人物傳記類閱讀理解導練

有關社會各個領域的杰出人物或熱點人物方面的短文是高考英語閱讀理解的重要內容之一。通過閱讀人物的小傳記或摘錄該人物一些典型事件，如人生的起伏、克服困難取得成功等，考生可以得到激勵或受到啟發，同時也可以了解這些人物所生活的社會文化背景。請看2007年山東高考閱讀理解C篇。

When Andrea Peterson landed her first teaching job， she faced the daunting task of creating a music program with almost no money for equipment or supplies in a climate where standards-based learning was the focus and music just provided a break for students and teachers.

For her drive and creativity in overcoming those challenges， she’s been named national teacher of the year.

Principal Waynes Kettler said he’s worked with many outstanding teachers in his 22 years as an educator， but Peterson is “just that one step above anybody I’ve ever worked with before.” Kettler and others at Monte Cristo Elementary School talk about the ways she has introduced the learning from other classrooms into her music program and her creativity in working around things such as the lack of money for new music.

When students were reading S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders in their regular classroom， Peterson helped them write a 30-minute play with scenes from the book. Then they chose three Broadway tunes that focused on race， equality and social justice， the themes of the book. Peterson composed two other songs herself after classroom discussions about the play and the book.

The honor means a lot to residents of Granite Foils. It’s inspiring to know that people from small towns even win national honors.

As national teacher of the year， Peterson will spend the more year outside the classroom， as a national and international spokeswoman for education. Not surpassingly. She is a big believe in the right of art education. She said it’s essential for schools to offer classes such as art or music and physical education because for some kids one of those subjects is the only thing that motivates them to come back to school day after day.

65． The underlined word “daunting” in Paragraph 1 most probably means_________.

A． discouraging B． interesting

C． creative D． unbearable

66．When Peterson began her teaching career，_________.

A． music was a focus of learning in most schools

B． the environment was favorable to music teaching

C． the school lacked teaching facilities for music

D． immediate support for music programs was unavailable

67． What is the most important reason that Peterson won the award?

A． She concerned herself with current social problems.

B． She motivated students to learn music with her creativity.

C． She has taught music at the elementary school for 22 years.

D． She makes great efforts to arouse students’ interest in literature.

68． Which of the following is an example of Peterson’s way of teaching music?

A． She wrote plays on themes of race， equality and social justice.

B． She made use of the contents of other classes in her teaching.

C． She organized classroom discussions of Broadway tunes.

D． She helped students compose songs by themselves.

69． In Peterson’s opinion，_________.

A． art music and PE classes are all important

B． more subjects should be offered to students

C． students should be motivated to attend art classes

D． arts education is more important than other subjects

70． It can be inferred from the text that_________.

A． Peterson’s honor was a surprise for the local people

B． Peterson’s art classes attracted students back to school

C． Peterson aroused the local residents’ passion for music

D． Peterson will change her profession next year

本文介紹美國一小鎮上的一位音樂教師克服教學上的種種困難教授學生音樂，并因為她的不懈努力而獲得了美國國家榮譽教師大獎的故事——這是2005年美國教育界令人感動的一件真實故事。文章涉及該教師的獨特教學方式、教學理念和同事評價等。

65． A 猜測詞義題。由其后的of短語可知，Andrea Peterson面臨的條件比較艱苦，學校沒錢買設備，音樂課不受重視，這種局面一定是令音樂教師很失望的，故選A；但還不至于不能忍受，所以不要誤選D項。

66． C 事實細節題。從第一段中的with almost no money for equipment or supplies可知。

67． B 細節理解題。由第三段“For her drive and creativity in overcoming those challenges， she’s been named national teacher of the year.”可知答案。

68． B 綜合理解題。本題比較有難度，A、C、D項在文中有提及，但Andrea Peterson并沒有寫關于這些主題的戲劇，也沒有組織學生對百老匯的戲劇進行討論，是她自己創作歌曲，所以這三項是錯誤的，而第四段通過一個具體例子，Andrea Peterson讓學生根據文學課上讀的一篇小說來編寫音樂劇進行音樂教學是她的一個典型教學方式，所以不難選B。

69． A綜合理解題。由末段的最后一句可知。

70． A推理判斷題。A項沒有明顯提及，但由倒數第二段“The honor means a lot to residents of Granite Foils. It’s inspiring to know that people from small towns own even win national honors.”可以看出這一榮譽真的很難得。B項文中沒有提及；Andrea Peterson只是喚起了孩子們對音樂的興趣而不是小鎮居民，故C錯；Andrea Peterson更不會換職業，只是會花更多時間在教學外的事情上，故D錯。

即時練習

At 26， many people haven’t even decided on a career. Luke Ravenstahl， cashing in on his family’s political tradition， is already the mayor of Pittsburgh.， the youngest mayor of any major city in the country. Although mayors elsewhere have been younger. Jeff Dunkel was 18 in 2001 when he was elected mayor of Mount Carbon， Small towns in New York， and elsewhere have also elected teenagers as mayors. But， Tallahassee， is the only other city with a population over 100，000 that has had a mayor as young as Mr. Ravenstahl. A supporter of Mr. Ravenstahl said concerns about Mr. Ravenstahl’s age would dissipate once the city saw his work ethic.

But now comes the hard part. As he strives to be taken seriously and take charge of a city only recently back from the brink of bankruptcy， the baby-faced mayor said that even the smallest decisions felt weighty， even what to wear in the Steelers game matters.

And another pressing issue is to strengthen the city’s economy. Pittsburgh has lost all its mills， nearly half its population and much of its downtown commercial district in the last several decades. “But Pittsburgh has 50，000 college students， and our challenge is to figure out how to retain them and to increase downtown development.” he said.

But one of the biggest uncertainties is how long he will remain in office. According to the city charter， Mayor Ravenstahl’s term will not expire until November 2009. Some city lawyers， however， have argued that he must face the electorate next year. And residents in Pittsburgh are still withholding judgment on him. Deli， Jimmy Cvetic， a sandwich shop owner， said “I call him Cool Hand Luke. He’ll be all right， but he’s going to need a cool hand to get through this.”

Mayor Ravenstahl said intended to run regardless of when the election was held and he was still to take on his responsibilities with the challenge he faced.

1. About Luke Ravenstahl， which of the following statements is correct?

A. He is the youngest mayor in the U.S.A.

B. His family background has contributed to his successful political career.

C. His young age has won support from media and young voters.

D. He will be mayor of Pittsburgh at least until 2009.

2. The underlined word “dissipate” in the first paragraph probably means_________.

A. disappear B. appearC. spread D. reduce

3. What can you infer from the article about Pittsburgh?

A. It is a small town in New York famous for steel mills.

B. It has always enjoyed prosperous economic success.

C. Many young college students there are the new hope of the district.

D. It is a major city in the U.S.A with a population slightly smaller than 100，000.

4. What kind of challenges will not Luke Ravenstahl cope with?

A. Distrust from his citizens

B. pressure from other outstanding young majors

C. economical standstill of his city

D. decreasing population in his city

5. We can conclude from the passage that Luke Ravenstahl is_________.

A. an arrogant person

B. a timid person

C. a trust-worthy person

D. a determined person

答案與簡析

本文講美國一名年輕的市長就任時所面臨的一系列振興經濟以及贏得選民信任的挑戰。

1. B 細節理解題。A 項在第一段第三行有交待；B項第一段cashing in on his family’s political tradition講到了家庭背景對他贏得職位的幫助；C 項第一段末句有交待；D項倒數第二段有交待。

2. A 詞義猜測題。由下文“once the city saw his work ethic”可知， 選民看到他的職業道德對他年齡的顧慮自然就打消了，故“dissipate”表示 “消失”之意。

3. C 細節推斷題。A項文中并未提到，B項第二段第二行的事實正好相反，C項第三段第三行有交待，D項第一段第六行有交待。

4. B 細節理解題。A、C、D在第二和第四段都有涉及，B項是錯誤項。

5. D 推理判斷題。從全文來看， Luke Ravenstahl 不是一個傲慢（arrogant）和怯懦(timid)的人，但也沒有提到他讓人信任，但是從最后一段可知他決意要參加競選并且承擔做市長的責任，可以稱得上是determined了。

責任編校 蔣小青