People have grown taller over the last centur...

People have grown taller over the last century, with South Korean women shooting up by more than 20cm on average, and Iranian men gaining 16.5cm. A global study looked at the average height of 18-year-olds in 200 countries between 1914 and 2014.

The results reveal that while Swedes were the tallest people in the world in 1914, Dutch men have risen from 12th place to the top with an average height of 182.5cm. Latvian women, meanwhile, rose from 28th place in 1914 to become the tallest in the world a century later, with an average height of 169.8cm.

James Bentham, a co-author of the research from Imperial College, London, says the global trend is likely to be due primarily to improvements in nutrition and healthcare. “An individual's genetics has a big influence on their height, but once you average over whole populations, genetics plays a less key role,” he added.

A little extra height brings a number of advantages, says Elio Riboli of Imperial College. “Being taller is associated with longer life expectancy,” he said. “This is largely due to a lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease among taller people.”

But while height has increased around the world, the trend in many countries of north and sub-Saharan Africa causes concern, says Riboli. While height increased in Uganda and Niger during the early 20th century, the trend has turned backwards in recent years, with height decreasing among 18-year-olds.

“One reason for these decreases in height is the economic situation in the 1980s,” said Alexander Moradi of the University of Sussex. The nutritional and health crises that followed the policy of structural adjustment, he says, led to many children and teenagers failing to reach their full potential in terms of height.

Bentham believes the global trend of increasing height has important implications. “How tall we are now is strongly influenced by the environment we grew up in,” he said. “If we give children the best possible start in life now, they will be healthier and more productive for decades to come.”

1.What does the global study tell us about people's height in the last hundred years?

A.There is a remarkable difference across continents.

B.There has been a marked increase in most countries.

C.The increase in people's height has been quickening.

D.The increase in women's height is bigger than in men's.

2.What does James Bentham say about genetics in the increase of people's height?

A.It counts less than generally thought.

B.It outweighs nutrition and healthcare.

C.It impacts more on an individual than on a population.

D.It plays a more significant role in females than in males.

3.What does Elio Riboli say about taller people?

A.They tend to live longer. B.They enjoy an easier life.

C.They generally risk fewer fatal diseases. D.They have greater expectations in life.

4.What do we learn about 18-year-olds in Uganda and Niger?

A.They grow up slower than their peers in other countries.

B.They are actually shorter than their earlier generations.

C.They find it hard to bring their potential into full play.

D.They have experienced many changes of government.

5.What does James Bentham suggest we do?

A.Watch closely the global trend in children's development.

B.Make sure that our children grow up to their full height.

C.Try every means to protect our environment.

D.Ensure our children grow up in a more ideal environment.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

People have gown taller over the last century, with South Korean women shooting up by more than 20cm on average, and Iranian men gaining 16. 5cm. A global study looked at the average height of 18 year-olds in 200 countries between 1914and 2014.

The results reveal that while Swedes were the tallest people in the world in 1914, Dutch men have risen from I2th place to claim top spot with an average height of 182. 5cm. Latvian women, meanwhile, rose from 28th place in 1914 to become the tallest in the world a century later, with an average height of 169. 8cm.

James Bentham, a co-author of the research from Imperial College, London, says the global trend is likely to be due primarily to improvements in nutrition and healthcare. “An individual's genetics has a big influence on their height, but once you average over whole populations, genetics plays a less key role, " he added.

A little extra height brings a number of advantages, says Elio Riboli of Imperial College. "Being taller is associated with longer life expectancy," he said. "This is largely due to a lower risk of dying of cardiovascular（心血管的）disease among taller people.”

But while height has increased around the world, the trend in many countries of north and sub-Saharan Africa causes concern, says Riboli. While height increased in Ugands and "Nigeria during the early 20th century, the trend has reversed in recant yeas, with height decreasing among 18-year-olds.

“One reason for these decreases in height is the economic situation in the 1980s," said Alexander Moradi df the University of Sussex. The nutritional and health crises that followed the policy of structural adjustment, he says, led to many children and teenagers failing to teach their full potential in terms of beight.

Bentham believes the global trend of increasing height has important inaolications. “How tall we are now is strongly influenced by the environment we grew up in," he said. "If we give children the best passible start in life now, they will be healthier and more productive for decades to come."

1.What does the global study tell us about people's height in the last hundred years?

A.There is a remarkable difference across cantinents.

B.There has been a marked increase in most countries.

C.The increase in people's height has been quickening.

D.The increase in women's height is bigger than in men's.

2.What does James Bentham say about genetics in the increase of people's height?

A.It counts Jess than generally thought.

B.It outweighs nutrition and healthcare.

C.It impacts more on an individual than on a population.

D.It plays a more significant role in females than in males.

3.What do we lean about 18-year-olds in Uganda and Nigeria?

A.They grow up slower than their peers in other countriea.

B.They are actually shorter than their earlier generations.

C.They find it hard to bring their potential into full play.

D.They have experienced many changes of govemment.

4.What does James Bentham suggest we do?

A.Watch closely the global trend in children's development.

B.Make sure that our children grow up to their full height.

C.Try every means possible to improve our environment.

D.Ensure our children grow up in an ideal environment.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

语法填空

Over the centuries, there have been a few people who plan the future of the world for a living and they 1. (call) futurologists.

Hundreds of futurologists will gather at Newcastle University to hold a seminar about the future. Many people will attend the seminar with dreams of starting new enterprises 2. (base) on the predictions they will hear. I clicked 3. the websites of a few futurologists and got several predictions.

4. (short), computers will become handier. Then all of us can use our voices to control computers such as downloading files 5. updating computers just by saying a few words. By 2015, garments will have been made of new materials that will remain stainless 6. you spill on them, and they will never get old and worn. By 2025, there will have been no 7. (starve), no people who have to live on welfare, no discrimination, no conflict and people 8. (live) in peace and equality. By 2030, tiny, insect-like robots may be sent around the cells of our bodies 9. (assess) our health , which will have made it possible for us to live for at least 150 years. By 2050, we will be linking our brains to the much 10. (smart) computers and a huge database9 and a new type of electronic human might have developed!

高三英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.

Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference.

Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.

“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways－scientists or actors, for example－may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.

In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desire－not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health－rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap(差距). Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.” Says Michalos.

Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.

In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often.

Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with times running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t.

“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”

1.According to the passage, the feeling of happiness __________.

2.Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs ____________.

3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more _________.

4.Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if __________.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.

Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference.

Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.

“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways－scientists or actors, for example－may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.

In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desire－not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health－rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap(差距). Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income.” Says Michalos.

Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.

In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often.

Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t.

“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”

1.According to the passage, the feeling of happiness __________.

A．has little to do with wealth                B．increases gradually with age

C．is determined partly by genes              D．is measured by desires

2.Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs ____________.

A．make them feel much better               B．improve their social position

C．provide chances to make friends            D．satisfy their professional interests

3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more _________.

A．optimistic         B．successful         C．practical          D．emotional

4.Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if __________.

A．the gap between reality and desire is bigger

B．they have a stronger desire for friendship

C．their income is below their expectation

D．the hope for good health is greater

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Over the last 70 years,researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference.Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes.However,of all the factors,wealth and age are the top two.

Money can buy a degree of happiness.But once you can afford to feed,clothe and house yourself,each extra dollar makes less and less difference.

Researchers find that,on average,wealthier people are happier.But the link between money and happiness is complex.In the past half-century,average income has sharply increased in developed countries,yet happiness levels have remained almost the same.Once your basic needs are met,money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends,neighbors and colleagues.

“Dollars buy status,and status makes people feel better,”conclude some experts,which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways—scientists or actors,for example—may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.

In a research,Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires—not just for money,but for friends,family,job,health—rose furthest beyond what they already had,tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap(差距).Indeed,the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone.“The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income,”says Michalos.

Another factor that has to do with happiness is age.Old age may not be so bad.“Given all the problems of aging,how could the elderly be more satisfied?”asks Professor Laura Carstensen.

In one survey,Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94,and asked them to fill out an emotions questionaire.She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people,but negative emotions much less often.

Why are old people happier?Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it,or they’re more realistic about their goals,only setting ones that they know they can achieve.But Carstensen thinks that with time running out,older people have learned to focus on things that make them happy and let go of those that don’t.

“People realize not only what they have,but also that what they have cannot last forever,”she says.“A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of 85,for example,may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”

1.According to the passage,the feeling of happiness ______.

A.is determined partly by genes

B.increases gradually with age

C.has little to do with wealth

D.is measured by desires

2.Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs ______.

A.make them feel much better

B.provide chances to make friends

C.improve their social position

D.satisfy their professional interests

3.Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more ______.

A.optimistic

B.successful

C.practical

D.emotional

4.Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if ______.

A.the gap between reality and desire is bigger

B.they have a stronger desire for friendship

C.their income is below their expectation

D.the hope for good health is greater

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Over the last 15 years, as a doctor, I have had heart-to-heart conversations with countless patients near the end of their lives. The most common emotion they express is______. And that’s______I came up with a project to encourage people to write a______to their loved ones. It’s a lesson I learned years ago from a memorable______patient.

He was a retired______with a cancer. Every day, his______spent many hours watching him watch television. She explained to me he had never been much of a______in their 50-plus years of marriage. But he seemed quite______to share his ideas with me,______when it became clear his days were______. He spoke of his deep regret for not having spent enough time with his wife, and of his great______in his son, who had joined the Navy in his father’s footsteps.

One afternoon, when I mentioned these______to his wife and son, they looked disbelievingly at each other. They thanked me for being so kind but______my patient was unlikely to express such feelings. To make sure his family could hear his______, I took my video camera with me the next morning and with the patients’______, recorded an open letter from him to his family. When I gave them the______letter, both his wife and son were moved to tears.

The experience______my letter project, which can help people complete their life review tasks: remembering to those we may have hurt;______those who have hurt us and saying “I love you”. It may take much courage to write a life review letter. For some people, it______deep and troubling emotions.______it may be the most important letter you will ever write.

1.A. gratitude　　 B. regret　　 C. apology　　 D. affection

2.A. because　　 B. why　　 C. when　　 D. how

3.A. note　　 B. bill　　 C. letter　　 D. sentence

4.A. dying　　 B. weak　　 C. unconscious　　 D. silent

5.A. merchant　　 B. worker　　 C. official　　 D. soldier

6.A. family　　 B. daughter　　 C. son　　 D. wife

7.A. husband　　 B. lover　　 C. talker　　 D. companion

8.A. willing　　 B. disturbing　　 C. embarrassed　　 D. delighted

9.A. specially　　 B. especially　　 C. exactly　　 D. gradually

10.A. numbered　　 B. died　　 C. ended　　 D. completed

11.A. satisfaction　　 B. pride　　 C. concern　　 D. complaint

12.A. comments　　 B. decisions　　 C. explanations　　 D. promises

13.A. denied　　 B. disbelieved　　 C. insisted　　 D. realized

14.A. sorrow　　 B. anxiety　　 C. wish　　 D. love

15.A. desire　　 B. permission　　 C. request　　 D. assistance

16.A. taped　　 B. typed　　 C. written　　 D. unopened

17.A. raised　　 B. inspired　　 C. proved　　 D. welcomed

18.A. acknowledging　　 B. forgetting　　 C. hurting　　 D. forgiving

19.A. calls for　　 B. calls off　　 C. calls in　　 D. calls up

20.A. So　　 B. For　　 C. Yet　　 D. Otherwise

高三英语完形填空简单题查看答案及解析

They have rich and beautiful forests _____ in the south of the country.

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

People have different ways of dealing with a common cold. Some take over-the- counter(非处方的) medicines such as aspirin while others try popular home remedies(治疗)like herbal tea or chicken soup. Yet here is the tough truth about the common cold: nothing really cures it.

So why do people sometimes believe that their remedies work? According to James Taylor, professor at the University of Washington, colds usually go away on their own in about a week, improving a little each day after symptoms peak, so it’s easy to believe it’s medicine rather than time that deserves the credit, USA Today reported.

It still seems hard to believe that we can deal with more serious diseases yet are powerless against something so common as a cold. Recently, scientists came closer to figuring out why. To understand it, you first need to know how antiviral(抗病毒的) drugs work. They attack the virus by attaching to and changing the surface structures of the virus. To do that, the drug must fit and lock into the virus like the right piece of a jigsaw(拼图), which means scientists have to identify the virus and build a 3-D model to study its surface before they can design an antiviral drug that is effective enough.

The two cold viruses that scientists had long known about were rhinovirus(鼻病毒) A and B. But they didn’t find out about the existence of a third virus, rhinovirus C, until 2006. All three of them contribute to the common cold, but drugs that work well against rhinovirus A and B have little effect when used against C.

“This explains most of the previous failures of drug trials against rhinovirus,” study leader Professor Ann Palmenberg at University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, told Science Daily.

Now, more than 10 years after the discovery of rhinovirus C, scientists have finally built a highly-detailed 3-D model of the virus, showing that the surface of the virus is, as expected, different from that of other cold viruses.

With the model in hand, hopefully a real cure for a common cold is on its way. Soon, we may no longer have to waste our money on medicines that don’t really work.

1.What does the author think of popular remedies for a common cold?

A. They are quite effective.

B. They are slightly helpful.

C. They actually have no effect.

D. They still need to be improved.

2.How do antiviral drugs work?

A. By breaking up cold viruses directly.

B. By changing the surface structures of the cold viruses.

C. By preventing colds from developing into serious diseases.

D. By absorbing different kinds of cold viruses at the same time.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The surface of cold viruses looks quite similar.

B. Scientists have already found a cure for the common cold.

C. Scientists were not aware of the existence of rhinovirus C until recently.

D. Knowing the structure of cold viruses is the key to developing an effective cure.

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Drugs against cold viruses B. Helpful home remedies

C. No current cure for common cold D. Research on cold viruses

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

We know that the earth has become warmer over the last century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program, reports that the average surface temperature of the earth has increased during the twentieth century by 0.6°+ 0.2°C.(The + 0.2°C means that the increase might be as small as 0.4°C or as great as 0.8°C). This may seem like a small shift, but although regional and short—term temperatures do fluctuate(变动) over a wide range, global temperatures are generally quite stable. In fact, the difference between today’s average global temperature and the average global temperature during the last Ice Age is only about 5 degrees C. Indeed, it’s warmer today around the world than at any time during the past 1,000years, and the warmest years of the previous century have occurred within the past decade.

We also know that human activities—primarily the burning of fossil fuels—have increased the greenhouse gas content of the earth’s atmosphere significantly over the same period. Carbon dioxide is one of the most important greenhouse gases, which trap heat near the planet’s surface.

The vast majority of climate researchers agree with these overall findings. The scientific disagreements that do still exist primarily concern detailed aspects of the processes that make up these largely accepted general themes.

You can think of this website as a window into the world of scientific research. In this primer, you’ll find a general discussion of the physical processes underlying the earth’s climate, an outline of the kinds of data that may shed light on how the climate is changing—and the role of human activity in these changes—and a description a some of the questions and uncertainties that researchers continue to explore. This primer is organized into four interconnected sections: the Atmosphere; the Hydrosphere(水圈); the Cryosphere(低温层); and the Biosphere(生物层).

1.We know from the text that “IPCC”___.

A. engages in the climate and changes about the earth.

B. is a group by scientists who like to walk around the moon

C. works in the World Meteorological Organization

D. often greets the passers-by from the outer space

2.We know from the text that carbon dioxide ___.

A. is one of the most important greenhouse gases

B. has fossil fuels

C. traps cold near the planet’s surface

D. exist in human activities

3.From the text, we know when we say the temperature of something has increased by about 0.7+ 0.2°C, the + 0.2°C means___.

A. the increase might by as small as 0.3°C or as great as 0.7°C

B. the increase might by as small as 0.5°C or as great as 0.8°C

C. the increase might by as small as 0.5°C or as great as 0.9°C

D. the increase might by as small as 0.4 C or as great as 0.8°C

4.What would be the best title for this text?

A. What Are the Scientific Disagreements

B. You Can Think of This Website

C. What Do We Know about Global Climate Change?

D. The Vast Majority of Climate Researchers

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析