题目内容
New York, the city that never sleeps, fell silent last week—schools were closed; bus and subway services were stopped; flights were canceled, and even the stock market closed for the first time since 1985. All the disorder was caused by one thing, the arrival of hurricane Sandy.
This big storm landed on Oct 29 on the US east coast and brought damaging winds, flooding, blackouts (停电) and heavy snow.
Sandy is one of the largest storms that have ever hit the US, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By the afternoon of Nov1 (Beijing time), about 140 deaths were caused by the storm as it traveled across the Caribbean islands and into the US.
Unlike most hurricanes that happen during summer, Sandy was strengthened not only by warm ocean water, but also by the cold air coming from the northwest. Sandy’s power grew because of the difference in masses between the warm and wet air and cool and dry air. It became a kind of “super-storm”, the Guardian reported.
The flooding was particularly severe. Scientists said it was because Sandy’s arrival happened together with a full moon, which normally means higher-than-usual tides (潮水).
“The most worrying aspect of Sandy is the high tides,” Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee told Reuters before the storm arrived. “With the full moon on Monday, with Sandy coming up the bay, we’re very concerned about flooding in our low-lying coastal areas.”
Apart from the power of Sandy itself, another reason why her arrival has caused so much damage is that its target area is crowded with big cities such as New York and Philadelphia. These urban areas are home to tens of millions of people. The flood, the snow and the blackout have brought the country’s financial and political centers to a stop.
“The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is history making.” Said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist.
【小题1】The author mentioned the disorder in New York city at the beginning of the article to _______.
| A．remind us of the problems people might face when disaster strikes |
| B．introduce the disastrous influence of hurricane Sandy |
| C．criticize the poor management of the city by the New York government |
| D．prove New York suffered most from hurricane Sandy |
| A．only got its power from the warm ocean water |
| B．grew stronger than other hurricanes because of the full moon |
| C．led to flooding in many cities around the US |
| D．brought with it strong winds, high tides, blackouts and heavy snowfall |
| A．were mostly high land |
| B．were mostly near the sea |
| C．were far away from important cities |
| D．were empty as people were evacuated (疏散) |
| A．To show how a super-storm comes into being. |
| B．To explain why hurricane Sandy was so destructive. |
| C．To show that big cities in the US are easily affected by huge hurricanes. |
| D．To explore the best ways to avoid loss when a hurricane hits. |
【小题1】B
【小题2】D
【小题3】B
【小题4】B
解析试题分析：本文主要描述了飓风Sandy会给美国带来如此巨大的破坏，并分析了具体的原因。
【小题1】B 推理题。在文章一开始就提出一系列的问题主要是为了引出下文Sandy给美国带来的危害，故B正确。
【小题2】D 细节题。根据文章4,5段倒数第二段Sandy was strengthened not only by warm ocean water, but also by the cold air coming from the northwest. Sandy’s power grew because of the difference in masses between the warm and wet air and cool and dry air. It became a kind of “super-storm”, the Guardian reported. 和 which normally means higher-than-usual tides (潮水).以及The flood, the snow and the blackout have brought the country’s financial and political centers to a stop. 都说明D项内容是文章所提及的Sandy的危害
【小题3】B 推理题。根据文章第五段Scientists said it was because Sandy’s arrival happened together with a full moon, which normally means higher-than-usual tides (潮水).说明涉及到潮汛，那么应该是与大海有关，故说明这些城市与靠近海边的，故B正确。
【小题4】B 主旨大意题。本文主要讲述的就是为什么飓风Sandy会给美国带来如此巨大的破坏，分析了具体的原因，故B正确。
考点：考查新闻报告类短文阅读
点评：美国历史上破坏性最大的台风Sandy给美国带来了很大的伤害，文章分析了因为。主要考查细节题和推理题，本文主旨鲜明,很容易在文中找到答案。做题时要注意文章的首段和每一段的首句或尾句，因为它们往往就是文章的主题句。阅读中要注意要点之间的关系。然后带着问题，再读全文，找出答题所需要的依据，完成阅读任务。
新课标阶梯阅读训练系列答案At Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the lights are controlled by sensors that measure sunlight. They dim immediately when it’s sunny and brighten when a passing cloud blocks the sun.
A wall of windows at a University of Pennsylvania engineering building has built-in blinds (百叶窗) controlled by a computer program that follows the sun’s path. Buildings are getting smarter and the next generation of building materials is expected to do even more.
Windows could catch the sun’s energy to heat water. Sensors that measure the carbon dioxide breathed out by people in a room could determine whether the air conditioning needs to be turned up.
Many new materials and technology have been designed in the last 15 years. They are now being used in a wave o
f buildings designed to save as much energy as possible. They include old ideas, like “green roofs”, where a belt of plants on a roof helps the building keep heat in winter and stay cool in summer, and new ideas, like special coating for windows that lets light in, but keeps heat out.
As technologies such as sensors become cheaper, their uses spread.
The elevators (电梯) at Seven World Trade Center, which is under construction in New York, use a system that groups people traveling to nearby floors into the same elevator, thus saving elevator stops. People who work in the building will enter it by swiping (刷) ID cards that will tell the elevators their floor, readouts will then tell them which elevator to use. The building also has windows with a coating that blocks heat while letting in light.
M
ore new building materials and technology are in development. A Philadelphia building firm is now working on “smart wrap” that uses tiny solar collectors to catch the sun’s energy and transmitters (传输器) as wide as a human hair to move it. They are expected to change the face of the construction industry in the next ten years or so.
【小题1】________ will be developed and used in the construction industry.
| A．“Green roofs” that cool or heat buildings |
| B．“Smart wrap” that catches the sun’s energy |
C．Sunlight-measurin g sensors that control lights |
| D．Window coating that lets light in, but keeps heat out |
A．se nd people to floors with fewer stops | B．teach people how to use their ID cards |
| C．make people stay very cool in summer | D．help people go traveling in the building |
| A．a human hair | B．smart wrap | C．the sun’s energy | D．a transmitter |
| A．Buildings Are Becoming Smarter | B．Buildings Are Getting More Sunlight |
| C．Buildings Are Lacking in Much Energy | D．Buildings Are Using Cheaper Materials |
Good Genes Mean Long Life
Scientists have discovered that living to the age of 100 may have nothing to do with the lifestyle you lead and everything to do with the type of genes you have.
For the lucky carriers of “Methuselah” genes, worries over smoking, eating unhealthily and not getting enough exercise may not be as necessary as to those of us without the special gene pattern (组合).
The “Methuselah” genes could give extra protection against the diseases of old age such as cancer and heart disease. They could also protect people against the effects of the unhealthy lifestyles that we believe will lead us to an early death, scientists say. However, the genes are very rare.
The genes include ADIPOQ, which is found in about 10 percent of young people but in nearly 30 percent of people living past 100. They also include the CETP and the ApoC3 genes, which are found in 10 percent of young people, but in about 20 percent of people over 100 years old.
Some of those genes were discovered by a research group at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, led by Professor Nir Barzilai. The team studied the genes of over 500 people over 100 years old, and their children.
The studies show that tiny mutations (变异) in the make-up of some genes can greatly increase a person’s lifespan (寿命). Barzilai told a Royal Society conference that the discovery of such genes gave scientists clear targets for developing drugs that could prevent age-related diseases, allow people to live longer and stay healthy.
David Gems, a researcher at University College London, believes that drugs to slow ageing will become widespread.
“If we know which genes control longevity (长寿) then we can … target them with drugs. That makes it possible to slow down ageing,” he told The Times.
“Much of the pain and suffering in the world are caused by ageing. If we can find a way to reduce that, then we are obliged (义不容辞的) to take it.”
【小题1】According to the article, which of the following is the most important if a person is to live to the age of 100?
| A．Eating healthy food every day. | B．Having the right types of genes. |
| C．Having a healthy lifestyle. | D．Taking drugs that prevent ageing. |
| A．10% | B．20% | C．30% | D．50% |
| A．The team studied the genes of over 100 people over 100 years of age. |
| B．The researchers found that mutations in certain genes lead to longer life. |
| C．The researchers found ways to develop drugs that could cure age-related diseases. |
| D．The study suggested that most people have genes that could lengthen their lives. |
| A．drugs to slow ageing will be very expensive |
| B．modern science will be able to find more longevity genes |
| C．it is the duty of medical scientists to fight the problems of ageing |
| D．scientists can make new genes that will allow longer life |
My father’s reaction to the bank building at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York city was immediate and definite: “You won’t catch me putting my money in there!” he declared, “Not in that glass box!”
Of course, my father is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the generation to whom a good deal of modern architecture is upsetting, but I am convinced that his negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the nature of money. In his generation money was thought of as a real commodity (实物) that could be carried, or stolen.
Consequently, to attract the custom of a sensible man, a bank had to have heavy walls, barred windows, and bronze doors, to affirm the fact, however untrue, that money would be safe inside. If a building’s design made it appear impenetrable（难以渗透的), the institution was necessarily reliable, and the meaning of the heavy wall as an architecture symbol reflected people’s prevailing attitude toward money.
But the attitude toward money has, of course, changed. Excepting pocket money, cash of any kind is now rarely used; money as a tangible commodity has largely been replaced by credit. A deficit (赤字) economy, accompanied by huge expansion, has led us to think of money as product of the creative imagination. The banker no longer offers us a safe: he offers us a service in which the most valuable element is the creativity for the invention of large numbers. It is in no way surprising, in view of this change in attitude, that we are witnessing the disappearance of the heavy-walled bank.
Just as the older bank emphasized its strength, this bank by its architecture boasts of imaginative powers. From this point of view it is hard to say where architecture ends and human assertion (人们的说法) begins.
36. 【小题1】The main idea of this passage is that________.
| A．money is not as valuable as it was in the past |
| B．changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks |
| C．the architectural style of the older bank is superior to that of the modern bank |
| D．prejudice makes the older generation think that the modern bank is unreliable |
| A．The former thinks more of money than the latter. |
| B．The younger generation values money more than the older generation. |
| C．Both generations rely on the imaginative power of bankers to make money. |
| D．To the former money is a real commodity but to the latter be a means to produce more money. |
| A．that can be replaceable | B．that is usable |
| C．that can be touched | D．that can be reproduced |
| A．ambitious and friendly | B．reliable and powerful |
| C．sensible and impenetrable | D．imaginative and creative |
| A．cautious | B．regretful | C．positive | D．hostile |
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 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 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” 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.
【小题1】What is the main subject of the newspaper article?
| A．The relationship between the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films. |
| B．The effect of the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films. |
| C．The response Hollywood made to the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．The result of Hollywood films showing violence and disasters. |
| 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 I t. |
| 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. |