Two little girls who are lovely in Britain are bringing thousands of people together to sign a petition (请愿书) demanding that Burger King and McDonald’s stop giving away free plastic toys.
With the help of their mother, nine-year-old Ella and seven-year-old Caitlin started an online petition in order to persuade the fast food giants (巨头) to do away with the wasteful toys that come with Happy Meals and Junior Meals.
Since starting the petition, the youngsters have got over 350,000 signatures of their 500,000 goal, and the call to action has already received further support from adults and children.
“We’ve been learning all about the environment at school and the problem of plastic. It made us very sad to see how plastic harms wildlife and pollutes the ocean, and we want to change this,” reads the petition. “That’s why we want Burger King and McDonald’s to think of the environment and stop giving away plastic toys with their kids meals.”
“We like to go to eat at Burger King and McDonald’s, but children only play with the plastic toys for a few minutes before they get thrown away and harm animals and pollute the sea. We want anything they give us to be environmentally friendly so we can protect the planet for ourselves and for future generations,” they continued.
In addition to the girls making a convincing argument, the amount of signatures on the petition almost doubled after reporters with the BBC’s War on Plastic followed the young activists to the McDonald’s headquarters in order to present the petition.
Since the little girls’ story started being picked up by international news outlets, Burger King and McDonald’s have emailed statements to CNBC detailing their plans for making their free toys more environmentally friendly.
1.How did the two girls begin their petition?
A.By BBC.
B.By CNBC.
C.By Internet.
D.By newspapers.
2.Why are the two little girls gathering many people together?
A.To gain people’s attention.
B.To get over 350,000 signatures.
C.To eat at Burger King and McDonald’s.
D.To stop two giants presenting free plastic toys.
3.What will Burger King and McDonald’s plan to do after the petition?
A.To email statements to BBC.
B.To make a convincing argument.
C.To sell more environmentally friendly toys.
D.To give away more environmentally friendly toys.
4.Which of the following best describes the two little girls’ story?
A.It’s about product promotion.
B.It’s about company introduction.
C.It’s about commercial advertising.
D.It’s about environmental protection.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
“I had no intention to adopt a cat that day. I just liked being around animals. ” Miranda says. But when she saw Nala in her metal cage, “We made eye contact and I couldn’t resist (抗拒) her big blue eyes.” At that point, “Nala was so small. I asked the shelter if I could hold her. Once I had Nala in my arms, Nala looked up at me and licked (舔) my face.” And that was when she knew she had to take this kitty home.
Still, Miranda never imagined Nala would become an Insta-star. “I started Nala’s Instagram account in 2012 as a way to share photos with my close friends and family in Thailand,” she explained. The possibility of Nala gaining attention beyond that small group of people hadn’t occurred to her until it happened.
Miranda says, “Each time Nala’s photo was featured on Instagram’s popular page, her account would gain 1,000 new followers. ” From there, Nala’s popularity snowballed. Large nationwide brands messaged Miranda about hiring Nala to do ads. “This took us by surprise because we couldn’t believe that a big brand wanted to pay them to take photos with their products next to Nala”.
Nala started life out in a shelter, just waiting to be loved like many other animals that were abandoned. Today that dream has surely come true. Nala has over 4 million followers on Instagram, which earned her the title “Guinness World Records Most Popular Cat on Instagram.”
In addition to managing her Insta fame, Nala is being asked to test various cat food brands. More importantly, “Nala is our chance to share the love to help create a better life for other animals, so they can grow well and bring joy to the world like Nala has.”
1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A.Visits to a shelter. B.Love at first sight.
C.Power of blue eyes. D.Duty to adopt cats.
2.Why did Miranda open Nala’s Instagram account?
A.To meet Nala’s needs. B.To assist Nala be a star.
C.To share Nala’s pictures. D.To attract public attention.
3.How did Miranda feel about Nala’s popularity?
A.Satisfied. B.Amazed.
C.Upset. D.Disappointed.
4.What does the underlined phrase “that dream” in paragraph 4 refer to?
A.Being eager to be loved.
B.Starting life in the shelter.
C.Gaining chances to earn money.
D.Being raised by Instagram fans.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electhical generating(发电)and transmission(输送)systen for the 21th century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the suurouding community. The same is true of big solar ppants and the power lines that will be laid dowm to move electricity around.
The 19thcentury saw land grants(政府拨地)offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads ,leaving public land in between privately owned land . In much of the west ,some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped ,and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management ,with the completion or the interstate highway system ,many of the small towns which sprang up as railway stops and developed well ,have lost their lifeblood and died .
Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the west .this is not an argument against building then ,we need alternative energy badly .and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now .
So trade-offs will have to be made .some scenic sport will be sacrificed .some species (物种)will be forced to move ,or will be carefully moved to special accommodations ,deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects .
The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter .the 21stcentury development of the American west as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money to do a lot of good .but it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind ,just like the railroad and the highway .
The money set aside in negotiated trade –offs and the institution that control will shape the west far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines .so let’s remember the effects of the railroad and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the west .
1.what was the problem caused by the construction of the railways ?
A.small towns along the railways became abandoned .
B.some railroad stops remained .
C.land in the west was hard to manage .
D.land grants went into private hands.
2.what is the major concern in the development of alternative energy according to the last two paragraphs ?
A.the transmission of power B.the use of money and power
C.the conservation of solar energy D.the selection of an ideal place
3.what is the author ‘s attitude towards building solar plants ?
A.cautious B.approving C.doubtful D.disapproving
4.which is the best title for the passage ?
A.how the railways have affected the west
B.how solar energy could reshape the west
C.how the effects of power plants can be reduced
D.how the problems of the highways have been settled
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Little George Adamson ran to the window, hoping to find a white word. But once he drew the curtains, disappointment set in. It was another year without snow on Christmas.
In the UK, where he grew up, December is not a particularly snowy month, yet shops sell cards with white Christmas illustrations and restaurants are decorated with fake snow. This has always intrigued people like Adamson. Where are people taking on these expectations if they haven't lived them? Now, as a college teacher, Adamson knows who to blame for his misplaced expectations Charles Dickens, who populated his stories with snowy Christmas holiday.
Dickens “grew up during the coldest decade England has seen and his short stories and A Christmas Carol seem to owe we much to his impressionable years” , writes anthropologist Brian Fagan in his book .It was so icy during Dickens's early years that the River Thames froze in February of 1814 . For Dickens, who was born in 1812 . Christmas must have been a bitterly cold experience. Years later, when Dickens sat down to write his novels and short stories, the author populated them with his memories of what Christmas looked like back then.
But that doesn't mean a white Christmas' has been common in the decades since. Our program asked the Met Office for more information about Christmas snow in the UK, as tracked by their more than 200 stations across the country. Most years, no more than 20 stations report snow. In the UK, the Met Office explains, it is far more likely to see snow between January and March than in December.
Then how can one man's writing change our collective understanding of a climatic phenomenon?
Dickens is credited, particularly in Britain, as the man who made Christmas fashionable again. As the Industrial Age set in and people moved around the country, traditions and customs were lost. In the first decades of the 1800s, both Sir Walter Scott and Washington Irving felt sorry for the loss of former festivities. When Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 1843, Britons were attached to the holiday season, as many Britons missed the Christmas of their youth.
1.The underlined word “intrigued" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to .
A.bored B.interested
C.upset D.delighted
2.Adamson's expectation of a white Christmas comes from .
A.literary works B.climatic records
C.Christmas cards D.childhood experience
3.Why is Christmas white in Dickens's writing?
A.He was influenced by other writers of his time,
B.He intended to meet readers' expectation
C.The River Thames froze when he wrote the stories.
D.The snowy Christmas in his childhood impressed him .
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Sir Walter Scout was not in favor of Charles Dickens
B.Christmas was not fashionable before Charles Dickens was born
C.Dickens' literary work brought out the Christmas memories of Britons
D.The Industrial Age accounted for the passion for traditions and customs
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
My kids sit in Gee's living room and excitedly lit old New Year decorations out of a well-loved cardboard box. She tells me that she and Tom built their decoration collection piece by piece during each year's after-New Year sale. She smiles as we leave with the box
We first met Tom and Gee in the early days of our marriage, someone had been returning our garbage cans to the garage each garbage day, and Jim and I had wondered who. Then one day we spotted him: an elderly man who lived across the street.
I baked cookies and left them on a bench outside the garbage with a thank-you note. When we got home from work that day, a typed letter had replaced the gift. The letter was from Tom and explained how he had come to walk the neighborhood on garbage day, retuning cans for people he barely knew. Back where he'd been fighting a war, his young wife, Gee, had found herself living alone. Neighbors had taken the time to handle her garbage cans so she didn't have to, and he never forgot. Now he paid it forward by doing the same for all of us. Unfortunately a few years after we'd moved in, Tom died.
These days, we're piling up boxes of our own. We're planning a move. The house that seemed so huge six years ago is filled to capacity with furniture and books and toys and, of course, people, We know it's time to go, and yet we can't seem to stick the For Sale sign up on the grassland. Gaining a third bedroom and maybe an office sometimes seems like a lousy trade for all we stand to lose.
It's not just Gee and Tom. It’s the man who lets our kids pick peaches of the tree in his front yard. It's the ladies who call Jim when their pool filter breaks and leave overflowing baskets for our kids on Easter. It's the officer who smiles and waves and makes me feel a little safer when Jim is away. It is they who teach us what it means to be a neighbor.
1.What do we know about the New Year decorations according to paragraph 1?
A.The kids don't like them.
B.Gee is willing to give them to us.
C.Gee sees them as useless now. ,
D.Gee and Tom made them by themselves.
2.How did the author get to know Tom?
A.Tom lived across the street.
B.Tom liked the cookies the author baked.
C.Tom returned the garbage cans for the author.
D.Tom shared their decorations with the author.
3.Tom decided to help his neighbors because
A.they had just moved into the community
B.he had been saved by a neighbor during the war
C.his wife had been helped by the neighbors during his absence
D.there were so many garbage cans in the neighborhood at that time
4.What can we infer from the underlined sentence?
A.Their house couldn't be sold at a high price
B.The author didn't want to leave their neighbors
C.The author's family was in bad need of a third bedroom
D.Their moving out would be a great loss for the neighbors
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Pop Culture Happy Hour
From the radio and podcasting giants at NPR, Pop Culture Happy Hour is a joyous celebration of popular culture that dives into movies and TV shows, Enthusiastically presented , it's full of thoughtful and intelligent criticism. Episodes are short and stand alone, each with a singular topic. This means you can dip in and out. Above all, it's fun while being informative.
Literary Friction
Running for five years, Literary Friction is a monthly podcast hosted by Carrie Pitt and Octavia Bright. The friends —one from the US, one from the UK interview authors about their lives, work and inspirations, as well as discussing wider literary topics and giving out book recommendations. Literary Friction is a thoughtful podcast, which calls for active listening and Plitt and Bright ask intelligent and profound questions. You will discover great things to read and feel smarter after you've listened to this.
Awaye!
Aboriginal culture is in the spotlight for this Australian podcast from ABC Radio National, which is presented by smooth-voiced broadcaster Daniel Browning. While it focuses on the experience of native Australians, Awaye! also has interviews with, and documentaries about native people and their arts and culture from around the world. A thoughtful podcast, Awaye!’s interviews successfully combine the critical arts interview with in-depth discussions about tradition and history.
Audio Poem of the Day
From the Poetry Foundation, this is a daily dose of poetry delivered by some of the best-placed people to do it. Each day, classic and contemporary poems are read aloud by actors or the poets themselves and delivered to wherever you listen to podcasts. Perfect for when you may need a quiet moment, or just a distraction from modern life. The poems are simply presented, with no background music- -just the voice and the words, Try listening to one or two before bed.
1.Which podcast requires active listening of listeners?
A.Pop Culture Happy Hour B.Literary Friction
C.Awaye! D.Audio Poem of the Day
2.Which is most likely to be talked about in Daniel Browning's podcast?
A.The decline of the aboriginal languages.
B.The exhibition of native American artists
C.Puzzles of modern Australian adolescents
D.His recent interview with a UK singer.
3.What is the purpose of this text?
A.To recommend good podcasts
B.To stress the importance of literature
C.To raise fund for the podcasts
D.To invite audience to participate.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
My parents visited me to help with a project I’d put off — cleaning the house. Now, Mom and Dad are— hmm, how should I put this? — cheap! So when I offered to pick up the cleaner, they said, “Never mind. We have everything we need right here in the house.”
Mom pushed past me and went straight for the white vinegar (醋). I watched her remove a dirty mark on the blanket with it. I thought it a bit strange, but less so than her smelling at my bookshelf. When one book caused her nose to blow, she walked it into the fridge.
“That’ll clear up that unpleasant smell for a while,” she said. I nodded in agreement, although I wasn’t sure. I thought only her husband would know. I found Dad in the yard adding vodka, and some dish soap into a spray bottle (喷雾瓶).
“I’m hunting weeds,” he said.
“A wine?”
“Yes, the wine does dry them up.”
How come? They must have lost their marbles! I thought as I walked back into the house, where Mom was cleaning my shoes with banana skins.
“Mom, what are you …” BAM! I slipped on a banana skin. “Ooh, my back ...”
“Don’t move! I’ll get the meat tenderizer (嫩化剂)!”
However, she first pulled off my shoe, grabbed a sock and disappeared into the kitchen. I tried to run for my life, but Mom was quicker. She returned with my sock filled with meat tenderizer and water, and rubbed it on my back.
Before I had a chance to call 911, something amazing happened—my back began to feel better! It was working.
Suddenly, I saw things anew. My shoes were clean. And though the blanket smelled like salad, the mark was gone. Inside the yard stood Dad, drinking his weed killer and admiring his handiwork.
1.The parents come to my house _________.
A.to do the cleaning
B.to cook a delicious meal
C.to prepare a gathering
D.to share a learning experience
2.What does the underlined sentence “They must have lost their marbles!” in the text mean?
A.They wasted time. B.They were clever.
C.They made wonders. D.They were crazy.
3.Which of the following can best describe the parents?
A.Foolish but reliable B.Generous and devoted
C.Mean but intelligent D.Caring and experienced
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Mom's Love B.Life Wisdom
C.A Sudden Visit D.Magic Cleaner
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A small dairy(乳制品)farm that floats on waterways is being tested in the Netherlands as a way to bring animal products closer to the cities and save space.
Dutch businesswoman Minke Van Wingerden looks proudly at her 32 cows at an automated milking station on an unusual farm: a platform located on one of the waterways in Rotterdam port. She is one of the developers of the “Floating Farm,” testing whether dairy farming like this is feasible in the heart of one of the world’s most urban, industrial areas.
“This idea started in 2012. My partner Peter was involved in a project in New York and then Hurricane Sandy hit New York very badly, so it was flooded and after two days there was no fresh food on the shelves anymore,” she said, “So then we realized, ‘Why not produce fresh food on the water close to the city?’, and that’s where the idea came up.”
The cows can rest on the upper level of the structure. Milk and waste processing facilities are located on the lower deck, as well as the visitors’ entrance and store. The top level of the structure is used to collect rainwater. Power for the farm comes from a solar panel floating nearby.
“The amount of arable(可耕的)land is decreasing and the world population is growing. So how can we produce enough healthy food in the future?” Ms. Van Wingerden said. “Why not use water to produce fresh healthy food near to the consumers?”
The whole farm is equipped with the latest dairy tech such as an automated feeding system, waste-moving robots, self-serve cleaning stations, and the smartphone app. It sells some bottles of raw milk on-site to visitors, while the rest is turned into milk. It is sold to customers nearby via an online grocery, Picnic, known for its small, electric delivery trucks.
1.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “feasible” in paragraph 2?
A.Disgusting. B.Practical.
C.Enjoyable. D.Flexible.
2.What do we know about the platform?
A.It was once flooded by a hurricane.
B.It is powered by the waterways nearby.
C.It was originally invented in New York.
D.It has three floors for different functions.
3.We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
A.picnic deals mainly with dairy products
B.electric equipment is being tested on the farm
C.modern tech has been applied to farm management
D.visitors prefer bottles of raw milk to farm-made milk
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.New Food Farm Solves Problems of the Public
B.“Floating Farm” Creates Local Dairy for Cities
C.Latest Invention Contributes to Food Shortages
D.Less Arable Land Threatens World Population
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
As Alice and Mike watched their son Allan graduate from Cambridge University last month, they thought back to the moment he was born.
“I’m so sorry your baby is blind,” a neighbor had said. Even though Allan’s family were middle class and they lived a comfortable life, as a blind child, Allan Hennessy’s future was poor.
The local hospitals could not offer Allan hope of giving him sight because there weren’t enough eye specialists. But when Allan was 6 months old, an opportunity came and Allan’s father seized it. “My dad sold his car, belongings and some of his land to pay for my treatment. We left our home country with very little.”
The opportunity was an operation in London which restored the sight in Allan’s left eye. “My mom remembers the first time I looked at her: the first time we made eye contact. She burst into tears. Since then, I’ve just been rocking on with the little sight I have,” he explained.
For Allan, life as an immigrant was challenging. When he was accepted into Cambridge University, Allan realized there were so many peers at Cambridge.
“I felt visibly different,” he said. When you’re a half-blind guy climbing the greasy pole, everyone can see that and they judge you, even though they are climbing it too.”
But after spending three years at Fitzwilliam College, Allan said it was transformative(改造作用的). “I met the most amazing people from all over the world.” What would his life be like if he had stayed in his home country? “I wouldn’t have a Cambridge law degree; I wouldn’t even be sighted. My family there have faced terrible events. Perhaps I wouldn’t be alive.”
After graduating this summer, Allan is taking up a scholarship at law school.
“If you’ve got a first-class law degree from Cambridge University, that should set you up for life,” he said. “But when you’re a half-blind immigrant living in Britain today, there is so much more I have to do. The journey has only just begun.”
1.When Allan was born, __________.
A.a local doctor offered to help with his eye problems
B.he lived in a poor area
C.his family was ready to move to London
D.he couldn’t see anything
2.The underlined word “ it” in Paragraph 3 refers to __________.
A.the selling of Mike’s belongings
B.an operation to cure Allan’s eyes
C.the comfortable life in London
D.the bright future of the family
3.How was Allan’s life in Cambridge?
A.He was helped by many of his peers.
B.He worked hard to keep up with his peers.
C.He was bullied by others for many years.
D.He found it challenging but life-changing.
4.We can infer from the last paragraph that Allan__________.
A.won’t stop challenging himself in the future
B.is proud of his achievements in college
C.is determined to help other half-blind students
D.is unsatisfied with his life as an immigrant
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In March, 2016, the pride of humankind was crushed by a computer. Google's AlphaGo defeated the South Korean Go master Lee Sedol four games to one, as the world looked on with shock and awe. Artificial intelligence had suddenly reached a new and unexpected height.
But as smart as AlphaGo is, it's no longer the best Go "player" in the world. Google's artificial intelligence group, DeepMind, has created the next generation of its Go-playing program, called AlphaGo Zero. The new AI program is unique in the way it learned to play Go. Instead of learning from thousands of human matches, as its predecessor (前任) did, AlphaGo Zero mastered Go in just two days without any human knowledge of the game and defeated AlphaGo by day three, reported The Guardian. It then went on to defeat AlphaGo 100 games to zero.
To learn how to play Go, AlphaGo Zero played millions of matches against itself using only the basic rules of the game to rapidly create its own knowledge of it. Like the previous version, it used "reinforcement (增强) learning to become its own teacher," according to DeepMind's website.
"It's more powerful than previous approaches," David Silver, AlphaGo's lead researcher, told The Guardian, "because by not using human data, or human expertise in any fashion, we've removed the constraints of human knowledge and it is able to create knowledge itself."
AlphaGo Zero's approach to self-learning is a significant advancement in AI that could be applied to help solve some of the world's biggest problems, according to a recent research report published in the journal Nature. For example, DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis argues that AlphaGo Zero could probably find cures for a number of serious diseases within weeks, according to The Telegraph. Indeed, the AI is now being used to study protein folding, which is connected to diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
So now that AI has gone beyond the bounds of human knowledge, perhaps the question is not about what AI can learn from humans, but what humans can learn from AI. We can only wait and see.
1.What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?
A.AlphaGo defeated Lee Sedol five games to zero.
B.AlphaGo Zero defeated AlphaGo within one day.
C.AlphaGo Zero has become the new best Go player.
D.AlphaGo Zero is the first program to defeat a human at Go.
2.What does the underlined word "constraints" in the fourth paragraph probably mean?
A.advantages B.disadvantages
C.restrictions D.regulations
3.What's the possible application of AI in the future according to the article?
A.Treating diseases. B.Making new Go rules.
C.Solving math problems. D.Creating new proteins.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析