If you’re single this Valentine's Day, don't ...

If you’re single this Valentine's Day, don't settle for another night of being alone. Single ladies and dudes can celebrate, too. Below, five holidays from around the world to celebrate instead of Valentine's Day this year.

Singles Awareness Day

In the U.S., we have “Singles Awareness Day”--a humorous anti-Valentine's Day celebrated on February 14 or 15, depending on your preference. On these days, singles toast their uncoupled status.

Ystävänpäivä or Friendship Day

Finland has a more ideal take on Valentine's Day: February 14 is considered Ystävänpäivä or “Friendship Day”, which is marketed as a celebration of friends. (We'd recommend adopting this holiday if you're looking for an occasion to hang out with your best friends.)

Black Day

April 14 in Korea is known as Black Day, a holiday where singles gather in local restaurants and drown their sorrows in cheap, but delicious bowls of jajangmyeon--- a Chinese-Korean noodle dish swimming in chunky black bean sauce, and topped with pork and veggies. The holiday has been popular over the last decade, and we can't say we're surprised. It's hard to be sad about being single when you're dipping into a bowl of something that delicious.

Single's Day

November II marks Singles' Day in China, an unofficial holiday that started in the 1990s as a protest Valentine's Day and that's now a day where singles buy stuff--a lot of stuff- for themselves. In 2013, China's biggest online shopping company took in more than $5.75 billion in online payments on Single's Day-two and a half times the total American retailers（零售商） netted on Cyber Monday the same year.

International Quirkyalone Day

Another option for singles looking to get in on the celebratory action on February 14? International Quirkyalone Day, a “do-it-yourself celebration of romance, friendship, and independent spirit," according to the official site. The founder of the event swears her holiday is not an anti- Valentine's Day; instead, it's a celebration of all kinds of love: romantic, platonic, familial, and yes, self-love. "In other words, it's a day to do whatever you want, with whoever you want. We can get behind that and have a great time.

1.Which of the following holidays would you like to celebrate if you like delicious food?

A.Singles Awareness Day. B.Ystävänpäivä.

C.Black Day. D.Single’s Day.

2.What would Chinese people like to do on Single's Day?

A.Shopping online. B.Whatever they like.

C.Hanging out with families. D.Gathering in local restaurants.

3.In which part of a website will the text be?

A.Business B.Opinion C.Lifestyle D.Culture

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Singles' Day ---- the Chinese opposite of Valentine’s Day has turned into a massive online shopping event. It is a day when single people are supposed to buy themselves presents. But there are sociological reasons behind China's “celebration” of single life. And the imbalance could have big consequences for the country.

There were 34 million more men than women in China in 2011. Part of that is natural – usually there are 105 boys born for every 100 girls. But the Chinese gender ratio　 (性别比例) at birth is much more obvious. It was 116 boys to 100 girls in 2012. The one child policy is largely to blame. Brought in to limit population expansion, the policy allows only one child per family. But because male children are seen as more valuable, as well as more likely to support their parents in old age, some parents choose to have a son over a daughter. The result is that large numbers of men will likely never get married. In fact, one study has predicted that by 2030, 1 in 5 Chinese men in their 30s will never have married, while another states that 94% of unmarried people in China are men.

Traditionally, China h as seen high levels of marriage, usually among the young. Besides, the increased education and career opportunities for women have meant that marriages are happening later. It is also traditional that women often marry men of a higher socioeconomic status than themselves. So women at the top and men at the bottom find themselves alone. One study has even suggested a link between an imbalanced gender ratio and growth in violent crime in the country.

Singles’ Day can’t solve all the problems China’s singles face. Indeed, it is possible that it is causing even more problems, as men resort to increasingly risky lines of work to increase their chances of gaining money and thus a wife. I am worried that as money starts to overcome romance, there is evidence that China ' s marriage market is increasingly materialistic.

1.In 2012, if 50 girls were born, how many boys were probably born?

A. 50.　　　　　　　　　 B. 52.　　　　　　　　 C. 58.　　　　　　　　 D. 60.

2.What made women in China get married late?

A. Their support of the government’s late marriage policy.

B. Their higher education level and more work chances.

C. That they expect to enjoy their single time when young.

D. That there are too many excellent young men to choose from.

3.What’s the writer’s attitude to the imbalance gender ratio in China?

A. Optimistic　　　　　 　 B. Concerned

C. Indifferent　　　　　 D.　 Unknown

4.We can learn from the passage that .

A. Singles' Day is celebrated all over the world.

B. by 2030, 1 in 5 Chinese women in their 30s will be out of marriage.

C. an imbalanced gender ratio is related to the growth in violent crime.

D. Singles' Day will solve all the problems China’s singles face.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

If you don’t apply yourself to work, you will be __________ one day.

A.left over B.left for C.left behind D.left off

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

_______is no need for you to come if you don’t want to.

A. It B. There

C. That D. This

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

________is no need for you to come if you don’t want to.

A. It           B. There          C. That           D. This

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

________, I think, and the problem could be settled.

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Valentine’s Day, a day traditionally reserved for expressing romantic love, is observed practically all around the world. However, not many people are familiar with Sweetest Day. Actually it is a holiday, especially designed to express love and care for those who were routinely neglected（忽视）by society.

Sweetest Day was the idea of Herbert Birch Kingston, who worked for a company in Cleveland, Ohio. He felt that there were plenty of children, especially orphans and poor kids, who didn’t necessarily get the attention they deserved. Thus in 1922, he launched the first Sweetest Day to give out boxes of candy to mainly poor children.

Since the day picked was the third Saturday in October, this became the traditional time to celebrate Sweetest Day. The tradition was so enjoyed that people often looked beyond kindness to treating their own friends or family to treats on Sweetest Day.

In the US, Sweetest Day is celebrated primarily in the Northeastern region of the US, still on the third Saturday of October. Yet news of the tradition, which began nearly 100 years ago, has spread to other parts of the country, especially as people who lived in those areas moved elsewhere. People may distribute candy or small gifts to those in patient homes, hospitals, foster homes, or mental institutions, and they may also treat friends and family to little gifts from the heart.

In keeping with the original tradition, celebrating Sweetest Day should really be most focused on people who ordinarily don’t have the good fortune of attention from friends or family, either due to difficult family circumstances or to poverty. This can be a great tradition to start if your community doesn’t routinely celebrate the day, and there are many candy manufacturers that are willing to help donate or reduce costs on gifts intended for people in unfortunate circumstances.

1.The original purpose of Sweetest Day is to ________.

A. provide an occasion to know orphans

B. make those poor children happy

C. make your friends and family happy

D. distribute candy to those lovely children

2.What do people barely do on Sweetest Day?

A. Buy flowers for your sweetheart.

B. Visit patients who have to be in hospital.

C. Give friends gifts to make them happy.

D. Care for children who lost their parents.

3.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A. it is vital to contact the candy manufacturers

B. it is necessary to call on friends or families

C. it is important to help those in need

D. it is common to serve your community

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

If you have to miss one meal a day, which meal will cause you fewest health problems if you don’t eat it? If they have to make a decision of this type, most people (especially very busy people) will choose to skip (not to eat) breakfast.

However, many experts in the field of health consider breakfast (the meal which “breaks” your “fast---- a period of time without eating anything ” which started the night before) to be the most important meal of the day. If we eat a good breakfast, they say, we will have the energy and nutrients we need to begin our working day with vigor and hopefully with good humour. But many people skip breakfast or replace it with snacks or a cup of coffee for a well-balanced meal. What happens if we ignore the importance of breakfast?

One recent study conducted in the United States tested a large number of people. Participants included both males and females who ranged in age from 12—83. During the experiment, these people were given a variety of breakfasts, and sometimes, they had to skip breakfast completely. Special tests, including blood tests and endurance tests, were set up to analyze how well the participants’ bodies functioned when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast.

The result showed that if a person eats an adequate (充足的) breakfast, he or she will work more efficiently and more productively than if he or she skips breakfasts or eats a very poor breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person’s work involves mental activity. The study showed that if schoolchildren eat fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, they will learn more quickly and will be able to concentrate on their lessons for a longer period of time than if their breakfast diet is inadequate .

The study also showed that, contrary to what many people believe, if you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry if they skip breakfast that they eat too much for lunch and end up gaining weight instead of losing. So remember, if you are on a diet, skipping breakfast will not help you. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.

1.According to the passage, we can safely say _____.

2.In the word “breakfast”, “fast” probably means _____.

3.Special tests were organized to analyze how participants’ bodies functioned when ______.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

If you have to miss one meal a day, which meal will cause you fewest health problems if you don’t eat it? If they have to make a decision of this type, most people (especially very busy people) will choose to skip (not to eat) breakfast.

However, many experts in the field of health consider breakfast (the meal which “breaks” your “fast---- a period of time without eating anything ” which started the night before) to be the most important meal of the day. If we eat a good breakfast, they say, we will have the energy and nutrients we need to begin our working day with vigor and hopefully with good humour. But many people skip breakfast or replace it with snacks or a cup of coffee for a well-balanced meal. What happens if we ignore the importance of breakfast?

One recent study conducted in the United States tested a large number of people. Participants included both males and females who ranged in age from 12—83. During the experiment, these people were given a variety of breakfasts, and sometimes, they had to skip breakfast completely. Special tests, including blood tests and endurance tests, were set up to analyze how well the participants’ bodies functioned when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast.

The result showed that if a person eats an adequate (充足的) breakfast, he or she will work more efficiently and more productively than if he or she skips breakfasts or eats a very poor breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person’s work involves mental activity. The study showed that if schoolchildren eat fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, they will learn more quickly and will be able to concentrate on their lessons for a longer period of time than if their breakfast diet is inadequate .

The study also showed that, contrary to what many people believe, if you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry if they skip breakfast that they eat too much for lunch and end up gaining weight instead of losing. So remember, if you are on a diet, skipping breakfast will not help you. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.

1.

According to the passage, we can safely say _____.

A. if you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight at all

B. if you skip breakfast, you won’t eat much for lunch either.

C. skipping breakfast won’t do a bit of harm

D. skipping breakfast will help one lose weight

2.

In the word “breakfast”, “fast” probably means _____.

A. “moving quickly”               B. “going without food ”

C. “unlikely to go fast”          D. “fast food ”

3.

Special tests were organized to analyze how participants’ bodies functioned when ______.

A. they had skipped breakfasts      B. they had had breakfasts

C. they had eaten special breakfasts D. they had had all three meals

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

For years, Chris Scharoun DeForge had a Valentine's Day routine. She celebrated like clockwork with her husband Paul Scharoun DeForge. On Valentine's Day they would go out to eat, maybe at Red Lobster or Olive Garden. They were celebrating each other.

But this year's Valentine's Day may be the most unusual one yet. That's because it is their 25th as husband and wife, a landmark that would be significant for most couples but it's extraordinary for the Scharoun DeForges. They were both born with Down syndrome and are believed to be the longest married couple with the condition in the country.

At the time of their wedding, some folks believed that people like them didn't have the emotional maturity to be married. Chris, who as a girl used to cut wedding photos from magazines and hang them on her wall knew better. “I looked into his eyes and saw my future,” Chris said about falling in love with Paul when they first met at a dance 30 years ago.

Still, they have had their struggles. And the most recent one may be the most monumental (极大的). This year's Valentine's Day is the first on which they won't be living together. Paul, 54, is coping with early stage dementia, an illness that affects many with his condition at a relatively young age. Several months ago, the state moved him into a community residence (住处) with intensive nursing care while Chris still lives in their cozy apartment in Liverpool.

Of course Chris doesn't want to be without him. Their family worked hard to keep them together. They even found a new apartment that met the state's standards. At first, the state agreed-a huge victory-but Paul's condition continued to deteriorate. By that time he was using a wheelchair and required round-the-clock care. The state decided he needed to move to the facility after all.

The couple is disappointed but not scared. Chris visits Paul regularly and they spend weekends together. Chris’s sister said they had an unconditional and sweet love.

1.Why is this year’s Valentine’s Day special to the Scharoun DeForges?

A.They will go out to eat at Red Lobster.

B.Their marriage was believed not to last so long.

C.They won’t be living together for the first time.

D.It is their 25th as a couple despite their Down syndrome.

2.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “deteriorate”?

A.change B.better C.worsen D.switch

3.What can we learn from the couple according to the passage?

A.They fell in love with each other at first sight.

B.They still can meet each other on a regular basis.

C.They had difficulty celebrating Valentine's Day together.

D.They moved into a community residence together.

4.What may be the best title for the text?

A.Struggles against Down syndrome B.A love without limits

C.A Valentine’s Day’s celebration D.A couple forced to get separated

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析