2015 重庆市高考英语阅读类课外训练【8】及答案【三月】阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的 A,B,C 或 D 四个选项中，选出最佳选项。Feeling blue about the world? “Cheer up,” says science writer Matt Ridley.” The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and for nature.”Ridley calls himself a rational optimistrational, because hes carefully weighed the evidence; optimistic, because that evidence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good. And this is what hes set out to prove from a unique point of view in his most recent book, The Rational Optimist. He views mankind as a grand enterprise that, on the whole, has done little but progress for 100,000 years. He backs his findings with hard facts gathered through years of research. Heres how he explains his views. 1) Shopping fuels inventionIt is reported that there are more than ten billion different products for sale in London alone. Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty, our own generation has access to more nutritious food, more convenient transport, bigger houses, better cars, and, of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us. This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off well be. 2) Brilliant advancesOne reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needsfood, clothing, fuel and shelterhave grown a lot cheaper. Take one example. In 1800 a candle providing one hours light cost six hours work. In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes work to pay for. In 1950 it was eight seconds. Today its half second. 3) Lets not kill ourselves for climate changeMitigating(减轻) climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself. A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fossil-fuel(化石燃烧) electricity is forbidden by well-meaning members of green political movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that dies in a flood caused by climate change. If climate change proves to be mild, but cutting carbon causes real pain, we may well find that we have stopped a nose-bleed by putting a tourniquet(止血带) around our necks. 1. What is the theme of Ridleys most recent book? A. Weakness of human nature. B. Concern about climate change.C. Importance of practical thinking. D. Optimism about human progress.2. How does Ridley look at shopping? A. It encourages the creation of things. B. It results in shortage of goods.C. It demands more fossil fuels. D. It causes a poverty problem.3. The candle and lamp example is used to show that . A. oil lamps give off more light than candlesB. shortening working time brings about a happier lifeC. advanced technology helps to produce better candlesD. increased production rate leads to lower cost of goods4. What does the last sentence of the passage imply? A. Cutting carbon is necessary in spite of the huge cost.B. Overreaction to climate change may be dangerous.C. Peoples health is closely related to climate change. D. Careless medical treatment may cause great pain.【参考答案】1-4 DADB 阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的 A,B,C 或 D 四个选项中，选出最佳选项。Howling is a behaviour commonly observed among a wolf pack. As pack animals, wolves work together to hunt and rely on howling as an important means of communication among each other. There are different explanations of a wolfs howl and it appears that there may be more to discover. One theory is that wolves howl to bond better together. Its almost as if howling together helps the pack stay together. Perhaps something similar to people feeling a sense of involvement with each other when singing a song together. But this theory may be wrong, explains Fred H. Harrington, a professor who studies wolf behaviour. Indeed, there have been times when wolves have been seen one moment howling in a chorus, and the next, quarreling among each other. It appears that usually the lowest-ranking members of the pack may actually be“punished” for joining in the chorus at times. So is howling a way to strengthen a social bond or just a way to reconfirm status among its members? Why do wolves howl for sure? What is clear, however, is that howling is often used among packmates to locate each other. Hunting grounds are distant and it happens that wolves may separate from one another at times. When this happens, howling appears to be an excellent means of gathering. Howling, interestingly, is a contagious behaviour. When one wolf starts to howl, very likely others will follow. This is often seen to occur in the morning, as if wolves were doing some sort of “roll call” where wolves all howl together to report their presence. 1. What is the possible similarity between wolves howling together and humans singing in chorus? A. The act of calling each other. B. The sense of accomplishment.C. The act of hunting for