泄露天机——2015年金太阳高考押题 精粹

英语

本卷共18题，三种题型：阅读理解、英语知识运用和写作。阅读理解10小题，英语知识运用4小题，写作4小题。

第一部分 阅读理解 (10小题)

第一节 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在题卡上将该项涂黑。

A1

A report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' Commission reveals that, due to a job market which disproportionately rewards graduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, more and more students are seeking degrees in business and hard-science subjects.

Some institutions have responded by cutting budgets in the arts and humanities and directing those funds elsewhere. That's the wrong thing to do. The humanities study of languages, literature, history, philosophy, religion, ethics, etc.-and the arts are vital to our future. We should be investing more funds, more time and more expertise, not less, into these endeavors.

What detractors（诋毁者） of the "soft" subjects miss is that the arts and humanities provide an essential framework and context for understanding the wider world. Studying the humanities strengthens the ability to communicate and work with others. It allows students to develop broad intellectual and cultural understanding; it nurtures creativity and deepens participation in public discourse and modem democracy.

The commission's report points out that "at the very moment when China is seeking to adopt our model of broad education in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences as a stimulus to invention, the United States is instead narrowing our focus and abandoning our sense of what education has been and should continue to be our sense of what makes America great."

These are the telling statistics: First, federal funding for helping American students include international training in their education has been cut 41 percent in four years. Second, the National Assessment of Educational Progress test shows that only less than a quarter of eighth- and 12th-grade US students are proficient in reading, writing and civics.

How can we possibly equip the US for its leadership role in an increasingly connected world if we are not adequately teaching students to communicate and helping them understand and encounter diverse perspectives? If we fail to invest in the arts and humanities, our country's future leaders will not have the ability to connect on an emotional level with others. This ability is developed by studying the humanities, and in the global community this skill is not optional - it's essential.

In a word, we must enthusiastically support and fund the study of the arts and humanities. For anyone concerned with how this translates into a sound economy and a sound financial future, simply recall what Steve Jobs told graduates of Stanford University in 2005: One of the most influential experiences in his brief time at Reed College was his exposure to the fine art of calligraphy（书法）． It taught him the important lesson of the relationship between discipline and creativity.

1. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Business and hard-science subjects are based upon the arts and humanities.

B. At present too much emphasis and investment are put on science in America.

C. More students will learn the arts and humanities instead of science in the USA.

D. China has spent more money in the humanities and social sciences than the USA.

2. The author mentions Steve Jobs in the last paragraph to prove that _____.

A. science has a close relationship with the arts and humanities

B. investment in the arts and humanities promotes economic development

C. calligraphy plays a determining role in Steve Jobs' accomplishment

D. Reed College supports and funds the study of the arts and humanities

3. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A. Significance of arts and humanities B. Key qualities of future leaders

C. Decline of arts and humanities D. Rise and fall of hard sciences

A2

Fuel Cell Technology for Cars

Fill her up with hydrogen? That's what some

California motorists may be saying soon, as car makers try

to speed up production of zero emission（零排放） cars to

meet state requirements in the near future.

Beneath the skin of this ordinary looking Hondas

FCX Concept Vehicle sits an electro-chemical reactor: a

hand built, astronomically expensive power plant known

as a fuel cell. It's expected to be running ordinary family cars on California's roads within three years.

So what exactly is a fuel cell, anyway? Why are governments, private businesses and academic institutions cooperating to develop and produce them? A fuel cell, very simply described, is a power generator, making electricity through the combination of hydrogen and oxygen. Fuel cells generate electrical power quietly and efficiently, without pollution, unlike power sources that use fossil fuels, the only by-products from an operating fuel cell are heat and water. To be more technical about it, a hydrogen atom with its one electron, attempts to pass through a fuel cell membrane（膜） to unite with an oxygen atom. The membrane allows only the hydrogen proton（质子） to pass through, forcing its electron to run around the membrane to catch up with the proton on the other side. This creates electricity, water, and heat, but no exhaust emissions.

If the fuel cell is powered with pure hydrogen, it has the potential to be up to 80-percent efficient, That is, it turns 80 percent of the energy content of the hydrogen into electrical energy. However, we still need to turn the electrical energy into mechanical work. This is accomplished by the electric motor. A reasonable number for the efficiency of the motor is about 80 percent. So we have 80-percent efficiency in generating electricity, and 80-percent efficiency turning it into mechanical power. That gives an overall efficiency of about64 percent. Honda's FCX concept vehicle reportedly has 60-percent energy efficiency, which is twice or even three times more efficient than usual cars.

But in spite of all the advantages described above, experts say, "We still have technical challenges getting this extremely complex system to work properly, the way customers expect it to work. There are challenges in using new fuels, and providing the new fuel basic facilities. And before fuel cell vehicles hit the road, there will have to be a network of hydrogen stations that will allow drivers to fill up with the flammable gas, under 36-hundred pounds of pressure."

4. What can be inferred from California's "zero emissions policy"?

A. New cars with fuel cell technology will surely become much cheaper.

B. By carrying out the policy, traffic will not be so busy as it is now.

C. The quality of life in California will improve once this policy is in effect.

D. With facilities of new kinds, more local employment will be created.

5. What does the phrase "power plant" refer to?

A. A power device generating electricity. B. A power station providing electricity.

C. A power component consuming electricity. D. A power engine using electricity.

6. One of the reasons why fuel cell powered vehicles are superior is that . .

A. they give out almost no water or heat B. they run faster and more smoothly

C. they give out almost no noise D. they turn 64% of the energy into electricity

7. What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A. Customers will not think it a good idea to develop fuel cell technology.

B. It is still not very easy to speed up production of zero emission cars.

C. We can't ignore the financial problems to build a network of hydrogen stations.

D. We still have much difficulty turning all the chains of the business into reality.

A3

When DeKalb Walcott III was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. DeKalb says a lot of kids idolized basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s. Not him.

"I wanted to be like DeKalb Walcott Jr.," he says of his father.

So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, DeKalb was excited. "I'm jumping up and down, saying, "Mom, can I go? Can I go?' "

The experience changed DeKalb’s life, he tells his dad on a visit to Story Corps. "My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off." the younger DeKalb says. “This is the life that I want to live someday.”

Now 27, the younger DeKalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together — father supervising（监督） son.

"You know, it's everything for me to watch you grow," his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced.

"I received a phone call that night. And they said, 'Well, your son was at this fire.' I said, 'OK, which way is this conversation going to go?' “DeKalb Walcott Jr. recalls.

"And they said, 'but he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him.'

"And the word went around, 'Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!' So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on Earth for a dad."

DeKalb Walcott Jr. retired in 2009. The younger DeKalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter. "You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son."

8. The underlined phrase tag along in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.

A. put out fire

B. watch basketball

C. follow his father

D. ask his mother’s permission

9. DeKalb Walcott III determined to become a firefighter at the age of _________.

A. 8 B. 21 C. 27 D. 35

10. What did DeKalb Walcott Jr want to do before he was told that the fire was put out?

A. Go on w