专题2.1 外国文化6篇-备战2022年高考英语阅读理解话题提分

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2022高考英语阅读提高2.外国文化1If a person throws up a coin into the air, it may land on one side, or it may land on the other.There is no sense in analyzing (分析)the result, because it is a random (随意的)chance event. Nothing can be done to influence the outcome. About half the time the coin will land on one side, and about half the time it will land on the other side, no matter how the coin is thrown up.    In ancient times, people believed almost anything that happened to them was an intervention (干涉) by a divine (神的) power. Now, however, few cultures would believe the outcome of such an insignificant event as throwing up a coin to be divine intervention.   Many events of life are basically events of random chance. Let us look at one example. You might be walking in Prague, and a pickpocket steals your wallet. Here are some different explanations one could give to such a misfortune.     1. The Fatalistic (宿命论) one, popular in Arabic countries, would be that the theft was merely your fate, and could not be avoided. I often think “fate” is the realization that many things in life are merely random chance events. It is senseless to worry that you did anything to cause this event. It just happened that a pickpocket just happened to be near you, and your wallet was the closest one for him to steal. I cannot hide my bias (偏见): I think this is probably the healthiest explanation of random chance events.     2. In primitive (原始的) cultures or regions where certain religions commonly existed, the explanation might be that it was God’s will for your wallet to be stolen. God was punishing you for a misdeed, or trying to teach you a central truth by letting you lose this money.     3. And lastly there is the explanation I find increasingly common in Western societies. Any misfortune may be explained by a lack of precautions (预防措施). An intervention on someone’s part (usually the government’s) could have prevented the theft. For example, you should not have walked in certain streets; you should have been more watchful. Or the government should have employed more policemen, or imprisoned more criminals. Misfortunes are not caused by random chance, but by incomplete care or control.     This latter explanation is being accepted increasingly every day. One reason must be that it comforts people to rationalize (使…有合理依据)their misfortunes, especially if it makes them seem blameless. ( “If there were just more policemen, my wallet would not have been stolen.”) I find this last explanation amusing in one sense, and extremely harmful in another. If we cannot accept bad things ever happening to us, we must be willing to accept an unlimited expansion of laws and government intervention in our lives1. According to the author __________  A. if you want to know the result of something you plan to do, the throwing up of a coin will be of great help  B. whether the coin lands on one side or the other, it’s God’s will  C. the way that a coin is thrown up decides which side it will land  D. whichever side a coin will land doesn’t affect the result of the thing one plans to do2. If someone broke into your house and took away all the valuable things, the writer most probably agrees with the idea that __________  A. it’s because you have done something wrong and so you are punished for that  B. it’s just something that you can’t avoid  C. the government is to blame for that  D. you are not careful enough to prevent it from happening3. More and more people accept the third explanation because __________  A. people feel comfortable to think so  B. it is true of the fact  C. the government hasn’t employed enough policemen  D. in fact, the government doesn’t warn people against theft in public places4. The writer wrote this article to tell us _________  A. people of different cultures have different attitudes towards a certain event that happens to or around them  B. people should hold scientific attitude towards events that happen to or around them  C. many events just happen without any reasons  D. which of the three explanations is more reasonable5. The writer says “I find this last explanation amusing in one sense, and extremely harmful in another” probably because if this explanation is accepted __________  A. people will not be able to walk in certain streets  B. there will be too many laws and people will lose much of their freedom  C. there will be too many policemen in the streets or other public places  D. there will be too many criminals in prison2The producers of instant coffee found their product strongly resisted in the market places despite their product’s manifest advantages. Furthermore, the advertising expenditure for instant coffee was far greater than that for regular coffee.Efforts were made to find the cause of the consumers’ seemingly unreasonable resistance to the product. The reason given by most people was dislike for the taste. The producers suspected that there might be deeper reasons, however. This was confirmed by one of motivation research’s classic studies, one often cited in the trade. Mason Haire of the University of California constructed two shopping lists that were identical except for one item. There were six items common to both lists: hamburger, carrots, bread, baking powder, canned peaches, and potatoes, with the brands or amounts specified. The seventh item, in fifth place on both lists, read”11b.Maxwell House coffee” on one list and “Nescafe instant coffee” on the other. One list was given to each one is a group of fifty women, and the other list to those in another group of the same size. The women were asked to study their lists and then to describe, as far as they could, the kind of woman (personality and character) who would draw up that shopping list .Nearly half of those who had received the list including instant coffee described a housewife who was lazy and a poor planner. On the other hand, only one woman in the other group described the housewife, who had included regular coffee on her list, as lazy; only six of that group suggested that she was a poor planner. Eight women felt that the instant -coffee user was probable not a good wife! No one in the other group drew such a conclusion about the housewife who intended to buy regular coffee.1. The purpose of the study made by Mason Haire was to find out__________.A. why people would not buy instant coffee             B. why instant coffee did not taste good C. why women didn’t like to drink coffee               D. why regular coffee was popular2. The result of the investigation showed that ___________.A. women who used regular coffee were good plannersB. most of the women investigated were good at reasoning C. many women believed that wives who used instant coffee were lazyD. housewives who used instant coffee were lazy3. In the study, the woman were supposed to give their opinions about_________.A. which was better, instant coffee or regular coffee     B. women’s attitude towards shopping C. the necessity of making such a shopping list     D. the personality of a woman who would prepare such a list4. Judging by the result of the study many women were not interested in instant coffee because________.A. they didn’t trust advertisements               B. instant coffee was not suited to their tasteC. they wanted to show that they were intelligent D. subconsciously, they had a sense of shame about using instant coffee5. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?A. Much more money was spent by the producers in promoting the sale of instant coffee.B. Maxwell House coffee was superior to Nescafe instant coffee in quality.C. The consumers dislike of instant coffee was unreasonable.D. Instant coffee had no obvious advantage.3    Some of the best American companies today have turned  themselves upside down. They’ve found the old top-down pyramid style management form doesn’t work. So they’ve turned the pyramid over, giving employees more say in what goes on. And it works, as  proved in improved sales and earnings.    Interested in inverting (倒置) the pyramid in your operation? Here are some tips:    Challenge employees to come up with their own better ways to do their jobs, you may be surprised at how valuable some of their suggestions are.    Collect ideas from everyone, not just those who have a direct connection with the job. Sometimes good ideas come from unlikely sources.    Treat employees with honesty and respect. Don’t order them if they are not going to have their ideas enacted. Explain the reasons that underline a decision or policy.    Spread authority around. If the largest part of the pyramid is to be at the top, the top people should have authority.    At one car plant any worker who sees a problem can shut down the whole assembly line (生产线) until the problem is solved. By giving employees more control like that over their work environment and more involvement in running their jobs, you tap (开发) a valuable source of ideas and productivity -- and that pays off for everyone.1. Why did the best American companies change their old management style for a new one?  A. To give more authority to employees.  B. To show their respect to their workers.  C. To improve production and sales.  D. To give their employees more chances to talk to each other.2. In the writer’s eyes, the new management style should ________.  A. force workers to find out more effective ways to do their work  B. respect every worker and give them enough rights to settle problems  C. just ask top employees for some advice  D. order workers to do some important jobs3. The underlined phrase “pays off” in the last paragraph means ________  A. brings good results  B. pays somebody his wages and fires him  C. gives somebody some money to prevent him doing something  D. pays in full4. Why can any employee in a car factory shut down the whole assembly line when he/she finds a problem?  A. He/She has to develop a valuable idea.         B. He/She is given the right to do that.  C. He/She has to keep this rule.                 D. He/She has the fight to have a rest.4     After more discussion, Paul and John come to an agreement. Paul knows that the deal will fall through if he doesn’t get his act together quickly with the Chinese building suppliers. He tells John that if John’s company keeps away from the South Korean market for the time being, he’ll get things worked out in about three weeks by lending the Chinese company some of the money, without charging the usual interest, for materials and labor costs to get them started on building the hotels almost immediately.      John thinks that is a good idea hut he’s a hard businessman and drives a hard bargain. He wants two guarantees that the deal won’t fall through at the last minute.     The first is that, if Paul can’t come up with his side of the contract, then Paul’s company will have to pay 400,000 pounds, but with an agreement to discuss the project again in six months’ time. Paul knows that his bosses won’t want to part with that sort of money and agrees. However, the second guarantee is that, even if Paul’s company does start up on time but falls behind schedule, it will cost his company 200,000 pounds for every month lost. Paul thinks that is very hard and over the top, and he will have to look into it. But John says that is his “bottom line”, meaning that is the only deal he is going to make and Paul’s company can either take it or leave it either they give both guarantees or the deal falls through now. The business world can he a tough one.1. The writer writes this article mainly ________  A. To suggest the business world is a rather difficult one.  B. To tell people how to come to a business agreement  C. To show businessmen are hard to get along with  D. To show John is even tougher than Paul2. What does Paul think about the second guarantee that John asks for?  A. He thinks it is completely unacceptable  B. He thinks it is something fair  C. He thinks it is quite wrong and decides to refuse it.  D. He thinks it is unfair and wants to change it.3. The underlined word “them” in the first paragraph refers to _______  A. the things to be worked out                B. the hotels to be built  C. materials and labor costs                  D. the Chinese building suppliers4. When you drive a hard bargain, you _______A. argue about the price violently             B. get everything cheaper greatlyC. make sure that an agreement suits you best   D. do everything you can to make a deal.5What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army I received an IQ (intelligence) test that all soldiers took, and I scored 160 against an average of 100.     All my life I’ve been making scores like that, so that I have the feeling that I’m highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so, too. Yet, such scores mean actually that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions devised by the people who make up the IQ tests--- a professor like myself.Once I had an auto-repair man. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. I thought he could not have scored more than 80 on such IQ tests. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him, and he always fixed my car. Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an IQ test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I’d prove myself an idiot. In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something working with my hands, I would do poorly.    My auto-repair man had a habit of telling me jokes. One time he asked me, “Doc, a deaf-and-dumb guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, Doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?”    Naturally, I lifted my right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers.    Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed loudly and said, “Why, you dumb fool, he used his voice and asked for them.” Then he said, “I’ve been trying that on all my customers today.” “Did you catch many?” I asked. “Quite a few,” he said, “but I knew for sure I’d catch you.” “Why is that?” I asked.    “Because you’re so goddamned educated, Doc, I knew you couldn’t be very smart.” And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.1. The speaker scored 160 on an IQ test simply because he was ________ A. considered highly intelligent                B. much smarter than others C. trained for answering such questions          D. educated to be a medical doctor2. After joking with the speaker, the auto-repair man remarked that _______ A. he was unwilling to tease his customers B. education always makes one smarter C. he was very ashamed of playing a practical joke D. a highly educated person might lose common sense3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? A. One can be fooled once but not all the time. B. Success is 1% intelligence and 99% diligence C. Intelligence cannot always be measured by an IQ test  D. An IQ test should include questions on auto-repair6    Young people in the early 1980s are taking on a set of attitudes and values remarkably different from those of the stormy ‘60s and ‘70s. Instead of anti-establishment outbursts, today’s younger generation had turned more thoughtful and more serious. There is heightened concern for the future of the country and a yearning for the traditions and support systems that gave comfort in the past. Many young men and women of high–school and collage age are having second thoughts about the “new morality” and condemn what a soaring divorce rate has done to families. They speak openly of gaining strength from religion. Patriotism, too, seems to be making a modest comeback.    One change in the early 1980s is a questioning of the permissive moral climate of recent years. More young people, while hesitant to preach or to condemn their peers, cite the destructive effects of the drugs and alocohol that pushes teenagers into drugs, but now the habit often is dropped after high school, according to Debbie Bishop, a 22-year-old secretary. James Elrod, a collage junior in Kentucky, also reports that use of marijuana on campus has lessened. A Cornell University law student reflects the views of many with the comment: “I think that drug abuse is harmful to your own health and those around you.” But he add, “Drinking is fine only as long as it’s not done to excess.”      With the added pressures of a more uncertain world, most young people stress the importance of a healthy family life. Yet, as they look at the family’s breakup that has taken place in the past decade, they concede that the challenge for many is to make the best of one-parent families. “The American family is evolving and changing,” according to Nina Mule, “Women are going out into the world and having careers. They’re becoming more independent instead of being the burden of the family.” “But a great need remains for a family structure,” says Nina, who still lives with her parents, “because people have to be able to survive emotional.” In Atlanta, 18-year-old Liss Jciner feels strongly about what’s happened to the family. “People have realized that the family has disintegrated,” she says, “But today’s family--particularly the black family--is trying to pull itself together and become the strong unit as it once was.” A similar view is expressed by a senior at Brigham Young University: “A happy family means everything to me. I read a lot about how the American family is falling apart. But I see lots of strong families around me, and that makes me very optimistic.”1. How do teenagers begin to take drugs?  A. They want to grow up.                   B. They want to conform to their fellows.  C. They are threatened into drugs.            D. None of the above.2. Why do young people emphasize the importance of a healthy family life?  A. They don’t want to make a living by themselves.  B. They want to live a comfortable life.  C. They prefer to live with their parents.  D. With the constantly added pressures of the outside world, they need a healthy family for emotional shelter.3. Which of the following statements is true?  A. The moral climate of ‘60s and ‘70s is very optimistic while that of ‘80s is permissive.  B. Families break up because women are becoming more independent.  C. Marijuana, according to the passage, is a kind of drugs.  D. People have realized that the family has disintegrated and they just let it go.4. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT ture? A. Young people of ‘60s and ‘70s held radical attitudes towards life.  B. Young people of the early 1980s begin to turn back to traditional values.  C. Young people of the early 1980s follow the “new morality”.  D. There were anti-establishment occurrence in ‘60s and ‘70s.5. Liss Jciner’s view about family is ____.  A. optimistic            B. pessimistic         C. unknown          D. uncertain 答案：1篇：D B A C B    2篇：A C D D A    3篇：C B A B         4篇：A D A C      5篇 C D C    6篇：B D C C A