1、杭州外国语学校 2019 年高考英语集训阅读理解每日一练 41倒数第二周星期一AWhen should people be made to retire? 55? 65? Should there be a compulsory age limit? Many old people work well into their 70s and 80s, running families, countries or corporations. Other people, however, despite being fit and highly talented, are forced to ret
2、ire in their fifties or even earlier because of the regulations of a company or the nation. This essay will examine whether people should be allowed to continue working as long as they want or whether they should be encouraged to retire at a particular stage. Some people think there are several argu
3、ments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able. First of all, older employees have a large amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire. A second point is that older employees are often extremely faithful
4、employees and are more willing to carry out company policies than younger less committed staff. However, a more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people. To force someone to resign or retire at 60 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that
5、 effectively their useful life is over. Age is irrelevant to a working life. Surely if older employees are told they cannot work after 60, this is age discrimination. That they become old does not necessarily mean they are going to be sick. Old people could be more aware, experienced and committed t
6、han some youngsters. Others, however, think that allowing older people to work indefinitely is not a good policy. Age alone is no guarantee of ability. Old people are only ambitious workaholics who are too selfish and egocentric to believe that a younger person could do better. Actually, many younge
7、r employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area or unit for most of their working lives. Having compulsory retirement allows new ideas in an organization. In addition, without age limits, however, many people would continue to work purely because they
8、 did not have any other plans or roles. A third point of view is that older people should be rewarded by society for their lifes labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy their leisure. We now have youngsters who cant find jobs because old people are choosing not to retire. Old
9、 people are not retiring because this new generation of “old people“ think they will never die due to modern advances in medicine. With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers. However, this can affect the older in
10、dividuals freedom and right to work and can deprive society of valuable experience and insights. I feel that giving workers more flexibility and choice over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual. 41. What is the purpose of this passage? A. To explain the compulsory age limit.
11、B. To discuss the retirement age. C. To examine peoples working life. D. To introduce a particular stage. 42. Which of the following is NOT a reason for allowing old people to continue working according to the passage?A. Their contribution should be valued.B. Their experience should be made use of.C
12、. They can help the youngsters.D. They are loyal employees.43. It can be inferred in the fourth passage that _.A. the young people have more creative spirits B. modern advances in medicine make old people never die C. pensions and freedom are not given to the old now D. old people believe that a you
13、nger person could do better 44. The passage is arranged as follows: A. B. C. D.1 1 1 12 2 3 4 2 23 4 5 3 35 4 4 5545. What is the authors opinion on the retirement age? A. The author thinks when to retire depends on the employees themselves. B. The author is against lengthening the retirement age. C
14、. The author thinks that retirement age varies from country to country. D. The author is in favor of allowing old people to continue working.BClassical philosophers called humans “the rational(理性的) animal“. Clearly, they never looked closely at ants. A new study suggests that ant colonies avoid irra
15、tional decisions that people and other animals often makeConsider the following scenario: You want to buy a house with a big kitchen and a big yard, but there are only two homes on the market-one with a big kitchen and a small yard and the other with a small kitchen and a big yard. Studies show youd
16、 be about 50% likely to choose either house-and either one would be a rational choice. But now, a new home comes on the market, this one with a large kitchen and no yard. This time, studies show, youll make an irrational decision: Even though nothing has changed with the first two houses, youll now
17、favor the house with the big kitchen and small yard over the one with the small kitchen and big yard. Overall, scientists have found, people and other animals will often change their original preferences when presented with a third choiceNot so with ants. These insects also shop for homes but not qu
18、ite in the way that humans do. Solitary worker ants spread out, looking for two main features: a small entrance and a dark inside. If an ant finds an outstanding hole-such as the inside of an acorn or a rock crevice-it brings another worker ant to check it out. As more ants like the site, the number
19、 of workers in the new hole grows. Once the crowd reaches a critical mass, the ants race back to the old nest and start carrying the queen and larvae to move the entire colonyTo test ant rationality, Stephen Pratt, a behavioral ecologist at Arizona State University in Tempe, and a colleague designed
20、 a series of possible nests for 26 ant colonies. The duo cut rectangular holes in balsa wood and covered them with glass microscope slides. The researchers then drilled holes of various sizes into the glass slides and slipped plastic light filters under the glass to vary the features ants care about
21、 most. At first, the colonies only had two options, A and B. A was dark but had a large opening, whereas B was bright with a small opening. As with humans, the ants preferred both options equally: The researchers found no difference between the number of colonies that picked A versus BThen the scien
22、tists added a third option, called a decoy（干扰项） , that was similar to either A or B in one characteristic but clearly worse than both in the other (a very bright nest with a small opening, for example). Unlike humans, the ants were not tricked by the decoy, the team reports online today in the Proce
23、edings of the Royal Society B. Although a few colonies picked the third nest, the other colonies did not start favoring A or B and still split evenly between the twoPratt speculates that ant colonies avoid making the irrational decision because, unlike humans, each ant doesnt evaluate all options be
24、fore making a choice. When the scouts find a nest, theyre unaware of what else is out there, and either they pick the nest or they dont. “The group may do better precisely because the individuals are ignorant,“ Pratt saysMelissa Bateson, an ethnologist at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom,
25、believes the findings could have “really interesting implications for the benefits of collective decision-making, which we could learn something from.“ Many grant-review boards, for example, behave like ants: Reviewers see only a subset of the total grant applications and thus have to make a decisio
26、n without seeing every option46. The survey of house buying is mentioned to _A. reveal the serious housing problems of modern societyB. explain how to make a more reasonable choice when buying housesC. show that in fact humans are not so rational as known when making choicesD. criticize the selfishn
27、ess of human nature47. Choose the correct order of the steps for ants to move to a new placea. An ant finds an ideal hole with two main featuresb. The ants race back to carry the queen and larvae to movec. Another worker ant is brought to check it outd. Worker ants are sent oute. More ants come to t
28、he site until they have enough workersA. a-c-e-b-d B. d-a-c-e-b C. a-e-c-d-b D. d-a-e-c-b48Which of the following options could be an appropriate decoy to the experiment in paragraph 5?A. a dark nest with a small openingB. a dark nest with a large openingC. a bright nest with a small openingD. a dar
29、k nest with a very large opening49. According to Stephen Pratt, why are the ant colonies able to make the rational choice in comparison with humans?A. They are not aware of more optional placesB. They have clever worker ants to make the discoveriesC. They are not well educated and intelligent as hum
30、ansD. Ants are better at making collective choices with their ignorant partners50. The best title for the passage would be _A. Cant Decide? Ask an Ant B. Better Choice, Better LifeC. Man, Be Rational D. Who lies? Philosophers or ScientistsCThe addictive pull of Internet shopping is dragging thousand
31、s of victims into a rise of debt, including thousands of women who have run up huge credit card bills they cannot repay. The appeal of 24-hour access and the explosion in goods and services on offer has seen a 10 percent increase in credit card debts in the UK this year. Much of it has accounted for
32、 online spending. The latest report on Internet usage shows the number of adults logging on at home has risen from 10 million in October last year to 15.5m this month. The report by Continental Research, which has monitored Internet access in the UK for the past six years, found that while online sh
33、opping used to be experimental it is now becoming habitual, especially for women. Colin Shaddick, who heads the company, said, “Women are logging on in record numbers -online shopping has certainly played a big role in this.“ The study found that average annual spending online is 700 a year for each
34、 Internet shopper. The draw of the Internet is especially strong for collectors. Business lecturer Stephen Hall, who has been buying and selling books since he was a child, now has a collection worth 40,000. He is passionate about the opportunities offered by shopping online. “You can find a book in
35、 minutes that you could spend months hunting down at auctions or second-hand bookshops,“ he said. “It can easily become addictive, and all the collectors I know use the Internet. I suspect you do waste money because you are less likely to send back a book to Little Rock, Arkansas, than take it back
36、to the high-street shop.“Like Stephen Hall, most of us can shop online sensibly-but for some it provides an easy, anonymous and accessible way to feed their habit. It also provides secrecy-a central part of any addiction. Dr Samantha Haslett, a psychologist and expert in addiction at the Promos coun
37、seling centre, said, “Its compulsive in the same way as alcohol and gambling, and addicts find themselves completely unable to stop themselves, despite debt mounting and relationships breaking up. Its the thrill and the buzz of purchasing that ignores all the negative consequences.“People laugh at s
38、hopping addictions, but its the same as food overeating: bulimics dont eat nice stuff, or things that are good for them. Shopping addicts are the same: theyll buy things they dont need or want or like. What theyre buying is of no importance compared to the thrill they get spending money and acquirin
39、g something new. Ive counseled people who have bought piles of bed linen and curtains and just left them piled up in the corner of the room. I have seen peoples marriages ruined. Theres something more damaging about Internet shopping too because it takes place in the home, so the trick and secrecy i
40、s that much closer to the partner who is being tricked. Tennis star Serena Williams this year admitted to kicking an Internet shopping addiction that saw her spending up to six hours a day online in an attempt to avoid being seen out in public. “Every day I was in my room and I was online,“ Williams
41、 said. “I wasnt able to stop and I bought, bought, bought. I was just out of control.“Confidence is also growing in online security. Danny Meadows-Klue, chairman of Interactive Advertising Bureau, the Internet commercial watchdog, said, “Online card fraud（欺诈）is a drop in the ocean compared to total
42、credit card fraud, but it is increasing. We want to increase consumer confidence by encouraging shoppers to take simple steps to protect themselves.“But there are still barriers to online shopping, declares James Goudie, a consumer psychologist at North Umbria University. “For certain items some peo
43、ple prefer to shop personally, for example to try on an item of clothing and feel the quality. Payment of delivery charges is also off-putting.“51. It can be learned from the passage that_.A. people have run into debts mainly because of their Internet shopping addictionB. many people dont tend to ge
44、t back their refund though the goods quality is poor C. avoiding been noticed by the public entirely leads to Serenas shopping addiction D. the reason for online shopping results from much less credit fraud on the Internet52. According to Dr. Samantha Haslett, we can draw a conclusion that_.A. the m
45、ain reason for ruining peoples marriage contributes to shopping onlineB. it is the convenience of Internet that brings about peoples shopping addictionC. a great many things women purchase on the Internet are of little practical use D. spending money by clicking the mouse can satisfy customers desir
46、e greatly53. The underlined word “off-putting” in the last passage means_.A. annoying B. pleasant C. exciting D. tense54. Which of the following do you think the author would most probably agree with?A. Shopping online has advanced the consumers debt increase in a way.B. many items are piled up in t
47、he room corner because they are out of date.C. shopping addiction is harder to be removed than alcohol and gambling.D. paying by credit can account for the phenomenon of online shopping.55. Which do you think can be the best title of the passage?A. Net Shopping Cost People Much Money B. Warm Tips on
48、 Internet ShoppingC. Net Shopping Hooks Army of Addicts D. Shopping Online Is Very PopularDWanda, the neighborhood witch, was a good witch and had been one for about 221 years. Her fondest dream was to become a fairy godmother. She had been going to the Fairy Godmother Academy for 103 years, learnin
49、g fairy godmother magic: how to turn pumpkins into coaches, how to make things vanish in clouds of smoke, even how to change mice into horses and footmen.Just that very morning the principal of the Academy had said Wanda was ready for her final test. She was to change the first animal she met into something else. The animal was to be so happy at becoming whatever it became that it would say, “Oh, happy day! Im a.“ If it did, Wanda would pass th
