限时规范训练(八)阅读理解词句猜测题(限时：20分钟)AThomas Cheatham had planned to study Latin during his time at Hebron High School in Texas. But when he learned that the school district was going to offer a Mandarin (普通话) class, he quickly changed his mind.“I thought Mandarin would be more beneficial than Latin，” said Cheatham, who is now in his second year of studying the language.He speaks Mandarin to order food at Chinese restaurants and can read social media posts from his Chinesespeaking friends. While its a difficult language to master, the high school junior, who plans to study computer engineering, thinks it will be important for his career. “Chinese is a good language to know, especially with China becoming a growing power，” he said.Many experts agree that proficiency (熟练) in a language spoken by a billion people worldwide will give American students an edge in the global economy.“People are looking at China as our next economic competitor, and interest in Mandarin is growing fast，” said Marty Abbott, director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. “Were seeing it in all parts of the country.”Abbott predicts that as many as 100, 000 students are now studying Mandarin in public and private schools throughout the US. She said the US government has designated (指定) Mandarin as an “important need” language and provides professional development programs for teachers. “Our government wants to increase our language ability for economic competitiveness，” Abbott added.At the same time, the Chinese government is spreading knowledge of the Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes set up in many US states. For example, the Confucius Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas has been the home of a Confucius Institute for 10 years. It sponsors Confucius Classrooms at 21 local public and private schools, where tens of thousands of students are learning Mandarin.语篇解读本文是一篇说明文，主要讲述了普通话在美国学生中日益流行的现象。1Why did Thomas Cheatham decide to study Mandarin instead of Latin?AMandarin was easier to learn than Latin.BMandarin could be helpful to his future career.CMandarin might help him learn more about China.DMandarin could enable him to study computer engineering.解析：细节理解题。根据第三段第二句“While its a difficult language to master, the high school junior, who plans to study computer engineering, thinks it will be important for his career.”可知，Thomas Cheatham认为学习普通话对他的未来职业有帮助，所以才决定学习普通话。答案：B2The underlined word “edge” in paragraph 4 probably means “_”Aa slight advantageBthe outside limitCa sharp tone of voiceDan exciting quality解析：词义猜测题。根据语境尤其是第三段最后一句中的“Chinese is a good language to know, especially with China becoming a growing power”和第四段第一句中的“a language spoken by a billion people”可知，随着中国的发展，学习普通话大有裨益，由此可推知，学习普通话让美国学生在全球经济中有一定的优势，这与文章第五段的内容呼应。故画线词意为“优势”，与A项含义相近。答案：A3Which of the following statements might Marty Abbott agree with?AMandarin should be taught in classrooms throughout the US.BThose skilled at Chinese will be the most competitive in the future.CThe US governments policy has helped popularize Mandarin in the US.DAmericans learn Mandarin because they worry about their economic security.解析：推理判断题。根据语境尤其是对第六段的整体理解可推知，在Marty Abbott看来，美国政府的政策有助于普通话在美国的推广。答案：C4What does the author mainly talk about in this passage?AThe rising popularity of Mandarin among American students.BThe great benefits of learning Mandarin for American students.CThe influence of Chinas growing power on American education.DThe effect of Confucius Institutes in promoting Mandarin in the US.解析：主旨大意题。根据对全文的整体理解可推知，本文主要讲述的是普通话在美国学生之间日益流行的现象，这与最后一段的进一步论述呼应。故选A。答案：ABA Japanese company, Next Technology, has created a robot dog that can tell you how bad your feet smell, by using a powerful sensor fixed in its nose. If your feet dont have a bad smell, Hanachan will happily wag its tail, if its exposed to feet that are mildly smelly, itll start to bark, and if they give off an extremely bad smell, itll just fall over like the smell caused it to faint (昏倒). Foot odor (脚臭) is a big deal in Japan, where its a custom for people to take off their shoes whenever they enter someones home. In fact, exposing others to bodily odors can be considered annoyance in Japan. Some of the most brilliant minds in the countrys tech industry have been trying to solve this problem. Last year, Thanko started selling axmpit (腋窝) fans designed to keep peoples armpits nice and dry. Now, we have Hanachan.The robot dog has a special sensor for a nose, and can tell you if your feet smell just by sniffing them for a few seconds. According to some media reports, Hanachan can help solve the problem of extremely smelly feet by spraying them with air freshener, but its unclear whether this feature comes builtin, or if youll have to pay extra for it.According to researchers at Next Technology, the idea for Hanachan was inspired by a person who