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At first sight, Alma Deutscher, a twelve-year-old girl from England appears to be like any other typical pre-teen. She loves to skip rope, read and play with her younger sister. But this modest youngster, who composed her first musical work at age six, first short opera at age seven, and first full-length opera based on Cinderella at age ten, is anything but average. Though her parents downplay her extraordinary talent, young Alma is being described as “little Mozart” by the music world
Alma's operatic take on the classic fairy tale, which she began writing at age eight, has a slight twist. Her Cinderella is a musician who meets her Prince Charming through a song. “In my Cinderella, she sings the beginning of a ballad --- but at midnight she flees. Eventually, the prince finds her after asking all the maidens of the land to sing the end of the ballad.”
The opera was first performed in Vienna, Australia on December 29, 2016, where the then eleven-year-old skillfully switched between the piano and the violin and receives enthusiastic reviews. The young genius has since performed two new piano works, once in Australia and the other in China.
While this may appear to be a lot for someone so young, Alma is not worried. She says, “of course I have to work hard. But all children have to work hard for exams, and at least when I work hard, I work hard for something incredibly exciting, like seeing my whole opera put on stage.
Alma's musical talent first came to light before she could even talk. Her parents recall that as an 18-month-old toddler, she was able to hum a pitch perfect version of the children’s rhyme
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
However, Alma’s abilities only gained international attention in 2012, after a family friend posted a video online comparing her to Mozart. The family was suddenly swamped with media requested and Alma became an overnight star, dubbed “little Mozart”. This nickname makes her parents unhappy because they believe it puts added pressure on the young girl. They would instead prefer her to be called “a composer and musician”.
Alma does not want to be compared to the famous artist either, saying, “There was only one Mozart, and I prefer to be little Alma.” Regardless of what she calls herself, the twelve-year-old is changing the world of music forever!
1.What do we know about Alma Deutscher?
A. She has shown great musical talent from a young age.
B. She comes from a famous musical family.
C. She regularly performs the classical music of Mozart.
D. She has adapted some famous works of classical music.
2.How did Alma get to be widely known?
A. By performing on television
B. Through an online video
C. By putting on an opera
D. Through her parents’ promotion
3.What is Alma’s attitude towards her success?
A. She is still unsatisfied with her performance.
B. She is modest about her musical achievements
C. She is uncomfortable with so much pressure.
D. She is proud to have become a professional musician.
4.What can we infer about Alma’s parents?
A. They are very well-educated people.
B. They have made a good life plan for Alma.
C. They have pushed Alma to take up music.
D. They are protective of their daughter.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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The girl, ___ was frightened at the sight of the snake, shut her eyes and dared not have a second look at it.
A.that B.whom C.which D.who
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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It is probably the strangest sport anyone has ever invented. And at first sight, it looks like the easiest. Competitors have to do two things. The first is to stand still. The second is to place their hands anywhere on the body of a car, and keep it there.
This is where things start getting difficult. Lots of people are doing the same thing. And the winner of the “handathon” contest is the person who can carry on doing it for the longest time. That person gets to own the car.
It still seems to be an easy thing to do. At the beginning it is. Anyone can stand still. But when the contest has been going for four or five days, standing still seems like the most difficult job in the world. And keeping the hand in place over this time becomes an act of serious attention. After a few days, the hand seems to belong to someone else—someone who wants to go home and get some sleep.
Competitors are allowed to take a five-minute break every hour to eat, drink or do whatever else is necessary. No one is allowed to lean on the car for support. Winners need to be able to show great powers of attention. They also need to be able to develop special skills.
Maybe the popularity of the handathon is due to the fact that it is not necessary to be a trained athlete to enter. Entrants in the Longview handathon certainly don't seem to do much preparation. Most say they will prepare by “getting lots of sleep”. Others say they will “eat healthy food” or “pray for success”. The whole event gives ordinary people the chance to do something interesting and win something in the end.
Handathons are competitions, but there is little rivalry（敌对）between competitors. They help each other out and keep each other's spirits up. People who drop out early return with food, drink and encouragement.
1.The reason why the sport is called “handathon” is that competitors ________.
A. cover a long distance B. keep hands in place for long
C. wave hands as long as possible D. do the same thing as in a marathon
2.What ability is likely to be needed most in a handathon?
A. Standing without any support. B. Not leaning on the car.
C. Eating and drinking in five minutes. D. Having strong powers of attention.
3.What is the writer’s opinion about handathon?
A. It is not as easy as it looks at first.
B. It is the easiest of all sports.
C. It can purify people’s spirits.
D. It is not good competing in a handathon.
4.Which of the following about handathon is not right?
A. The person who takes part in it should stand still.
B. The person who takes part in it has to place his hands anywhere on the body of a car, and keep it there.
C. The person who takes part in it can have a break during the course of the competition.
D. Handathons are competitions where competitors seldom encourage each other.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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At first sight, you would think the collection of hundreds of colored shards（碎片）could be a work of abstract art. But the objects are the contents of the stomach of a sea turtle that lost its battle with plastic pollution.
Environmentalists examined the stomach of the turtle found off the coast of Argentina. What they found is the symptom of the increasing threat to sea turtles from a human addiction to plastic.
Sea turtles often mistake plastic items for jellyfish or other food. Ingesting（摄取）ocean pollution can cause a digestive blockage and internal cuts. The result can be dangerous, followed by death.
Humans produce 260 million tons of plastic a year. When those products are pulled into the sea’s currents, the plastics are just broken into smaller pieces which are consumed by marine life at the bottom of the food chain. An examination of a green turtle found off Florida discovered that, over the course of a month, the animal’s faeces（粪便）had contained 74 foreign objects, including “four types of balloons, different types of hard plastic, a piece of carpet--like material and two 2--4 mm tar balls.”
“The oceans have become a giant refuse bin for all manner of plastics. All sea turtle species may be seriously harmed, “according to the biologists Colette Wabnitz, from the University of British Columbia. ”The symptom of this growing crisis can be seen inside and on sea turtles as well as their oceanic and terrestrial habitats. It is urgently necessary to directly confront the source of plastic pollution, redesign packaging and rethink the very idea of ‘throwaway culture’.”
Almost all marine species, from plankton to whales, have ingested plastic. But, even in small quantities, plastic can kill sea turtles, the biologists said.
Fifty out of 92 turtles found dead, stranded on the shorelines of Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil, had ingested a “considerable amount of man-made debris”.
1.What’s tile passage mainly about?
A. How to prevent the sea turtle from plastic.
B. Why plastic is dangerous to the sea turtle.
C. Protecting the sea turtle from being polluted.
D. Sea turtles suffering from plastic pollution.
2.The author mentions the “throwaway culture” probably in a（n） _________ tone.
A. praising B. positive C. ironic D. comedic
3.The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means _________.
A. a kind of food B. a kind of fish
C. pieces of cloth D. pieces of rubbish
4.The paragraph following the last one will probably talk about ________.
A. the way the biologists examined the sea turtle
B. some tips on how to make sea turtles avoid plastic
C. how to prevent plastic pollution
D. the reason why we should protect the sea turtle
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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At the sight of the snake, the little girl _____ move.
A. dares not B. doesn’t dare to C. dare not to D. dares not to
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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At first sight the planet Mars(火星)does not appear very welcoming to any kind of life. It has very little oxygen and water, the temperature at night is below 50 degrees and winds of 100 miles (161 kilometers)per hour cause severe dust storms. However, the surface of the planet seems to show that water flowed across it at some time in the past, and it is believed that there would be enough ice at the poles to cover the planet with water if it melted. Although there is no life on the Mars now, some scientists think there may have been some form of life a long time ago. At that time, the planet had active volcanoes(火山); the atmosphere was thicker and warmer; and there was water. In fact, in some ways the Mars may have been similar to the Earth, where life exists.
Some people believe that the Mars could support life in the future if the right conditions were produced. The first step would be to warm the planet using certain gases which trap the Sun’s heat in the planet’s atmosphere. With warmth, water and carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）, simple plants could begin to grow. These plants could slowly make the Mar
s fit to live on. It is judged that the whole process might take between 100, 000 and 200, 000 years. In the meantime, people could begin to live on the planet in a special closed environment. They would provide a lot of useful information about conditions on Mars and the problems connected with living there.1. According to the passage, the planet Mars has no __________on it.
A．animals B．mountains
C．dust D．winds
2. What is the topic of Paragraph 2?
A．Certain gases should be used to warm Mars.
B．Plants should be grown to make Mars fit to live on.
C．Mars could support life with right conditions in the future.
D．People could live on Mars in a special closed environment.
3. The most suitable title for the passage is __________.
A．No Life on Mars
B．A Study of Mars
C．The Future conditions on Mars
D．The Possibility of Life on Mars
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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At first sight the planet Mars(火星)does not appear very welcoming to any kind of life. It has very little oxygen and water, the temperature at night is below 50 degrees and winds of 100 miles (161 kilometers)per hour cause severe dust storms. However, the surface of the planet seems to show that water flowed across it at some time in the past, and it is believed that there would be enough ice at the poles to cover the planet with water if it melted. Although there is no life on the Mars now, some scientists think there may have been some form of life a long time ago. At that time, the planet had active volcanoes(火山); the atmosphere was thicker and warmer; and there was water. In fact, in some ways the Mars may have been similar to the Earth, where life exists.
Some people believe that the Mars could support life in the future if the right conditions were produced. The first step would be to warm the planet using certain gases which trap the Sun’s heat in the planet’s atmosphere. With warmth, water and carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）, simple plants could begin to grow. These plants could slowly make the Mar
s fit to live on. It is judged that the whole process might take between 100, 000 and 200, 000 years. In the meantime, people could begin to live on the planet in a special closed environment. They would provide a lot of useful information about conditions on Mars and the problems connected with living there.1.According to the passage, the planet Mars has no __________on it.
A．animals B．mountains
C．dust D．winds
2.What is the topic of Paragraph 2?
A．Certain gases should be used to warm Mars.
B．Plants should be grown to make Mars fit to live on.
C．Mars could support life with right conditions in the future.
D．People could live on Mars in a special closed environment.
3.The most suitable title for the passage is __________.
A．No Life on Mars
B．A Study of Mars
C．The Future conditions on Mars
D．The Possibility of Life on Mars
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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At first ___ , the bag seems made of real leather, but actually it is just an imitation.
A．sight B．look C．appearance D．view
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
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It’s ________ most beautiful furniture , by which I was struck at the first sight and I determined to take ________ possession of it some day .
A. the ; × B. a ; / C. a ; the D. / ; /
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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It’s ________ most beautiful furniture , by which I was struck at the first sight and I determined to take ________ possession of it some day .
A．the ; ×
B．a ; /
C．a ; the
D．/ ; /
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
s fit to live on. It is judged that the whole process might take between 100, 000 and 200, 000 years. In the meantime, people could begin to live on the planet in a special closed environment. They would provide a lot of useful information about conditions on Mars and the problems connected with living there.