Topic Sixteen Social Phenomena 社会万象

话说中考

在中考阅读理解中，本话题包括的题材很多，它们来自生活，来自社会，针对这些题材要求抓住关键的句子和一些与考查内容有关的问题所在，这样便于我们解题时“顺藤摸瓜”，找出问题的答案。这种题型一般是对文章理解能力的考查，抓住文章的关键句和关键词是非常重要的。

解题思路：看清题干，明确把握问题指向，带着问题读文章，避免“回视”现象，提高做题的速度，提高解题质量。

走进中考(福建莆田·2010)

In most cultures，when you meet people you know for the first time during a day，it is usual to greet them．Once a young woman from England went to Hong Kong to work．When she first arrived，she knew little about the Chinese culture of language．On her way to school one day，she went to a bank to get some money．To her surprise，the bank clerk asked her if she had had her lunch．She was surprised at such a question because in the British culture it would mean an invitation to lunch．Between unmarried young people it can also mean the young man's interest in dating the girl．Since this bank clerk was a stranger to the British woman，she was very puzzled，and quickly answered that she had eaten already．After this she went on to school and was even more surprised when one of the teachers asked her the same question．

By now she understood that it could not be an invitation but was puzzled as to why they asked it．In the following days she was asked the same question again and again and she spent many hours trying to work out why so many people kept asking her this．At last she thought that these people must be concerned about(关心) her health．She was rather thin at the time，and she thought they must be worrying that she was not eating well!

In fact the question like that has no real meaning at all — it is only a greeting．

根据短文内容，判断句子的正误，正确的在括号内写“T”，错误的写“F”。

( ) 1．The young British woman went to Hong Kong for work．

( ) 2．The British woman went to the bank to get some money．

( ) 3．The bank clerk invited the young British woman to lunch．

( ) 4．The teacher's question made the British woman happy．

( ) 5．In fact the young British woman didn't know much about Chinese culture．

解析

1．T 根据“Once a young woman from England...”可知这年轻英国妇女是来香港工作的，故此句表述是正确的。

2．T 根据“...she went to a bank to get some money．”可知此句表述是正确的。

3．F 通过本文最后一句我们可以了解到，在中国问别人“吃了吗”是表问候，而不一定是真正的想请人吃饭。故此句的错误的。

4．F 根据“After this she went on to school and was even more surprised...”可知此句表述是错误的。

5．T 根据文章内容我们知道，这位英国妇女对中国文化不是很了解，所以对“if she had had her lunch”产生困惑。

话题专练

一

Chanel，the world's oldest dog，celebrated her 21st birthday on Wednesday with a certificate(证书) from the Guinness Book of Records and a visit to a dog hotel and spa(温泉疗养地)．

Chanel was once a rescue(救援) dog in New York．At her birthday，she wore an orange sweater and red eyeglasses．Chanel has an eye disease，so she has to wear eyeglasses to protect her eyes from sunshine．

"Chanel is the Guinness world record holder for the oldest for living dogs，" said Jamie Panas，a spokeswoman for Guinness．

Shaughnessy got her pet from a shelter when the dog was six weeks old．Although Chanel could run miles in her younger days，she now suffers from joint(关节) problems and spends most of her days at home．

根据短文内容，完成下列各题。

1．Chanel was _______ years old．

2．Chanel got a certificate from _______．

3．On Wednesday Chanel was in _______．

4．Chanel wore eyeglasses in order to _______．

5．Chanel is _______ in the world．

答案：

1．21／twenty-one 根据短文第一句内容可知，Chanel 过 21 岁生日，所以填 21／twenty-one。

2．the Guinness Book of Records 根据短文第一段中介绍可知。

3．an orange sweater and red eyeglasses 星期三是 Chanel 的生日，所以它穿的是 an orange sweater and red eyeglasses。

4．protect her eyes 根据短文第二段内容可知，Chanel 有眼疾，所以戴眼镜是为了保护视力，即答案是 protect her eyes。

5．the oldest dog 根据短文内容可知，chanel 是世界上年龄最大的狗，所以答案是 the oldest dog。

二

A high school student in southwest China who raised money for people of Wenchuan Earthquake by selling cookies and her own watercolor paintings attended the inauguration(就职典礼) of the US new President Barack Obama．

Li Zizi moved in August，2008 to Sichuan Province，which was rocked by a terrible earthquake in May．She now attends Chengdu Experimental Foreign Languages School(外国语学校)，which is close to many of the hardest-hit areas．

Her family is from Sichuan，but she was born and raised in Japan and was living there when the quake hit．

When the earthquake happened，Li baked sugar cookies to sell at her school and sold some of her watercolor paintings．She finally earned $500 to buy school supplies for children in the quake areas．Li also supports two children，one in first grade and the other in third，whose parents were forced to find work far away in order to earn money to rebuild their homes．Li provides the children with pocket money and tickets to travel to see their parents．

Because she was born and grew up abroad，Li said she has a feeling of being close to Obama，whom she called a "miracle"．"He's the perfect thing at the perfect moment for America，" she said．

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

( ) 1．Where was Li Zizi born?

A．Sichuan． B．Japan． C．America． D．Chengdu．

( ) 2．Why did Li Zizi collect money in the quake?

A．Because she had to raise money for finishing her studies．

B．Because she wanted to see her parents．

C．Because she must help her parents to rebuild their homes．

D．Because she wanted to help children in the quake areas．

( ) 3．the Two children lost _______ in the earthquake．

A．their parents

B．their homes

C．their schools

D．their lives．

( ) 4．What did Li give the two children by selling cookies and watercolor paintings?

A．Some money．

B．Tickets．

C．Clothes．

D．A and B．

( ) 5．The underlined word "miracle" in the passage means "_______"．

A．机会 B．奇迹 C．渴望 D．理想

答案：

1．B 根据短文中第三段的内容可知，她出生在日本。

2．D 根据短文中第一、四两段内容可以确定她挣钱是为了帮助震区的孩子们。

3．B 根据短文中第四段“...，whose parents were forced to find work far away in order to earn money to rebuild their homes．”可以确定孩子在地震中失去了家园。

4．D 根据短文中第四段“Li provides the children with pocket money and tickets to travel to see their parents．”可确定答案。

5．B 根据上下文提示可以看出是“一种特别的、几乎不敢相信的事情”，即一种“奇迹”。

三

A hard-working Chinese rice farmer was supporting his children，wife and his old father．He worked long and hard each day，but still he was hardly growing enough to feed his children and wife．

One day he didn't work for the whole day．Instead，he built a small cart(手推车) out of some wood that he had．The next day he went to his old father and told him that the old man was no longer able to help the family．His old father was only eating and taking up precious resources(宝贵资源)．So the farmer loaded him into the new cart and headed up a nearby mountain．When he got to the top，he stopped and turned the cart to face down the mountain，but before he could start to roll(使……滚动) the cart，his father stopped him，saying，"Wait! Son，I can understand what you are doing，and even why you are doing it，but please save the cart．Your son will need it．"

根据短文内容，判断下面句子正(T)误(F)。

( ) 1．The Chinese rice farmer didn't work hard each day．

( ) 2．He built the cart so that he could put more rice into it．

( ) 3．His father was old and he wasn't able to work for the family．

( ) 4．His father understood that his son wanted to kill him．

( ) 5．The words that the old man said to his son were educational(有教育意义的)．

答案：

1．F 根据第一段内容可知，农夫天天很努力工作，所以是 F。

2．F 根据短文中的内容可以确定，农夫做手推车不是为了装稻米，而是为了把老人送走，所以是 F。

3．T 根据短文中“His old father was only eating and taking up precious resources．”可知，老父亲没有劳动能力了，所以是 T。

4．T 根据老人对儿子说的话可以看出，他知道儿子要他死，所以答案是 T。

5．T 根据短文最后几句话可知他是教育儿子要赡养老人，所以答案是 T。

四

Eating 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes，Joey Chestnut from California beat his world championship in this year's International Hot Dog Eating Contest．

He also set a new record for this traditional contest in New York，an event which dates back to the year of 1916．

This year，much expectation was focused on Kobayashi from Japan，six times world champion between 2001 and 2006．In 2008，they shared the championship，both eating 59 hot dogs．

Also attending the contest is last year's female champion Juliet Lee，a 44-year-old former chemistry professor in China who now owns a salon in Maryland(马里兰)．Thousand of fans and tourists were attracted to this beachside event．

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

( ) 1．Joey Chestnut had _______ in 2008．

A．44 hot dogs

B．58 hot dogs

C．59 hot dogs

D．68 hot dogs

( ) 2．International Hot Dog Eating Contest began in _______．

A．1916 B．2001 C．2006 D．2008

( ) 3．Joey Chestnut comes from _______．

A．Japan B．China C．America D．England

( ) 4．What did Juliet Lee do?

A．A teacher．

B．A doctor．

C．A scientist．

D．A basketball player．

( ) 5．Kobayashi won _______ times world champions from 2001 to 2008．

A．five B．six C．seven D．eight

答案：

1．C 根据短文中第三段“In 2008，they shared the championship，both eating 59 hot dogs．”可知，在 2008 年比赛中 Chestnut 吃了 59 个，和日本的 Kobayashi 并列第一。

2．A 根据短文第二段介绍可知，热狗大赛开始于 1916 年。

3．C 根据短文第一句话可以确定 Joey Chestnut 来自美国。

4．A 根据短文中最后一段内容可知 Juliet Lee 是一名教师。

5．C 根据短文中第三段的内容可知，从 2001 年到 2008 年期间，Kobayashi 共取得七次冠军。

五

Want to spend a night in jail? And how about playing for it? A new jail in eastern Missouri(密苏里州) has come up with a new way to pay for mattresses(床垫)．

Officials are offering the public a chance to stay overnight on its opening day．For $50 a person or $90 a couple，people can tour the new place，learn more about jail，and stay overnight．They'll receive "bed and breakfast" T-shirts and snacks．

Also included is a "get out of jail free" card．Those who want to leave early have to give another $10．All the money will be used for the jail repair fund．

任务一：根据短文内容，完成下列各题。

1．Everyone can spend a night _______ in Missouri．

2．If you and your one friend want to stay overnight in the jail，you must pay _______ for it．

3．When you stay at jail，you will receive _______．

4．If you want to leave early，you must pay for _______ again．

任务二：把画线部分译成汉语。

5．_________________________________

答案：

1．in jail 根据短文第一、二段可知填 in jail。

2．$90 根据第二段内容可以计算出两个人在监狱里过夜，要付 $90。

3．"bed and breakfast" T-shirts and snacks 根据第二段的内容可以确定在监狱里，可以得到 "bed and breakfast" T-shirts and snacks。

4．another $10 根据最后一段内容可知，如果想早点出来，必须再付 $10。

5．所有收入都用作监狱维修资金。解析略。

六

Debenhams has produced a special kind of suit for women with a low price of $80．It is made from recycled plastic bottles．

The bottles in the suit are broken into pieces and then made into a shape of polyester(涤纶)．Each suit uses about 50 plastic bottles．The rough(粗糙的) polyester feel of this suit might not attract some customers though it is good for environment．

Debenhams says that making the jacket and trousers saves energy and gives off less CO2．This way can certainly cut down waste．

If the women's suits are popular in stores，Debenhams will use this technology for men's clothing．

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

( ) 1．What is the special kind of suit for women that Debenhams has produced made of?

A．Cotton． B．Polyester． C．Wool． D．Leather．

( ) 2．How much were two suits for women?

A．$80． B．$100． C．$50． D．$160．

( ) 3．How many plastic bottles does each suit use?

A．50． B．80． C．About 50． D About 70．

( ) 4．Which of the following is NOT the advantage of the kind of suit?

A．It might save energy．

B．It can give off less CO2．

C．It can cut down waste．

D．It might not attract some customers．

( ) 5．The passage mainly tells us _______．

A．the recycled plastic bottles can be made into clothes

B．the kind of suit must be good for our health

C．the kind of suit is very popular in the world

D．the technology should be spread over the world

答案：

1．B 根据第二段的内容可知确定答案是涤纶。

2．D 根据第一段可知一套是 $80，那么两套就是 $160。

3．C 根据第二段中“Each suit uses about 50 plastic bottles．”可确定答案。

4．D 根据第二段的内容可以确定，它虽然对保护环境有好处，但不一定受人们的欢迎。

5．A 通读全文可以看出本文主要是讲“塑料瓶可以制成衣服”。

七

Hair is one of the first things you notice about yourself or other people．Hair is also the body part that many people try to change the most．People with naturally straight hair often wish their hair were curly．And curly tops want straight hair．

So why wasn't everyone born with the hair they wanted? Scientists say a number of factors(因素) decided the way your hair looks．

Hair has two parts：the shaft(发干) — the part you see — and the follicle(发囊) — the part you don't see because it is under the skin．Follicles are not all alike for every person．

If you have curly hair，your follicle is probably very straight．Straight-haired people most likely have round follicles．

Another factor that goes into the kind of hair you have involves the hair bulb．The shaft grows from the bulb．The way the bulb sits in the follicle can affect your hair，too．

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

( ) 1．If you look at other people，what will you know about at first?

A．Hand． B．Hair． C．Body． D．Foot．

( ) 2．Which parts is hair made up of?

A．Shaft． B．Follicle． C．Bulb． D．A and B．

( ) 3．The way your hair looks is decided by _______．

A．shaft

B．follicles

C．bulb

D．a number of factors and follicles．

( ) 4．Curly-haired people probably have _______．

A．straight follicles

B．round follicles

C．curly follicles

D．A and C

( ) 5．What can also change what people's hair looks like?

A．Fire． B．Bulb． C．Water． D．Knives．

答案：

1．B 根据短文第一段的内容可以确定答案。

2．D 根据第三段的内容可以确定头发是由发干和发囊两部分组成的。

3．D 根据全文内容可以看出头发关键在于发囊和一些其他因素。

4．A 根据第四段的内容可知，卷头发人的毛囊可能是直的。

5．B 根据最后一段内容可知，bulb 可能改变人的发型。

八

The astronauts used to only have freeze-dried powders and semi-liquid pastes for meals．Now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the Moon．They look forward to providing astronauts or space travelers with fine dinners of fresh vegetables in the future．

Paragon，a company that works with NASA，has designed the "Lunar Oasis"．

"Lunar Oasis" is a small greenhouse．It looks like a bell jar put into a 46cm-tall frame．The flame is designed to protect plants while they grow on the Moon．

They plan to send the small greenhouse into space in 2012．Scientists will put brassica(芸苔) seeds — like a cabbage — in the greenhouse．Because this kind of vegetable goes from seed to flower in just 14 days，it can complete its life cycle in just one night on the Moon．

The Moon greenhouse has been compared to an experiment at the South Pole．The South Pole greenhouse，now in its fifth year，allows workers living in the coldest place on Earth to have tomatoes，lettuces(莴苣)，strawberries and herbs．

"Living on the Moon seems so far away，but it is important that we do this research now，" said Jane Poynter，the president of Paragon．

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

( ) 1．What didn't the astronauts use to have on the Moon?

A．Fresh vegetables．

B．Freeze-dried powders

C．Semi-liquid pastes．

D．Water

( ) 2．What does the "Lunar Oasis" look like?

A．A ball．

B．A bag．

C．A bell jar．

D．A bottle．

( ) 3．When will they plan to send the "Lunar Oasis" to the Moon?

A．2009． B．2010． C．2020． D．2012．

( ) 4．What will the astronauts eat on the Moon in 2020?

A．Tomatoes． B．Lettuces． C．Strawberries． D．All of the above．

( ) 5．What does Poynter do?

A．An astronaut．

B．The president of Paragon．

C．A president．

D．A pilot．

答案：

1．A 根据第一段的内容可知，到目前为止，宇航员在月球上吃不到新鲜的蔬菜。

2．C 根据第三段内容可知，“月球温室”看起来像一个 bell jar。

3．D 根据第四段的内容可知。他们计划到 2012 年把“月球绿洲”送上月球。

4．D 根据全文内容可以确定，到 2020 年宇航员应该能吃上一些蔬菜，即选 D。

5．B 根据最后一段内容可知，Poynter 是帕拉冈太空开发公司的董事长。

九

Just as in face-to-face communication，there are some basic rules of behavior(行为) that should be followed on the Internet．The basic rule is simple：treat others in the same way you would want to be treated．① Imagine how you'd feel if you were in the other person's shoes．

For anything you're about to send：ask yourself，"Would I say that to the person's face?" If the answer is no，rewrite and reread．If someone in the chat room is rude to you，you needn't fire back．You should either ignore(不理睬) the person，or use your chat software to block their messages．Remember to respect the beliefs and opinions of others in the chat room．

② Offer advice when asked by newcomers，as they may not be sure what to do or how to communicate．When someone makes a mistake，be kind about it．If you do decide to tell someone about the mistake，point it out politely．At the same time，if you find you are wrong，be sure to correct yourself and apologize to those that you have offended(冒犯)．③ 询问别人诸如年龄、性别和家庭情况等隐私问题是不礼貌的。Unless you know the person very well，and you are both comfortable with sharing personal information，don't ask such questions．

根据短文内容，完成下列各题。

1．In the chat room we must respect others，_______ and _______．

2．When you find you make a mistake in the chat room，what should you do?

_______________________________________________________________________

3．将画线部分 ① 翻译成汉语。

_______________________________________________________________________

4．选择一个适当的句子放在 ② 处。

A．First impressions last longest．

B．Everyone was new to the network once．

C．The Internet has opened up a whole new world for us．

D．Even if you feel strongly about it，think twice before saying anything．

5．将画线部分 ③ 翻译成英语。

______________________________________________

答案：

1．beliefs，opinions 根据第二段中“Remember to respect the beliefs and opinions of others in the chat room．”可确定答案。

2．I should correct myself and apologize to those that I have offended．根据第三段中“if you find you are wrong，be sure to correct yourself and apologize to those that you have offended．”可确定答案。

3．你要设身处地为别人着想。解析略。

4．B 根据下句的意思“给新手们一些建议”可以推断出，选“网络起初对每个人来说都是新的”。

5．It is impolite to ask others personal questions such as their age，sex and families．用动词不定式作主语的句型来完成该题：It is + adj．+ to do...”