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题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通

湖北省荆州市2017-2018学年高二下学期英语期末考试试卷

阅读理解

    Earlier this month, the University of Glasgow in Scotland launched a course entitled: The Simpsons Introduce Philosophy(哲学). The course's aim is to ease students into the typically heavy topic by relating it to the popular cartoon family.

    “The Simpsons is one of the modem world's greatest cultural products, partly because it is so full of philosophy,” John Donaldson, creator of the course, told the BBC. “Aristotle, Kant, Marx, Camus and many other great thinkers' ideas are represented in what is arguably the purest of philosophical forms — the comic cartoon.”

    While this may seem like an unusual way to attract pupils to a traditionally dull topic, this class isn't the first of its kind. In 2009, Liverpool Hope University in the UK began offering a master's degree on the music of world-famous 60's group The Beatles, which still runs today. The following year, the UK's Durham University gave students the chance to enroll on a Harry Potter-themed module, covering contents such as “Gryffindor and Slytherin: prejudice and intolerance in the classroom,” and “muggles and magic”.

    To some, these courses may seem like a waste of a valuable education, but Donaldson believes that packaging certain topics into something more easy to relate to will enhance the learning experience, without distracting(分离)from the main subject. “Firstly, scholars want to be taken seriously by other scholars and ideas like this can be seen as not serious,” he tells iNews. “There are definitely ways to include popular culture into academic subjects that still remains their nature and doesn't take away from the quality of the ideas,”

    Already booked full, Donaldson's Simpsons class isn't meant to be taken as seriously, however. The lecturer says that his one-day course, which will pose philosophical questions around morality, free will, and religion by relating them to scenarios(情节)from The Simpsons, aims to introduce students to his area of expertise greatly while having a bit of fun.

(1)、From Paragraph 2, we can learn that         .
A、The Simpsons contains many philosophical ideas B、John Donaldson produces those philosophical ideas C、many great thinkers will be invited to The Simpsons D、the main reason for The Simpsons' success is its philosophy
(2)、Paragraph 3 is developed mainly         .
A、by comparison B、by time C、by example D、by process
(3)、What is the main feature of the course according to Donaldson?
A、It's very dull with many serious topics. B、It's very common as a traditional course. C、It's very time-saving as a one-day course. D、It's very efficient in teaching philosophic ideas.
(4)、The passage mainly talks about         .
A、a creative philosophy course B、a popular comic cartoon C、a reform of traditional subjects D、an enterprising lecturer
举一反三
阅读理解

    When men get together, they seldom talk about their feelings or inner thoughts. However, they talk about a lot, like their newest computer, how to repair their car, or even business.

    Talk might move to the best place to find fish or women, jump to computer games, then continue to the sport of the season. They also like to tell jokes each other and spend a fair amount of time playing one up and boasting (吹牛). Men seldom call each other to chat.

    When a man meets a woman, he usually wants to make a good impression. Many single men try hard to carry on amusing, fun, and pleasant conversations. They use conversation to discover her interests and feelings in order to learn how to be attractive to her.

    Some men, either out of nervousness or ignorance, spend most of the time talking about themselves, often appearing to brag about their achievements or talk endlessly about their problems or work. Even the quietest man talks to his woman when love is new.

    When women get together, they talk about feelings and relationships, their work and their family. They enjoy talking but also want the give and lake of a talk, then listen. Women often call each other to chat. Conversation is an important part of most women's lives.

    As relationships progress, however, many a man turns on the television and forgets how to talk. This raises anger and cry from his woman partner who says. “You never talk to me anymore.'' Some men start talking. Many, however, mainly discuss their own achievements and problems.

    When the woman starts talking about her favorite subjects: feelings, family,relationships, friends and her work, many men lose interest or bring the conversation back to themselves. Pretty soon, the man is back to staring at the television each night, wondering where his relationship has gone. The woman is talking to her friends, mom, sister, or neighbor, often about that very relationship and how she is hurting.

阅读理解

    One of the biggest risks a modem student faces is a broken phone or laptop. Jake Hertz and Isaac Roberts are two students who have launched a new business to meet this exact need: Campus Tech Repair.

    Hertz and Roberts started their business half a year ago and they've had amazing success. The first day they had posters up, they received nearly a cloven calls from students. Despite not having backgrounds in business, the two gladly accepted the challenges of starting up such an in-demand service.

    Hertz and Roberts experienced such a high demand because of the lack of any other hardware repair service on campus. The IT Center itself only provided software fixes: Hertz guessed that this was because of the increased responsibilities faced by repair services. Hertz and Roberts did make customers sign a release(解除)of responsibility, yet they also wanted to build a higher level of trust.

    This, Hertz noted, was the only real challenge that they expected to face. Becoming directly sponsored by the school could solve the problem of community trust. Hertz and Roberts have already engaged in conversation with the University toward this end.

    The main selling point of their service is its convenience, as well as the relatively low price. Many students have neither the time nor the means to visit a phone repair service in a store, in addition to the problem of cost. For them, Campus Tech Repair is the desired alternative.

    Hertz is optimistic about the future of the business. The two partners dream of expanding the range of their operation to include more students and be able to meet all hardware needs. They've even received requests to repair Playstations(—种游戏机), in addition to their specialties of computer and smartphone repair. They believe that with the support of the University, they could become a necessary part of campus services.

阅读理解

    If you like texting and are trying to lose weight, a new study found that using texting to track(追踪) diet and exercise habits may help you lose weight.

    Previous research has shown that keeping food and exercise diaries improves the likelihood of success when you are trying to lose weight. Using a computer or a pen and paper to record information, however, can be a burden and cause some people to give up.

    Duke University researchers said using text messages to track eating and exercise habits can save time, and increase the chances that people will stick with their weight-loss rules.

    The study included 26 obese women with an average age of 38. The women used daily texting as part of their weight-loss program. The text messages focused on tracking personalized goals, such as avoiding sugary drinks or walking 10,000 steps a day. Messages also provided brief feedback (回复) and tips.

    Every morning, the women received a text from an automated(自动的)system that said, "Please text yesterday's personal information of steps you walked and how many sugary drinks you had." Based on the women's responses to the text message, the system sent another text with personalized feedback and tips.

    After six months, the women who used daily texting lost an average of nearly 3 pounds, while another group of women who used traditional methods to keep food and exercise diaries gained an average of 2.5 pounds, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

    "Text messaging has become popular and may be an effective method to simplify tracking of diet and exercise behavior," Dori Steinberg, who was responsible for this research, said.

    Steinberg said, "Text messaging offers several advantages compared to other self-monitoring methods. Unlike web-based diet and exercise diaries, data in a text message can be entered quickly on nearly all cellphone platforms so it is very convenient to receive feedback. Besides, because of the limited number of words used in text messages, it saves time."

阅读理解

    I have learned something about myself since I moved from Long Island to Florida three years ago. Even though I own a home in Port St, Lucie just minutes from the ocean, an un-controllable urge wells up to return to Long Island even as others make their way south. I guess I am a snowbird stuck in reverse. Instead of enjoying Florida's mild winters, I willingly endure the severe weather on Long Island, the place I called home for 65 years.

    I'm like a migratory bird (候鸟) that has lost its sense of timing and direction, my wings flapping against season.

    So what makes me fly against the tide of snowbirds? The answer has a lot to do with my reluctance to give up the things that define who I am. Once I hear that the temperature on Long Island has dipped into the range of 40 to 50 degrees, I begin to long for the sight and crackling sound of a wood fire. I also long for the bright display of colors-first in the fall trees, and then in the lights around homes and at Rockefeller Center. Floridians decorate too, but can't create the special feel of a New England winter.

    I suppose the biggest reason why I return is to celebrate the holidays with people I haven't seen in months. What could be better than sitting with family and friends for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner, or watching neighbors children excitedly open gifts on Christmas? Even the first snowfall seems special. I especially enjoy seeing a bright red bird settling on a snow-covered branch. (My wife and I spend winters at a retirement community in Ridge, and I'm grateful that I don't have to shovel.)

    While these simple pleasures are not unique to Long Island, they are some of the reasons why I come back. Who says you can't go home?

阅读理解

    China has become the first country to successfully land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. The Chang'e-4 probe (探测器) has also made the first lunar landing since 1972. It has the task of exploring the side of the moon that never faces the earth. The dark side of the moon is older and has a thicker surface than the visible side. It takes the moon as long to go around on its own axis (轴) as it does for one complete orbit around the Earth.

    The Chinese probe landed in a huge crater 2500 km in diameter and 13 km deep. The crater is one of the oldest parts of the moon and our solar system.

    Scientists hope to learn more about the geology of the far side of the moon. The craft has two cameras on board which will send images back to earth. It will also attempt to send signals to distant regions of space, something that cannot happen on earth because of too much radio noise.

    Chang'e-4 also has instruments on board to examine minerals as well as a container with seeds which will try to create a miniature (微型的) biosphere (生物圈).

Communication with the spacecraft is not easy. Images and other data must be transmitted to a separate satellite because no direct communication with the earth is possible.

    For China the Chang'e-4 mission is an important achievement, because the country has successfully done something no other nation on earth has. It wants to become a leading power in space exploration and has announced plans to send astronauts to the moon and set up its own space station.

阅读理解

    Essentially, everyone has two ages: a chronological(按时间计算的)age, how old the calendar says you are, and a biological age, basically the age at which your body functions as it compares to average fitness or health levels.

    "Chronological age isn't how old we really are. It's merely a number," said Professor David Sinclair at Harvard University. "It is biological age that determines our health and ultimately our lifespan. We all age biologically at different rates according to our genes, what we eat, how much we exercise, and what environment we live in. Biological age is the number of candles we really should be blowing out. In the future, with advances in our ability to control biological age, we may have even fewer candles on our birthday cake than the previous one."

    To calculate biological age, Professor Levine at  ale University identified nine biomarker(生物标志)that seemed to be the most influential on lifespan by a simple blood test. The numbers of those markers, such as blood sugar and immune(免疫的)measures, can be put into the computer, and the algorithm(算式;算法)does the rest.

    Perhaps what's most important here is that these measures can be changed. Doctors can take this information and help patients make changes to lifestyle, and hopefully take steps to improve their biological conditions. "I think the most exciting thing about this research is that these things aren't set in stone," Levine said. "People can be given the information earlier and take steps to improve their health before it's too late."

    Levine even entered her own numbers into the algorithm. She was surprised by the results. "I always considered myself a very healthy person. I'm physically active; I eat what I consider a fairly healthy diet. But I did not find my results to be as good as I had hoped they would be. It was a wake-up call," she said.

    Levine is working with a group to provide access to the algorithm online so that anyone can calculate their biological age, identify potential risks and take steps to improve their own health in the long run. "No one wants to live an extremely long life with a lot of chronic(慢性的)diseases," Levine said. "By delaying the development of mental and physical functioning problems, people can still be engaged in society in their senior years. That is the ideal we should be pursuing."

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