历史地理类阅读理解题探究

吴静

历史地理类文章一般涉及某个国家、地区、河流、山脉、海洋、城镇等的地理位置以及与之相关的社会生活、政治经济、人文历史、自然资源、文化习俗、文化遗产、环境保护等方面的情况，相当一部分文章还附有图表以供理解或选择。文章选材来源于某些国家的名胜或历史事件；命题以细节题为主，有一定的主观推断题，涉及一定的地理常识或历史知识。

阅读史地类

阅读史地类文章时，要重点弄清楚各个地名、人名之间的相互关系和各个国家、地区或城镇之间的地理方位。

例1 2015年高考湖南卷B

In its early history， Chicago had floods frequently， especially in the spring， making the streets so muddy that people， horses， and carts got stuck. An old joke that was popular at the time went something like this： A man is stuck up to his waist in a muddy Chicago street. Asked if he needs help， he replies， “No， thanks. Ive got a good horse under me.”

The city planner decided to build an underground drainage （排水） system， but there simply wasnt enough difference between the height of the ground level and the water level. The only two options were to lower the Chicago River or raise the city.

An engineer named Ellis Chesbrough convinced me the city that it had no choice but to build the pipes above ground and then cover them with dirt. This raised the level of the citys streets by as much as 12 feet.

This of course created a new problem： dirt practically buried the first floors of every building in Chicago. Building owners were faced with a choice： either change the first floors of their buildings into basements， and the second stories into main floors， or hoist the entire buildings to meet the new street level. Small wood-frame buildings could be lifted fairly easily. But what about large， heavy structures like Tremont Hotel， which was a six-story brick building？

Thats where George Pullman came in. He had developed some house-moving skills successfully. To lift a big structure like the Tremont Hotel， Pullman would place thousands of jackscrews （螺旋千斤顶） beneath the buildings foundation. One man was assigned to operate each section of roughly 10 jackscrews. At Pullmans signal each man turned his jackscrew the same amount at the same time， thereby raising the building slowly and evenly. Astonishingly， the Tremont Hotel stay open during the entire operation， and many of its guests didnt even notice anything was happening. Some people like to say that every problem has a solution. But in Chicagos early history， every engineering solution seemed to create a new problem. Now that Chicagos waste water was draining efficiently into the Chicago River， the citys next step was to clean the polluted river.

61. The author mentions the joke to show .

A. horses were fairly useful in Chicago

B. Chicagos streets were extremely muddy

C. Chicago was very dangerous in the spring

D. the Chicago people were particularly humorous

62. The city planners were convinced by Ellis Chesbrough to .

A. get rid of the street dirt

B. lower the Chicago River

C. fight against heavy floods

D. build the pipes above ground

63. The underlined word “hoist” in paragraph 4 means “ ”.

A. change B. lift C. repair D. decorate

64. What can we conclude about the moving operation of the Tremont Hotel？

A. It went on smoothly as intended.

B. It interrupted the business of the hotel.

C. It involved Pullman turning ten jackscrews.

D. It separated the building from its foundation.

65. The passage is mainly about the early Chicagos .

A. popular life styles and their influences

B. environmental disasters and their causes

C. engineering problems and their solutions

D. successful businessmen and their achievements

解析 本文讲述了芝加哥城的市政建设问题和改造方案。主要是考查上下文理解和对文章细节的把握，明白作者的构思在文章中给出的自己想法和观点以及对文章的总结。例如最后一段：Some people like to say that every problem has a solution. But in Chicagos early history， every engineering solution seemed to create a new problem. Now that Chicagos waste water was draining efficiently into the Chicago River， the citys next step was to clean the polluted river.可知作者觉得所有的解决方案在解决了原有的问题后都会产生新的问题。这是对文章的一个总结。

61.B。细节推理题。根据文章的第一段第一句话：In early history， Chicago had floors frequently， especially in the spring， making the streets so muddy that people， horses， and carts got stuck.可知芝加哥因为洪水经常泛滥导致大街上总是泥泞不堪，行人，马和车全部都堵在路上。所以作者提及那个玩笑是为了突出芝加哥这一特点，故选B。

62.D。细节理解题。根据第三段第一句话：An engineer named Eill Chesbrough convinced the city that it had no choice but to build the pipes above ground and then cover them with dirt.可知以Eill Chesbrough为首的人们认为应该在地上铺设排水管道，故选D。

63.B。细节推理题。根据后文：Small wood-frame building could be lifted fairly easily.可知另一种方法就是将建筑升高。故选B。

64.A。细节推理题。根据倒数第二段中的倒数第二句话At Pullmans signal each man turned his jackscrew the same amount at the same time， thereby raising the building slowly and evenly“在Pullman的指导下，每个人同时抬起他们手中的千斤顶，因此建筑就被慢慢地、平整地抬起来了”，可知A项正确。

65.C。主旨大意题。文章的第一段就提出芝加哥城所存在的问题，接下来的段落讨论了解决这个问题的方法，最后一段讲到这些方法虽然解决了当前的问题，但是会产生一些新的问题有待解决。文章主要讲述的是市政工程的问题与解决办法，故选C。

自然与环保类

自然与环保的话题是高考备受关注的一个热点问题，各地的阅读理解试题中几乎都有一篇这方面的文章。有的关于环境问题讨论，有的关于人类对于环境的影响，有的关于探讨自然环境的发展规律等。在命题上多以判断题、综合分析题和推理判断题为主。

例2 2015年高考陕西卷C

The production of coffee beans is a huge， profitable business， but， unfortunately， full-sun production is taking over the industry and bringing about a lot of damage. The change in how coffee is grown from shade-grown production to full-sun production endangers the very existence of certain animals and birds， and even disturbs the worlds ecological balance.

On a local level， the damage of the forest required by full-sun fields affects the areas birds and animals. The shade of the forest trees provides a home for birds and other species （物种） that depend on the trees flowers and fruits. Full-sun coffee growers destroy this forest home. As a result， many species are quickly dying out.

On a more global level， the destruction of the rainforest for full-sun coffee fields also threatens （威胁） human life. Medical research often makes use of the forests plant and animal life， and the destruction of such species could prevent researchers from finding cures for certain diseases. In addition， new coffee-growing techniques are poisoning the water locally， and eventually the worlds groundwater.

Both locally and globally， the continued spread of full-sun coffee plantations （种植园） could mean the destruction of the rainforest ecology. The loss of shade trees is already causing a slight change in the worlds climate， and studies show that loss of oxygen-giving trees also leads to air pollution and global warming. Moreover， the new growing techniques are contributing to acidic （酸性的） soil conditions.

It is obvious that the way much coffee is grown affects many aspects of life， from the local environment to the global ecology. But consumers do have a choice. They can purchase shade-grown coffee whenever possible， although at a higher cost. The future health of the planet and mankind is surely worth more than an inexpensive cup of coffee.

54. What can we learn about full-sun coffee production from paragraph 4？

A. It limits the spread of new growing techniques.

B. It leads to air pollution and global warming.

C. It slows down the loss of shade trees.

D. It improves local soil conditions.

55. The purpose of the text is to .

A. entertain B. advertise

C. instruct D. persuade

56. Where does this text probably come from？

A. An agricultural magazine.

B. A medical journal.

C. An engineering textbook.

D. A tourist guide.

57. Which of the following shows the structure of the whole text？

解析 文章介绍阳光充足的咖啡生产给环境和生态带来的种种危害，呼吁人们不要购买这种咖啡，而要买对环境有利的产品。

54. B。细节理解题。根据文章第四段的句子：The loss of shade trees is already causing a slight change in the worlds climate， and studies show that loss of oxygen-giving trees also leads to air pollution and global warming.可知阳光充足的咖啡生产会带来空气污染和全球气候变暖，故选B。

55. D。写作意图题。根据文章最后一段的句子：But consumers do have a choice. They can purchase shade-grown coffee whenever possible， although at a higher cost.可知作者的意图是劝说人们购买阴凉处种植的咖啡，这样对环境是有好处的，故选D。

56. A。推理判断题。文章介绍阳光充足的咖啡生产给生态带来的破坏。几个选项中，这样的内容出自一本农业杂志最有可能，故选A。

57. A。文章结构题。文章第一段介绍阳光充足的咖啡生产的话题，二、三、四段介绍了阳光充足的咖啡生产带来的破坏，第五段说服人们去购买对环境有利的阴凉处种植的咖啡，所以是总分总的结构，故选A。

点拨 这篇文章篇幅适中，对阅读能力的考查比较全面，除了理解大意和细节，还需要适当的推理，如判断文章的出处、作者的意图和文章的结构。这些不是某个句子可以体现的，要对文章有整体把握。