The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present­day importance as a world language. Besides serving the indefinite needs of its native speakers, English is a language in which some of the important works in science, technology, and other fields are being produced, and not always by native speakers. It is widely used for such purposes as meteorological and airport communications, international conferences, and the spread of information over the radio and television networks of many nations. It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries, especially former British colonies. Many of these countries have multilingual populations and need a language for internal communication in such matters as government, commerce, industry, law and education as well as for international communication and for entrance to the scientific and technological developments in the West.

　　1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　A.Some 260 million people in the world have an adequate working knowledge of English.

　　B.There are some 260 million native speakers of English in the world.

　　C.It is almost impossible to estimate the number of people with an adequate working knowledge of English.

　　D.People learn English for a variety of reasons.

　　2.According to the passage, what is the main reason for the widespread use of English?

　　A.It was popular during Shakespeare's time.

　　B.It is used in former British colonies.

　　C.It serves the needs of its native speakers.

　　D.It is a world language that is used for international communication.

　　3.What forms an adequate working knowledge of English?

　　A.The ability to read a newspaper.

　　B.It is difficult to judge because it differs for each situation.

　　C.Being a multilingual.

　　D.Being a native speaker.

　　4.What type of developing countries would be most likely to use English?

　　A.Those geographically close to the United States.

　　B.Those interested in the culture of the United States.

　　C.Former colonies of Great Britain.

　　D.Countries where international conferences are held.

　　閱讀復習練習答案解析：

　　【文章大意】 在莎士比亞時代全世界說英語的人數大約是五百萬。如今，不但以英語為母語的人數增長了，而且隨著英語成為世界工作語言，全世界懂得這一工作語言的人數也多得無法估計了。在本文中，作者對英語這一國際語言做了一些具體介紹。

　　1.A　細節理解題。根據文章第二段的“…it is impossible to estimate the number of people in the world who have acquired an adequate working knowledge of English…”可知A項正確。

　　2.D　細節理解題。根據文章第三段的“The main reason for the widespread demand for English is its present­day importance as a world language.”可知，英語被普遍使用是因為它是一門用來進行國際交流的語言，故D項正確。

　　3.B　細節理解題。根據文章第二段的“The purpose for English learning and the situations in which such learning takes place are so varied that it is difficult to explain and still more difficult to judge what forms an adequate working knowledge for each situation.”可知B項正確。

　　4.C　細節理解題。根據文章末段“It is a language of wider communication for a number of developing countries，especially former British colonies.”可知，在那些以前是英國殖民地的發展中國家最有可能說英語，故C項正確。

　　高考英語閱讀復習練習2：

　　Having spent two and a half years in China over several visits, I don't remember ever going through a phase we in the United States call “cultural shock”. This period of difficulty in adjusting to a new culture would probably have set in during my semester at Peking University. Of course, this is not to say that I didn't notice any differences between the American and Chinese cultures upon my arrival at Peking University, I did notice the differences. Looking back, I remember one of the first differences I noticed: chinese universities are surrounded by walls.

　　To an American, this is one of the most striking aspects of a Chinese university which immediately sets it apart from an American campus. Having grown up in the United States, I had never seen a university surrounded by high, cement(水泥) walls. My idea of a university, based on having seen scores of them in different states of the US, was a place of life and learning, an inseparable part of the community in which it was located, open not only to the students of the school itself, but also fully accessible to students from other schools and to the broader public.

　　My idea of a university was that it was a centre of cultural life, a resource for the entire community. In all my twenty­one years, it had never occurred to me that a school would have a wall around it. Walls enclose and separate; schools expand and integrate(合并). The_very_idea_seemed_fundamentally_incompatible. I asked a Chinese friend if all Chinese universities have walls around them.“You know, I have never really thought about it. I guess so. I guess all Chinese schools have walls around them, not just universities.”“Why?” I asked.“What's the point?”“I don't know. To protect us, I suppose.”“From whom?”“I don't know. Don't you have walls around your schools in the United States?”I thought carefully before answering.“No, I've never seen or heard of a university encircled by a wall.”My Chinese friend seemed puzzled. Walls around schools came to strike me as more than just an architectural difference between the United States and China. As China continues to open up to the outside world, these walls seem increasingly out of place.

　　5.The author felt strange about Chinese culture when he ________.

　　A.studied in Peking University

　　B.talked with his friends about the walls

　　C.experienced the “cultural shock” at his arrival

　　D.spent two and a half years in China over several visits

　　6.In the author's opinion, a university is a place ________.

　　A.where only students can come to study

　　B.which is similar everywhere in the world

　　C.that should be surrounded by high cement walls

　　D.that is an inseparable part of and a resource for the community

　　7.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably mean?

　　A.The two ideas are fundamental.

　　B.The two ideas are basically different.

　　C.The two ideas about “school” and “wall” are suitable.

　　D.The two ideas about “school” and “wall” are conflicting.

　　8.What did the author's friend feel about the walls around universities?

　　A.He thought it a good idea to have walls encircling schools.

　　B.He was shocked that American universities are not enclosed.

　　C.He thought they were necessary to protect students from being hurt.

　　D.He thought the difference between two countries is only architectural styles.

　　9.We can infer from the passage that the author thinks ________.

　　A.walls are really useful in the universities

　　B.he can never really understand the Chinese culture

　　C.Chinese universities should work as public scenic spots

　　D.walls around the universities are inappropriate in an open China

　　閱讀復習練習答案解析：

　　【文章大意】 文章介紹了中美教育文化中的差異。中國大學有圍墻，而美國的大學沒有。文化向外伸展著，而不是封閉起來。綠色的草坪將大學校園和社區連接了起來。那是所有渴求知識的人們的共同家園，這不僅僅是建筑風格或是教育方式的不同，而且也是一種觀念、一種溝通的愿望。

　　5.A　細節理解題。根據文章第一段第二句“This period of difficulty in adjusting to a new culture would probably have set in during my semester at Peking University.”可知，適應一種新文化的困難時期可以說該是作者在北京大學上學的那個學期，故A項正確。

　　6.D　細節理解題。根據第二段中“…an inseparable part of the community in which it was located，open not only to the students of the school itself…”可知，作者認為大學也是當地社區的一個組成部分，不應該僅僅對在校學生開放，故D項正確。

　　7.D　推理判斷題。根據最后一段中“…wall around it.Walls enclose and separate; schools expand and integrate(合并).The very idea seemed fundamentally incompatible.”可知，圍墻的作用是封閉和隔離，然而，學校的宗旨是要擴展學生的知識，讓學生與外面的世界融合，這兩個概念是根本不相容的，由此可知“wall”和“school”代表的意義是相互矛盾的，故D項正確。

　　8.B　細節理解題。根據最后一段中“‘No，I've never seen or heard of a university encircled by a wall.’My Chinese friend seemed puzzled.” 可知，作者的中國同學對美國大學沒有圍墻感到吃驚，故B項正確。

　　9.D　推理判斷題。根據文章最后一句“As China continues to open up to the outside world，these walls seem increasingly out of place.”可知，作者認為隨著中國的對外開放，大學的圍墻的存在是不恰當的，故D項正確。