The last decade of the 20th century ___ the r...

The last decade of the 20th century ___ the rapid, steady development of China in various fields.

A.was witnesses B.is witnessed C.had witnessed D.witnessed

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

The rapid growth of cities worldwide over the next two decades will cause significant risks to people and the global environment, according to analysis.

Researches from Yale and Stanford predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by 590,000 square miles—nearly the size of Mongolia—to meet the needs of 1.47 billion more people living in urban areas.

“It is likely that these cities are going to be developed in places that are the most biologically diverse,” said Karen Seto, a famous scientist at Yale University. “They are going to be growing and expanding into forests, biological hotspots, savannas(热带稀缺大草原), coastlines—sensitive and vulnerable places.”

Urban areas, they found, have been expanding more rapidly along coasts. “Of all the places for cities to grow, coasts are the most sensitive. People and buildings along the coast are at risk of flooding and other environmental disasters,” said Seto.

The study provides the first estimate of how fast urban areas globally are growing and how fast they may grow in the future. “We know a lot about global patterns of urban population growth, but we know significantly less about how urban areas are changing,” she said. “Changes in land cover associated with urbanization lead to many environmental changes, from habitats loss and agricultural land conversion(转化) to changes in local and regional climate.”

The researchers examined studies that used satellite data to map urban growth and found that from 1970 to 2000 the world’s urban footprint had grown by at least 22,400 square miles—half the size of Ohio.

“This number is numerous, but, in actuality, urban land expansion has been far greater than what our analysis shows because we only looked at the published studies that used satellite data,” said Seto. “We found that 48 of the most populated urban areas have been studied using satellite data, with findings in journals. This means that we’re not tracking the physical expansion of more than half of the world’s largest cities.”

Half of urban land expansion in China is driven by a rising middle class, whereas the size of cities in India and Africa is driven primarily by population growth. “Rising incomes translate into rising demand for bigger homes and more land for urban development, which has a great effect on biodiversity conservations, loss of carbon sinks and energy use.”

1.According to the passage, the most dangerous place for city expansion is the _____.

A．forest            B．desert            C．savannas          D．coastline

2.The underlined word “vulnerable” (in Para. 3) probably means “____”.

A．diverse in plants                        B．beautiful in scenery

C．easily damaged                         D．very productive

3.From Para. 5, we can infer that ____.

A．urbanization is a good way to improve people’s standards of living

B．cities develop very fast and more and more people come to live in cities

C．more and more agricultural farmlands are used to make room for local animals

D．in the past, researchers focused their attention on the expanding urban areas

4.Cities in Africa become bigger and bigger mainly because of their ____.

A．growing population                      B．rising middle class

C．unique living patterns                    D．economic development

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

In the middle of the 20th century people were worried about whales.The number of whales killed worldwide came up to 66,000 per year.However,people weren't worried about the whale as an endangered animal.Instead,they were worried about the whale industry,which would disappear if there were no whales.In 1946,the International Whaling Commission was established.It limited the whale hunting for every country and controlled the whale industry.But the commission recognized that the limitation wasn't enough.They set a worldwide law against hunting whales with only two exceptions: the hunt for scientific research and "aboriginal whaling".Aboriginal whaling allows some countries to hunt a limited number of whales because it is a part of their culture.Some countries like Japan and Norway don't care about the law;they make excuses to hunt whales and sell the products.They only care about the money.

Many fishermen complain that dolphins,also a kind of whale,steal their fish.Therefore,they kill thousands of them.In fact,this is not the truth.In reality there are so many fishermen who steal the fish from each other.Some whale hunters say that they catch the animals for scientists.They have to research what whales are eating.For that, they kill them and look into their stomach.The truth is that they only want to sell the meat.Today scientists want to observe live whales for their research.

Many whale families are not protected and thousands of them are killed.Nobody knows if all whale families would survive,even if humans end all whale hunting today.The pollution of the oceans increases fast and the poison gets into the bodies of the animals.Many of them get sick and die.The human being has killed 90%-95% of many whale families.Others are already extinct.

Today some international organizations try to protect whales.They make reports to explain how important and endangered whales are.Now people are becoming more interested in whales and a complete new industry has developed,whale watching,which you may want to learn about.

1.The text is mainly about　　　　 .

A. whale industry　　 B. whale research

C. whale product　　 D. whale protection

2.In the middle of the 20th century,what people really worried was that　　　　 .

A. more whales would be killed worldwide per year

B. the whale would become an endangered animal

C. the whale industry would disappear

D. the law against hunting whales would come into effect

3.Why does Aboriginal whaling allow some countries to hunt a limited number of whales?

A. Because there are many whales in their countries.

B. Because hunting whales is a part of their culture.

C. Because they only care about money.

D. Because they live on hunting whales.

4.Why do many fishermen complain about dolphins?

A. Because dolphins steal their fish.

B. Because they want to make an excuse for killing dolphins.

C. Because there are so few dolphins for them to hunt.

D. Because people have misunderstood their purpose of hunting dolphins.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

By the mid-1920s, Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. had been one of the most celebrated men .In 1957, when Pablo Picasso was in his seventh decade, he joked that x-ray technology might one day reveal a lost work underneath one of his early paintings. Today, that prediction became reality although the technology involved goes far beyond x-rays.

Using hyper-modern tools to peer into one of his Blue Period paintings, researchers have not only shown a hidden piece of art history in astonishing new detail, they have revealed a striking amount of insight into Picasso's creative process and style.

The investigation focused on"La Miséreuse accroupie, "or" Crouching Woman, "painted in 1902 and currently owned by the Art Gallery. The painting, an oil on canvas (画布) piece drawing a crouching (蜷坐的) woman who wears a long coat, shows Picasso’s typical Blue Period colors: grey, green, blue and white. It shows that the innovative modernist was inspired by the lines of an underlying landscape painted by an unknown artist.

The analysis also exposes several changes to the woman described in the painting,many of which Picasso ultimately abandoned. Researchers released their findings on Saturday’s press conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Austin, Texas. “We think now it's a landscape painted by someone enrolled at the fine arts academy in Barcelona, someone in Picasso’s orbit but not in his close circle, ”says Kenneth Brummel, assistant curator of modern art for the Art Gallery of Ontario.

As to why Picasso would have “recycled” another artist’s canvas(油画布), reasons could range from economic necessity, as a young artist still establishing himself, to deep inspiration driven by the lines of the image already laid down there. Picasso often re-used canvases for this reason."

“He didn't shave off the canvas or put a preparatory layer over it,” Brummel says.“ Picasso saw this landscape, found inspiration, and decided he was going to paint it immediately."

1.According to the text ,the most likely process of Picasso's painting?

①Picasso reused another artist's canvas.

②Inspired by a landscape painting, Picasso decided to paint one too.

③Picasso painted a woman on the landscape painting.

④Not happy with the landscape, Picasso covered it totally.

⑤Picasso made changes to the woman

A.②③④ B.④②③

C.①③⑤ D.②①④

2.How did Picasso deal with the landscape painting?

A.He reused it because he hated wasting anything.

B.He hid his own paintings beneath the landscape.

C.He took the advantage of it and created a new one.

D.He kept it to himself with the permission of its owner.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A.People often celebrated Picasso’s success.

B.Picasso was not well-off when he started his career.

C.Picasso became successful overnight.

D.Picasso was good at imitating other artists’ works.

4.Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A.Picasso's predication turned out to be joke.

B.High technology uncovered art mysteries.

C.Seeing is not always believing.

D.Lost Artwork Found Under Famous Picasso Painting.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Helen Thayer，one of the greatest explorers of the 20th century，loves challenges. She says，"I like to see what's on the other side of the hill." She has gone almost everywhere to do that.

In 1988，at the age of 50，she became the first woman to travel alone to the North Pole. She pulled her own sled (雪橇) piled with 160 pounds of supplies，and during her trip no one brought her fresh supplies. Accompanied (陪伴) only by her dog Charlie，she survived cold weather and meetings with polar bears. In fact，Charlie saved her life when one of them attacked her. Near the end of her trip，a forceful wind blew away the majority of her supplies. The last week of the trip，she survived on a handful of nuts and a little water each day.

Helen goes to challenging places not only for adventure，but also for education. Before her Arctic journey，she started a website called Adventure Classroom. On the site，she shares her adventures in order to motivate (激发) students. She explains，"Although kids often see the world in a negative way，without hope for their future，we work to inspire them to set goals，plan for success and never give up..."

Helen grew up in New Zealand. Her parents were athletes and mountain climbers. Following her parents' example，she climbed her first mountain at 9. Later，she climbed the highest mountains in North and South America，the former USSR and New Zealand.

In 1996，she took on another challenge--the Sahara Desert. She and her husband，Bill，walked 2,400 miles across it！In 2001，she and Bill traveled on foot from west to east through the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. They hope to travel in mainland China into Sichuan and Tibet to study pandas this year.

Helen plans to continue taking trips. She'll use her explorations，writing，photography and environmental work to create programs for her Adventure Classroom website. She wants to inspire her students never to stop facing challenges!

1.We learn from Paragraph 2 that ________.

A. Helen Thayer is the first person to reach the North Pole

B. Helen Thayer ate nothing during the last week of her trip

C. Charlie prevented Helen being attacked by polar bears

D. Helen Thayer traveled to the North Pole together with her husband

2.Why does Helen travel to different places worldwide?

A. For education.　　 B. For fun.

C. For money.　　　　　 D. For fame.

3.Which is the best title for the text?

A. The Woman Who Loves Adventure B. A Famous Woman

C. A Woman Mountain Climber　　　　 D. The Owner of Adventure Classroom

4.Which of the following places has Helen not visited yet?

A. The North Pole　　　　　　 B. The Sahara Desert

C. The Gobi Desert　　　　　　 D. Sichuan and Tibet

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The computer is ________ to be one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century.

A. considered　　 B. regarded

C. expected　　 　 D. suggested

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

At the beginning of the 20th century there were more than a million lions worldwide.Today there are less than 30,000 in the wild.The remaining lions are increasingly threatened by habitat loss，hunting activities to protect farms and cattle.

For generations，Masai tribesmen on the large African plains in southeastern Kenya have hunted lions—to protect their farms and cattle.Today they celebrate the lions’ life.

Noah is an elder in the Masai community.“We have decided as a community of the Masai to lay down our spears，and there will be no more killing of lions in our community.” He is part of a group of Masai visiting the United States promoting (推广) the Predator (捕食性动物) Compensation Program.

Conservation International’s Frank Hawkins explains，“The Masai have been living with wildlife for many generations and it has been a conflicting relationship in many ways.They compete with the animals for food as lions eat their cattle.We’re trying to find ways in which the wildlife will become something useful to them.” They had the Predator Compensation Fund founded in 2003.After much discussion，a group of Masai farmers agreed to protect lions.In turn，if lions or other predators kill their cattle，the Masai owner will be paid market value for the dead animals from the fund.

One man said that in the past，when a lion killed cattle，they killed it on the spot.And now，after the start of the program，the Masai see the lion population growing.Since 2003，only four lions have been killed here.

1.What is this passage mainly about?

A. The wildlife in the world.

B. Lions and the Masai.

C. The reason why lions are killed.

D. The living ways of the Masai.

2.What is the aim of the Predator Compensation Program?

A. To protect people in the wild.

B. To help the Masai protect their farms and cattle.

C. To protect lions only.

D. To protect the wildlife.

3.Masai tribesmen killed lions before 2003 ______.

A. because lions were dangerous for people there

B. because dead lions were worth a lot of money

C. because they wanted lions’ meat

D. because they wanted to protect their farms and cattle

4.According to the passage，why haven’t Masai tribesmen killed many lions since 2003?

A. Because lions don’t eat their cattle any more.

B. Because they will be fined if they kill lions there.

C. Because if a lion kills their cattle，they will be paid for the dead animals from the fund.

D. Because there are less than 30,000 lions in the wild now.

5.What do you think of the Masai?

A. Reasonable.　　 B. Cruel.

C. Poor.　　 D. Stupid.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When it comes to the most famous 20th century painters of the United States, Grandma Moses should be mentioned, although she did not start painting until she was in her late seventies. As she once said to herself , “I would never sit back in a rocking chair, waiting for someone to help me”. No one could have had a more active old age．

She was born on a farm in New York State, one of five boys and five girls. At 12 she left home and was in domestic service until at 27 she married Thomas Moses, the hired hand of one of her employers. They farmed most of their lives, first in Virginia and then in New York State, at Eagle Bridge. She had ten children, of whom five survived; her husband died in 1927．

Grandma Moses painted a little as a child and made embroidery (刺绣) pictures as a hobby, but only changed to oils in old age because her hands became too stiff (僵硬的) to sew and she still wanted to keep busy and pass the time. Her pictures were first sold at the local drugstore and at a market and were soon noticed by a businessman who bought all that she painted. Three of the pictures were exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, and in 1940 she had her first exhibition in New York. Between the 1930’s and her death, she produced some 2,000 pictures: careful and lively portrayals of the country life she had known for so long, with a wonderful sense of color and form. “I think really hard till I think of something really pretty, and then I paint it” she said．

1.What can we learn about Moses?

A.She stopped painting in her late seventies.

B.She still led an active life when she was old.

C.Her marriage life was not happy.

D.She painted oils as a child.

2.What did Grandma Moses spend most of her life doing?

A.Embroidering. B.Farming.

C.Nursing. D.Painting.

3.What does the underlined word “portrayals ” in the last paragraph mean?

A.Directions. B.Stages.

C.Surveys. D.Descriptions.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？

A.Grandma Moses: the Best Woman Painter

B.Grandma Moses and Her Farm Life

C.Grandma Moses and Her Exhibition

D.Grandma Moses : A Famous Woman Painter of 20th Century

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The 20th century________ many new means of communication，like radios, televisions, telephones and the Internet.

A．foresaw      B．inspected        C．scanned          D．witnessed

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Stephen Hawking, ________ “the greatest genius of the late 20th century”, announced that there are really grey holes in the universe.

A. calling            B. to call            C. to be called            D. called

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析