Creativity is the ability to generate novel,useful ideas and innovation is the successful application of those ideas.With this in mind,it is easy to think that technology has made us more creative:the digital revolution(改革)has clearly produced a large number of innovative products and services.
However,it would be naive(幼稚的)to imply that these activities are truly indicative of creativity,even if quantity does eventually lead to quality.For instance,the probability of taking a great photograph does increase when there are millions of Instagram pictures taken every day,and when 500 million tweets are generated(严生)daily,it is highly probable that one or two will be funny.
Yet,much of the content people generate is unimportant and unoriginal.Before the Internet it would have stayed in the minds of their authors,but our thoughts can now be broadcasted to the. world as if they were worthy creations.The only thing that appears to have increased,rather greatly,is people's self-perceived(自认为的)creativity.From the use of emoji(表情符号)instead of words,to the use of pre-determined functions to express our views-liking,sharing and disliking,these new forms human interaction promote efficient-but lazy-behaviors so that we can devote more time to consuming more content.
Although user-generated content has been growing rapidly in the past decade,much of it is noise and the result is that valuable and trustworthy information is now harder to find.In an age of information glut(过剩),everything is freely available but knowledge is hard to gain.This paradox highlights the importance of the"less is more"philosophy of life.
Curiosity evolved to make sense of the world and help us master our environments.Our ancestors must have benefited from taking on as much information from their surroundings as they could paying attention to everything and turning into the learning machine.Yet in an age of information glut,the curious mind is forced to ignore as much of the available data as it can,in order to consume only what is valuable.
1.Why are the examples of great pictures and funny tweets mentioned in Paragraph 2?
A.To show quantity will lead to quality.
B.To explain creativity is something impressive.
C.To show technology hasn't made us more creative.
D.To explain innovative products come from creativity.
2.What does the author think of the new forms of human interaction?
A.They are worthy creations.
B.They kill people's creativity actually.
C.They prevent effective communication.
D.They help people consume more useful content.
3.Which of the following explains the underlined part"This paradox"in the last but one paragraph?
A.There' re more resources for knowledge but few people are willing to use them.
B.Too much information has generated material wealth but not spiritual wealth.
C.We live in an age of information explosion but we find it difficult to get knowledge.
D.Many people stick to the"less is more"philosophy with large amounts of information at hand.
4.Which of the following statements about user-generated content does the author most probably agree with?
A.Much of it is original information about the real world:
B.It is the fruit of our ancestors' mastering our environments..
C.It gives the public quick and easy access to the required information.
D.It presents us with the challenge of telling valuable information from worthless content.
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Teens are now less likely to do part time jobs,drink alcohol or go out without their parents than their counterpart 10 or 20 years ago.This generation of teens is delaying the responsibilities and pleasures of adulthood.Some people think that today's teens are more virtuous(品行端正的) and responsible.Others have suggested that today's teens aren't working because they are simply lazy.
To figure out what's really going on,we should look at these trends with"life history theory" taken into consideration.A"fast life method"was the more common parenting approach in the mid-20th century,when fewer labor-saving devices were available and the average woman had four children.The parents needed to focus on day to day survival.As a result,kids needed to care for themselves sooner.A"slow life method"on the other hand is more common in times and places where families have fewer children and spend more time on each child's growth and development.When the average family has two children,preparing for college can begin as early as primary schools.The two methods are adaptations to a particular cultural background,so each isn't naturally"good"or"bad".
Delaying exposure to alcohol,then,could make young adults less prepared to deal with drinking in college.One study found teens who rapidly increased there binge-drinking(酗酒) were more at risk of alcohol dependence than those who learned to drink over a longer period of time.The same might be true of teens who don't work,drive or go out much in high school. College administrators describe students who can't do anything without calling their parents. Employers worry that more young employees lack the ability to work independently.
However,the"slow-life method"is also likely beneficial as teens are spending more time developing socially and emotionally before they drive,drink alcohol and work for pay.The key is to make sure that teens eventually get the opportunity to develop the skills they will need as adults: independence,along with social and decision making skills.For parents,this might mean pushing their teenagers out of the house more.
1.According to the text,teens in the past were more____.
A.reliable B.outgoing
C.intelligent D.independent
2.What plays a vital role in the trend of teens growing up more slowly?
A.Social standard
B.Cultural changes
C.Educational development.
D.Methods of education
3.What does the author advise parents to do?
A.Spend less time in accompanying their children.
B..Force their children to leave home at an early age.
C.Encourage their children to take part in social activities.
D.Help their children to get to adulthood as soon as possible.
4.Which of the following can be the best tile for the text?
A.How teens develop skills they need in future
B.Teens take no responsibility for what they do
C.Why today's teens aren't in any hurry to grow up
D.Nowadays teens can't make decisions by themselves
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
If you walked into a cinema recently, the chances are that you would have felt surrounded by superhero movies. It seems like a new one is released every week. However, once upon a time, there weren't any superhero films. All that changed with the release of the first Superman movie in December, 1978.
The first Superman comic book came out in 1938, and it changed the comic industry. Before Superman, nobody wore a cape (披肩) and nobody had a big logo on their chest. He wasn't the first superhero, but he started the so-called "Golden Age of Comic Books" and his look became the archetype (原型) of all superheroes.
Why did people take to Superman? One of the keys is "wish-fulfillment", his creator Jerry Siegel told CurtainUp. com. Indeed, Superman reflects many of the values and characteristics that people admire.
Superman lives as Clark Kent, a news reporter. However, he can become the superhero whenever he needs to. He can fly, lift any object, see through walls and melt steel with his eyes. He is selfless. He chooses to help the people of the Earth by fighting injustices against them.
Over the years, Superman has had different types of enemies and situations, usually related to the problems people faced. When there was a lot of organized crime in cities in the 1930s, Superman fought bad people. When young men went off to fight Nazi Germany, Superman's motto became "truth and justice". And after World War II (1939-1945), when African-Americans were terrorized by violent hate groups, Superman fought against racism.
Today, Superman enjoys global popularity. We all work or study and care about our families and friends. We see problems that we can't change. Through all of these, we struggle to do our best and also to find personal happiness. Superman is the guy we wish we could be. He can save the world and still get Clark Kent to work on time.
1.Why do people like superman?
A.The image of superman is cool.
B.It has always been a cultural tradition.
C.Superman is popularized by news reporters.
D.People wish to be powerful enough to solve hard problems.
2.What can we infer from paragraph 5?
A.Superman's mission changes with times.
B.Superman's archetype is a news reporter.
C.Superman has the power to solve all problems.
D.Superman went to Germany to fight Nazi in World War II.
3.What does the underlined word “these” in the last paragraph refer to?
A.Superman's heroic deeds.
B.Superman's extraordinary abilities.
C.What happens in people's daily life.
D.What people see in superhero movies.
4.Which of the following does the author support?
A.Superheroes do exist in our life.
B.All problems in society should be solved.
C.People find themselves expressed through Superman.
D.Superhero movies need promotion to be more popular.
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Speaking in an interview, Naveen Jain, founder of a space exploration company called Moon Express, said that he believes moon travel is just a decade away. And his company, which is the first private firm to get approval from the U.S. government to carry out the project of moon travel, wants to play a role in helping people get to the moon surface.
''I believe in the next ten years, there is going to be gentlemen on their knees asking their sweethearts, honey, will you go to the moon with me for honey moon?'' Jain said in the interview.
Many people in the technology and scientific communities are crazy about space exploration. Space presents an unprecedented(史无前例的)number of chances for scientific and human advancement. Companies, big and small, are determining how they can create technologies that would allow people to explore space, the moon, and even Mars. Other companies are eyeing ways to play a role in space travel.
The key of that gold rush has been the declining cost of actually getting to space. Jain said that while it once cost billions of dollars to go to the moon, his company's unmanned space flight next year will cost just 7 million. As costs continue to decline(减少),he believes that within the next decade, getting to the moon will cost just $10,000.Better yet, it'll take just four hours to get there.
Still, Mars is the final prize. And even Jain, whose company will focus on moon travel, said that ''Mars is certainly the right place to be finally. '' When asked if he'd like to stage space fights to Mars, Jain said ''of course'', adding that he believes Moon Express could partner with Elon Musk's SpaceX to make that happen.
''Elon will build the rocket and we do the travelers,'' Jain said of a theoretical partnership. ''Generally, he lays the cables and we do the last mile.''
SpaceX and Musk have not said whether they would work alongside Jain and Moon Express. Either way, it looks like hopping from the moon to Mars (and back) might be just a part of our lives.
1.We can learn about moon travel from the passage that
A.it will take less time and money
B.it is already available for all
C.few people are interested in it
D.its future is not bright at all
2.What does the author mean by saying ''Mars is the final prize''?
A.Mars is the final destination difficult but valuable to reach.
B.Mars is the final destination expensive but easy to reach.
C.Mars is the first destination to choose for space travelers.
D.Mars is the last destination to choose for space travelers.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Moon Express is certainly an ideal partner for SpaceX.
B.SpaceX hasn't decided to cooperate with Moon Express.
C.Moon Express and SpaceX used to be close partners.
D.SpaceX has been successful in moon travel exploration.
4.The passage above is most probably taken from the ______section of a newspaper.
A.entertainment B.education C.technology D.literature
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
When you work out a carbon footprint(碳足迹),a lot of factors are taken into consideration. For example, driving to the grocery store bums a certain amount of fuel, and fossil fuels are the primary sources of greenhouse gases. But that grocery store is powered by electricity, and its employees probably drive to work, so the store has its own carbon footprint. In addition, the products that the store sells were all shipped there, so that must also be factored into the total carbon footprint. Beyond that, the fruits. Vegetables, and meats that the store sells were all grown or raised on farms-a process that produces methane(甲烷),which has a greenhouse effect 25 times greater than CO. All of those elements must be combined to understand the full carbon footprint of a given activity.
Although adding up one's own carbon footprint can be difficult, online calculators can do some of the work for you,giving a rough estimate(估算)of your carbon footprint based on the size of your household, the efficiency of your machines, how much you drive or fly, what you eat, and how much you recycle
This isn't perfect, but it is a good way to measure your activities so you can know roughly how much CO2 they produce and take steps to reduce your carbon footprint.
Methods of reducing your carbon footprint include driving more efficient vehicles (or making sure that your current vehicles are properly maintained), taking public transportation, using energy efficient machines, building your home with special materials to reduce heating and air conditioning costs. consuming food that doesn't require as much transportation, and eating less meat which has a higher carbon footprint than fruits and vegetables. People and companies can also offset some of their CO2, emissions(排放)by purchasing carbon credits, the money from which can go into projects such as planting trees or investing in renewable energy.
1.By giving the example of the grocery store, the author wants to tell us that____
A.driving to the store burns a certain amount of fuel
B.the greenhouse effect of methane is greater than that of CO2
C.the fossil fuels are the primary sources of greenhouse gases
D.many factors need to be considered when figuring out a carbon footprint
2.Which of the following best explains the underlined word ''offset'' in the last paragraph?
A.make up for
B.make sense of
C.take control of
D.catch up with
3.The passage is mainly about____
A.whether it is possible to reduce the carbon footprint
B.what we can do to figure out the carbon footprint
C.how to estimate and reduce the carbon footprint
D.why we should reduce the carbon footprint
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs. Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices. Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.
A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos (纹身), nose rings, or certain dress styles. It is true you can’t judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey certain messages. What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are. Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies. Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.
Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money. Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees, because those people represent the companies to their customers.
As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers. There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers. Even though I am open-minded, I can’t expect all our customers are.
There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer. No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.
1.Which of the following is the newspaper editor’s opinion according to Paragraph 2?
A.People’s appearances carry message about themselves.
B.Customers’ choices influence dress standards in companies.
C.Candidates with tattoos or nose rings should be fairly-treated.
D.Strange dress styles should not be encouraged in the workplace.
2.What can be inferred from the text?
A.Candidates have to wear what companies prefer for an interview.
B.What to wear is not a matter of personal choice for companies.
C.Companies sometimes have to change to respect their candidates.
D.Hiring managers make the best impression on their candidates.
3.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A.Employees Matter B.Personal Choices Matter
C.Appearances Matter D.Hiring Managers Matter
4.The author’s attitude towards strange dress styles in the workplace may best be described as .
A.enthusiastic B.negative
C.positive D.sympathetic
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
LIANG TAO.sold 80 pink Givenchy bags in 12 minutes.Becky Fang sold 100 Mini Cooper cars in just five.Both are wanghong,literally"red-hot on the web".Every day millions of Chinese search social media for wanghong posts or tune in to live-streams for wanghong's opinions on everything.The fans are helping this new Chinese Internet star to make money out of their popularity and to shake up the country's e-commerce industry in the process.
A few of wanghong have been hired by luxury brands.Jaeger-LeCoultre, a Swiss watchmaker,hired Papi Jiang for a video ad targeting young urbanites(都市人),including her 27m fans on Sina Weibo,a Twitter-like microblog. Zhang Yi of iiMedia Research,a consulting firm,estimates that up to 15%of sales on shopping sites like Taobao or social-media apps such as WeChat are influenced by wanghong's public support.The length of a dress might be decided by a survey of a wanghong's fans;its launch date might be based on the number of hits,shares or comments it collects,some of which can cause last-minute design changes.
This poses a new challenge for retailers(零售商),whose supply chains must respond even more quickly to wanghong's opinions.Whereas previously a company would look for a celebrity to match its image,wanghong and their admirers are shaping goods.
Another challenge comes directly from wanghong themselves.They increasingly make money not merely from online support or advice but by launching their own e-commerce stores.Sales of goods accounted for just under half of wanghong earnings of 53bn yuan($8bn)in 2016,estimates Analysis,a Chinese market-research firm(the rest came mostly from live-show tips and adverts).
Some wanghong are going a step further.In November Becky Fang launched her own clothing line.Part of her motivation,she says,was that the brands she supported did not always match the trends she was sharing with her followers.By creating her own brand,Becky's Fantasy,she has full control of the quality.She also gains a new income. For the time being only 3-5%of wanghong follow Becky Fang's example,iiMedia Research estimates.But it expects the model to become an industry in its own right, including entertainment and e-commerce,and driven by online data..
1.Why can wanghong use their popularity to make money?
A.Because they are Internet stars.
B.Because they use social media.
C.Because their opinions influence fans..
D.Because they can shake the e-commerce industry.
2.What is the characteristic of the products supported by wanghong?
A.They are fans-based.
B.They are social-media-based.
C. They are design-shared.
D. They are youth-targeted.
3.What are the challenges for retailers?
A.Online support and advice.
B.Increasing sales of goods online.
C.Quick responses to the.market changes.
D.Wanghong's opinions and e-commerce stores.
4.Why do some wanghong create their own brands?
A.Because they want.to attract more fans.
B.Because they want to share with their followers.
C.Because they want to set up a new industry model.
D.Because the brands they speak for can't satisfy their fans.
5.What's the writer's attitude to wanghong?
A.supportive B.objective
C.indifferent D.worried
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
When 1 was a boy we used to live across the road from a big hill with huge oak trees growing out of it.When winter arrived,thick,heavy snow would fall,and my two brothers would grab their sleds heading over to the hill for a day of fun.I remember watching them with envy because 1 was still too small to go sledding.Finally,one winter 1 was considered big enough and joined my brothers as they carried their sleds up the long hill and prepared to ride down it.
The first few trips I rode with one of my brothers and had the time of my life.It was so exhilarating when the wind whipped across my face as I flew down the hillside on the wooden sled.Near the end of the day 1 was overjoyed too when my oldest brother decided to let me try riding the sled all by myself.I climbed on it full of excitement and lay on my stomach.Then with one big push my brother sent me down the snowy hillside.1 was doing pretty well too until I hit an old stump hidden by the snow and went off course,straight towards one of those big oak trees.My heart pounded in my chest and I could hear myself screaming.At the last possible second I rolled off and the sled crashed into the tree.I could hear my brothers running down the hill yelling,“You have to steer(操控)!You have to steer!”
Sadly,that wasn’t the last time I failed to steer when some obstacle knocked me off course in my life.Many times problems,troubles,and my own failures have sent me crashing into the trees of anger, frustration, and despair.I am still learning that life isn’t always safe sledding.I am still learning that it is up to me to steer myself back to love, back to kindness, back to goodness, and back to God.
Life is a trip,but no one ever said it was a smooth ride.Steer well then.Steer straight.Steer your soul towards the light and the love we are all meant for.
1.What do we know about the author when he was very young?
A.He lived on a big hill with huge oak trees on it.
B.He was frightened to go sledding with his brothers.
C.He longed to go sledding with his brothers.
D.He carried his brothers’sleds as they went sledding.
2.Which of the following can replace the underlined word“exhilarating”in Paragraph 2?
A.delightful B.Terrifying
C.ordinary D.violent
3.Why did the author fall off his sled?
A.Because his sled crashed in an oak tree.
B.Because he lost control of his sled.
C.Because his brother pushed it so hard.
D.Because the hillside was snowy.
4.What does the author mean to tell us?
A.Losing control of a sled can be dangerous.
B.Courage and determination can change one’s life.
C.Life can be controlled by one himself
D.Life is a mystery full of coincidences.
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
What do you do when you have a problem? Would you ask a crowd of strangers for a solution? It may sound strange, but it has encouraged this successful innovation (创新). That's the thinking behind a challenge prize.
Challenge prizes come in many shapes and sizes but the basic concept (观念) remains the same. Rather than paying an expert to work out a solution, you offer the prize to anyone who believes they can solve it and presented the first to do so with a prize. Many would argue, “who is better qualified (有资格的) than an expert”. But actually, not using an expert will result in a great deal of thinking outside of the box.
Some argue that formal education can kill creativity, because it sometimes only teaches a single method to achieve the task. Similarly, some suggests that experts can have the same problem. “If we set up a challenge prize, the ‘experts’ that come to compete in it may tell us it can't be done,” says Marcus Shingles, the former CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation.
There are other advantages too. “You are not asking people to use a particular solution set on how to solve that problems. So you get the large amount of diversity,” adds Shingles. And because the crowd acts like a think tank (智囊团). Various thinking can throw up issues that may have been overlooked (忽视).
However, there are dangerous connected to challenge prizes. “You don't want to be creating a challenge prize which inspires people to solve a problem where there is no demand,” says Tris Dyson, the Executive Director of Nesta’s Center for Challenge prizes. This happened in 1979 when a prize of £100,000 was claimed by the first person to fly under human power across the English Channel. Despite its success, it has not led to the adoption of human powered flight as a form of travel. And of course, there are those who invest their personal time and money only to see no return at all.
The pros and cons of challenge prizes affect both problems-setters and problem-solvers. But they don't seem to be going out of style anytime soon. To many, the challenge to innovate and the attraction of the prize are too much to resist (抵制). And there is no solution for that.
1.What is the basic concept behind a challenging prize?
A.Rewarding the first one to solve a challenging problem.
B.Competing with the experts to get a particular solution.
C.Challenging the formal education that kills creativity.
D.Picking out someone more qualified than experts.
2.According to Marcus Shingles, what can be the problem with experts?
A.Overlooking possible details about a problem.
B.The lack of connection on practical innovations.
C.Failure to find a solution due to habitual thinking.
D.Overconfidence in finding a best solution.
3.What is the potential danger of challenge prizes?
A.Prizes received no return in terms of practical use.
B.The money shortage prevents the adoption of innovations.
C.Innovations are likely to go out of date in a short time.
D.The attraction of prize money is hard to resist.
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A.Arguments for formal education.
B.The problem-solving prizes.
C.Dangers connected with challenge prizes.
D.The attraction of innovation.
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Dale Carnegie(戴尔·卡耐基) was an American writer and lecturer, and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking and interpersonal skills.
Born in 1888 in Maryville, Missouri, Carnegie was a poor farmer's boy. His family moved to Belton, Missouri when he was a small child. In his teens, though still having to get up at 4 am every day to milk his parents' cows, he managed to obtain an education at the State Teacher's College in Warrensburg. His first job after college was selling correspondence courses. He moved on to selling bacon, soap, and lard(猪油)for Armour&Company.
After saving $500, Dale Carnegie quit sales in 1911 in order to achieve a lifelong dream of becoming a lecturer. He ended up instead attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, but found little success as an actor. Later he got the idea to teach public speaking. In his first session, he suggested that students speak about "something that made them angry", and discovered the technique that made speakers unafraid to address a public audience. From its beginning, the Dale Carnegie Course developed. Carnegie had made use of the average American's desire to have more self-confidence.
Perhaps one of Carnegie's most successful marketing moves was to change the spelling of his last name from "Carnagey" to Carnegie, at a time when Andrew Carnegie was a widely recognized name.
Carnegie's works include Lincoln the Unknown (1932), Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business (1937), and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948). His greatest achievement, however, was when Simon &. Schuster published How to Win Friends and Influence People. The book was a bestseller from 1936. By the time of Carnegie's death, the book had sold five million copies in 31 languages, and there had been 450,000 graduates of his Dale Carnegie Institute.
Carnegie died at his home in New York in 1955.
1.What do you think of Dale Carnegie's childhood?
A.Joyful. B.Difficult.
C.Lonely. D.Boring.
2.Which of the following is important for Dale Carnegie?
A.Helping people to get wealthy.
B.Encouraging one to trust himself.
C.Teaching people speaking skills.
D.Advising people to live happily.
3.Why did Dale Carnegie change his last name?
A.To get more help and support.
B.To replace Andrew Carnegie.
C.To avoid misunderstanding.
D.To become more famous.
4.Which of the following is Dale Carnegie's most successful work?
A.Lincoln the Unknown
B.How to Win Friends and Influence People
C.How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
D.Public Speaking and Influencing Men in Business
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析