Some people described the civil rights era, i...

Some people described the civil rights era, in the 1950s and 1960s as “the greatest singing movement in American history”. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called music “the soul of the movement”.

Integrating singing into the cause was a deliberate choice by the movement’s organizers. It took advantage of a rich cultural tradition of music-making in communities with African American roots. Singing spirituals ( 圣歌) together was a key motivating activity during meetings, church services, sit-ins and freedom rides. Singing together made people feel strong. Singing inspired activists to stand up to the verbal ( 言语的) and physical assaults, to the police dogs, and to the high-pressure fire hoses aimed at them. Singing spirituals united people and focused them on their goals-freedom and equality.

The movement’s songs were mostly updated traditional African American spirituals. “We Shall Overcome” is probably its most famous song. Later on, the song, slightly changed to “We Will Overcome”, was taught to labor organizers in the 1940s at the Highlander Folk School. By 1952, a recording of the song was released, but the words had been changed again to “We Shall Overcome”.

By the late 1950s, the song was being taught to civil rights activists at the Highlander. That’s where King first heard it. At the end of meetings, everyone would rise, join hands, and sing the song. Today, it has spread around the world and can be heard wherever freedom and justice are threatened.

“Free at Last” was another popular civil rights song. Like “We Shall Overcome”, it inspired singers to continue with a difficult struggle. It sings of the dream and promise of freedom, urging everyone to join hands and to not give up hope. King ended his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington by quoting a line from it: “Free at last, free at last! “

Taking a cue from the strengths of older African American traditions, music expressed the soul of the civil rights movement. Songs and singing proved essential nonviolent weapons in the struggle for freedom.

1.The second paragraph is mainly about　 .

A.what the goals of the civil rights movement were

B.on what occasions African Americans sang together

C.why organizers employed singing in the civil rights movement

D.how African Americans started the tradition of singing together

2.What does the underlined word “assaults” probably mean in Paragraph 2?

A.Violent attacks. B.Severe problems.

C.Serious disabilities. D.Potential dangers.

3.What do the songs “We Shall Overcome” and “Free at Last” have in common?

A.Both underwent a lot of changes.

B.Both required singers to stand up to sing.

C.Both influenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

D.Both are still very popular around the globe.

4.What might be the best title for the passage?

A.King-hero of the civil rights movement

B.Music-soul of the civil rights movement

C.Freedom-dream of African Americans

D.Singing-language to unite Americans

高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析

William I, who conquered England some 930 years ago, had wealth, power and an army. Yet although William was very rich by the standard of his time, he had nothing like a flush toilet(抽水马桶)，or riding lawn mower(除草机). How did he get by ?

History books are filled with wealthy people who were poor compared to me. I have storm windows, Croesus did not. Entire nations trembled before Alexander the Great, but he couldn,t buy cat food. Czar Nicholas lacked an electric saw.

Given how much better off I am than so many famous dead people, you,d think I,d be content. The trouble is that, like most people, I compare my wealth with that of living persons: neighbors, school classmates, famous TV people. The greed I feel toward my friend Howard,s new kitchen is not reduced by the fact no kings ever had a refrigerator with glass doors.’

There is really no rising or falling standard of living. Over the centuries people simply find different things to feel sad about. You,d think that simply not having disease would put us in a good mood, but no, we want a hot bath too.

Of course, one way to achieve happiness would be to realize that even by today,s standards the things I own are pretty nice. My house is smaller than the houses of many investments bankers, but even so it has a lot more rooms than my wife and I can keep clean.

Besides, to people looking back at our era from a century or two in the future, these bankers, fancy counter tops and my own worn Formica will seem equally shabby. I can,t keep up with my neighbors right now. But just wait.

1.What does the underlined phrase “get by” in the first paragraph mean ?

A.Succeed as a king. B.Deal with complaints.

C.Live in s satisfactory way. D.Get some extra money.

2.How many historical figures are mentioned to compare lives in the past and present ?

A.3. B.4.

C.5 D.6

3.According to the passage, the author. intends to 　　　　 .

A.tell us to be content with life

B.warn us to live in a simple way

C.teach us to learn lessons from life

D.encourage us to struggle for wealth

4.What,s the author,s attitude towards life ?

A.Doubtful. B.Optimistic.

C.Uncaring. D.Cautious.

高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析

You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?

Jane Addams (1860-1935)

Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sandra Day O’Connor (1930-present)

When Sandra Day O’Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator(参议 员) and ,in 1981, the first woman to join the U. S. Supreme Court(最高法院). O’Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.

Rosa Parks (1913-2005)

On December 1,1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott (联合抵制). It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in,” said Parks.

1.What is Jane Addams noted for in history?

A.Her efforts to win a prize. B.Her lack of proper training in law.

C.Her social work. D.Her community background.

2.Who made a great contribution to the civil-rights movement in the US?

A.Jane Addams. B.Rachel Carson.

C.Sandra Day O’Connor. D.Rosa Parks.

3.What can we infer about the women mentioned in the text?

A.They are highly educated. B.They are truly creative.

C.They are pioneers. D.They are peace-lovers.

高二英语阅读选择简单题查看答案及解析

ABORIGINAL is a term used to describe the people and animals that lived in a place from the earliest known times or before Europeans arrived. Examples are the Maori in New Zealand, the Aborigines in Australia and the Indians in America. They all share the fact that they were pushed off their land by European settlers.

Maori

The Maori were the first people to go to New Zealand, about 1,000 years ago. They came from the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific. They brought dogs, rats and plants with them and settled mainly on the Northern Island. In 1769, Captain James Cook from Britain took possession of the Island and from that time British people started to settle. The Maori signed an agreement on land rights with these settlers, but in later years there were arguments and battles between them.

Aborigines

The native people of Australia came from somewhere in Asia more than 40,000 years ago. They lived by hunting and gathering. Their contact with British settlers began in 1788. By the 1940s almost all of them were mixed into Australian society as low-paid workers. Their rights were limited. In 1976 and 1993 the Australian Government passed laws that returned some land to the Aborigines and recognized their property rights.

American Indians

Long before the Europeans came to America in the 16th and 17th century, the American Indians, or Native Americans, lived there. It is believed that they came from Asia. Christopher Columbus mistook the land for India and so called the people there Indians. The white settlers and American Indians lived in peace at the beginning, but conflicts finally arose and led to the Indian Wars (1866-1890). After the wars, the Indians were driven to the west of the country. Not until 1924 did they gain the right to vote.

1.The similarity among Maoris, Aborigines and American Indians is that _________.

A．they lost their vote right after European settlers’ arrival

B．they lost their land after European settlers’ arrival

C．they were driven out of their country after European settlers’ arrival

D．they were not treated as citizens until recently

2.Before European settlers arrived, we can infer that the Aboriginals had lived _________ life.

A．a miserable        B．a bitter           C．a peaceful         D．a troublesome

3.Which of the following was first interrupted by the Europeans?

A．Maoris.           B．Aborigines.        C．American Indians.   D．Not mentioned.

4.The passage mainly tells us _______.

A．the war between aboriginal people and white settlers

B．the history of Maoris, Aborigines and American Indians

C．the present unfair treatment to aboriginal people of the world

D．European settlers were the enemy of all aboriginal people

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Victor Hugo, 1802 -1885, was a celebrated French literary giant. After the British and French invaders(入侵者) bad burnt the Winter Palace(圆明园) in October, 1860, he wrote a reply to an officer named Bartlette one year later.

Sir, you ask me what I think of the expedition(远征) to China. You must feel that it was laudable. In your opinion, the expedition, performed under the joint banner(联合旗帜) of Queen Victoria and Emperor Napoleon, was nothing short of a British-French glory. Therefore, you would like to know to what extent I appreciate this glory. Since you ask, I will answer as follows:

In a corner of the world there existed a man-made miracle - the Winter Palace. Art has two sources: one, an ideal, from which has come European art; two, fancy, from which has come Easter art. The Winter Palace belongs in the art of fancy. The Winter Palace, indeed, was the fruit of all of the art that an almost superman race could have fancied.

For whom was the Winter Palace built, after all? Eventually, for the people. Because as time passes by, all that the people has made remains in the possession of mankind. Great artists, poets, philosophers - they all knew about the Winter Palace. Voltaire once talked about it. Many people at different times compared the Winter Palace to the Parthenon, the Pyramids, the Arena, the Notre Dame. If they could not see the Winter Palace with their own eyes, they could dream about it- as if in the distance they saw a breath-taking masterpiece of art as they had never known before – as if there above the horizon of European civilization was towering the outline of Asian civilization.

Now, the miracle is no more! One day, two pirates broke into it One of them robbed; the other set every building and everything in it on fire! Judging by what they did, we know that the victors could degenerate into robbers. The two of them fell to dividing between themselves the treasure. What great victories they had won! What a heaven-sent fortune! One stuffed his pockets full to overflowing; the other filled in his bags with treasure. Then, hand in hand they made of, laughing happily.

Incidentally, I must thank you for giving me the opportunity to accuse. The rulers commit crimes but the ruled do not. The government becomes a robber, but the people will never.

France has gained a large portion of the treasure. Now, she thinks herself the rightful owner of the property财物), and she is displaying the riches of the Winter Palace! I can only hope that there will come one day when France will disburden herself of the heavy load on her conscience and clean herself off the crime by returning to China all the treasure taken from the Winter Palace.

Sit, such is my praise of the expedition to China.

1.Mr. Hugo wrote this letter mainly to_________.

A.show his praise of the expedition to China in reply to Bartlette’s request

B.persuade French officers to return the treasure taken from the Winter Palace

C.prove people hold different attitudes towards the burning of the Winter Palace

D.express his anger and condemnation over the burning of the Summar Palace

2.What does the underlined word “laudable” most probably mean?

A.praiseworthy B.violent C.unreasonable D.abundant

3.In the 4th paragraph Victor Hugo mentioned the Parthenon, the Pyramids, the Arena and the Notre Dame in order to_________,

A.compare different architectural styles

B.praise European and African civilization

C.introduce some more famous buildings to Bartlette

D.emphasize the civilizational value of the Winter Palace

4.“Two pirates” in Paragraph 5 refers to__________.

A.Bartlette and his fellow B.Bartlette and Great Britain

C.France and Great Britain D.the rulers and the ruled

5.We can infer that when Batlette got the letter from Victor Hugo, he might have felt _________.

A.satisfied B.proud C.disappointed D.frightened

高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析

They say that picture is worth a thousand words, but the briefest look at books and the movies based on them would have anyone questioning this common saying. All too often, great words end up being turned into cinematic “turkeys”.

Good movies need good stories. If so, why has one of the earliest and greatest works in Western storytelling, Homer’s The Odyssey, never had an equally great movie based on it? Movies need strong characters. So why have the movies based on The Great Gatsby never been praised as “great”? Movies of course need impressive images, so why has Alice in Wonderland only resulted in movies best described as “interesting”?

One of the key reasons behind this is that while a book usually takes a few days to read, a movie typically lasts under two hours. This means that great books can lose plot details and characters when they move to the big screen. This is something that even the highly successful Harry Potter movies can’t escape from, with fans of the books disappointed not to see some of their favorite characters in the movie versions.

Movies also disappoint us when things don’t look the way we imagined them in the books. Take, for example, the epic movie Troy, which is in part based on Homer’s The Iliad and was met with mixed reviews from the audience. The most questionable issue was the actress chosen to play the part of Helen. Many people thought she didn’t live up to Helen's title of “the most beautiful woman in the world”, influencing opinions of the movie to some extent.

There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. Furthermore, books and movies are two different forms of media and therefore have different rules. With this in mind, perhaps we should judge a movie in its own right, and not against its original source. Interestingly, audiences have in recent years turned to television series such as Sherlock or Mad Men, which can have many characters and gradual plot development. Perhaps, one day, readers of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most admired work will find themselves glued to their screens by episodes of The Great Gatsby.

1.Which of the following statements about the movie adaptation is true?

A.The characters in The Odyssey do not stand out.

B.The movie Troy doesn't look the way we visualized while reading the book.

C.The visual images are not as striking as the descriptions in the book The Great Gatsby.

D.Some parts of the story and characters are missing in the movie Alice in Wonderland.

2.One of the reasons why adaptations disappoint the audience is that ________.

A.they lack good storytelling

B.the images are not impressive enough

C.the characters in the movies are not strong and interesting

D.there is not enough time for movies to fully present the whole story

3.The underlined “ original source” in the last paragraph probably refers to _________.

A.audience B.book

C.characters. D.images

4.What does the text mainly talk about?

A.Good books may not be adapted for great movies.

B.Reading books is better than watching movies.

C.People are dissatisfied with the current movies.

D.People are expressing their preference to reading books.

高二英语阅读选择困难题查看答案及解析

Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.

However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time, time that most people won’t put in.

This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.

When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.

Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.

1.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ______.

A. the meaning of success　　 B. the reasons for success

C. the standards of success　　 D. the importance of success

2.Successful people suggest doing what one loves because ______.

A. work makes one feel pain　　 B. one tends to enjoy his work

C. it takes a lot of time to succeed　　 D. one gives up his work easily

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A. People sometimes succeed without luck or talent.

B. Successful people like to show their great skills.

C. People need to achieve success at the cost of life.

D. It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success.

4.What is the main theme of the passage?

A. Having a goal is vital to success.

B. Being good is different from being great.

C. Luck, talent and family help to achieve success.

D. One cannot succeed without time and practice.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.

However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time, time that most people won’t put in.

This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.

When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.

Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.

1.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ______.

A. the meaning of success　　 B. the reasons for success

C. the standards of success　　 D. the importance of success

2.Successful people suggest doing what one loves because ______.

A. work makes one feel pain　　 B. one tends to enjoy his work

C. it takes a lot of time to succeed　　 D. one gives up his work easily

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A. People sometimes succeed without luck or talent.

B. Successful people like to show their great skills.

C. People need to achieve success at the cost of life.

D. It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success.

4.What is the main theme of the passage?

A. Having a goal is vital to success.

B. Being good is different from being great.

C. Luck, talent and family help to achieve success.

D. One cannot succeed without time and practice.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Before the early 1960’s people interested in the differing roles of the left and right hemispheres(半球) of the brain depended almost entirely on facts drawn from animal research, form studies of patients with one-sided brain damage. But it was possible to find out which brain hemisphere was most involved in speech and other functions in normal people by having them listen to two different words coming to the two ears at the same time. This became known as the “dichotic listening” procedure. When several word pairs are given in a row, people are unable to report them all, and most right-handers prefer to report, and report more correctly, words given to their right ears. This seems to be related to the fact that signals from the right ear, although sent to both hemispheres, are better sent to the left hemisphere which controls speech. People who have speech represented(回忆) in the right hemisphere, a very unusual occurrence even in left-handed people, more correctly report what their left ears hear.

In contrast to the right-ear advantage for speech, there is generally a left-ear advantage for another type of auditory(听觉的) signal: music. When right-handed people listen to melodic patterns they report them better from the left ear.

1.Which of the following would be the most proper title for the passage?

2.The “dichotic listening” procedure could best be described as hearing _______.

3.according to the passage, right-handed people normally _______.

4.according to the passage, music is best appreciated when heard by _______.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Forest Schools originated in Sweden in the 1950s and spread to other countries, particularly Denmark where they have become an important part of the Danish early years program.

In a typical Danish Forest School, young children from 3 years are taken into the forest for 4 hours each day of the week. They take no toys with them, but instead use only what the forest provides (and their imaginations) to develop their games. There is a primitive hut in the forest, which is used in extreme weather. Activities are child-led and fun, such as finding small animals or stomping in puddles. Because of high adult to child ratios, children can safely try out activities which are often considered too dangerous, such as climbing trees or lighting fires, and by dressing the children in good protective clothing, they are able to play freely. By setting children small manageable tasks at which they are unlikely to fail, and giving genuine praise, children’s independence and confidence grow.

A Swedish scientific study found that children in the Forest School are more balanced and socially capable, have fewer sick days, are more able to concentrate and have better co-ordination than the city nursery children. The primary reason appeared to be the greater opportunities to play in nature, so that children play for longer at a time, tending not to disturb each other as much as children in the city nursery. The study observed that where children were interrupted, they became irritable, their stress level rose, and their ability to concentrate fell.

The study also showed that the Forest School children had 25 % fewer sick days than the city children. One reason for this is that the air is nearly always better outside than indoors. Outside a child is not so exposed to virus and bacteria and not so likely to be infected by other children. Another reason may be that, since stress has been shown to have a negative effect on the immune system, high stress levels may be weakening the city children. The Forest School children, on the other hand, are in a pleasant, natural, fun and less stressful environment.

1.Why is there a primitive hut in the forest?

A. To let children have fun.

B. To store daily necessities.

C. To enrich the children’s imagination.

D. To protect the children from bad weather.

2.What kind of activities do the Forest School children have?

A. Activities to improve grades.

B. Activities designed for adults.

C. Activities usually played by braver kids.

D. Fun activities but with a certain level of danger.

3.The Forest School children are more able to concentrate because ______.

A. they have more interesting things to do　　 B. they are accompanied by adults

C. they are not disturbed so often　　 D. they are playing in small groups

4.Which of the following best describes the Forest School children?

A. Free and wild.　　 B. Confident and happy.

C. Polite and calm.　　 D. Strong and adventurous.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析