马鞍山二中,安师大附中2014届高三上学期期中考试英语试题试卷(3)

The two of us moved as one. We escaped to the safety and hoped of a doctor who did not confuse diagnosis with conclusion. I could never have made that walk toward wellness alone.
56. When hearing his progress, what did the author’s wife usually do?
A. She would give a present to the doctor.
B. She would keep quiet and cry.
C. She would not say anything about the progress.
D. She would give her husband a big hug.
57. From the passage we know ________.
A. the wife’s decision in crisis contributed to the husband’s wellness
B. hearing that her husband was not going to make it, the wife went out of her mind
C. the husband was diagnosed with cancer by mistake
D. the husband became weaker and weaker as a result of the treatment conducted by the doctor
58. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The wife loved her husband very much.
B. The doctor was a dangerous man.
C. The wife was a woman hard to get along with.
D. The husband was a man who believed everything would be OK.
59. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A Happy Couple in Crisis               B. In Crisis, Become As One
C. Struggle with Cancer               D. Don’t Believe the Doctor

B
    Fans of US television dramas watch their favorite series for different reasons: some want to improve their English skills, others just want to kill time.
Some TV series are more than pure entertainment―they have a certain depth. Mad Men, which returned with a sixth season recently; Monday Mornings, which just finished its first season; and Modern Family, which sweeps the awards every year, are just a few examples.
Why do these shows stand out among so many similar ones? TV critics Raymond Zhou will give you an idea of why some shows are better than others.
Period drama—More than time travel
    Period dramas are intended to capture the ambience (气氛) of a particular era. Directors must therefore attract audiences as much by their recreation of a historical setting as by an interesting storyline.
    Mad Men is an excellent example of this balance being struck. Set in New York during the 1960s, it accurately shows US attitudes in the workplace through the alcoholism and chain-smoking common of the time, and places an absorbing plot right in its center.
    But rather than merely presenting a past decade, Mad Men’s subtle (微妙的) description of the struggles of white-collar workers at the time, both male and female, makes it stand out.
    “The series’ attention to detail is superb,” Raymond Zhou said. “For example, creator Matthew Weiner makes Don Draper―the leading role of the series―drive a Buick instead of a Cadillac, because Weiner thinks the ad man lacks the self-pride to buy a luxury car. It’s this kind of attentiveness that raises the show’s artistic value.”
Critics also recommend
    Another period drama that works is Broadwalk Empire, set during the prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
    Heather Havrilesky at Salon magazine noted how the show “revels in the oddities(怪事) of its time, peeling back the layers of polite society to reveal a shadow world of criminals and politicians working together to keep the liquor flowing.”
    Why does it appeal to viewers? Because they know that the “liquor” is a metaphor (暗喻) for today’s political scandals (丑闻).
60. How many US TV series are mentioned in this passage?
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
61. The following statements are the reasons why many people are attracted by US television dramas EXCEPT that __________.
A. US television dramas merely present a past decade
B. directors recreate a historical setting and adopt interesting storylines
C. the dramas can improve their English skills, and help people kill time
D. some TV series are more than pure entertainment, and they have a certain depth
62. According to Raymond Zhou, Don Draper’s driving a Buick instead of a Cadillac shows __________.
A. Mad Men attaches much importance to details
B. Mad Men places an absorbing plot right in its center
C. the director wants to raise the show’s artistic value
D. Mad Men’s description of the struggling white-collar workers makes it stand out
63. What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. Directors of US dramas. B. US dramas and their storylines.
C. US period dramas to kill time. D. US dramas and their magic touch.

C
Not long ago, many people believed that babies only wanted food and to be kept warm and dry. Some people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old.
Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is a federal government agency. Its goal is to determine which experiences can influence healthy development in people.
Researchers at the institute note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment. They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other people.
The researchers say this ability to learn exists in a baby even before birth. They say newborn babies can recognize and understand sounds they heard while they were still developing inside their mothers.
Another study has suggested that low birth weight babies with no evidence of disability may be more likely than other children to have physical and mental problems.