（整理版高中英语）阅读理解主旨大意题练习.doc

阅读理解主旨大意题练习Getting the main ideas:1. Someday scientists may actually perfect a machine that can translate one language into another. Translation machines have been invented, and some are even used for certain tasks, but improvements are needed. As an example of the problems of machine translation, consider the word like. In one sentence, it may mean “similar to, as in “He is like his father. In another sentence, it may mean “enjoy eating, as in “They like ice cream. The translating machine once digested the sentence “Time flies like an arrow. Out came the translation: Russian sentence that meant “Time flies like to eat arrow.The paragraph tells mainly _.A. how translation machined work B. how translation machines are used for certain tasksC. why the word like needs careful translationD. why improvements are needed in translation machines2. The first woman employee of the U.S. Forest Service began as a clerk in New Mexico. Anita Kellogg wished to be a forest ranger. In 1920 she took a civil service examination for a ranger job a lonely and hard post in the rugged Southwest and passed it. She wasnt made a ranger, however, because she was a woman. She was made a fiscal agent to pay firefighters. Somehow, she got into the thick of a big forest fire in the Gila National Forest and performed so ably that she was given a commendation and an increase in pay. However, discrimination caused Anita Kellogg to fall short of her great ambition to become the first female forest ranger.The paragraph mainly tells _.A. how Anita Kellogg tried to become a forest rangerB. what forest rangers doC. where Anita Kellogg took a civil service examinationD. how many female forest rangers there today3. The nation that a horseshoe is lucky dates from ancient times. The grounds for the belief vary widely. In ancient times, iron was considered a sacred metal. Another theory is that horseshoe acquired its magical reputation because it is similar in shape to the crescent moon, once considered a symbol of good luck. Still another theory is that the superstition is somehow related to the mystic number seven, the number of nails in a horseshoe. At any rate, the belief goes back to the time of the Romans. In modern times, President Truman hung a horseshoe above the door of his office in the White House.The paragraph mainly talks about _.A. why the horseshoe is considered a lucky symbolB. why the number seven is luckyC. what President hung a horseshoe outside his officeD. how the horseshoe resembles the moon(4) That furry Australian marsupial known as the Koala bear is not much like true bears. Most bears will eat small animals, such as mice and rats. They also like grass, eggs, garbage, and snakes. Some bears even enjoy ice cream, soda, hot dogs and hamburgers. But the Koala has different eating habits. It will eat only the leaves of one type of tree eucalyptus. The Koala will starve to death rather than eat anything else.The paragraph tells mainly _.A. why the Koala likes eucalyptus leaves B. what, most bears in the wild prefer to eatC. where the native habitat of Koalas is located D. what Koalas and true bears like to eat(5) You may think that certain modern styles are ridiculous, but you should have seen fourteenth-century shoes! The “rage in shoe fashion back then was long, upturned toes, often decorated with bells. The toes, stuffed with hay, curled upwards and then sometimes even curved back down again. This odd style was worn throughout Europe by nobles and commoners alike. The toes of some shoes were so long that little chains attached to the knees held them up and prevented the wearer from tipping. Many rulers forbade the silly style. Even so, people persisted in wearing such outlandish footwear until the fashion finally died out of its own accord.The paragraph tells mainly _.A. who were unusual shoes in the fourteenth centuryB. how a fashion died out of its own accordC. why silly shoe styles change D. what kinds of shoes were worn in the fourteenth century(6) You probably eat a lot more Chinese food than you think you do. Italians may not be happy, but here is the truth about spaghetti. Originally, it was an Oriental dish. Marco Polo, the famous Italian trade and explorer, brought spaghetti back from his trips to China and introduced it to Europe. Sauerkraut may sound German, but the Chinese were eating it in 200 B.C. Because of its vitamins, sauerkraut was fed to the laborers working on that large scale public works project, the Great Wall of China. The paragraph tells mainly _. A. why the Italians may not be happy about spaghettis origin B. why the Chinese ate sauerkraut C. that spaghetti and sauerkraut are actually Chinese foods D. why Marco Polo are spaghetti(7) A vast cedar forest once covered the now barren slops of the Lebanese mountains. Early civilizations used the trees to build their houses and ships. The interior of King Solomons temple was made entirely of cedar from Lebanon. The first recorded forestry law to preserve these cedars was enacted by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Unfortunately, rulers who followed Hadrian lacked his foresight, and for centuries the area was stripped. Four hundred trees near Basharri in northern Lebanon are all that remain of the once-vast forest. However, if nitrogen-fixing shrubs are planted to restore and enrich the soil, the area could once again become productive forest land.The paragraph mainly tells _.A. who tried to preserve the Lebanese forestsB. what the interior of King Solomons temple was likeC. how early civilizations used cedar treesD. what has happened to the cedar forests of Lebanon(8) The Japanese are famous for their genius in producing small things. They have produced small cars, radios, and trees. Japan now has a farmer who has worked for a decade to produce tiny pigs called minipigs. This farmers desire to go from “maxi to “mini was stimulated by the wide use of pigs in space control and medical research. The average adult hog weighs four hundred pounds. The minipig does not exceed sixty pounds and thus fits into capsules for space experimentation. In hospital research, it is easier to feed, house, handle, and use on a laboratory table. Each minipig costs one hundred dollars. American researchers are very interested in using minipigs.The paragraph tells mainly _. A. how to train minipigs B. where minipigs are produced for science experiments C. what American researchers think about minipigs D. why the Japanese have produced small things(9) How would you relish a bird on your dinner table with its feathers intact? In fashionable homes of long ago this was the custom. Ducks, swans, and even peacock were actually served this way. The bird was first skinned, stuffed, and roasted. Then, after it was allowed to cool, the skin was carefully sewed on again. Placed on a large platter, the bird was brought to the dining hall to the delight of the guests. Once the bird was sufficiently admired, its covering was pulled away, and the guests would begin to eat.The paragraph tells mainly _. A. which kinds of birds have been used for food B. what people ate long ago C. how birds were prepared for eating long ago D. why people have enjoyed looking at birds(10) Astrid Lindgren of Sweden started writing stories for children when she ran out of tales to tell her own young daughter. The little girl asked her to make up a story about Pippi Long stocking, a name she invented at the moment. From this beginning, Pippi with red hair and freckles became famous in books translated around the world. Mrs. Lindgren lets Pippi do anything she wants go to bed as late as she likes, buy lots of candy, and have magical powers. Pippi has become one of the most popular little characters in childrens books.The paragraph tells mainly _.A. why Pippi Long sticking became so popularB. how the character Pippi Long Sticking was invented and developedC. why Astrid Lindgren named her character Pippi Long StickingD. how Astrid Lindgren began telling stories to her children(11) The great Depression that stuck America in the 1930s was in every aspect a catastrophe. Yet ecologists realize now that it did have one beneficial effect. Before the Depression, in the 1920s, raccoon-fur coats were a popular fad. So many raccoons were slaughtered for their fur that some scientists feared that the animal would become extinct. But with the Depression came poverty. Few could afford such coats. As a symbol of times that were gone, they went out of fashion. The raccoon gained a new lease on life.The paragraph tells mainly _. A. why raccoons are slaughtered today B. why people in the 1920s liked raccoon coats C. how a bad event can cause something good D. how bad effect of an event can spread(12) What a remarkable creature is the electric eel! This snakelike fish can produce electrical charge that lasts only two thousandths of a second, but it can send out more than four hundred of these per second, totaling six hundred volts. A car battery gives only twelve volts! Even if the electric eel produced this amount of electricity for twenty minutes continuously, all it would need would be a rest of five minutes to “recharge its batteries. Its a shame that someone can harness its power. Cant you just hear the service station attendant say, “Want your oil and eel checked? The paragraph tells mainly _. A. why the eels power has never been harnessed B. what the voltage of a car battery is C. how long the electric eels charge lasts D. why electric eel is a remarkable creature(13) Not far from Hilldboro, Ohio, is one of the best known of the mounds built prehistoric American Indians. The mound has been named the Great Serpent. This huge snake-shaped mound coils for more than 1,300 feet along a rocky cliff beside a river. Burnt stones found in the middle of an oval mound inside the snakes jaw have led archaeologists to conclude that it was used as an altar. The Indians who carried countless basketfuls of earth to create the form of the serpent have long vanished. Nothing precise is known of the mound builders religion, but the serpent must have played an important role.The paragraph tells mainly _. A. how archaeologists first discovered the Great Serpent mound B. what the Great Serpent resembles C. what is known about the Great Serpent mound D. how the mound was formed(14) In congress, when one legislator agrees to vote for a bill that another legislator wants and then expects a similar favor in return, it is called “logrolling. The term goes back to frontier times in America. When a pioneer planned to build a long cabin, the neighbors would gather and cut trees, roll the logs to the side of the building, and help to construct the house. In return, the new home owner was expected to give the neighbors similar help. This practice, called logrolling, eventually also became part of the political vocabulary of America.The paragraph tells mainly _. A. why legislators do favor for each other B. how “logrolling entered the political vocabulary C. how frontier people helped each other build log cabins D. what pioneers did with logs(15) Mary Glatzle makes her living the hard way. Not only is she a New York City detective, but the 52, 110-pound mother serves as a “mugging decoy. As a member of the anticrime unit, shes been mugged more than three hundred times. Shes been assaulted with baseball bats, guns, knives, and once was almost dragged by her throat over a fourteen-foot wall. Mary, called “Muggable Mary by her fellow detectives, owns many and varied wigs, dresses, pants, sweaters, and canes that she uses in her different roles as an undercover decoy. For her devotion to duty, she was praised by the mayor of New York.The paragraph tells mainly _. A. why Glatzle became a detective B. who commended Mary Glatzle for devotion to duty C. what Mary Glatzle wears D. how Mary Glatzle makes her living as a mugging decoy(16) Queen Nefertiti was one of the greatest women of ancient Egypt. Her name means “Behold, the beautiful woman comes! Although she was beautiful and rich, she was unspoiled, kind, and gentle. As a girl, Nefertiti played with Akhenaton, the future king of Egypt. In 1369 B.C., the sixteen-year-old Akhenaton became king. Soon after, he married Nefertiti, who became queen of Egypt at fifteen. Akhenaton and Nefertiti had six children, all girls. One of their daughters married King Tutankhamen and became queen of Egypt like her mother.The paragraph tells mainly _. A. whom Queen Nefertiti married B. when Nefertiti became queen C. who Queen Nefertiti was D. what the name Nefertiti means