To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun!
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, back in the eleventh century B.C.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in common used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France, and later on in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colours.
45. According to this passage, the umbrella was probably first invented in ancient _______.
A. China         B. Egypt       C. Greece         D. Rome
46. Which of the following statements is not true about the umbrella?
A. No one exactly knows who was the inventor of the umbrella.
B. The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun.
C. The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century.
D. In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade.
47. A strange feature(特征) of the umbrella’s use is that it was used as _______.
A. protection against rain                    B. a shade against the sun
C. a symbol of honour and power              D. women’s decoration
48. In Europe, the umbrella was first used against the rain ___________.
A. during the Middle Ages   B. by the eighteenth century   C. in Rome   D. in Greece

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：

短語：從方框中選擇恰當(dāng)?shù)亩陶Z, 并用其正確的形式填空。（共10小題，每小題1分，滿分10分）

in advance  refer to   a balanced diet   at ease   have a gift for  account for   focus on    feel content with    remind sb. of...    cheer up 

66. My teacher ______________ our performance today. 

67. The research on health ______________ men under thirty.

68. If you don’t keep ______________, you will keep on weight.

69. You need to book your ticket at least 14 days ______________.

70. Please ______________ your owner's handbook for more information.

71. He is my good friend indeed, so I feel completely ______________ with him.

72. The girl ______________ dancing when in her childhood.

73. When we get into trouble, our friends always say to us, “______________. It's not the end of the world.”

74. She was asked to ______________ the missing money.

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科目：高中英語 來源：河南省焦作市2010屆高三下學(xué)期第一次質(zhì)量檢測(cè) 題型：閱讀理解


When we think about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, a top great delight.
For a child, happiness has a magic quality. I remember playing police and robbers in the woods, getting a speaking part in the school play. Of course, kids also experience lows, but their delight at tops of pleasure is easily seen，such as winning a race or getting a new bike.
For teenagers, or people under 20 the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it’s conditional on such things as excitement, love, and popularity. I can still feel the pain of not being invited to a party that almost everyone else was going to. I also recall the great happiness of being invited at another event to dance with a very handsome young man.
In adulthood the things that bring great joy—birth , love , marriage—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. Love may not last; loved ones die. For adults, happiness is complex.
My dictionary explains “happy” as “l(fā)ucky” or “ fortunate”, but I think a better explanation of happiness is “ the ability to enjoy something”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It’s easy for us not to notice the pleasure we get from loving and being loved, the company of friends, the freedom to love where we please, and even good health. Nowadays, with so many choices and much pleasure, we have turned happiness into one more thing we have. We think we own the right to have it, which makes us extremely unhappy. So we try hard to get it and consider it to be the same as wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.
While happiness may be more complex for us, the answer is the same as ever. Happiness isn’t about what happens to us. It’s the ability to find a positive for every negative, and view a difficulty as a challenge. Don’t be sad for what we don’t have, but enjoy what we do possess.
60. According to the passage, happiness lies in the ability to_______.
A. think of something extraordinary   B. experience delight at an old age
C. feel the magic quality of pleasure   D. enjoy what one has at the moment
61. In paragraph 3, a teenager looks at happiness mainly in terms of_____.
A. material gains                  B. social honor
C. spiritual satisfaction            D. academic achievement
62. The author implies that when one dreams wealth and finally gets it he____.
A. can realize what happiness is    
B. may not end up with happiness
C. may consider it extreme happiness 
D. should not feel content with himself
63. The passage aims to tell_______.
A. the great importance of happiness  B. the real meaning of happiness
C. the constant dream of happiness    D. the changing concept of happiness

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科目：高中英語 來源：2013年全國普通高等學(xué)校招生統(tǒng)一考試英語（天津卷帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解

When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫無掩飾的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it’s conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated (復(fù)雜的).
My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It’s easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband come home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don’t think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we’ve got to have. We’re so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it’s making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.
Happiness isn’t about what happens to—it’s about how we see what happens to us. It’s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It’s not wishing for what we don’t have , but enjoying what we do possess.
【小題1】As people grow older, they ____.

A．feel it harder to experience happiness
B．a(chǎn)ssociate their happiness less with others
C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness
D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness
【小題2】What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
A．She cares little about her own health.
B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling.
C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life.
D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework.
【小題3】What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness.
B．Psychologists’ opinion is well proved by Grandma’s case.
C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings.
D．Grandma’s happiness came from modest expectations of life.
【小題4】People who equal happiness with wealth and success ______.
A．consider pressure something blocking their way
B．stress their right to happiness too much
C．a(chǎn)re at a loss to make correct choices
D．a(chǎn)re more likely to be happy
【小題5】What can be concluded from the passage?
A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative
B．Each man is the master of his own fate.
C．Success leads to happiness.
D．Happy is he who is content.

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科目：高中英語 來源：2013-2014學(xué)年陜西西安鐵一中國際合作學(xué)校高三上學(xué)期11月模擬考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

 A funny thing happened on the way to the communications revolution: we stopped talking to one another.

I was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and... I became invisible, absent from the conversation. The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communications technology is a tragedy to the closeness of human interaction（互動(dòng)）. With email and instant messaging over the internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With voice mail, you can conduct  entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom  has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.

As almost every contact we can imagine between human  beings gets automated（自動(dòng)化）, the alienation index（疏遠(yuǎn)指數(shù)） goes up. You can't  even call a person to get the phone number of another person  any more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.

I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone,  an ATM card, a voice mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn't wise... they're a great help to us. It's some of  their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.

More and more. I find myself hiding behind e­mail to do a job meant for conversation. Or being relieved that voice mail   picked up because I didn't really have time to talk. The industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier ...or at least facilitating my antisocial instincts.

 So I've put myself on technology restriction: no instant   messaging with people who live near me, no cell phoning in the presence of friends, no letting the voice mail pick up when I'm at home.

1.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A. The Advance of Communications Technology

B. The Consequences of modern Technology

C. The Story of Communications Revolution

D. The Automation of Modern Communications

2.The sentence “Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent” means that ________.

A. the people sitting beside you have to go away to receive a phone call

B. you can hardly get in touch with the people sitting beside you

C. modern technology makes it hard for people to have a face-­to­-face talk

D. people can now go to work without going to the office

3.The writer feels that the use of modern communications is ________.

A. satisfying   B. encouraging  C. disappointing D. embarrassing

4.The passage implies that ________.

A. modern technology is bridging the people

B. modern technology is separating the people

C. modern technology is developing too fast

D. modern technology is interrupting our communication

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014屆四川成都石室中學(xué)高三10月月考英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

A funny thing happened on the way to the communication revolution: we stopped talking to one another.

I was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and suddenly, I became invisible, absent from the conversation.

The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communication technology is a tragedy to the closeness of human interaction. With email and instant messaging over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With voice-mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.

As almost every contact we can imagine between human beings gets automated, the emotional distance index goes up. You can’t even call a person to get the phone number of another person any more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.

I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice-mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn’t wise. They’re a great help to us. It's some of their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.

More and more, I find myself hiding behind e­mail to do a job meant for conversations or being relieved with voice-mail picking up because I don't really have time to talk. The industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier.

1.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A. The Advance of Modern Technology

B. The Consequences of Communication Technology

C. The Story of Communication Revolution

D. The Automation of Modern Communication

2.Which is NOT TURE according to the passage?

A. The author has decided not to use his phone when he is with his friend.

B. Modern technology makes it hard for people to have a face-to-face talk.

C. The limited use of communication device brings much inconvenience to the author.

D. The industry intended to keep people in touch is taking them away from each other.

3.The writer feels that the use of modern communication is ______.

A. satisfying          B. encouraging

C. disappointing       D. embarrassing

4.The passage implies that ______.

A. modern technology is bridging the people   

B. modern technology is separating the people

C. modern technology is developing too fast

D. modern technology is interrupting people

 

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