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　　2017年仁寿二中高考英语阅读专练（七选五）
　　1
　　The Mississippi
　　The Mississippi is a great river whose relationship with man goes way back beyond its discovery in the 16th century. The River Indians used it as a highway and as a source of food, and it was they who gave it its name—“misi”meaning“great”and“sipi”meaning“water”．When the length of its branch, the Missouri, is added to it, the Mississippi becomes greater.  71  . From the source of the Missouri to the tip of the delta (三角洲), it is 2, 480 miles long.
　　Great rivers are likely to suffer floods. In 1927 the Mississippi flooded 26 thousand acres, sweeping away farms, towns, everything in its path. In 1938 its floods drowned or killed 200 people and made millions homeless. Today the river has largely been controlled.   72  .
　　Industries have spread down some of the waterways of the delta, but otherwise the delta is a remote place, the homeland of a little colony of French Canadians that the British drove out of Nova Scotia in the 18th century. They still speak French, mixed with English, Indian, Spanish and Negro idioms. They keep to themselves, fanning the rich soil of the delta.   73  .
　　74  . Pioneers who first reached its banks wondered not only where it went, but what lay beyond. In 1764 the French founded a city on the right bank of the river, and named it after their king, Louis XV. This city, named St. Louis, became the jumping-off place for the adventurous men and women who opened up the Great Plains, and the way to the Far West.
　　Some 40 years earlier, at the beginning of the 18th century, the French had founded another city just above the Mississippi delta, New Orleans.   75  . New Orleans is one of the great ports of the world, and one of the greatest terminals for both sea and river traffic.
　　A．It was the Mississippi that made the city what it is
　　B．Levees, high banilt of earth, hold back the flood waters
　　C．Therefore, as we know, it’s the third longest river in the world
　　D．It is known that the“Great Water”has also been a frontier river
　　E．However, they paddled up and down the Mississippi in their boats to seek their fortune
　　F．The“Great Water”always remains a thread, for the streets of the city are below the level of the river
　　G． They  call themselves Cajuns, who have actually been leading fairly primitive lives and preserving their own traditions
　　2
　　Over the last 25 years, British society has changed a great deal – or at least many parts of it have.   71  . Ideas about social class – whether a person is “working - class” or “middle - class” – are one area in which changes have been extremely slow.
　　In the past, the working-class tended to be paid less than middle-class people. The typical working man would collect his wages on Friday evening and then, it was widely believed, having given his wife her "housekeeping", would go out and squander the rest on beer and betting.
　　The old style of what a middle-class man did with his money was perhaps nearer the truth. He was-and still is - inclined to take a longer-term view. Not only did he regard buying a house as a most important thing, but he also considered the education of his children as extremely important.      72    . Only in very few cases did workers have the opportunity （or the education and training） to mach long-term plans.
　　73   . In a large number of cases factory workers earn as much as their middle – class supervisors (管理者). Social security and laws to improve century, have made it less necessary than before to worry about "tomorrow". Working-class people seem slowly to be losing the feeling of inferiority(自卑感). In fact there has been a growing tendency in the past few years for the middle-classes to feel slightly ashamed of their position.
　　74    .They generally tend to share very similar tastes in music and clothes, they spend their money in having a good time, and save for holidays or longer-term plans when necessary. There seems to be much less difference than in precious generations.    75   . As long as this gap exists, there will always be a possibility that new conflicts and jealousies will emerge, or rather that the old conflicts will re-appear, but between different groups.
　　A．Nowadays, a  great deal has changed
　　B．Both of these provided him and his family with security
　　C．As a result, differences in life – styles and attitudes came into existence
　　D．However, we still have a wide gap between the well – paid and the low - paid
　　E．In recent years, the working – class people have begun to design long – term plans
　　F．In some ways, however, very little has changed, particu