2014高考英语全国卷1真题(完整版)

45

分）

阅读下 列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（

A

、

B

、

C

、和

D

）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项

涂黑。

A

The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge

Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge!

The Cambridge Science Festival (CSF) is pleased to inform you of the sixth annual Curiosity Challenge. The

challenge invites, even dares school students between the ages of 5 and 14 to create artwork or a piece of writing

that shows their curiosity and how it inspires them to explore their world.

Students are being dared to draw a picture, write an article, take a photo or write a poem that shows what they

are curious about. To enter the challenge, all artwork or pieces of writing should be sent to the Cambridge Science

Festival, MIT Museum, 265 Mass Avenue. Cambridge 02139 by Friday, February 8th.

Students who enter the Curiosity Challenge and are selected as winners will be honored at a special ceremony

during the CSF on Sunday, April 21

st

. Guest speaker will also present prizes to the students. Winning entries will be

published in a book. Student entries will be exhibit and prizes will be given. Families of those who take part will be

included in the celebration and brunch will be served.

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Between March 10

th

and March 15th, each winner will be given the specifics of the closing ceremony and the

Curiosity

Challenge

celebration.

The

program

guidelines

and

other

related

information

are

available

at:

.

【小题

1

】

Who can take in the Curiosity Challenge?

A. School students.

B. Cambridge locals.

C. CSF winners.

D. MIT artists.

【小题

2

】

When will the prize-giving ceremony be held?

A. On February 8th.

B. On March 10th

C. On March 15th..

D. On April 21st.

【小题

3

】

What type of writing is this text?

A. An exhibition guide.

B. An art show review.

C. An announcement.

D. An official report.

B

Passenger pigeons

（

旅鸽）

once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers. Written accounts

from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks

（群）

so large that they darkened the sky for hours.

It was calculated that when its population reach its highest point, there were more than 3 billion passenger

pigeons

–

a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the

most abundant birds in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock

believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.

Sadly,

the

abundance

of

passenger

pigeons

may

have

been

their

undoing.

Where

the

birds

were

abundant,

people believed there was an ever- lasting supply and killed them by the thousands. Commercial hunters attracted

them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking

hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.

By

the

closing

decades of

the

19

th

century,

the

hardwood

forests

where

passenger pigeons nested

had been

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damaged by Americans’ need for wood, which scattered

（驱散）

the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north,

where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to

be seen again.

In

1897,

the

state

of

Michigan

passed

a

law

prohibiting

the

killing

of

passenger

pigeons,

but

by

then,

no

sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot

by

a

boy

in

Pike

County,

Ohio,

in

1900.

For

a

time,

a

few

birds

survived

under

human

care.

The

last

of

them,

known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden in September 1, 1914.

【小题

1

】

In the 18

th

and early 19

th

centuries, passenger pigeons _______.

A. were the biggest bird in the world

B. lived mainly in the south of America

C. did great harm to the natural environment

D. Were the largest population in the US

【小题

2

】

The underlined word “undoing” probably refers to the pigeons’ _______.

A. escape

B. ruin

C. liberation

D. evolution

【小题

3

】

What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?

A. To seek pleasure.

B. To save other birds.

C. To make money.

D. To protect crops.

【小题

4

】

What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?

A. It was ignored by the public.

B. It was declared too late.

C. It was unfair.

D. It was strict.

C

A

typical lion tamer (

驯兽师

) in people’s mind

is an entertainer holding a whip (

鞭子

)and a chair .The whip

get all of the attention , but it’s mostly for show .In reality , it’s the chair that does the important work .When a lion

tamer

holds

a

chair

in

front

of

the

lion’s

face

,

the

lion

tries

to

focus

on

all

four

legs

of

the

chair

at

the

same

time .With its focus divided , the lion becomes confused and is unsure about what to do next .When faced with so

many options , the lion chooses to freeze and wait instead of attacking the man holding the chair.

How often do you find yourself in the same position as the lion ? How often do you have something you want to

achiever (e,g. lose weight , start a business , travel more )

–

only to end up confused by all of the options in front of

you and never make progress ?

This upsets me to no end because while all the experts are busy debating about which option is best , the people

who want to improve their lives are left confused by all of the conflicting information .The end result is that we feel

like we can’t focus or that we’re focused on the wrong things , and so we take less action , make less progress , and

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