Iceland is a large island. In fact, it’s the ...

Iceland is a large island. In fact, it’s the world’s 18th largest island. Most of the population, however, lives in the southwestern part of the country, in or around the capital city of Reykjavik. By its very name, you’d expect Iceland to be mostly ice. Looking at Iceland on a map, you’ll notice it sits just outside the Arctic Circle. Despite this location and its name, Iceland actually has a temperate climate, because it is warmed by the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream also helps keep Iceland’s coastal ports ice-free through the winter.

There is plenty of ice on Iceland, though. The country consists of a large plateau(高原)that includes fields of sand, mountains and glaciers. Over 60% of Iceland is tundra（苔原）. About 14% of Iceland is lakes and glaciers. Only about 24% of the country has plants or vegetation of any kind, which covers a vast area in the south of the country.

Iceland was settled in the late 800s and early 900s by Norsemen from the Scandinavian country of Norway. Other settlers also came from Ireland and Scotland. From the 13th century up until 1918, Iceland was part of the Norwegian and later Danish monarchies. For most of that time, the small Icelandic population depended upon fishing and farming to make a living. For hundreds of years, Iceland was one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. After World War II, international aid and industrialization of the fishing industry turned Iceland into one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In 1994, Iceland became part of the European Economic Area(经济区), which allowed its economy to grow even more.

Iceland boasts one of the youngest islands in the world. Surtsey rose out of the ocean during a series of volcanic eruptions between 1963 and 1968. Today, only scientists who study the growth of new life can occasionally visit the volcanic island of Surtsey.

1.What can we know about Iceland according to the passage?

A.It lies in the Arctic Circle.

B.Its capital city is very crowded

C.Many people live in the east.

D.It has a fairly mild temperature.

2.What is mainly talked about in the third paragraph?

A.Iceland’s history.

B.Iceland’s geography.

C.Iceland’s economy.

D.Iceland’s politics.

3.What can we infer about Surtsey from the last paragraph?

A.People live on fishing.

B.No human beings live there at all.

C.There are many visitors.

D.Science is developing fast there.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.

The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.

Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.

Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos(袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.

1.Australia is _______.

2. The government had made _______.

3. Which of the following is NOT true？

4. Which of the following is true？

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. 　 1.　　 The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.　 2.　 The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.

Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition.　 3.　　 We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition.

After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill.　 4.　 There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path. 　 5.　　 After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.

A. The government has made enough laws to fight pollution.

B. Australia is the sixth largest country in the world.

C. Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos.

D. Australia is big, but its population is not large.

E. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could.

F. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before.

G. The people of Australia are very hard-working.

高二英语其他题中等难度题查看答案及解析

La Gomera is the only place in the world that has a whistle(口哨) language. We do not know how and why it began because we do not know the complete history of the island. But we can certainly imagine the reasons for the beginning of the whistle language. There are many deep valleys on the island. A person on one side of a valley can not easily shout to a person on the other side. But he can whistle and be heard. Some of the best whistlers can be heard from four miles away and the record is seven miles.

The people who live on the island usually have good teeth, and this helps them to whistle well. They must also have good ears so that they can hear other whistlers.

We can understand why the whistle language continues. It is very useful on the island, and quite easy to learn. When somebody is hurt or ill, the whistle language takes the place of telephone. If the sick person is quite far away from the town, people pass the message from one to another. A boy guarding cattle on a hillside whistles to a man fishing from his boat. The last one is able to describe the trouble fully and exactly to the doctor in town. People help one another in the same way when a car breaks down or a cow is lost.

The whistle language is hundreds of years old, and probably it will continue to live on for hundreds of years more. Radio and TV often kill the special ways of speaking in different parts of a country. But on La Gomera you are nobody if you cannot whistle. Perhaps soon after TV arrives on the island, people there will be whistling the news and other facts and opinions.

1.If a person on La Gomera is ill, ______.

A. the whistle language will help pass the message to the doctor

B. people will take him to town by carriage

C. his family will take him to the hospital

D. others will phone the doctor in town

2.La Gomera is special because ______.

A. we don’t know its complete history

B. people have to shout if they want to communicate

C. people there have good teeth and ears

D. people there use the whistle language to communicate with each other

3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The whistle language has been used for hundreds of years on the island, but will not be used any longer.

B. The whistle language can only be found on La Gomera.

C. It is not easy for a person to live on La Gomera if he cannot whistle.

D. The record shows that one best whistler can be heard by others from seven miles away.

4.Which of the following will be the best title of this passage?

A. The Secret Language

B. Do You Know the Whistle Language?

C. The Life of Islanders

D. La Gomera－a Mystery

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Islands in the world are famous for different things. But Hawaii is special for its variety of features. Beautiful sandy beaches, active volcanoes (火山), a great canyon (溪谷) and special history and culture add up to create its famously romantic atmosphere.

Formed by volcanoes at the bottom of the sea, the Hawaii islands are like a necklace in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 6,000 kilometres off the west coast of Mexico. There are eight main islands in the group, including Hawaii (or Big Island), Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai，and Niihau.

The youngest and biggest island, also called Hawaii was formed 430,000 years ago and is still growing. Kauai, the oldest was formed 5.1 million years ago. For tourists, the sight of the lava(熔岩) that still flows from some of the volcanoes down to the sea, is a major attraction.

Hawaii is the newest and smallest state in the US. In 1900, the islands joined the US. In modern history, it will always be remembered for the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese air force in 1941.

About 1,000 years ago, the islands were settled by Polynesians (波利尼西亚人), Captain James Cook led the first group of Westerners there in 1778.

Native Hawaiians have a special culture and language. Although nowadays English is the official language of Hawaii, folk music and dancing are still widely practiced. The traditional dance of the islands is the hula, a Hawaiian word that means dance.

Hawaii's reputation for romance was spread when Hollywood started to use its typical music in movies in the 1960's.

Today, Hawaii is famous for its mix of cultures. Chinese, Japanese and Filipinos all live there.

Chinese arrived in the islands as early as the late 18th century. Dr. Sun Yat­sen, the famous Chinese revolutionary, grew up there.

Everyone in Hawaii is a member of an ethnic minority (少数民族) and generally they exist in a pleasant harmony (和谐) of races and cultures.

1.Which of the following about Hawaii is NOT true?

A. There are eight main islands in the group Hawaii islands.

B. Hawaii islands are like a necklace in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

C. Hawaii islands are formed by volcanoes on earth.

D. Hawaii is the smallest and youngest state in the US.

2.The Hawaii islands joined the US in the year ________.

A. 1778　　 B. 1900

C. 1941　　 D. 1960

3.We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. the Hawaii islands are all formed 5.1 million years ago

B. Hawaii islands were settled by Japanese in 1941

C. Hawaii is an area with one nation

D. Hawaii is a famous tourist destination

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Introduce the variety of features of Hawaii islands.

B. Introduce the history and culture of Hawaii.

C. Attract the tourists to visit there.

D. Show the author's experience in Hawaii.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

There is _______ that English is the most widely used language in the world.

A. no fact              B. no wonder        C. no reason    D no doubt

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Millions of people all over the world use the word OK. In fact, some people say the word is used more often than any other word in the world. OK means all right or acceptable. It expresses agreement or approval.

1.　 Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaw(乔克托语). The Choctaw word “okeh” means the same as the American word okay. Experts say early explorers in the American West spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century.

But many people doubt this. Language expert Allen Walker Read wrote about the word “OK” in reports published in the 1960s. He said the word began being used in the 1830s. 　 2.　 Some foreign-born people wrote “all correct” as “o-l-l-k-o-r-r-e-c-t”, and used the letters OK. Other people say a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word long ago. They said he put the first letters of his name--O and K--on each object people gave him to send on the train.

3. The organization supported Martin Van Buren for president in 1840. They called their group the OK club. The letters were taken from the name of the town where Martin was born--Old Kinderhook, New York.

Then there is the expression A-OK. It is a space-age expression. It was used in 1961 during the flight of astronaut Alan Shepard. He was the first American to be launched into space. His flight ended when his spacecraft landed in the ocean, as planned. Shepard reported, “Everything is A-OK.” 　 4. One story says it was first used during the early days of the telephone to tell an operator that a message had been received.

There are also funny ways to say okay. 5. These expressions were first used in the 1930s. Today, a character on the American television series “The Simpsons” says it another way. He says okely-doke.

A. Some people say okey-dokey or okey-doke.

B. Still others say a political organization invented the word.

C. Therefore, it has become popular in that area from then on.

D. But many experts don’t agree on what the expression means.

E. Still, language experts do not agree about where the word came from.

F. It was a short way of writing a different spelling of the word “all correct”.

G. However, some experts say the expression did not begin with the space age.

高二英语信息匹配中等难度题查看答案及解析

Everywhere you look, large quantities of information in the world are pouring. This data flood is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life. It has great potential for good — as long as consumers, companies and governments make the right choices about when to restrict the flow of data, and when to encourage it.

A few industries have led the way in their ability to gather and take advantage of the data. Credit-card companies monitor every purchase and can identify cheats with a high degree of accuracy. Stolen credit cards are more likely to be used to buy hard liquor than wine, for example, because it is easier to overlook. Insurance firms are also good at combining clues to spot doubtful claims: dishonest claims are more likely to be made on a Monday than a Tuesday, since policyholders (保险客户) who stage accidents tend to assemble friends as false witnesses over the weekend. By combining many such rules, it is possible to work out which cards are likeliest to have been stolen, and which claims are untrue. By analyzing “basket data”, supermarkets can make promotions to appeal to particular customers’ preferences. The oil industry uses supercomputers to help them before drilling wells.

But the data flood also poses risks. There are many examples of databases being stolen: disks full of social-security data go missing, laptops loaded with tax records are left in taxis, credit-card numbers are stolen by online purchase. The result can be privacy made public, identity stolen and cheats permitted large space. Rather than owning and controlling their own personal data, they very often find that they have lost control of it.

The best way to deal with the data flood is to make more data available in the right way, by requiring greater transparency in several areas. First, users should be given greater access to and control over the information held about them, including whom it is shared with. Google allows users to see what information it holds about them, and lets them delete their search histories or modify the targeting of advertising, for example. Second, organizations should be required to disclose details of security breaches (安全漏洞), as is already the case in some parts of the world, to encourage bosses to take information security more seriously. Third, organizations should be subject to an annual security check, with the resulting grade made public (though details of any problems exposed would not be). This would encourage companies to keep their security measures up to date.

1.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Information Flood              B. Benefits of Data Flood

C. Harms of Data Flood          D. How to Use Data in a Right Way

2.From the passage we can infer that _____.

A. lots of data are lost because of hardware problems

B. online purchases are becoming more and more popular

C. credit cards are not so secure to use and will go out of use very soon

D. insurance firms have to investigate before they confirm their policyholders’ claims

3.Which of the following is the writer’s opinion about how to deal with the data flood?

A. Personal information should be used for public benefits.

B. The users should be given the right to access public information.

C. Companies should update their measures to guarantee their data safety.

D. Organizations should keep their resulting grade of security checks unknown to the public.

4.From the passage we can conclude that _____.

A. the data flood makes peoples’ life less convenient and more expensive

B. companies and insurance firms are responsible for the data flood

C. the information flood is more useful to organizations than to individuals

D. the information flood has both positive and negative influence on modern life

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

There are many older people in the world and there will be many more. A little-known fact is that over 60 percent of the older people live in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, by 2020 there will be 1 billion, with over 700 million living in developing countries.

It is a surprising fact that the population aging is particularly rapid in developing countries. For example, it took France 115 years for the rate of older people to double from 7 percent to 14 percent. It is estimated to take China a mere 27 years to achieve this same increase.

What are the implications of these increased numbers of older folk? One of the biggest worries for governments is that the longer people live, the more likelihood there is for diseases and for disability. Attention is being paid to the need to keep people as healthy as possible, including during old age, to lessen the financial burden on the state.

Another significant problem is the need for the younger generations to understand and value the older people in their society. In some African countries, certainly in Asia, older people are respected and regarded as the ones with special knowledge. Yet traditions are fading away daily, which does not make sure the continued high regard of older people. As society changes, attitudes will change.

Much needs to be done to get rid of age discrimination in employment. Life-long learning programs need to be provided to enable older people to be active members in a country's development.

Social security policies need to be established to provide adequate income protection for older people. Both public and private schemes are vital in order to build a suitable safety net.

1.The rate of older people________.

A. is bigger in developed countries than in developing countries

B. is one-seventh of the population in developing countries

C. will increase much faster in China than in France

D. will be sixty percent in developing countries by 2020

2.According to passage, which of the following are governments most worried about?

A. The diseases and disability of older people

B. The longer life and good health of people.

C. The loss of taxes on older people.

D. The increasing respect for older people.

3.Which of the following measure is NOT mentioned to solve the population ageing problem?

A. Getting rid of age discrimination in employment.

B. Supplying life-long learning programs to older people.

C. Making sure adequate income protection for older people.

D. Providing free health care for sick older people.

4.The author concludes in the last paragraph that ________.

A. governments have spent lots of time in solving the aging problem

B. population aging is a hard problem, but it needs to be solved urgently

C. people are too busy to solve the population aging problem

D. much time and effort will be lost in solving the aging problem

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

The confrontation(对峙) off the coast of Huangyan Island can’t change the fact that it is an island ____to China.

A. belongs     B. belonging      C. belonged     D. being belonged

高二英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析