新闻类阅读理解模拟训练(123753)-高三英语阅读(653)-21英语网

A

Parking in the CBD of any Australian city is expensive, hard to come by and often an unavoidable headache.

But Rylan Kindness, a 16-year-old entrepreneur (企业家) from Brisbane, thinks he might have the answer to this problem.

It was after Rylan realized his parents were spending hours to try and find parking deals in the city that he came up with the idea for a centralized system. This system shows users the best price for parking in the area they want and offers users a daily deal with a discount (折扣).

Rylan now doubles as a high school student and the CEO of Parking Deals Australia, a role he took on four months ago when he launched the business from his bedroom.

Parking Deals Australia isn’t even Rylan’s first business. When he was barely 11, Rylan came up with an idea to sell wholesale (批发的) scooter parts (儿童滑板车配件) online, purely because he just wanted some extra money. On the side, he’s succeeding in other passions as well.

And despite Rylan clearly being a high-achiever and having a knack (诀窍) for business, he admitted it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

“I’ve learned so many crazy things through trial and error. Every day I fail somewhere but I always try to get better. My biggest failure was when I first set up everything and thought it was what everyone else would like but it’s a shock when you see people not enjoying what you’re doing. It makes you want to cry a little bit but then you polish the product and keep going,” he said.

While Rylan didn’t want to say exactly how much his now-bustling company is worth, he did admit he’s making a tidy profit.

“I earn more in one day than I was earning for three months work in a cafe but I’m investing it all back into the business. ... what I’ve learned is that if you’re starting a business just to make money, you’re definitely going to fail. I’m there to help millions of people and that’s what really gets me going,” he said.

Rylan’s goal with Parking Deals Australia is to take it countrywide.

“We want to be everyone’s second step in their parking journey and save millions of people millions of dollars,” he said.

1. According to the article, the centralized system can ______.

A. analyze users’ parking habits

B. show the nearest parking lot for drivers

C. show areas with available parking spaces

D. recommend the cheapest parking spaces

2. What can we learn about Rylan Kindness?

A. He got the idea for the parking system from his parents.

B. He started to display a talent for business when he was about 11.

C. He left school to run his own company four months ago.

D. He started his first business by setting up Parking Deals Australia.

3. Rylan’s business experience ______.

A. has shown him that the beginning is the most difficult time

B. has taught him to work through failures by improving

C. has pushed him to attempt crazy things, even when he fails

D. has inspired him not to care too much about others’ opinions

4. What was Rylan’s main purpose for starting his business?

A. To earn some extra money for making bigger investments.

B. To become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Australia.

C. To help people while making a profit.

D. To expand his influence on a national scale.

B

Ask middle schoolers to show you their city through the lens of a camera and here’s what you’ll get: a colorful mosaic of images featuring their favorite people, places and things. From flowers to friends, street scenes to sneakers, and trees to trains. These photographs made up an exhibition that was the end result of a special citywide photography lesson called “Everyday DC”.

“I love that DC is a place where people can come all together and be free and be with everyone that they love,” said Lauryn Tharpe, one of the four student curators who worked with their art teacher at Brookland Middle School to put the exhibition together. “There’s more to DC than big buildings and important people.”

As part of the “Everyday DC” unit, students across the city learned basic photography and investigative reporting skills, thanks to a program that started last year.

“Everyday DC” was inspired by a popular Instagram feed called Everyday Africa, which was started by two professional photographers who noticed that their personal photos of Africa showed a different story than their professional work. The goal of the online photo “exhibition” was to show viewers what it’s like to live in Africa, as opposed to what people outside of Africa see in the news.

In Washington, students took photos to reflect their lives in the nation’s capital. Twelve middle schools each submitted about 10 student photographs, from beautiful portraits to abstract close-ups (特写), action shots and images of the students’ favorite foods. Lauryn and another three students were selected to be curators by their art teacher, Maame Bawuah, who coordinated the project for DC Public Schools.

“I have a lot of amazing students, although the four of them are quite exceptional,” said Bawuah, who chose the students to be curators because of their interest in both photography and museum curation.

A curator is someone who collects, organizes, cares for and displays anything in a collection. To get ready for the exhibition, the curators had to take care of many tasks, including taking their own photographs, helping their teacher gather and evaluate the submitted images and grouping the photos according to different themes.

5. What do we know about the “Everyday DC” exhibition?

A. It was created by Lauryn Tharpe and her teacher Maame Bawuah.

B. It exhibited photos featuring big buildings and important figures.

C. It promotes students’ interest in museum curation.

D. It reflects the diverse life of DC from the students’ perspective.

6. Why does the author mention Everyday Africa?

A. To show how Everyday DC came about.

B. To highlight Everyday Africa’s popularity.

C. To compare Everyday Africa and Everyday DC.

D. To demonstrate the widespread influence of Instagram.

7. The four student curators ______.

A. are equipped with professional photography skills

B. are experienced in curating museums

C. were responsible for giving advice regarding others’ photographs

D. were responsible for classifying the photos based on different themes

C

Random acts of kindness can be hard to come by, but when these events happen, they should be honored.

Briana Jackson, a youth counselor from Pittsburgh, US, shared a photo online of a girl’s hair, styled with gold accessories (配饰). Jackson’s caption read, “I have a student who was tired of being teased by her peers for never having her hair done, so I hooked her up (with Mom’s permission).” The post received more than 81,000 likes and was shared more than 20,000 times.

As a youth counselor, Jackson developed a close relationship with the student. “My student has been in my group for about a year or so,” she told Yahoo. “I’m glad she feels close enough to me to talk through any issues she is having.”

The counselor noticed how frustrated her student was with other girls teasing her about not having her hair done, so she figured she would do something to help put a smile on her student’s face.

“She was very happy and instantly more confident,” Jackson said. The student’s classmates seemed to like her new look as well. “Her peers gave her a lot of compliments, and she was even invited to hang out with a group she usually doesn’t hang out with,” Jackson said.

The student’s experience hit home for Jackson, who reflected on her own school life. “I also used to get teased when I was younger about not having my hair done, so I made it a point to learn how to do hair,” she told Yahoo.

Jackson’s gesture has made everyone, from her student’s mom to strangers, feel happy about the confidence boost she helped create. Her advice for anyone going through a similar situation: “I would tell them that they are beautiful no matter how they decide to wear their hair. I would also say that it’s OK to want to have your hair styled so you look and feel your best. However, your education and personal goals are more important.”

8. Why was Jackson’s student often teased by her peers?

A. For never having her hair done.

B. For never wearing any makeup.

C. For never hanging out with others.

D. For never wearing any accessories.

9. What does the underlined word “compliments” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A. Comments. B. Praises. C. Jokes. D. Dislikes.

10. In the last paragraph, what suggestion did Jackson give to those in similar situations?

A. Ignore others’ opinions.

B. Always keep your hair styled.

C. Build your confidence through education.

D. Turn to your teacher for help when in trouble.

D

Children moving from primary to secondary school are ill-equipped to deal with the impact of social media, as it is playing an increasingly important role in their lives and exposing them to significant emotional risk, according to a recent report by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.

The report shows that many children in year 7 – the first year of secondary school, when almost all students will have a phone and be active on social media – feel under pressure to be constantly connected.

They worry about their online image, particularly when they start to follow celebrities on Instagram and other platforms. They are also concerned about “sharenting” – when parents post pictures of them on social media without their permission – and worry that their parents won’t listen if they ask them to take pictures down.

The report, which was created with data from focus group interviews with 8- to 12-year-olds, says that although most social media sites have an official age limit of 13, an estimated 75 percent of 10- to 12-year-olds have a social media account.

Some children are almost addicted to “likes”, the report says. Aaron, an 11-year-old in year 7, told researchers, “If I got 150 likes, I’d be like, that’s pretty cool, it means they like you.” Some children described feeling inferior to those they follow on social media. Aimee, also 11, said, “You might compare yourself because you’re not very pretty compared to them.”

Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield is calling on parents and teachers to do more to prepare children for the emotional impact of social media as they get older. She wants to see the introduction of compulsory digital literacy and online resilience (适应力) lessons for students in year 6 and 7.

“It is also clear that social media companies are still not doing enough to stop under-13s using their platforms in the first place,” Longfield said.

“Just because a child has learned the safety messages at primary school does not mean they are prepared for all the challenges that social media will present,” Longfield said.

“It means a bigger role for schools in making sure children are prepared for the emotional demands of social media. And it means social media companies need to take more responsibility,” Longfield said.

11. What can we learn from the report?

A. An increasing number of 7-year-olds are being exposed to social media.

B. Social media occupies too much time for secondary school freshmen.

C. Many secondary school freshmen suffer from social media-related stress.

D. The use of social networking is causing relationship problems for teenagers.

12. Some students in year 7 are concerned ______.

A. about how they are seen on social media sites

B. about becoming addicted to social media

C. that their parents will monitor their use of social media

D. that their parents won’t allow them to post pictures

13. From the report, it can be concluded that some 10- to 12-year-old children ______.

A. tend to copy the celebrities they follow

B. wish to be recognized by others

C. ignore the number of likes they get

D. feel inferior to their followers

14. Anne Longfield suggests that ______.

A. parents monitor how their children use social media

B. social media companies set an official age limit of 13

C. social media companies create special sites for children under 13

D. schools help equip students for the challenges of social media

E

Sea turtles are one of several species that have temperature-dependent sex determination. The number of female babies increases when nests are made in warmer sands.

A recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California State University and Worldwide Fund for Nature Australia examined two genetically distinct populations of green sea turtles living in the Great Barrier Reef. The study found that a group of about 200,000 turtles living in the northern part of the reef was almost entirely female.

While the southern population was 65 to 69 percent female, females in the northern group accounted for 99.1 percent of young turtles and 86.8 percent of adults.

After combining their results with temperature data, the scientists in charge of the study found that the northern green turtles have been producing mainly females for more than two decades and that the complete feminization of this population is possible in the near future.

The temperature at which the turtles will produce male or female babies can be passed on to the turtles’ children. Most sea turtle populations are now producing offspring above the most suitable temperature, making it clear that climate change poses a serious threat to the survival of these populations.

The chief executive of World Wildlife Fund Australia, Dermot O’Gorman, said this is another sign of the impact of climate change, following recent research that shows that coral bleaching (珊瑚白化) events are occurring far more frequently than in the past.

“We’ve had two years where we’ve had mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef,” he told Guardian Australia. “That’s a very visible sign of the impact of climate change. But this is a quiet change. We can’t see the impact it’s having on a turtle population until a study like this shows some long-term trends.”

The lead author of the paper, Dr Michael Jensen, said the findings represent a major environmental conservation issue.

O’Gorman said more urgent action on climate change is clearly needed, adding that some conservationists have already taken practical measures, such as using shade cloth on turtle nesting beaches to lower the sand temperature, and reducing bycatch in the fishing industry.

“Shade cloth can be used in certain places, but there’s a limit to the scale you can do that,” he said.

“Now every large male who can reproduce is going to be even more important.”

15. According to the research on Great Barrier Reef’s green sea turtles, ______.

A. about 65 to 69 percent of northern turtles are female

B. 86.8 percent of southern turtles have grown up to adults

C. the feminization of green sea turtles could become worse

D. adult green sea turtles can change their sex in warmer places

16. Why did O’Gorman mention coral bleaching?

A. To emphasize that climate change poses more risks to coral than turtles.

B. To compare the living environments of turtles and coral.

C. To urge people to take practical measures to fight climate change.

D. To stress this discovery about green sea turtles is very valuable.

17. Conservationists are taking action to ______.

A. keep the sea turtles’ nests cool

B. stop the illegal fishing of green sea turtles

C. expand the size of the green sea turtles’ nesting places

D. establish places for turtles to produce offspring

18. Which would be the best title for the article?

A. How climate change affects ocean creatures.

B. Invisible change caused by global warming exposed.

C. Necessity of protecting green sea turtles and their habitat.

D. Global green sea turtle populations in greater danger.

（答案与解析见D5版）