高考英语阅读理解训练二十一

高考英语阅读理解训练二十一

Passage 1

Mickey Mouse and Shrek are just a couple of the American animated

（动画的）

characters loved the world over. And they are examples of the evolution of animation,

which has brought unique new life to the film industry.

Among the first American animated films was Light of the Moon, a silent movie

produced

in

1911using

silhouette

< br>（

剪

影

）

animation,

where

the

characters

are

represented only as black silhouettes.

The

real

breakthrough

for

American

animation

came

with

Steamboat

Willie,

created

by

Walt

Disney

and

released

in

1928.

It

was

the

first

animated

film

to

be

accompanied

by

sound,

and

its

main

star,

Mickey

Mouse,

became

one

of

the

most

loveable and enduring animated characters ever created. Disney also created the first

American full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Released in

1937, it enjoyed worldwide box-office success.

Disney's extremely careful attention to high-quality detail in the thousands of hand-

painted

drawings

required

at

that

time

to

make

an

animated

film

elevated

this

film

technique to the level of a serious art form.

Clay animation is a type of stop-motion animation using forms made of clay. Clay

animation films have been produced in the United States since 1908. But this form of

animation only won wide popular appeal in 1955with a short film called Gumbasia,

created by Art Clokey.

Computer-generated imagery, or CGI, brought animation to a new level of artistry

and realism. Used in film since the 1960s, CGI animation began to develop rapidly in

the mid-1990s. Toy Story, released in 1995and created by Pixar and Disney Studios,

was the first completely computer-generated animated feature film.

In

2001,

DreamWorks

and

Pacific

Data

Images

released

Shrek,

the

first

computer-

animated feature film to win an Oscar. Shrek returned in 2004 with his talking donkey,

his princess bride Fiona and an army of fairy-tale characters in Shrek 2. Hugely popular,

that film became the highest- grossing

（票房最高的）

animated film of all time.

1

In

addition

to

strictly

animated

movies,

animation

has

been

mixed

into

films

showing live actors as well. Who can forget the terrifyingly real dinosaurs thundering

through Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park movies and the actors they chased? Thanks to

the

powerful

capabilities

of

today's

computers

and

the

unlimited

imagination

of

American filmmakers, animation will be entertaining audiences worldwide for a long

time to come.

1. The passage is mainly about the of animation.

A. influence

B. popularity

C. characters

D

. development

2. Which film marked the beginning of the complete digital age of American animation?

A. Light of the Moon

B. Steamboat Willie

C. Toy Story

D. Shrek

3. It can be learned from the passage that.

A. Disney played a very important role in promoting animation

B. computers make animated characters more lovely

C. Jurassic Park movies involve only live actors

D. clay animation enjoys long-lasting popularity

4. What can be inferred about the future of animation from the passage?

A. Animation will forever remain an essential form of entertainment.

B. Animation will be replaced by new forms of films in the near future.

C. Animation will continuously gain new life due to computers and imagination.

D. Animation will get more popular in the future for the developing film technology.

Passage 2

Overcoming extreme cold, cruel ice and people dismissing him as mad, Slovenian

Davo Kamicar became the first person to ski non-stop down Mount Everest. After a

dramatic

fall

over

almost

sheer

cliffs

of

snow,

stones

and

ice,

38-year-old

Kamicar

emerged in his base camp after five hours of skiing.

“

I feel only absolute happiness

and absolute tiredness,

”

he said. At one stage he had to speed over stretches of ice that

2

collapsed

and

broke

underneath

him

and

could

have

sent

him

falling

into

the

deep

crevasses

(

裂缝

)

that

dot

the

mountain.

The

descent

(

下落

)

had

been

by

many

as

insanely dangerous. The Darwin Awards website, which documents deaths which are

foolhardy, urged people to log on to Internet broadcasts of the attempt. “Keep your eyes

peeled for a live Darwin Award,” it said. However, the only body to make the news was

the corpse(

尸体

) of an known mountaineer which Kamicar zipped past as he descended,

one of an estimated 120 corpses, thought to litter the slopes.

“

This mountain is always

full of surprise. Seeing a dead man out there was a really shocking experience,

”

he

said.

Thanks to strategically placed cameras on the mountain and one attached to his

safety helmet, hundreds of thousands of people witnessed his descent on the Internet,

which was one of the record highs ever. During the run more than 650,000 hits were

registered on his expedition website jamming it for a time as others tried to access the

site.

Weather conditions were so severe that Kamicar had to abandon plans to rest on

the summit before attempting to descend. Instead, suffering from fatigue, as soon as he

reached the top he put on his skis and flung himself back down the mountain.

Dealing with the mountain had already cost Kamicar two fingers when a previous

failed attempt saw him get frostbite as a fierce storm lashed the peak.

Kamicar comes from a skiing family and took part in his first Himalayan skiing

expedition in 1989. Since then, he has been tireless in raising funds and sponsorship for

more expeditions, with Everest as the permanent goal.

1. Davo Kamicar made history by .

A. skiing down Mount Everest without rest.

B. descending Mount Everest within the shortest time ever

C. attracting largest number of audiences online for his descent.

D. becoming the first to film his descent down Mount Everest

2. The underlined word foolhardy in the passage is closest in meaning to.

3

A. sudden and hard to accept

B. taking unnecessary risks

C. attracting public attention

D. working hard to fool others

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Kamicar saw about 120 dead bodies littering the slope.

B. The broadcast of his descent online was cancelled because of the website jam.

C. Kamicar’s family had a tradition to conquer Mount Everest.

D. This was not Kamicar’s first attempt on Mount Everest.

4. The best title for the passage is .

A. Mad man skis down Everest

B. Darwin Award for Davo Kamicar

C. Extreme sports hero slides to a record

D. Body of mountaineer found on Everest

Passage 3

The New York See It All Tour is exactly what it sounds like: an all- inclusive guided

tour of New York City.

Central Park

One of the most famous parks in the world, Central Park is a man-made wonder.

Not

only

is

it

the

first

public

park

built

in America,

but

it

is

also

one

of

the

most

frequently visited parks, with over 25 million guests per year. Set in the middle of busy

Manhattan, its grounds serve as a safe harbor, not only for athletes, and musicians but

also

for

lots

of

migratory

birds

each

year.

One

can

spend

an

entire

peaceful

day

wandering its grounds, gazing upon nearly 50 fountains, monuments, and sculptures or

admiring its 36 bridges.

Hudson River Park

Hudson River Park is a waterside park on the Hudson River that extends from 59th

4

Street south to Battery Park in the New York City district of Manhattan. Bicycle and

pedestrian paths, including the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, span the park north to

south, opening up the waterfront for the public to relax. The park includes tennis and

soccer fields, children’s playground, dog run, and many other features.

Washington Square Park

Washington Square, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, is a very popular

and

often

crowded

square.

People

from

all

backgrounds

gather

to

this

large

square

dotted with trees.

Central Park Zoo

The Central Park Zoo is a small 6.5-acre zoo located on Central Park in New York

City. The zoo began in the 1860s, making it the first official zoo to open in New York.

The zoo was improved in 1934, with the addition of many new buildings ranged in a

quadrangle around the sea lion pool. Finally, the zoo was repaired in the mid-1980s and

reopened in 1988, replacing the old- fashioned cages with naturalistic environments.

1. Which park is set in the heart of Greenwich Village?

A. Central Park.

B. Hudson River Park.

C. Central Park Zoo.

D. Washington Square Park.

2. What can we learn about Central Park?

A. It is primarily an artificial park.

B. It is the first public park built in the world.

C. It was the most crowded park when first built.

D. It especially attracts pedestrian and artists.

3. When was the first official zoo in New York repaired for the first time?

A. In the 1860s.

B. In 1934.

C. In the mid-1980s.

D. In 1988.

5