1、广州质检2模英语2016年广州市普通高中毕业班综合测试（二）英 语第I卷第二部分 阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）第一节 （共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分） 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。AThe best of adventure and sport in NSWIf you want adventure, then the state of New SouthWales (NSW) in Australia is the place to go. No matterwhat the season, you can choos
2、e from a wide variety oflandscapes, climates, activities and experiences all witheasy access to tour operators and local guides.For snow lovers, theres no better place than theSnowy Mountains. Skiers and snowboarders can hit theslopes for some downhill thrills in Kosciuszko National. Park. Non-skiin
3、g adventure-seekers will enjoy hiking or snowshoeing.If water sports are more your thing, there are plenty of places to go. Surfers youre your surfboards and head to Byron Bay, Shellharbour, or Newcastles Merewether Beach. To see spectacular sea life up close, visit Lord Howe Island, a world-famous
4、destination for underwater diving.The oceans, lakes and rivers around NSW offer a lifetimes worth of exciting fishing and boating challenges. Want more? Experience the rush of whitewater rafting in Jindabyne and Penrith, or go barefoot waterskiing in Port Stephens.For adventure in NSW, the skys the
5、limit! Book a hot-air-balloon or helicopter ride over the stunning vineyards of the Hunter Valley, go skydiving in Wollongong, or try hang-gliding in Stanwell Park.Get to know the States unique and tough landscapes on a caving, canoeing or rock climbing adventure. Four-wheel-driving and off-roading
6、tours are popular in both Country NSW and Outback NSW. Or explore parts of the State on horseback youIl find great horse riding options in Sydney and throughout NSW.21. What is the purpose of this article?A. To advertise a new holiday tour.B. To describe the geography of NSW.C. To promote NSWs touri
7、st attractions.D. To encourage people to move to NSW.22. Where can you go barefoot waterskiing?A. Port Stephens. B. The Hunter ValleyC. Stanwell Park. D. Wollongong.23. Who are the intended readers？A. Families. B. Local guides.C. Photographers. D. Adventure travellers BThe United States of America w
8、as founded in 1776 after the 13 independent American states rose up against the ruling British, defeated them in the American Revolutionary War, and signed the Declaration of Independence, the document which declared the creation of the new country.The men who led the revolution, drafted the Declara
9、tion of Independence, and wrote the first American laws are known as founding fathers. Benjamin Franklin, whose picture is on the US 100-dollar note, was appointed to prepare the Declaration that was eventually signed by the other founding fathers.Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston to a soap maker
10、named Josiah Franklin. His father could not afford full schooling for all his children, but Benjamin loved books and worked in his elder brothers printing business before starting a newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729. He wrote and drew cartoons for the newspaper. In addition, he worke
11、d to improve living conditions in the city: introducing street lights, cleaning the roads and building libraries. In the 1740s, Franklin retired from his newspaper and turned to science with great success. He was a very smart man and his work on electricity, including the “kite experiment” which con
12、firmed the nature of lightning, made him famous throughout the world.Franklin earned the title of the “First American” for his efforts to unite the 13 American states, and to win their independence. This part of the story starts in London. He was sent to the city to persuade the British to treat the
13、 American states more fairly. It was here that he began interacting with important political thinkers and activists of the time and developing his own political ideas.Following his return to America in 1761 he became much more active in American politics and in the battle against British rule.After
14、the United States of America was established, Franklin held several important positions such as the first United States Postmaster General, Ambassador to France and President of Pennsylvania. He is also famous today for his wise sayings, including “a penny saved is a penny earned” and “an ounce of p
15、revention is worth a pound of cure”.24. What is the article mainly about? A. The American Declaration of Independence. B. Franklins contributions to American society. C. The American War of Independence. D. Benjamin Franklins early life.25. How did Franklin begin developing his own political thinkin
16、g? A. By discussing ideas with political activists in Britain. B. By persuading the 13 American states to unite. C. By fighting against British rule in America. D. By writing articles for his own newspaper.26. What can be inferred about Franklin from the article? A. His most important contribution w
17、as in science. B. He was th e leader of the “founding fathers”. C. He was successful in many different areas. D. He came from a very wealthy family.27. What is the correct order for the following events from Franklins life? a. He started a newspaper business. b. He carried out the kite experience on
18、 electricity. c. He worked for his brother in a printing company. d. He was appointed the Ambassador to France. e. He helped write the Declaration of Independence. f. He visited England to discuss independence. A. e, c, a, b, f, d B. c, a, b, f, e, dC. a, c, f, b, d, e D. f, d, a, b, c, eC Whether o
19、r not you believe Professor Stephen Hawkings alarming theory that building a “strong” artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to the end of the human race, its clear that AI is reaching the point where soon it will affect almost every aspect of how we work with computers. We must get used to compute
20、rs that talk back. Last year, investment bank Deep Ventures attracted much media attention when it announced that it had appointed an AI computer to its board of directors to help make important business decisions. What actually happened was that the company used a program called VITAL to analyse po
21、tential investments (授资) in different businesses. But VITAL doesnt attend board meetings or vote its just a program. While its not quite the evil robot we see in science fiction movies, it shows us how far computers and AI have advanced. Soon AI systems will be driving our vehicles, interpreting our
22、 facial expressions as we perform complex tasks, translating our voices into different languages and building other machines for us in factories around the world. But they wont look like us or pretend to be human. In the new film Ex Machina, a computer scientist is asked to assess whether a beautifu
23、l human-looking robot called Ava has human intelligence. I wont spoil the film for you, but it occurred to me that one of the reasons we believe other human beings are conscious and have intelligence is that were told they are all .the time. Indeed, if you stopped believing other people have minds,
24、you would quickly find yourself unable to function in the world. Googles Eric Schmidt argues that we shouldnt worry about AI, and that we need instead to redesign our education systems so that we learn how to get on with the machines. As powerful computer-based intelligences continue developing, we
25、must let go of the belief that only humans have intelligence and consciousness. Just as we have accepted the reality that the self-awareness that makes minds possible exists within the animal world, we may soon accept that it can also exist within the machine world.28. According to Professor Stephen
26、 Hawking, human beings . A. may be endangered by strong AI B. are still more intelligent than machines C. will benefit greatly from the advances in AI D. will never be able to build a strong AI system29. According to Paragraph 2, VITAL can . A. attend board meetings to vote B. make final decisions f
27、or the bank C. attract more investments to the bank D. assess the value of different businesses30. The author predicts that AI machines will soon be able to . A. control peoples facial expressions B. construct other intelligent machines C. have a human-like physical appearance D. change peoples spee
28、ches into different languages31. Which of the following would the author most probably agree with? A. It is too late to stop the danger of artificial intelligence. . . B. Humans should learn to live with intelligent machines. C. Intelligent machines will eventually control the world. D. Only humans
29、can have intelligence and consciousness.D Mature-age university students are annoying, I know. I understand that when youre 18 or 19, and already know everything, theres no need to do the readings or show up prepared for class. I also understand that there are these old people in class who should be
30、 doing other things maybe retiring, or gardening in the backyard. They are eagerly asking questions (or worse, answering them) and generally loud. I understand because I used to be one of them. I dropped out of high school in Year 11 and after playing guitar in a band for a few years, I spent the ne
31、xt ten years working different jobs. Then a friend, who thought I was wasting my life, suggested I enrol at his university. Although afraid, I eventually took a university preparation course and a year later became a 35-year-old university freshman. Like many mature-age students, after completing my
32、 degree, I continued studying and eventually attained my PhD.Now Im a lecturer at Toronto University in Canada. In fact, I have just finished preparing a group of mature-age students to annoy next years young first years. My students come from many different backgrounds. But they all share an enthusiasm for knowledge and learning. I know they are ridiculous and show up to class with folders full of readings, minds overflowing with ideas and concepts they
