2012高考英语二轮复习专题限时训练（江苏专用）专题2 阅读理解 17（35分钟）AI think it was my mother who taught me the meaning of honesty. Not because she actually was honest, but because she lied all the time. She felt that the easiest way out of any given situation was generally the best way out. And, for her, that generally meant telling a “little white lie.” As a young child I thought it was kind of cool. And, naturally, when I would come to her with a concern or question wondering what I should do, she generally advised me to lie.“Mom, I told Theresa that I would go over to her house, but now I would rather go to Sues house to play.”“Tell Theresa youre sick,” she would advise. And generally I did. But I didnt seem blessed with her lack of conscience. On many painful occasions Theresa would find out that I really went to Sues house without her. These occasions taught me that it is more painful to be caught in a lie than it is to tell the truth in the first place. I wondered how it was possible that my mother had never learned that lesson.I started thinking of all the lies that Id heard her tell. I remembered the time she told someone that her favorite restaurant had closed, because she didnt want to see them there anymore. Or the time she told Dad that she loved the lawn-mower he gave her for her birthday. Or when she claimed that our phone lines had been down when she was trying to explain why she hadnt been in touch with a friend of hers for weeks. And what bothered me even more were all the times she had involved me into her lies. Like the time she told my guidance counselor that I had to miss school for exploratory surgery, when she really needed me to babysit. And it even started to bother me when someone would call for her and she would ask me to tell them that she wasnt there.So, I started my own personal fight against her dishonesty. When I answered the phone and it was someone my mother didnt want to talk to, I said, “Louise, mom is here, but she doesnt want to talk to you.” The first time I did it, she punished me, but I refused to apologize. I told her that I had decided that it was wrong to lie. And the next time it happened I did the same thing. Finally, she approached me and said, “I agree that lying is not the best thing to do, but we need to find a way to be honest without being rude.” She admitted that her methods werent right, and I admitted that mine were a bit too extreme.Over the past few years, the two of us have worked together to be honestand yet kind. Honesty should mean more than not lying. It should mean speaking the truth in kindness. Though I started by trying to teach my mom the importance of honesty, I ended up gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning of the term.1. The authors mother _. A. thought white lies were not liesB. helped the author get out of trouble with white liesC. told the author to lie when in troubleD. taught the author the importance of being honest2. The author _. A. was thankful to her mothers adviceB. felt more awkward when being caught lyingC. found that telling the truth hurt more than telling a lieD. felt guilty when hurting people with her honesty3. It can be inferred that the authors mother _. A. met her friends in the same restaurant regularlyB. didnt get along with the authors teachersC. was not popular among her friendsD. wanted to have something else for her birthday4. Finally the author and her mother agreed that _. A. kind-heartedness is more important than honestyB. appropriate methods are the key to telling a good lieC. honesty is defined as kindness as well as truthfulnessD. absolute honesty is basic to good interpersonal relationshipsBAir pollution is damaging 60% of Europes prime wildlife sites in meadows, forests and bushes, according to a new report.A team of EU scientists said nitrogen emissions(氮排放) from cars, factories and farming were threatening biodiversity. Its the second report this week warning of the on-going risks and threats linked to nitrogen pollution.Nitrogen in the atmosphere is harmless in its inert(惰性的) state, but the report says reactive forms of nitrogen, largely produced by human activity, can be a menace to the natural world.Emissions mostly come from vehicle exhausts(排气), factories, artificial fertilizers(肥料) and animal waste from intensive farming. The reactive nitrogen they emit to the air disrupts the environment in two ways: It can make acidic soils too acidic to support their previous mix of species. But primarily, because nitrogen is a fertilizer, it favors wild plants that can maximize the use of nitrogen to help them grow. In effect, some of the nitrogen spread to fertilize crops is carried in the atmosphere to fertilize weeds, possibly a great distance from where the chemicals were first applied.The effects of fertilization and acidification favor common aggressive species like grasses, brambles and nett