Lie in bed, by an open window, and listen…
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I tell her my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and reduce our electric bill. On this first night of our cost-cutting plan, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re going to suffer, but the three kids complain anyway.
They have grown up in 72-degree comfort, protected from the world outside.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother complains down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to turn for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
The neighbor’s dog howls. Probably a passing squirrel. It’s been years since I took the time to really listen to the night.
I think about grandma, who lived to 92 and still helped with my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of grandma’s bed and turn my face toward the open window. I turn the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma saw me turn over and over. “If you just watch for the breeze(清風),” she said, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to move. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus. Neighbors, porch(門廊)-sitting late, speak in unclear words that calm me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old son cries, “I think it was an owl(貓頭鷹)family.”
“Probably,” I tell him, “just keep listening…”
Without the working air conditioner, the house is peaceful, and the natural night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze comes in.
小題1:On the first night of the writer’s cost-cutting plan, her children ______.
A．live a comfortable life as usual
B．begin to be unhappy
C．a(chǎn)re protected from the world outside
D．a(chǎn)re about to die from the heat
小題2:The author talks about her grandmother and her childhood to show that ______.
A．people used to live a hard life
B．people at that time were hardworking
C．it’s OK for people to live a simple life
D．she has learned a great deal from her grandma
小題3:In the writer’s eyes, her children are ______.
A．free from parents’ protection
B．full of dissatisfaction with life
C．dependable because of parents’ love
D．lacking in real test of hardships in life
小題4:Which of the following titles best suits the passage?
A．Waiting for the Breeze.
B．An Interesting Experience.
C．Life at Present and Life in the Past.
D．Different Times, Different Children

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:D
小題4:A
文章講述作者在夏天不開空調(diào)讓孩子體驗生活的艱難，也通過回憶奶奶和自己的童年在說明沒有現(xiàn)代設(shè)備，我們一樣可以活得很好！
小題1:細節(jié)題。根據(jù)第四段第一行“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “I’m about to die from this heat。
小題2:推理題。作者提及自己的奶奶和童年為了向大家說明人們以前沒有空調(diào)等現(xiàn)代設(shè)備一樣過得很好。
小題3:推理題。作者這樣做就是為了讓孩子們體驗生活的艱難。
小題4:主旨大意題。文章講述作者在夏天不開空調(diào)讓孩子體驗生活的艱難，也通過回憶奶奶和自己的童年在說明沒有現(xiàn)代設(shè)備，我們一樣可以活得很好！本題可以利用排除法，BCD和文章根本不搭，A項可以在文章最后一句看出來。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most loved children’s books of all time, and many adults enjoy it as well. It tells the story of a young girl named Alice, who follows a rabbit entering a magical world called Wonderland. She has many experiences which seem to change the rules of reasoning or common sense. The popularity of the book comes from its imagination, interesting story, and art work.
The writer of the book is Lewis Carroll. In fact, Lewis Carroll was not the writer’s real name. His real name was Charles Dodgson. One day, he took a boat ride down the Thames River to have a picnic with three little girls who were friends of the family. To keep them entertained on the ride, he told them a story in which Alice, the middle child, was the main character. They enjoyed the story very much.
Charles later wrote the story down under the name Alice’s Adventures Under Ground and gave it to Alice as a Christmas present. Later, he gave a copy to his friend George MacDonald. George read it to his children and they loved it. George suggested to Charles that he make a book from his story. Charles then wrote more parts to the story until it was around 35,000 words. It was first printed in 1866, with art work by John Tenniel, under the name Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The book was an immediate success. One of its first fans was Queen Victoria. She immediately requested a collection of all of Lewis Carroll’s works. She was surprised to find that they included many works on math. In fact, Charles Dodgson was a highly respected mathematician. This can be seen in many puzzles and plays on reasoning that appear in his books and poems.
Since the story was first printed, it has kept selling up to the present day. It has been translated into over fifty languages and has had several movies based on it.
小題1:The passage is mainly about _________.
A．Charles’ family life
B．the birth of a book and its lasting influences
C．a(chǎn) magical world called Wonderland
D．a(chǎn) girl’s adventurous experiences
小題2:Who first had the idea of making a book from the story “Alice Adventures Under Ground”?
A．AliceB．CharlesC．GeorgeD．John
小題3:Which of the following is the right order of the passage?
a. Charles gave his story to Alice as a Christmas present.
b. Charles had a picnic with three little girls on the Thames.
c. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first printed in 1866.
d. More parts were added to the story by Charles.
e. The book won a large number of fans.
A．c-b-a-d-eB．c-a-b-e-dC．b-a-d-c-eD．b-a-c-e-d

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Chinese female film stars, like Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, due to the charm of their films, have set a good image for Chinese women in the world. Compared with Chinese women, the image of Chinese men is not so good in the eyes of Western women, the Shanghai Evening Post reported.
In March 2006, Zhang Jiehai, a doctorate（博士學位） holder at the Sociology Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, led a research team to investigate how Western women look at Chinese men. The survey shows that many Western women think Chinese men are mostly known for their care for the family. Chinese men, as the Western women say, are willing to spend money for women. As to their shortcomings, Western women think that Chinese men do not have good manners and that some Chinese men have the habit of spitting everywhere, keeping nails and hair long, picking their noses and ears in public places, and not cleaning their teeth thoroughly. These bad habits make many Western women think that Chinese men are unwilling to take care of their personal image.
The survey was carried out in two ways, by questionnaires and interviews. All the respondents（調(diào)查對象） agreed that Chinese men show much tender loving care for the family and that many Chinese men do know how to respect women. They open the door for women and carry their handbags for them. For some American women, the bad image of Chinese men in the world is largely because of Hollywood films. In many Hollywood films, Chinese men usually do not have a good image. But this has been changed by Hong Kong film star Chow Yun-Fat. After the Chinese film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was shown in cinemas in the United States in 2002, many Westerners began to change their impression of Chinese men.
小題1:Which statement best expresses the main idea of the first paragraph?
A．Chinese female film stars enjoy as great fame as Chinese male film stars in the world.
B．Chinese male film stars do not perform well in their films in the eyes of Western women.
C．Chinese female film stars don’t like Western male film stars.
D．Chinese female film stars have set a good image for Chinese women.
小題2:Which is NOT mentioned as the shortcoming of Chinese men in Paragraph 2?
A．Spitting everywhere.
B．Speaking too loudly in public places.
C．Not cleaning their teeth thoroughly.
D．Picking their noses and ears in public places.
小題3:In some American women’s eyes, Chinese men’s images are bad because of ______.
A．Chinese female film stars
B．Chinese male film stars
C．Hollywood films
D．Film stars in Hong Kong
小題4:What does the passage mainly deal with?
A．Chinese men in the eyes of Western women.
B．Foreign film stars and Chinese film stars.
C．Chinese women in the eyes of Western men.
D．Chinese film stars in Hollywood films.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Buster Brown was a thief and a good one too，he thought． He’d never been caught by the police because he never took chances．He was always prepared for any unforeseen event or emergency.
Confidently，he stood outside the house of his intended victim(受害者)and read the sign on the front gate of the house．“Don't worry about the dog—be aware of the owner!” it said．Buster smiled and found his way in．
The house looked quite normal outside，but inside it was very exotic with fascinating objects on display．As he began putting them into his bag，a dog came into the room．It stopped when it saw Buster，then wagged its tail madly and went over to him，licking his outstretched hand．  "Good boy，” Buster whispered． “What a great guard dog you are—trying to lick me to death.” Satisfied he'd made friends with the dog，Bluster began to wander round the house，choosing items to put in his bag．His skilled eye picked out only the best antiques(古董)：a pair of silver candleholders，a silver tea-and-coffee service，etc．．His new friend，the dog，sat and watched，as if wondering what was happening．
“Well，boy，” Buster whispered，finally．“That might do．Any more and I won't be able to carry it!” He swung the heavy bag onto his shoulders, just as the lights came on, nearly blinding him. He shielded his eyes with his hand.
"You're a very silly person," the figure in the doorway said, his voice dry and dust. As the man came closer, Buster could see he was well dressed. His face seemed familiar, but Buster couldn't quite place where he had seen him before.
"You should have taken more notice of the sign outside," the man rasped. "I knew about this attempted robbery last week and I also know you will end up behind bars for 20 years. Fancy trying to rob the house of the world's greatest fortune-teller!"
小題1:Why was Buster so confident?
A．He was not afraid of dogs.
B．He knew the owner of the house lived alone.
C．The house had no security alarm.
D．He had never been caught by the police.
小題2:Which of the definitions is closest in meaning to the word "exotic" in the third paragraph?
A．Messy and untidy.B．Rich and expensive.
C．Foreign and unusual.D．Comfortable and calming.
小題3:How did Buster decide which objects to take?
A．He took those that were easy to carry in his bag.
B．He took only the best antiques.
C．He took those that he knew he could sell easily.
D．He looked for silver objects.
小題4:What punishment waits for Buster Brown?
A．A long prison sentence.
B．A prison sentence with hard labor.
C．A heavy fine.
D．Community service for 20 years.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

I had to knock on the taxi to get his attention. Finally, the driver, a man about 60, looked up from behind the wheel and apologized, “I’m sorry, but I was reading a letter.” He sounded as if he had a cold or a cough.
Since I was in no hurry, I told him to finish his letter. He shook his head, explaining that he had already read it several times and almost knew it by heart. Curious, I asked whether it was from a child or maybe a grandchild. “This isn’t family,” he replied. “Though he might just as well have been a regular member of the family, Old Ed and I grew up together.”
They were always friends. But since he moved away from the neighborhood 30 years ago, it’d generally just been postcards at Christmas time between them. A couple of weeks ago, Ed died. “I should have kept in touch.” He repeated this, more to himself than to me. To comfort him, I said sometimes we just didn’t seem to find the time. “But we used to find the time,” he said. “Take a look.” He handed the letter over to me.
The first sentence “I’ve been meaning to write for some time, but I’ve always delayed it.” reminded me of myself. It went on to say that he often thought about the good times they had had together. When I read the part where it said “Your friendship really means a lot to me, more than I can say because I’m not good at saying things like that”, I found myself nodding in agreement.
We had gone several kilometers and were almost at my hotel, so I read the last paragraph: “So I thought you’d like to know that I was thinking of you.” And it was ended with “Your Old Friend, Tom.”
“I thought your friend’s name was Ed,” I said.
“I’m Tom,” he explained. “It’s a letter I wrote to Ed before I knew he’d died. I never put it in the mailbox. I guess I should have written it sooner.” His face was pale as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.
When I got to my hotel room I didn’t unpack right away. I had to write a letter and post it.
小題1:From Paragraph 4, we learn that the author _______.
A．often fails to write to his friends
B．doesn’t want to write to his friends
C．had many great moments with his friends
D．was good at expressing his feelings to friends
小題2:Who wrote the letter?
A．Old EdB．The driver’s grandchild
C．The authorD．Tom
小題3:It can be inferred from the passage that the driver regretted_____.
A．missing Ed’s funeral
B．moving away from his neighborhood
C．forgetting to send Ed Christmas cards
D．not being able to keep in touch with Ed

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


As we drove along, my spirits went up again, and I turned, with pleasure, to the thought of the new life which I was entering. But though it was not far past the middle of September, the heavy clouds and strong north-easterly wind combined to make the day extremely cold; and the journey seemed a very long one, so that it was nearly one o’clock before we reached the place of our destination. Yet when we entered the gateway, my heart failed me, and I wished it were a mile or two farther off. For the first time in my life I must stand alone: there was no retreating now. I must enter that house, and introduce myself among its strange people. But how was it to be done? True, I was near nineteen; but, thanks to the protecting care of my mother and sister, I well knew that many a girl of fifteen, or under, was gifted with a more womanly address, and greater ease and self-possession, than I was. Yet, anyway. I would do very well, after all; and the children, of course, I should soon be at ease with them.
"Be calm, be calm, whatever happens," I said within myself; and truly I was so fully occupied in steadying my nerves and keeping down the rebellious beat of my heart that when I was admitted into the hall and into the presence of Mrs. Bloomfield, I almost forgot to answer her polite greeting; and it afterwards struck me that the little I did say was spoken in the tone of one half-dead or half-asleep.
With due politeness, however, she showed me my bedroom, and left me there to take a little refreshment for a little while and led me into the dining-room. Some beefsteaks and potatoes were set before me; and while I dined upon these, she sat opposite, watching me (as I thought) and trying to keep something like a conversation— consisting chiefly of commonplace remarks. In fact, my attention was almost wholly absorbed in my dinner: not from appetite, but from the toughness of the beefsteaks, and the numbness of my hands.
“I have had so little time to attend to their education myself, but I think they are clever children, and very willing to learn, especially the little boy; he is, I think, the flower of the flock— a generous, noble-spirited boy, one to be led, but not driven, and remarkable for always speaking the truth.” “His sister Mary Ann will require watching,” continued she, “but she is a very good girl on the whole, though I wish her to be kept out of the nursery as much as possible, as she is now almost six years old, and might acquire bad habits from the nurses. I have ordered her bed to be placed in your room, and if you will be so kind as to look after her washing and dressing, and take charge of her clothes, she needs to have nothing further to do with the nursery maid.”
I replied I was quite willing to do so; and at that moment the children entered the room. Tom Bloomfield was a well-grown boy of seven. Mary was a tall girl, for her age of six, somewhat dark like her mother. The second sister was Fanny, a very pretty little girl, looking little younger than Mary. The remaining one was Harriet, a little broad, fat, merry, playful thing of scarcely two, whom I had more desire for than all the rest — but with her I had nothing to do.
小題1:Which of the following statements best describes how the writer felt when she entered Mrs. Bloomfield's home?
A．She was nervous, dissatisfied with her manners but still confident.
B．She was cold, hungry but eager to see all the children in the family.
C．She was frightened, nervous and regretful about her decision.
D．She was calm, confident and very happy with all the family.
小題2:What job would the writer take in Mrs Bloomfield's home?
A．A nursery maid.B．A house cleaner.C．A home cook.D．A family teacher.
小題3:Which of the following was TRUE according to the passage?
A．The writer had some difficulty with her lunch because of the tough food and the cold.
B．The delicious food took the writer's attention away from Mrs. Bloomfield’s words.
C．All the children were well educated before the writer came to the family.
D．All the children in the family were looked after by Mrs Bloomfield herself.
小題4:From the passage, we can infer that ___________.
A．Mrs Bloomfield would treat the writer kindly and help her a lot
B．The youngest girl Harriet would be the writer’s favorite student
C．the writer would take on more responsibilities than she should
D．Tom Bloomfield would be the cleverest of all the children

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio(影棚)to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.
We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.
The next scene was a complete contrast (對比). The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures in front taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen (幕). An actor and actress stood of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water’s edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!
Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film "stars"!
小題1:Who is the author?
A．A cameraman.
B．A film director.
C．A crowd-scene actor.
D．A workman for scene setting.
小題2:What made the author feel cold?
A．The heavy snowfall.
B．The man-made scene.
C．The low temperature.
D．The film being shown.
小題3:What would happen in the "three minutes" mentioned in the last paragraph?
A．A new scene would be filmed.
B．More stars would act in the film.
C．The author would leave the studio.
D．The next scene would be prepared.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Steve Jobs made technology fun．The co-founder of Apple died last Wednesday at the age of fifty-six He had fought for years against cancer．Mourners gathered outside his house in Palo Alto, California, and Apple stores around the world．
Tim Bajarin, president of a high-tech research and consulting company, said "If you actually look at a tech leader, they're really happy if they have one hit in their life．Steve Jobs has the Apple II, the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and Pixar．"
Steve Jobs was a college dropout．He was adopted by a machinist and his wife, an accountant．They supported his early interest in electronics．
He and his friend Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer—now just called Apple—in nineteen seventy-six．They stayed at the company until nineteen eighty-five．That year, Steve Wozniak returned to college and Steve Jobs left in a dispute（分歧）with the chief executive．
Mr．Jobs then formed his own company, called NeXT Computer．He rejoined Apple in nineteen ninety-seven after it bought NeXT．He helped remake Apple from a business that was in bad shape then to one of the most valuable companies in the world today．
Steve Wozniak, speaking on CNN, remembered his longtime friend as a "great visionary and leader'' and a "marketing genius（天才）"．
President Obama said in a statement: "By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity．By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun．"
David Carroll is a professor at Parsons School of Design in New York City．He says Steve Jobs not only revolutionized technology, he also revolutionized American business．
"The fact that he was able to redesign American commerce top to bottom and across is really stunning （令人驚奇的）．He probably will be considered an industrial giant on the scale of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, so one of the great[s] of all time．" David Carroll said．
Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple's chief executive in August because of his health．He died a day after the company released a new iPhone version that met with limited excitement．Apple's new chief, Tim Cook, will also have to deal with the new Kindle Fire tablet computer from Amazon．com．It costs less than half as much as an iPad but also does less．
小題1:Why did people all over the world mourn Steve Jobs?
A．He was very courageous in the face of cancer．
B．He became very rich though dropping out college．
C．He released a new iPhone version before death．
D．He revolutionized technology and made it enjoyable．
小題2:Which of the following can easily prove that Jobs is a "marketing genius"?
A．After Apple, he founded NeXT Computer．
B．He made Apple very valuable once again in the world．
C．He developed a series of Apple products．
D．He was considered the greatest industrial figure of all time．
小題3:What does the underlined part in Paragraph 7 mean?
A．Jobs was a typical example of American spirit of creation．
B．Jobs enriched the American spirit of science and freedom．
C．Jobs eventually realized his American dream．
D．American people are good at inventing things．
小題4:Which of the following is true according to the text?
A．Jobs's parents discouraged him from working on electronics
B．Jobs stayed in Apple as chief executive for about 24 years．
C．Jobs started his career in his family garage．
D．Run unsuccessfully, Apple was sold to NeXT Computer．

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy（遺產(chǎn)） was far greater that just “great-literature”.
February 7 marks the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A White Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas” － not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today.
In the early 19th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day－unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth－“home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickens” poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.
He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy(官僚作風) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “l(fā)ife mirroring the times of Dickens”.
小題1:The article is mainly about           .
A．a(chǎn) brief introduction to Charles Dickens’
B．Charles Dickens’ impact on the world
C．the characters in Charles Dickens’ stories
D．Charles Dickens’ achievements in literature
小題2:Why is Dickens’ called “the man who invented Christmas”?
A．Because he created both religious and culture festival.
B．Because his novels have something to do with Christmas.
C．Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations.
D．Because he was the first man to have proposed celebrating Christmas.
小題3:We can learn from the passage that           .
A．Charles Dickens’ novels reflect the true life at his age
B．Dickensian is widely used to describe the Christmas
C．Every person can take three days off for Christmas
D．The theme of Charles Dickens’ stories is about poverty
小題4:According to the passage the phrase “red tape” refers to           .
A．regulations that are required to finish a task
B．a(chǎn) situation where poor members of society are hurt
C．conflict between people in power and weaker people
D．a(chǎn)greements made by the underclass of society

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