Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.
In western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on January 1st. People may go to parties, dress in formal clothes—like tuxedos(小禮服)and evening gowns, and drink champagne at midnight. During the first minutes of the New Year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the New Year by waking up early to watch the sun rise. They welcome the New Year with the first light of the sunrise.
It is also a common Western custom to make a New Year’s promise, called a resolution. New Year’s resolutions usually include promises to try something new or change a bad habit in the new year.
Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh (again). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on                the first day of the new year.
Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck is to eat grapes on New Year’s Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black– eyed peas(豇豆)for good luck——but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!
小題1:Which culture celebrates New Year in the morning?
A．The United States.B．Spain.
C．France.D．The passage doesn’t say.
小題2:According to the third paragraph, what is a resolution?
A．Something you burn.B．Something you eat.
C．Something you say.D．Something you wear.
小題3:What is the topic of the fourth paragraph?
A．Bringing good luck. B．Keeping away bad luck.
C．Planning for the next year.D．Remembering the past.
小題4:Which is probably true about eating black – eyed peas on New Year?
A．Black-eyed peas taste bad.B．The peas are very difficult to cook.
C．One pea brings one day of luck.D．It is bad luck to eat a lot of black-eyed peas.

小題1:D
小題1:C
小題1:B
小題1:C
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Do you read newspapers in modern times while we have TV and other media? The first newspaper was written by hand and put up on walls in public places. The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC. In the 700s the world’s first printed newspaper was published. Europe didn’t have a regularly published newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany.
The first regularly published newspaper in English was printed in Amsterdam in 1620. In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published once a week. The first daily English newspaper was Daily Current, which came out in March 1702.
　  In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston. But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper. In 1704, John Campbell started Boston Newspaper, the first newspaper published daily in the American Colonies. By 1760, the colonies had had more than thirty daily newspapers. There are now about 1,800 daily papers in the United States.
　  Today, as a group, English language newspapers have the largest circulation in the world. But the largest circulation for a newspaper is that of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. It sells more than eleven million copies every year.
小題1:The first regularly printed European newspaper was started ______.
A．in Rome in 59 BC　　B．in Germany in 1609 　　
C．in Amsterdam in 1620 　　D．in England in 1621
小題2:The first daily English newspaper was started in _______.
A．1702　B．1760　　C．1620　D．1621
小題3:What can we learn from the passage_______?
A. The earliest daily printed newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC.
B. The first regularly published English newspaper was printed in Boston.
C. The first daily English newspaper was printed in the American Colonies.
D. The first American newspaper was stopped before 1704.
小題4:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage_______?
A. Newspapers have the longest history in the United States.
B. One English language newspaper has the largest circulation in the world.
C. The first English newspaper was printed in Rome in 59 BC.
D. There are all kinds of newspapers all over the world today.
小題5:What is the best title of the passage_______?
A．History of newspapers.　　
B．History of daily newspapers.
C．The beginning of daily newspapers.　　
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English ruler tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English, Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people will work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Creeks". Since independence, Ireland has revived (復興) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
小題1:What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?
A．How the Irish fought against the English.
B．How Ireland gained independence.
C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.
D．How two “Irelands” came into being.
小題2:We learn from the text that in Ireland________.
A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population
B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside
C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker
D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments
小題3:The last paragraph is mainly about________.
A．the Irish characterB．Irish culture
C．Irish musical instrumentsD．a(chǎn) famous Irish writer
小題4:What can be the best title for the text?
A．Life in Ireland B．A very difficult history
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解



If there’s one memory Anna wanted to keep from her experiences during the Second World War, it was her son, Andrzej. Anna, 89, lost touch with him when she was forced to leave her native Poland and sent to a labor camp in Austria more than 60 years ago. Now, 64, Andrzej hugged his mother at the air port, who had been waiting for him.
Andrzej searched for his mother for more than 50 years, almost giving up. But his mother made the first phone call. Unluckily, he wrote down his mother’s phone number wrong and spent another month trying to reach her again. When he did, the two talked regularly on the phone for two months to break down the language barrier. Anna can hardly speak Polish over the years and Andrzej doesn’t speak English.
After the war, Anna could not find her son and went to Italy, finally ending up in Great Britain, the US, then Canada 45 years ago. She used the Internet to track her son, making phone calls with no luck. Meanwhile Andrzej contacted the Polish Red Cross last year to help in his search.
At last, they locate each other at the same time. Andrzej will spend a month with his mother in Britain.
小題1:Andrzej was about _______ years old when his mother left him for Austria 60 years ago.
A．eight
B．six
C．four
D．two
小題2:Where did they meet for the first time after 60 years separation?
A．In Britain
B．In Italy
C．In Poland
D．In Canada
小題3:Andrzej delayed a month to phone his mother because________.
A．he had to learn English first
B．he put down a wrong number
C．he needed some time to prove the news
D．he just couldn’t believe the news at first
小題4:The best title for the passage would be ________
A．The story of Anna and her son Andrzej
B．The war separated the families for 60 years
C．Anna suffered a great deal from the war
D．Mother reunited with son after 60 years.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic (邏輯) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”
Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain from now.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.
小題1:What would be the best title for the text?
A．A Way on How to Write.
B．Increase Your Brain Power through Writing.
C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing.
D．How to Start Your Writing.
小題2:According to the text, writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ______.
A．the increase of your brain power
B．the ability to remember
C．the development of your interest in study
D．the better understanding of a topic
小題3: If a writer writes something, it means that he or she ______.
A．has understood it very well
B．needs to understand it better
C．wants to remember it in his or her mind
D．is exercising his or her “explain power”
小題4:The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies
that ______.
A．you are already successful
B．you still need to work hard
C．writing can help you walk half way
D．writing is important to solve problems
小題5: What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?
A．To advise readers to start their writing.
B．To explain the importance of writing.
C．To persuade readers to become writers.
D．To increase readers’ brain power.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Scientists who try to predict earthquakes have gotten some new helpers recently—animals.
　　That’s right, animals. Scientists have begun to understand what farmers have known for thousands of years. Animals often seem to know in advance that an earthquake is coming, and they show their fear by acting in strange ways. Before a Chinese quake in 1975, snakes awoke from their winter sleep early only to freeze to death in the cold air. Cows broke their halters (韁繩) and tried to escape. Chickens refused to enter their cage. All of this unusual behavior, as well as physical changes in the earth, warned Chinese scientists of the coming quake. They moved people away from the danger zone and saved thousands of lives.
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　　A second task for scientists is to find out exactly what kind of warnings the animals receive. They know that animals sense far more of the world than humans do. Many animals can see, hear, and smell things that people do not even notice. Some can sense tiny changes in air pressure, gravity, or the magnetism of Earth. This extra sense probably helps animals predict quakes.
　　A good example of this occurred with a group of dogs. They were shut in an area that was being shaken by a series of tiny earthquakes. (Several small quakes often come before or after a large one.) Before each quake a low booming sound was heard. Each boom caused the dogs to bark wildly. Then the dogs began to bark during a silent period. A scientist who was recording quakes looked at his machine. It was acting as though there were a loud noise too. The scientist realized that the dogs had reacted to a booming noise. They also sensed the tiny quake that followed it. The machine recorded both, though humans felt and heard nothing.
In this case there was a machine to monitor what the dogs were sensing. Many times, however, our machines record nothing extraordinary, even though animals know a quake is coming. The animals might be sensing something we measure but do not recognize as a warning. Discovering what animals sense, and learning how they know it is a danger signal, is a job for future scientists.
小題1:Through the passage the writer hopes to explore __________.
A．why animals send a danger signal before an earthquake
B．how animals know when an earthquake is coming
C．why animals not men have good sense of danger
D．how much animals know about an earthquake
小題2: During an earthquake in China in 1975, _________.
A．chickens refused to go out of their cage
B．snakes were frozen to death in their caves
C．snakes awoke from their winter sleep earlier
D．cows broke their halters and escaped from their sheds
小題3:Which of the following is one of earthquake nerves according to the passage?
A．An Arabian horse tried to escape from his enclosure.
B．A cougar had an upset stomach unexpectedly.
C．An Australian horse was perfectly calm.
D．A cat acted very strangely in a zoo.
小題4:The scientists did an experiment with a group of dogs to _________.
A．find out that the machine could record unusual happenings
B．compare the reactions of animals and those of humans
C．prove that animals could sense more than humans
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

  Can you imagine a stranger will read your e-mails without your permission or scan the website you’ve visited or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phones bills? All of the things may happen to you one day.
In fact, it’s likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen or even do something that may bring a disaster to you.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, and that it’s important to reveal to friends, family and lovers at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain nowadays. The digital bread crumbs you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to know who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can leak the deepest thought in your mind. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter? For many Americans, the answer apparently is “No”.
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most of them say they are really concerned about losing it. And 60 percent of the respondents say they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me”.
But people say one thing and do another. Only a small of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths(收費站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that track automobile movements. Privacy economist Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will give up personal information such as telephone number, address, or social security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cent-off coupon(優(yōu)惠券). But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health; when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it. Without privacy, one will be naked in front of others.
小題1:What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
A．Friends should open their hearts to each other.
B．Friends should always be faithful to each other.
C．There should be a distance even between friends.
D．There should be fewer quarrels between friends.
小題2:Why does the author say “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret”?
A．Modern society has finally developed into an open society.
B．People leave traces around when using modern technology.
C．There are always people who are curious about others’ affairs.
D．Many search engines profit by revealing people’s identities.
小題3:What should be the best title for the text?
A．No Privacy, No Health
B．Treasure Your Privacy
C．Boundaries are Important between Friends
D．The information Age Has Its Own Shortcomings

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak scornfully of the poor old Romans because they enjoyed the seemingly excited killing that went on in their arenas（競技場）. We may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We may forgive them because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority（優(yōu)越）really justified? Are we any less blood-thirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don’t the audience who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remain as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long ago.
　　It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men punch each other in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is merely hypocrisy（虛偽）. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Audience are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they haven’t experienced the exquisite pleasure of witnessing continuous violence.
　　Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally—though with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen imprisoned in cages, or public punishment of any of the countless other barbarous (野蠻的) practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the harsh forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is unworthy of human beings.
小題1:It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s opinion of nowadays’ human beings is ________________
A．not very high.B．high.C．scornful.D．neutral
小題2:Why does the author mention the old Romans in this article?
A．To reveal that the old Romans first started violent sports.
B．To prove that the old Romans were not civilized.
C．To show human beings in the past knew nothing better.
D．To indicate human beings today are as bloodthirsty as the old Romans.
小題3:How many dangerous sports does the author mention in this passage?
A．Three.B．Four.C．Five.D．Six.
小題4:     What does the author want to illustrate in this article?
A． By banning the violent sports, we human beings can improve ourselves.
B． By banning the dangerous sports, we can improve the law.
C． We must take positive steps to improve social welfare system.
D． Law is the main instrument of social change.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

       April Fool’s Day（愚人節(jié)）, was a day of laughing and jokes. This day is kept in many countries, not only in Britain and the USA. This is a day to play jokes and make people laugh. Nobody knows when was the beginning of this custom. Some people connect it with the end of winter and the return of spring which make people merry and ready to play jokes.
In Scotland young people were sent for hen’s teeth or bird’s milk and everybody laughed when they could find such things. In the USA and Britain some people could place a sign on a person’s back with the words “push me!” Children often tell a grown-up that his sock is torn or he has something black on his face, and then shout “April Fool!” There is also the old purse（錢包） trick. A purse is left lying in the street, but when someone wants to take it, it is quickly pulled back by a string which the hidden joker holds in his hand. Or the purse may be filled with stones. Sometimes invitations are sent to people, asking them to come and visit somebody, but when they come they see that nobody expects them. Some people like to telephone to the zoo on the day and ask for Mr. Fish, Miss Fox or Mrs. Cat. All these jokes are very old but still they make people laugh.
小題1: ____________knows when the custom of April Fool’s Day started．
A．OneB．AnyoneC．NobodyD．Someone
小題2:Many tricks are played on April Fool’s day except ____ ．
A．phoning the zooB．placing a sign on someone’s back
C．playing cardsD．leaving a purse in the street
小題3:The purpose of playing jokes is to _____ ．
A．for funB．make people laugh
C．make fool of oneselfD．fool someone
小題4:The best title of the passage is ____ ．
A．How people in the west spend their April Fool’s Day
B．Customs are different
C．How British people celebrate their holidays
D．How April Fool’s Day comes about

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