高考英语阅读理解基础练习题（29）阅读理解When did you last visit a shopping mall? In many places, the answer would be"last weekend．" Some people go even more often．Why? Malls offer goods andservices all in one place: food, clothing, things for their houses, entertainment, evenmedical services．So, are they one of the highlights of modern civilization?Environmental activists would say no and would go even further, arguing thatconsumer behavior is causing a huge environmental disaster．They cause consumers' ignorance of the side effect of their shopping—urban sprawl （扩大）．Social scientists agree that patterns of development have changed the landscape alot．Before 1950, most people lived in towns or cities and either walked to work ortook public transportation．Only very wealthy people had automobiles．Farmers livedin rural areas or far-away villages and came into town only when they needed thingsthey couldn't produce themselves．If you stared at the landscape you would see townssurrounded by the countryside．Now automobiles become affordable and people are quick to make use of them．Ambitious workers could live in suburbs, just outside cities, which have started togrow rapidly．As long as there is lots of cheap land there, no one pays much attentionto the usage of that land．Malls, fast food restaurants, cinemas, and such spread out inlarge, flat buildings．These one-storey buildings and their parking lot take up too muchspace．Many farmers think they are better off selling their land than growing crops．Noone has realized once the land is built up in urban sprawl, the good farming land willbe ruined forever．There is no way to preserve （保护） it．Only in recent years have people come to miss the old way of life as they havelooked into the problems of unconditional growth．Now people realize that urbansprawl has come with serious environmental problems．The bad effects that sprawlbrings about include air and water pollution, loss of agricultural land, traffic jams, andso on．Many scholars think it's time to analyze the problems better so we can developproper policies to control further sprawl．Some think the best way to do is to educatecitizens．53．What is mainly discussed in the passage?A．Shopping Malls B．Urban SprawlC．New Automobiles D．Environmental Problems54．What does the underlined word "They" refer to in the first paragraph?A．Mails． B．Activists．C．Medical services．D．Consumers．55．What is the main purpose of the text?A．To introduce mainly the environmental problems．B．To explain the differences in people's life both today and in the past．C．To persuade people to live in the country instead of living in the city．D．To call on people to pay special attention to the problems with urban sprawl 56．What is the scholars' attitude toward urban sprawl?A．Respectful．B．Negative．C．Favorable．D．Doubtful．阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）'阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

AZoos divide opinion ： there are those who think it is cruel to keep animals locked up while others believe zoos are essential for the survival of endangered species.To argue that zoos imprison animals is to misunderstand what zoos are about. Without zoos many of the creatures we love and admire would no longer exist. Every single day，over one hundred animal species vanish. Scientists predict that as early as 2050 one quarter of the Earth’s species will become extinct.Some animals are in danger because they are hunted. Alarmingly, the population of tigers has already fallen by ninety-five percent. Other species are in danger because of a lack of food. For example, there are fewer than 1300 giant pandas leftin the wild.Zoos have special breeding programmes to help those animals at risk. These breeding programmes are proving extremely successful. As Irene Shapiro from Zoo and Wildlife Support says, “the Puerto Rican Parrot has grown in numbers from just thirteen to about eighty-five and the Golden Lion Tamarin Monkey, which has almost ceased to exist twenty years ago, has been reintroduced back into the wild. ”Unfortunately, not everyone understands this important role zoos play. For example, Brian Featherstone from the Anti-Zoo Forum says, “I can’t believe we take animals from the wild and put them in cages for the entertainment of the public! We should view them on film or TV in their natural environment.，’However, this misses the point. A zoo does more than display animals to the public. It ensures their survival. Without zoos you would not be able to see many of these animals on TV or anywhere else!26. What’s the writer’s attitude towards zoos?A. He shows no opinion either for or against them.B. He thinks that they are unnecessary and cruel.C. He believes they play an important environmental role.D. He expresses a desire that more of them be built.【答案】C【解析】推理判断题。