British people work some of the longest hours in Europe, but are among the least productive. Now some companies are shortening the working week to increase efficiency, health and happiness.
Rich Leigh has introduced a four-day week at his PR company. In fact, his entire company has Friday off, because his firm has adopted a four-day week. It is one of several UK businesses that now operate like this: staff still get paid their previous five-day salary, but they work a day less. The company found that they achieved just as much-and there were even signs of growth. “The key to the scheme’s success,” Leigh says, “is how happy our employees now are.”
The average British worker takes only a 34 minute lunch break and works 10 hours overtime each week (more often than not this is unpaid). Yet UK productivity falls seriously behind their European neighbors, who tend to work fewer hours.
British working practices have caused loss and damage to the nation’s health and happiness. More than half a million workers in the UK were signed off with work-related stress or anxiety last year. Moreover, the work landscape itself is changing. Automation and AI will have a significant impact on the labor market, where unsteady work becomes more common.
Britain is the only EU member that allows workers to ignore the EU working time limit and work longer hours. For campaigners, now is the time for a change. O’Grady, an advocate, argues that where businesses have increased their profits (利润)as a result of automation, success should be shared with workers in the form of reduced hours. “It’s time to share the benefits from new technology, not allowing those at the top to grab them for themselves.” she says.
1.We can learn from the passage that ________.
A.British people are the least productive in the world
B.Most companies in Britain have conducted a four-day week
C.PR company has witnessed a rise in employees’ happiness
D.British people work longer and get more payment than other countries
2.Which is the proper description of British working practices?
A.The working time of British workers is within the EU limit.
B.In productivity, Britain is beaten by the United States.
C.Profits gained from new technology are on the decrease.
D.Automation and AI are likely to cause an unsteady work market.
3.Which can be inferred from O’Grady’ s words in the last paragraph?
A.It’s time for employers to share the increased profits created by automation.
B.Workers should benefit from automation in the form of less working hours.
C.New technology should belong to both businesses and workers.
D.Businesses can’t make more profits without new technology.
4.What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
A.To introduce some British firms’ switch to a four-day working week.
B.To explain the reasons why British workers suffer stress and anxiety.
C.To appeal for more reasonable working conditions.
D.To show the present productivity problem in Britain.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
British people work some of the longest hours in Europe, but are among the least productive. Now some companies are shortening the working week to increase efficiency, health and happiness.
Rich Leigh has introduced a four-day week at his PR company. In fact, his entire company has Friday off, because his firm has adopted a four-day week. It is one of several UK businesses that now operate like this: staff still get paid their previous five-day salary, but they work a day less. The company found that they achieved just as much-and there were even signs of growth. “The key to the scheme’s success,” Leigh says, “is how happy our employees now are.”
The average British worker takes only a 34 minute lunch break and works 10 hours overtime each week (more often than not this is unpaid). Yet UK productivity falls seriously behind their European neighbors, who tend to work fewer hours.
British working practices have caused loss and damage to the nation’s health and happiness. More than half a million workers in the UK were signed off with work-related stress or anxiety last year. Moreover, the work landscape itself is changing. Automation and AI will have a significant impact on the labor market, where unsteady work becomes more common.
Britain is the only EU member that allows workers to ignore the EU working time limit and work longer hours. For campaigners, now is the time for a change. O’Grady, an advocate, argues that where businesses have increased their profits (利润)as a result of automation, success should be shared with workers in the form of reduced hours. “It’s time to share the benefits from new technology, not allowing those at the top to grab them for themselves.” she says.
1.We can learn from the passage that ________.
A.British people are the least productive in the world
B.Most companies in Britain have conducted a four-day week
C.PR company has witnessed a rise in employees’ happiness
D.British people work longer and get more payment than other countries
2.Which is the proper description of British working practices?
A.The working time of British workers is within the EU limit.
B.In productivity, Britain is beaten by the United States.
C.Profits gained from new technology are on the decrease.
D.Automation and AI are likely to cause an unsteady work market.
3.Which can be inferred from O’Grady’ s words in the last paragraph?
A.It’s time for employers to share the increased profits created by automation.
B.Workers should benefit from automation in the form of less working hours.
C.New technology should belong to both businesses and workers.
D.Businesses can’t make more profits without new technology.
4.What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
A.To introduce some British firms’ switch to a four-day working week.
B.To explain the reasons why British workers suffer stress and anxiety.
C.To appeal for more reasonable working conditions.
D.To show the present productivity problem in Britain.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the United States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.
In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be greatly lower taxes in America, which increase the rewards to work. Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives.
Longer hours do of course increase the GDP (国内生产总值). So the United States has produced more per worker than, say, France. The United States also has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.
It is not clear which of the two situations is better. As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, which often get lost in interest. It is too early to explain the different trends（趋势）in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance?
1.From the text we know that the author ________.
A. believes that longer working hours is better
B. prefers shorter working hours to longer ones
C. says nothing certain about which pattern is better
D. thinks neither of the patterns is good
2.Which of the following countries has more of its people at work?
A. Spain. B. France. C. Germany. D. America.
3.In the last paragraph, the underlined word “which” refers to ______.
A. family life B. situations C. other values D. trends
4.What message can we get from the text?
A. The GDP of Europe is higher than that of America.
B. Two possible reasons are given for working longer hours in the US.
C. People all over the world choose to work less when they are richer.
D. Americans are happier than Europeans.
5.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Americans and Europeans B. Staying at Home
C. Work and Productivity D. Work and Happiness
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Some people in Beijing go to work half an hour earlier every day to avoid________in the traffic jam
A．to catch B．catching C．to be caught D．being caught
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
When looking at Western Europe, we don’t usually think about poverty—but in fact, some people in modern-day Britain are so hard up that they can’t afford to buy food.
Back in 2008, the financial crisis caused a lot of unemployment. Then there were the cuts to the welfare system in 2013 which added to the problem—and many British people fell into debt. It’s estimated that 500,000 people in the UK have turned to food banks, just to get by.
Steph Hagen, who works in a Nottingham food bank, says：“People do not go to a food bank because it's an open door. It’s a case where they go to it because they need to. With our food bank—we are an independent one, and we have limited stocks—everyone who comes through our door has no income.”
There are checks to make sure nobody is abusing the system. If a doctor or a social worker thinks someone needs to use a food bank—even for a short time—they can give them vouchers(凭证). Then the people in need take them along to the food bank and they get handouts for three days.
Churches and individual donors provide most of the food in the banks. But some businesses might help out too.
And what sort of food is offered in food banks? Hagen says：“Basically, we’ve got porridge. We do occasionally get fresh produce but it’s very rare, especially in the winter months. It’s like tinned fruit, tinned ready meals. We have to give out‘no-cooking’food parcels because people can’t afford the gas and electricity”.
Community spirit has a lot to do with food banks. Volunteers say they are a great meeting place for people who are lonely and depressed. And when facing a crisis, some beneficiaries might need to feed not only their belly—but also their soul.
1.According to the text, the food bank is a place ________.
A．which is funded by the government
B．where people can get food randomly
C．which helps poor people live through crisis
D．where there is enough food supplies
2.What does the underlined word“them”in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A．Systems． B．Doctors．
C．Social workers． D．Vouchers．
3.Why do food banks mainly offer“no-cooking”food?
A．Poor people have no money for gas and electricity.
B．The volunteers hate to supply cooked food.
C．Food banks can’t afford cooked food.
D．This kind of food is easy to store.
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A．Community spirit can cure those who are depressed.
B．Food banks benefit poor people mind and body.
C．People can have great fun in food banks.
D．Volunteers tend to feel lonely and depressed in food banks.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Some people like modern art, while others say that is rubbish. But a cleaner who works in the Tate Gallery in London isn’t able to tell the difference. The woman, whose name isn’t known, mistook a work of art by the German painter Gustav Metzger for a bag of rubbish, and threw it out with other bags. The plastic bad, which contained pieces of paper and cardboard, was later recovered outside the gallery, but the artist thought that it was too damaged to be put on show again. 78-year-old Mr Metzger explained that the exhibit, which he said was a copy of a similar work he had created in 1960, was meant to show that all art is temporary and “finite”(有限的).
Embarrassed officials at the museum said that they had had to call a meeting with cleaners to explain which things should not be touched. They would not say whether Mr Metzger would be paid any compensation for the incident. However, to make absolutely sure the same thing would not happen again, they decided to cover Mr Metzger’s work every evening with a colored cloth. In this way the cleaners arriving after the gallery had closed to the general public would realize they should not touch it.
This is not the first time that museum cleaners have had trouble distinguishing exhibits from rubbish. In 2001, in another London gallery, a cleaner threw away a work by the well-known British artist Damien Hirst. It was an arrangement of empty beer bottles, coffee cups, and overflowing ashtrays, which were meant to indicate the chaos in the life of an artist.
However, cleaners don’t always throw things away—sometimes they clean them! This was the case with a dirty asking what the bath was doing in the gallery, the cleaners simply scrubbed it clean.
1.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Cleaners mistake modern art for rubbish
B. Modern art shouldn’t be cleaned
C. What makes a great work of art
D. Cleaners don’t always throw things away
2.Which of the following is not true?
A. People have different opinions on modern art
B. Mr Metzger would be paid much compensation
C. A work of Damien Hirst was thrown away by a cleaner in 2001
D. Some modern work is about artists’ chaos of their life
3.The last paragraph is written to show that____________.
A. cleaners often make exhibits as clean as possible
B. cleaners can’t always differ exhibits from rubbish
C. exhibits are usually difficult to clean
D. exhibits are not always so beautiful
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Our brains work in complex and strange ways.There are some people who can calculate the day of the week for any given date in 40,000 years,but who cannot add two plus two.Others can perform complex classical piano pieces after hearing them once,but they cannot read or write.
Dr.J.Langdon Down first described this condition in 1887.He called these people idiot savants.An idiot savant is a person who has significant mental impairment（损伤）,such as in autism（孤独症，自闭症）or retardation.At the same time,the person also exhibits some extraordinary skills,which are unusual for most people.The skills of the savant may vary from being exceptionally gifted in music or in mathematics,or having a photographic memory.
One of the first descriptions of a human who could calculate quickly was written in 1789 by Dr.Benjamin Rush, an American doctor.His patient,Thomas Fuller,was brought to Virginia as a slave in 1724.It took Thomas only 90 seconds to work out that a man who has lived 70 years,17 days,and 12 hours has lived 2,210,500,800 seconds. Despite this ability,he died in 1790 without ever learning to read or write.
Another idiot savant slave became famous as a pianist in the 1860s.Blind Tom had a vocabulary of only 100 words,but he played 5,000 musical pieces beautifully.
In the excellent movie Rain Man,made in 1988 and available on video cassette,Dustin Hoffman plays an idiot savant who amazes his brother played by Tom Cruise,with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly.
Today we more clearly recognize that the idiot savant is special because of brain impairment.Yet not all brain impairment leads to savant skills.Some studies have shown that people who have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills.However few people wish to participate in such experiments.There are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain.The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate.Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots.
1.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. Idiot savants have areas of outstanding abilities.
B. Human Beings have complicated thinking process.
C. The brains of the idiot savants are partly impaired.
D. The reasons why people have wonderful skills vary.
2.Which of the following can be done by Rain Man?
A. He can play wonderful pieces of classical music.
B. He can guess out exactly the length of a mads life.
C. He can memorize the contents of the pictures fast.
D. He can count matches dropped on the floor quickly.
3.What can you infer from the passage?
A. Idiot savants have real talents for art and math.
B. Dr.Down is the first person who found idiot savants.
C. Few people wish to risk becoming savants by brain operations.
D. Intentional left brain impairments will surely lead to idiot savants.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The Rio Grande
Although not the longest in America, the Rio Grande is one of the most important. But, unlike other significant rivers, it is not used for shipping. In fact, ocean-going ships cannot sail on its water. 1. Since 1846, it has been the official border of Texas and Mexico.
Rio Grande Geography
The Rio Grande is either the fourth or fifth longest river system in North America. It all depends on how it is measured. 2. and these course movements can cause it to be longer or shorter. At its last official measure, the Rio Grande clocked in at 1896 miles. The river starts in Colorado and extends downward to the Gulf of Mexico. 3. Not only does the river extend south, but it also starts in the mountains and gets lower and lower in altitude as it extends to the Gulf.
The Rio Grande Today
4. Sadly, much of the water has been used up and parts of the river are most dry! This is because people take more water from the river than the river can get back from rain and other sources. Experts are working to correct this, though, with the hopes of restoring the river to its past strength.
Today, the river is important as a source of water for Texas and Mexicans. 5. Though borders like the Rio Grande separate nations, they are also shared spaces. The Rio Grande is therefore a symbol of friendship and peace between two peoples.
A. Usually, it is measured by length.
B. Downward is the best way of describing it too.
C. What makes the Rio Grande so important is its location.
D. Because the river twists so much, it occasionally changes course.
E. The Rio Grande today is mostly used as a source of drinking water.
F. More importantly, it is a symbol of cooperation between two nations.
G. Today, the Rio Grande is the destination of tourists from all over the world.
高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
Some 30,000 years ago, artists who lived in caves in Europe painted pictures of the animals around them: panthers, hyenas, rhinos, cave lions, mammoths and other creatures which have been extinct for a long time. The paintings were highly realistic. Some even showed movement.
The artwork, more than a thousand drawings, is considered the oldest group of human cave drawings which have ever been discovered. They were preserved because the cave was sealed---closed off--for more or less 23,000 years.
Fast forward to December 18, 1994, a group of French cave scientists were exploring caves in southern France. Jean Marie Chauvet, who led the group then, describes the process of discovering the cave paintings. “At that time I was in the front, Eliette just walked behind me, Christian behind. Eliette said she saw two marks with red ochre and she said, ‘They came here.’ And at this very moment everything began. The drawings and everything linked to the parietal art(壁画). That is where it is tarted.”
Cave art expert Jean Clotttes reviewed the paintings. “I was amazed at the number of paintings there were and paintings of their quality and particularly in front of the panel of the horses.”
Scientific analysis confirmed the prehistoric date of the artwork. Studies showed the drawings were created tens of thousands of years ago, before human history was written. The United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO lists the cave as a World Heritage Site. They say that the drawings form a remarkable expression of early human artistic creation of grand excellence and variety.
The Chauvet Cave has been named after the explorer who first entered it. However, its environment and drawings are too fragile to be visited by human beings. So the cave is closed, and only people there for scientific purposes can go inside and see the artwork.
However, French authorities asked experts to create an exact copy of the cave, called Pont d’Arc Cavern. The copy, which we also called replica, cost more than 59 million dollars to build. It opened at the end of April in France.
Pascal Terrasse is the president of the cavern. He says everyone will be able to experience the thrill of looking at drawings made by the first humans in Europe. He says the place is magic because it is done so well. Authorities say they think as many as 400,000 people will be allowed to visit Pont d’Arc Cavern every year.
1.According to Jean Clottes’ words in Paragraph 4, the paintings in the cave were .
A.abstract B. superior C. creative D. inspiring
2.Which of the follow statements is TRUE about the Chauvet Cave?
A.It was closed off for more than 30,000 years.
B.It is thought to be the origin of modern parietal art.
C.The environment and artwork there are very easy to damage.
D.The majority of drawings there are about the extinct animals.
3.The purpose of creating Pndt d’Arc Cavern is to .
A.show admiration for the earliest artists in Europe
B.arouse visitors’ awareness of protecting ancient art
C.offer visitors chances to view the wonderful artwork
D.collect money for the perseverance of the Chauvet Cave
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Some 30,000 years ago, artists who lived in caves in Europe painted pictures of the animals around them: panthers, hyenas, rhinos, cave lions, mammoths and other creatures which have been extinct for a long time.
The artwork, more than a thousand drawings, is considered the oldest group of human cave drawings which have ever been discovered. They were preserved because the cave was sealed---closed off--for more or less 23,000 years.
Fast forward to December 18, 1994, a group of French cave scientists were exploring caves in southern France. Jean Marie Chauvet, who led the group then, describes the process of discovering the cave paintings. “At that time I was in the front, Eliette just walked behind me, Christian behind. Eliette said she saw two marks with red ochre(赭石) and she said, ‘They came here.’ And at this very moment everything began. The drawings and everything linked to the parietal art(壁画). That is where it started.”
Cave art expert Jean Clotttes reviewed the paintings. “I was amazed at the number of paintings there were and paintings of their quality and particularly in front of the panel of the horses.”
Scientific analysis confirmed the prehistoric date of the artwork. Studies showed the drawings were created tens of thousands of years ago, before human history was written. The United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO lists the cave as a World Heritage Site. They say that the drawings form a remarkable expression of early human artistic creation of grand excellence and variety.
The Chauvet Cave has been named after the explorer who first entered it. However, its environment and drawings are too fragile to be visited by human beings. So the cave is closed, and only people there for scientific purposes can go inside and see the artwork.
However, French authorities asked experts to create an exact copy of the cave, called Pont d’Arc Cavern. The copy, which we also called replica, cost more than 59 million dollars to build. It opened at the end of April in France.
Pascal Terrasse is the president of the cavern. He says everyone will be able to experience the thrill of looking at drawings made by the first humans in Europe. He says the place is magic because it is done so well. Authorities say they think as many as 400,000 people will be allowed to visit Pont d’Arc Cavern every year.
1.According to Jean Clottes’ words in Paragraph 4, the paintings in the cave were .
A. abstract B. superior C. creative D. inspiring
2.Which of the follow statements is TRUE about the Chauvet Cave?
A. It was closed off for more than 30,000 years.
B. It is thought to be the origin of modern parietal art.
C. The environment and artwork there are very easy to damage.
D. The majority of drawings there are about the extinct animals.
3.The purpose of creating Pndt d’Arc Cavern is to .
A. show admiration for the earliest artists in Europe
B. arouse visitors’ awareness of protecting ancient art
C. offer visitors chances to view the wonderful artwork
D. collect money for the perseverance of the Chauvet Cave
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most people who work in London get a break of about an hour for lunch. 36 they mostly live too far from home to go back there 37 lunch, they have to 38 other arrangements for their midday meal.
Many large companies have a canteen (自助食堂) for their employees. In 39 canteens the food served is simple but 40 , and there is some 41 of choice. But the number of dishes 42 usually small. The employees themselves fetch their dishes 43 a counter at which they are 44. There they can find a tray on 45 to carry their knives, forks, spoons, plates, cups, saucers, 46, of course, their food. A meal in a canteen is inexpensive and may 47 of soup, fish and chips or meat and two vegetables, 48 fruit or pudding of some 49 as dessert. Some companies that do not run a canteen 50 their staff with luncheon-vouchers (午餐券), which many restaurants will accept in 51 of money.
As there are so many people 52 work in London, there are numerous cafes and restaurants in every area that is not purely residential. A meal 53 cost anything from a modest sum to quite a few pounds, 54 on the restaurant and the food chosen. 55 , one can generally get a meal, or at least a snack, in a pub. In recent years there has also been a big increase in the number of ‘take-away’ food shops of all kinds.
1.A. Unless B. As C. If D. Although
2. A. for B. at C.of D. in
3. A. take B. bring C. make D. use
4.A. such B. few C. so D. little
5.A. full B. limited C. extra D. enough
6.A. exchange B. variety C. change D. difference
7. A. are B. is C. being D. be
8.A. to B. with C. at D. from
9.A. sold B. served C. made D. kept
10.A. which B. it C. except D. instead
11.A. or B. but C. and D. except
12.A. consist B. compose C. compare D. insist
13.A. along B. with C. about D. at
14.A. sort B. pattern C. category D.content
15.A. prepare B. repair C. afford D. provide
16. A. space B. case C. face D. place
17.A. at B. above C. over D. by
18.A. must B. may C.should D. could
19.A. taking B. turning C. depending D. bringing
20. A. Besides B.However C. Never D. More
高二英语完型填空中等难度题查看答案及解析