All living things on the earth need other living things to live. Nothing lives alone. Most animals must live in a group, and even a plant grows close together with others of the same kind. Sometimes one living thing kills another, one eats and the other is eaten. Each kind of life eats another kind of life in order to live, and together they form a food chain(食物链)。Some food chains become broken up if one of the links disappears.
If you buy some well-made clothes, you can save money because they can last longer. They look good even after they have been washed many times. Sometimes some clothes cost more money, but it does not mean that they are always better made, or they always fit better. In other words, some less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes.
A bag is useful and the word “bag” is useful. It gives us some
interesting phrases(短语). One is “ to let the cat out of the bag.” It is the same as “to tell a secret”….
Now when someone lets out (泄漏)a secret, he “lets the cat out of the bag.”
短文后面有一个理解题目：
John “lets the cat out of the bag” means he ________.
A. makes everyone know a secret
B. the woman bout a cat
C. buys a cat in the bag
D. sells the cat in the bag
在这篇文章里，“let the cat out of the bag”虽然是一个新出现的
短语，但紧接着后面就给出解释It is the same as “to tell a secret.根据这一解释，我们就可判断出正确答案应为A。
（2）根据并列、同位关系猜测词义。
例如：福州市2002年中考英语试题的阅读材料A:
In the northeast of the United States, summer temperatures are very
different from winter temperatures. Summer is usually hot, and winter is usually cold. Spring temperatures are warm, and fall temperatures are cool.
文后有这样一道阅读理解题：
The word “fall” in this passage means ________.
A. drop B. down C. autumn D. spring
尽管fall 一词课本里没出现过，但根据文中的并列关系Summer is usually hot, and winter is usually cold. Spring temperatures are warm, and fall temperatures are cool. 我们就可猜出fall就是autumn。
According to the passage, which of the following can you most possibly watch on TV?
A. You often play football with your friends after school.
B. Your teacher has got a cold.
C. A tiger in the city zoo has run out and hasn’t been caught.
D. The bike in front of your house is lost.
在阅读材料中，有这样一段文字：
Secondly, a news story has to be interesting and unusual. People don’t want to read stories about everyday life. As a result, many stories are about some kind of danger and seem to be “bad” news.
Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time.
In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help you to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you.
Happiness is not the same as money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also you are very happy, because you have something else that can’t be bought with money. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. So you cannot always say you are poor and poor and you have bad luck. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving(旋转的)door. When it does, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.
41. Those who have big houses may often feel ________.
A. happy B. lonely C. free D. excited
42. When you fall down in a PE class, both your teacher and your classmates will ________.
A. laugh at you B. play jokes on you
C. quarrel with you D. help you up
43. What will your friends say to you when you make great progress?
A. Oh, so do I. B. Congratulations.
C. Good luck. D. It’s just so-so.
44. Which idea is NOT RIGHT according to the passage?
A. People who have cars would never like to walk in the open air.
B. You can get help from others when you make mistakes.
C. You can still be a happy person even if you have little money.
D. Happiness is always around you though difficulties come towards you.
45. Which of the following is this passage about?
A. Bad luck. B. Good luck. C. Happiness. D. Life.
透析：
41. B。这是一个考查细节和事实的题目。文章中有明确的叙述：Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely…. 所问问题和原文的叙述完全一样。
42. D。这也是一个考查细节和事实的题目。在所给文章中可以找到这样地叙述：When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you. 根据这一叙述，我们可以判断：当你在体育课上摔倒时，你的老师和同学们肯定会帮你站起来的。
43. B。这一道阅读理解题同样是考查事实和细节的题目。在阅读文章里我们也能找到关于这问题的叙述：when you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you.
44. A。这是一道判断题目。阅读文章里明确叙述：those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time.阅读理解题的A项说，有车的人永远不愿在室外走，与文章所讲完全不同，因此是不对的。
45. C。这是一道考查文章主题的题目。这篇文章共有三段。 第一段的主题句是：Happiness is for everyone. 第二段的主题句是：In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. 第三段的主题句是：Happiness is not the same as money. 三段的主题都是围绕happiness展开的，所以正确答案是happiness。. 作者: 阳光明媚妈妈 时间: 2006-4-21 17:55
.