Grasse has always been associated with smell....

Grasse has always been associated with smell. In the Middle Ages it smelt particularly unpleasant due to its leather tanning (制革) industry. The nobles only rarely visited the pretty and charming town to pick up their handmade leather gloves. In spite of their grand lands in the surrounding countryside? Grasse was certainly a necessary evil with no self-respecting nobles owning buildings there.

Molinard, a Grasse tanner (制革工人) himself, created the first Grasse perfume. Word spread like wildfire amongst the nobles about the designer perfumed gloves. Molinard offered a pair of his gloves to Catherine de Medici (the Queen), who gave plenty of praise to her Grasse perfumed gloves; she almost assured (确保) Grasse’s reputation as the perfume capital of the world. Thanks to Catherine de Medici, Grasse merchants were encouraged to grow the perfume plants that tanners needed to supply perfumed leather to the nobles.

Grasse has four perfume factories as well as a perfume school and a perfume museum. Fragonard’s perfume museum is situated on the first floor of its perfume factory and displays an amazing private collection of perfume bottles, presentation boxes, documents and equipment that tells the history of perfume making from its earliest beginnings to the present day. The perfume museum is open every day, Sundays and public holidays included.

Grasse is certainly a perfumed heaven, a far cry from its smelly beginning as a leather tanning town. Now famous for a far sweeter smell, Grasse is surrounded by fields of flowers that make real estate (不动产) in Grasse very popular.

Those looking for real estate in France would have to go a long way to find anywhere more charming than Grasse with the city of Nice and its airport just a short drive away and plenty of activities to enjoy in the surrounding countryside. Real estate in Grasse is situated between the Southern Alps and the Cote d’Azur, allowing owners the best of both worlds.

1.Why was Grasse considered to be necessary although it was an evil?

A. Because it produced leather gloves.

B. Because it made the nobles look respectable.

C. Because many nobles lived in its countryside.

D. Because it was a beautiful and attractive town.

2.What can we learn about Fragonard’s perfume museum?

A. It has several perfume factories.

B. It can be visited all the year round.

C. It is famous for its perfume school.

D. It shows visitors the history of Grasse.

3.What do the underlined words “a far cry” in the 4th paragraph probably mean?

A. a good long cry

B. totally absent

C. very different

D. far distant

4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Grasse is still less competitive in real estate.

B. Grasse is now a perfect place for people to live.

C. Grasse is becoming an important tourist attraction.

D. Living in Grasse might cause you much inconvenience.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Music has always been associated with exercising. Most of us listen to our favorite music while jogging in the park or while working out in the gym, but we never think of it as more than just an accompaniment to our exercisc routine. But recent scientific research has thrown light on the fact that using the “right” music while exercising can do you a whole lot of good: from creating a feeling of positivity to calming any anxious feelings.

Research on the effects of music during exercise has been done for years. In 1911，an American researcher, Leonard Ayres, found that cyclists pedaled faster while listening to music than they did in silence.

This happens because listening to music can drown out our brain’s cries of fatigue. As our body realizes we’re tired and wants to stop exercising, it sends signals to the brain to stop for a break. Listening to music competes for our brain’s attention, and can help us to overcome those signals of fatigue, though this is mostly beneficial for low-and moderate-intensity exercise. During high-intensity exercise, music isn’t as powerful as pulling our brain’s attention away from the pain of the workout.

Not only can we manage to exercise longer and harder when we listen to music, but it can actually help us to use our energy more efficiently. A 2015 study showed that cyclists who listened to music required 7% less oxygen to do the same work as those who cycled in silence. So in the same way that exercising makes us happier, it’s not surprising that music adds significantly to our work-out success.

What have you noticed about how music affects you? Next time when you take exercise, select the right music to accompany you. You will find yourself in a more different mood than ever.

1.Why do some people listen to music while exercising?

A. They attach importance to enjoying music.

B. They know music helps do exercise.

C. They find music is an interesting accompaniment.

D. They don’t give too much consideration to it.

2.How will you do when you want to stop exercising?

A. To try to listen to the music you like.

B. To stop for a rest immediately.

C. To tell yourself never to do like that.

D. To send a signal to your brain.

3.It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that 　　　　 .

A. listening to music can help produce more energy

B. the cyclists love listening to music more than others

C. people should take listening to music seriously while exercising

D. significant music can benefit high-intensity exercise

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

February has long been a month of romance.With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.

On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine's Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in third century Rome.When the emperor decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn't allow marriage.

But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret.When his actions were discovered, the emperor had him put to death.While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard.Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”， an expression that is still in use today.Valentine died for what he believed in and so was made a Saint(圣者), as well as becoming one of history's most romantic characters.

Nowadays, Valentine's Day is also popular among Chinese young people.Some students are planning to make Valentine's cards for parents, teachers and friends.Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart－shaped cakes.The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St.Valentine.

1.The best title should be __________.

A．Valentine's Day　 　                    B．A Brave Priest

C．Valentine's Day in China　 　            D．A Romantic Man

2.What does the underlined word mean in Para.2?

A．树叶　             B．枝条　             C．花瓣　             D．花粉

3.Why did the emperor in Rome NOT allow marriage in his country?

A．Because there were few women in his country at that time.

B．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers.

C．Because there wasn't enough food for so many people.

D．Because he wanted to control the birth rate.

4.Valentine was put into prison because __________.

A．he killed one of the soldiers

B．he stole a lot of food

C．he didn't obey the emperor's order

D．he didn't want to be a soldier

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Many of us who have never been to Egypt always ________ Egypt with the ancient pyramids.

A．associate          B．abolish            C．accumulate        D．acquire

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Robert Capa is a name that has for many years been associated with war photography．

Born in Hungary in 1913，Capa was forced to leave his native country after his involvement in anti-government protests．Capa had originally wanted to become a writer，but after his arrival in Berlin he first found work as a photographer．He later left Germany and moved to France and it was here that he changed his name to Robert Capa，mainly because he thought it would sound more American．

In 1936，after the breakout of the Spanish Civil War，Capa went to Spain and it was here that he built his reputation as a war photographer．It was here too in 1936 that he took one of his most famous pictures，The Death of a Loyalist Soldier．One of Capa’s most famous quotes was“If your pictures aren’t good enough，you’re not close enough．”And he took his attitude of getting close to the action to an extreme．His photograph，The Death of a Loyalist Soldier is a prime example of this as Capa captures the very moment the soldier falls．However，many have questioned the reality of this photograph，claiming that it was staged．

When World War II broke out，Capa was in New York，but he was soon back in Europe covering the War for Life magazine．Some of his most famous work was created on 6th June 1944．Capa，armed only with two cameras，took more than one hundred photographs in the first hour of the Normandy landing(诺曼底登陆)，but a mistake in the darkroom during the drying of the film destroyed all but eight frames．It was the images from these frames，however，that inspired the visual style of Steven Spielberg’s Oscar winning movie Saving Private Ryan．

1.Capa originally wanted to be ____________．

A．a journalist　　 B．a writer　　 C．an American     D．a photographer

2.Why did Capa change his name?

A．To hide his identity．　　

B．Because he had been involved in protests．

C．To sound more American．

D．Because he had to leave Hungary．

3.Capa went to Spain to ________________．

A．fight in the civil war　　 B．build his reputation

C．have a holiday             D．take photographs

4.Capa’s famous picture Death of a Loyalist Soldier _______________．

A．was taken by someone else　　     B．was definitely real

C．wasn’t even taken in Spain         D．cannot be proven real or staged

5.A mistake meant that ______________．

A．most of Capa’s images of the Normandy landing were destroyed

B．Capa lost both of his two cameras

C．Capa’s images inspired an Oscar winning movie

D．only one hundred of Capa’s photographs were published

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand (木架) with a small notepad (记事本)　and a hole for a pencil.

I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely  the original one.

“I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years.” I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. “You still use a pencil. Can’t you afford a pen?”

My mother replies a little sharply. “It works perfectly  well. I’ve  always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in those days.”

Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on.”

This story—which happened before I was born—reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is, as a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have travelled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible (看不到的) exhibits at every meal.

1.Why has the author’s mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

A．To leave messages.

B．To list her everyday tasks.

C．To note down maths problems.

D．To write down a flash of inspiration.

2.What is the author’s original opinion about the wooden stand?

A．It has great value for the family.

B．It needs to be replaced by a better one.

C．It brings her back to her lonely childhood.

D．It should be passed on to the next generation.

3.The author feels embarrassed for ________.

A．blaming her mother wrongly

B．giving her mother a lot of trouble

C．not making good use of time as her mother did

D．not making any breakthrough in her field

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The mother is successful in her career.

B．The family members like travelling.

C．The author had little time to play when young.

D．The marks on the breadboard have disappeared.

5.In the author’s mind, her mother is ________.

A．strange in behaviour

B．keen on her research

C．fond of collecting old things

D．careless about her appearance

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Why Do Brides Wear White

In many societies the color white has been associated with purity and virtue, and that is one reason why some brides choose to wear white, especially in the West. Usually, you will hear that brides wear white because “it’s a tradition”. But, historically, white was not the only color considered for wedding dresses. 1.

For many centuries in Western societies, wedding dresses had different colors. 2. Brides tended to buy a wedding dress that could be worn again, or they simply wore the best dress they already owned. And white is not practical: it is difficult to keep clean and is therefore not ideal for many situations or for repeated wear.

Many brides chose to wear dresses of other colors for their wedding and beyond. 3. They do so largely thanks to a trend that started with Queen Victoria’s 1840 wedding to Prince Albert.

4. Although not in as many different media as we have now, they still had a tendency to be trendsetting. So Victoria chose to wear a white gown (女礼服)—reportedly to show off the fine detailed Honiton lace produced by the British lace industry, which was depressed at the time. Her fashion choice was widely reported in newspapers and magazines. 5. Eventually, the trend of a white wedding gown spread across all economic levels and it was strengthened as “tradition” in the 20th century.

A.So why do so many of today’s brides wear white?

B.But why are brides so particular about their dresses?

C.Royal weddings in those years received a lot of reporting.

D.It reflected the growth of the wedding industry at that time.

E.It soon influenced domestic and international wedding trends.

F.In fact, other colors were chosen far more frequently than white.

G.This was for reasons of being practical as much as anything else.

高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析

In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand（木架）with a small notepad（记事本）and a hole for a pencil.

I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.

“I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these year.” I say to her, walking bank into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. “You still use a pencil. Can’t you afford a pen?”

My mother replies a little sharply. “It works perfectly well. I’ve always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days.”

Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on.”

This story—which happened before I was born—reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is, as a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible（看不到的）exhibits at every meal.

1.Why has the author’s mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

A.To leave messages. B.To list her everyday tasks.

C.To note down maths problems. D.To write down a flash of inspiration.

2.What is the author’s original opinion about the wooden stand?

A.It has great value for the family.

B.It needs to be replaced by a better one.

C.It brings her back to her lonely childhood.D .It should be passed on to the next generation.

3.The author feels embarrassed for_______.

A.blaming her mother wrongly.

B.giving her mother a lot of trouble.

C.not making good use of time as her mother did.

D.not making any breakthrough in her field.

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A .The mother is successful in her career.

A.The family members like traveling.

B.The author had little time to play when young.

C.The marks on the breadboard have disappeared.

5.In thauthor’s mind ,her mother is_________.

A.strange in behavior. B.keen on her research.

C.fond of collecting old things. D.careless about her appearance.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand（木架）with a small notepad（记事本）and a hole for a pencil.

I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.

“I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these year.” I say to her, walking bank into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. “You still use a pencil. Can’t you afford a pen?”

My mother replies a little sharply. “It works perfectly well. I’ve always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days.”

Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on.”

This story—which happened before I was born—reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is, as a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible（看不到的）exhibits at every meal.

1．Why has the author’s mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

A．To leave messages.                      B．To list her everyday tasks.

C．To note down maths problems.             D．To write down a flash of inspiration.

2. What is the author’s original opinion about the wooden stand?

A. It has great value for the family.

B. It needs to be replaced by a better one.

C. It brings her back to her lonely childhood.

D .It should be passed on to the next generation.

3. The author feels embarrassed for_______.

A. blaming her mother wrongly.

B. giving her mother a lot of trouble.

C. not making good use of time as her mother did.

D. not making any breakthrough in her field.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A .The mother is successful in her career.

B. The family members like traveling.

C. The author had little time to play when young.

D. The marks on the breadboard have disappeared.

5. In the author’s mind ,her mother is_________.

A. strange in behavior.             B. keen on her research.

C. fond of collecting old things.      D. careless about her appearance.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand（木架）with a small notepad（记事本）and a hole for a pencil.

I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.

“I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these year.” I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. “You still use a pencil. Can’t you afford a pen?”

My mother replies a little sharply. “It works perfectly well. I’ve always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days.”

Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on.”

This story—which happened before I was born—reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is also a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible（看不到的）exhibits at every meal.

1.Why has the author’s mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

A．To leave messages.           B．To list her everyday tasks.

C．To note down maths problems. D．To write down a flash of inspiration.

2.What is the author’s original opinion about the wooden stand?

A. It has great value for the family.

B. It needs to be replaced by a better one.

C. It brings her back to her lonely childhood.

D .It should be passed on to the next generation.

3.The author feels embarrassed for________.

A. blaming her mother wrongly.

B. giving her mother a lot of trouble.

C. not making good use of time as her mother did.

D. not making any breakthrough in her field.

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A .The mother is successful in her career.

B. The family members like traveling.

C. The author had little time to play when young.

D. The marks on the breadboard have disappeared.

5.In the author’s mind ,her mother is________.

A. strange in behavior.           B. keen on her research.

C. fond of collecting old things.   D. careless about her appearance.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析