Unlike the widely attended Summer Olympics, the Winter Games are almost a collection of wealthy athletes and nations. In fact, I’d suggest that the name of the Winter Games be changed. They could be more accurately branded the “The European and North American Expensive Sports Festival.”

Until as recently as 1994, fewer than a third of the planet’s countries took part. This year, in Turin, Italy, only 43 percent of the world’s total countries. Ethiopia, a nation of 73 million, will send its first “team” to a Winter Olympics this year – a single skier.

As always, the biggest teams, and the big winners, will come from a familiar pool. In the history of the winter competition, dating from its beginning in 1924, competitors from only six countries—including Norway, the United States, Austria and Finland, have won almost two-thirds of all the medals awarded. By contrast, the all-time list of summer winners is long and deep, extending to athletes from 143 countries.

It’s not just the presence or absence of snow and ice that determines Winter Olympics success, or even participation(參與). If it were, some of America’s best ice skaters and speedskaters wouldn’t live and train in Southern California or Florida. If it were, athletes from countries like Peru, Chile, Nepal, Morocco, Afghanistan and Ethiopia – all with snow-covered mountains—would be fighting for the medals.

Instead, the more telling factors are economic. Would-be Winter Olympians need years of training, coaching and competition. Most nations, even those with plenty of snow and cold, simply can’t afford the equipment.

Unlike the Winter Games, the Summer Olympics level many of the advantages of national wealth, as well as favorable geography and climate. Athletes from the poorest African and Caribbean nations have developed into some of the world’s greatest athletes with little cost.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the fonder of the modern Olympics, recognized some of the global sporting unfairness more than a century ago. De Coubertin objected to the creation of a separate Winter Olympics for many years, dismissing winter sports in 1921 as “the play of the rich.”

66．We can infer that athletes in the Winter Olympics mainly come from ____________.

A．South America and North Europe           B．Norway and America

C．Norway, Finland and Australia             D．Europe and North America

67．The underlined word “extending” is close in meaning to _________.

A．to spread        B．to conclude     C．to offer            D．to award

68．Which of the following statements is Not True according to the passage?

A．The participation rate of the Winter Olympics is far less than 50%.

B．The host country of the recent Winter Olympic Games is Turin.

C．The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924.

D．Winners of the Summer Olympics come from almost everywhere.

69．We can infer that____________

A．Some athletes of the Winter Olympics from USA are trained in warm states.

B．It doesn’t snow in Peru, Chile, Nepal, Morocco, Afghanistan or Ethiopia.

C．Games in the Summer Olympics cost the participants a lot of money.

D．Baron Pierre de Coubertin was the founder of the Winter Olympics.

70．The best title for the passage would be _________.

A．The Unfair Winter Olympic Games       

B．Where Have the Gold Medals Gone?

C．The Winter Olympics -- the Rich Meet to Compete   

D．Do We Need So Many Olympics?

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

It was graduation day at the university where I work and a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor. On that cold day years ago, as we watched the students walking into the hall, one of my colleagues turned to me and said, "Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest time of your life." At my inquiry, he answered, "Because the students you have gotten to know have to leave."

As years went by, my previous confusion about my colleague's words no longer existed. When I came across naughty students, I have had to rethink why I chose to be a teacher. It obviously isn't the money. Once a former computer science student of mine called me, asking me if I wanted to have a change. He was working at Nintendo Corporation. His salary was higher than my current one, though I have more education and have worked for over a decade. With my programming skills, he said he could get me hired. I thanked him, but declined his kind offer.

A few days before this current graduation, while working on final grades, I found a note a student had slipped in with her homework. She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class — not about math, but about life — would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away. As I finished reading, I remembered why I had become a teacher.

Now, on this sunny graduation day, as I again observed the sea of blue hats and gowns, I did so with renewed dedication (奉獻(xiàn)) and a deeper sense of satisfaction — I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.

Hearing his colleague's description of graduation for the first time, the author         .

A. quite agreed with his colleague        B. thought it very funny

C. was very puzzled                   D. was very sad.

The computer science student called up the author because he         .  

A. wanted to inform the author of his present job

B. tried to persuade the author to work with him

C. wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction

D. thought the author wasn't fit to be a teacher

The underlined part blue hats and gowns refers to         .  

A. university colleagues                  B. life memories

C. graduates' clothes                     D. decorations in the hall

The author wrote this passage to         .  

A. express his devotion to being a teacher

B. compare two different graduation ceremonies

C. talk about the meaning of graduation

D. give advice on how to be a good teacher

The reason why he earns less than the computer science student is that         . 

A. he was only a young professor   

B. he didn't do well in his work

C. he taught his students more about life than math

D. salaries for different careers are different

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Art museums are places where people can learn about various cultures. The increasingly popular “design museums” that are opening today, however, perform quite a different role. Unlike most art museums, the design museum shows objects that are easily found by the general public. These museums sometimes even place things like fridges and washing machines in the center of the hall.

People have argued that design museums are often made use of as advertisements for new industrial technology. But their role is not simply a matter of sales--it is the honoring of excellently invented products. The difference between the window of a department store and the showcase in a design museum is that the first tries to sell you something, while the second tells you the success of a sale.

One advantage of design museums is that they are places where people feel familiar with the exhibits. Unlike the average art museum visitors, design museum visitors seldom feel frightened or puzzled. This is partly because design museums clearly show how and why mass-produced products work and look as they do, and how design has improved the quality of our lives. Art museum exhibits, on the other hand, would most probably fill visitors with a feeling that there is something beyond their understanding.

In recent years, several new design museums have opened their doors. Each of these museums has tried to satisfy the public's growing interest in the field with new ideas. London's Design Museum, for example, shows a collection of mass-produced objects from Zippo lighters to electric typewriters to a group of Italian fish-tins. The choices open to design museums seem far less strict than those to art museums, and visitors may also sense the humorous part of our society while walking around such exhibits as interesting and unusually attractive toys collected in our everyday life.

 

40. Showcases in design museums are different from store windows because they __

A. show more technologically advanced products

B. help increase the sales of products

C. show why the products have sold well

D. attract more people than store windows do

41. The author believes that most design museum visitors.

A. do not admire mass-produced products

B. are puzzled with technological exhibits

C. dislike exhibits in art museums

D. know the exhibits very well

42. The choices open to design museums          

A. are not as strict as those to art museums

B. are not aimed to interest the public

C. may fail to bring some pleasure to visitors

D. often contain precious exhibits

43. The best title for this passage is    .

A. The Forms of Design Museums

B. The Exhibits of Design Museums  

C. The Nature of Design Museums

D. The Choice Open of Design Museums

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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學(xué)年江蘇省淮安中學(xué)高二上學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

Throughout seafaring history, ships and sailors have been lost to storms, accidents and war. Until recently, most of these ships were weak wooden sailing vessel (船只), their skeletons(骨架) quickly eaten away by sea creatures. Now, large vessels made of steel float on the seas. Thousands of these huge ships have been lost in times of war and in times of peace.
The bones of great metal ships, unlike the wooden vessels of old, survive the destruction of the sea long enough to become home and harbor for underwater life of all kinds. Shipwrecks(殘骸) often provide the only hard surface and structure at the sandy bottom of the sea, something many sea creatures need.
The ship has been underwater for only five days. Its surface is still clean. Six weeks later, the wreck is covered with a slimy layer of algae(海藻), but it is still recognizable as a ship. Soon, animals that need to attach themselves to a hard surface, like the feather duster worms, make the wreck their home.
In warm waters, coral polyps(珊瑚蟲) settle on the wreck and begin the process of building a rock-like crust on the ship. Small fish are attracted on all of these creatures. Larger fish come to feed on these small fish that hide in the wreckage. Eventually, the largest animals are attracted to the rich life on the shipwreck.
Shipwrecks give us valuable information about how sea plants and animals develop. We know exactly how long this wreck has been under water and how long sea life has been growing on it. Yet even the strongest steel shipwreck will finally be destroyed by the flows of water. But long after this wreck has been broken apart, it will still act as a reef (礁石). Layer upon layer of sea life has formed a structure that is now more natural than artificial, and will remain an island of life under the sea.
【小題1】Which of the following is NOT TRUE about shipwrecks?

A．Most ships in ancient times sank easily and become shipwrecks.
B．Shipwrecks, for scientists, are worth researching to get valuable information.
C．The skeletons of old wooden shipwrecks will exist for quite a long time.
D．Some sea animals tend to seek food on the shipwrecks.
【小題2】The writer’s purpose in writing the article is to tell us_____.
A．the differences between the ancient vessels and the modern ones
B．how the ships become shipwrecks at sea
C．how coral polyps live on the wreck in warm waters
D．the value of studying shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea
【小題3】Which of the following is closer to the underlined “crust”?
A．a(chǎn) hard outer coveringB．the skin of a rock
C．a(chǎn) hole in a shipD．a(chǎn) small house
【小題4】What will happen to shipwrecks in the end?
A．They will be pulled out of the sea for research.
B．They are likely to disappear and form reefs.
C．They will become an island under the sea.
D．They will be like works of art.

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科目：高中英語 來源：廣東省普寧梅峰中學(xué)2010屆高二下學(xué)期期末考試試題（英語） 題型：閱讀理解


第三部分      閱讀（共兩節(jié)；滿分30分）
閱讀理解（共15小題；每小題2分，滿分30分）
閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項，
并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
（A）
Australia, the last continent, was discovered by ships belonging to some European nations in the seventeenth century. These nations were less interested in changing it into a colony than in exploring it. As in the early history of the United States, it was the English who set up the settlements in Australia. This history and the geography of these two British colonies have some other things in common as well.
Australia and the United States are about the same in size, and their western lands are both not rich in soil. It was on the eastern coast of Australia and America that the English first settled, and both colonies soon began to develop towards the west. However, this westward movement took place more because the English were searching for better land than because the population was increasing. Settlements of the west part of both countries developed quickly after gold was discovered in America in 1849 and in Australia two years later.
Although the development of these two countries has a lot in common, there are some striking differences as well. The United States gained its independence from England by revolution while Australia won its independence without having to go to war. Australia, unlike the United States, was firstly turned into a colony by English prisoners and its economic development was in wheat growing and sheep raising. By 1922, for example, Australia had fifteen times more sheep than it had people or almost half as many sheep as there are people today in the United States. Australia and the United States have more in common with each other than either one has with most of the rest of the world.
41. Who turned Australia into a colony?
A. Britain.                                                B. Several European countries.
C. The United States of America.         D. None of the above.
42. In the early history of America and Australia, both colonies developed towards the west. The reason for it is that ________________________.
A. the population was increasing rapidly in the east
B. the English thought there might be richer land there
C. gold was discovered there
D. fewer people lived there
43. In the early 1920s, ________________________.
A. Australia had one fifteenth as many people as sheep
B. there were more sheep in Australia than in the United States
C. the population in Australia was greater than that of the United States
D. the United States had twice as many sheep as people
44. Australia, unlike the United States, ________________.
A. won its independence by peaceful means
B. did not discover gold until the late 1840s
C. was the last and biggest continent to be discovered
D. was not rich in gold in its western part
45. The last sentence of the passage “Australia and the United States have more in common with each other than either one has with most of the rest of the world” means “_________________________.”
A. The United States and Australia do not have main differences
B. The United States and Australia have much more in common than they have with other countries
C. The United States and Australia have nothing in common with the rest of the world
D. In common with the rest of the world, the United States and Australia have a lot of differences

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科目：高中英語 來源：2012屆浙江省慈溪市高三上學(xué)期期中考試英語卷 題型：閱讀理解

Will Nanfang University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen announce a new beginning for China’s higher education reform? It’s too early to answer.But its presence is challenging the Ministry of Education.Even without the approval of the ministry it seems that the school is determined to move forward and enroll 50 students, so-called child prodigies(奇才), to begin classes on March l, 2011.On graduating in 2015, these students will receive a diploma unauthorized by the Ministry of Education-unlike the students of their age from the state-run universities.
The school is committed to modeling itself on Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, but if the government will not approve the school, the situation could cause a lot of trouble for those 50 students if they want to do graduate studies at other higher learning institutions.Other schools could turn their applications down for their unauthorized diplomas.
The difficulties, however, have not frightened students and their parents away.On Dec.18, 2010 more than 1,000 students and their parents visited Nanfang University of Science and Technology for interviews.
Private investment marks the school out from other higher learning institutions in the nation.Not a penny comes from the government. So the government will have no voice in how the school will be run.
The Ministry of Education has published a comprehensive plan for education reform and development between 2011 and 2020.The goal is to make China’s higher education internationally competitive.To accomplish this goal, the government should have the courage to let the educators who have big ideas try them out.The ministry should have applauded the independence the school in Shenzhen has shown and encouraged more to do likewise.
Education reform in China has reached a new and crucial stage.Nanfang University of Science and Technology has a long way to go to prove itself competitive rather than a diploma mill.
【小題1】Over 1,000 students and parents visited the school because      .

A．they believe that the school will have a bright future
B．they believe the government is sure to approve the school
C．the school models itself on Hong Kong University successfully
D．they will never do graduate studies at other higher learning institutions
【小題2】The trouble the students in the school may have is that      .
A．the government will have no voice in the school
B．they won’t receive any diploma when graduating from the school
C．other schools are unlikely to accept their diploma from the school
D．they will not learn how to be competitive
【小題3】What does the author think of Nanfang University of Science and Technology?
A．It is another kind of diploma mill.
B．It’s impossible for the school to be competitive.
C．It will never get the approval from the Ministry of Education.
D．Its independence from the government may benefit the education reform.
【小題4】What is the best title of the passage?
A．University of New Style.B．China’s Education Reform.
C．Modeling Hong Kong University.D．Authorized or Not?

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