高二英语单元测验Unit 13-14

高二英语单元测验Unit 13-14
2010年07月01日
　　三、阅读理解（每题2分，共32分）
　　AWhen the famous dancer Fred Astaire was interviewed for a job by a Hollywood producer, the movie expert turned him down, saying, “Can’t sing. Can’t act. Dances a little.” Here’s another stupid mistake. When the great scientist Albert Einstein was at school, his teachers considered him rather dull. And a final story, the famous Polish pianist Paderewski was told by a teacher that he’d never be a success as a performer because the middle finger on each hand was too short.
　　What lessons can be drawn from these three experiences? First, true genius (天才) cannot be suppressed (压抑). For some reason or other it works its way out. Second, early judgments of a person’s abilities may be unfair or just wrong. Third, when there is a real determination to success, obstacles fall by the wayside.
　　The famous motto “Ad astra per aspera” can be translated as “To the stars through hardships.” Astaire, Einstein and Paderewski proved their critics wrong.
　　1. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?B
　　A. Fred Astaire was a famous dancer.
　　B. True ability will always make itself known.
　　C. Some people never get discouraged.
　　D. Albert Einstein proved his teachers wrong.
　　2. When Paderewski’s teachers told him he’d never be a success, they were ____D___
　　A. being humorous       B. cheerful, though concerned
　　C. somewhat hesitant     D. seriously mistaken
　　3. “Ad astra per aspera” is used in the passage ______A__.
　　A. as a motto for the three men’s lives
　　B. to show the value of Latin
　　C. to send the reader to the dictionary
　　D. to point out that genius is always recognized early
　　4. The writer of the passage thinks that the reader _____A___
　　A. knows that the three men were successes
　　B. some day dreams to become like one of the men
　　C. sympathizes with (同情) the poor teachers of the three men
　　D. knows that Fred Astaire was an actor famous for performing Shakespeare’s plays.
　　BDo you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?
　　If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who had hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
　　Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
　　To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it’s hot!
　　5. What makes people think about simple facts differently?B
　　A. The fact that simple facts differ from one another.
　　B. The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact.
　　C. The fact that people often disagree with one another.
　　D. The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts.
　　6. Which of the following temperature is the closest to the meaning of the word “lukewarm” in the last paragraph?C
　　A. Above0℃     B. Above40℃      C. Above20℃     D. Below 0℃
　　7. The writer’s advice is ____B__.
　　A. we should never think about simple facts
　　B. we should never judge something with a one- sided view
　　C. we should not agree about simple facts
　　D. we must learn from the six blind men
　　8. After reading the last paragraph, we may think of ____C___
　　A. Newton’s law    B. Galileo’s theory of falling objects
　　C. Einstein’s theory of relativity   D. Marx’s On Capital
　　9. The main idea of this passage is:___A___
　　A. People often judge something according to hi own experience
　　B. People often agree about simple facts
　　C. It’s hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact
　　D. Don’t care too much about simple facts
　　C
　　Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors(探测器) to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program(编制程序) the robot to be equally active at all times? No, the robot would be suing up energy at a time when it was not receiving any. So we would probably program it to stop its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning.
　　According to evolutionary(进化的) theory of sleep, evolution equipped u with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny that sleep provides some important restorative(恢复健康的) functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in a familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.
　　The evolutionary theory explains the differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers.
　　10. The author uses the example of the robot in space exploration to tell us ______
　　A. the differences between robots and men
　　B. the reason why men need to sleep
　　C. about the need for robots to save power
　　D. about the danger of men working at night
　　11. Evolution has programmed man to sleep at night chiefly to help him _______
　　A. keep up a regular pattern of life
　　B. prevent trouble that comes looking for him
　　C. avoid danger and inefficient labor
　　D. restore his bodily functions
　　12. Cats sleep much more than horses do partly because cats _______
　　A. need more time for restoration
　　B. are unlikely to be attackers
　　C. are more active than horses when they are awake
　　D. spend less time eating to get enough energy
　　13. Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
　　A. Evolution has equipped all creatures with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking.
　　B. The study of sleep is an important art of the evolutionary theory.
　　C. Sleeping patterns must be taken into consideration in the designing of robots.
　　D. To program a robot is not easy.
　　D
　　As the world watched the twin towers of the World Trade Center come under attack, a common phrase was repeated: “It looks like a movie.”
　　But this time there was no superman to save the people or the famous building. The attack destroyed one of the world’s highest skyscrapers and left 5,000 people dead or missing.
　　Movie fans have become used to such events after years of Hollywood films showing disasters, terrorism and danger, The Empire State Building, the White House, New York City and even the American president himself have all been threatened (威胁) by terrorist attacks in these exciting films.
　　The film True Lies, released (发行) in 1994 is considered to be a good example of this kind of movie. The special effects, including explosions and missiles, make the action look like a real thing.
　　Independence Day in 1996 took this type of movie one step further by blowing up the White House. This science fiction (科幻) movie is about a war between human beings and aliens (外星人) from another planet. In the movie, the World Trade Center towers are destroyed.
　　Violence has become a major part of Hollywood movies. And this is what people enjoy. Soon after the attacks, many famous film companies stopped the planned releases of some of their new movies, especially if their films showed terrorist attacks or plane crashes. Swordfish(箭鱼) was top of the American box office in June. But the movie’s story was frighteningly similar to the Sept. 11 disaster. The film would have been stopped in American and British cinemas after the attack.
　　But it’s unlikely that Hollywood will stay quiet for long. It is already waiting for the feeling in America to calm down.
　　14. What is the main subject of the newspaper article?B
　　A. The relationship between the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films.
　　B. The effect of the Sept. 11 attack on Hollywood films
　　C. The response Hollywood made to the Sept. 11 attack.
　　D. The result of Hollywood films showing violence and disasters.
　　15. Which of the following is TRUE?A
　　A. Hollywood made a lot of money out of the film “Swordfish” in June.
　　B. Hollywood stopped making films showing terrorism and disasters after the Sept. 11 attack.
　　C. Swordfish was not allowed to be shown after the Sept. 11 attack.
　　D. The World Trade Center was destroyed because no superman came to save it.
　　16. From this article we know that __D______
　　A. Hollywood is a film making center making films of violence and disasters
　　B. too many Hollywood films showing terrorism and disasters resulted in the Sept. 11 attack
　　C. people who were used to the Hollywood films were not shocked at the Sept. 11 attack
　　D. in fact, the Sept. 11 attack had nothing to do with Hollywood films