On the morning of October 12, 1492, Christoph...

On the morning of October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus and his crew came to the shores of the Caribbean islands, mistakenly believing they ________ in Southeast Asia.

A. arrived　 　　　　　　　　 B. had arrived

C. has arrived　　　　　　 D. would arrive

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In 1492, Columbus_______ on one of the Bahama Islands, but he mistook it for an island of India.

　A lands          B landed          C has landed        D had landed

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

In 1492，Columbus ________ on one of the Bahama islands，but he mistook it for an island off India.

A．lands　 B．landed

C．has landed　 D．had landed

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Mr Wang went to Nanjing ____ October,1998 and came back home ____ the morning of Nov.5.

A.at; in               B.on; at         C.in; on            D.by; from

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When Christopher Columbus landed on the then unnamed Costa Rica in 1502, he saw many Indians wearing gold earrings. So he thought the land must be rich in gold. He named the place Costa Rica, which means “rich coast” in Spanish.

Though little gold was found, Costa Rica today is indeed rich with coffee and bananas. Coffee is the most important product in Costa Rica and most of it is exported to other countries like America and West Germany. Bananas are the country’s second most important export. Costa Ricans also grow many other crops such as fruits, corn and beans for their own use. Costa Ricans love colors and their houses are painted in bright colors.

Education is very important to the Costa Ricans. Almost every village has a school and education is a must for children between seven and fourteen years of age. Boys and girls go to separate schools. Classes begin in March and end in November. The other three months of the year are harvest time and the children have to help their parents to pick coffee beans.

1. What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?

A. How Columbus found Costa Rica.

B. How Costa Rica got its name.

C. What the Costa Ricans wore.

D. What language the Costa Ricans spoke.

2. The Costa Ricans may NOT paint their houses ______.

A. pink and red　　 B. yellow and orange

C. blue and green D. grey and black

3. In Costa Rica, boys and girls between seven and fourteen ______.

A. can choose to stop schooling at any time

B. study in the same school

C. do not have to go to school at all

D. must go to school

4. From December to February, school children in Costa Rica ______.

A. help their parents pick coffee beans

B. have their examinations

C. have lessons every day

D. help their parents decorate their houses

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The story of chocolate begins with the discovery of America in 1492. Columbus was the first European to come into contact with cacao. Columbus was struck by how much value the Indians placed on them as he did not know the beans were used by currency. It is unlikely that Columbus brought any of these beans back to Spain and it was not until about 25 years later that Cortez grasped the commercial possibilities when he found the Aztecs using the beans to make the royal drink “chocolate”.

The Spanish, in general, were not fond of the bitter drink so Cortez and his followers made it more palatable by adding cane sugar and later cinnamon and vanilla were added. Spanish monks let the secret out back home and, although the Spanish hid it from their neighbors for a hundred years, finally chocolate’s popularity grew until it was their fashionable drink at the French court and the wise choice of customers at London meeting houses.

The cacao tree is strictly a tropical plant only in hot, rainy climates. Thus, its cultivation is limited to countries not more than 20 degrees north or south of the equator (赤道). The cacao tree is very delicate and sensitive. It needs protection from the wind and requires a fair amount of shade under most conditions. This is true especially in its first two or three years of growth. A newly planted young cacao tree is often sheltered by a different type of trees. It is normal to plant food crops for shade such as bananas, plantain, coconuts or cocoyams. Rubber trees and forest trees are also used for shade. Once established, however, cacao trees can grow in full sunlight, provided there are fertile soil conditions and intensive farming. With cutting and careful cultivation, the trees of strains will begin bearing fruit in the fifth year. With extreme care, some strains can be stimulated to produce good crops in the third and fourth year.

The process of turning cacao into chocolate hasn’t changed much since the Swiss made the major breakthroughs in the process in the late 1800s. First the beans go through a process of fermentation ( 发酵 ) and drying. They are then sorted by hand before cleaning and then roasting. Winnowing ( 风 扬 ) follows which removes the hard outer layers and leaves what is as the “grains”. A crushing and heating process known as Hunte’s Process is then used to remove nearly half of the cocoa butter from the nibs. This makes unsweetened chocolate. Basic eating chocolate is made from a mixture of the unsweetened chocolate with some of the cocoa butter along with other ingredients such as sugar and vanilla. The resulting product is then “purified” and this purifying gives chocolate the silky texture that we know so well. The finished result is then shaped, cooled, packaged by machine, distributed, sold and of course, eaten!

1.Why didn’t Columbus bring beans back to Spain at once when he found cacao?

A.Because he couldn’t afford to buy the cacao bean.

B.Because he didn’t know how to turn cacao bean into chocolate.

C.Because he was not aware of the monetary value of cacao bean then.

D.Because Spaniards then didn’t favour the chocolate that the Aztecs originally drank.

2.The underlined word “palatable” in paragraph 2 probably means　 .

A.affordable B.agreeable C.patent D.portable

3.Which of the following is correct about cacao tree?

A.Cacao trees need a lot of looking after to be used commercially.

B.Cacao trees require hot, rainy climates and adequate sunlight.

C.Cacao trees won’t produce fruit until the fifth year.

D.Cacao trees can grow well in all continents.

4.Which is the correct order of turning cocoa into chocolate?

① The chocolate is reheated to melt it, put into patterns and then cooled to make its final shapes.

② The beans are harvested on the farm.

③ Some cocoa butter is then obtained using Hunte’s Process to make cooking chocolate.

④ The cooking chocolate is then mixed with other ingredients to make the various types of eating chocolate available today.

⑤ The beans are winnowed after fermentation and drying and these two processes produce the grains.

⑥ The finished product is wrapped, sent to shops and then sold.

A.②①③④⑤⑥ B.②③①⑤④⑥ C.②④⑤①③⑥ D.②⑤③④①⑥

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In 1492, Columbus and his crew arrived ______ was so-called the New World by the westerners.

A. in what             B. in which            C. what        D. where

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Does a 600-year-old Chinese map prove that Christopher Columbus was not the first international explorer to navigate(航行) the New World?

In his book “Who Discovered America?”, published on Tuesday, author Gavin Menzies says the settling of North America by nonnative peoples is more complex than previously thought.

“The traditional story of Columbus discovering the New World is absolute fantasy. It’s fairy tales,” Menzies, 76, said in an interview with the Daily Mail.

However, not everyone is sold on the theory. It has been described as “Unreal” by critics, who say Menzies’ claims are impractical and not based in historical fact.

Menzies has primarily focused his studies on when and how North America was first explored. He also has enthusiastic supporters—his previous books have been best-sellers, and supporters of his theories have donated millions to his efforts, allowing him to hire a number of experts to join in his investigatons.

Menzies says that the Chinese map, found in a bookstore, was drew by Chinese navigator Zheng He and shows a detailed map of America dating back to 1418. That would place Zheng He’s efforts some 70 years ahead of Columbus. In fact, Menzies says Columbus used a copy of Zheng He’s map to plot his own voyage.

The map itself has been authenticated(鉴定), but there is currently no way of proving the map was based on images drafted in the 1400s. However, Menzies says that certain observations on the map, including descriptions of communities and other cultural landmarks in Peru, coincide with known data from that period. In addition, Menzies makes an even broader claim in his book, saying that Chinese sailors were the first to cross the Pacific Ocean 40,000 years ago. Menzies says there is DNA evidence to support his claim.

So how does Menzies believe the Chinese pulled off such a giant historical accomplishment thousands of years before anyone else?

“If you just go out in a plastic bathtub, the currents will just carry you there,” Menzies told the Mail. “They just came with the current; it’s as simple as that.”

Critics of Menzies point out that he holds no degrees or professional training as a historian. But the Daily Mail says he “can no longer be called an amateur” after his most recent efforts.

1. The first paragraph serves as a(n) 　　　　 .

A. comment　　　　 B. introduction

C. summary　　　 D. example

2. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. All people are not enthusiastic about the theory.

B. Not all people are surprised at the theory.

C. Not everyone wants to sell the theory.

D. Everybody believes the theory.

3. Critics of Menzies hold that Menzies 　　　 .

A. is just playing a joke　　　　 B. creates the map himself

C. is no longer an amateur　　　 D. has no academic background

4. According to Menzies,　　　　 .

A. Zheng He once reached South America

B. Columbus discovered America in about 1490

C. Zheng He helped Columbus discover the New World

D. it was quite hard for Chinese to cross the Pacific Ocean

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【2012重庆卷】It was 80 years before Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic______ Zheng sailed to East Africa

A. when　　　　　　　　 B. that　　　　　　　　 C. after　　　　　　　 D. since

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.

Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.

So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercise every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.

A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:

Sorry, I’m still alive!

1.How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?

A. She is miserable and unhappy.

B. She is cheerful and humorous.

C. She would like to live much longer.

D. She feels she is going to die very soon.

2.Jeanne Calment owes her good health and long life to _______.

A. smoking only a little every day

B. her giving up smoking and drinking

C. drinking two glasses of strong red wine every day

D. the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercise

3.Which of the following could best replace the word “move” in the fourth paragraph?

A. deal　　 B. trick　　 C. march　　 D. sport

4.Why does Jeanne Calment say “Sorry, I’m still alive” to the local lawyer every year on her birthday?

A. Because she had an agreement at 80 with the lawyer which was to her advantage.

B. Because she has asked the lawyer to pay her more rent than they first agreed.

C. Because the lawyer has paid her much more money than the value of the house.

D. Because the house she sold to the lawyer isn’t worth the money he has already paid.

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