Gus Wenner runs Rollingstone.com; his father ...

Gus Wenner runs Rollingstone.com; his father gave him the job. But Jann Wenner, the magazine's co­founder and publisher, was quick to assure critics of the appointment process that his son is terribly talented and had to prove himself before being given the post. Apparently Gus worked his way up from more junior positions with the company, and demonstrated, according to his father, the “drive and discipline and charm, and all the things that show leadership.” Gus Wenner is 22 years old.

He is certainly not the only kid out of college, or even out of high school, working at daddy's firm. Family contacts are a common way of finding both temporary internships and longtime careers. Opportunities for the children of top 1 percent are not the same as they are for the 99 percent.

This is hardly a shock, but it is precisely the type of inequality that reveals the hard­ to­ define promise of the “Just Do It” version of the American dream and deepens our cynicism(愤世嫉俗) about how people get ahead. As a consequence, it weakens support for public policies that could address the lack of upward mobility among children born at the bottom, who ought to be given priority. A strong tie between adult outcomes and family background annoys Americans. When an organization conducted a nationally representative survey asking about the meaning of “the American dream”， some typical answers included: “Being free to say or do what you want” and “Being free to accomplish almost anything you want with hard work.”but also “Being able to succeed regardless of the economic circumctances in which you were born.”

This is exactly the reason that “the American dream” is not only a defining metaphor for the country, but also why Americans have long been willing to tolerate a good deal more economic inequality than citizens of many other rich countries. A belief in the possibility of upward mobility not only morally justifies inequality as the expression of talents and energies, but also extends a promise to those with lower incomes. After all, why would you be a strong advocate for reducing inequality if you believe that you, or eventually your children, were likely to climb the income ladder?

Hard work and perseverance(毅力) will always be ingredients for success, but higher inequality has made having successful parents, if not essential, certainly a central part of the recipe.

The belief that talent is something you are born with, and that opportunities are open to anyone with ambition and energy, also has a dangerous consequence. When the public policy is focused on the difficult situation of the poor, this belief can help the concept resurface that the poor are “undeserving” and are the authors of their own situation. Yet we actually know a good deal about why children of the poor have a higher chance of being stuck on poverty as adults.

The recipes for breaking this intergenerational trap are clear: a nurturing(培养) environment in the early years combined with accessible and high­quality health care and education promote the capacities of young children, heighten the development of their skills as they grow older, and eventually raise their chances of upward mobility.

Talent is nurtured and developed, and even genes are expressed differently depending upon environmental influences.

The 1 percent are the goal for these upper­middle­class families, who after all have also experienced significant growth in their relative standing. The graduate and other higher degrees that they hold, for which they put in considerable effort, have put them on the upside of the wave of globalization and technical change that has transformed the American job market.

An age of higher inequality gives them both more resources to promote the capacities of their children, and more encouragement to make these investments since their children now have all the more to gain.

For them, an American dream based on effort and talent still lives, and as a result they are less likely, with their considerable cultural and political influence, to support the reshaping of American public policy to meet its most pressing need: the future of those at the bottom.

1.What do we know about Gus Wenner?

A. He will prove himself competent in the future.

B. He has some work experience in the company.

C. He is the co­founder and publisher of the magazine.

D. He is too young to be in charge of the company.

2.The phenomenon illustrated by the appointment of Gus Wenner ________.

A. stops people from dreaming the American dream

B. encourages the government to carry out public policies

C. reduces the level of people's tolerance of economic inequality

D. narrows the possibilities of people at the bottom moving upward

3.By saying “Being able to succeed regardless of the economic circumstances in which you were born，” the respondents of the survey ________.

A. showed their upset about the inequality

B. expressed their gratitude for the fairness

C. indicated their determination to succeed

D. gave their satisfaction with the circumstances

4.We can infer from the passage that the public policy for the poor faces opposition from ________.

A. the lower class　　 B. all classes of society

C. the top one percent　　 D. the upper middle class

5.What is the best title for the passage?

A. How old are you?　　 B. What is your talent?

C. Who is your daddy?　　 D. Where is your future?

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇120词左右的英语短文。

For long, there was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he would hammer a nail in the back fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled(逐渐减少) down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day when he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal (言语的) wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your friends how much you care.”

【写作内容】

（1）用约30个词概括上文的主要内容。

（2）用约90个词发表你的看法，内容包括：

①愤怒的负面影响；

②通过你或你身边的例子说明愤怒的负面影响；

③在你愤怒的时候你将怎么控制自己的情绪。

【写作要求】

（1）写作时，可以参考阅读材料，但不得直接引用原文；

（2）作文中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称；

（3）不必写标题

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高二英语书面表达中等难度题查看答案及解析

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Once a boy had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him1.when he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the fence.

The first day the boy2.（ drive） 37 nails into the fence . As he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered3. （gradual） decreased. He discovered4.was easier to hold his temper than to drive nails into the fence.

Finally the day came5.he did not lose his temper. His father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day when he was able to hold his anger. Days passed and all the nails were gone.

The father took the boy6. the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “ Look at the holes．The fence will never be the same. When you say things7. anger，they leave scars just like the ones on the fence. No matter how many times you say “I am sorry”,8.wound is still there, a verbal wound is as bad9.a physical one. Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you 10.（success）.They lend an ear, and always want to open their hearts to us.”

高二英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The Gift of Forgiveness

The summer I turned 16, my father gave me his old 69 Chevy Malibu convertible. What did I know about classic cars? For me, the important thing was that Hannah and I could _______ around Tucson with the top down.

Hannah was my best friend, a year younger but much _______. That summer she _______ with a modeling agency, doing catalog and runway work.

A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we　 _______ at the McDonald’s drive-through, putting the fries in the space between us to _______. “Let’s ride around awhile,” I said. It was a clear night, hot, full moon hanging low over the desert. Taking a curve (弯) too _______, I ran over some dirt and fishtailed. I then moved quickly through a neighbor’s landscape wall and drove into a full-grown palm tree. The front wheel came to rest halfway _______ the tree trunk.

There were French fries on the floor, the dash (仪表盘) and my lap. An impossible amount of _______ was on Hannah’s face, pieces of skin hanging around her eyes. We were taken in separate ambulances. In the emergency room, my parents spoke quietly: “Best plastic surgeon (整容医生) in the city…but it is more likely the _______ of her modeling career…”

We’d been wearing lap belts, ________ the car didn’t have shoulder belts. I’d broken my cheekbone on the steering wheel; Hannah’s ________ had split wide open on the dash. What would I say to her?

When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry, preparing myself for her ________. She sat beside me and took my hand. “I drove into the back of the car of my best friend when I was your age,” she said. “I completely ________ her car and mine.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“You’re both ________,” she said. “Everything else doesn’t matter.” I started to explain, and Sharon stopped me. “I ________ you. Hannah will too.”

Sharon’s forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to get back in the car together that summer, to stay ________ throughout high school and college, to be in each other’s weddings. I think of her gift of forgiveness every time I tend to feel angry about someone for a perceived（可感知到的）________, and whenever I see Hannah. The scars (伤疤) are now ________ and no one else would notice, but in the sunlight I can still ________ the faint, shiny skin just below her hairline—for ________, a sign of forgiveness.

1.A.drive B.run C.wander D.march

2.A.stronger B.healthier C.taller D.smaller

3.A.competed B.chatted C.signed D.bargained

4.A.stopped B.ate C.aimed D.stood

5.A.catch B.share C.hold D.spare

6.A.fast B.seriously C.softly D.slow

7.A.across B.up C.below D.along

8.A.blood B.petrol C.water D.sweat

9.A.path B.base C.point D.end

10.A.and B.but C.or D.so

11.A.shoulders B.arms C.chest D.forehead

12.A.anger B.regret C.sorrow D.concern

13.A.attacked B.dragged C.damaged D.removed

14.A.alike B.relieved C.injured D.alive

15.A.help B.love C.understand D.forgive

16.A.sisters B.friends C.classmates D.colleagues

17.A.need B.effort C.wrong D.threat

18.A.left B.marked C.shown D.faded

19.A.touch B.see C.feel D.learn

20.A.them B.you C.me D.her

高二英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The boy was named _______ the hero who gave his life for saving him in the earthquake.

A. after             B. with           C. by            D. from

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

The flowers his friend gave him will die unless _________ every day.

A. watering     B. watered      C. is watered     D. waters

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Once upon a time when my father was in his teens, his father took him to the mosque (清真寺) to pray. My grandfather, it seems, had a habit of keeping his loose change in his shirt pocket. As they prayed side by side, during one of the prostrations (俯伏), the coins fell down onto the carpet.

My grandfather did not notice it. However, a man seated nearby as well as my father noticed the incident. The man reacted fast and picked up the coins and went off into another corner of the mosque.

My father took everything in and as soon as my grandfather finished praying, he told him what had happened. My grandfather having heard just about what happened stopped my dad from telling him who took the money.

Then he went on to tell my dad the following. “If the man has chosen to steal in the mosque, then it must be because his life is too bad. We must not be quick to judge such people,” he said.

Since they owned a grocery shop, my father was told by his father to make sure that every month he should make up a parcel of all the daily necessities required in a household and send it to that person without telling him who sent it.

Wouldn’t this world be a better place to live in if we had such wisdom spreading within our society!

1.What’s the author’s grandfather’s habit?

A. Giving coins to the poor in the mosque.

B. Changing his clothes before praying.

C. Keeping coins in his shirt pocket.

D. Taking the author along to the mosque.

2.What seems to be the author’s suggestion to us?

A. To tell people the truth some time later.

B. To help those in need in a proper way.

C. Don’t always judge (评判) people by their looks.

D. It’s wise to keep a secret for others some-times.

3.We can learn from the passage that ______.

A. the author was stopped by his father from telling the truth

B. nobody but the man saw the coins in the mosque

C. the man was thankful to the author’s father for helping him

D. the man who hid the coins was probably living a hard life

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

. It was the fact _______his father was ill in hospital_________ worried him and kept him awake for a whole night .

A. which ; that       B. which ; which       C. that ; which           D. that ; that

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

The father often buys his son English learning materials, ____at encouraging him to learn English.

A．aim              B．aimed            C．to aim            D．aiming

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

A 10-year-old boy fatally shot his father Friday, striking him several times as he sat in the front seat of a SUV to pick up the boy from his mother’s home for a weekend visit.

The incident happened about 3:45 p.m. on a cul-de-sac (死胡同)in the 1700 block of Cedar Cove Court, said Sgt. B. E. Williams of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.

An investigation found that Rick James Lohstroh, 41, was shot by his son, who was sitting in the back seat of the man’s Toyota 4-Runner, said Sgt. B. E. Williams of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. The shooting took place outside the home of Lohstroh’s ex-wife, where the boy lives with his mother and a 7-year-old brother.

“We’re not certain of anything until we finish our investigation,” Williams said. “The information we have at this time is that the 10-year-old did fire the weapon.”

The mother and the 7-year-old were inside the house when the shooting occurred, said Williams.

Williams said the gun belonged to the boy’s mother. After firing shots through the back seat, the boy exited(退出) the back of the vehicle and continued to fire at the car.

The man died on the way to Memorial Herman Hospital. Lohstroh was a doctor at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The man and woman shared custody（监护）of the children. Williams said the mother and the boy were still in the home talking to investigators Friday night.

Neighbors described the family as being quiet and keeping to themselves.

Justin Gray, 17, was walking in the neighborhood when he heard gunshots. “We’ve had a suicide（自杀）in this neighborhood once, but never anything like this,” Gray said.

1. The best title for the news should be ________.

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the news?

3.What can we infer from the report?

4.The reason why the boy shot his father________.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析