Or: That he was learning disabled. Or: He had a learning disability.
57．He could be smart and express himself with clay. Or: Art could help him express himself without words. Or: He could well express himself with clay/art.
58. If you enjoy something and keep doing it, you will get better at it. Or: The more you practise something, the better at it you will become. Or: Practice makes perfect. Or: Practice leads to success. 59. I could read and write.
60. We should not lose heart in the face of difficulties. If we work hard, we will find a way out.
Or: The author's story tells me that I should be confident and practise hard to overcome difficulties in my life.
Or: We should overcome our weaknesses and fears with courage and determination.
15年高考试题
[2015·天津卷]
阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
Six days a week, up and down the red hills of north-east Georgia, my grandfather brought the mail to the folks there. At age 68, he retired from the post office, but he never stopped serving the community.
On his 80th birthday, I sent him a letter, noting the things we all should be thankful for—good health, good friends and good outcomes. By most measurements he was a happy man. Then I suggested it was time for him to slow down. At long last, in a comfortable home, with a generous pension, he should learn to take things easy.
“Thank you for your nice words，” he wrote in his letter back, “and I know what you meant, but slowing down scares me. Life isn't having it made; it's getting it made.”
“The finest and happiest years of our lives were not when all the debts were paid, and all difficult experiences had passed, and we had settled into a comfortable home. No. I go back
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years ago, when we lived in a three-room house, when we got up before daylight and worked till after dark to make ends meet. I rarely had more than four hours of sleep. But what I still can't figure out is why I never got tired, never felt better in my life. I guess the answer is, we were fighting for survival, protecting and providing for those we loved. What matters are not the great moments, but the partial victories, the waiting, and even the defeats. It's the journey, not the arrival, that counts.”
The letter ended with a personal request: “Boy, on my next birthday, just tell me to wake up and get going, because I will have one less year to do things—and there are ten million things waiting to be done.”
Christina Rossetti, an English poet, once said: “Does the road wind uphill all the way? Yes, to the very end.” Today, at 96, my_grandfather_is_still_on_that_long_road,_climbing.
56. What was the author's grandfather before he retired? (no more than 5 words)
57. What did the author advise his grandfather to do in his letter? (no more than 10 words) 58. What is the grandfather's view on life according to his letter back? (no more than 10 words)
59. How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph? (no more than 10 words)
60. Do you agree with the grandfather's view on life? Give reasons in your own words. (no more than 20 words)
细节理解题。根据第二段的“Then I suggested it was time for him to slow down.”可知答案。
58. The process is more important than the result. Or: A man should not slow down however old he is.
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Or: Life isn't having it made; it's getting it made./It's the journey, not the arrival, that counts.
细节理解题。根据第三段的“Life isn't having it made；it's getting it made.”和第四段的“It's the journey, not the arrival, that counts.”可知祖父认为过程比结果重要。
59. My/His/The grandfather is still busy doing meaningful things. Or: The grandfather is still living an active life.
Or: The grandfather is still involved in whatever he can do. 句意理解题。综合上文内容可知祖父一直在坚持做有意义的事情。
60. Yes. One should always be full of passion in his life no matter how old he is. Or: People should make full use of their time to do something meaningful.
No.It is more sensible for people to slow down and enjoy an easy life in their old age. Or: Slowing down contributes to better health and longer life for people in old age. 观点态度题。可适当发挥，叙述合理即可。
2014年高考试题
[2014·天津卷] 阅读短文， 按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
Last December, Doris Low turned 90. Once a week she still drives to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) in Toronto, where she helps transform literature into braille(盲文) to bring the power of story and knowledge to the hearts and minds of blind readers. She has been volunteering her time and talents to such enterprises for more than 40 years.
After working in the business world for a while, Low got fed up. So she turned to teaching at a technical school and later moved into the library.
Low's mother liked reading. As her eyes began to fail, Low read to her. Then“hearing an advertisement encouraging people to learn braille, I decided to give it a try.” In 1973, she was certified as a braille transcriber(转译者) and began transcribing books as a volunteer for the CNIB library.
The job was strenuous—she could get to the end of a page, make a mistake on the last line, and have to do the whole thing again. For a number of years, Low also worked in the CNIB sound studio reading books onto tape. Three years ago, she took up proofreading(校对) at the CNIB's word factory.
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In April, during Volunteer Week, the CNIB recognized Low for her great contributions. Thanks to volunteers like Low, the CNIB library has got more than 80，000 accessible materials for people unable to read traditional print. “ I can't imagine how many readers of all ages have benefited from Doris' contribution as a skilled volunteer through her rich voice and her high degree of accuracy in the hundreds of books she has brailled and proofread over the years—and she is still doing so，” said a CNIB official.
“For me，” said Low, “the CNIB is more than just a place to volunteer. Three things matter most in my life: a little play, a little work, a little love. I've found them all here.”
56. What does Low still do at the age of 90 at the CNIB? (no more than 10 words) 57. Why did Low learn braille? (no more than 15 words)
58. What does the underlined word “strenuous” most probably mean？(1 word) 59. What are Low's contributions to the CNIB? (no more than 15 words) 60. What do you think of Low? Give your reasons. (no more than 20 words)
【要点综述】 本文是一篇记叙文。主要介绍了Doris Low从年轻时就成为一名志愿者为那些听力有问题的人读书，将书中的内容转在磁带上，还作为转译者将普通的书译成布拉耶文(即盲文)。现年她已经90岁了，依旧在做志愿工作。
56. She helps transform literature into braille (for blind readers/the blind). 根据第一段中的“…where she helps transform literature into braille…”可知，Doris Low在90岁时依旧在帮忙把文学作品翻译成盲文。
57. (Because) her mother's eyes began to fail and she heard an/the advertisement. 根据第三段中的“As her eyes began to fail, Low read to her…，‘hearing an advertisement encouraging people to learn braille, I decided to give it a try.’”可知Low学盲文是因为她母亲的视力下降，而且正好听到了一则鼓励人们学盲文的广告。
58. Difficult/Hard/Tiring/Tough. 根据画线单词后的内容“…she could get to the end of a page, make a mistake on the last line, and have to do the whole thing again.”可知将书译成盲文是非常难的，故用difficult/hard/tiring/though等词汇。
59. She has brailled and proofread hundreds of books, and read books onto tape.根据倒数第二段中的“…the CNIB recognized Low for her great contributions.”可知contributions后面的内容都是Low作出的贡献。重点的贡献就是“…through her rich voice and her high degree of accuracy
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in the hundreds of books she has brailled and proofread…”将句子进行整合就构成本题的答案。
2013年高考试题
【2013天津卷】阅读表达（共5小题：每小题2分，满分10分）
阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
My name is Clara. I still remember that chilly December day, sitting in science class. I’d finished a worksheet early and picked up a Time for Kids magazine. A piece of news caught my eye. NASA was holding an essay contest to name its Mars rover (火星探测器). Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind: Curiosity.
I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home, sat down at the computer, and typed until my fingers ached. “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind…”
Five months later, my mom received a phone call, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face.
On August 5, 2012, at 10:31 p.m., the rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was honored to have a front-row seat in NASA.
Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandmother and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. She’d tell me stories and point out the stars. Grandma lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas, but the stars kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about them. That’s what I love so much about space.
People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. My answer is simple because we’re curious. We human beings do not just hole up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what’s over the hill and beyond the horizon.
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