阅读理解综合训练（二）(118386)-高三英语阅读(622)-21英语网

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Volunteers wanted

Be a part of Micah House, our local mission opportunity! We need volunteers like YOU to make this program the BEST! Micah House kids need volunteers for homework, reading and recreation.

Times: Monday to Thursday, 3:00 to 4:00 pm for first to fifth grades, 4:00 to 5:30 pm for sixth grade and up.

Specific needs

Homework Helpers: 3:00 to 4:00 pm (first to fifth grades), 4:00-5:30 pm (sixth to twelfth grades).

Bible/Life Lessons Story Time Readers: 2:30-3:00 pm.

Recreation Time Leaders: 3:30-4:00 pm. Teach art, gardening, sewing, cooking etc. What are your loves? Share them with a child.

Literacy program needs

Helper on computers/printers when needed

Reading ability tester for students when needed

Listener when students read

Leader of a reading group two days a week

Drivers needed for field trips

Trips usually happen between 2:30 and 5:30 pm. Driver’s license, car insurance and background check required. Contact us for details if you are interested.

Great things happen through unity. Your participation shows your support of our mission. The time you spend helps kids’ lives, their financial futures and their family health. It also contributes to unity for the community.

Join with others who have seen the difference Micah House is making in the Redlands community. The chance to help a child is a great reward for both you and the kids.

Make an impact on the next generation!

Critical time: 3:00 to 4:00 pm

A typical day at Micah House

First track (first through fifth grade)

2:00 – 2:30 Check-in/Snack time 2:30 – 3:00 Story time

3:00 – 3:40 Homework/Tutoring 3:40 – 4:00 Recreation

4:00 First track ends

Second track (sixth through twelfth grades)

4:00 – 4:15 Check-in and Snacks

4:15 – 4:35 Story Time

4:35 – 5:30 Homework/Tutoring

If you have questions, contact: Armando at Micah House Chapel (909) 747-7447 or Lisa at Micah House Oxford (909) 747-0319

1. From the text above, we can conclude that ______.

A. kids can choose either of the two tracks as they wish

B. bible story reading is not currently available for 12th graders

C. anyone with a driver’s license is welcome to join the field trips

D. volunteers must visit Micah House Chapel to apply for the positions

2. Which of the following people is most suited to the literacy program?

A. Judy, local library staff, free every evening

B. Heidi, babysitter, cannot read, free on weekends

C. Molly, English teacher, available on weekday afternoons

D. Ted, part-time programmer, available on weekday mornings

3. If Tom loves drawing and wants to volunteer for Micah House, he needs to be free from ______.

A. 2:30 – 3:00 B. 3:00 – 3:40

C. 3:40 – 4:00 D. 4:35 – 5:30

B

I love traffic. I really do. And let me tell you, it’s pretty simple to love traffic, too.

I could also easily hate traffic. I could get angry at the cars moving too slowly. I could stare at the clock and focus on all the time I had lost while moving along slowly on the highway. I could be that rude driver who ignores the other cars at a four-way stop and cuts corners with the belief that his or her time is more valuable than others’. I could boil up my anger during my journey to work and release it on other people. I could choose to be a stressed-out, angry driver.

But that’s not the life I want to live. I don’t want to be unhappy when I have the choice to be happy. Perhaps it’s that I’m calm by nature or that I’ve been through a series of life events at a young age that let me know traffic is not the worst thing that can happen in life. It is not even nearly the worst thing that can happen in my day.

I choose to love traffic. I choose to use the time to play some of my favorite songs and think about what I want to do in my day. On my drive home, I love to reflect on the best part of the day and how thankful I am to be alive. I choose to use the time to call my loved ones. I choose to use my commute as a karaoke dance party. I choose to smile at angry drivers and hope they will find some happiness in their commute. I choose to look at traffic as a beautiful time to just de-stress and be at peace.

We are not put in traffic against our will. In fact, we get in our cars and make the conscious decision to get into a moving vehicle at certain times of our day. We decide to either drive dangerously or safely. That is our choice.

It is also our choice to learn how to react to situations like traffic. We can be anxious and angry or we can be nervous and excited. We can be mean to each other or we can be kind to each other. We can choose to help or shut people out.

Life is filled with a series of choices. I prefer to make choices that make me calm and bring some more kindness into the world. I choose to love traffic. I hope you do, too.

4. What message does the author intend to convey in Paragraph 3?

A. Life has more exciting things to offer than traffic.

B. It is natural for people to express their anger in traffic.

C. It is better to look at the bright side of things.

D. There is no need to worry about traffic problems.

5. Which of the following choices would the author suggest that people do when they are caught in traffic?

a. make plans for the day b. look back on happy memories

c. ask drivers nearby to speed up d. enjoy their favorite songs

e. check for possible shortcuts

A. abc B. abd C. bcd D. abe

6. What is the best title for the text?

A. The Power of Respect and Kindness

B. Finding Happiness in Traffic

C. The Making of a Responsible Driver

D. How to Get Rid of Anxiety in Traffic

C

A video released in February showed Boston Dynamics’ new robot, Atlas, performing human-like tasks: opening doors, walking around in the snow, lifting boxes. Fans of technology cheered and Silicon Valley investors got excited at what could be the end of human manual labor.

Shortly after the video was released, White House economists released a forecast that worked out more exactly whom Atlas and other robots are going to put out of work. Most occupations that pay less than $20 an hour are soon likely to be out of date thanks to robots or something similar, according to the report.

In other words, the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution has found its first victims: blue-collar workers and the poor.

The general response in working America is disbelief or disagreement. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 80 percent of Americans think their job will still exist in 50 years, and only 11 percent of today’s workers were worried about losing their job to a robot or something similar. Some – like my former colleagues at the CIA – insist that their specialized skills and knowledge can’t be replaced by artificial intelligence. That is, until they see plans for drones (无人机) that don’t need a human hand and picture analysis that works better than human eyes.

Human workers of all kinds claim that they won’t be replaced. Bus drivers. Financial advisors. Speechwriters. Firefighters. Even doctors and surgeons. Meanwhile, companies are spending billions – at least $8.5 billion last year on AI, and $1.8 billion on robots – toward making all those jobs replaceable. Why? Simply put, robots and computers don’t need health care, pensions, vacation days or even salaries.

Consultancies (咨询机构) forecast that 45 percent of today’s workplace activities could be done by robots, AI or other forms of technology. Some professors have said that we could see 50 percent unemployment in 30 years.

Those who don’t believe the scope and scale of this huge change are hopeful about retraining programs, and they insist that there always will be a need for people to build and service these machines (even as engineers are focused on developing robots that fix themselves or each other). They believe that such changes are many decades away. They also talk about all the new jobs they assume will be created during this Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, a report from the 2016 World Economic Forum worked out that the technological changes underway likely will destroy 7.1 million jobs around the world by 2020.

7. The author mentions the Atlas robot in the first paragraph to ______.

A. describe the latest functions of household robots

B. compare the productivity of robots and human labor

C. describe the threat of artificial intelligence to human jobs

D. show how fast robot technology has been developing

8. What can we conclude from Paragraph 4?

A. Most low-income workers have become desperate about the challenges they face.

B. Some people with specialized skills are no longer confident about their careers.

C. 11 percent of workers welcome the AI development and its huge benefits.

D. The majority of people think it is a trend that has to be turned around.

9. Why do companies rush for robots and AI technology?

A. To improve working conditions. B. To reduce business risks and costs.

C. To invent new products and services.

D. To create more job opportunities.

10. We can conclude from the last two paragraphs that ______.

A. millions of workers will become the slaves of machines

B. robots will soon be able to check and repair themselves

C. human workers have to be trained to compete with machines

D. the popularity of robots could open up new job opportunities for humans

D

Babies’ ability to soak up language makes them the envy of adult learners everywhere. But some grown-ups can still learn new tongues with surprising ease. Now some studies suggest it is possible to predict a person’s language-learning abilities from his or her brain structure or activity – results that may eventually be used to help even those with the poorest language skills to succeed.

In one study, published in 2015 in the Journal of Neurolinguistics, a team of researchers looked at neuron fibers (纤维) in white matter in 22 beginning Mandarin students. Those who had more spatially aligned (空间排列地) fibers in their right hemisphere had higher test scores after four weeks of classes, the scientists found. Like a fast lane on a road, these fibers are thought to speed the transfer (传播) of information within the brain. Although language is traditionally thought to come from the left hemisphere, the right, which seems to be involved in understanding the pitch of sounds, may play a role in telling between the tones of Mandarin, said study author Zhenghan Qi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US.

In another study, published in June 2016 in Brain and Language, EEG (脑电图) scans before a detailed online French course showed patterns of brain-wave activity in a relaxed, resting state that went together with completing the course quickly and easily.

In the past researchers have observed this kind of activity when people put together sentences, said Chantel Prat, the University of Washington psychologist who led the study. In this instance, it may be a reflection of the 16 participants’ ability to focus or follow instructions or another feature that aids in language learning, she notes. Prat is interested in whether showing people their EEG images in real time to train them in certain types of brain activity can prepare them to learn a language better. “The last thing I want someone to think is, ‘Oh, my brain is like this ... what’s the point? I can’t learn,’” Prat said.

What language ability really is and how it appears in the brain are complex questions. “I think language is the most amazing ability of the human brain,” Prat said. “When you try and learn a second language, you realize how challenging it is.”

11. Researchers have found that spatially aligned fibers in the right hemisphere ______.

A. enable the brain to take in more information

B. help people tell the difference between different tones in most languages

C. improve the efficiency of message transfers in the brain

D. are responsible for the development of language skills

12. The phrase “this kind of activity” in Paragraph 4 refers to a situation in which the brain ______.

A. stays nervous but focused B. remains calm and relaxed

C. reacts quickly when given difficult tasks

D. changes between different patterns

13. According to Chantel Prat, ______.

A. poor language skills grow out of bad learning habits

B. people’s talents in language learning are determined at birth

C. training in certain brain activities could make people better language learners

D. there is little room left for adults to improve their language skills

14. The article shows that ______.

A. researchers have discovered why babies find language learning easier

B. Prat’s research interests lie in the role of instructions in language learning

C. studying brain activities can help people improve their language skills

D. scientists have found a satisfactory answer to the question of how language abilities develop

E

Jason, our son, was born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫). My wife Margaret and I often comforted him as he faced many challenges in his early years.

It was heartbreaking to see him regularly chosen last for baseball, but he was a happy child and well liked by his peers throughout elementary school. His most difficult time came when he began high school.

One afternoon, Jason returned home in tears. He threw his bag on the floor and shouted: “I’m never going to school again!” He was covered with food that other kids had thrown at him on the school bus on the way home. Jason later told us what had happened.

A few days earlier, Jason had signed up for the school running team.

That day, a few older students made fun of his performance on the track and made him the target of their one-sided food fight.

I called the principal about the humiliation on the bus, and it never happened again. Jason stayed on the team, even though the harassment (骚扰) continued.

One day in October, we had snow and freezing rain. As the other kids exercised in the gym, they noticed one lone runner – Jason – jogging (慢跑) around the snow-covered track.

A few weeks later, Jason had something to tell us. “Mom, Dad, sit down,” he said. I was ready for the worst.

He told us that each month, students chose an “athlete of the month”. The coach would list the top athletes, and students voted for the winner. Jason’s name had never been listed. But that day, one of the nominees said: “Sir, I would like to nominate Jason for athlete of the month.”

The coach looked surprised.

“He works harder than any of us, Sir,” the student continued.

“We will have to have someone second the nomination,” the coach replied.

A tear formed in Jason’s eye as he told us what happened next. “Mom ... Dad ... everyone in the class put their hand up.”

His mother and I, also in tears, looked on as he proudly displayed his certificate.

Whenever I despair (绝望), I think of this story. I remind myself that challenges are not overcome by force, but by patience, determination, and faith.

Jason is in university these days and often holds the highest mark in his class. He is also training in martial arts. I have no doubt he’ll wear a black belt some day, and wear it proudly.

15. Jason’s first days at high school didn’t go well because ______.

A. he missed his friends from primary school

B. he was turned down by the school’s running team

C. he was suffering from the aftereffects of cerebral palsy

D. he was treated badly by some older students

16. Which of the following could replace the underlined word “humiliation” in Paragraph 6?

A. confusion B. discussion C. embarrassment D. success

17. It can be concluded from the article that _______.

A. the coach didn’t believe Jason was worthy of the nomination

B. Jason’s efforts were widely recognized by his fellow students

C. it didn’t take long for Jason to be the best runner in the school

D. the “athlete of the month” award was usually given to the best performer