2009年高考英语

2009年高考英语阅读理解训练2十一Weallhatespeedcameras,don’twe?They’renottheretoslowdriversdownandlowertheroadaccidents;theyjustmakemoneyforthegovernment.Theytrickus,costuscoldhardcash,disturbusfromdrivingproperlyandareunfair.Well,here’sasurprisingthing:whatiftherewerefactsthattheboringcamerasactuallysavedlives?It’saconclusiondifficulttoignorewhenyoulookatwhat’shappeninginFrance,acountrywithahistoricallypoorrecordofroadsafety.Therewere16,617roaddeathsin1972inFranceforexample,butthatdroppedto8412by1995followingrulessuchascompulsoryseatbeltwearingin1990andaloweringofthebloodalcohollimitto0.05in1995.Lastyear,theroaddeathsdroppedbelow5,000forthefirsttime,or4.9percentlessthan2004.Comparingroaddeathstopopulationin2005,that’sabout817permillionpeoplecomparedwithAustralia’s806.Andguesswhat?LastyearthenumberofspeedcamerasonFrenchroadsreached1,000andthegovernmentplanstodoublethatwithinthenextthreeyears.Okay,youknowtheargumentsregardingincreasedtrafficsafetyandcameras-for-income,butitseemsinFrancethere’sbeenamajorculturalchangebroughtonbyradarsandotherlaws.Athree-hour,wine-soakedlunchwithaquickrushbacktotheofficeisnolongeron.Travellingonthehighways,itisraretoseeanyonebreakingthe130km/hspeedlimitwhenoncefewtraveledbelowit.Thespeedcamerasareclearlysignedsodriversknowwhentheyarecoming.There’sevenanofficialwebsitelistingfixedandmobilecameralocationsanditisupdatedregularly.Maybeitisbecauseofsuchtransparencybygovernment,ratherthantheconcealmenttoooftenusedbyauthoritiesinmanyothercountriesthatmoreFrenchcanenjoylajoidevivrethankstospeedcameras.1．Generally,itseemstomostpeoplethatspeedcamerasareusedto.A．makemoneyforthegovernmentB．slowdownthetrafficC．lowertheroadaccidentsD．helpusdriveproperly2．Fromthepassagewecanlearnthat.A．FrancehasaverypoorrecordofroadsafetyB．we’dbetterignoretheevidencethatspeedcamerassavelivesC．FrancehadlessroaddeathsthanAustraliain2005D．Francedoessuccessfullyincontrollingroadaccidents3．WhichseemsmoreeffectiveinloweringroaddeathsinFranceaccordingtothispassage?A．Compulsoryseatbelt.B．Loweringbloodalcohollimit.C．Placingmorespeedcameras.D．Eatinginashortertime.4．NowyoucanseldomseeinFrance.A．peopledriveataspeedoflessthan130km/hB．lunchtimelastslonghourswithdrunkpeoplerushingbacktoofficeC．driversdriveaccordingtothetrafficlightsD．policeconducttrafficinstreets5．Whatdoestheunderlinedword“concealment”inthelastparagraphmean?A．Secrecy.B．Openness.C．Strictness.D．Harmony.十二Sometimeearlyinthenextcentury,humanbeingswillmovetoMars.Theywilllivethereforaboutayear,andthenwillbereplacedwithanothergroupofpioneers.BuildingthebaseonMarswilladvanceourknowledgeofthesolarsystemandaidinourunderstandingoftheearth.WealreadyknowthatMarsresemblestheearthinmanyaspects:generalsize,presenceofwater,lengthofday,rangeoftemperatures.Theseresemblanceshavecausedmanypeopletoconsideracenturies-longproject:toterraformMars.Terraformingmeansalteringaplanet’ssurfacesothatEarth’slifeformscansurvivethere.Thisconcept,previouslyfoundonlyinsciencefictionisnowbeingseriouslyconsideredbyscientists.TerraformingMarsistheoreticallysimple:addnitrogenandoxygentotheatmosphere;pumpwatertothesurface;andaddtheearth’splantsandanimalsintheorderinwhichtheydevelopedonEarth.Butitwilltakeatleast300years.Somepeoplethinkthatsuchaprojectistoohugeforhumanstoundertake,butthereareverygoodreasonstomaketheattempt.Theearthnowcontainssome6billionpeople,andnoonehasanyideaofhowmanyhumanstheearthcansupport.Ourveryexistenceandnumbersarethreateningmanyotherspecies.Wealsohavehadsomeexperiencewithterraformingourownplanet:alteringthelandscape,theatmosphereandtheclimate.Currentlyterraformingearthhasbecomeawiseractivityaswetrytocontrolglobalwarming,airandwaterpollution,andpreservesomenaturallivingplaces.Whilethepossibilityofsuchaprojectissmall,itisnotimpossible.Evenifearth-boundsocietiescomeandgointhenext300years,theprojectcancontinuethroughtheworkoftheMarssettlerswithouttheneedforconstantbackingfromtheearth.ThefutureexistenceofallthepeopleinourworldmayverywelldependuponourabilitytoterraformMars.1．Whatwouldbethebesttitleforthispassage?A．TerraformingMars.B．SavingtheEarth.C．TravellingtoMars.D．ANewly-foundPlace.2．Whatdoestheunderlinedword“altering”meaninthesecondparagraph?A．Warming.B．Changing.C．Planting.D．Building.3．AccordingtothepassagethemainpurposeofterraformingMarsisto.A．dosomescientificresearchworkB．findoutitssimilaritytoearthC．avoidthedyingawayofmanyotherspeciesD．findonMarslivingplacefortheincreasinghumanbeings4．ThemainreasonforcausingmanypeopletoconsiderterraformingMarsisthat.A．therearesomeresemblancesbetweenEarthandMars.B．terraformingMarsistheoreticallysimpleC．wehavehadsomeexperiencewithterraformingourownplanet:EarthD．thedevelopmentofscienceandtechnologyisveryrapid5．What’stheauthor’sattitudetowardstheproject?A．Optimistic.B．Negative.C．Sceptical.D．Objective.十三WhensixtheverybeststudentsfromdifferentcitiesinGuandongprovincealltogetherchoseuniversitiesinHongKong;whentheverybeststudentofBeijingpickedupHKUniversitywhilegivingupthenearbyPekingorTsingbuaUniversity;whenthehighestenrollment（录取）rateofHongKongScienceandIndu