发布时间 : 星期一 文章河北省衡水中学2018届高三上学期五调考试英语试题（原卷版）更新完毕开始阅读421dd846ea7101f69e3143323968011ca300f7cb
D. Comparing some attractions in Philadelphia.
B
My mother died in August 2005. Eight months later, I began to come out of the fog of sadness and depression to find a new purpose for my life.
Like many of my generation, I had lived only for myself —traveling, acquiring possessions, rising to a position of importance and seeking financial rewards. I was “charitable” and “volunteered” for various causes, but really didn’t give of myself. In the spring after my mom’s death, I found myself waking in the middle of the night with one thought. I felt forced to offer myself as a living kidney donor. My husband Robb had received the gift of life through a kidney transplant(移植)from a dead donor in 1999, so I was familiar with the enormous need for donors and knew several people who were waiting for a lifesaving transplant. I decided to offer myself to be matched with the most compatible(互不排斥的)person on the waiting list at my local transplant center.
I was paired with 71-year-old Dee from New Jerse who had survived for six years on peritoneal dialysis(腹腔透析). At her 70th birthday, her family threw a big party as they did not expect her to live much longer. Dee has become my very good friend. Almost two years after the transplant, I was privileged to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband, their five children and their extended family.
In donating my kidney, I extended myself in a way far beyond what I ever believed was possible. I did so in honor of my mother who sacrificed so much for me and my sisters, and in memory of my husband’s donor who extended her 1ife through him.
I encourage all who enjoy the gift of good health to share with others, either as a living donor or by appointing organ donation upon death. By extending yourself through organ donation, you will live on through others in an extraordinary way and give comfort to your loved ones. 5. What does the underlined phrase “give of” mean? A. Relieve. B. Devote C. Appreciate D. Forgive
6. What can we infer from Paragraph 4? A. Dee was the author’s old friend B. The author attended Dee’s birthday party C. Dee treated the author as a family member
D. The author’s donation made Dee live six years longer 7. What would be the best title for this text? A. An old lady benefited from organ donation B. The memory of my beloved mother C. The deep meaning of love D. Extend yourself
C
Our modern working lives are ruled by the concept of competence．The idea that lies behind competence is quite simple：that one can state what people should do in behavioral terms，and then measure whether a person has succeeded in meeting that task or not．We rarely have a second thought about whether the idea of measuring and achieving competence is a good one or not．In fact，it is a controversial one．
Humans do not learn or work in ways that can be measured by the concept of competence．Take the example of a barista(咖啡师)who is being trained to make coffee．The job title of“barista”suggests a degree of skill in making coffee．However，baristas in large coffee chains are usually trained through competence-based
qualifications．One part of these qualifications is to produce a cup of coffee to meet a minimum standard．It might have to achieve a certain taste and appearance．This might seem perfectly reasonable，but there are two reasons why such an approach to training baristas does not work．
First，the production of a cup of coffee to a certain standard is a binary(二次元的)outcome．The baristas can either produce a coffee of a certain standard or they cannot．If they happen to produce the best cup of coffee in the world，it does not matter，as competence-based training does not reward outstanding
performance．Likewise，producing the worst cup of coffee would be a fail in the same way as producing a cup just below the standard．In fact，competence is not interested in the process of producing a coffee at all—only the final binary outcome．
Second，if the barista does produce a coffee to a certain standard，competence is not interested in why the barista can do that．But humans are not machines that simply produce binary outcomes．We have bodies and minds which change through learning．
Yet we are increasingly forced to achieve competence in our schools and workplaces．We are not empty machines that simply produce binary outcomes．If we want to be true human in our learning and our workplaces，we need to be creative and special．Learning and innovation(创新)involve failure in aiming for
something that is unusually good．Such things simply cannot be judged by the standard of competence where the mediocre is the gold standard．
8. Why is the approach to training baristas unreasonable in the author’s eyes? A. It makes the outcomes rather unexpected． B. It encourages low standards in workplaces． C. It can’t improve baristas’motivation in work． D. It ignores the fact that humans are not machines． 9. How does the author argue his main point? A. By giving an example and explaining． B. By criticizing the opposite point． C. By examining differences． D. By offering statistics．
10. What does the underlined word“mediocre”in the last paragraph probably mean? A. Special skill． B. Great creativity． C. Average quality． D. Outstanding ability．
11. What is probably the main purpose of the author in writing the text? A. To introduce new forms of learning and training． B. To explain how people learn and work nowadays． C. To state human beings’advantages over machines． D. To deny the general rule of measuring competence．
D
They say the average person makes 35, 000 decisions a day. Yet in her new book, How Woman Decide, Therese Huston explores a widespread phenomenon that many women fail to notice. “There’s a huge double standard when it comes to how men and women are viewed as decision makers, ”explains Therese, a psychologist from Seattle University. Therese decided to write the book after looking at her bookshelf: At one end, there were bestselling books about how to be a brilliant decision maker--all written by men and featuring interviews with men like athletes. At the other end were books aimed at women on gaining leadership skills and confidence.
“Once those women are at the table, will their decisions be taken as seriously as men’s? ”Therese wondered. “Men are respected as decision makers more than women, especially in the workplace, largely because there’s this
cultural belief that women are unable to make smart choices at work.”
So, Therese began to pick apart the stereotypes (固有印象) to see what scientific research had found. “Scientific research shows that men and women struggle with decision-making equally. The only disadvantage I found was that during the teenage years, teenage girls are more indecisive than teenage boys. Otherwise, there’s little difference between the genders.”
However, there are some differences. “Women are more cooperative, ” says Therese, “A female boss is more likely to ask the opinions of those around her when making a choice. Women ask for input, which helps make better decisions. However, this is often seen as a weakness rather than a strength.”
Therese also found that during times of stress, men and women make different choices, and the outcomes are often better when women are involved.
Study after study backs this view up. Neuroscientists Mara Mather and Nicole Lighthall from the University of Southern California studied the way men and women make decisions and found that in times of stress, they react very differently.
During their study, which involved playing a virtual gambling (赌博) game, they found that when the females became stressed, they made smart decisions-quitting while they were ahead or taking safe bets. But when the men became stressed, they did the opposite, risking everything for a slim chance of a big win. 12. Why did Therese Huston write her book How Women Decide? A. Women are less respected as decision makers. B. Women are not equally treated in workplaces. C. Women are unable to make smart choices. D. Women are poor at making big decisions.
13. What is women’s weakness in decision-making according to Therese Huston? A. Men can make quicker decisions than women. B. Women easily get stressed when making decisions. C. Women are likely to ask for input when making decisions. D. Teenage girls are 1ess able to make decisions than teenage boys. 14. What can we infer from the last paragraph? A. Women show less confidence in times of stress. B. Men tend to make risky decisions in times of stress.