2011高考英语试题及答案（湖北卷）
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Honesty, my mum always used to tell me, is the best policy．Of course, this didn’t include her when she told me that if I didn’t eat all my vegetables Father Christmas would find out and wouldn’t give me any presents．
But when it comes to medicine, I had assumed it was important to always be honest with my patients．After all, the doctor patient relationship is based on trust, and therefore honesty is essential, Or so I thought．
I had just started working in geriatrics（老年病科）．Mr．McMahon was brought in when his belly was found very swollen．I took a medical history from his daughter would accompanied him in the ambulance．She’d been his main carer for years．I stood looking at him as she gave a detailed history．“Has he lost any weight recently?” I asked, “Well, it’s funny you should mention that, but yes．” she said slowly．There was silence for a few moments．“Why? What are you worried about?” she asked. I hesitated．She was obviously very involved in his care and it was only fair that I told her the truth．“Well, we need to prove it’s not cancer．” I said and talked briefly about some of the tests I was going to order．
Half an hour later, a nurse called me: “Mr．McMahon’s daughter broke down－she said you told her he had cancer．” My heart sank．By the time I arrived at the ward, my consultant was already there, explaining that we still had to run lots of tests and that it was by no means confirmed that he had cancer．I stood silently at the end of the bed．My consultant was obviously angry with me and as we left Mr．McMahon, she turned to me．“Why on earth did you do that?” she asked to disbelief．I looked at her and bit my lip．“She asked me what I was worried about and I told her．” I said, hanging my head．“And give her more to worry about?” replied my consultant．“You don’t say the word ‘cancer’ until it’s confirmed．Even if you suspect it, think very carefully before you tell people．”
As it turned out, it wasn’t cancer．But I did learn that when someone is stressed and worried about their loved one they’re sometimes selective in what they hear－and as a doctor it’s important to be mindful of this．In being truthful, I’d made the situation worse．
51．The purpose of the first two paragraphs is to show that the author _____．
A．misunderstood the doctor-patient relationship
B．was anxious to receive Christmas gifts
C．regarded honesty as the best policy
D．had an unhealthy eating habit
52．The author’s consultant was angry with him because _____．
A．he told the daughter what he suspected．
B．he delayed running the necessary tests．
C．he failed to confirm the patient’s disease．
D．he forgot what the consultant had advised．
53．The author hung his head（the underlined part in Para．4）because he was feeling _____．
A．guilty
B．hurt
C．disappointed
D．helpless
54．What lesson has the author learnt from his experience?
A．Learning from parents is necessary．
B．Jumping to a conclusion is dangerous．
C．Telling the truth may not always be the best solution．
D．Selecting pleasant words may not be the perfect policy．
B
Howling is a behavior commonly observed among a wolf pack．As pack animals, wolves work together to hunt and rely on howling as an important means of communication among each other．There are different explanations of a wolf’s howl and it appears that there may be more to discover．
One theory is that wolves howl to bond better together．It’s almost as if howling together helps the pack stay together．Perhaps something similar to people feeling a sense of involvement with each other when singing a song together ．But this theory may be wrong, explains Fred H．Harrington, a professor who studies wolf behaviour．
Indeed, there have been times when wolves have been seen one moment howling in a chorus, and the next, quarreling among each other．It appears that usually the lowest-ranking members of the pack may actually be “punished” for joining in the chorus at times．So is howling a way to strengthen a social bond or just a way to reconfirm status among its members? ——Why do wolves howl for sure?
What is clear, however, is that howling is often used among packmates to locate each other．Hunting grounds are distant and it happens that wolves may separate from one another at times．When this happens, howling appears to be an excellent means of gathering．
Howling, interestingly, is a contagious behavior．When one wolf starts to howl, very likely others will follow．This is often seen to occur in the morning, as if wolves were doing some sort of “roll call” where wolves all howl together to report their presence．
55．What is the possible similarity between wolves’ howling together and human’s singing in chorus?
A．The act of calling each other．
B．The sense of accomplishment．
C．The act of hunting for something．
D．The sense of belonging to a group．
56．Why does Harrington think the “social bond” theory may be wrong?
A．Wolves separate from each other after howling．
B．Wolves tend to protect their hunting grounds．
C．Wolves sometimes have quarrels after howling together．
D．Wolves of low rank are encouraged to join in the chorus．
57．Researchers are sure that wolves often howl to______．
A．show their ranks B．find their companions
C．report the missing ones D．express their loneliness
58．“Howling… is a contagious behaviour”（in the last paragraph）means_______．
A．howling is a signal for hunting
B．howling is a way of communication
C．howling often occurs in the morning
D．howling spreads from one to another