题文
Americans who volunteer for the Peace Corps get a chance to help improve lives in developing countries. They also get a chance to learn more about the world, and about themselves. This week this program is celebrating its 50th anniversary.President John Kennedy established the Peace Corps soon after he took office in 1961. It was the time of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The new program gave Americans a chance to answer the call to service that the president made in his inaugural(就职的)speech. “Ask not what your country can do for you,” he said. “Ask what you can do for your country.” Kennedy told Peace Corps volunteers that America’s image in the countries where they were going would depend largely on them.
On August 30th, 1961, the first group of 51 Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Accra, Ghana, to serve as teachers. They had agreed to work for almost no pay. They would spend two years in Ghana helping its people and learning the reality of life in a developing country. Most of the volunteers had just completed college. about half of them taught English or health care. In the 50 years since then, more than 200，000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers. They have worked in 139 countries.
The Peace Corps is a government agency that was created to promote world peace and friendship. There are three goals: First, to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women. Second, to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served. And, third. to help promote a better understanding of other people on the part of Americans.
Today, the Peace Corps has more than 8,000 volunteers and trainees in 77 countries. They work in agriculture, economic development, education, the environment and health care. Some work in programs related to youth development.
Sixty percent of current Peace Corps volunteers are women. The average age of a volunteer is 28. But the ages of Peace Corps volunteers range from 18 to 86. Some Americans join the Peace Corps after they retire. Today seven percent of volunteers are over the age of 50. And 19 percent are members of minority groups.
小题1:Volunteers for the Peace Corps can _______.A．improve their abilities by learning in some developed countriesB．travel to many foreign countries to learn more about the worldC．have an opportunity to help all the people in developing countriesD．contribute to lives in developing countries and develop themselves小题2:Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?A．Volunteers served as teachers to work for no pay in Accra, Ghana.B．Kennedy established the Peace Corps before he took office in 1961.C．Most of the volunteers of the first group had just graduated from college.D．America’s image in the foreign countries depends completely on volunteers.小题3:The fourth paragraph is mainly about _______.A．what the Peace Corps is and its stepsB．why the Peace Corps was created and what are its goalsC．what role the Peace Corps play in daily lifeD．How the Peace Corps was created and its aims小题4:According to the text, volunteers and trainees assist in the following aspects EXCEPT _______.A．industry B．environment C．education D．health care小题5:What can we learn from the last paragraph?A．Most of the volunteers for the Peace Corps are women.B．Few minority groups joined the Peace Corps.C．Half of the retired volunteers joined the Peace Corps.D．People of different ages take an active part in the Peace Corps. 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:B
小题4:A
小题5:D
解析
本文叙述了美国的Peace Corps有各种年龄段的人志愿者所参与的组织，该组织的成立的原因及目的。志愿者的目的是帮助改善发展中国家的生活及了解他们自己。
小题1:细节理解题。根据help improve lives in developing countries. They also get a chance to learn more about the world, and about themselves.志愿者的目的是帮助改善发展中国家的生活及了解他们自己， 故选D。
小题2:细节理解题。根据Most of the volunteers had just completed college. 大多数志愿者都是刚刚大学毕业，故选C。
小题3:段落大意题。根据Peace Corps组织成立的原因及目的，故选B。
小题4:细节理解题。根据They work in agriculture, economic development, education, the environment and health care.可知这里没有提到工业，故选A。
小题5:细节理解题。根据最后一段可知不同年龄的人都积极参与这个组织，故选D。
点评：命题者常以以下一些方法设置段落大意题的干扰项，从而误导考生选择错误选项：选项以偏赅全；选项过于笼统；选项内容是命题者杜撰的；选项是无关信息。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Americans who volunt.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
