people. I’m not in the dating world. It’s not about free drinks and gifts. It’s about people being nice.

I’m grateful for any positive behavior because I know this is temporary. Eventually I will join the groups of the elderly, the weak and the seemingly unattractive. One thing I refuse to do is to make excuses for being attractive. I know it’s temporary. I know it’s the luck of the draw and I know that I’m just one of the many. Does it matter to my husband, my mother and my kids what I look like? No. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

1. What caused the author into deep thought?

A. She was given less care in the hospital.

B. Patients were only given physical care in the hospital.

C. She didn’t get treatment immediately in the hospital.

D. Other patients in the hospital didn’t get the same kindness as her.

2. What can we know about the author?

A. She is an attractive lady.

B. She shows great pity to old patients.

C. She doesn’t like free drinks or gifts.

D. She was treated unequally in the hospital.

3. Which of the following does the author agree with?

A. The hospital should treat attractive patients in preference to others.

B. The positive behavior that being attractive brings can last long.

C. Old patients should get much more care from the hospital.

D. Being attractive means nothing to the people truly important to you.

Passage 4

安徽省四校2017届高三10月联考英语试题(2009年北京卷)

How I Turned to Be Optimistic

I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio programs for school children to which I listened every morning.

I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.

The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”

My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

1. How did the author get to know America before she went there?

A. From her relatives.

B. From her mother.

C. From books and pictures.

D. From radio programs.

2. Upon leaving for America the author felt______.

A. confused

B. excited

C. frightened

D. amazed

3. For the first two years in New York, the author______.

A. often lost her way

B. did not think about her future

C. studied in three different schools

D. got on well with her stepfather

4. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?

A. She worked as a translator.

B. She attended a lot of job interviews.

C. She paid telephone bills for her family.

D. She helped her family with her English.

Passage 5

吉林省辽源市田家炳高级中学友好学校2017届高三上学期期末考试

Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.

My earliest memories of my father are of a tall, handsome and successful man devoted to his work and family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult I feared him and felt bitter about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.

On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor cafe. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?

The next day my dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in doing so, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.

1. Why did the author feel bitter about her father when she was a young adult?

A. He was silent most of the time.

B. He was too proud of himself.

C. He did not love his children.

D. He expected too much of her.

2. When the author went out with her father on weekends, she would feel______.

A. nervous

B. sorry

C. tired

D. safe

3. What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?

A. More critical.

B. More talkative.

C. Gentle and friendly.

D. Strict and hard-working.

4. The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to______.

A. the author’s son

B. the author’s father

C. the friend of the author’s father

D. the café owner

Passage 6

河北省保定市2017届高三上学期期末考试

We knew Sylvia and Jack had problems with their flats. But we hadn’t been told the details until they came for a weekend in October.

At dinner on the Friday evening Kitty said, “You wrote that the flat wasn’t quite what you expected. Of course it could be too small. You’re sharing with another couple, aren’t you?”

“We’re sharing, mother.” Sylvia replied.

“It really wasn’t necessary.” Jack explained proudly, “I’ve had a big rise, and we can easily manage. It’s much better to be independent.”

“Oh, much,” I agreed.

“What was the trouble?” Kitty asked, impatient and unwilling to let her go.

“Nothing much.” Sylvia said, “The flat is fine. It was the other couple, Sally and Tom Ford. You’ve never seen such an untidy pair. We shared the sitting room and the kitchen and the bathroom and got fed up with the mess of it all.”

“And what made it worse,” Jack put in, “was that they accused us of the same sort of thing. Tom and I nearly came to blows when he locked up some of their wedding presents we were all using, as they used ours, naturally.”

You take a chance when you make a sharing arrangement.” Kitty said.

“I am in my own flat.” Sylvia said, “Sally and Tom left a month ago.”

“We could have left instead,” Jack said. “But why we should leave? After all, the flat was in our names, not theirs. We were glad to see the back of them.”

Two weeks later Kitty and I returned their visit for lunch on Sunday. It was the first time we had been to their flat. To say that we were shocked is not true, because we know our daughter extremely well. The flat had fairly recently been in quite good condition; it was now a chaos. I did not know how anyone could possibly live there. But Sylvia noticed nothing.

1. Who was Kitty?

A. The owner of the flat.

B. Jack’s mother in law.

C. Sylvia’s mother in law.

D. The author’s good friend.

2. Sylvia’s response to Kitty shows that______.

A. she was not getting along well with the other couple

B. she was really expecting to live in her own flat

C. she felt tired of cleaning and tidying up their rooms

D. she managed to drive Sally and Tom out of the flat

3. What did Kitty mean by saying “You take a chance...sharing arrangement.”?

A. Sylvia and Jack would take steps to deal with the problems.

B. Sylvia and Jack were lucky to learn to share with others.

C. Sylvia and Jack might have problems when living with others.

D. Sylvia and Jack loved to manage their own affairs.

4. From the passage we can learn that______.

A. Sylvia and Jack were spoiled by their parents

B. Sylvia and Jack were a pair of great ability

C. Sylvia and Jack had fights with Sally and Tom

D. Sylvia and Jack were in fact an untidy pair

Passage 7

河北省衡水中学2017届高三上学期期末考试

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mum, you must come and see the daffodils (水仙花) before they are over.”

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Lake Arrowhead. “I will go next Tuesday,” I promised, a little unwillingly, on her third call.

The next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible (看不见的) in the cloud and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see!”

My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this weather all the time, mum. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read “Daffodil Garden.” We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up amazed. Before me lay the most beautiful sight. Flows of flowers of different colors seemed poured down the peak and slopes. There were five acres of flowers! A sea of daffodil! It was like a fairyland all beyond description.

“But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “That’s her home,” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio (露台) , we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs (鳞茎) .” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than fifty years before, had begun—one bulb at a time—to bring the beauty and joy to the mountain top. Just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world where she lived and created something of magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small amounts of daily effort, we too can accomplish great things. Everyone can do something to change the world.

1. The writer wasn’t going to see the daffodils at first because______.

A. she cared more about the children

B. they were on a remote mountain top

C. the weather was not good enough

D. it was not easy for her to drive there

2. What do we know from the passage about the woman who grew daffodil?

A. She must have been a modest woman.

B. She worked as a professional gardener.

C. She grew the daffodils over 50 years by herself.

D. Being poor, she made a living by selling daffodils.

3. What has the writer learned from this experience?

A. It’s never too late to learn.

B. Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it.

C. People can change the world where they live by growing flowers.

D. Accumulation of small steps may lead to something magnificent.

4. Which may be the best title for the passage?

A. An Unforgettable Experience

B. A Woman and Daffodils

C. The Daffodil Garden

D. One Bulb Grown, Magnificence Dawns

Passage 8

湖南省长沙市长郡中学2017届高三(实验班)上学期第五次月考

Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Gwendolyn Brooks wrote hundreds of poems during her lifetime. She had more than 20 books published. She was known around the world for using poetry to increase understanding about black culture in America.

Her poems described conditions among the poor, racial inequality and drug use in the black community. She also wrote poems about the struggles of black women. But her skill was more than her ability to write about struggling black people. She was an expert at the language of poetry. She combined traditional European poetry styles with the African American experience.

In her early poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the South Side of Chicago. The South Side of Chicago is where many black people live. In her poems, the South Side is called Bronzeville. It was “A Street in Bronzeville” that gained the attention of literary experts in 1945. Critics praised her poetic skill and her powerful descriptions about the black experience during the time. The Bronzeville poems were her first published collection.

In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She won the prize for her second book of poems called “Annie Allen.” “Annie Allen” is a collection of poetry about the life of a Bronzeville girl as a daughter, a wife and mother. She experiences loneliness, loss, death and being poor. Ms. Brooks said that winning the prize changed her life.

Her next work was a novel written in 1953 called “Maud Martha.” “Maud Martha” received little notice when it was first published. But now it is considered an important work by some critics. Its main ideas about the difficult life of many women are popular among female writers today.

In some of her poems, Gwendolyn Brooks described how what people see in life is affected by who they are. One example is this poem, “Corners on the Curving Sky.”

By the end of the 1960s, Gwendolyn Brooks’s poetry expanded from the everyday experiences of people in Bronzeville. She wrote about a wider world and dealt with important political issues.

1. What does the text mainly talk about?

A. The life of Gwendolyn Brooks.

B. The poems of Gwendolyn Brooks.

C. The understanding about black culture.

D. The struggles of black women.

2. What can we learn about Gwendolyn Brooks from the second paragraph?

A. She mainly wrote about struggles of black women.

B. She was good at using the language of poetry.

C. Her writing skills were a little worse than her ability.

D. Her poems were mainly about the African experience.

3. The author develops the passage mainly by______.

A. providing examples

B. using statistics

C. comparing opinions

D. describing her experiences

4. In the next part, the author would most probably talk about______.

A. the difficulties Gwendolyn Brooks would meet

B. the poems related to political issues

C. the award Gwendolyn Brooks gained

D. the racial inequality the black had to face

Passage 9

福建省厦门一中2016-2017学年高三下学期开学考试

Google’s data centers and the offices for its 60,000 staff will be powered entirely by renewable energy from next year, in what the company has called a “landmark moment.” The internet giant is already the world’s biggest corporate buyer of renewable electricity, last year buying 44% of its power from wind and solar farms. Now it will be 100%, and an executive said it would no longer refuse to invest in nuclear power in the future.

Oman said it had taken Google five years to reach the 100% target, set in 2012, because of the complexity involved with negotiating power purchase agreements. The company’s biggest demand for energy is its data centers and it admits their overall thirst for power is growing.

Google was now looking to sign 10-year agreements for low-carbon power that was constant, such as hydro, biomass and nuclear. “We want to do contracts on renewable power; it could be biomass if the fuel source is steady and enough; it could be nuclear. We’re looking at all forms of low-carbon generation.”

But he said new nuclear power was “controversial,” the possible safety consequences were much more “dramatic” than with renewable sources, and the price was “much more difficult to guarantee” than when funding solar panels and wind turbines. “We don’t want to refuse to sign a nuclear agreement if it meets our goals of low price, safety, and other factors. We don’t want to rule that out, but today we can’t positively say there are nuclear projects out there that meet this standard,” he said.

The company’s 100% renewable energy does not mean Google is getting all its energy directly from wind and solar power, but that on an annual basis the amount it purchases from renewable sources matches the electricity its operations consume.

1. A “landmark moment” for Google refers to______.

A. its efforts in saving energy

B. its growing demand for employees

C. its progress in using renewable energy

D. its becoming the world’s biggest company

2. What made Google slow in achieving its target?

A. Negotiations of agreements.

B. High consumption of energy.

C. Shortage of energy.

D. The people’s hearing might be affected.

3. What can be inferred from Paragraph 4 ?

A. Nuclear power is an ideal choice.

B. Solar and wind power is not safe enough.

C. It’s unwise to invest solar and wind power.

D. Google is unlikely to use nuclear energy soon.

4. What is the purpose in writing this text?

A. To show Google’s profit goal in global market.

B. To talk about Google’s new move to use energy.

C. To recommend a new kind of renewable energy.

D. To urge the public to use renewable energy.

Passage 10

河北省唐山市2017年高三上学期期末考试

When Jenny Benson was eight, her mother took her to soccer practice for the first time.

“She’s never played soccer before,” Mrs. Benson told the coach. “I’m not sure how she’ll do.”

Jenny ran onto the field and joined the other players. Over the next hour, Mrs. Benson and the coach watched as Jenny out-ran many of the more experienced players.

“I knew then that soccer would be Jenny’s sport,” Mrs. Benson recalls. And she was right.

It may have helped that Jenny had spent much of her time trying to keep up with her three brothers. “I wanted to be just like them,” Jenny says. “My family has inspired me for my entire life.”

Jenny has retired from the United States women’s national soccer team. She started out on her professional career in the Philadelphia Charge, a team in the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). Later on, she joined FC Energy Voronezh, and then New Jersey Wildcats.

When the WUSA was being formed, league officials watched many college soccer games, looking for players good enough to join the league. They were very interested in Jenny, who played for the University of Nebraska.

“Throughout that college season, I knew I was being watched,” Jenny says. “I knew I couldn’t be perfect, so I just tried to be very consistent and have fun.”

As a professional Jenny relied on her focused but fun-loving attitude. “In a game, I try never to put too much pressure on myself. The more I concentrate on having fun, the better I play,” She says. “I have good and bad days, just like everyone else, but I know the sun will always come up after a bad day. So all I have to do is to adjust myself, either to the change of my inner feelings or to the change of circumstances. That helps me get through anything.”

1. What can we learn from Jenny’s first soccer practice?

A. She was not sure how to play soccer.

B. She was gifted in playing soccer.

C. She was instructed by the soccer coach.

D. She was more experienced than other players.

2. Which professional team did she first play for?

A. New Jersey Wildcats.

B. FC Energy Voronezh.

C. The University of Nebraska.

D. The Philadelphia Charge.

3. Which of the following can best describe Jenny?

A. Talented but impatient.

B. Confident and considerate.

C. Concentrated and adaptable.

D. Absorbed but self-centered.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. How Jenny developed her soccer career.

B. Why Jenny retired from the national team.

C. How Jenny’s brothers influenced her career.

D. What made Jenny a good soccer player.

Passage 11

北京市东城区2016-2017学年度第一学期期末教学统一检测

I left home to support my sister in her efforts to present a music festival. She lives on the other side of the world, and I went to visit her, not wanting to leave and feeling like I was leaving home against my will. However, I wanted to show her my support because she is my only sister.

So I boarded the plane in mid-August, and hated the long flight. I arrived, tired and hungry. I had left my husband of 2 years, alone, in our old New Orleans house.

I was all set and ready to perform for my sister for the music festival on Sunday morning when I received a call from Chicago. The hurricane was predicted to hit our city, and many people had already evacuated, but my husband chose to stay behind. He could not get a call to me on the other side of the world, but he could call his cousin in Chicago. He gave his cousin a message for me, that he would be just fine, and not to worry.

As the day wore on, I finally took the stage in front of hundreds of Europeans, and I realized, thanks to CNN, that New Orleans was under water.

I performed, hoping that my husband would survive. And I performed perfectly. The audience stood and applauded. I left the stage and went straight to the TV. I saw the street sign near my home, of Humanity Street, but nothing below it, except water.

In the days that followed, I found out that my house, my car, my clothes, my furniture, everything that I’d left behind was gone...but not my husband. He survived by riding on the rear bumper (后保险杠) of a VW bus, holding on to the overhead luggage rack, in the pouring rain, down the highway from New Orleans, half-way to Baton Rouge. The rest of the journey was a long walk, but he survived.

By the first week of September, I flew back to the Baton Rouge airport, and hugged my husband. Since then, our relationship has grown deeper; we have completely rebuilt our house, bought a new car, bought new furniture and new clothes and joined an inspirational, spirit-filled community.

1. Why did the author leave home?

A. To look after her sister.

B. To attend a music festival.

C. To watch a performance.

D. To visit her husband’s cousin.

2. How did the author feel when she left home?

A. Disappointed.

B. Worried.

C. Tired.

D. Unwilling.

3. What does the underlined word “evacuated” mean?

A. Gathered.

B. Struggled.

C. Escaped.

D. Hid.

4. What might be the title for the passage?

A. Lost It All, Gained Even More

B. Once Gone, Never Returned

C. Caught in the Hurricane

D. Trapped in a Dilemma

Passage 12

山西省太原市2017年高三一模

Something Fun

A person is on trial for murder in a court room in Oklahoma. There is strong evidence indicating guilt. However, the body is not found.

In the defense’s (辩护) closing statement, the lawyer, knowing that his client is guilty and that it looks like he’ll probably be convicted, resorts to a clever trick.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury (陪审团) , I have a surprise for you all,” the lawyer says as he looks at his watch. “Within one minute, the person assumed dead in this case will walk into this court room,” he says and he looks towards the court-room door. The jury, somewhat surprised, looks at the door eagerly. A minute passes. Nothing happens.

Finally the lawyer says, “Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all waited with expectation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is a reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict (裁决) of no guilty.

The jury, clearly confused, retires to discuss.

A very few minutes later, the jury returns and a representative pronouns a verdict of guilty.

“But how?” inquires the lawyer. “You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door.”

Answers the representative, “Oh, we did look. But your client didn’t.”

1. Why was the person on trial according to the passage?

A. Because he couldn’t pay off the debts.

B. Because he was accused of murder.

C. Because he did not pay the tax in time.

D. Because he planned to cheat the jury.

2. Why did the lawyer come up with the trick?

A. To find the body.

B. To annoy the jury.

C. To help his client.

D. To save himself.

3. Why did the jury look at the door eagerly?

A. The lawyer’s words must be true.

B. They expected his family to come in.

C. They were surprised and taken in by the lawyer.

D. They thought the person on trial was escaping.

4. What did the representative’s answer mean in the last paragraph?

A. They firmly believed that nobody was killed.

B. The behavior of the client gave him away.

C. The jury still needed more evidence to prove it.

D. The lawyer’s words were worth thinking about.

Passage 13

黑龙江省哈尔滨师范大学附属中学2017年高三三模

I had just moved to San Antonio, Texas. I worked for the tour bus service taking tourists on a short tour of the city’s historic places and would end up at the Alamo.

It was near closing time and I was driving back from my last tour of the day. It was a cool February day on my way back from the San Fernando Catholic church with no one on my bus when I saw a man dressed rags, thinking this person must be an actor or somebody walking around. I stopped and opened the door and asked him, “Need a ride?” Without saying anything he just walked on board and sat down in a seat behind me.

“Where are you heading?” I asked him. He looked up into the mirror at me and replied. “I’ve got to get to the fort (要塞) and report to Colonel (上校) Travis that the Mexicans are here!” I laughed to myself thinking that this man was a serious actor.

“I’m guessing you mean the Alamo?” I said back to him. I looked up and saw he wasn’t smiling nor laughing. All throughout the ride he was staring in amazement at all the towering skyscrapers and the buildings along the street.

“I remember when this town was nothing more than a little trading village!” He finally said to me.

“So what’s your name?” I asked him.

“Daniel Cloud, yours?”

“David Zime.” I replied as I turned the corner of the street and laid eyes upon the Alamo.

I pulled up to the sidewalk and opened the door. Cloud got out of his seat and came up to me.

“Thanks for the ride.” He said extending his hand. I took his palm and it was freezing cold as if he had just stepped out of the freezer.

“Not a problem Mr. Cloud, and don’t worry about the fee. It’s on the house.” He nodded his head in gratitude as all we Texans do and walked away.

It wasn’t until then that I noticed that he was soaked to the bone in dripping (滴落的) water and we had not a single drop of rain in a month or more. I just shook my head and closed the door behind him. When I turned around, I discovered amazingly how fast Cloud had gone away.

A few days later I was reading a book about the Battle of the Alamo when I discovered the most shocking thing I had ever discovered. The names of the 183 defenders of the Alamo were listed on one of the pages, including Daniel Cloud, who spotted the Mexicans before they took over the streets of San Antonio in February of 1836, and his post was on top of the San Fernando Church where I had picked him up!

1. What did the writer serve as after moving to San Antonio, Texas?

A. A tour guide.

B. An actor.

C. A tour bus driver.

D. A soldier.

2. We can learn from the passage that the Alamo is______.

A. a historic tourist attraction

B. where Colonel Travis lived

C. the place where the battle failed

D. located in a trading village

3. What does the underlined sentence “It’s on the house.” mean?

A. The bus fare’s included in the house rent.

B. The hotel fee has covered it.

C. Daniel can pay it later.

D. It’s free of charge.

4. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A. Daniel Cloud was buried underwater all the time.

B. The writer met someone who acted as Daniel Cloud.

C. Daniel Cloud was the first to fight against the Mexicans.

D. The writer realized he had experienced something unbelievable.

Passage 14

重庆一中2017届高三下学期高考模拟考试

A city child’s summer is spent in the street in front of his home, and all through the long summer vacations I sat on the edge of the street and watched enviously the other boys on the block play baseball. I was never asked to take part even when one team had a member missing—not out of special cruelty, but because they took it for granted I would be no good at it. They were right, of course.

I would never forget the wonderful evening when something changed. The baseball ended about eight or eight thirty when it grew dark. Then it was the custom of the boys to retire to a little stoop (门廊) that stuck out from the candy store on the corner and that somehow had become theirs. No grownup ever sat there or attempted to. There the boys would sit, mostly talking about the games played during the day and of the game to be played tomorrow. Then long silences would fall and the boys would wander off one by one. It was just after one of those long silences that my life as an outsider changed. I can no longer remember which boy it was that summer evening who broke the silence with a question, but whoever he was, I nod to him gratefully now. “What’s in those books you’re always reading?” he asked casually. “Stories,” I answered. “What kind?” asked somebody else without much interest. Instead of answering his question, I told them for two hours the story I was reading at the moment. They listened attentively. I must have told it well.

The next night and many nights thereafter, a kind of unspoken ritual (仪式) took place. As it grew dark,I would take my place in the center of the stoop and begin the evening’s tale. Some nights, in order to taste my victory more completely, I cheated. I would stop at the most exciting part of a story and without warning tell them that that was as far as I had gone in the book and it would have to be continued the following evening. It was not true, of course; but I had to make certain of my new-found power and position. I enjoyed the long summer evenings until school began in the fall. Other words of mine have been listened to by larger and more fashionable audiences. But for that tough and athletic one that sat close on the stoop outside the candy store, I have an unreasoning love that will last forever.

1. Watching the boys playing baseball, the writer must have felt______.

A. lonely and left out

B. special and different

C. worried and nervous

D. disturbed and annoyed

2. The writer feels grateful even now to the boy who asked the question because the boy______.

A. liked the book that he was reading

B. invited him to join in their game

C. offered him an opportunity that changed his life

D. broke the long silence of that summer evening

3. Sometimes the writer stopped at the most exciting part of a story to______.

A. play a foolish trick on the boys

B. add his own imagination to the story

C. experience more joy of achievement

D. help the boys understand the story better

Passage 15

河南省郑州市2017年高三三模

Today, we’re sending Sally away for a week of summer camp. She never actually asked to go. It was all my idea to sign (报名) her up. She’s nearly 12, and I notice that I’m with my child nearly 24 hours a day.

Living on a farm without any neighbors, I’ve chosen a life that is quieter than a typical family’s. But rather than longing for space away from me, Sally has become increasingly dependent on my presence.

What frightens me most is that she has become a “mini-me.” She pursues my hobbies, my dreams and my opinions. And that’s why I pulled her to the summer camp: a nearby wilderness camp called Hawk Circle.

After we ate, we drove to Hawk Circle. Once there, we got a tour of the grounds and were introduced to Sally’s fellow campers. Sally stood by the group of children, holding my hand, horror in her eyes, trying to work up the courage to join in a game of soccer.

“I need you for a few more minutes,” she told me, holding my hand tightly.

I pulled away and walked up to one of the camp workers. “Excuse me,” I said loudly. “I’d like to introduce my daughter to you. Maybe you could help her meet a few of these kids.” He came over to talk to Sally, and I kissed on her cheek and then my husband and I disappeared before Sally realized we were gone.

It was not until we started to drive home that I finally felt it. A piece of my soul had been taken from my body. I began to shake. Tears streamed down my face. It took every bit of my strength to keep driving forward.

When we arrived home, I calmed down and reminded myself why I chose this path. I want Sally to have a chance to find herself out of shadow. I don’t want to see only myself in my child. I want to learn who she is. After 12 years of constantly being together, I want to finally meet my daughter for the first time.

1. Why did the author sign her daughter up for the summer camp?

A. Camp training was something new to her daughter.

B. Her daughter had longed to go to the summer camp.

C. She expected her daughter to make some new friends.

D. She wanted to help build up her daughter’s independence.

2. What happened when they arrived at the summer camp?

A. Sally enjoyed meeting her fellow campers very much.

B. Sally found the other campers were not easy to get along with.

C. Sally felt frightened but her parents left her with a camp worker.

D. Sally gathered the courage to join in a soccer game immediately.

3. How did the author feel after leaving the camp?

A. She was worried about her daughter’s health.

B. She was regretful for sending her daughter away.

C. She was upset but confident of her right decision.

D. She was proud that she had done something correct.

4. What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A. Kids should often be exposed to summer camps.

B. Sometimes parents need to let go of their children.

C. Parents shouldn’t influence their children too much.

D. Children are usually a real reflection of their parents.

Passage 16

福建省泉州市2017年高三三模

If you’re a yoga practitioner (实践者) , you’ve probably noticed the ways yoga works—you’re sleeping better, getting fewer colds or just feeling more relaxed and at ease. But if you’ve ever tried telling a beginner how it works, you might find explanations like “it increases the flow of prana” or “it brings energy up your spine” fall on skeptical ears.

As it happens, Western science is starting to provide some concrete clues as to how yoga works to improve health, heal aches and pains, and prevent sicknesses. Once you understand them, you’ll have even more motivation to step onto your mat.

I myself have experienced yoga’s healing power in a very real way. Weeks before a trip to India in 2002 to investigate yoga therapy, I developed numbness and tingling (刺痛) in my right hand. After first considering scary things like a brain tumor and multiple sclerosis (多发性硬化) , I figured out that the cause of the symptoms was thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve blockage in my neck and chest.

Despite the uncomfortable symptoms, I realized how useful my condition could be during my trip. While visiting various yoga therapy centers, I would submit myself for evaluation and treatment by the various experts, try their suggestions and see what worked for me.

Thanks to the techniques I learned in India, advice from teachers in the United States, and my own exploration, my chest is more flexible than it was, my posture has improved, and for more than a year, I’ve been free of symptoms.

My experience inspired me to dig into the scientific studies I’d collected in India as well as the West to identify and explain how yoga can both prevent disease and help you recover from it.

1. What is the author probably?

A. A journalist.

B. A salesman.

C. A teacher.

D. A physician.

2. Which will further motivate a yoga beginner to step onto the mat?

A. Personal feelings.

B. Professional terms.

C. Western medicine.

D. Scientific evidence.

3. What does the author mainly base on to persuade people to practise yoga?

A. His own experiences.

B. Experts’ evaluation.

C. Teachers’ suggestions.

D. Practitioners’ exploration.

4. What might the text be followed by?

A. Scientific studies you should do.

B. Ways yoga improves your health.

C. The author’s trip to India.

D. The author’s recovery from illness.

Passage 17

山东省实验中学2017年高三二模

After one of his close family friends known for her generosity died of cancer in 2013, 26-year-old Luke Cameron decided to do at least one good deed a day, for 365 days, and he has not missed yet.

The Gloucester resident performed his first good deed on January l, 2014 with the simple act of greeting a waitress at a cafe he visited. The next day he bought food and drinks for some homeless people and followed it up by donating coins to a woman, who did not have enough to feed a parking meter.

Though most of his kind gestures have been welcomed, Luke says there have been a few awkward situations—when he was attempting to give away a £ 20 bill to an elderly lady whose granddaughter was doubtful of his intentions and the time he bought a sausage roll (腊肠卷) for a homeless man, who happened to be a vegetarian.

The majority of Luke’s good deeds, which have been recorded in an online diary, have been about helping people with small things. He helped to take out the garbage for an elderly neighbor or helped a disabled lady pick out a dress for a party. However, the young man has also spent close to £ 4,000 of his own money, buying groceries or gifts for the children in need.

To try to encourage others to perform good deeds, Luke has created a deck of cards called “Cards for Kindness.” Each suggests a simple act of kindness—things like giving a stranger a hug or making peace with an enemy. The best part is that all the money he collects from distributing the cards is donated to the British Heart Foundation, a charity that helps the homeless.

Luke’s generosity has not gone unnoticed. To reward the young man, Dominos recently awarded him a year’s supply of free pizza. Not surprisingly, the big-hearted youngster has decided to use the gift to hold special pizza days for charity.

1. What inspired Luke to determine to do good deeds?

A. The death of a generous friend.

B. The simple act of a waitress.

C. The suffering of homeless people.

D. The experience at a parking lot.

2. What happened when Luke tried to help the elderly lady?

A. His kind deed was appreciated.

B. She turned out to be a vegetarian.

C. She bought a sausage roll for a homeless man.

D. He was misunderstood by her granddaughter.

3. What can we learn about Luke’s good deeds?

A. He was employed by a British charity.

B. He only helped people with small things.

C. He encouraged good deeds through cards.

D. He raised £ 4,000 for the children in need.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A. Dominos offered gifts to the charity.

B. Luke was not surprised at the Pizza.

C. Luke was awarded by the government.

D. Luke would donate the pizza to others.

Passage 18

重庆市巴蜀中学2017年高三三模

The younger daughter of former New York Mayor Richard White has moved her wedding from New Year’s Eve to this Thursday so her mother, who has been fighting against cancer for 11 years, can take part in the ceremony, a family spokesman said on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2013. Elizabeth Lally White, who turns 28 on Thursday, will marry Sam Peterson in Spiaggia, a restaurant on North Michigan Avenue. The reception also will be held at the restaurant, which had been previously scheduled to host the couple’s engagement party on Thursday.

Lally White’s mother, Maggie, 68, was reported to have caught breast cancer in 2002. She had an operation in her leg in April and she was hospitalized twice in the weeks following the procedure for treatment of flu-like symptoms that doctors said were not related to the cancer. Maggie, who has used a walker or a wheelchair during most public appearances in recent years, is well beyond the average survival time for someone with breast cancer.

“As the mayor himself has said, she had a pretty difficult summer,” said Jacquelyn Heard, who served Mayor White’s press secretary for years and followed him to the same international law firm that he joined after leaving office in May. “She was not able to get around the way that she normally would do. This year, she has had quite a few setbacks and they’ve been pretty well documented. Lally White decided to reschedule the wedding so that her mom can participate in the festivities (庆祝活动) .” Heard said. Lally White is a doctoral candidate at De-Paul University and plans to work with autistic (孤独症) children, and Sam Peterson works in insurance, Heard said.

Richard and Maggie White married in 1972 and had three children in addition to Lally—Nora, Patrick and Kevin. But Kevin was born with a disease and died in 1981 at 33 months.

1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

A. Maggie, 68, is recovering now.

B. Maggie caught breast cancer in 2002.

C. The cancer caused some flu-like symptoms on Maggie.

D. Average breast cancer patients lived a life shorter than Maggie.

2. Why did Lally White reschedule her wedding?

A. She was eager to work with autistic children after wedding.

B. She was afraid that her mother couldn’t participate her wedding on New Year’s Eve.

C. Her family will move out of New York.

D. Her mother will accept operation because of her disease.

3. How many children did the former mayor and his wife give birth to?

A. 3.

B. 6.

C. 4.

D. 5.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. The family life of former Mayor.

B. The brave wife of former Mayor.

C. The wedding of former Mayor’s daughter.

D. The political life of former Mayor.

Passage 19

山西省太原五中2017年高三三模

When the evening is coming, my dear son and I are preparing for the tape time. “Shoes on,” I remind 9-year-old Sam. “Snakes are always waiting for the chance to kiss you. But with our feet stepped into my car, we are safe.” We take blankets and cups of milk and head out to the shelter that serves as our garage. This has become our bedtime habit.

I press “play.” A motherly voice fills the car. My mother and my aunt send us books on tape obtained from secondhand shops or rescued from the back of a drawer. Maybe no one in England plays cassettes anymore, but I still love them.

Sam rests on his seat. He’s sitting in the front seat. I am listening to the cassette. But I am also thinking. In a month’s time, my boy will be 10. Next year, he will be 11. And so it will go on, until he leaves me and his father and his sister to live out his own stories.

Will he think back to the times when he sat in the dark in a car in Africa, listening to tales of Wales in World WarⅡ , the finest lady detective of Botswana, or a country he has visited, and tells me he finds them “very interesting”? Will he think, when he is grown-up, the poor mum always makes the ancient tape player which is out of date work?

I’d like to believe that he will recall those wonderful moments. By then, perhaps, my child will realize a deep love of sharing and understanding by listening to the old tape player. I hope Sam will think that these evenings we spend in the car are a story themselves. It is his own first chapter. In time my boy will ease off the hand brake and roll out into the world. Until then, I’ll keep pressing “play.”

1. What habit did the writer and her son develop?

A. To play outside in the evening.

B. To listen to tapes in a car.

C. To drive in the evening.

D. To read books together at night.

2. In Paragraph 4, the two questions can prove that______.

A. playing with children is fun parents

B. listening to stories is a good way to enjoy life

C. children need to ask questions in reading

D. listening experiences will be part of Sam’s life

3. The last paragraph implies that the writer______.

A. will build up Sam’s memory of his childhood

B. will ask Sam to play all by himself

C. won’t give up playing until Sam grows up

D. will keep the player playing all the time

4. The best title for the passage may be “______ ”.

A. A story of a tape player

B. A childhood full of love and story

C. Deep love for the tape player

D. The future life of our children

Passage 20

吉林省长春市普通高中2017届高三质量检测(三)

As her son Cameron sits at his laptop completing a task for his math degree course, Alison Thompson, a full-time mum, is busy helping her daughter Emma (two years younger than Cameron) get dressed. While help has always been available for Emma, Alison and her husband also have to fight to get Cameron the support he needs. “People could see that Emma has special needs but because Cameron was doing so well at school, his teachers never thought there was a problem with him,” says Alison.

It took Alison and her husband a while to realize their son was different. Cameron’s ability didn’t become clear until he began primary school. Once he even corrected the teacher when she told the class that zero was the lowest number. Cameron told her she was wrong because there were negative numbers (负数) . He was four at the time. Now 14-year-old Cameron is at secondary school, studying for a distance learning math degree with the Open University, having sailed through his GCSE at 11 and his A-level at 12, achieving top grades.

Bethany, another daughter of Alison, is bright too but not gifted. She is the one who will remind absent-minded Cameron to put on his coat. She also helps him out in social situations.

Emma attends a specialist school and the family is quick to celebrate her successes too.

“The other day she did up the buttons on her coat, which was real progress,” Alison says.

Late last year the Thompsons took part in a television documentary (纪录片) to prove that not all gifted children are the result of extremely ambitious parents. Gifted children need support too, but their lives don’t have to be that different. Cameron is an example.

1. What does Paragraph 1 indicate?

A. Cameron helps Emma with her math tasks.

B. Teachers at school ignored Emma’s problems.

C. Both Cameron and Emma need parental support.

D. The couple often have fights because of Cameron.

2. What does the underlined phrase “having sailed through his GCSE” probably mean?

A. Having passed his GCSE easily.

B. Having taken his GCSE seriously.

C. Having worked hard at his GCSE.

D. Having suffered a lot from his GCSE.

3. There are at least______people in Mrs. Thompson’s family.

A. three

B. four

C. five

D. six

4. What can be known from the passage?

A. Emma has learned to take good care of herself.

B. Cameron showed his gift before primary school.

C. The children of the family are bright and gifted.

D. Gifted kids are not so different as people expect.