My father’s reaction to the bank building at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York city was immediate and definite: “You won’t catch me putting my money in there!” he declared, “Not in that glass box!”
   Of course, my father is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the generation to whom a good deal of modern architecture is upsetting, but I am convinced that his negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the nature of money. In his generation money was thought of as a real commodity (實(shí)物) that could be carried, or stolen.
  Consequently, to attract the custom of a sensible man, a bank had to have heavy walls, barred windows, and bronze doors, to affirm the fact, however untrue, that money would be safe inside. If a building’s design made it appear impenetrable(難以滲透的), the institution was necessarily reliable, and the meaning of the heavy wall as an architecture symbol reflected people’s prevailing attitude toward money.
  But the attitude toward money has, of course, changed. Excepting pocket money, cash of any kind is now rarely used; money as a tangible commodity has largely been replaced by credit. A deficit (赤字) economy, accompanied by huge expansion, has led us to think of money as product of the creative imagination. The banker no longer offers us a safe: he offers us a service in which the most valuable element is the creativity for the invention of large numbers. It is in no way surprising, in view of this change in attitude, that we are witnessing the disappearance of the heavy-walled bank.
  Just as the older bank emphasized its strength, this bank by its architecture boasts of imaginative powers. From this point of view it is hard to say where architecture ends and human assertion (人們的說(shuō)法) begins.
36. 【小題1】The main idea of this passage is that________.

A.money is not as valuable as it was in the past
B.changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks
C.the architectural style of the older bank is superior to that of the modern bank
D.prejudice makes the older generation think that the modern bank is unreliable
37. 【小題2】How do the older generation and the younger one think about money respectively?
A.The former thinks more of money than the latter.
B.The younger generation values money more than the older generation.
C.Both generations rely on the imaginative power of bankers to make money.
D.To the former money is a real commodity but to the latter be a means to produce more money.
38. 【小題3】The words “tangible commodity” (Line 2, Para. 4) refer to something ______.
A.that can be replaceableB.that is usable
C.that can be touchedD.that can be reproduced
39. 【小題4】According to this passage, a modern banker should be _______.
A.a(chǎn)mbitious and friendly B.reliable and powerful
C.sensible and impenetrable D.imaginative and creative
40. 【小題5】It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s attitude towards the new trend in banking is _______.
A.cautious B.regretful C.positiveD.hostile


【小題1】B
【小題2】D
【小題3】C
【小題4】D
【小題5】C

解析

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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:2012-2013學(xué)年河南省河南大學(xué)附屬中學(xué)高一上學(xué)期期中考試英語(yǔ)試卷(帶解析) 題型:閱讀理解

When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.
【小題1】What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A.He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” had said.
B.He criticized (批評(píng)) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.
C.He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.
D.He refused to take the list and have a look at it.
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C.Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.
D.Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.
【小題3】Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
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B.The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had
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D
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A
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