I used to think of myself as a fairly open person, but my bookshelves told a different story. Apart from a few Indian novels and the Australian and South African book, my literature collection consisted of British and American titles. Worse still, I hardly ever read anything in translation. My reading was limited to stories by English-speaking authors.
So, at the start of 2012, I set myself the challenge of trying to read a book from every country in a year to find out what I was missing. As I was unlikely to find publications from nearly 200 nations on the shelves of my local bookshop, I decided to ask the planet’s readers for help. I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.
The response was amazing. Before I knew it, people all over the planet were getting in touch with ideas and offers of help. Some posted me books from their home countries. Others did hours of research on my behalf. In addition, several writers sent me unpublished translations of their novels, giving me a rare opportunity to read works otherwise unavailable to the 62% of the British who only speak English. Even so, selecting books was no easy task. With translations making up only around 4.5 percent of literary works published in the UK and Ireland, getting English versions (版本)of stories was difficult.
But the effort was worth it. I found I was visiting the mental space of the storytellers. These stories not only opened my mind to the real life in other places, but opened my heart to the way people there might feel.
And that in turn changed my thinking. Through reading the stories shared with me by bookish strangers around the globe, I realised I was not alone, but part of a network that spread all over the planet. 
小題1:Which of the following might be found on the blog A Year of Reading the World?
A．Lists of English version books.
B．Research on English literature.
C．Unfinished novels by British writers.
D．Comments on English literature.
小題2:Why was it hard for the author to select the right books to read?
A．The author had a busy schedule.
B．The author was only interested in a few topics.
C．The author could only read books written in English.
D．Most books recommended are not available in local bookshops.
小題3:The author is probably from_________.
A．AmericaB．the UKC．AustraliaD．Canada
小題4:Which of the following words can best describe the author’s experience?
A．fast and effortlessB．challenging but rewarding
C．hopeless but beneficialD．meaningful but fruitless

小題1:A
小題2:C
小題3:B
小題4:B

試題分析：文章介紹自己很難挑選出適當(dāng)?shù)臅且驗(yàn)樽髡咧荒荛喿x英文的書籍，因此創(chuàng)立了博客A Year of Reading the World 為了找到英文版本的書，得到了全世界人們的幫助，雖然有點(diǎn)困難，作者覺得還是有回報的。
小題1:細(xì)節(jié)題：從文章第二段的句子：I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.可知在博客A Year of Reading the World 可以發(fā)現(xiàn)英文版本的書，選A
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)題：從文章第一段的句子：Worse still, I hardly ever read anything in translation. My reading was limited to stories by English-speaking authors.可知作者很難挑選出適當(dāng)?shù)臅x是因?yàn)樽髡咧荒荛喿x英文的書籍，選C
小題3:推理題：從文章第三段的句子：giving me a rare opportunity to read works otherwise unavailable to the 62% of the British who only speak English.可以推斷出作者是來自英國的，選B
小題4:推理題：從文章第三段的句子：Even so, selecting books was no easy task. With translations making up only around 4.5 percent of literary works published in the UK and Ireland, getting English versions (版本)of stories was difficult.和第四段的句子：But the effort was worth it.可知作者的經(jīng)歷是有挑戰(zhàn)的但是是有回報的。選B
練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

    Do you scream on a roller coaster ride? You slowly climb up a steep slope until an almost vertical(垂直的) drop, and then... Ahhhhhhhh! Thrill-seekers like me are in luck because theme parks are pushing the boundaries of technology to create the fastest, tallest, scariest roller coasters the world has ever known.
Alton Towers in Britain opened the world's first 14-1oop roller coaster a few months ago, called The Smiler. Over in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World claims to have the world's fastest one. Ferrari World's Formula Rossa ride sends out passengers from 0-240km/h in just 4. 9 seconds. During this rapid acceleration they experience G-forces only fighter pilots usually  feel: Up to 4. 8G. The designer of several rides at Alton Towers, said: "While we can stand 6-8Gs for very short periods of  time, ff we experience 5G for more than five seconds we're likely to "black out."
On modern roller coasters passengers experience about 3G in tight turns and loops. But while we may have reached the limit in terms of G-forces, there is no technological limit to how fast or how high roller coasters can go---it's all down to money. Alton Towers' The Smiler cost ~18m to build.
Some companies are finding other ways to keep us amused. There's a move towards indoor rides where the experience is improved by audio-visual technologies. For example, a company called Dynamic Structures is currently developing a "coal-mine-themed" ride for a client in Dubai that will combine speed and G-forces with 3D projection effects and robotics, which will trick your brain into thinking you're really falling.
I can't wait to enjoy this one. What about you: Do you like being upside down?
小題1:The underlined phrase "black out" in the second paragraph probably means  ....  .
A．stop breathingB．lose consciousness for a short time
C．lose memory foreverD．bleed to death
小題2: We can learn from the passage that __
A．a(chǎn)ll the theme parks are creating the fast roller coasters
B．the Smiler sends out passengers from 0-240km/h in just 4.9 seconds
C．it is unusual for fighter pilots to feel up to 4.8G
D．the more the money is spent, the faster the roller coaster can go
小題3: The feature of the "coal-mine-themed" ride is
A．3DtechnologiesB．indoor ridesC．G-forcesD．dynamic structures
小題4: What is the best title for the passage?
A．The Fastest Roller CoasterB．The Smiler and G-forces
C．Screaming for FunD．The New Technology

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Did you know that the first documented use of OMG(oh my god)was in 1917, or that LOL was once a common term meaning little old ladies in 1960? That's what the world learned when OMG, LOL, and FYI (for your information) were added to the Oxford English Dictionary last week. This dictionary is considered by many to be the reference book that defines the English language.
Words added to the Oxford English Dictionary are truly considered new members of the language. People invent new words all the time, but only a few become popular enough to get defined in dictionaries.
Typed online or in text messages, LOL, FYI, and OMG are initialisms,_which can be said aloud letter by letter, like LOL, which now stands for Laugh Out Loud.Faster to type than the full phrases, initialisms like these have been used online since the 1990s. But these three online terms are now spoken outside the Internet too, making them different from other online lingo( 行話). Dictionary editors decided the words are used so commonly that they had to be defined this year.
Another important addition to the dictionary this year was ?， as in “I ? NY.” This is the first graphic (圖形的 ) symbol ever defined in the Oxford English Dictionary.The editors added ? as a verb under the definition of “heart”， meaning “to love”．
Some slang words — informal language used more commonly in speech than in writing — were also added, like wassup, a shortened way to say “What's up”. Even words that have been in use for many years like biker and happy camper were finally added to the dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary now defines more than 600,000 words.That adds up to more than 21,730 pages! Guinness World Records calls it the longest dictionary in the world.The Oxford English Dictionary is known for recording words of all kinds—popular, outdated, and even foreign words used by English speakers throughout the language's long history.
小題1:The text is mainly about that ________.
A．expressions like LOL and FYI have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary
B．English words change their meaning as time goes by
C．English language is becoming more and more difficult to learn
D．the Oxford English Dictionary breaks the Guinness World Record
小題2:Which of the following is NOT included in the facts that the Oxford English Dictionary has been updated?
A．Some online terms are added to it.
B．A graphic symbol is first introduced into it.
C．Some slang words are collected in it.
D．Some old words are left out.
小題3:What does the underlined word “initialisms” refer to?
A．Words having foreign origins.
B．Words made from the first letters of several words in a phrase.
C．Uncommon words frequently appearing on the Internet.
D．Official words used in formal documents with capital letters.
小題4:Before any new word is added to the Oxford English Dictionary, it must be ________.
A．spread widely across the Internet
B．used commonly by the dictionary editors
C．used commonly in either spoken or written language
D．a(chǎn) short word

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Development of a widely accepted chronology for the arrival of humans has been equally difficult, and it was only with the development of optically stimulated luminescence dating that a human presence in Australia was confirmed at 53,000 to 60,000 years ago. Older dates for a human presence in Australia have now been shown to be erroneous .
The importance of Australia as a separate natural laboratory in which to test extinction theories lies in the fact that humans arrived there much earlier than they arrived in the other continental areas (the Americas and northern Eurasia) that experienced substantial megafaunal extinction. What Miller et al. have shown is that the extinction of Genyornis occurred simultaneously across southeastern Australia (indeed probably right across the continent) about 50,000 years ago. This is very close to the presently accepted time of arrival of humans in Australia. It was also a period of modest climate change, well before the dramatic climatic fluctuations of the terminal Pleistocene. The data of Miller et al., therefore, support those who see human hunting rather than climate as causing the extinction of the megafauna.
Genyornis was a ponderous bird, around 80 to 100 kg in weight, about twice as heavy as the living emu and cassowary. It was an inhabitant of Australia?s inland plains and some coastal regions, but its legs were relatively short and thick, suggestion that it was a slower runner than the emu. Proponents of human?caused extinction suggest that it is just such characteristics that made the megafauna vulnerable to human hunting.
A new school of thought has recently established itself in the extinction debate. It advocates the idea that a combination of human impact and climate change was responsible for the extinction of the world?s megafauna. The new Genyornis data also weaken that argument, for the following reason. Fifty thousand years ago, Australia was experiencing mild cooling; 11,000 to 12,000 years ago, the Americas were experiencing rapid warming. These disparate climatic conditions, all coincident with megafaunal extinction, suggest that whatever was happening with climate, it was bad for the big animals. Under these conditions, the hybrid model becomes indistinguishable from the human?caused extinction model for the influence of climate becomes extremely weak, and only the arrival of humans is important in predicting extinction.
小題1: The last word “megafauna” in Paragraph 2 most probably means
A  birds.  B  plants.
C  big animals.  D  small animals.
小題2: Genyornis was vulnerable to human hunting because it was
A  a delicacy.  B  very weak.
C  very small in size.  D  clumsy.
小題3:  How many models have been put forward for the extinction of Genyoris?
A  One.  B  Two.
C  Three.  D  Four.
小題4: That Australia experienced mild cooling and the Americas rapid warming suggests that
A  the climatic conditions were unfit for Genyornis to live.
B  Genyornis were highly adaptable to different climatic conditions.
C  The two climatic conditions were both bad for Genyornis.
D  The climatic conditions had nothing to do with the extinction of Genyoris.
小題5: The selection is mainly about
A  the debate over the time of the human presence in Australia.
B  the relationship between the human presence and magafaunal extinction.
C  the relationship between human activities and climatic changes.
D  the debate over factors causing megafaunal extinction.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Beer and fried chicken — Thanks to a South Korean drama currently on air, Man From the Stars, this new mix-and-match junk food trend has become popular among young audiences, despite its unhealthy nature. Indeed, South Korean TV dramas, or K-drama for short, have been a major force in the South Korean pop-culture wave that has captured the hearts of young Chinese audiences. According to iQiyi, a video website that features Man From the Stars, by Feb 15, the number of views for the TV drama hit 370 million in China.
“It is interesting to explore what elements of those dramas appeal to audiences. It’s obviously more than just pretty faces,” says Yan Feng, a professor of Chinese literature at Fudan University. Reflected by audiences, culture critics and insiders of the industry, youth fantasy, creative storylines, cultural proximity, and well-organized production all add up to K-drama’s success, along with, of course, those handsome and cute faces dressed in the latest fashion trends.
“Everyone fancies a perfect partner, handsome or beautiful,” says Zhou Ying, a professor at Chongqing Technology and Business University. “The South Korean TV industry is feeding this need.” After Lee Min-ho appeared on CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala, he became the most famous South Korean in China. Only weeks later, Kim Soo-hyun, lead actor in Man From the Stars, swept the country. Apart from pretty faces, fashion is another highlight of the series. Each time actors from the series wear a new set of outfits, similar clothes experience a sales boom online, according to Xiao Yi, a Taobao store owner.
As is known, with love triangles, incurable diseases, and Cinderella tales, storylines in South Korean dramas may seem a bit commonplace. While The Man From the Stars challenges this by putting aliens and time travel into these existing stories, Peng Sanyuan, a screenwriter, says a focus on detail is a key factor in the success of these dramas. “In order to accurately target audiences and find emotional reflections with them, more and more female writers are working in the industry,” says Peng about her experience of exchanging ideas with South Korean colleagues. According the experts, South Korean writers somehow make sense of these plots, no matter how unlikely it seems.
小題1:Why has beer and fried chicken become so popular among Chinese young people at present?
A．Because the food tastes very great.
B．Because they want to change the trend.
C．Because the food is good for their health.
D．Because they are deeply affected by the Korean TV drama.
小題2:What’s the meaning of the underlined word “proximity” in paragraph 2?
A．similarityB．differenceC．conflictD．curiosity
小題3:According to the whole passage, how many elements can lead to the appeal of Korean dramas?
A．TwoB．FourC．SixD．Seven
小題4:After reading the third paragraph, which of the following is right?
A．Lee Min-ho is the lead actor in Man From the Stars.
B．Kim Soo-hyun appeared on CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala
C．The similar clothes worn by the Korean actors become very hot online.
D．Everyone has a perfect partner, who is handsome or beautiful.
小題5:What makes Man From the Stars different from other K-dramas according to the last paragraph?
A．Female writersB．Creative storiesC．Pretty facesD．Fashionable clothes

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Inland waters may be grouped into two general classes: standing waters and flowing waters. As is often the case, the boundary between these two classes is not sharp and clear. A pond is an example of standing water. But most ponds are fed by springs or brooks and most have an outlet. Thus some current of changing water flows through them. On the other hand, a river is an example of flowing water. In some places, however, a river may have such a slow current that it is very difficult to detect.
Standing inland waters differ in size, in age, and in many abiotic environmental characteristics. They range in size from roadside puddles to the Caspian Sea. Puddles may last for only a few days or weeks; ponds, for a few hundred to a thousand years. In general, lakes are older, though the waters of some tropical “l(fā)akes” disappear completely during each dry season. Standing waters vary from very shallow to very deep, from clear to muddy, from fresh to salty.
In flowing waters we roughly distinguish between brooks, creeks, and rivers. The size and age of flowing waters are unimportant. Speed of flow, clearness, oxygen content, and other chemical characteristics are used by scientists in studying flowing-water ecosystems.
小題1:According to the passage, which of the following characteristics of flowing waters is unimportant?
A．Clarity.B．Size.C．Speed of flow.D．Oxygen content.
小題2:The word “abiotic” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by ______.
A．nonlivingB．livingC．coastalD．inland
小題3:Which of the following statements is true?
A．Usually the water in a river flows into a pond.
B．Scientists only study flowing-water ecosystems.
C．Usually ponds last much longer than puddles.
D．The Caspian Sea is considered as an example of flowing water.
小題4:From this passage we may know that the distinction between standing waters and flowing waters ______.
A．depends on how people name the waters
B．is clear
C．depends on the seasons
D．is hard to make
小題5:This passage mainly tells us that ______.
A．there are two major classes of inland waters
B．lakes and rivers are flowing waters
C．a(chǎn)ge and size of flowing waters are important
D．ponds and brooks are standing waters

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

While many people agree that The Sound of Music（音樂之聲）is one of the best films of all time, some are at a loss（困惑） to explain why. Well, I’ll tell you why it’s one of the best movies ever. The Sound of Music simply has everything one could want in a movie.
First of all, it has a real romance--one where you can watch the characters slowly fall in love.
Secondly, it has humor, clever and sarcastic（諷刺性的） humor. When Schraeder said, “ Bye, Maria, I’m sure you’ll make a fine nun（修女）.” You just want to slap（摑） her across the face after hearing that.
Thirdly, it’s got adventure. The Nazis are the worst “bad guys” in any movie, so it’s great to see Maria, the Captain and the kids outwit（智�。� them.
Fourthly, it’s got great music. The songs of the film are popular all over the world.
Fifthly, it’s got great scenery. The plot（情節(jié)） and dialogue are also amazing. I find new things to admire each time I watch.
Finally, is there a greater scene in any movie than the nuns showing the stolen Nazi car parts? In short, the film doesn’t just succeed because it cheers people up with a beautiful love story or songs. It also succeeds because it’s a wonderfully-constructed, wonderfully-written, and wonderfully-acted movie.
小題1:What’s the purpose of the passage?
A．To tell people what makes a good movie.
B．To tell people how to enjoy the humor in The Sound of Music.
C．To explain why The Sound of Music is one of the best movies.
D．To advise people to watch The Sound of Music
小題2:We can learn from the passage that _______.
A．in the author’s opinion, The Sound of Music succeeds mainly because of its songs
B．the author can find something new to enjoy every time he watches the movie
C．Maria just wants to slap Schraeder after hearing what she says to her.
D．The Sound of Music is a movie about how Maria outwits the Nazis with the nuns
小題3:About the The Sound of Music, the author mentioned all of the following things EXCEPT___
A．plotB．musicC．a(chǎn)ctingD．clothing
小題4:What’s the meaning of the underlined word “character” ?
A．特征B．性格C．人物D．漢字

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

At this special rate，you'll save more than 73％ off the cover price with our Continuous Renewal Guarantee ! You'll also get FREE access for 6 months to the Reader's Digest Digital Edition for iPad or Kindle Fire，with your paid subscription(訂閱)．
Subscribe to Reader'S Digest today and Read up!

Continuous Renewal(續(xù)訂)：
Your subscription will be automatically renewed at significant savings off the cover price，unless you tell us to stop．You authorize us to charge your credit card for your renewal subscription before your current subscription expires(到期)at the low renewal rate then in effect．If your credit card can't be charged for any reason we will bill you directly instead．This service will continue each year until you tell us to stop．Cancel at any time at www.rd.com/cutomer-care and get the money back on all unmailed issues．
Offer is good in U.S.  only．
One-year cover price is $47.78．Each 1-year subscription includes 12 issues．Please allow
4-6 weeks for delivery of your first issue．Free access to the iPad edition is available one time only
for 6 months with paid subscription；the following print subscriptions will not qualify subscriber for free access to the iPad editions．
For customer service , please click here.
小題1:You will save around________ against the cover price with Continuous Renewal Guarantee in
two years．
A．$46B．$73C．$23D．$71
小題2:Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
A．If you stop the continuous renewal，you can’t take the money back．
B．If you continue to subscribe it，the former service will expire．
C．If you want to stop the service，you can visit the website to cancel it．
D．If your credit card can’t be charged，delivery of issues will directly be stopped．
小題3:We can know from the advertisement ＿＿＿＿.
A．only readers in America call get the discount
B．1-year subscription covers 12 issues and free delivery
C．a(chǎn)ll subscribers will be guaranteed to get free iPad editions
D．if you Pay money，you can access the digital edition without limit
小題4:What is the purpose of the advertisement?
A．To sell Reader’s Digest Digital Edition．
B．To offer customer service to readers．
C．To introduce subscription to Reader's Digest．
D．To recommend continuous renewal subscription．

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Millions of people die of hunger in southern Africa every year, but when Zambia was offered thousands of tons of free maize by the US, the government politely said no.
“We don’t know whether the food is safe,” said Zambia’s commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Dipak Patel.
His worries are shared by countries around the world that are in two minds about America’s genetically modified（GM,轉(zhuǎn)基因的）crops．Just last week, EU（歐盟）member nations were discussing whether or not to import GM sweet corn from the US．
Ever since people started farming, they have tried to crossbreed（雜交）plants to make them stronger or better tasting. At one time, only related plants could be crossed with each other．
But when GM techniques were developed in the 1970s, scientists were able to put a single gene from a living creature into an unrelated creature.
This means they can make crops more productive and resistant to disease by adding genes from other species．They can also create food with special characteristics, such as “golden rice”, which is enriched with vitamin A. But many people believe GM foods are a health risk.
At the moment, the official argument is that GM foods “are not likely to present risks for human health”. But there are still many questions to be answered as the foods are produced in different ways.
Some experts believe the genetic material added to plants can transfer to humans and give damage to our bodies. Further harm could be caused by the genes from GM plants crossbreeding with naturally produced crops．
People in China are also getting worried about GM foods. More than 70 percent of the
country’s soybean oil is produced from imported GM soybeans. Meanwhile, an investigation last November found that 12 of 60 famous foods sold across the country were GM products. The government has begun to introduce a marking system for GM goods so that people can choose whether or not to eat them.
小題1:Which is the best title for the passage?
A．Harmful GM foodsB．Advantages of GM foods
C．GM foods, a health risk?D．the Techniques of GM foods
小題2:Why has Zambia refused the American free maize?
A．they decide to follow EU member’s advice
B．they are concerned about the safety of GM foods
C．they care little about the problem of starvation
D．they are too proud to accept free offer
小題3:It has been proved that _________.
A．GM foods are harmful to people’s health
B．GM food is no better than naturally produced foods
C．only related plans could be crossed with each other
D．GM techniques can increase the production of crops
小題4:Which of the following statement is TRUE?
A．GM foods are a health risk.
B．Only Zambia worries about the safety of GM foods .
C．China’s government hasn’t taken any action about GM foods.
D．Some experts believe human bodies can absorb genetic material from GM foods.
小題5:What’s the author’s attitude towards GM foods?
A．Supportive.B．Neutral.C．Doubtful.D．Critical.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案