Scientists are trying to save Puerto Rico’s endangered Amazon parrots after Hurricane Maria destroyed the birds’ habitats and food sources(来源).
El Yunque is a large national forest on the eastern part of Puerto Rico. Just two of the 56 wild parrots that once lived there survived Maria, the Category-4 storm that struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. Scientists report other forests have seen great drops in parrot populations as well.
In the 1800s, there were more than a million of the bright green parrots living in the wild in Puerto Rico. By the 1970s, the number was down to just 13 birds after years of forest clearing.
A special program was started in 1972 to help increase the parrot population, which led to the creation of three breeding(繁殖) centers. Just weeks before Hurricane Maria hit, scientists counted 56 wild parrots at El Yunque. That was the highest number in the program’s history. Scientists say that even though several parrots have been born in captivity(笼养) and in the wild since Maria, the species is still in danger.
The Puerto Rican Amazon is the island’s only remaining native parrot. More than 460 of the birds are kept inside the breeding centers at El Yunque and the Rio Abajo forest. Scientists have not released(释放) any of the birds since Hurricane Maria. A third breeding center, in a forest in the western area of Maricao, has not been in operation since the storm.
Scientists are considering whether to catch some of the remaining wild parrots and put them in the same cage as the birds that are set to be released. This way, the captive birds can learn from the wild birds how to survive in the forests. Another consideration is to release some captive parrots in Maricao, which was not as heavily damaged by Maria.
1.Why has the parrot population greatly decreased in the past 200 years?
A. Because of Hurricane Maria.
B. Because of too much hunting.
C. Because of the loss of forests.
D. Because of lack of breeding centers.
2.Which of the following is true about Hurricane Maria?
A. It killed 56 wild parrots at El Yunque.
B. It greatly affected parrots in captivity.
C. It reduced the number of wild parrots.
D. It led to the creation of three breeding centers.
3.What can we infer about Amazon parrots in captivity?
A. They have the highest number in the history.
B. They have been released since Hurricane Maria.
C. They are used to living in the wild.
D. They are larger in number than those in the wild.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. Scientists Work to Save Puerto Rican Parrots.
B. Amazon Parrots are in Danger of Disappearing.
C. A Special Program Helps Increase the Parrot Population.
D. Hurricane Maria Reduced the Number of Amazon Parrots.
高三英语阅读理解困难题
Scientists are trying to save Puerto Rico’s endangered Amazon parrots after Hurricane Maria destroyed the birds’ habitats and food sources(来源).
El Yunque is a large national forest on the eastern part of Puerto Rico. Just two of the 56 wild parrots that once lived there survived Maria, the Category-4 storm that struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. Scientists report other forests have seen great drops in parrot populations as well.
In the 1800s, there were more than a million of the bright green parrots living in the wild in Puerto Rico. By the 1970s, the number was down to just 13 birds after years of forest clearing.
A special program was started in 1972 to help increase the parrot population, which led to the creation of three breeding(繁殖) centers. Just weeks before Hurricane Maria hit, scientists counted 56 wild parrots at El Yunque. That was the highest number in the program’s history. Scientists say that even though several parrots have been born in captivity(笼养) and in the wild since Maria, the species is still in danger.
The Puerto Rican Amazon is the island’s only remaining native parrot. More than 460 of the birds are kept inside the breeding centers at El Yunque and the Rio Abajo forest. Scientists have not released(释放) any of the birds since Hurricane Maria. A third breeding center, in a forest in the western area of Maricao, has not been in operation since the storm.
Scientists are considering whether to catch some of the remaining wild parrots and put them in the same cage as the birds that are set to be released. This way, the captive birds can learn from the wild birds how to survive in the forests. Another consideration is to release some captive parrots in Maricao, which was not as heavily damaged by Maria.
1.Why has the parrot population greatly decreased in the past 200 years?
A. Because of Hurricane Maria.
B. Because of too much hunting.
C. Because of the loss of forests.
D. Because of lack of breeding centers.
2.Which of the following is true about Hurricane Maria?
A. It killed 56 wild parrots at El Yunque.
B. It greatly affected parrots in captivity.
C. It reduced the number of wild parrots.
D. It led to the creation of three breeding centers.
3.What can we infer about Amazon parrots in captivity?
A. They have the highest number in the history.
B. They have been released since Hurricane Maria.
C. They are used to living in the wild.
D. They are larger in number than those in the wild.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. Scientists Work to Save Puerto Rican Parrots.
B. Amazon Parrots are in Danger of Disappearing.
C. A Special Program Helps Increase the Parrot Population.
D. Hurricane Maria Reduced the Number of Amazon Parrots.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More importantly, I earned my pay, it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person could have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dream of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb (番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field--- except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.
1.The writer’s first job was ___________.
A. to stand down the fairway at the golf course
B. to watch over the sugar-cane plantation
C. to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields
D. to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them
2.The underlined word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ___________.
A. difficult B. boring C. interesting D. unusual
3.The writer learned that ________ from his first job.
A. he should work for those who he liked most
B. he should work longer than what he was expected
C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner
D. he should show respect and faith to the people he worked for
4.________ gave the writer self-esteem.
A. Having a family of eight people
B. Owning his own golf course
C. Bringing money back home to help the family
D. Helping his father with the work on the plantation
5.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. He wanted to be a successful golfer.
B. He wanted to run a golf course near his house.
C. He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.
D. He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.
1. The writer’s first job was _______.
A. to stand down the fairway at a golf course
B. to watch over the sugar-cane plantation
C. to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields
D. to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them
2. The writer learned that_______ from his first job.
A. he should work for those who he liked most
B. he should work longer than what he was expected
C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner
D. he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for
3. _______ gave the writer self-esteem.
A. Having a family of eight people
B. Owning his own golf course
C. Bringing money back home to help the family
D. Helping his father with the work on the plantation
4. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. He wanted to be a successful golfer.
B. He wanted to run a golf course near his house.
C. He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.
D. He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion(热爱) and intensity(强度). I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick(帚柄).
1.The writer’s first job was _______.
A. to stand down the fairway at a golf course
B. to watch over the sugar-cane plantation
C. to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields
D. to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them
2.The word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.
A. difficult B. boring
C. interesting D. unusual
3.The writer learned that_______ from his first job.
A. he should work for those who he liked most
B. he should work longer than what he was expected
C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner
D. he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for
4._______ gave the writer serf-esteem.
A. Having a family of eight people
B. Owning his own golf course
C. Bringing money back home to help the family
D. Helping his father with the work on the plantation
5.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. He wanted to be a successful golfer.
B. He wanted to run a golf course near his house.
C. He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.
D. He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Twelve years ago, I arrived in Central Florida from Puerto Rico. I had heard of a job opportunity and decided to pursue it. But it never became a reality. I quickly learned that being alone without resources in an unfamiliar city was not a comfortable situation to be in.
Once my limited funds ran out I became homeless and spent a year and a half living on the streets of Orlando. Apart from feeling not being noticed and missing my family, I had to face another challenge—hunger.
For the first time in my life, I, as a foreign man, who had lived my life in the relative comfort of the middle class, understood the desperation someone feels when they don’t get enough to eat. I clearly remembered having run a distance of more than 7 miles on many occasions just to make it to a local feeding program before they closed at 7 pm.
Once the need for food was met, the next challenge would arise—where to find a place to sleep for the night. Fortunately, local programs like the Coalition for the Homeless, Second Harvest Food Bank and the Wayne Densch Center were an important part of my ability to survive my painful experience.
With the assistance of these programs, I was accepted by a college scholarship program through the Coalition and obtained two degrees from Valencia.
My experience has helped me understand that devoting my life to helping others offers lasting rewards. Today, I am employed as Childhood Hunger Programs Manager at Second Harvest Food Bank and oversee the summer feeding, Hi-Five Kids Pack, and Kids Café programs. I am so proud to be able to distribute food resources to those wonderful programs and help hundreds more like me.
1.What can be inferred from Paragraph 1?
A. It was impossible for the author to get a job then.
B. Many local people were out of work in Florida.
C. Florida was not a good place for people living there.
D. The author rejected many chances to get a job in Florida.
2.Why did the author run a distance of over 7 miles on many occasions?
A. Because he didn’t want to be late for work there.
B. Because he desired to get some food to eat.
C. Because he went there to help the poor.
D. Because he helped distribute food resources to the poor.
3.Before being accepted by a college scholarship program, the author_____.
A. had lived with his relatives happily.
B. had won his degree in a university.
C. had been struggling financially.
D. had lost hope of facing the future.
4. From his experience, the author learns that ______.
A. misfortune may be an actual blessing.
B. a friend in need is a friend indeed.
C. where there is a will there is a way.
D. one good turn deserves another.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Puerto Rico may be part of the USA but its music and dance is a mixture of both Spanish and African rhythms. The country, as a result, is a mixture of very new and very old. It exhibits the open American way of yet retains the more formal Spanish influences. This is reflected in the architecture, not just the contrast between the colonial and the modern in urban areas but also in the countryside, where older buildings sit side by side with concrete schools and buildings.
However, if you do not wander beyond the tourist areas on the coast, you will not experience the real Puerto Rico. Old volcanic mountains, long inactive, occupy a large part of the interior（内陆）, with the highest peak, Cerro de Punta, at 1,338m in the Cordillera Central. North of the Cordillera is the karst （岩溶）country where the limestone（石灰石）has been acted upon by water to produce a series of small steep hills and deep holes. The mountains are surrounded by a coastal plain with the Atlantic shore beaches cooled all the year round by trade winds.
The population is 3.8 million, of which about 1.5 million live in San Juan, although about another two million Puerto Ricans live in the USA Average life expectancy is 73.8 years and GDP per capita is US $12,212, the highest in Latin America, although not up to the level of mainland USA. Most Puerto Ricans do not speak English and less than 30% speak it fluently. Second generation Puerto Ricans who were born in New York but who have returned to the island, are called Nuyoricans. The people are very friendly and hospitable but there is crime, liked to drugs and unemployment.
1.What are the disadvantages of Puerto Rico?
A．Too many Puerto Ricans live in the USA
B．Few people in Puerto Rico can speak English
C．Puerto Rico’s GDP is lower than that of the USA
D．Social problem connected with drugs and lack of jobs.
2.We can learn from the passage that Puerto Rico _________.
A．is a state of the United States B．used to be ruled by Spain
C．is an agricultural country D．is gently affected by Africa
3.Nuyorican is a person who _______.
A．has been living in New York
B．is living in New York
C．was born in New York but has returned to Puerto Rico
D．has got the citizenship of America
4.What does the underlined word “retains” mean?
A．loses B．keeps C．enjoys D．returns
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts， so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time.
Why is more and more land becoming desert？Scientists think that people make deserts. People are doing bad things to the earth.
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain. But they still don’t become deserts. This is because some green plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places. Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier. Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away. When a bit of rain falls，the plants hold the water. Without plants，the land can become desert more easily.
1.Deserts ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ .
| A．never have any plants or animals in them |
| B．can all be turned into good land before long |
| C．are becoming smaller and smaller |
| D．get very little rain |
2.Small green plants are very important to dry places because ＿＿＿＿＿＿.
| A．they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier |
| B．they don’t let the wind blow the soil away |
| C．they hold water |
| D．All of the above. |
3.Land is becoming desert little by little because ＿＿＿＿＿＿.
| A．plants can’t grow there |
| B．there is not enough rain |
| C．people haven’t done what scientists wish them to do |
| D．scientists know little about the deserts |
4.After reading this passage， we learn that ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿.
| A．plants can keep dry land from becoming desert |
| B．it is good to get rid of the grass in the deserts |
| C．all places without much rain will become deserts |
| D．it is better to grow crops on dry land than to cut them |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Can you imagine printing food? Some scientists are trying to revolutionize the dining experience by doing this. They hope that having a 3D printer in the kitchen will become as commonplace as the microwave. Scientists say that they are easy to use: you simply have to select a recipe and put the raw food "inks" into the printer. You can also change the instructions to make the food exactly how you want it. This means that it would be very quick and easy to create tasty and nutritious meals.
They say that if people used 3D printers to create meals there would be less need for traditional growing, transporting and packaging processes as food production would be a lot easier. For example, alternative ingredients (原料) such as proteins from insects could be changed into tasty products. And as is known, those traditional activities are not beneficial to our surroundings.
This technology could also help people who suffer from dysphagia (a swallowing disorder). The patients could program the printer and softer versions would be made so that they would not have trouble swallowing them.
However, some people think that using 3D-printed foods would be a disaster. It could take away many jobs, including those for growing, transporting and packaging food. Imagine a world where there was no need for farming or growing crops and the same tastes could be printed from a raw "food ink". Likewise, traditional cafes and restaurants might lose business. Also, there are concerns about the nutritional value of printed food: is it really possible to get the nutrients we need from food-based inks?
What's more, cooking and eating together with family and friends has long been a traditional and enjoyable activity. It is hard to imagine a world where the pastime of cooking is dead and meals can be created at the touch of a button.
1.What do scientists think of 3D food printing?
A. It is cheap to use it. B. It is environment-friendly.
C. It is advancing quickly. D. It needs improving.
2.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. The printed foods. B. Their favorite foods.
C. The more nutritious foods. D. The more tasty foods.
3.What can we infer about the printed foods from Paragraph 4?
A. Their raw "food inks" are more nutritional.
B. People would get more jobs produced by them.
C. People need more evidence about their nutrition.
D. They would be bought in traditional restaurants.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. The growth of 3D food printing B. The future of 3D food printing
C. The 3D food printing business D. The two sides of 3D food printing
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists from South Korea are trying to convert（转化）sound waves into electricity. The research could lead to charging a cell phone from a conversation or providing energy to the nation’s electricity system generated（产生）by the noise during rash-hour traffic.
“Just as speakers transform electrical signals into sound, the opposite process —turning sound into a source of electrical power — is possible,” said Young Jun Park and Sang-Woo Kim, the joint authors of a new article in the journal Advanced Materials.
Harvesting energy from phone calls and passing cars is based on materials known as piezoelectrics. When bent, piezoelectric materials turn that mechanical energy into electricity. Lots of materials are piezoelectric: cane sugar, quartz （石英）and even dried bone which could create an electrical charge when stressed. For decades, scientists have pumped electricity into piezoelectric materials for use in environmental sensors, speakers and other devices.
Over the past few years, however, scientists have made dramatic advances in getting electricity out of piezoelectric devices. In an experiment, by using sound waves, which at 100 decibels（分贝）were not quite as loud as a rock concert （a normal conversation is about 60-70 decibels）, the South Korean scientists produced a mild electrical current of about 50 millivolts（毫伏）. The average cell phone requires a few volts to function, several times the power this technology can currently produce.
“But the real question is whether there is enough surrounding noise to act as a power source as for a cell phone,” said McAlpine, a leading scientist. A consumer probably wouldn’t want to attend a rock concert or stand next to a passing train to charge his cell phone. The South Korean scientists agree but they expect to get a higher power output as they continue their work.
1.According to the two South Korean scientists, ________.
A．sound waves can travel faster than electricity
B．new materials can send cell phone signals better
C．using cell phones adds to heavy traffic in rush hour
D．electricity and sound can be transformed into each other
2.We know from the passage that piezoelectric materials ________.
A．can produce electricity when stressed
B．are good at changing electricity into sound
C．can reduce the noise of passing cars
D．have been widely used in phones and cars
3.It can be inferred from the South Korean scientists’ experiment that ________.
A．it is hard to change sound into electricity under current conditions
B．it is impossible to make use of loud sound
C．the technology has a long way to go to have a practical use
D．the technology can power cell phones easily
4.What McAlpine doubts about the technology is ________.
A．the noise pollution B．the sound resource
C．the cost of piezoelectrics D．the safety of devices
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
--- The news that the scientists in China are trying the ways to reduce the fog and haze was? ---- Top notch! Never have I seen _____ before。
A. a better one B. a worse one
C. the best one D. the worst one
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析