英语是欧盟的，最多国际组织和英联邦国家的官方语言，精品小编准备了高三英语二轮复习社会现象类阅读题，具体请看以下内容。

1、The new high-speed railway line between Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur self-governing region，and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province，has cut train travel time by half to less than 12 hours.

The dramatic improvement will benefit many families planning reunions for Spring Festival.

“For the first time，I feel home is not that far away after all，”said Liang Shaofu as he boarded a high-speed train in Urumqi with six members of his family.

The 35-year-old left Lanzhou to set up a dry fruit business in Xinjiang eight years ago，and he has now settled in Urumqi.

The 1,776-km line, which passes through Qinghai province and is the country’s first high-speed railway to be built in a high-altitude region, came into service on Dec 26.

“We normally drive home for Spring Festival to avoid the difficulties of buying seven train tickets for the whole family during the peak season.” Liang said. “Driving can be very tiring and dangerous sometimes，so one year we even decided not to go back to Lanzhou simply to avoid the trip.”

More than 600,000 passengers traveled on the line during its first month，and the Urumqi Railway Bureau said the introduction of high-speed services will ease transport pressure during the Spring Festival peak season.

The existing usual railway line could no longer support Xinjiang’s development.    All passenger trains will gradually shift to the new link，leaving the old one to be used for goods. As a result，Xinjiang’s annual goods ability could reach 200 million metric tons from the current 70 million.

The line passes through areas that experience high winds, and it also crosses parts of the deserted Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the bone-dry sands of the Gobi Desert.

The project could help China to promote its high-speed railway technology abroad，said Ma Xi zhang, director of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway project’s management department in Xinjiang.

【小题1】How long did it take to go from Urumqi to Lanzhou by the usual train before?

A.about 12 hours B.About 6 hours

C.About 18 hours D.About 24 hours

【小题2】What’s the main advantage of the new high-speed railway?

A.It takes more time to go to Urumqi to Lanzhou.

B.It will be more convenient for people all over the country to Xinjiang.

C.All the people in Lanzhou can return home on festivals.

D.It helps to improve Xinjiang’s development.

【小题3】From the passage we can learn________.

A.Xinjiang’s annual goods ability can increase nearly four times

B.the new railway technology may help more railway lines to be built abroad

C.the high-speed railway lines can’t be built across the bone-dry sands

D.the old railway lines can only carry goods now

【小题4】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A.The new high-speed railway line is good for all people to go home.

B.The new high-speed railway line benefits businessmen to carry goods.

C.Taking the new train is safer than driving home from Urumqi to Lanzhou.

D.Businessmen seldom went home for Spring Festival before.

2、If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or in the railway station, you don't need to feel surprised. They are a flash mob(暴民). Who are they? Are they mobs? Don't be confused by their name. Actually, a flash mob is a group of people who gather suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disappear.

They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks. The messages may be sent to friends, who send to more people. At a predetermined time, they gather and perform some activities such as exchanging books, coming together to look at the sky, waving their hands and yelling something at the top of their voice for 30 seconds. Then, they quickly disappear before the police can arrive. Using mobile phones, the flash mob can change its place if the first one has been cancelled for any reason.

Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob gathered on June 3, 2003. Wasik claimed that he created the flash mob as a social experiment designed to laugh at fashion seekers and stress the cultural atmosphere of wanting to be an insider or part of “the next big thing”.

Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people. Such an activity might seem amusing and magical, but it also might frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. Undoubtedly, flash mob can serve as good political tools and have great potential, such as using flash mob to advertise a product.

The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular. People use it to do many things. For example, in 2009, Michael Jackson’s fans took part in a flash mob to remember him. Hundreds of his fans gathered singing and dancing Michael’s famous song “Beat It” together. Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.

【小题1】What is NOT the feature of the flash mob?

A.It can get together quickly.

B.It can change its place freely.

C.It can do activities suddenly.

D.It can injure people seriously.

【小题2】How do flash mobs inform one another?

①By using the Internet.

②By writing letters.

③By yelling.

④By waving hands.

⑤By using mobile phones.

⑥By holding a meeting.

A.③④  B.①⑤ C.②⑥ D.⑤⑥

【小题3】Why did Bill Wasik create the flash mob?

A.To advertise some products. B.To help people make friends.

C.To laugh at fashion seekers. D.To create some memories.

【小题4】What can we learn about the flash mob from the passage?

A.Bill Wasik organized the first successful flash mob in May, 2003.

B.People are encouraged to take a more active part in an activity.

C.Flash mobs tend to do something illegal for a short time.

D.Flash mob gathering can frighten all the people present.

3、Have you ever run into a careless cell phone user on the street? Perhaps they were busy talking, testing or checking updates on WeChat without looking at what was going on around them. As the number of this new “species” of human has kept rising, they have been given a new name — phubbers (低头族).

Recently, a cartoon created by students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts put this group of people under the spotlight. In the short film, phubbers with various social identities bury themselves in their phones. A doctor plays with his cell phone while letting his patient die, a pretty woman takes selfie in front of a car accident siteand a father loses his child without knowing about it while using his mobile phone. A chain of similar events eventually leads to the destruction of the world.

Although the ending sounds overstated, the damage phubbing can bring is real. Your health is the first to bear the effect and result of it. “Constantly bending your head to check your cell phone could damage your neck,” Guangming Daily quoted doctors as saying. “The neck is like a rope that breaks after long-term stretching.” Also, staring at cell phones for long periods of time will damage your eyesight gradually, according to the report.

But that’s not all. Being a phubber could also damage your social skills and drive you away from your friends and family. At reunions with family or friends, many people tend to stick to their cell phones while others are chatting happily with each other and this creates a strange atmosphere, Qilu Evening News reported.

It can also cost you your life. There have been lots of reports on phubbers who fell to their death, suffered accidents, and were robbed of their cell phones in broad daylight.

【小题1】For what purpose does the author give the example of a cartoon in Para. 2?

A.To inform people of the bad effects of phubbing.

B.To advertise the cartoon made by students.

C.To indicate the world will finally be destroyed by phubbers.

D.To warn doctors against using cell phones while treating patients.

【小题2】Which of the following is NOT a risk a phubber may have?

A.His social skills could be affected.

B.His neck and eyesight will be gradually harmed.

C.He will cause the destruction of the world.

D.He might get separated from his friends and family.

【小题3】Which of the following may be the author’s attitude towards phubbing?

A.Supportive. B.Opposed.

C.Optimistic. D.Objective.

【小题4】What may the passage talk about next?

A.Advice on how to use a cell phone.

B.People addicted to phubbing.

C.Measures to reduce the risks of phubbing.

D.Consequences of phubbing.

4、Do you love Beats headphones, True Religion jeans, and UGG shoes? These are some of the most popular brands (牌子) around. They are also expensive. But some experts say they are not much better than cheaper brands.

For example, Jim Wilcox works for Consumer Reports. He tested all kinds of headphones. He says that $80 Koss Pro headphones provide basically the same quality and comfort as Beats. So why do people pay twice or even 10 times as much for the hottest brands?

Experts say it's because fashionable, expensive brands send a message. Brands say “I belong” or “I can afford it.”

Some people think that expensive brand names are worth the price. They say that some designer clothes really are top quality and that they last longer than cheaper brands. Some teenagers choose to wear popular brands because these brands make them feel good about themselves.

Alexandra Allam, 17, likes to buy brand-name products. “I'd rather spend the extra money to get something I know I'll be satisfied with,” she says. Her friend Emmy Swan agrees, saying “As long as you can afford it, it seems reasonable to buy what you want.” But not all teenagers agree. “Spending hundreds of dollars for designer sunglasses is stupid and unreasonable,” says Daniel Steinbrecher, 16. “It's fake (假的) happiness.”

People who are against wearing expensive brand names say that many designer brands aren't any better. “It's wasteful to buy things just because they are popular,” says Edmund Williams, 15. “You'll feel better if you buy things because you like them. If you have extra money to spend, it would be better to give it to people in need.”

【小题1】The example of Jim's report wants to tell us _____.

A.popular brands make people comfortable

B.Koss Pro headphones are better than Beats

C.the hottest brands are of the highest quality

D.lesser-known brands may offer the same quality as name brands

【小题2】According to experts, people choose the hottest brands probably _____.

A.to show off

B.for their better quality

C.for their better designs

D.to belong to a special group

【小题3】What does Edmund think of expensive brands?

A.They are not worth the price.

B.They make him feel confident.

C.They need to improve their quality.

D.They pay too much attention to personal likes.

【小题4】The text is mainly about _____.

A.how to buy things reasonably

B.the competition between brands

C.the different values of teenagers

D.whether expensive brands are worth high prices

5、Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons—for example, economic(经济的) reasons—why they should be preserved. So, let us assume that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed?

In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own hometown of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate(影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.

It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt(破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative(保守的) and do not like change.

Although we have to respect people's feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward. If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different, even though that might be the more risky choice.

【小题1】What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph?

A.Some of them are not attractive.

B.Most of them are too expensive to preserve.

C.They are more pleasing than modern buildings.

D.They have nothing to do with the historic feel of an area.

【小题2】Which of the following is TRUE according to the author?

A.We should reproduce the same old buildings.

B.Buildings should not dominate their surroundings.

C.No one understands why people speak against new buildings.

D.Some old buildings have spoilt the area they are in.

【小题3】By “move things forward”in the last paragraph, the author probably means “_________”.

A.destroy old buildings

B.choose new architectural style

C.put things in a different place

D.respect people's feelings for historical buildings

【小题4】What is the main purpose of the passage?

A.To explain why people dislike change.

B.To warn that we could end up living in caves.

C.To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas.

D.To admit how new buildings have ruined their surroundings.

6、As many as 4 out of every 1,000 infants born today have permanent hearing loss.When parents learn that their child has hearing loss, they are faced with many difficult decisions.These decisions can include choosing therapies and schools, as well as finding financial help for hearing aids or cochlear implants (人工耳蜗).

Help Me Hear Foundation is a public charity that gives the gift of hearing to deaf children from families existing on very low incomes around the world.The foundation offers life-changing services for impoverished families, and provides real help for children with hearing impairment who may otherwise be left behind in schools or society due to their lack of hearing.

Help Me Hear Foundation believes that a child’s first years of development are critical.Being able to hear is vital to human, and Help Me Hear Foundation seeks to provide a positive lasting impression on society through its programs.Help Me Hear Foundation has many goals, including relieving the burden on communities with hearing-impaired infants and children, and strengthening the social structure of families and neighborhoods.

Recipients of Help Me Hear Foundation’s benefits receive state-of-the-art hearing devices that otherwise would cost thousands of dollars per child over the course of their lifetime.The Foundation raises money through donations for hearing aids and cochlear implants, which saves recipients and their families on average over $50,000 on related expenses.

The Foundation tries to be a transparent charity, and wants to be a catalyst for allowing deaf and hearing-impaired children to develop in a typical fashion alongside their peers.

Needy families can obtain information on specific services, and find out about deafness education by visiting the Help Me Hear Foundation’s website.The website offers helpful information on how hearing aids work, and how hearing aids ease many of the learning and language challenges that hearing-impaired children deal with on a daily basis.

【小题1】Help Me Hear Foundation was probably set up to _____.

A.build schools for deaf children

B.research deaf children’s behavior

C.protect deaf children from being ignored

D.offer real help to poor deaf children

【小题2】We learn from the text that _____.

A.the local government is in charge of the foundation

B.the work of the foundation depends on donations

C.even blind children can turn to the foundation

D.poor deaf African children cannot get help from the foundation

【小题3】Visit the foundation’s website, and you will learn about _____.

A.the function of hearing aids

B.the specific services the foundation needs

C.the challenges that children face every day

D.the prices of a variety of hearing aids

【小题4】For whom is the text most probably written?

A.Poor parents who have deaf children.

B.Doctors who want to improve skills.

C.Students who cannot see the blackboard clearly.

D.Teachers who have deaf children in their class.

【小题5】The author writes the text mainly to _____.

A.tell how to avoid permanent hearing loss

B.explain how hard a life deaf children live

C.introduce Help Me Hear Foundation

D.advise people to give money to Help Me Hear Foundation

7、D

Older couples in a bad marriage -- particularly female spouses -- have a higher risk for heartdisease than those in a good marriage， finds the first nationally representative study of its kind.The findings suggest the need for marriage counseling(咨询) and programs aimed at promoting marital quality and well-being for couples into their 70s and 80s， said lead investigator Hui Liu， a Michigan State University sociologist.

"Marriage counseling is focused largely on younger couples，" said Liu.  "But these results show that marital quality is just as important at older ages， even when the couple has been married 40 0r 50 years. "

The study， funded by the National Institute of Aging， an arm of the National Institutes of Health，is published online in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Liu analyzed five years of data from about 1，200 married men and women who participated the National Social Life， Health and Aging Project.  Respondents were aged 57-85 at the beginning of the study.

The project included survey questions about marital quality， lab tests and self-reported measures of cardiovascular health such as heart attacks， strokes， hypertension and high levels of C-reactive protein in the blood.

Liu set out to learn how marital quality is related to risk of heart disease over time， and whether this relationship varies by gender and/or age. Among her findings： Negative martial quality(eg.spouse criticizes， spouse is demanding) has a bigger effect on heart health than positive marital quality.In other words， a bad marriage is more harmful to your heart health than a good marriage.The effect of marital quality on cardiovascular risk becomes much stronger at older ages.Meanwhile，marital quality has a bigger effect on women's heart health than it does on men's， possibly because women tend to internalize(使藏在心底) negative feelings and thus are more likely to feel depressed and develop cardiovascular problems. Heart disease leads to a decline in marital quality for women， but not for men.  It's common that wives are more likely to provide support and care to sick husbands， while husbands are less likely to take care of sick wives."In this way， a wife's poor health may affect how she assesses her marital quality， but a husband's poor health doesn't hurt his

view of marriage，"Liu said.

【小题1】The study suggests that       .

A.elderly couples are less likely to be affected by marital quality

B.the effect of marital quality on male and female is the same

C.bad martial quality affects heart health more greatly

D.marital quality has a positive effect on health

【小题2】We can infer from the the last paragraph that Liu agrees that       .

A.marital quality has nothing to do with cardiovascular health

B.gender or age may affect one's marriage quality

C.marriage counseling is unnecessary for young couples

D.husbands will not take care of their sick wives

【小题3】Why does marital quality have a bigger effect on women?

A.Because women are weak physically.

B.Because women have to take care of their sick husband.

C.Because women tend to keep their negative feelings to themselves.

D.Because women expect too much oftheir marriage.

【小题4】According to the passage， who is most likefy to have a heart disease?

A.Marie， 40 years old，just got divorced.

B.Bill， 66 years old， lives with his wife and grandchildren.

C.Justin， 28 years old， got married recently.

D.Sophia， 59 years old， often quarrels with her husband.

8、One of those big social networking sites, Facebook, has attracted over 58 million members. Commentator Melody Cramer is no longer one of them. Here is what she shares with us about her story.

I deleted all 1,281 of my co¬workers, second¬grade classmates and people who I don’t know at all. I shut down my account, completely. I’m 30, and I’ve been on Facebook since March of 2004, which makes me one of the website’s earliest users.

At first, I used it obsessively. If I had a free moment, I’d log on to see whether my friends had updated their profiles. I’d sit alone scrolling through these updates and then run into someone at a coffee shop and have nothing to say because I already knew everything about them, and they knew everything about me.

In November, I went to my ten¬year high school reunion and was not pleasantly surprised. Lauren became a model, Josh went to law school, Dina was a teacher. I hadn’t talked to any of them since graduation, but I knew exactly what they were doing, both now and last week. But lately, I’m overwhelmed(应接不暇). Facebook opened up to everyone, not just college students, and my co¬workers started to join, which meant they now knew what I was doing when I wasn’t at work.

And as a rule: you can NOT make friends with your coworkers because then they’ll ask you the next day. But I thought we were friends. And you are friends but not the kind of friends who tell each other what they do outside of work. So now the people you work with can see what you did last night, and you’re constantly worrying what people might say about what you did last night instead of actually doing anything tonight. So Iquit. I became a 30¬year¬old Luddite, a person who is strongly against technology development. I’ve retuned to how the world worked when I was 20, before I knew when my friends and co¬workers were counting down the seconds to vacation or entering a complicated relationship. I’m hoping life will be a lot simpler now. People will be more mysterious now that I actually have to talk to them to find out their favorite books or hobbies or neurosis(神经症). I don’t know when my college roommate goes to the supermarket, and I think I’m a better person for not knowing. In fact, you could say getting off a social network was the best thing I’ve done this week.

【小题1】Melody Cramer decided to quit Facebook mainly because ______.

A.she thought it wasted too much time

B.she was afraid of the strangers on her account

C.she was tired of exposing her life to co¬workers

D.she thought it made real¬world life less interesting

【小题2】We can learn from the passage that Melody Cramer ______.

A.had a 10¬year membership of Facebook

B.used to be very objected to Facebook

C.was unpleasant to attend high school reunion

D.was one of the co-founders of Facebook

【小题3】Which of the following about Melody Cramer is TRUE?

A.She owes her communication skills to Facebook.

B.She wishes she could be several years younger.

C.She prefers to face her friends and co-workers in reality.

D.She is no longer curious about anything around her.

【小题4】The best title for this passage can be _____.

A.Addiction to Facebook

B.Farewell to Facebook

C.Friends Online

D.A Simpler Life

9、Cheerleading is the fastest growing girls' sport，yet more than half of Americans do not believe it is a sport.Actually，competitive cheerleading is a sport.

A sport is a “physical activity against/with an opponent，governed by rules and conditions under which a winner is declared，and the primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants."Because cheerleading follows these guidelines，it is a sport.

Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activities.Like gymnasts，cheerleaders must  learn  to  tumble  (翻滚) .They perform lifts and tosses.This is where the "flied' are thrown in the air，held by "bases" in different positions that require strength and cooperation with other teammates.

Just as basketball and football have guidelines for competitive play，so does competitive cheerleading.The whole routine has to be completed in less than 3 minutes and 15 seconds and the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area.

Competitive cheerleaders' goal is to be the best.Just like gymnasts，they are awarded points for difficulty，creativity and sharpness.The more difficult a mount，the sharper the motions，the better the score.Cheerleading is a team sport so without cooperation，first place is out of reach.

Cheerleading is the number-one cause of serious sports injuries to women.Emergency room visits for cheerleading are five times the number of those for any other sport，partially because they do not wear protective gear.While many athletes are equipped with hip pads or helmets，smiling cheerleaders are tossed into the air and spiral down into the arms of trusted teammates.The fliersmust remain tight at all times so that their bases can catch them safely.Also，because cheerleading is not yet recognized as a sport by many schools，neither proper matting nor high enough ceilings are provided to ensure safety.Instead，the girls use whatever space is available.More recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport would decrease the number of injuries.

So why do many Americans not think cheerleading is a sport?Some people argue that cheerleaders are just "flirts in skirts" with their only job to entertain the crowd，but cheerleaders today work just as hard as other athletes.

Hopefully，cheerleading will become as well-known a sport as football and basketball，and even appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports.

【小题1】What does the underlined word "bases" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A.Strength and cooperation

B.Lifts and tosses

C.Supporting teammates

D.Physical activities

【小题2】Gymnasts are mentioned in the passage to _________

A.explain the dangers of cheerleading

B.show their similarities with cheerleaders

C.suggest cheerleaders learn to do gymnastics

D.present the guidelines of gymnastic movements

【小题3】It can be leamed from the passage that cheerleading _________

A.is a good sport for all people

B.lacks necessary guidelines to follow

C.is more than a form of entertainment

D.enjoys greater popularity than other sports

【小题4】This passage is written mainly to _________

A.attract more girls to cheerleading

B.draw people's attention to cheerleading

C.call for more recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport

D.criticize some Americans who do not think cheerleading as a sport

10、In the last few years the popularity of eBooks has exploded.The advantages are clear：You can carry as many hooks with you as you want.You can simply download ever7 book you like and instantly start reading instead of having to wait for the book to arrive by mail.

However，one thing hadn't changed.If you wanted to rent a book you were still forced to use hardcopy books.Until now that is.Amazon.com recently announced the start of a new program where you can rent eBooks.

Where to rent eBooks?

As mentioned before，Amazon.com is the first and currently the only retailer (零售商) that has a program in place for renting eBooks.Luckily，Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world and their eBook assortment (分类) is massive.They are also the producer of the Kindle，the most popular eReader，which means you can be sure that the eBooks you rent will work.

You can currently only rent eTextbooks.But this is likely to change as soon as the word gets out that you can save money by renting eBooks.