-
Rachel Louise Carson was born on May 27th, 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. She grew up on a farm where she learnt about nature and animals. Rachel loved reading and writing stories when she was young. She even had a story published when she was only ten years old. One of Rachel’s favorite subjects was oceanology(海洋生物学).
Rachel attended college at the Pennsylvania College for Women where she majored in biology. She later got her master’s（硕士） degree in zoology from John’s Hopkins University. After graduation, Rachel taught for a while and then got a job at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. At first, she wrote for a weekly radio program that educated people on marine（海洋的） biology. Later, she became a marine biologist and chief editor of publications for the Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to her work at the Fish and Wildlife Service, Rachel wrote articles for magazines about the ocean. In 1941, she published her first book called Under the Sea Wind. However, her second book, The Sea Around Us, made her famous. The Sea Around Us was published in 1951 and was on the New York Times bestseller list for 39 weeks. With the success of the book, Rachel quit her job at the Fish and Wildlife Service and concentrated on writing full-time.
After Worl
d WarⅡ, farmers began to use pesticides (农药) such as DDT on their crops. Rachel was concerned about the effects that large-scale spraying of DDT may have on the health of people as well as the environment. Rachel began to gather research material on pesticides and write a book about the subject.Rachel spent four years gathering research material and writing the book. She named it Silent Spring referring to bird death due to pesticides and the spring being silent without their songs. Published in 1962, the book became very popular and brought the environmental issues of pesticides to the general public.
On April 14th, 1964, she died of breast cancer in her home in Maryland.
1.What did Rachel Louise Carson major in for her bachelor’s（学士） degree?
A. Oceanology. B. Zoology.
C. Biology. D. Engineering.
2.What is the right order of the following events about Rachel’s life?
a. She collected material for Silent Spring.
b. She taught for a while after graduation.
c. She gave up her job at the Service.
d.
She had her first book published.e. She became a marine biologist.
A. d-a-c-b-e B. b-e-d-c-a
C. d-c-a-b-e D. b-d-c-e-a
3.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. Rachel showed a talent for writing at a young age
B. it took little effort for Rachel to write Silent Spring
C. it was Silent Spring that brought Rachel instant fame
D. Rachel is believed to be more a biologist than a writer
4.What type of writing is the article likely to be?
A. A short story. B. A book review.
C. A biography. D. A news report.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
-
It is commonly believed that all over the world, boys and girls attend a mixed school, where they study together. But boys schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions（情感） and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.
Always boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to correspond to(和……相符) the ＂boy code＂ of hiding their emotions to be a ＂real man＂.
Surprisingly, the findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
George Carl, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when girls do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can adjust lessons to boys’ learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with ＂boy-focused＂ approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute eye, learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given ＂hands-on＂ lessons where they are allowed to walk around. ＂Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine(女性的) and prefer the modern genre (类型) in which violence and sexism are major themes,＂ James wrote.
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel that they had to be ＂masterful and in charge＂ in relationships. ＂In mixed schools, boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means,＂ the study reported.
1.Traditionally, in a mixed school ,boys __________.
A. behave more responsibly B. perform relatively better
C. grow up more healthily D. receive a better education
2.The writer argues that a single-sex school would __________.
A. encourage boys to express their emotions more freely
B. help boys to be more competitive in schools
C. force boys to be their emotions to be ＂real men＂
D. naturally strengthen boys’ traditional image of a man
3.In Abigail James’ opinion, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is ______.
A. boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in
B. boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted
C. teaching can be adjusted to suiting the characteristics of boys
D. teaching can be designed to promote boys’ team spirit
4.The underlined word ＂acute＂ in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to ______ .
A. lovely B. serious
C. sharp D. dull
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
-
＂BANG!＂ the door caused a reverberation (回声). It was just standing there, with father standing on one side, and me on the other side.
We were both in great anger. ＂Never set foot in this house again!＂ stormed father. With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.
The street lights were shining, causing rather sad feelings. I wandered aimlessly.
A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me. I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and carefree.
But now … I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old. We differ in our ways of thinking. We are just like two people coming from two different worlds. It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened.
I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind. My heart was frozen on this hot summer night. As I walked on, there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company. When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on.
I thought to myself: ＂Is father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me？＂
In fact, it was nothing. Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps. Perhaps he thought they were useless. I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps.
All the lights were off except father’s.
Dad was always like this. Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself. After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret.
This was how he always was. He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature.
The light was still on. ＂Am I wrong＂ I whispered, maybe… With the key in my hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been. At last, I decided to open the door. As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks. I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all. Love—it’s second to none.
1.According to the author, why did his father often shout at him ?
A. Perhaps the father was getting older and older.
B. Perhaps they never agreed with each other.
C. Perhaps the son had already grown up.
D. Perhaps the father had been used to doing that.
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage ?
A. The author fully understood why he and his father had different thinking.
B. The author and his father lacked communication.
C. The author’s father didn’t approve of his stamp collecting.
D. The author’s father opened the door for him when he came back.
3.What was the author’s attitude towards his father at the end of the story?
A. He was frustrated with his father.
B. He loved his father.
C. He was afraid of his father.
D. He was dissatisfied with his father.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
d WarⅡ, farmers began to use pesticides (农药) such as DDT on their crops. Rachel was concerned about the effects that large-scale spraying of DDT may have on the health of people as well as the environment. Rachel began to gather research material on pesticides and write a book about the subject.
She had her first book published.