1、阅读理解-练习十四及答案解析(总分：20.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Text A(总题数：1，分数：4.00)Clara came to Jordans. Some of the older hands, Fanny among them, remembered her earlier rule, and cordially disliked the memory. Clara had always been “ikey“, reserved, and superior. She had never mixed with the girls as one of themselves. I
2、f she had occasion to find fault, she did it coolly and with perfect politeness, which the defaulter felt to be a bigger insult than crossness. Towards Fanny, the poor, over-strung hunchback, Clara was unfailingly compassionate and gentle, as a result of which Fanny shed more bitter tears than ever
3、the rough tongues of the other overseers had caused her.There was something in Clara that Paul disliked, and much that piqued him. If she were about, he always watched her strong throat or her neck, upon which the blond hair grew low and fluffy. There was a fine down, almost invisible, upon the skin
4、 of her face and arms, and once he had perceived it, he saw it always.When he was at his work, painting in the afternoon, she would come and stand near him, perfectly motionless. Then he felt her, though she neither spoke nor touched him. Although she stood a yard away he felt as if he were in conta
5、ct with her. Then he could paint no more. He flung down the brushes, and turned to talk to her.Sometimes she praised his work; sometimes she was critical and cold.“You are affected in that piece,“ she would say; and, as there was an element of truth in her condemnation, his blood boiled with anger.A
6、gain: “What of this?“ he would ask enthusiastically.“Hm!“ She made a small doubtful sound. “It doesnt interest me much.“Because you dont understand it,“ he retorted.“Because I thought you would understand.“She would shrug her shoulders in scorn of his work. She maddened him. He was furious. Then he
7、abused her, and went into passionate exposition of his stuff. This amused and stimulated her. But she never owned that she had been wrong.During the ten years that she had belonged to the womens movement she had acquired a fair amount of education, and, having had some of Miriams passion to be instr
8、ucted, had taught herself French, and could read in that language with a struggle. She considered herself as a woman apart, and particularly apart, from her class. The girls in the spiral department were all of good homes. It was a small, special industry, and had a certain distinction. There was an
9、 air of refinement in both rooms. But Clara was aloof also from her fellow-workers.None of these things, however, did she reveal to Paul. She was not the one to give herself away. There was a sense of mystery about her. She was so reserved, he felt she had much to reserve. Her history was open on th
10、e surface, but its inner meaning was hidden from everybody. It was exciting. And then sometimes he caught her looking at him from under her brows with an almost furtive, sullen scrutiny, which made him move quickly. Often she met his eyes. But then her own were, as it were, covered over, revealing n
11、othing. She gave him a little, lenient smile. She was to him extraordinarily provocative, because of the knowledge she seemed to possess, and gathered fruit of experience he could not attain.（分数：4.00）(1).Being compassionately and politely treated by Clara, Fanny felt（分数：1.00）A.deeply moved.B.more hu
12、miliated.C.very grateful.D.mistakenly wronge(2).All the following descriptions of Clara are true EXCEPT that（分数：1.00）A.she wanted to be kind to her work-mates.B.she was always condescending towards her fellow workers.C.she felt herself superior to her own class.D.she did not want others to read her
13、min(3).What Paul didnt like in Clara was that（分数：1.00）A.she was sometimes scornfully critical about his painting.B.she was a feminist.C.she had more education than him.D.she was not pretty enoug(4).Which of the following descriptions is NOT true of Pauls feeling when he was with Clara?（分数：1.00）A.He
14、felt attracted by her.B.He didnt quite understand her.C.He felt himself inferior for lacking knowledge and experience.D.He shared many ideas with her concerning paintin二、Text B(总题数：1，分数：5.00)That Louise Johannes is believed by many critics to be the greatest twentieth-century sculptor is all the mor
15、e remarkable because the greatest resistance to women artists has been, until recently, in the field of sculpture. Since Neolithic times, sculpture has been considered the prerogative of men, partly, perhaps, for purely physical reasons it was erroneously assumed that women were not suited for the h
16、ard manual labor required in sculpting stone, carving wood, or working in metal. It has been only during the twentieth century that women sculptors have been recognized as major artists, and it has been in the United States, especially since the decades of the fifties and sixties, that women sculpto
17、rs have shown the greatest originality and creative power. Their rise to prominence parallels the development of sculpture itself in the United States, while there had been a few talented sculptors in the United States before the 1940s. It was only after 1945 when New York was rapidly becoming the a
18、rt capital of the world-that major sculpture was produced in the United States. Some of the best was the work of women.By far the most outstanding of these women is Louise Johannes, who in the eyes of many critics is the most original female artist alive today. One famous and influential critic Hilt
19、on Kramer, said of her work, “For myself, I think Ms Johannes succeeds where the painters often fail.“Her works have been compared to the Cubist constructions of Picasso, the Surrealistic objects of Miro and the Merzbau of Schwitters. Johannes would be the first to admit that she has been influenced
20、 by all of these, as well as by African sculpture, and by Native American and pre-Columbian art, but she has absorbed all these influences and still created a distinctive art that expresses the urban landscape and the aesthetic sensibility of the twentieth century. Johannes says, “I have always want
21、ed to show the world that art is everywhere, except that it has to pass through a creative mind.“Using mostly discarded wooden objects like packing crates, broken pieces of furniture, and abandoned architectural ornaments, all of which she has hoarded for years, she assembles architectural construct
22、ions, of great beauty and power. Creating very freely with no sketches, she glues and nails objects together, paints them black, or more rarely white or gold, and places them in boxes. These assemblages, walls, even entire environments create a mysterious, almost awe-inspiring atmosphere. Although s
23、he has denied any symbolic or religious intent in her works, their three-dimensional grandeur and even their titles, such as Sky Cathedral and Night Cathedral, suggest such connotation. In some ways, her most ambitious works are closer to architecture than to traditional sculpture, but then neither
24、Louise Johannes nor her art fits into any neat category.（分数：5.00）(1).The writer implies in the first paragraph that（分数：1.00）A.Louise Johannes was known before the 1940s.B.American sculpture developed with the appearance of women sculptors.C.until the 1950s and 1960s, there were no major sculpture ma
25、de by women artists.D.New York became the art capital of the world because of the contributions made by women sculptors.(2).The author quotes Hilton Kramer in Paragraph 2 most probably in order to illustrate（分数：1.00）A.realism in Johannes work.B.the unique qualities of Johannes style.C.the extent of
26、critical approval of Johannes work.D.a distinction between sculpture and paintin(3).The word “assemblages“ in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to（分数：1.00）A.assignments.B.assumptions.C.connotations.D.collections.(4).Which of the following is true about the major theme of Johannesart?（分数：1.0
27、0）A.Religion.B.Landscape.C.Modern city.D.Architectural construction(5).Which of the following statements about Johannes sculpture can be inferred from the passage?（分数：1.00）A.They are meant for display outdoors.B.They are often painted in several colors.C.They are sometimes very large.D.They are hand
28、 carve三、Text C(总题数：1，分数：3.00)Earthquakes can rip apart entire cities and outlying districts, as the 1995 disaster in Kobe, Japan showed. SeismoLogists, scientists who study earthquakes and related phenomena, have records dating back to 1556, from the Chinese province of Shaanxi, which indicate that
29、earthquakes have been devastating our world for centuries.The destructive forces which produce earthquakes usually begin deep below the ground, along a fault in weaker areas of the earths rocky outer shell, where sections of rock repeatedly slide past each other. As the fracture extends along the fa
30、ult, blocks of rock on one side of the fault may drop down below the rock on the other side, move up and over the other side, or slide forward past the other. The violent shattering of rock releases energy that travels in waves, and these seismic waves move out from the focus of the earthquake in al
31、l directions. As the waves travel away from the focus, they grow gradually weaker, generally resulting in the ground shaking less as distances increase.Geological movements are not the only occurrences to trigger an earthquake. Human activity, most often the filling of reservoirs with extraordinaril
32、y large amounts of water, can also cause earthquakes. Similarly, massive explosions can wreak havoc, too.Earthquakes almost never kill people directly. Instead, many deaths and injuries result from falling objects and collapsing buildings, while fire resulting from broken gas or fallen power lines i
33、s another danger. The Kobe earthquake in January 1995 lasted only 20 seconds, yet resulted in a death toll of over 5,000 and injured approximately 26,000 people.Even though earthquake prone countries spend enormous human and financial resources on seismographic measurement, as a means of predicting
34、earthquakes, there is a danger in paying too much heed to seemingly high risk zones and erecting less stable buildings solely because of their being in a low risk zone. Prior to the earthquake, Kobe was not regarded as at serious risk, but after the disaster, investigation of the damage revealed tha
35、t nearly all deaths occurred in small buildings shattered rather than twisted when stressed. Coupled with the problem of soft soils, the buildings had little firm support and many crumbled. If countries wish to withstand the devastating forces of substantial earthquakes and reduce death, injury and
36、property damage, it is important to design and construct buildings that are earthquake resistant, as well as monitor seismic forces.（分数：3.00）(1).We can infer from the passage that（分数：1.00）A.the first earthquake in history took place in Shaanxi in 1556.B.earthquakes are directly caused by a fault und
37、er the earths rocky outer shell.C.people in Kobe were stricken by a sudden earthquake unprepared.D.if we use small reservoirs, earthquake can be avoide(2).According to what is learned from the passage, which of the following will NOT lead to an earthquake?（分数：1.00）A.Nuclear tests.B.Building tunnels.
38、C.Huge artificial lakes.D.Bombardment with heavy missiles.(3).It is believed that（分数：1.00）A.soft soils may fail to support less stable buildings in an earthquake.B.soft soils may cause building to twist rather than shatter.C.soft soils are easy to cause earthquake.D.soft soils can be found in high-r
39、isk zones.四、Text D(总题数：1，分数：4.00)Most of the 20th century has been a development on the Industrial Revolution taken to an extreme; people now own more products than ever before; there are enough nuclear weapons to destroy the earth several times over; there is hardly any forest left and pollution ha
40、s got to the point where we buy water. Within a few years I predict you will be able to buy air. (There once was a time when you didnt need to buy food or shelter either, but its too late now.)Important developments in the last century are the breaking down of the class structures left over from the
41、 Industrial Revolution stage, bringing with it the empowennent of the “common man“; the working day is set by law to only 8 hours a day, everyone has the vote (even women!), the media has less obvious government control, people have landed on the moon, sent probes to mars and so on. Families have al
42、so shrunk drastically; the nuclear family came about, and especially in the last half of the 20th century, one-parent families are becoming more and more common. This shrinking in the size of the family shows the increased independence of people-once upon a time people had to live in large groups (t
43、ribes) to survive.As humans have “become the gods“, they have realised their individuality and independence and taken their control of the world to an extreme. In many countries the land is almost completely utilised in the production of food and as living space, and they live in small clusters (cit
44、ies) which are entirely human constructed, made from materials which are also entirely human constructed (concrete, bricks) with hardly any remnants of nature. Weeds are poisoned because they are messy; even parks have trees grown in tidy lines; grass is mowed to keep it short and so on. I think the
45、 massive drug “problem“, afflicting people is a result of too much of this influence, humans needing to escape the stark world they have created by entering fantasy worlds.Over the last 100 years, the 20th century consciousness has spread throughout the world; most of Asia has been thoroughly “Weste
46、rnized“, and most of the third world is being overrun by western ways of doing and living.（分数：4.00）(1).What is the author of this passage most concerned about?（分数：1.00）A.Development and pollution.B.Effects of development.C.Social changes brought about by development.D.Changed position of humans as G
47、o(2).We can infer from the passage that the authors attitude towards the development of the 20th century is（分数：1.00）A.negative.B.positive.C.unclear.D.objectiv(3).Which of the following is NOT stated or implied in the passage?（分数：1.00）A.The world is becoming more and more unfit for human beings to li
48、ve in with the recent development.B.People have been enjoying more individuality and independence since the last century.C.Human beings have been doing so much against nature.D.With the shrinking in the size of the family, extended families have disappeared in the 20th century.(4).At the end of the
49、passage, the author expresses（分数：1.00）A.his worries about the future.B.his anxiety for the 21st century.C.his concern for the third world.D.his hope for Asi五、Text E(总题数：1，分数：4.00)To an adolescent who dreams of dominating the basketball court, synthetic human growth hormone may look like a godsend. To biotechnology watchdog Jeremy Rifkin, it has a more sinister aspect. The 5-foot-7 activist doesnt view short stature as a medical problem, and hes appalled that the US government is sponsoring a 10-year study to see whether the treatment will make healthy children taller.
