阅读理解综合训练（二）(93606)-高三英语阅读(526)-21英语网

A

Britain and France are separated by the English Channel, a body of water that can be crossed in as few as 20 minutes. But the cultures of the two countries sometimes seem to be miles apart.

Last Thursday Britain and France celebrated the 100th anniversary of the signing of a friendship agreement called The Entente Cordiality. The agreement marked a new beginning for the countries following centuries of wars and a love-hate partnership.

But their relationship has seen ups and downs over the past century. Just a few years ago, there were fierce disagreements over the Iraq war – which British Prime Minister Tony Blair supported despite French President Jacques Chirac speaking out against it. This discomfort was expressed in Blair and Chirac’s body language at international meetings. While the French leader often greeted German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with a hug, Blair just received a handshake. However, some political experts say the war in Iraq could in fact have helped ties.

The history of divisions may well be because of the very different ways in which the two sides see the world. But this doesn’t stop 12 million Britons taking holidays in France each year, despite only 3 million French going in the opposite direction. Surveys show that most French people feel closer to the Germans than they do to the British. And research carried out in Britain has found that only a third of the population believes the French can be trusted. Perhaps this bad feeling comes because the British dislike France’s close relationship with Germany, or because the French are not happy with Britain’s close links with the US.

Whatever the answer is, as both sides celebrate 100 years of a “doubtful friendship”, they are at least able to make jokes about each other. Here’s one: What’s the best thing about Britain’s relationship with France? The English Channel.

1. What is the article mainly about?

A. A new chance for Britain and France to grow closer.

B. How British and French people talk to each other.

C. The wars between Britain and France throughout history.

D. The love-hate relationship between Britain and France.

2. The war in Iraq ______ the relationship between France and Britain.

A. helped B. harmed

C. neither helped nor harmed D. both helped and harmed

3. According to the article, France has closer ties with ______.

A. Germany B. the US C. Britain D. Iraq

4. What does the last sentence mean?

A. As long as the English Channel exists, there will be no further disagreement between France and Britain.

B. The English Channel prevents anything unfriendly happening between France and Britain.

C. The English Channel separates the two countries.

D. The English Channel is the longest route between France and Britain.

B

I grew up in London, a place where there are so many people of different nationalities and races that it’s nearly irrelevant (不相关的). So when I left London to start university, it came as a surprise that the student community was so divided. Chinese students, especially, stood apart. It seemed like they didn’t even want to integrate (融入). They cooked Chinese food every day and only socialized with their Chinese friends.

At first I resented this and wondered “Why are Chinese students so eager to come to the UK, yet not willing to make friends with the local students and learn about their culture?”

But then I studied in China for a year, and I realized that all the foreign students there behaved in exactly the same way. They ate in foreign restaurants and only socialized with students from their own countries. It was a shock. Why were so many foreigners going to China if they didn’t want to meet local people and learn about their culture?

Our natural instinct (本能) when we move abroad into an unfamiliar environment is to seek out the things we know and distance ourselves from those we don’t. So we look for friends of the same nationality or race, and eat the food from our home country. This is the easy solution, but it’s also the inferior one.

Going abroad to “expand our horizons” is great, but sticking to what we know won’t help us achieve that.

I was no different from other foreign students in the beginning, but I tried to change. So every day I played basketball with my Chinese peers (同龄人) after class, I had meals with them in the campus canteen and I joined a band with other Asian students.

Those are probably the three best ways to make friends when there is a risk of language or cultural barriers getting in the way: play together, embrace (欣然接受) each other’s food and share your passions.

5. When the author started university, he was surprised that ______.

A. London was crowded with people of different nationalities and races

B. there were so many Chinese students studying in the UK

C. students mostly stayed with others of the same nationality or race

D. it was difficult to find a suitable student community

6. What did the author notice at first when he started studying in China?

A. Foreign students made friends with many Chinese students.

B. He joined a band with other British students.

C. Foreign students only hung around with others of the same nationality or race.

D. He found Chinese food very delicious.

7. The underlined word “inferior” is closest in meaning to ______.

A. bad B. wise C. quick D. last

8. What is the best way to integrate into the local community in the author’s opinion?

A. Teach local people how to play music.

B. Learn to cook local food.

C. Visiting local families frequently.

D. Share hobbies with local people.

9. What is the best title for this article?

A. Ways to make friends B. Let’s embrace the unknown

C. Respect cultural differences D. Difficulties in studying abroad

C

Two gas tanks (油箱) sit on top of a wooden frame about 1-meter high. Matt Oehrlein adds a few finishing touches to his machine before putting on a futuristic-looking pair of headphones. But instead of speaking into it, he closes his eyes and begins to concentrate. A few moments later, fire shoots from the machine – Oehrlein has just successfully tested his “mind-controlled” flamethrower (喷火器). It is, in fact, the sensors (传感器) in the headphones that read his brain and cause the flamethrower to shoot fire.

After graduating with a master’s degree in electrical engineering (电机工程) at the University of Minnesota in 2011, Oehrlein joined i3 Detroit in the US, a so-called “Hacker” space.

Today, Oehrlein is the president of i3 Detroit, which stands for “imagine, innovate (创新) and inspire”. But the term “Hacker” is misunderstood, Oehrlein told The Verge, a US-based news website. “What Hacker means is someone who takes things apart, figures out how they work, makes it even better. Or just somebody who wants to understand what makes things run.”

To avoid confusion, “Maker spaces” is now a term more commonly used.

Broad appeal

There are many Maker spaces like i3 Detroit around the world. They lie at the heart of what is referred to as the Maker movement, which has its roots in the DIY (do-it-yourself) movement and is gaining popularity. It now holds regular public events, ranging from small community classes to annual fairs, such as the Maker Faire in New York, which was started by the editors of Make, a DIY magazine, and is described as a “family-friendly” place for inventions and “a celebration of the Maker movement”.

On Sept 21-22, the Maker Faire attracted 70,000 people. Does this tell us that the Maker movement is becoming popular? According to The Verge, not yet.

While it is commercially successful and praised in the media, the movement is still limited. Visitors to this year’s Maker Faire were mostly kids and their parents, and a few older people, indicating that it’s still not a popular thing.

“Things are still in the bubbling-up stage,” Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, a 3-D printing company, told The Verge.

10. What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?

A. To prove how devoted Oehrlein is to his invention.

B. To give an example of one of Oehrlein’s inventions.

C. To show how practical Oehrlein’s invention is.

D. To arouse readers’ interest in brain-reading inventions.

11. Which of the following statements about i3 Detroit is TRUE according to the article?

A. It was founded by Oehrlein in 2011.

B. It was the first Maker space in the US.

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