A couple of weeks ago, my grandfather was explaining his favorite expression. "Nothing is ever easy? The following day, as I tried to complete my day's work, I happened to notice a bumblebee(大黄蜂)on the skylight(天窗).The skylight was particularly high up, but I thought removing the bee would take no more than five minutes. An hour later, the bee still remained. All that had changed was that the living room was a mess and that 1 was dizzy from looking up into the sunlight. I did not expect to waste an hour on an insect so tiny, but by doing so, I understood what my grandfather meant.
It is not only time that we tend to underestimate — we don’t account for unexpected costs. We often imagine what can work in our favor but we seldom think of all the negative things that could a fleet us. However, it is important to remember that your day or week or year might nor go as planned, and that is completely normal. It is perfectly acceptable to feel challenged — even at a task you thought was simple — because that is part of life.
If you can accept that nothing will ever be easy, then life might seem slightly more manageable. In middle school. I thought high school might be easier because I could choose the classes I wanted to take. In high school I thought college might be easier because I could have a schedule(计划)best suited for myself. Yet each time, I was both wrong and disappointed. After accepting that school wouldn't(and shouldn't)be easy. I found myself with a more positive altitude and improved results.
Of course, there should be preparations made to account tor expenses or time. Doing so can only help you accomplish your goals in a better way. However, there is no need to beat ourselves up when something stands in our path. Maybe we cannot see a bee coming our way, but we can always give ourselves the extra time to catch it.
1.Why did the author mention his experience of removing a bee?
A.To share something unforgettable with us.
B.To lead us to what the author learned from it.
C.To show the unexpected costs it caused.
D.To tell us how easy it is to waste our rime.
2.Why do things often tum out to be different from what we expect?
A.We often don't take lime seriously.
B.We tend not to have enough money.
C.Unexpected things can happen.
D.It is easy to feel challenged.
3.According to the text, what does the underlined phrase "beat ourselves up" mean?
A.lo hit or kick ourselves hard, many times
B.to blame ourselves too much
C.to encourage ourselves to work hard
D.to give up ourselves
4.What is the author's purpose of writing this article?
A.To encourage people to make greater efforts.
B.To explain how to make preparations.
C.To tell us what to do when something gets in our way.
D.To persuade us not to expect things to be easy.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
A couple of weeks ago, my grandfather was explaining his favorite expression. "Nothing is ever easy? The following day, as I tried to complete my day's work, I happened to notice a bumblebee(大黄蜂)on the skylight(天窗).The skylight was particularly high up, but I thought removing the bee would take no more than five minutes. An hour later, the bee still remained. All that had changed was that the living room was a mess and that 1 was dizzy from looking up into the sunlight. I did not expect to waste an hour on an insect so tiny, but by doing so, I understood what my grandfather meant.
It is not only time that we tend to underestimate — we don’t account for unexpected costs. We often imagine what can work in our favor but we seldom think of all the negative things that could a fleet us. However, it is important to remember that your day or week or year might nor go as planned, and that is completely normal. It is perfectly acceptable to feel challenged — even at a task you thought was simple — because that is part of life.
If you can accept that nothing will ever be easy, then life might seem slightly more manageable. In middle school. I thought high school might be easier because I could choose the classes I wanted to take. In high school I thought college might be easier because I could have a schedule(计划)best suited for myself. Yet each time, I was both wrong and disappointed. After accepting that school wouldn't(and shouldn't)be easy. I found myself with a more positive altitude and improved results.
Of course, there should be preparations made to account tor expenses or time. Doing so can only help you accomplish your goals in a better way. However, there is no need to beat ourselves up when something stands in our path. Maybe we cannot see a bee coming our way, but we can always give ourselves the extra time to catch it.
1.Why did the author mention his experience of removing a bee?
A.To share something unforgettable with us.
B.To lead us to what the author learned from it.
C.To show the unexpected costs it caused.
D.To tell us how easy it is to waste our rime.
2.Why do things often tum out to be different from what we expect?
A.We often don't take lime seriously.
B.We tend not to have enough money.
C.Unexpected things can happen.
D.It is easy to feel challenged.
3.According to the text, what does the underlined phrase "beat ourselves up" mean?
A.lo hit or kick ourselves hard, many times
B.to blame ourselves too much
C.to encourage ourselves to work hard
D.to give up ourselves
4.What is the author's purpose of writing this article?
A.To encourage people to make greater efforts.
B.To explain how to make preparations.
C.To tell us what to do when something gets in our way.
D.To persuade us not to expect things to be easy.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A couple of weeks ago,my dad,who is seventy-six,had an operation on his left knee. He came through the operation just fine and although they told him he would be in hospital for five days,he only stayed there for three days. He had a local anesthetic(局部麻醉)and was able to see and hear everything that went on in the operating room.
Later in his room,he was laughing as he told the story of hearing the hammer and saw as they took out the bone. With a smile on his face,he advised that the doctors should sharpen the saw,since he could smell the bone burning as they removed it.
The other day,one of the rubber tips on his walker wore out. Not wanting to damage the carpet or the kitchen floor,he went to his shop to find a new rubber tip. I was talking with my mom and after some time we got concerned,so I went out to see if he was OK. I walked into the shop to find him sitting on his work bench laughing. I asked what he was doing. He explained that since the rubber tip would not fit his walker,he was changing legs. It seems Mom’s walker,which she used five years ago,was broken on the top,but the legs were better than the ones on his walker.
Together my dad and I worked and worked,laughing all the time. The more trouble we had,the harder we laughed. I have been fortunate enough to have many such minutes with my dad.
1.When advising the doctors to sharpen the saw,the author’s father really intended to________.
A.be humorous
B.express his anger
C.make a complaint
D.make fun of the doctors
2.The author’s father went to his shop to________.
A.change legs
B.change his walker
C.find his wife’s walker
D.replace the rubber tip
3.Which of the following can best describe the author’s father?
A.Stupid. B.Smart.
C.Optimistic. D.Stubborn.
4.The author writes the text probably to ________.
A.warn us
B.encourage us
C.make us laugh
D.call on us to care for the disabled
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A couple of weeks ago, my 12-year-old daughter, Ella threatened(威胁) to take my phone and break it. “At night you’ll always have your phone out and break you’ll just type,” Ella says. “I’m ready to go to bed, and try to get you to read stories for me and you’re just standing there reading your texts and texting other people,” she adds. I came to realize that I was ignoring her as a father.
Ella isn’t the only kid who feels this way about her parent’s relationship with devices. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a psychologist at Harvard, wrote The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age. For her book, Steiner-Adair interviewed more than 1,000 kids from the ages of 4 to 18. She talked to hundreds of teachers and parents.
One of the many things that knocked my socks off, ” she says, “was the consistency(一致性) with which children — whether they were 4 or 8 or 18 or 24— talked about feeling exhausted and frustrated or mad trying to get their parents’ attention, competing with computer screens or iPhone screens or any kind of technology.”
A couple of years ago, my daughter got a laptop for school. And because she was becoming more independent, we got her a phone. We set up rules for when she could use the device and when she’d need to put it away. We created a charging(充电) station, outside her bedroom, where she had to plug in these devices every night. Basically — except for homework— she has to put it all away when she comes home.
Steiner-Adair says most adults don’t set up similar limits in their own lives. “We’ve lost the boundaries that protect work and family life,’’ she says. “So it is very hard to manage yourself and be present in the moments your children need you.’’
After my daughter’s little intervention(介入),I made myself a promise to create my own charging station. To plug my phone in— somewhere faraway — when I am done working for the day. I’ve been trying to leave it there untouched for most of the weekend
1.Why did Ella threaten to break her father’s phone?
A. Her father spent a lot of money on his phone.
B. Her father did not do any housework or read to her.
C. Her father made a lot of noise by talking on the phone.
D. Her father gave his attention to his phone instead of her.
2. By saying “knocked my socks off ’’ , Steiner-Adair means “___’’.
A. made fun of her
B. surprised her a lot
C. took her socks off
D. made her exhausted
3.What does the author mainly talk about in paragraph 4?
A. How he protected his daughter from devices.
B. Why his daughter was dissatisfied with him.
C. How to create a charging station at home.
D. Why children need a laptop or a phone.
4. We can infer from the text the author___.
A. will not use his phone form now on
B. plans to create more charging stations at home
C. is a man who learns from his mistakes
D. doesn’t think a laptop is helpful to his daughter
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,从每题所给的 A、B、C、D 四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A couple of weeks ago, my friend offered to sell some of our things for us. I thought it was a good opportunity to ________ my 7-year-old son’s room and ________ some toys that were no longer suitable for him to play with. We ________ that all the money we got from selling the toys would be his money.
The night before the ________, we loaded up the truck with toys and a little bike that was too ________ for him. In the yard he ________ the bike for the last time and then happily put it onto the truck. This little bike had at least two previous owners as far as we ________. It wasn’t in the best ________ and was certainly not new, but the tires were ________ good.
We put a price of $10 on it, but it didn’t sell. So, after the sale was ________, my friend put it on the sidewalk with a sign that ________ “FREE BIKE”. Within five minutes her doorbell rang. A little boy was ________ there. In poor English he asked whether the bike was ________ free. She said yes and that he could have it for ________. He smiled, got on the bike and rode away.
Later that evening when I told my son how much money he had made at the sale, he was very ________, shouting happily. He asked about a few of his things, wondering ________ they had been sold. When he asked about the bike, I told him about the little boy and that made him ________. He was much happier than when I told how much he had ________. He was so happy to ________ that someone else would make good ________ of that little bike.
1.A. clean B. check C. display D. design
2.A. look for B. go through C. show off D. deal with
3.A. refused B. agreed C. wrote D. lied
4.A. trip B. show C. sale D. decision
5.A. weak B. small C. new D. thin
6.A. rode B. found C. watched D. felt
7.A. doubted B. knew C. told D. thought
8.A. time B. chance C. place D. shape
9.A. also B. never C. still D. hardly
10.A. ahead B. on C. near D. over
11.A. said B. repeated C. copied D. expressed
12.A. jumping B. standing C. walking D. shouting
13.A. barely B. usually C. really D. always
14.A. something B. anything C. everything D. nothing
15.A. calm B. scared C. excited D. disappointed
16.A. when B. if C. why D. where
17.A. smile B. worry C. leave D. cry
18.A. enjoyed B. lost C. bought D. made
19.A. hear B. understand C. remember D. think
20.A. interest B. money C. use D. price
高二英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
A couple of days ago, as the test results came out, my son and a group of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald's. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A's, and Laurie got a cell-phone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPad, and she's only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $10 for each A.”
I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cell-phone, and the DVD player?
I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle disappear before my eyes — no more of those $5 bags of already-peeled organic carrots. No more organic anything!
I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal achieved by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns? What about the orchestra? Would first chair pay more than second? I'd be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.
“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that's about it.”
Don't you just hate that? We're all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation. And what about the primary grades? What do these students get? “When the teacher asked if anyone got rewards for good grades, everyone in my class raised their hands and said they got ice cream cones ,” said one third-grader.
1.What’s the best title for the passage?
A. Tips on Paying Kids for Good Grades
B. New changes in Paying Kids for Good Grades
C. Good Grades Mean Good Rewards
D. Don't Pay Kids for Good Grades
2.What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably mean?
A. Taking care of my children would influence my work.
B. I would spend less money on my children's good grades.
C. More rewards would be needed as my children grow up.
D. Reducing my children's homework load would cost me a lot.
3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. if you buy children pizza as a reward, they will work harder
B. if you pay kids for good grades, they will take it for granted
C. children will not ask for rewards when they enter high school
D. good grades won't help kids make great progress in the future
4.The author takes her neighbor as an example to show _______.
A. pizza is the best way to motivate children
B. it is necessary to reward children for their good grades
C. getting rewards for good grades is common nowadays
D. rewards are not the only way to encourage children
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
A couple of years ago, when my older daughter was 8,she gently told my wife and me that she’d gotten too old for us to read her books anymore. We didn’t try to talk her out of it or tell her many benefits of reading aloud to a child (even after they can do so themselves). 1.
Two weeks after stopping our bedtime readings, though, my older daughter asked whether we could start again. 2. As she later explained, “Everyone likes to be read to, even adults.” We’ve continued uninterrupted since. Right now, we’re deep into Philip Pullman’s “The Golden Compass.”
3. In most of the studies, people found that reading aloud appeared to strengthen parents’ feelings of competence, improve the quality of their relationships with their children and even reduce parental stress or depression.
Reading aloud to children improves a young mind’s cognitive development (thinking, problem-solving, decision-making) and reduces behavior problems, research shows. As with playing board games, reading to them increases concentration and attention spans.
And yet, too many of us stop before the kids want us to. 4.
The conversations children have around themes and ideas in books help them make sense of the world. And it’s a joyful way to connect and be close with your kid. While reading in bed, my daughters and I lie next to each other, sometimes leaning into one another. 5. It’s as high a quality as quality time gets.
A. She simply enjoyed the practice too much to let it go yet.
B. When she was a young child, we began a nearly daily reading called Milk & Books.
C. We were disappointed but respected her.
D. Reading aloud was significantly beneficial to children and their parents.
E. In Australia, more than a third of children aged 6 to 1l whose parents had stopped reading to them wanted to continue.
F. We laugh and are surprised together and have deep conversations about the novels.
G. It’s one of the most virtuous circles of parenting and teaching.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!
The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制) our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.
Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.
If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.
1.The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to__________.
A. take photos
B. cheer herself up
C. hop along the path
D. find a solution to the project
2.The underlined part "to no avail" in Paragraph 1 probably means " __________".
A. uninteresting B. unrelated
C. unsuccessful D. unexpected
3.In the author's opinion, __________.
A.a bath can make people relaxed
B. adults should express their inner feelings freely
C. walking in a busy city centre harms people's health
D. depression is usually caused by hard work
4.The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n) __________.
A. suggestion B. explanation
C. introduction D. reminder
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
When his beloved girlfriend left him, he was_______for a couple of weeks.
A. over the moon B. as sly as a fox
C. down in the dumps D. on cloud nine
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
I have a good memory of my grandfather,Jack. He was sitting in his armchair in the front room.
I sat next to him. We were reading aloud,our heads bent over the page in front of us,a finger marking the words;separated by seven decades,brought together by words. It's a common scene in British families;however,in our case,the usual order of things is reversed(颠倒).Granddad had been blind since I was tiny,so I was reading to him.When reading aloud,people usually read something that's of interest to the listener. So I didn't read children's books;I read the sorts of things Granddad liked to hear about. Much of the vocabulary in Granddad’s reading material was far beyond me. When I met unfamiliar words,I'd spell them out.
Granddad would help me. It must have been painful for him to hear news;but he never hurried me along or complained. Our reading wasn't really about getting knowledge. It was a way for us to spend time together.
My grandfather wasn't always blind. He had been a good carpenter(木匠).The first Christmas of my parents' marriage,he built my mother a bookcase,which now belongs to my son Jonah,providing a link between four generations.
I was a fortunate child;I spent a lot of time with my grandfather,and he opened the world to me in a particular way. Reading was our way of building a relationship that has had a lasting effect on me. In the school holidays,I sometimes accompanied him on trips to the seaside with the local association for the blind. This might seem strange,but I felt that my personal value was realized because I could finally do something for Granddad.
A decade later,I found a position in a nursing home,which reminded me of my early experiences;reading to senior citizens was a connection back to Granddad. More than simple conversation,reading aloud is a connection between two individuals and it can have a big emotional(情感的)effect on elderly people.
1.What can we know from the first paragraph?
A.The author's grandfather was born blind.
B.The author is seventy years younger than her grandfather.
C.The author often sat opposite to her grandfather while reading.
D.It's quite common in Britain that children read to their grandfathers.
2.Why didn't the author choose to read children's books?
A.To expand her knowledge.
B.To make her vocabulary bigger.
C.To show off in front of her grandfather.
D.To satisfy the needs of her grandfather.
3.How did the author feel during the trips with Granddad?
A.Proud. B.Troubled.
C.Curious. D.Embarrassed.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
My grandfather died more than twenty-five years ago. I was fifteen then. He was kind, strong, fair, and very funny. When I was a young musician, he was my biggest fan. I played my violin for him when he visited, and he loved everything, but each time he had one request. “Could you play Amazing Grace%” he asked, full of hope and with a twinkle in his eye, because he knew my answer was always, “I don’t know that one!” We went through this routine at every major holiday, and I always figured I’d have time to learn it for him later.
About the time I entered high school and started guitar, Grandpa got cancer. The last time I saw him alive was Thanksgiving weekend in 1985. My mom warned us that Grandpa didn’t look the same anymore and that we should prepare ourselves. For a moment I didn’t recognize him. He looked so small among all the white sheets. We had all gathered in Ohio for the holiday, and I’m sure we all knew we were there to say good-bye. I can see now that Grandpa held on long enough to see us each one more time. I remember how we ate in the dining room and laughed and talked while Grandpa rested in his hospital bed. I wonder if it was sad for him to be alone with our voices and laughter. Knowing Grandpa, he was probably content.
The next morning, I found my moment alone with him. I pulled out my guitar, tuned to his appreciative gaze, and finally played for him Amazing Grace. I had worked on it for weeks, knowing it never mattered whether I actually played it well and choosing not to believe as I played that it was my last concert for my biggest fan. The cancer had stolen his smile, but I saw joy in his eyes. He held my hand afterward, and I knew I had done something important.
I argued with people all through college about my music major. I was told by strangers that music wouldn’t make me any money and it wasn’t useful like being a doctor. But I know first-hand that with music I was able to give my grandpa something at a point when no one else could.
1.At first the author didn’t play Amazing Grace for Grandpa because.
A. she hadn’t learned it yet B. she found it difficult to play
C. she disliked playing it D. her grandfather was just joking
2.From the last sentence in Paragraph 2 we can infer that Grandpa .
A. treasured love from family B. was used to living alone
C. was too weak to feel anything D. was optimistic about his health
3.When the author finally played Amazing Grace for Grandpa, she .
A. made him smile joyfully
B. knew she must play it well
C. brought him love and comfort
D. believed she could play it many times for him
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The author was 15 when she wrote the article.
B. The author has a great affection for her grandfather.
C. The author prefers to be a doctor rather than a musician.
D. The author is confident that music will make her much money.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析