From Rome and Venice to the rolling hills of Tuscany and the charm of Milan, Italy is a bottomless well of attractions. It is a motherland of artists and scientists that changed the shape of the world. Here are some places you should see on your vacations to Italy.
Valley of the Temples
Welcome to Sicily and one of its most amazing attractions. The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento is an extensive archaeological site containing the well-preserved remains of various Doric temples dating from the 5th century B.C. In accord with standard criteria (标准) for both Greek and Roman temples, all structures face east so that the statue of the god housed inside will be illuminated (照亮) by the rising sun. The site being located on a ridge overlooking the town, the term “valley” is obviously a misnomer (误称)，but it quite captures the vastness of the place.
Uffizi Gallery
The reputation for being one of the finest universally acclaimed (受到高度赞扬的) museums of all time comes courtesy of masters like Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo and Rubens. Their timeless works are proudly displayed on the top floor of the palace in Florence.
Historic Centre of Siena
Siena may not equal Florence in overall artistic achievement, but its charm makes it a place that no other can compare to. Centered on Piazza del Campo, the historic district is a container of 12th –century Gothic, and a mirror of the Middle Ages. Full of pearls of architecture and cultural highlights, the historic centre of Siena is an excellent trip back in time, ideally to be taken in summer.
Grand Canal
Taking the water bus along the Canal Grande is like going back through centuries of history. The famous Venetian waterway runs more than 3.5 km through all six districts of the historic center. The impressive Renaissance palaces rub shoulders with Gothic arches and marble mixes with gold. Numerous landmarks never cease to provoke (激起) admirable sighs on the way.
1.Which of the following would be better to visit in summer?
A. Uffizi Gallery. B. Valley of the Temples.
C. Grand Canal. D. Historic Centre of Siena
2.The main purpose of the passage is ______.
A. to tell visitors about the advantages of travelling in Italy
B. to supply visitors with information about some famous museums
C. to show visitors the features of Italy
D. to suggest some good places to go in Italy to visitors
3.Which are the unique features of the Grand Canal?
① There are many Gothic arches.
② You can see many Renaissance palaces there.
③ The length of the Venetian waterway is three kilometers.
④ You can take the water bus to enjoy its beauty.
A. ①②③ B. ①②④ C. ②③④D. ①③④
4.Where can one probably find this passage?
A. In a sports newspaper. B. In a geography report.
C. In a traveling magazine. D. In a novel.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
12-year-old Robert Looks Twice appears to be the typical all-American boy. He is the quarterback of his school’s football team, student council president and one of the top students in his class.
But he hasn’t forgotten his Lakota Sioux root. Unlike most children on the reservation (居留地), he keeps his hair long, a symbol of strength, and he performs at powwows (祈祷仪式), traditionally known as wacipis, where he is a champion of the traditional Lakota dance. Robert was inspired to start dancing by his grandfather, John Tail, who had a small role in the famous film about Indian Amercans, Dances with Wolves. Six years ago, John passed away, and Robert wears little wolves on his clothes in his memory.
We are told that his last name, “ Looks Twice”, came about because his ancestors were cautious and always took a second look.
Robert lives in a trailer (拖车) with his grandmother, uncle and eight other cousins. When he gives us a tour, the trailer is falling apart. “ It is getting ready to cave in (坍塌),” says Robert about the kitchen floor. The family also put trash bags on the ceiling, because it’s leaking. “ When it rains it gets all my shirts wet,” he says of another leak in his bedroom. Often the electricity goes off and the family have to use the burners on the stove to heat the house.
This kind of poverty is typical of the reservation. The reservation is the third poorest county in America, and Robert’s community, Manderson, is known for its high crime rate. But despite all the temptations (诱惑) of drugs and alcohol around him, Robert remain focused on being the first person in his family to go to college and then a very big dream.
“ I want to be the first Native American President,” Robert said. “ I want to build better houses and clean up the reservation, because it’s bad. Get people off the drugs and alcohol and spend that money on their children. Build a better school and playground. Try to get a mall down here to help people get work.”
1.What can we learn from Robert’s experience?
A. Everyone should persist in chasing their dreams.
B. The poor can get more help from others.
C. It is never too late to study.
D. It is necessary for everyone to go to college.
2.Unlike Robert, what do most children on the reservation do?
A. They dance like their ancestors.
B. They don’t worship their grandfather.
C. They keep their hair short.
D. They have Lakota Sioux roots.
3.What does Robert do, even though he is living in terrible conditions?
A. He helps people get off drugs and alcohol.
B. He helps people get work by getting a mall.
C. He keeps working toward his dream.
D. He is beginning to build a better house.
4.Why is Robert said to be a typical American boy?
A. He like traveling.
B. He has a higher position in his family.
C. He wants to be the first Native American President.
D. He is excellent in all respects.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous portrait in the world, but now some suspect that the woman with the mysterious smile may not be a woman after all. They are suggesting that the Mona Lisa may be a self-portrait, da Vinci in drag (女装).
Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage (INCCH) is carrying out the research. They think the artist, who died in 1519, was buried at a French castle and they plan to dig up his body. Using CSI-style technology, they want to rebuild da Vinci’s face. Jason Rosenfeld, a member of INCCH, says, “ It shows the reason why we preserved Einstein’s brain or King Tut’s mummy (木乃伊), which throws light on the problem we are working on.”
“Now we want to get the body of Leonardo. We want to see what he died of, we want to see his DNA, we want to see the size of his head, and what his facial feature were like, so we can know whether this was a self-portrait.”
The Mona Lisa was painted around 500 years ago. Beyond that, we know almost nothing about the painting that is now on display at the Louvre in Paris.
But will the exhumation (发掘) discover the truth behind the Mona Lisa? Not likely, according to Rosenfeld. “If the French government really wants to help find out what this is about, what they should do is allow us to clean the Mona Lisa. We will learn much more from it and understand it better if we are allowed to clean the painting than by digging up a body.”
1.What can be learnt from the text?
A. The French government will be in charge of digging up da Vinci’s body.
B. The INCCH will learn more if allowed to clean the Mona Lisa painting.
C. The exhumation will help uncover the truth behind the Mona Lisa.
D. The French government wants to help find out the truth.
2.Which of the following is TRUE about the Mona Lisa?
A. It is now preserved in France.
B. It is a self-portrait of da Vinci in drag.
C. It has the same long history as King Tut’s mummy.
D. It was painted in 1519.
3.What’s the question that the INCCH is researching on?
A. What da Vinci died of.
B. Whether da Vinci liked dressing in drag.
C. Whether the Mona Lisa was painted by da Vinci.
D. Whether the Mona Lisa is da Vinci’s self-portrait.
4.What the underlined phrase, “ throws light on”, in the second paragraph mean?
A. Pays attention to.
B. Makes people feel confident.
C. Makes it possible for people to know.
D. Draws people’s attention.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Girls who play with Barbie dolls tend to see fewer career options available to them, compared with the options available to boys, according to a new study by researchers at Oregon State University and the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz.
The study’s authors, psychology professors, Aurora Sherman of Oregon State University and Eileen Zurbriggen at UC Santa Cruz, describe their findings as significant. “This is one of the first studies to investigate how playing with sexualized dolls affects young girls, and also one of the first to look at the impact of such play on achievement or career aspirations (愿望), rather than body image,” said Zurbriggen. Sherman suggests that Barbie and similar dolls are part of the burden of early and inappropriate sexuality placed on girls.
Sherman and Zurbriggen used girls’ doll play to study the impact of fender role socialization, a process through which children learn to follow cultural norms and which encourages gender stereotypical(约定俗成的) behavior.
Thirty-seven girls from the age of four to seven from an Oregon college town were randomly arranged to play for five minutes with either a sexualized Doctor Barbie or Fashion Barbie doll, or with a more neutral (中性的) Mrs. Potato Head doll. The girls were then shown photographs of ten occupations and asked how many they themselves or boys could do in the future.
The girls who played with a Barbie doll saw themselves in fewer occupations, compared with boys. Those girls who played with Mrs. Potato Head reported nearly as many career options available for themselves as for boys.
The two Barbie dolls were the same except for clothing, with unrealistic bodies, extremely youthful and attractive faces, and long full hair. The researchers believe that the doll itself has more of an effect on girls than the role or career aspirations suggested by its costume.
“It’s significant that a few minutes of play with a Barbie doll had an immediate impact on the number of careers that girls saw as possible for themselves,” Zurbriggen said. “And it didn’t matter whether the Barbie doll was dressed as a model or as a doctor, suggesting that the doll’s sexualized shape and appearance might have more of an effect than whatever accessories (装饰品) are packaged with her.”
1.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Playing with dolls affects the academic performance of young children.
B. Body image has a big influence on girls’ career options.
C. Researchers used doll play to study the impact of gender role socialization on girls.
D. Boys who played with a Fashion Barbie doll found more career options than girls.
2.What is stressed in the second paragraph?
A. The method adopted by the study.
B. The significance of the study.
C. The purpose of the study.
D. The process of the study.
3.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Why Barbie dolls are the world’s best-selling dolls.
B. That playing with Barbie dolls could limit girls’ career choices.
C. What negative effects Barbie dolls have on young girls in the long term.
D. That Barbie dolls make girls want to be thin.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Once a wise man was walking from one town to another with a few of his students. While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake. They ____ there and the wise man told one of his students, “ I am _____. Get me some water from the lake there.”
The student _____ up to the lake. When he reached it, he ______ that some people were ______ clothes in the water, and, right at that moment, a cart (四轮车) started ______ the lake. As a result, the water became very ______. The student thought, “ How can I give this muddy water to my teacher to drink!” So he ______ and told the wise man, “ The water there is very muddy. I don’t think it is ______ to drink.”
After about half an hour, again the wise man asked the _____ student to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The student obediently (顺从的) went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely ______ water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to drink. So he ______ some water in a pot and took it to his teacher.
The wise man looked at the water, and then he looked up at the student and said, “ See _____ you did to make the water clean. You let it be … and the mud ______ on its own --- and you got clear water… Your mind is also like that. When it is ______, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to ______ any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”
What did the wise man _______ here? He said, “ It is effortless.” ______ peace of mind is effortless process. When there is peace inside you, that ______ permeates (蔓延) to the outside. It ______ around you and in the environment, so that people around start feeling that peace and grace.
1.A. left B. separated C. stopped D. complained
2.A. hungry B. hot C. worried D. thirsty
3.A. set B. walked C. rode D. rushed
4.A. predicted B. noticed C. expected D. knew
5.A. washing B. buying C. selling D. exchanging
6.A. crossing B. plugging C. stepping D. driving
7.A. still B. cold C. unusual D. muddy
8.A. called in B. went back C. pushed forward D. came on
9.A. normal B. tasty C. safe D. easy
10.A. insightful B. similar C. same D. kind
11.A. clear B. fresh C. dirty D. quiet
12.A. offered B. heated C. observed D. collected
13.A. what B. where C. why D. how
14.A. mixed up B. broke down C. settled down D. dried out
15.A. hurt B. damaged C. interrupted D. disturbed
16.A. put in B. take in C. give off D. dig out
17.A. perform B. emphasize C. appreciate D. operate
18.A. Creating B. Sharing C. Discovering D. Having
19.A. situation B. process C. peace D. care
20.A. benefits B. spreads C. fills D. Surrounds
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读理解七选五: (共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
You probably love watching movies. They can be funny, sad, imaginative, inspiring and so much more! There are so many possibilities and so many great movies to watch!
The making of a movie usually begins with a script. _1.__ The producer is the person who is responsible for coordinating aspects of the film like budge and scheduling. The producer plans how the project will be carried out and he usually starts by hiring a director!
_2.__ The director will usually identify themes or feelings that he or she wants the movie to give to its audience and then gather all the other people who will be needed, such as costume designers, makeup artists, cameramen, and, of course, actors!
Next, shooting (拍摄) begins! ___3.__ Often a director wants to get several “ take” (一次拍摄的电影镜头) of a scene or moment and usually only a few minutes of the movie are finished in one day’s work. __4.___ So once filming is finished, the director must then work with editors to piece them all together, deciding which takes to use and adding in some special effects.
The entire process from getting the script to editing the scenes generally takes months or even years. Once it is ready, the finished movie is then sent to movie theatres. ___5.___
A. The actual filming can be a slow process.
B. The way that movies are made has changed a lot over time.
C. In movies the director’s job is to bring the script to life on camera.
D. Scenes are also usually not shot in order.
E. People can watch and enjoy it in the theatre
F. It gets bought by a movie studio or a producer.
G. The producer plays a very important role in making a movie.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
My interest in Chinese food started years ago, when I was a young reporter for the Washington Post. Our office wasn’t far from Chinatown, 1.______ I found some very good Chinese restaurant.
The first time I ever ate Chinese food, I loved it. I 2._______ (notice) the fresh taste of the meat and vegetables. When I learned more about the food, I began to understand why 3.______ has this special feature.
Many years ago, china had 4.______ energy crisis because it lost much of its wood due to over population and poor management of its forests. This5._____ (lose) was very bad for the country, of course, but it turned out to be very good for the food. Wood became very expensive and hard to get, so the Chinese had to either find a substitute for their6._____ (value) wood, or learn how to use it better. There weren’t any substitutes so people found ways to economize.
In order to economize in 7._____ (cook), they had to use very little wood. So they started cutting their meat and vegetables into small pieces before they put them in the hot oil. That way, the food cooked8.____ (fast) and they saved more fuel. The food 9.____ (prepare) in this way kept its fresh flavor--- and it’s this flavor 10._____ attracts people from other countries to the art of Chinese cooking.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加，删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（＾），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
There was a story where an old man was digged a well to find water. Deep although the well was, he still couldn’t find water. He was rather tired, so he has to give up. If he knew the fact that the water was just an inch deep, he would continue to dig until he made it.
So we must acknowledge the importance of perseverance. Perseverance is priceless about this competitive society. We should attach the importance to perseverance. Stick to that you are doing and believe that success is just around the corner.
Perseverance is what it takes achieve one’s success. Without perseverance, one may find that hard to realize his dream. Don’t be discouraging. It’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
书面表达（满分25分）
假设你是星光中学的学生李华，最近你要参加“汉字英雄”比赛，你的外国好友Tom经常参加各种大型比赛，有着非常丰富的比赛经验，赛前就如何调整心态你向他寻求意见，请根据以下要点写一封邮件：
1. 比赛的简单介绍；
2. 寻求意见；
3. 表达感谢。
注意：
1.词数120左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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难度: 困难查看答案及解析