For the first time in modem history, less than half of the U.S. adult population now reads literature, according to a recent survey. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America presents a detailed review of the decline of reading's role in the nation's culture.

     Reading at Risk is a survey of national fashion in adult literary reading. The data source for Reading at Risk is as reliable and objective (客觀的) as any such survey can be. The key results of the survey are presented in the "Summary", but the report can be further explained as: literary reading in America is not only declining rapidly among all groups, but the rate of decline has been speeded up, especially among the young. Reading at Risk merely shows a great cultural change that most Americans have already noted – our society's great turn to electronic media for entertainment and information.    

Reading a book requires a degree of active attention and devotion. Indeed, reading itself is a progressive skill that depends on years of education and practice. On the contrary, most electronic media such as television, recordings, and radio make fewer demands on their audiences, and indeed often require no more than passive participation. While oral culture has a rich reality and electronic media offer the considerable advantages of variety, print culture affords irreplaceable forms of focused attention and thought that make various communications and views possible. The decline in reading, therefore, equals a larger retreat (減少) from participation in public and cultural life.

     What is to be done? There is surely no single solution to the present problem, just as there is no single cause. The important thing now is to understand that America can no longer take active and devoted reading for granted.

     Reading is not a timeless, common ability. As more Americans lose this ability, our nation becomes less informed, active, and independent minded. These are not qualities that a free, inventive, or productive society can afford to lose.

59. The main purpose of the survey is to_______.

    A. focus on the role of electronic media and reading

    B. show that American young people read less and less

    C. give a report of the national fashion of literary reading

    D. review that less than half of the population now reads literature

60. According to the passage, reading_______ .

A. requires less attention and devotion  

B. demands no more than passive participation

    C. limits various communications and views

    D. means active participation in public and cultural life

61. The underlined phrase "cultural change" in Paragraph 2 refers to the change________.

   A. from oral culture to electronic media   B. from print culture to electronic media

   C. from electronic media to oral culture   D. from electronic media to print culture

62. The author of the passage_______ .

    A. misunderstands oral culture

    B. doubts the results of the survey

    C. encourages the Americans to read more

    D. agrees to the solution to the present problem in reading

C

     The coyote (叢林狼), that clever animal of wide-open spaces, has come to the nation's capital. In fact, coyotes have spread to every comer of the United States, changing their behaviors to fit new environments and causing researchers to deal with a troublesome new kind of creature: the city coyote.

     The coyote originally lived in the middle of the continent. One of its most obvious characters is its smartness, which has made the animal a notorious (臭名昭著的) pest. Hunters trapped, shot and poisoned more than a million coyotes in the 1900s. It's still one of America's most hunted animals. Yet the coyote has survived. How has the coyote shown this extraordinary ability? "I guess if you wanted to use one word, it'd be 'plasticity'," says Eric Gese, an expert at Utah State University. Coyotes can live alone, in pairs, or in large packs like wolves; hunt at night or during the day; occupy a small region or an area up to 40 square miles; and live on all sorts of food, from lizards and shoes, to ants and melons.

      Unbelievably people helped coyotes increase when they killed most of the wolves in the United States. The spreading of coyotes into city areas, though, is recent. They travel at night, crossing sidewalks and bridges, running along roads and ducking into culverts (鉆入 涵洞) and underpasses. No one knows why coyotes are moving into cities., but experts explain that cleverer, more human-tolerant (不怕人的) coyotes are teaching urban survival skills to new generations.

      Occasionally, coyotes might attack human beings. There have been about 160 attacks on people in recent years. Therefore, people have been consistently told not to feed coyotes or leave pet food unsecured. That, plus a large trapping program in the neighborhood, has cut down on the coyote population.

63. The underlined word "plasticity" in Paragraph 2 refers to______

    A. the ability to fit the environment         B. notorious smartness

    C. hunting ability                      D. being human-tolerant

64. The aim of the passage is to______

    A. tell people how to fight against coyotes

    B. tell us why the coyote is the most hunted animal

    C. supply the reason why the coyote is a kind of notorious pest

    D. explain how the coyote has spread to and survived in cities

65. According to the passage, coyotes_______

    A. originally lived in the west of the continent

    B. sleep during the day but look for food at night

    C. are teaching survival skills to their younger generations

    D. suffered a population decrease because people killed wolves

66. According to the passage, to cut down on the coyote population, people are advised to_______

    A. leave pet food secured                 B. keep coyotes in small regions

    C. force coyotes to live alone              D. avoid using trapping programs

                                           D                         

     The discovery of a dwarfed (矮個的) "human being" who lived in Flores, Indonesia, up to 18,000 years ago is changing the way we think about the human family. This "Flores Human" was three foot tall and her brain was smaller than that of the average chimp (黑猩猩), yet she and her relatives apparently lived fully human lives. They seem to have made tools, worked together to find food and cook it, and perhaps even buried their dead with ceremony.

     It was a major surprise to find tools associated with the new human family member. The tools are like those formerly seen only with European fossils (化石) from our own species, Homo sapiens (智人), and the oldest of them were made 94,000 years ago. Homo sapiens is thought to have arrived in the island about 40,000 years ago, much too late to be responsible for the tools. If this tiny human made the tools, then the inside structure (結(jié)構(gòu)) of its brain must have been more like our own than a chimp's, despite being just a third the size of ours.

     This "'new human" was suspected to be a dwarfed branch of Homo erectus (直立人). When creatures are separated in regions with rare resources but few enemies, being big is a disadvantage, and evolution tends to shrink them, a process known as island dwarfing. Could natural selection make a human smaller while keeping -- even improving – mental ability? Quite possibly, believes Christopher Wills of the University of California.

     Has the "Flores Human" even shown the ability of language? "I find it difficult to imagine that people ，could make tools, use fire, and kill large animals without fairly

advanced communication." Wills says. Did "Flores Human" possess the basic components

of human culture -- such as the burying of the dead with ceremony? Emiliano Bruner of the

Italian Institute points out that Indonesia's hot, wet environment is bad for fossilization. It is

reasonable to assume, he says, that the 18,000-year-old bones of the most complete Flores

woman were well-preserved because she was buried with special care.   

67. According to the passage, "Flores Human"_____.

    A. lived a partly human life          B. was a branch of Homo sapiens

    C. used tools before Homo sapiens arrived

    D. had a brain as large as a common chimp's

68. The underlined part "this tiny human" in Paragraph 2 refers to

    A. a chimp   B. Flores Human    C. Homo sapiens     D. Homo erectus

69. This passage mainly talks about______.

    A. the tools made by "Flores Human"   B. the language used by "Flores Human"

    C. the evolution of "Flores Human"

    D. the major surprising findings about "Flores Human"

70. According to the passage, it is believed that "Flores Human"______.

    A. was dwarfed by its enemies         B. could use language

    C. left a lot of fossils in the hot and wet environment

    D. reached Flores 40,000 years ago

E

    Susan Sontag (1933 -- 2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of  literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything -- to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American cultural life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.

Seriousness was one of Sontag's lifelong watchwords (格言), but at a time when the  barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasures of pop culture. In "Notes on Camp", the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. "Notes on Camp", she wrote, represents "a victory of 'form' over 'content', 'beauty' over 'morals'".

     By conviction (信念) she was a sensualist (感覺論者), but by nature she was a moralist (倫理學(xué)者), and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor -- published in 1978, after she suffered cancer -- she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities (被壓抑的個性), a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.

     In America, her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless, all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame. "Sometimes," she once said, "I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending ... is the idea of seriousness, of tree seriousness." And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.

71. The underlined sentence in Paragraph I means Sontag _______.

    A. was a symbol of American cultural life   B. developed world literature, film and art

    C. published many essays about world culture

    D. kept pace with the newest development of world culture

72. She first won her name through_______.

    A. her story of a Polish actress            B. her book Illness as Metaphor

    C. publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review

    D. her explanation of a set of difficult understandings

73. According to the passage, Susan Sontag____.

    A. was a sensualist as well as a moralist     B. looked down upon the pop culture

    C. thought content was more important than form

    D. blamed the victim of cancer for being repressed

74. As for Susan Sontag's lifelong habit, she______.

    A. misunderstood the idea of seriousness    B. re-examined old positions

    C. argued for an openness to pop culture    D. preferred morals to beauty

75. Susan Sontag's lasting fame was made upon _____ .

    A. a tireless, all-purpose cultural view      B. her lifelong watchword: seriousness

    C. publishing books on morals

    D. enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing

 

第四部分：書面表達(dá)（共兩節(jié)，滿分35分）

第一節(jié)  填空（共10小題：每小題1分，滿分10分）

閱讀短文，根據(jù)所讀內(nèi)容在文后76~85的空格里填上適當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~或短語，并將答案轉(zhuǎn)寫到答題卡上。

注意：每空不超過3個單詞。

      Quality after-school programs are designed to improve academic performance, decrease youth crimes and other high-risk behaviors, and help young people grow into healthy, successful adults.

      The effect of quality after-school programs on academic performance is clear. Studies show that students who take part in such programs show better work habits, higher rates of homework completion, improved grades, and higher scores on achievement tests. They also have fewer absences and are less likely to blame. After-school programs also influence high-risk teen behavior. Various studies show decreased rates of crime, drug use, and teen sex among youth who join in well-run after-school programs when compared to similar youth who do not. Finally, after-school programs play an important role in supporting the following fields of development: physical development, mental development and social development. Thus, one can safely say that after-school programming is an effective method to help young people become contributing members of society.

     Although there is enough proof from both small and large assessments that after-school programs can make a positive difference, it is important to note that not all programs are equal. First, dosage (時量) matters -- young people who attend the most hours over the most years benefit more than members who attend less often or over a shorter period of time. Next, after-school programs make a bigger difference for those students who need help most and have the fewest choices. Finally, program qualities matter. After-school programs work best when they create unique opportunities for youth. They should provide opportunities for positive relationships, skill building, meaningful involvement (參入), expression, suggestion, service, and work. Staff characteristics make an important difference in the quality of a program. The adults should treat youth as partners, create safe and fair environments, encourage personalized (個性化的) involvement, and actively create learning opportunities. In short, although after-school programs have promising future, how they are designed and run matters.

Title: _76______________________

 

 

 

 

 

第二節(jié)寫作(滿分25分)

請根據(jù)下面的英文短詩，展開適當(dāng)?shù)南胂螅瑢懸黄涛摹?/font>

標(biāo)題為：My Teacher Mr．Moore

There's a teacher Mr. Moore,

Who is lovely and thirty-four.

Always encouraging us to try,

He leads us to a world of "why.

We all admire him more and more.

注意：   

1．不得照抄短詩原文。

2．必須結(jié)合短詩的內(nèi)容，發(fā)揮想象，適當(dāng)展開。

3．必須突出短詩的主題，結(jié)構(gòu)完整，語意連貫。

4．短文不能寫成詩歌形式。

5．詞數(shù)：120左右。

 

2006年高考英語試題參考答案（湖南卷）

Keys:

1-5 AABCB  6-10 BCAAB  11-15 ABCCB  16-17 CC

18. new hands  19. Writing and typing   20. fun

21-25 ACDCA  26-30 DADCB  31-35 BABBA  36-40 CACBC  41-45 ADBBA

46-50 DBDAC  51-55 ACDBD  56-60 CDBCD  61-65 BCADC  66-70 ACBDB

71-75 DDABA

 

76. Quality After-School Program   77. Aims  78. decreasing youth crimes  

79. Improved academic behaviors   80. less blame    81.drug use 

82. Integrated development/ All-around development  83. Result  84. Assessments

85. student difference

 

One possible version:

                                     My Teacher Mr. Moore

     Of all my teachers, Mr. Moore is the one who impresses me most. Though he is 34, he looks very young for his age. And he's one of the most popular teachers in our school.

     Compared with other teachers, Mr. Moore pays more attention to his way of teaching. He tries various ways to make his classes lively and interesting. In his opinion, we should not only know "what", but also understand "why". So, instead of giving us answers immediately, he encourages us to think by ourselves whenever he puts forward questions. With his help, we've learned how to analyze and settle problems. What a wonderful world of "why" he leads us to!

     He is such a learned person that we all admire him very much.