德阳市高2015级高三年级联合测试英语试题第二部分阅读理解(共两节，满分40分)第一节 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
AYou may be familiar with the following famous people, but have you heard of their graduation speeches, in which they either share their unforgotten experiences or give you some great inspiration(启迪).●Michael Dell, University of Texas at AustinAnd now you've accomplished something great and important here, and it's time for you to move on to what's next. And you must not let anything prevent you from taking those first steps. ... You must also commit to the adventure. Just have faith in the skills and the knowledge you've been blessed (赐予)with and go.●J.K. Rowling, Harvard UniversityHalf my lifetime ago ,I was striking an uneasy balance between my ambition and the expectation from my parents who were not rich...But what I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty(贫穷), but failure. The fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you know little about failure, you might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.●Steve Jobs, Stanford UniversitySometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith...Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle.●Bill Gates, Harvard UniversityWe need as many people as possible to have access to the advanced technology to lead to a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They are making it possible not just for national governments, but for universities ,smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches and deal with the world's inequities（不公平）like hunger, poverty, and so on.21. What Michael Dell said is to urge us to .A. listen to our heartB. learn from our mistakesC. follow others' exampleD. pursue our dreams22. What did J.K. Rowling fear most when she was studying in university?A. Failure.B. Hunger.C.Poverty. D. Appearance.23. What does Bill Gates suggest people do?A. Master as much advanced technology as possible.B. Make joint efforts to rid some global problems.C. Make contributions to the environment.D. Take responsibility for their own behavior.BWhat Does the Length of Your Fingers Say About You?Are you the peace-loving type or the ambitious go-getter? Your finger length might be a clue. Take a look at your fingers. Would you believe me if I told you that the length of your fingers in relation to one another can predict your personality? I know that it sounds like one of those silly tests you see on Facebook, but I have to admit that it is exactly correct for me. Here’s how it works.Look at your three middle fingers of your hand. Is your indexfinger longer than your ring finger? Is your ring finger longer than your index finger? Or are the two of the same length? Find the situation that best matches your hand and see if what follows is an accurate description of your personality.Longer ring finger: The Sweet TalkerIf your ring finger is longer than your index finger, research shows that you’r e likely a charming type, and you can probably talk yourself out of any situation. Others often find this personality type irresistible and will go to great lengths to help you. You’re morelikely to take risks, and you’re good at problem-solving. People inthis category make great engineers, soldiers and crossword-puzzle solvers.Longer index finger: The (Over) Confident OneIf your index finger is longer than your ring finger, chances are you are full of confidence—possibly even to the point of being over-confident and proud. You are not necessarily introverted (内向的), but you do enjoy time to yourself, especially when you’re trying to complete a project. You are a dream pursuer who can make things happen, but you may be shy when it comes to taking the first step in a relationship. You are also probably happy with what you have, butyou’re always wishing for more.Index and ring finger are of the same length: The PeacemakerIf your index finger and ring finger are roughly of the same length, you are likely to avoid conflict at all costs and seek to keep the peace in your relationships. You are well-organized, faithful and sympathetic. But deep down under all of that caring and peace-loving, you also have a hot-tempered side that can appear unexpectedly w hen you’re pushed too far. You will try your hardest to avoid a fight.How well do these descriptions match your personality? I was surprised at the accuracy in my case, but I’m not going to tell you which one it was!24. Which of the following hand coul d be an engineer’s hand?25. We can learn from the passage that the author ______.A. is very charming and helpfulB. thinks the descriptions suit him wellC. often takes silly tests on FacebookD. always tries hard to avoid a fight26. What does the passage intend to tell us?A. How accurate the description of the test is.B. Why your fingers are not of the same length.C. Personality is determined by your finger length.D. The length of fingers can reveal personality.27. Where can you probably find the text?A. A public advertisement.B. An official report.C. A popular magazine.D. A biology textbook.C“ It can hurt a little, but the pain does not stay; it take s a few seconds and then it goes away,” Don told Xinhua on Friday at an acupuncture clinic.Don has been coming to the Beijing Chinese Medical Center in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, every week for three months.This 44-year-old German director is best known for his thriller Their Lives, which won the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the 79th Oscars in 2007.Years of working hard in the movie industry caused Don neck pains, and it got serious in February when the doctor told him he needed surgery.Then a nurse suggested him trying Traditional Chinese Medicine and to see Dr. Wu at the Beijing Chinese Medical Center.As a recognized authority on Traditional Chinese Medicine with a degree in Western medicine, Dr. Wu has been practicing in Santa Monica for 27 years.Don admitted that it was scary when he saw the acupuncture needles for the first time. “Acupuncture is a very pinpoint, careful and caring process. The doctor can not miss by a few millimeters,” he told Xinhua,“With Dr. Wu, you feel so much th e deep wisdom, the experience, the knowledge. I feel it so much and I trust him.”His trust paid him back. Without any surgery, Don's problem was solved in one month. “I found that Western medicine can be very aggressive, and it has extreme side effects,”Don said. “But for Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture, they do not have side effects; it is about activating (激活) the energy and oxygen flow in the body, and it is about helping the body heal itself.”28. Don felt _______ when he took the acupuncture needles.A. acceptableB. scaredC.painless D. miserable29. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?A. Dr. Wu has been practicing in Santa Monica, Los Angeles since 1990.B. Dr. Wu is a recognized authority on Western medicine.C. Don has been treated with acupuncture needles for three times.D. Their Lives won the Best Film Award at the 79th Oscars in 2007.30. The word underlined in the 7th paragraph can be replaced by_______.A. practicalB. helpfulC.precise D. serious31. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?A. Chinese Acupuncture Needle Does Not Have Side Effects at allB. German Director Is Treated by an Authority on Western MedicineC. Chinese Acupuncture Needle Does Good to Serious Neck PainsD. Oscar-winning Director Takes a Fancy to Chinese AcupunctureDAt first glance, price-comparison websites are an example of capitalism at its best. But it has caused fierce competition on price and eviscerated（大打折扣的）profits. Towers Watson, a consultancy, said that "unnecessary" price competition following the rise of comparison sites in Britain had cost insurers ￡1 billion a year.Consumers should celebrate that; the firms' losses are their gains. But there is a catch. Comparison sites introduce a new layer of costs, including their own advertising campaigns. In theory, competition in the market for comparison sites ought to keep those costs down. But David Ronayne of Warwick University argues that consumers often lose out from comparison sites. They earn a commission for each shopper who uses them for consumption such as buying insurance. That referral（委托）cost is included in the price the consumer ends up paying. If the increased costs outweigh the saving the comparison enables, consumers end up worse off.These worries are not just theoretical. In 2014,Britain's competition regulator found that many comparison sites were using theircontracts with retailers（零售商）to ban them from offering lower prices elsewhere. That weakened rivals' incentive（对手的动机）to cut fees, because prices on their site could not fall. By keeping prices similar, the contracts also reduced the incentive for consumers to search on multiple sites, thus helping sites retain their users.Weaker incentives to lower commissions（佣金） mean weaker incentives to lower costs, too. That might explain why comparison websites advertise so heavily, and sometimes offer free gifts to those who use them. In a recent paper, Ben Edelman of Harvard Business School and Julian Wright of the National University of Singapore argue that when a site knows that the prices merchants provide through it will always be the lowest available, it increases investment in attracting customers, safe in the knowledge that the merchants and at last consumers will bear the cost.。
