Sony and Toyota are struggling. But one brand...

Sony and Toyota are struggling. But one brand name is booming (繁荣) in Japan during the economic slowdown—Mickey Mouse.

According to the company that runs Tokyo Disneyland, Japan’s busiest theme park will be more packed than ever over Christmas and New Year’s Day. Despite the bad economy, it’s already been a record year for an escape which is cheaper than the average night out in pricey Tokyo.

“Here, economic depression (萧条) seems a world away,” visitor Namie Katsunuma said. “This is the only place where I can totally forget the economic worries and hardships of my life.”

The single mother’s salary at an auto factory was cut in November but, with her $500 yearly pass in hand, she makes the 95-km journey from her home to Tokyo Disneyland every couple of months.

The park’s operator, Oriental Land Co, estimates (估算) a record 26.5 million people will visit Tokyo Disneyland and its nearby sister park, Disneysea, during the financial year ending in March. The company is forecasting sales of a record $4.2 billion, up almost 10 percent.

“In a way, the economy works well for Tokyo Disneyland,” said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at the Tokyo-based Daiwa Research Institute. “Because of the economic depression, people have stopped buying cars and houses or going to Hawaii, and Tokyo Disneyland offers an affordable and pleasant alternative.”

Around the world, Disney’s theme parks have been a bright spot for the brand this year as people seem to look for an escape from bad times.

1.According to the passage, what happens to Tokyo Disneyland this year?

2.What can be the possible reason for Tokyo Disneyland’s boom?

3.What does the underlined word “alternative” mean in the sixth paragraph?

4.According to the last paragraph, what is the writer probably going to write?

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The Origins of Famous Brands

Our lives are full of brand names and trademarked products that we use every day. Although many brand names are simple acronyms(首字母缩略词) or versions of their founders names, some of the companies we trust every day actually have fascinating and surprising back stories.

Starbucks

It seems fitting that the most famous coffee brand in the world would take its name from one of the world’s greatest works of literature. The inspiration for the name of the coffeehouse came from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. The founders’ original idea was to name the company after the Captain Ahab’s ship, but they eventually decided that Pequot wasn’t a great name for coffee, so they chose Ahab’s first mate, Starbucks, as the name instead.

Google

Google was originally called Backrub, for it searched for links in every corner of the Web. In 1997, when the founders of the company were searching for a new name showing a huge amount of data for their rapidly improving search technology, a friend suggested the word “googol”. When a friend tried to register the new domain (域) name, he misspelled “googol” as “google”.

Nike

Originally founded as a distributor for Japanese running shoes, the company was originally named BRS, or Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, BRS introduced its own soccer shoe, a model called Nike, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of victory. In 1978, the company officially renamed itself as Nike, Inc.

The right name is essential to a company’s success, and a great origin story is just as important as a great product. An attractive origin story is one more thing that keeps customers guessing, wondering, and buying its products.

1.What is the name of the Captain Ahab’s ship?

A. Moby Dick.　　 B. Starbucks.

C. Pequot.　　 D. Herman Melville.

2.Why did the founders of the Google want to change its name?

A. They mistook their name.

B. They wanted new customers.

C. The company’s original name was too long.

D. The company’s search technology was improving rapidly.

3.Where does the importance of the origin story of one company lie in?

A. It can change the company’s image.

B. It can add myth to the company.

C. It explains the development of the company to customers.

D. It makes customers imagine and purchase its goods.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

What is a lifestyle and how is that different from a life? A lifestyle is about brand names and buying identity or fame. Lifestyle gives a false sense of peace and acceptability that comes from others recognizing what you’ve bought into (as well as bought). If your car, clothes, and home are expensive, you’re sophisticated(世故的) and stylish. If you have the right kind of job or go to the right social gatherings, then you receive the insincere approval of others. This means that your self-esteem(自尊) is always at the mercy of others, with no appreciation of you as an individual.

A life, on the other hand, is very different. A life is what you lead when you know what matters most to you. It is very simple and comes from being connected to what you know is important and being willing to put that first, no matter what others may think. When you create a life vs. a lifestyle, your self-esteem comes from what’s inside you, not what others think about you.

Lifestyle is expensive financially and personally, because it costs a great deal to keep up appearances and do what you think is socially acceptable. A life is not expensive. Rather than using personal or financial resources, a life generates energy and staying power. It’s about liberating yourself from the mindless consumption that society expects. It is about making the choices that are in line with your values, instead of using up your bank account or energy for no heart-driven reason.

How can you make the change? Understand the difference between a life and a lifestyle. Analyze your current lifestyle to see what is costing you in money, time, stress, and energy to maintain it. Let go and make room for what is really important to you, what supports you and brings you joy. Remember who you are from within, not what you own!

1.Which of the following examples best explains “what is life about”?

A. We work long hours in a job that we do not enjoy.

B. We focus on what we wear, or what kind of car we drive.

C. We find out what our true beliefs and values are and choose to live by these.

D. We think that how others see us is more important than what we think of ourselves.

2.What method does the author use to explain his opinion in the third paragraph?

A. Making comparison.　　 B. Giving an example.

C. Giving a definition.　　 D. Giving a reason.

3.To make the change, we need to______________________.

A. be directed from within　　 B. be directed from outside

C. be driven by social values　　 D. be driven by others’ opinions

4.What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?

A. To describe what life is.

B. To introduce what lifestyle is.

C. To promote life instead of lifestyle.

D. To tell the differences between life and lifestyle.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

DOVE is one of the most famous chocolate brands around the world. But few people know what the meaning of DOVE is.

Dove chocolate is born because of 　　　 . One day in 1919, Princess Bazaar of Luxembourg's royal family first met the royal kitchen helper Leon. Many nights, Leon slipped into the kitchen and 　　 various ice creams for Bazaar; They soon fell in love. Unfortunately, owing to their quite different social 　　 _ both of them had to 　　 the deep feelings in heart.

Afterwards, Bazaar was made to 　 an arranged royal marriage against her wishes. For many days, Leon could not see Bazaar, and he was burning with 　　 . Finally. Bazaar turned up at the table a month later. While serving desserts, Leon 　　 the letters "DOVE", which is an abbreviation of DO YOU LOVE ME with hot chocolate on Bazaar's ice cream. Leon 　　 that Bazaar could understand his feeling.

　　　 A few days later, Bazaar got 　　 . Leon, broken hearted, could not 　　 the mental suffering and left for America where he and his own family 　 a candy store years later but　 lived unhappily.

Many years later, they met again before Bazaar death. Bazaar 　　 that that afternoon she did　 eat the ice cream but didn't see the 　　 letters and also didn't received any promise from Leon　 and she had to 　　 to her fate missing him all her lifetime.

Hearing this, Leon broke down in tears. If that chocolate had been 　 _ , those letters would　 never have melted. And he would not have lost his last 　　 . Leon decided to create a solid　　 chocolate which can 　　 a long time.

After lots of research. he succeeded and: each piece of chocolate was 　　 engraved(刻) with　　 the letters -DOVE, It’s a 　　 of the love between Leon and Bazaar.

Now more and more people fall in love with this chocolate. Giving someone DOVE means　　 sending the 　　 of love: DO YOU LOVE ME?

1.A. anger　　　　　　 B. sorrow　　　　　　　 C. love　　　　　　　　　　 D. envy

2.A. served　　　　　　　　 B. made　　　　　　　 C. drew　　　　　　　　　　　 D. heated

3.A. opinion　　　　　　　　 B. view　　　　　　　　　 C. attitude　　　　　　　　　 D. status

4.A. bury　　　　　　　　 B. forget　　　　　　　　 C. struggle　　　　　　　　　　 D. discover

5.A. know　　　　　 B. accept　　　　　　　　 C. try　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. practise

6.A. sympathy　　　　　 B. joy　　　　　　　　　　 C. humor　　　 D. impatience

7.A. mixed　　　　　　　 B. sent　　　　　　 C. wrote　　　　　　　　　　　 D. pressed

8.A. expected　　　　 B. promised　　　　　　 C. declared　　　　　　　　　　 D. allowed

9.A. sick　　　　　 B. married　　　　　　　　 C. bored　　　　　　　　　　　 D. changed

10.A. repeat　　　　　　 B. reduce　　　　　　　　 C. bear　　　　　　　　　　 D. keep

11.A. ran　　　　　 B. found　　　　　　　　 C. sold　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. supported

12.A. learned　　　　　 B. recalled　　　　　　 C. heard　　　　　　　　　　　 D. believed

13.A. annoying　　　　 B. confusing　　　　　　 C. interesting　　　　　　　　 D. melting

14.A. give up　　　　　　 B. give out　　　　　　　 C. give in　　　　　　　　　　 D. give away

15.A. solid　　　　　　　 B. liquid　　　　　　　　 C. frozen　　　　　　　　　　　 D. powerful

16.A. belief　　　　　　 B. promise　　　　　　　 C. courage　　　　　　　　　　 D. chance

17.A. eat　　　　　 B. preserve　　　　　　　 C. miss　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. sell

18.A. firmly　　　　　 B. happily　　　　　　　　 C. lightly　　　　　　　　　　 D. quickly

19.A. sign　　　　　　　 B. survey　　　　　　　　 C. symbol　　　　　　　　　　 D. study

20.A. story　　　　　　　　 B. whisper　　　　　　　 C. secret　　　　　　　　　　 D. rumor

高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is clean and cool. Fox Point is a very new 47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families. The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.

Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy, people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.

ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials.　 Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.

Michael. Bloomberg, New York's mayor, plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused, by housing.. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.

Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.

1.What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?

A. To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B. To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C. To show how the environment-friendly building works.

D. To compare old and new boiler rooms.

2.What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A. Lower running costs.

B. Costing less in construction.

C. Less air to be lost in hot days.

D. Better prices for homeless people.

3.It can be learned from the text that,　　　　　　　　 .

A. New York City is seriously polluted

B. people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C. a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in

D. some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

4.What is the main purpose of this text?

A. To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B. To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C. To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.

D. To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is clean and cool. Fox Point is a very new 47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families. The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.

Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.

ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials. Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.

Michael. Bloomberg, New York's mayor plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused by housing. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.

Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.

1.What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?

A.  To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B.  To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C.  To show how the environment-friendly building works.

D.  To compare old and new boiler rooms.

2.What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A.  Lower running costs.

B.  Costing less in construction.

C.  Less air to be lost in hot days.

D.  Better prices for homeless people.

3. It can be learned from the text that, ____________________.

A.  New York City is seriously polluted

B.  people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C.  a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in

D.  some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

4.What is the main purpose of this text?

A.  To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B.  To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C.  To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.

D.  To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is clean and cool. Fox Point is a very new 47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families. The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions while also cutting costs.

Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.

ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally clever and affordable homes which are called the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials. Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.

Michael Bloomberg, New York’s mayor, plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused by housing. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.

Similar measures have been taken by other cities, such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.

1.What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?

A. To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B. To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C. To show how the environment-friendly building works.

D. To compare old and new boiler rooms.

2.What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards? 5

A. Lower running costs.

B. Costing less in construction.

C. Less air to be lost in hot days.

D. Better prices for homeless people.

3.It can be learned from the text that________.

A. New York City is seriously polluted

B. people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C. a great number of people in New York City don’t have houses to live in

D. some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

4.What is the main purpose of this text?

A. To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B. To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C. To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.

D. To introduce healthy, environmentally clever and affordable housing.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is el.ean and cool. Fox Point is a very new47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families.  The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.

Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy, people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.

ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials.  Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.

Michael. Bloomberg, New York's mayor, plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused, by housing.  So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.

Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.

1. What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?

A.  To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B.  To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C.  To show how the environment-friendly building works.

D.  To compare old and new boiler rooms.

2. What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A.  Lower running costs.

B.  Costing less in construction.

C.  Less air to be lost in hot days.

D.  Better prices for homeless people.

3. It can be learned from the text that,

A.  New York City is seriously polluted

B.  people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C.  a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in

D.  some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

4. What is the main purpose of this text?

A.  To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B.  To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C.  To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.

D.  To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy，but this one is clean and cool.Fox Point is a very new 47­unit living building in South Bronx，one of the city’s poorest areas.Two­thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people，whose rent is paid by the government.The rest are low­income families.The boiler room has special equipment，which produces energy for electricity and heat.It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air，reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.

Fox Point is operated by Palladia，a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy people.Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP)，which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.

ECP has created national standards for healthy，environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called the Green Communities Standards.These standards include water keeping，energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials.Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%，which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs.Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.

Michael Bloomberg，New York’s mayor，plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers.Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings，and 40% of those are caused by housing.So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD)，whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing，will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.

Similar measures have been taken by other cities，such as Cleveland and Denver，but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.(2010·四川，B)

1.What is the purpose of describing the boiler rooms in the first paragraph?

A．To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B．To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C．To show how the environment­friendly building works.

D．To compare old and new boiler rooms.

2.What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A．Lower running costs.

B．Costing less in construction.

C．Less air to be lost in hot days.

D．Better prices for homeless people.

3.It can be learned from the text that________.

A．New York City is seriously polluted

B．people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C．a great number of people in New York City don’t have houses to live in

D．some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

4.What is the main purpose of this text?

A．To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B．To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C．To ask society to help homeless people and low­income families.

D．To introduce healthy，environmentally clever and affordable housing.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is clean and cool. Fox Point is a very new47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families.  The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.

Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy, people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.

ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials.  Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.

Michael. Bloomberg, New York's mayor, plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused, by housing.. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.

Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.

1.What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?

A.  To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B.  To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C.  To show how the environment-friendly building works.

D.  To compare old and new boiler rooms.

2.What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A.  Lower running costs.

B.  Costing less in construction.

C.  Less air to be lost in hot days.

D.  Better prices for homeless people.

3.It can be learned from the text that,

A.  New York City is seriously polluted

B.  people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C.  a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in

D.  some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

4.What is the main purpose of this text?

A.  To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B.  To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C.  To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.

D.  To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析