（安徽省桐城六中2010屆高三第二次模擬月考）

L’HAY-LES-ROSES, France: Three teenage girls admitted starting a fire in a suburban Paris housing project over the weekend that killed 17 people, including three children, police said yesterday. A fourth girl was held yesterday morning.

The fire in a 19-storey building south of Paris was the third fatal blaze in the Paris area in nine days. The death toll rose to 16 after a man died late Sunday in a hospital, where seven others were being treated for serious injuries, police said.

Three teenagers taken in for questioning on Sunday admitted having started the fire for fun, police said. Two of the suspects were 18-year-old, the other was 16, police said. Further details were not available.

Witnesses claimed to have seen a group of youths who lived in the building start the fire, said Patrick Seve, mayor of the town of L’HAY-LES-ROSES, near Orly airport, where the building was located.

The fire is believed to have broken out in the lobby（門廳）of the building before raging up a stairwell at least three floors. Some residents jumped from windows as the fire spread through the building’s entrance.

Authorities were investigating possible criminals in an August 26 fire that killed 14 African children and three adults in a Paris apartment building. Three days later, another fire killed seven in a building.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy suggested on French television on Sunday night that copycats（盲目模仿者）were at work. “Each time there is a new story, sometimes that gives ideas to people who then turn into criminals,” Sarkozy said, promising severe punishment for anyone found guilty of arson（縱火）.

56. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs？

A. Three girls were caught setting fire to a building.

B. The fourth girl wasn’t present when the fire broke out.

C. All the people lost their lives before police came.

D. Paris was troubled by fire during that period.

57. Why did the teenagers start the fire？

A. They were interested in playing with fire.

B. They wanted to make fun of their parents.

C. They were not satisfied with the surroundings.

D. They wanted to warm themselves.

58. From the fourth and fifth paragraphs we know that ________.

A. the witnesses must have put out the fire

B. the lobby of the building was covered with wood.

C. the witnesses were familiar with the teenagers

D. the residents shouldn’t have jumped from windows

59. What the Minister said in the last paragraph means that ________.

A. he doesn’t like to listen to new stories

B. he has no time to write new stories

C. teenagers often have ideas to turn into criminals

D. teenagers may do the same as others have done

（）

(四川省棠湖中學(xué)2010屆高三考前適應(yīng)訓(xùn)練D篇)

Consulates (領(lǐng)事館) exist to help citizens abroad to help themselves. Every year millions of people go abroad for pleasure or profit (利潤). There are consular officers ready to do what they can to help if people get into difficulties, but for all sorts of reasons there are limits to what they can do. Most times things go well for travelers abroad but occasionally things go wrong.

So, whether you are an experienced traveler or a first timer, going by yourself, with the family or a group there are things you should do before you go. Think about money and tickets well in advance. Take enough money including enough to pay your return fare, and hold on to it. Better still, buy return tickets in the first place. In an emergency a consul (領(lǐng)事) will contact relatives or friends and ask them to help you with money or tickets. But there's no law that says a consul has to lend you money and if he eventually does (and it will have to be repaid) he will want to be satisfied first that you really do have no money and there is no one else you know who can help.

It is also important to take out proper insurance (保險) for everything from car breakdowns to loss of life. A consul cannot pay your medical or any other bills, nor can he do the work of local travel representatives or motoring organizations.

53．What is the author trying to do in the text

A．To inform people about laws abroad.      B．To describe an international problem.

C．To explain how to visit a consulate.       D．To give advice about consulates

54．Why would somebody read the text?

A．To know how to contact a consul.      B．To find out how to make a complaint (抱怨).

C．To know when to contact a consul.     D．To find out where a consul lives.

55．You can borrow money from a consul if you  .

    A．need to stay abroad longer.            B．have to help a relative

    C．have no other financial (資金) means    D．need to have your car repaired

56．Which of the following notices would you see in Consular Office?

A． CONSULAR OFFICE

In an emergency you may contact your consul. He may give you advice but you should not rely on being given financial help.

B．CONSULAR OFFICE

In an emergency you may contact this office. Your consul can always help with hospital and dental costs.

C．CONSULAR OFFICE

You may contact your consul if you have run out of money. He will arrange for you to receive help if you cannot pay your bills.    

D．CONSULAR OFFICE

Your consul is here to help you. If your car has broken down or you’re experiencing travel difficulties of any kind. Contact your consul.

（）

(四川省棠湖中學(xué)2010屆高三考前適應(yīng)訓(xùn)練B篇)

Yesterday's paper had a short article about the Coming-of-Age ceremony in a large city in Japan. According to the article, the mayor of the city formally apologized to an enraged professor who delivered a speech at the ceremony that was all but ignored by 20-year-olds in the city.

The officials prepared 7,000 seats in a gymnasium where the ceremony was held for the 17,000 twenty-year-olds residing in the city. But most of the seats were empty during the speech. And many of the 20-year-olds who did show up ignored the professor and spoke among themselves or talked on their mobile phones. Some even made a ruckus (騷動) outside the gymnasium.

One 20-year-old who attended the ceremony said youngsters came to the ceremony not to listen to speeches but to see their classmates. The mayor criticized the young generation at a news conference on Tuesday, saying such behavior "issymbolic of the postwar era which failed to nurture healthy character and social intelligence."

Personally I feel people should not generalize the whole generation or the whole era when he criticizes something. But it is also true generation gap is getting bigger and bigger regarding the ceremony of Coming-of-Age Day. So far this ceremony has been held with citizens' tax money. Many older generations understand this festival as an entrance ceremony of adults' world which requires maturity including responsibility, patience, and cooperativeness. Older people tend to be "educational" to younger ones, while younger people tend to feel they finally obtain a right to behave freely because they are now adults. Though, ironically, young people have to ask their parents to buy them new clothes for the ceremony.

It is about time to change the way we celebrate this festival, I think. The idea of blessing new 20-year-olds is not so bad. But there seems to be some other ways to celebrate more properly. The present way seems to me a little superficial and materialistic. It can provide solutionless arguments between different generations, instead of friendships and respects. Instead of eternally complaining about the young's behaviors at the ceremonies, people should consider how they can make their ceremonies worthier, I feel.

45．We can infer from the passage that   

    A．in Japan, girls and boys, when they are 20 years old, come to their adulthood

    B．there are 7,000 twenty-year-olds residents in the city

    C．the mayor criticized the young generation at a news conference

    D．it’s about time to change the way we celebrate the Coming-of-Age

46．When the professor was giving a speech the 20-years-olds are NOT________.

    A．talking with each other               B．chatting on their mobile phones

    C．talking with the professor             D．making ruckus outside

47．According to the author _________.

    A．the festival is an entrance ceremony of adults’ world which requires maturity including responsibility, patience, and cooperativeness

    B．the young people tend to obtain a right to behave freely because they are now adults

    C．young people have to ask their parents to buy them new clothes for the ceremony

    D．it’s time to end complaining about the young’s behaviors at the ceremonies, and people should consider how to make their ceremonies worthier

48．What’s the best title for the passage?

    A．There are solutionless arguments between different generations.

    B．Coming-of-Age ceremony should be much worthier.

    C．Old people should be educational to young people

    D．The younger ones’ behaviors stand for an era which failed to nurture healthy character and social intelligence

（四川省綿陽中學(xué)2010屆高三高考模擬C篇）

    Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water—drink recycled sewage(污水)or die．

   With the drought(干旱)continuing，the country is set to be forced to use purified(凈化的)waste water for drinking．even though there is great opposition to the measure．

    Queensland has become the first state to introduce tile policy after a warning from its premier．

“I think in the end，because of the drought，all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water．”said Peter Beattie．

    “These are difficult decisions，but you either drink water or you die．There’s no choice．It’s liquid gold．It’s a matter of life and death．”

    Beanie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking．

    Water is recycled in Britain and pans of northern Europe along with the US and Israel．

    But Australians have never liked the idea．

    To try to change the way Australians think，Prime Minister．John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have adhered to Queensland’s move．

   “I am very strongly for recycling and Mr．Beattie is right and I agree with him completely．”Howard said．

   “Australian cities．a(chǎn)ll now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record．must start to use recycled water．”added Turnbull．“All of our big cities have to widen tile range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall．”

49．According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?

A．Nobody disagrees to the idea of drinking recycled purified water

B．Australia’s second largest state has become tile first state to introduce the policy

C．No other countries but Australia decide to drink recycled water

D．The drought is tile worst one in tile droughts recorded in Australian history．

50．What call we learn from the last paragraph?

  A．Australians have never like drinking purified waste water

  B．Australians should develop more water sources to live through the hard time

  C．Australians can’t depend upon rainwater，which is not suitable for drinking．

  D．Australian government has no ability to solve the problem of water shortage

51．The underlined phrase“adhered to”inParagraph 9 probably means

  A．disliked          B．gone against       C．supported           D．doubted

52．It can be inferred from what Premier Peter Beattie said that

A．he gives orders to drink purified waste water

B．It is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage

C．If the decision is made，people won’t survive the drought

D．It’s up to you to either make a life or death decision

（四川省綿陽中學(xué)2010屆高三高考模擬A篇）

Smoking is habit that’s closely linked to certain times and places. If you break these links, you can break the habit. The best way of doing this is to avoid the situations where you want a cigarette. If you can’t avoid them, then you will have to fight off the temptation（誘惑）. Sit down and think about when and where you usually have a cigarette. For example, do you always have one after breakfast? After other meals? In breaks at work? When you are watching television? With friends in the pub? Once you stop smoking, these times and places are going to be the danger spots. So work out how you are going to deal with them.

It will also help if you can make new habits to break the old one of smoking. So plan some new activities to replace smoking-things to draw away your attention, things to do with your hands, and different ways to deal with tensions.

Some people find it helps if they cut down on cigarettes before they actually give up. It’s one way of preparing for the day you stop for good. But don’t look on cutting down as an alternative to giving up, and don’t do it for more than a couple of weeks at the very most. The danger is that you go back to smoking more than you did before.

41. What is the best way to stop smoking?

  A. Avoid situations where you feel like a cigarette.

  B. Avoid working with smokers in the same place.

  C. Sit down and think about the situations where you moke.

  D. Do not bring cigarettes with you when you take a rest.

42. The underlined part “The danger spots” are        .

  A. the beginning and ending of a period when you stop smoking

  B. the time period when you relax yourself

  C. the times and places which link to smoking habit

  D. the time when you start smoking

43. Which of the following activities can be used to stop smoking?

  A. Something you are able to do in your spare time.

  B. Something that might improve your skills.

  C. Something you do not like to do when you are free.

  D. Something that might interest you in your spare time.

44. One of the ways to stop smoking is to        .

  A. give up smoking together with a group of friends

  B. reduce gradually the number of cigarettes you have every day

  C. increase the time that you spend on other hobbies

  D. take drugs to prevent you from feeling like smoking

（陜西省寶雞中學(xué)2010屆高三考前適應(yīng)性訓(xùn)練D）

One day my teacher said, “ Life is a game of chess, and the other player is time．” From that moment, I knew I had to enjoy my life．Do not waste time, because, you know, time will not come back．You cannot buy it．It is one of those things in life that you must really, really value．

       When you see an opportunity, take it．You might not get it back．Never let an opportunity pass．And if it is too hard, remember that in the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity．

       Remember, you cannot choose how you' re going to die, or when．You can only decide how you' re going to live．Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow．Don' t just think of the present, but also think of your future．Your future is yet another chapter in your life and another way to live it．

       Every single living thing has a purpose in life．"The purpose of life is a life of purpose," said Robert Byme．

       Learn to use time wisely, take opportunities, and enjoy life．We can discover the meaning of life in three different ways: （1） by doing a deed; （2） by experiencing a value;  （3） by suffering．Life．

58．The underlined part suggests that___________．

       A．if life is a game of chess, time is also a game of chess

       B．if life is a game of chess, both you and time are the players

       C．if life is one player in a game of chess, time is the other player

       D．if time is a game of chess, both life and you are the players

59．According to the author, what can you decide?

       A．How you die．                       B．When you die．

       C．How you live．                      D．When you succeed．

60．This article is most probably from__________．

       A．a(chǎn)n explanation of time in the universe

       B．a(chǎn)n essay about time and life

       C．a(chǎn)n argument that time is the most important thing in life

       D．a(chǎn) description of an important class

（陜西省2010屆高三西安五校聯(lián)考C篇）

Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes．To some degree our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius （天才） out of a child born with low intelligence．On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings．Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment．This view, now held by most experts can be supported in a number of ways．

It is easy to say that intelligence is to some degree something we are born with．The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence．Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different．If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other．Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth．

Imagine that now we take two identical twins and put them in different environments．We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring．We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part．This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence．

54．By using the example that two people closer in blood relationship are closer in intelligence, the writer wants to prove _________．

       A．intelligence is given at birth

       B．intelligence can be developed by environment

       C．intelligence can be developed by experience

       D．education plays an important part in the development of education

55．A child who lives in rich and varied surroundings turns out higher in intelligence because ________．

       A．his family is rich and therefore can afford to develop his intelligence

       B．he can break the limits of intelligence fixed at birth

       C．his family is rich and provides him with various healthy food

       D．these surroundings are likely to help him reach the limits of their intelligence

56．The writer of this article believes that _________．

       A．the development of one’s intelligence is determined by many things working together

       B．environment plays the most important role in the development of intelligence

       C．education plays the most important role in the development of intelligence

       D．birth plays the most important role in the development of intelligence

57．The best title for this passage might be __________．

       A．The Answer to a Question                   B．Birth and Environment

      C．Intelligence                                         D．Intelligence and Education

（陜西省2010屆高三西安五校聯(lián)考B篇）

Is there a nationwide shortage of nurses? It’s hard to say．However, some characteristic symptoms often indicate that there is indeed a shortage．

One symptom is the vacancy rate, or the percentage of budgeted positions that are unfilled．New England’s hospitals currently report that an average of 7 to 12 percent of their registered nurse positions are vacant, the highest level since the last shortage in the late 1980s．Vermont has a relatively low vacancy rate, at 7．8 percent．But its vacancies were at 1．2 percent just five years ago．

Another symptom is the increased use of stopgap measures to fill empty positions．For instance, many nurses report an upswing in how frequently they are asked to stay past their shifts．According to Murphy, working in the St．Elizabeth’s Hospital, “The shortage has definitely created a lot of opportunities of overtime for our nurses, whether they want them or not．” Similarly, a national survey of registered nurses shows that in an average week, nurses in the U．S．work 2．4 more hours than they are scheduled to．Much of this extra time is voluntary, as nurses earn overtime pay when they stay to fill in blanks in the schedule．

When they can’t fill open positions by more traditional means, health care providers hire temporary staff to tide them over．Travelling workers are the largest part of the temporary health care workforce, hired for thirteen-week reduction at health care facilities facing short-term lack of workers．Temporary workers, mainly nurses, cost hospitals $ 7．2 billion in 2000．

“Any successful solution to the shortage depends on convincing more people to become nurses, and that is not an easy goal to reach．To achieve it,” says Buerhaus, “society needs to place more value on nursing．Legislation （法規(guī)） can’t do that – it should come from people．” And if this continues, we might have to learn to care for ourselves in the hospital．

50．The temporary staff hired by a hospital _______．

      A．cost a large part of the hospital’s budget

       B．meet the need for nurses in the hospital for a short time

      C．should work on a weekly basis and on a scheduled timetable 

       D．ought to work passively for thirty continuous weeks

51．According to Buerhaus, what is a successful solution to the nurse shortage?

      A．To convince people of the benefits of being a nurse．

      B．To ask the government for help to work out specific legislation．

      C．To publicize the past achievements of nurses．

      D．To make people aware of the importance of being a nurse．

52．What’s the probable meaning of the underlined word “upswing” in Paragraph 3?

      A．Symptom         B．Decrease             C．Increase         D．Figure

53．What’s the author’s attitude towards nurse shortage?

       A．Worried            B．Indifferent     C．Doubtful             D．Optimistic

（山西省太原五中2010屆高三下學(xué)期五月月考E篇）

       Our brains work in complex and strange ways．There are some people who can calculate the day of the week for any given date in 40,000 years, but who cannot add two plus two．Others can perform complex classical piano pieces after hearing them once, but they cannot read or write．

       Dr．J．Langdon Down first described this condition in 1887．He called these people idiot savants．An idiot savant is a person who has significant mental impairment （損傷） , such as in autism ( 孤獨癥，自閉癥) or retardation．At the same time, the person also exhibits some extraordinary skills, which are unusual for most people．The skills of the savant may vary from being exceptionally gifted in music or in mathematics, or having a photographic memory．

       One of the first descriptions of a human who could calculate quickly was written in 1789 by Dr．Benjamin Rush, an American doctor．His patient, Thomas Fuller, was brought to Virginia as a slave in1724．It took Thomas only 90 seconds to work out that a man who has lived 70 years, 17 days, and 12 hours has lived 2,210,500,800 seconds．Despite this ability, he died in 1790 without ever learning to read or write．

       Another idiot savant slave became famous as a pianist in the 1860s．Blind Tom had a vocabulary of only 100 words, but he played 5 ,000 musical pieces beautifully．

       In the excellent movie Rain Man, made in 1988 and available on video cassette, Dustin Hoffman plays an idiot savant who amazes his brother played by Tom Cruise, with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly．

       Today we more clearly recognize that the idiot savant is special because of brain impairment．Yet not all brain impairment leads to savant skills．Some studies have shown that people who have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills．However few people wish to participate in such experiments．There are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain．The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate．Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots．

72．What does the passage mainly talk about?

       A．Idiot savants have areas of outstanding abilities．

       B．Human Beings have complicated thinking process．

       C．The brains of the idiot savants are partly impaired．

       D．The reasons why people have wonderful skills vary．

73．Which of the following can be done by Rain Man?

       A．He can play wonderful pieces of classical music．

       B．He can guess out exactly the length of a man's life．

       C．He can memorize the contents of the pictures fast．

       D．He can count matches dropped on the floor quickly．

64．What can you infer from the passage?

       A．Idiot savants have real talents for art and math．

       B．Dr．Down is the first person who found idiot savants．

       C．Few people wish to risk becoming savants by brain operations．

       D．Intentional left brain impairments will surely lead to idiot savants．

75．Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

（山東省淄博市2010屆高三二模B篇）

Laws that would have ensured pupils from five to 16 received a full financial education got lost in the ‘wash up’. An application is calling on the next government to bring it back.

At school the children are taught to add up and subtract（減法） but, extraordinarily, are not routinely shown how to open a bank account — let alone how to manage their finances in an increasingly complex and demanding world.

Today the parenting website Mumsnet and the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis have joined forces to launch an online application to make financial education a compulsory element of the school curriculum in England. Children from five to 16 should be taught about everything from pocket money to pensions, they say. And that was exactly the plan preserved in the Children, Schools and Families bill that was shelved by the government in the so-called “wash-up” earlier this month — the rush to legislation before parliament was dismissed. Consumer and parent groups believe financial education has always been one of the most frustrating omissions of the curriculum.

As the Personal Finance Education Group (Pfeg) points out, the good habits of young children do not last long. Over 75% of seven- to 11-year-olds are savers but by the time they get to 17, over half of them are in debt to family and friends. By this age, 26% see a credit card or overdraft（透支） as a way of extending their spending power. Pfeg predicts that these young people will “find it much harder to avoid the serious unexpected dangers that have befallen many of their parents' generation unless they receive good quality financial education while at school.”

The UK has been in the worst financial recession（衰退）for generations. It does seem odd that — unless parents step in — young people are left in the dark until they are cruelly introduced to the world of debt when they turn up at university. In a recent poll of over 8,000 people, 97% supported financial education in schools, while 3% said it was a job for parents.

61. The passage is mainly about _____________.

A. how to manage school lessons

B. how to deal with the financial crisis

C. teaching young people about money

D. teaching students how to study effectively

62. It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that __________.

A. the author complains about the school education

B. pupils should not be taught to add up and subtract

C. students have been taught to manage their finances

D. laws on financial education have been effectively carried out

63. The website and the consumer campaigner joined to _________.

A. instruct the pupils to donate their pocket money

B. promote the connection of schools and families

C. ask the government to dismiss the parliament

D. appeal for the curriculum of financial education

64. According to Pfeg, ___________.

A. it is easy to keep good habits long

B. teenagers spend their money as planned

C. parents are willing to pay the debt for their kids

D. it will be in trouble if the teenagers are left alone

65. A poll is mentioned to ___________.

A. stress the necessity of the curriculum reform

B. show the seriousness of the financial recession

C. make the readers aware of burden of the parents

D. illustrate some people are strongly against the proposal