(2015·四川·E)

　　No one is sure how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids near Cairo.But a new study suggests they used a little rock‘n’roll.Long­ago builders could have attached wooden poles to the stones and rolled them across the sand, the scientists say.

　　“Technically, I think what they're proposing is possible，” physicist Daniel Bonn said.

　　People have long puzzled over how the Egyptians moved such huge rocks.And there's no obvious answer.On average, each of the two million big stones weighed about as much as a large pickup truck.The Egyptians somehow moved the stone blocks to the pyramid site from about one kilometer away.

　　The most popular view is that Egyptian workers slid the blocks along smooth paths.Many scientists suspect workers first would have put the blocks on sleds(滑板).Then they would have dragged them along paths.To make the work easier, workers may have lubricated_the_paths either with wet clay or with the fat from cattle.Bonn has now tested this idea by building small sleds and dragging heavy objects over sand.

　　Evidence from the sand supports this idea.Researchers found small amounts of fat, as well as a large amount of stone and the remains of paths.

　　However, physicist Joseph West thinks there might have been a simpler way，who led the new study.West said，“I was inspired while watching a television program showing how sleds might have helped with pyramid construction.I thought，‘Why don't they just try rolling the things? ’” A square could be turned into a rough sort of wheel by attaching wooden poles to its sides, he realized.That, he notes, should make a block of stone “a lot easier to roll than a square”.

　　So he tried it.

　　He and his students tied some poles to each of four sides of a 30­kilogram stone block.That action turned the block into somewhat a wheel.Then they placed the block on the ground.

　　They wrapped one end of a rope around the block and pulled.The researchers found they could easily roll the block along different kinds of paths.They calculated that rolling the block required about as much force as moving it along a slippery(滑的)path.

　　West hasn't tested his idea on larger blocks，but he thinks rolling has clear advantages over sliding.At least，workers wouldn't have needed to carry cattle fat or water to smooth the paths.

　　文章大意：本文講述的是對金字塔石塊運輸方式的研究。大多數(shù)研究人員認(rèn)為古埃及人可能是把石塊放在滑板上滑至目的地�，F(xiàn)在還有人認(rèn)為古埃及人還有可能是在巨石四周捆綁木棒，然后將石塊滾至目的地。

　　8.It's widely believed that the stone blocks were moved to the pyramid site by ________.

　　A.rolling them on roads

　　B.pushing them over the sand

　　C.sliding them on smooth paths

　　D.dragging them on some poles

　　答案：C　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第四段中的The most popular view is that Egyptian workers slid the blocks along smooth paths.可知選C項。

　　9.The underlined part “l(fā)ubricated the paths” in Paragraph 4 means________.

　　A.made the paths wet B.made the paths hard

　　C.made the paths wide D.made the paths slippery

　　答案：D　詞義猜測題。該段首句說了要在光滑的道路上操作，畫線詞后提到的濕沙和牛油都有潤滑作用，故選D項(使道路光滑)。

　　10.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

　　A.Rolling the blocks with poles attached.

　　B.Rolling the blocks on wooden wheels.

　　C.Rolling poles to move the blocks.

　　D.Rolling the blocks with fat.

　　答案：A　詞義猜測題。上段提出了一種新的想法，這里是說這個物理學(xué)家嘗試了這個想法。根據(jù)下文的He and his students tied some poles to each of four sides of a 30­kilogram stone block.可知畫線詞it指的是滾動附加了木棒的石塊，故選A項。

　　11.Why is rolling better than sliding according to West?

　　A.Because more force is needed for sliding.

　　B.Because rolling work can be done by fewer cattle.

　　C.Because sliding on smooth roads is more dangerous.

　　D.Because less preparation on paths is needed for rolling.

　　答案：D　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章最后一句At least，workers wouldn't have needed to carry cattle fat or water to smooth the paths.可知利用木棒將巨石滾至目的地的方法可以省去工人們的準(zhǔn)備工作。故選D項。

　　12.What is the text mainly about?

　　A.An experiment on ways of moving blocks to the pyramid site.

　　B.An application of the method of moving blocks to the pyramid site.

　　C.An argument about different methods of moving blocks to the pyramid site.

　　D.An introduction to a possible new way of moving blocks to the pyramid site.

　　答案：D　主旨大意題。根據(jù)文章第一段可知文章提出了一種新的可能搬運金字塔石塊方法。故選D項。

　　(四)由文章內(nèi)容，挖掘主旨

　　(2015·重慶·A)

　　At thirteen，I was diagnosed (診斷) with a kind of attention disorder.It made school difficult for me.When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks，I could not.

　　In my first literature class，Mrs.Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it，all within 45 minutes.I raised my hand right away and said，“Mrs.Smith，you see，the doctor said I have attention problems.I might not be able to do it.”

　　She glanced down at me through her glasses，“You are no different from your classmates，young man.”

　　I tried，but I didn't finish the reading when the bell rang.I had to take it home.

　　In the quietness of my bedroom，the story suddenly all became clear to me.It was about a blind person，Louis Braille.He lived in a time when the blind couldn't get much education.But Louis didn't give up.Instead，he invented a reading system of raised dots (點)，which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.

　　Wasn't I the “blind” in my class，being made to learn like the “sighted”students?My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance.I completed the task within 40 minutes.Indeed，I was no different from others;I just needed a quieter place.If Louis could find his way out of his problems，why should I ever give up?

　　I didn't expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs.Smith，so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day—with an “A” on it.At the bottom of the paper were these words：“See what you can do when you keep trying?”

　　文章大意：本文講述了作者上學(xué)時的個人經(jīng)歷。作者有注意力不集中的問題，但在老師的鼓勵下，受到盲人故事的激勵，作者最終克服了自己的問題。由此告訴我們一個人可以通過努力克服自己的缺陷。

　　13.The author didn't finish the reading in class because ______.

　　A.he was new to the class

　　B.he was tired of literature

　　C.he had an attention disorder

　　D.he wanted to take the task home

　　答案：C　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。此題為直接信息題，帶著題干回到原文搜尋信息，定位第一段At thirteen，I was diagnosed (診斷) with a kind of attention disorder.It made school difficult for me.When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks，I could not.可知作者不能完成老師布置的任務(wù)是因為患有一種注意力障礙癥。C項中had an attention disorder與文中信息一致，故選C項。

　　14.What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?

　　A.He had good sight.

　　B.He made a great invention.

　　C.He gave up reading.

　　D.He learned a lot from school.

　　答案：B　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第五段最后兩句But Louis didn't give up.Instead，he invented a reading system of raised dots, which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.可知他發(fā)明了一個閱讀系統(tǒng)，給盲人打開了一個全新的知識的世界。故選B項。

　　15.What was Mrs.Smith's attitude to the author at the end of the story?

　　A.Angry. B.Impatient.

　　C.Sympathetic. D.Encouraging.

　　答案：D　推理判斷題。此題考查對觀點態(tài)度的推理。史密斯老師給作者打了“A”，并且寫了批語。See what you can do when you keep trying?形式上為問句，實則是對作者鼓勵的話語，她是在鼓勵作者只要不懈努力就一定能戰(zhàn)勝困難取得成功。因此選擇D項。

　　16.What is the main idea of the passage?

　　A.The disabled should be treated with respect.

　　B.A teacher can open up a new world to students.

　　C.One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts.

　　D.Everyone needs a hand when faced with challenges.

　　答案：C　主旨大意題。本文主要講述作者是一個有注意力障礙癥的學(xué)生，在老師的激勵下，克服困難的故事。說明只要不懈努力就一定能戰(zhàn)勝困難取得成功。文章強調(diào)的是不懈努力的重要性而不是對殘疾人的尊重、老師對學(xué)生的作用或困難中的幫助，故選C項。