发布时间 : 星期一 文章2014-2017年高考全国卷1英语真题及答案 - 图文更新完毕开始阅读
It was calculated that when its population reach its highest point, there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons – a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant birds in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.
Sadly, the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing. Where the birds were abundant, people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands. Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.
By the closing decades of the 19th century, the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans’ need for wood, which scattered（驱散）the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again.
In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons, but by then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time, a few birds survived under human care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden in September 1, 1914.
24. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons _______.
A. were the biggest bird in the world B. lived mainly in the south of America C. did great harm to the natural environment D. Were the largest population in the US 25.The underlined word “undoing” probably refers to the pigeons’ _______. A. escape B. ruin C. liberation D. evolution 26.What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons? A. To seek pleasure. B. To save other birds. C. To make money. D. To protect crops. 27 What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?
A. It was ignored by the public. B. It was declared too late.
C. It was unfair. D. It was strict.
C
A typical lion tamer (驯兽师) in people’s mind is an entertainer holding a whip (鞭子)and a chair .The whip get all of the attention , but it’s mostly for show .In reality , it’s the chair that does the important work .When a lion tamer holds a chair in front of the lion’s face , the lion tries to focus on all four legs of the chair at the same time .With its focus divided , the lion becomes confused and is unsure about what to do next .When faced with so many options , the lion chooses to freeze and wait instead of attacking the man holding the chair.
How often do you find yourself in the same position as the lion ? How often do you have something you want to achiever (e,g. lose weight , start a business , travel more ) –only to end up confused by all of the options in front of you and never make progress ?
This upsets me to no end because while all the experts are busy debating about which option is best , the people who want to improve their lives are left confused by all of the conflicting information .The end result is that we feel like we can’t focus or that we’re focused on the wrong things , and so we take less action , make less progress , and stay the same when we could be improving .
It doesn’t have to be that way .Anytime you find the world waving a chair in your face , remember this :All you need to do is focus on one thing .You just need to get started .Starting before you feel ready is one of the habits of successful people .If you have somewhere you want to go , something you want to accomplish , someone you want to become ….take immediate action .If you’re clear about where you want to go , the rest of the world will either help you get there or get out the way .
28. Why does the lion tamer use a chair? A. To trick the lion. B. To show off his skill . C. To get ready for a fight. D. To entertain the audience.
29. In what sense are people similar to a lion facing a chair? A. They feel puzzled over choices.
B. They hold on to the wrong things. C. They find it hard to make changes. D. They have to do something for show.
30. What is the author’s attitude towards the experts mentioned in paragraph 3? A. Tolerant B. Doubtful C. Respectful D. Supportive
31. When the world is “waving a chair in your face”, you’re advised to_____. A. wait for a better chance B. break your old habits C. make a quick decision D. ask for clear guidance
D
As more and more people speak the global languages of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations- UNESCO and National Geographic among them –have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, looking and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Tangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayans reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record. At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials- including
photographs, films, tap recordings, and field notes- which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.
Now, through the two organizations that he has founded-the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project- Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to scholars but to the youngers.
Generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected.Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet. Turin notes,the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities. 32.Many scholars are making efforts to _____. A.promote global languages B.rescue the disappearing languages C.search for language communities D.set up languages research organizations.
33.What does “that tradition” in Paragraph 3 refer to? A.Having first records of the languages B.Writing books on language searching C.Telling stories about language users D.Linking with the native speakers 34.What is Turin’s book based on? A.The cultural statics in India. B.The documents available at Yale. C.His language research in Britain. D.His personal experience in Nepal.
35.Which of the following best describe Turin’s Work? A.Write sell and donate. B.Record,repeat and reward. C.Collect,protect and reconnect. D.Design, experiment and report.
第二节 （共3小题，每小题3分，满分15分）