Light for the CityEdison and his assistants c...

Light for the City

Edison and his assistants came to New York to set up an electric power system. They hoped it would provide enough electricity to light up a part of the great city.

They bought several machines with them. These were called generators(发电机), which produced electricity power for lamps in Edison’s building.

Soon there were lights for the building. Edison lived in a room facing the street and he often worked over night. The light burned brightly and steadily and he often worked over night. People often came and stopped their horse-drawn carriage to look. Everyone knew that Thomas Edison was in town.

First, the inventor and his assistants produced several large generators. A great deal of power would be needed to light up even a small part of the city. Then the workers were busy digging deep trenches in the hard earth below the city streets, and Edison had fourteen miles of wire laid into the trenches. The wire connected each building to a generator.

Setting up an electric power system was not an easy job. It took a year and a half. In September, 1882, the job was finished.

A small group of men stood around Edison inside the power house. The big moment came at last. The inventor, taking a deep breath, pulled a switch. The electric lights flashed up.

“Very good! Very good!” a man nearby shouted to praise Edison for what he had done.

“Sir,” said Edison, “this is only the beginning!” And Edison was right. Soon Edison’s lamp were lighting up cities all over the world.

1.The generators they brought with them could produce as much as electricity as ______ needed.

2.Trenches were dug to ______.

3.It took a year and a half to ______.

4.Edison took a deep breath before pulling a switch, which showed that he was ______.

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Light for the City

Edison and his assistants came to New York to set up an electric power system. They hoped it would provide enough electricity to light up a part of the great city.

They bought several machines with them. These were called generators, which produced electricity power for lamps in Edison’s building.

Soon there were lights for the building. Edison lived in a room facing the street and he often worked over night. The light burned brightly and steadily and he often worked over night. People often came and stopped their horse-drawn carriage to look. Everyone knew that Thomas Edison was in town.

First, the inventor and his assistants produced several large generators. A great deal of power would be needed to light up even a small part of the city.

Then the workers were busy digging deep trenches(沟) in the hard earth below the city streets, and Edison had fourteen miles of wire laid into the trenches. The wire connected each building to a generator.

Setting up an electric power system was not an easy job. It took a year and a half. In September, 1882, the job was finished.

A small group of men stood around Edison inside the power house. The big moment came at last. The inventor, taking a deep breath, pulled a switch. The electric lights flashed up.

“Very good! Very good!” a man nearby shouted to praise Edison for what he had done.

“Sir,” said Edison, “this is only the beginning!” And Edison was right. Soon Edison’s lamp were lighting up cities all over the world.

1.The generators they brought with them could produce as much as electricity as ______ needed.

2.At that time carriages ______ by horse could be seen in the street.

3.Trenches were dug to ______.

4.It took a year and a half to ______.

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Bernstein had been appointed Assistant Conductor for the New York philharmonic only a few months before that night. Just 25 years old, he was relatively inexperienced. At the last minute, Bernstein was told he was to take Walter’s place, so he didn’t have any time to rehearse（排演）. The music he was going to conduct was very difficult. Plus, the concert was going to be broadcast nationally on the radio. Despite all these pressures, Bernstein rose to the occasion and received a standing ovation（长久的鼓掌）at the end of the concert. The event made national headlines, and Bernstein became famous overnight.

Some people feel they do their best under the most stressful circumstances. What was it about Leonard Bernstein that made him do so well in such a difficult situation?

Perhaps Leonard Bernstein did so well because music was his devotion. The son of a man who supplied hairdressing products, Bernstein became interested in music at the age of 10. By the time he was a teenager, he was performing in public. He became a soloist of the Boston Public School Orchestra, and for 13 weeks in 1934, he played classics on the radio.

1.The underlined word “break” in the first paragraph means “__________”.

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the second paragraph?

3.Leonard Bernstein was successful at the concert because of __________.

4. From the last paragraph, we can learn that __________.

5.What might be the best title for the text?

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When I was a boy, my parents and I traveled from New York City to the Pennsylvania countryside for a week-long taste of rural life. We stayed in a guesthouse on a farm, joining in the daily routines and eating meals with the farmer and his family. We got up early to see the cows as they were milked. I even tried my hand at milking one, then joined the farmer as he released the cows into the field afterward.

Decades later I still have vivid memories of that trip, which made me realize the value of a vacation, of seeing new things, meeting new people and sharing memorable experiences with family members. To this day, I still consider that family trip when I plan my approach to planning and taking time off with my wife and kids. Vacations are a time for resting and connecting. As a bank manager, I spend much of my workday encouraging my customers to save their money. One of the reasons I give is that we should all have enough money for a family vacation every year. In our busy lives, family is what we should be saving our money and time for.

For my family, our vacation starts when we begin planning the trip. We talk about destinations and our budgets ahead of time. Involving the kids in planning the vacation makes sure that they have a great vacation too. While I prefer to visit historical sites and museums, they love to fish and swim. So I build in some relaxation time for us all so that the vacation works for everyone.

Each year, setting aside vacation time to spend together is especially important to us. A relaxing environment opens the doors to all kinds of conversations - deep, silly or meaningful. There’s no pressure from the usual everyday tasks.

What matters is that everyone is having a great time.

1.Why did the author go to the countryside when he was a boy?

A.To milk the cow. B.To meet his parents.

C.To experience country life. D.To enjoy the scenery.

2.Which of the following is NOT true according to Paragraph 2?

A.The author learned to milk and fish.

B.The author understood the value of vacations.

C.The author met new people and learned things during the trip.

D.The trip helped the author understand the significance of vacations better.

3.What is the passage mainly about?

A.The author had a good time in the countryside.

B.The author tried to let family members enjoy the holidays.

C.The author advised others to spend vacations with their families.

D.The author realized the value of family vacations and put it into practice.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Tim Richter and his wife，Linda，had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo，New York-he in computers,she in special education．“Teaching means everything to us，”Tim would say．In April 1998,he learned he would need a heart operation．It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life’s purpose．

Not long after the surgery，Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library,a program started by Dolly Parton’s foundation（基金会）that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer’s home town of Sevier，Tennessee．“I thought，maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire，”Tim recalls．He placed the brochure on his desk，“as a reminder．”

Five years later，now retired and with that brochure still on the desk，Tim clicked on imaginationlibrary．com．The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts．

The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters．Rather than sign up online，they went to Dollywood for a look-see．“We didn’t want to give the children rubbish，”says Linda．The books-reviewed each year by teachers，literacy specialists，and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series．

Satisfied，the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work．Since 2004，they have shipped more than 12，200 books to preschoolers in their area．Megan Williams，a mother of four，is more than appreciative：“This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of．”

The Richters spend about﹩400 a month sending books to 200 children．“Some people sit there and wait to die，”says Tim．“Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left．”

1.What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life？________

A. His health problem．

B. His love for teaching．

C. The influence of his wife．

D. The news from the Web．

2.What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library？________

A. Give out brochures．

B. Do something similar．

C. Write books for children．

D. Retire from being a teacher．

3.Why did the Richters go to Dollywood？________

A. To avoid signing up online．

B. To meet Dollywood board members．

C. To make sure the books were the newest．

D. To see if the books were of good quality．

4.What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph？________

A. He needs more money to help the children．

B. He wonders why some people are so busy．

C. He tries to save those waiting to die．

D. He considers his efforts worthwhile．

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Why did Tom go to New York last month?

A. To see his wife and children.

B. To attend a meeting.

C. To take a holiday.

高二英语短对话简单题查看答案及解析

After the captain left, his assistant Roger and other members of the team stayed behind to _____ any misunderstanding, but they refused to hear complaints(抱怨).

A. approve          B. polish            C. switch           D. clarify

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Professor Smith, along with his assistant, ________on the project day and night to meet the deadline.

A. work   B. working   C. is working   D. are working

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Why is the man going to New York?

A. To have a holiday.　　 B. To attend a meeting.　　 C. To see his grandparents.

高二英语短对话简单题查看答案及解析

Professor Smith, along with his assistants, _________on the project day and night to meet the deadline.

A. work         B. working          C. is working       D. are working

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析