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题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通

江苏省丹阳市2020届高三下学期英语期初测试卷(含听力音频)

阅读理解

    The age of adulthood is by definition arbitrary. If everyone matured at the same, fixed rate, it wouldn't be a human process. Indeed, maturation happens at varying speeds across different categories within the same individual, so I'd say I was easily old enough to vote at 16, but nobody should have given me a credit card until I was 32, and I've got the county court judgment to prove it.

    However, we broadly agree that there's a difference between a child and an adult, even if we might argue about the transition point. So the political theorist David Runciman's view that six-year-olds should be allowed to vote goes against any standard argument about the age of civic responsibility. Nobody would say that a six-year-old could be held criminally responsible, could be sent to war, could be capable of consent, could be given responsibility for anything. So allowing them the vote—along with, unavoidably, seven-year-olds who are even sillier, if anything—is quite an amusing proposal.

    Runciman's argument is that this is the only way to rebalance political life, which is currently twisted in favor of the old, who don't (he added) ever need to demonstrate mental capacity, even long after they've lost it.

    The first part of his case is self-evident: pensions are protected while children's centers are closed, concepts such as sovereignty( 最高权威) are prioritized over the far more urgent business of the future: climate change. Nostalgia(怀念) for a past the young wouldn't even recognize plays a central role, which is completely unfair.

    Most of the arguments against giving six-year-old's a vote are that children would end up voting for something damaging and chaotic, if someone made unrealistic promises to them, which could never be realized.

    Well, it's not children's fault.

    Having said that, children do tend towards the progressive, having a natural sense of justice (which kicks in at the age of six months, psychologists have shown, by creating scenes of great unfairness to babies, and making them cry) and an underdeveloped sense of self-interest. My kid, when he was six, made quite a forceful case against private property, on the basis that, since everybody needed a house, they shouldn't cost money, because nobody would want anyone else not to have one. Also, food should be free. It was a kind of pre-Marx communism, where you limit the coverage of the market to only those things that you wouldn't mind someone else not having.

    On that particular day, when we were registered as voters, my kid was quite far to the left of me, but in the normal run of things, we're united, which brings us to the point of the problem: children obey you on almost nothing, but they do seem to believe in your politics until they're adolescent. So giving kids the vote is really just a way of giving parents extra votes. And what can stop us having even more children, once there's so much enfranchisement(选举权) in it for us?

    Now, if parents could be trusted to use their influence wisely, and hammer into children the politics it will take to assure a better future, then I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with that, apart from, obviously, that culture is already wildly twisted towards parents, and I can imagine a few non-parents boiling with fierce anger. But that's not worth talking about anyway, because parents can't be trusted, otherwise we'd all already vote Green(绿党).

    In short: no, six-year-olds should not get the vote; but while we're here, if any votes come up in the near future, which will have an impact on the next five decades of British political life, alongside EU migrants,16-year-olds certainly should be enfranchised.

(1)、The author refers to his age of adulthood to prove that     .
A、people mature at different rates in various aspects B、there's a common standard for the age of adulthood C、a credit card is more difficult to get than the vote D、certain rights are granted at different stages of life
(2)、People reject David Runciman's proposal because     .
A、they don't think a child can grow into adulthood earlier B、they are uncertain whether children can assume responsibility C、they believe children are far from mature in many ways D、they know the age to get the vote is not to be questioned
(3)、The author talks about his kid to indicate that     .
A、children are good-natured and like to help people in need B、children are simple-minded and can fall for an adult's trick C、children are innocent and don't want to be involved in politics D、children are in favor of a just society and tend to be idealistic
(4)、The author thinks allowing children the vote may lead to     .
A、twisted culture B、misuse of rights C、parents'objections D、unusual maturation
(5)、What is the main point of the passage?
A、Allowing children the vote is not altogether absurd. B、There is a difference between adults and children. C、Parents should introduce politics to their children. D、The definition of adulthood is quite controversial.
举一反三
阅读理解

    The popular wisdom for years has been that drinking in moderation (适度)—that's one “standard” drink a day for women and two for men-is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular (心血管的) disease. But recent studies are casting some doubt on that long-held learning. Science now says it depends on your age and drinking habits.

    A 2017 study of nearly 2 million British with no cardiovascular risk found that there was still a modest benefit in moderate drinking, especially for women over 55 who drank five drinks a week. Why that age? Alcohol can influence the substance in the blood in positive ways, experts say, and that's about the age when heart problems begin to occur.

    Also, a 2018 study found that drinking more than 100 grams of alcohol per week—equal to roughly seven standard drinks in the United States or five to six glasses of wine in the UK—increases your risk of death from all causes and in turn lowers your life expectancy. Links were found with different forms of cardiovascular disease, with people who drank more than 100 grams per week having a higher risk of stroke, heart failure.

    Another 2018 study found that consistently drinking a moderate amount of alcohol, within recommended guidelines, had a protective effect on the heart over time. Unstable drinking habits were associated with a higher risk of heart disease, which the authors reflected might indicate broader lifestyle changes, such as poor health or stress. Former drinkers were also at greater risk.

    Overall, however, the latest thinking is that any heart benefit may be outweighed by other health risks, such as high blood pressure, certain cancers and liver damage.

Women who drink are at a higher risk for breast cancer; alcohol contributes about 6% of the overall risk, possibly because it raises certain dangerous hormones in the blood. Drinking can also increase the chance you might develop liver, mouth and oral cancers. One potential reason: Alcohol weakens our immune systems, making us more likely to inflame (发炎)—a driving force behind cancer.

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    Here's this week's list of four open jobs throughout the local area. Whether you're unemployed and need a job or you are just sick of the one you have, Roswell Patch wants to help. We know new jobs can be hard to come by these days, which is why we'll try to post a selection of jobs we've found in the area on the site each week. Happy hunting!

    Part-time Spanish Instructor—World Language Institute, Inc. – Roswell.

World Language Institute, Inc. in Roswell is currently hiring a part-time, native-speaking Spanish assistant. A background in relevant work and a driving license are a must for applicants, who can drive a 15-passenger bus to pick up students from several schools, from 2 p. m. – 6 p. m. Monday-Friday. You'll be paid $400 each week. More information about the job is available online.

    Experienced Servers—Chili's – Alpharetta

    Chili's in Alpharetta is seeking experienced servers to add to its team. Qualifications will include being clean and neat and having great attitude and customer service skills. The pay is $1,500 per month, tips not included. Stop by the store to fill out an application. More information about this position is available online.

Registered Nurses—North Fulton Regional Hospital-Roswell

    North Fulton Regional Hospital is looking for a RN/Registered Nurse to fill a 12-hour night shift. Applicants must be registered and previous hospital experience is preferred. The position pays $2,000 per month. More information about the position is available online.

    Software Engineer—ControlScan-Alpharetta

    ControlScan in Alpharetta is hiring a software engineer. Applicants should have five or more years of relevant experience, as well as advanced knowledge of computer technology. Pay is relevant to experience. More information about the position can be found online.

阅读理解

    Have you ever fallen for a novel and been amazed not to find it on lists of great books? Or walked around a sculpture known as a classic, struggling to see why it is famous? If so, you've probably thought about the question a psychologist, James Cutting, asked himself: How does a work of art come to be considered great?

    The direct answer is that some works of art are just great: of inner superior quality. The paintings that win prime spots in galleries, get taught in classes are the ones that have proved their artistic value over time. If you can't see they're superior, that's your problem. But some social scientists have been asking questions of it, raising the possibility that artistic canons(名作目录)are little more than old historical accidents.

    Cutting, a professor at Cornell University, wondered if a psychological pattern known as the "mere­exposure effect" played a role in deciding which paintings rise to the top of the cultural league. Cutting designed an experiment to test his hunch(直觉). Over a lecture course he regularly showed undergraduates works of impressionism for two seconds at a time. Some of the paintings canonical, included in art­history books. Others were lesser known but of comparable quality were exposed four times as often. Afterwards, the students preferred them to the canonical works, while a control group liked the canonical ones best. Cuttings students had grown to like those paintings more simply because they had seen them more.

    Cutting believes his experiment casts light on how canons are formed. He reproduced works of impressionism today bought by five or six wealthy and influential collectors in the late 19th century. Their preferences given to certain works made them more likely to be hung in galleries and printed in collections. And the fame passed down the years. The more people were exposed to, the more they liked it, and the more they liked it, the more it appeared in books, on posters and in big exhibitions. Meanwhile, academics and critics added to their popularity. After all, it's not just the masses who tend to rate what they see more often more highly. Critics' praise is deeply mixed with publicity. "Scholars", Cutting argues, "are no different from the public in the effects of mere exposure."

    The process described by Cutting show a principle that the sociologist Duncan Watts calls "cumulative advantage": once a thing becomes popular, it will tend to become more popular still. A few years ago, Watts had a similar experience to Cutting's in another Paris museum. After queuing to see the "Mona Lisa" at the Louvre, he came away puzzled: why was it considered so superior to the three other Leonardos, to which nobody seemed to be paying the slightest attention?

    When Watts looked into the history of "the greatest painting of all time", he discovered that, for most of its life, the "Mona Lisa" remained in relative obscurity. In the 1850s, Leonardo da Vinci was considered no match for giants of Renaissance art like Titian and Raphael, whose works were worth almost ten times as much as the "Mona Lisa" It was only in the 20th century that "Mona Lisa rocketed to the number­one spot. What brought it there wasn't a scholarly re­evaluation, but a theft. In 1911 a worker at the Louvre walked out of the museum with the "Mona Lisa" hidden under his coat. Parisians were shocked at the theft of a painting to which, until then, they had paid little attention. When the museum reopened, people queued to see it. From then on, the "Mona Lisa "came to represent Western culture itself.

    The intrinsic (本质的) quality of a work of art is starting to seem like its least important attribute. But perhaps it's more significant than our social scientists admit. Firstly, a work needs a certain quality to reach the top of the pile. The "Mona Lisa" may not be a worthy world champion but it was in the Louvre in the first place, and not by accident. Secondly, some objects are simply better than others. Read "Hamlet" after reading even the greatest of Shakespeare's contemporaries, and the difference may strike you as unarguable.

    A study suggests that the exposure effect doesn't work the same way on everything, and points to a different conclusion about how canons are formed. Great art and mediocrity (平庸)can get confused, even by experts. But that's why we need to see, and read, as much as we can. The more were exposed to the good and the bad, the better we are at telling the difference.

阅读理解

Destination Travels

78 Soho St,

New York, NY

Dear Ms Pierce,

    Thank you for trusting Destination Travels for your honeymoon plans. This letter includes all the information regarding the flights and accommodation arrangements we have already agreed on.

Date

Flight No.

Place/Time Depart

Place/Time Arrive

August 6

UA 674

New York, JFK 6:30 AM

Puerto Rico Int. Airport 9:00AM

August 15

UA 673

Puerto Rico Int. Airport 1:00 PM

New York, JFK 3:30 PM

    On arriving at Puerto Rico Int, Airport, a representative of The Caribbean Hotels &Resorts will be waiting for you in order to transfer you to the hotel. The transfer to and from the airport is offered by the hotel as part of your honeymoon package. The reservation has been made for a nine-night stay under your future husband's last name. The price of the newlyweds' suite includes breakfast and one more meal at the hotel restaurant. You can also use all of the hotel facilities—pool, gym, sauna, etc. for free as part of your honeymoon package. In addition, you can take scuba diving or snorkeling classes with the hotels trained staff at a reduced price—40% off.

    Thank you for choosing Destination Travels. We guarantee your honeymoon with us will be an unforgettable experience. To aid us in improving our service, please visit our website at www. destinationtravels.com and complete the questionnaire.

    Destination Travels wish you all the best.

Sincerely.

Rebecca Simms

Customer Service Manager

Destination Travels

阅读理解

    Did you ever have to say "no" to somebody? Such as a classmate who asks to go to lunch with you? New research suggests that, at least socially, a rejection (拒绝) should not include an apology. In other words, saying you are sorry does not make the person being rejected feel any better. In fact, it might make the rejected person feel worse. That is surprising. Many people consider it to be good manners to say they are sorry when they turn down a request.

    Gili Freedman is doing some related research at Dartmouth College. For her research, she asked over 1,000 people to respond to different examples of social rejection. In one example, the researchers asked people for their reaction (反应)after a person named Taylor asked to join a co-worker who went out to lunch every Friday. And Taylor was told "no". But in some cases, the person rejecting Taylor offered an apology. In other cases, the people doing the rejection did not say they were sorry. People were asked how they would feel if they were being turned down, just as Taylor was. Most said they would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology than a rejection without an apology.

    Freedman said the reason is that apologies make people feel like they need to say that the rejection was okay— even when they felt like it was not okay. Rejection without an apology lets them express their feelings of disappointment, hurt or anger more easily. Freedman also said that an apology often makes the person doing the rejection feel better—even as it makes the person being rejected feel worse.

    Her research deals only with social communication. A business situation might be very different. "If a manager rejects a job interviewee or a boss must tell an employee that he or she is being fired from a job," Freedman said, "reactions to apologies may be different."

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