In 1888 an Egyptian farmer digging in the san...

In 1888 an Egyptian farmer digging in the sand near the village of Istabl Antar uncovered a mass tomb. The bodies weren’t human. They were feline—ancient cats that had been mummified and buried in holes in astonishing numbers. “Not one or two here and there”, reported English Illustrated Magazine, “but dozens, hundreds, hundreds of thousands, a layer of them, a layer thicker than most coal joints, ten to twenty cats deep.” Some of the linen-wrapped cats still looked presentable, and a few even had golden faces. Village children peddled the best ones to tourists for change; the rest were sold as fertilizer (肥料). One ship transported about 180,000, weighing some 38, 000 pounds, to Liverpool to be spread on the fields of England.

Those were the days of generously funded (资助的) explorations—that dragged through acres of desert in their quest for royal tombs, and for splendid gold and painted masks to decorate the museums of Europe and America. The many thousands of mummified animals that turned up at religious sites throughout Egypt were just things to be cleared away to get treasure. Few people studied them, and their importance was generally unrecognized.

In the century since then, archaeology (考古学) has become less of a treasure hunt and more of a science. Archaeologists now realize that much of their sites’ wealth lies in the majority of details about ordinary folks—what they did, what they thought, how they prayed. And animal mummies are a big part of that.

“They’re really displays of daily life,” says Egyptologist Salima Ikram. After looking beneath bandages with x-rays and cataloguing her findings, she created a gallery for the collection—a bridge between people today and those of long ago. “You look at these mummified animals, and suddenly you say, Oh, King So-and-So had a pet. I have a pet. And instead of being at a distance of 5,000-plus years, the ancient Egyptians become clearer and closer to us.”

1.The underlined word “peddled” in Paragraph 1 probably means 　　　　 .

A.examined B.displayed

C.replaced D.shared

2.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A.Treasure hunting explorations. B.Egyptian Royal tombs in desert.

C.Mummified animals in museums. D.Big archaeological discoveries.

3.From the last paragraph, we can learn that Salima Ikram 　　　　 .

A.wishes to keep the continuity of pets over history

B.wants to identify the King’s personal belongings and classify them

C.believes that studying the remains can help modern society relate to the past

D.doubts if current society will understand the significance of Egyptian remains

4.The passage probably encourages the readers to 　　　　 .

A.make full use of the remains the ancestors left behind

B.become more sensitive to the ancient lifestyle of the ancestors

C.pay more attention to the historical and cultural value of ancient remains

D.understand there are more the historical remains waiting for explorations

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The voice of an ancient Egyptian priest has been heard for the first time in more than 3,000 years, thanks to a detailed reconstruction of his vocal tract (声带) from his mummified remains.

A team of scientists in England used medical scans of the famous mummy of Nesyamun to create a digital, 3D model of the insides of the individual’s throat and mouth, which were reproduced on a 3D printer. Then the researchers created an artificial larynx (喉头) with a loudspeaker using an electronic waveform. The sound was then played through the speaker into the 3D printed vocal tract to produce a short bust of Nesyamun’s voice — a sound not heard since the 11th century B.C.

Previous efforts to reproduce ancient voices could only approximate them, by animating facial reconstructions with software. In comparison, the sound of Nesyamun’s voice is based on “an extant (现存的) vocal tract preserved over 3,000 years,” the researchers wrote.

Nesyamun lived around 1100 B.C. He is thought to have died in his late 50s from a severe allergic reaction. Almost 3,000 years later, his mummy was discovered at Karnak and transported to the Leeds City Museum in 1823. His remains and ornate coffin (棺材) have since become some of the world’s best researched relics of ancient Egypt.

“Nesyamun’s mummy was a good choice for studying the sound of an ancient voice,” said David Howard, the lead author of the new research, “It was particularly suited, given its age and preservation of its soft tissues, which is unusual.”

He said he hopes the scientific understanding of how human voices are created can be combined with knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language to reconstruct longer passages of Nesyamun’s speech.

Before examining the mummy, the researchers had to deal with ethical (道德的) concerns related to examining a person without their consent. They used nondestructive research methods, and took into account words on his coffin, relating that Nesyamun hoped again to address the gods as he had in his working life.

The researchers interpreted that to indicate his desire to speak again after death. “We are in a way fulfilling his declared wishes,” Howard said.

Howard and Schofield said they hope a reconstruction of Nesyamun’s speech, perhaps reciting an ancient Egyptian prayer, can be featured at the Karnak temple in Egypt for modem tourists.

“When visitors encounter the past, it is usually a visual encounter,” said Schofield. “With this voice, we can change that.”

1.The voice of Nesyamun was recreated by _____.

A.repairing his vocal tract

B.bringing Nesyamun back to life

C.using some advanced technologies

D.combining it with facial movements

2.Why was Nesyamun’s mummy suitable for research?

A.He often gave long speeches.

B.His vocal tract is well preserved.

C.A severe disease resulted in his death.

D.His remains are displayed in the museum.

3.What does the underlined word in Paragraph 8 refer to?

A.The researchers took into account words on his coffin.

B.Nesyamun’s mummy was examined without his consent.

C.The researchers hope to reconstruct longer passages of his speech.

D.Nesyamun hoped to address the gods as he had in his working life.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A.A 3000-year-old mummy speaks again

B.The voice of a mummy excites visitors

C.A 3D-printed vocal tract has been created

D.The dream of Nesyamun has been achieved

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Turtles have an unfortunate habit of eating plastic objects floating in the sea. These cannot be digested and may ultimately kill them. It is widely assumed that this fondness for plastics is a matter of mistaken identity. Drifting plastic bags, for instance, look similar to jellyfish (水母), which many types of turtles love to eat. Yet lots of plastic objects that end up inside turtles have no similarity to jellyfish. Joseph Pfaller of the University of Florida therefore suspects that the smell of marine microorganisms (海洋微生物) which grow on floating plastic objects fools turtles into feeding.

The idea that the smell of floating plastic objects might lure animals to their death first emerged in 2016. Researchers at the University of California noticed that certain chemicals, notably dimethyl sulphide (二甲基硫), which are released into the air by floating plastics, are those which many seabirds sniff (嗅) to track down food. These chemicals mark good places to hunt because they indicate plenty of the algae (海藻) and bacteria (细菌). The researchers also found that birds which pursue their food in this way are five or six times more likely to eat plastic than those which do not.

Since turtles are known to break the surface periodically and sniff the air when finding the way to their feeding areas, Dr Pfaller theorised that they are following these same chemicals, and are likewise fooled into thinking that floating plastic objects are eatable.

To test that idea, he and his colleagues set up an experiment. They arranged for 15 turtles to be exposed to four smells: the vapour from deionised water; the smell of turtle-feeding balls made of shrimp and fish meal; the smell of a clean plastic bottle chopped up into ten pieces; and the smell of a similarly chopped bottle that had been kept in the ocean for five weeks to allow algae and bacteria to grow on it.

Two of the smells proved far more attractive to the animals than the others. When sniffing both the smell of food balls and that of five-week-old bottles, turtles kept their nostrils out of the water more than three times as long, and took twice as many breaths as they did when what was on offer was the smell of fresh bottle-plastic or deionised-water vapour.

Though they have not yet tested whether dimethyl sulphide is the culprit, Dr Pfaller and his colleagues think it is the most likely candidate. In an unpolluted ocean, pretty well anything which had this smell would be eatable— or, at least, harmless. Unfortunately, five-week-old plastic bottles and their like are not.

1.Paragraph 1 mainly tells us that turtles ________.

A.mistake plastic objects for jellyfish

B.are fooled into eating plastics by a smell

C.are dying out as a result of plastic pollution

D.break down plastics without much difficulty

2.What can we infer from the research on seabirds?

A.Seabirds eat plastics for the taste.

B.The algae and bacteria grow well on plastics.

C.Researchers got the idea from the study of turtles.

D.Some seabirds pursue food in a similar way to turtles.

3.Dr Pfaller’s research shows_______.

A.turtles prefer the smell of plastics

B.turtles live on marine microorganisms

C.dimethyl sulphide may be to blame for turtles’ death

D.plastics release the same chemicals as microorganisms

4.What is the purpose of the passage?

A.To propose a new way to study turtles.

B.To stress the importance of improving ecosystem.

C.To introduce the findings on the cause of turtles’ death.

D.To explain the effects of plastic pollution on sea animals.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

In an early survey conducted in 1888, a billion and a half people inhabited the earth. Now, the population exceeds seven billion. This means that the world must accommodate a new population roughly equal to that of the United States and Canada every three years. Even though the rate of growth has begun to slow down, most experts believe the population size will still pass eight billion soon.

If we examine the amount of land available for this ever-increasing population, we begin to see the problem. Everyone on the planet had an equal share of land, we would each have about 50,000 square metres. This figure seems to be quite encouraging until we examine the type of land we would have. Not all land is useful to humans as it cannot produce food. We can cut out about one fifth of it because it is permanently covered by snow and ice. Then we can cut out another one fifth because it is desert. Another fifth is too mountainous or is too great a height above sea-level. A tenth doesn’t have enough soil for crops to grow - it is bare rock. Now the position begins to look rather mom bleak (荒凉)!

Obviously, with so little land to support us, we should be taking great care not to reduce it further. But are we? We are consuming its “ capital” , which means its nonrenewable fossil fuels and other mineral deposits that took millions of years to form but which are now being destroyed in decades. We are also doing the same with other vital resources not usually thought of as being nonrenewable such as fertile soils, groundwater and the millions of other species that share earth with us.

The birth of a baby in, for example, Hong Kong, imposes more than a hundred times the amount of stress on the world's resources as a baby in India. Most people in India do not grow up to own cars or air-conditioners. Nor do they eat the huge amount of meat and fish that the Hong Kong child does. Their life-styles do not require vast quantities of minerals and energy. Also, they are aware of the requirements of the land around them and try to put something back into nature to replace what they take out.

1.Why does the author mention the example of America and Canada?

A.To emphasize that world population has to be reduced.

B.To give a brief history of the population growth.

C.To stress how quickly the world population is rising.

D.To point out what a large population they have.

2.According to the author, how much per person of the earths surface can be used to produce food?

A.15,000 square metres. B.25,000 square metres.

C.30,000 square metres. D.40,000 square metres.

3.Which of the following belongs to vital resources?

A.Fossil fuels. B.Mineral deposits.

C.Chemical fertilizer. D.Groundwater.

4.When can learn from the passage that _____.

A.different lifestyles require similar quantities of resources

B.a Hong Kong baby consumes more resources than an Indian baby

C.tropical forest are being better used for pastureland

D.nature is powerful enough to destroy an aggressive man

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

21．In 1888, a major French newspaper announced the death of Nobel in an article ________ “The merchant of death is dead”, which indicated that Nobel was only thought of as one _______ from killing.

A. read; profiting                                                        B. read; to profit

C. reading; profited                                                    D. reading; profiting

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

The story is about an old Indian farmer and an American tourist in India,__ understanding the other’s language.

A. none of whom　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. both of them

C. neither of them        　　　　　　 D. neither of whom

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

- -Did you watch the news about the success story of a farmer in Longhu last night?

Yes. By using an e-commerce platform, his fruit business ____ nationwide.

A.is expanding B.has expanded C.would expand D.was expanding

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

短文改错

An Australian farmer found the kangaroo caught                1._________

in the fence around his farms. He thought the poor           2.__________

animal was injured, but the kind farmer took off his          3. __________

jacket and put on the animal. Then he started trying          4. __________

to cut the fence to free the animal. But as soon as            5. __________

the kangaroo were free, it jumped up and ran away             6. __________

with the jacket. The farmer was worried because of his          7.__________

wallet was in the pocket. But, to my surprise,                8.__________

when he gets home, he saw the animal waiting at the door,        9.__________

still wore his jacket with the wallet in the pocket.             10.__________

高三英语短文改错中等难度题查看答案及解析

The farmers are in bad need of rain,but a (an)________large amount of rainfall will cause Floods.

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

A gentleman put an advertisement in a newspaper for a boy to work in his office. Out of the nearly fifty men who came to apply, the man selected one and dismissed(解散) the others.

“I should like to know,” said a friend, “the reason you preferred that boy, who brough not a single letter—not a recommendation(介绍信）.”

“You are wrong,” said the gentleman. He had a great many. He wiped his feet at the door and closed the door after him, indicating that he was careful. He gave his seat immediately to the crippled (跛的) old man, showing that he was kind and thoughtful. He took off his cap when he came in and answered my questions immediately, showing that he was polite and gentlemanly.

“All the rest stepped over the book which I had purposely put on the floor. He picked it up and placed it on the table; and he waited quietly for his turn instead of pushing and crowding.

When I talked to him, I noticed his tidy clothing, his neatly brushed hair, and his clean fingernails(指甲). Can’t you see that these things are excellent recommendations? I consider them more significant(明显的) than letters.”

1.A gentleman put an advertisement in a newspaper _____

A.  in order to hire an office boy

B.  so as to dismiss the others

C.  in order to select one among the fifty applicants

D.  so as to select one and dismiss the others {007}

2.The underlined word “indicatiing” probably means _______

A.  drawing         B.  saying          C.  showing         D.  speaking

3._______ was the very person the gentleman preferred.

A.  He who had many letters        B.  He who had no letters

C.  He who wiped his feet           D.  He who was careful,kind, polite and thoughtful

4.According to the passage, we know that the gentleman hired the boy by________

A.  his good manners                B.  the relationships between them             C.  by the feelings                    D.  his letters

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析