Several years ago, the mayor of Chicago, Illi...

Several years ago, the mayor of Chicago, Illinois, visited Germany, a leader in green roof design. Later he decided to have vegetation planted on Chicago City Hall. Today, the tops of many other buildings also look like parks. In Canada, the Coast Plaza Hotel in Vancouver has a forest on its roof. New York City has an unusual example farm for hydroponics. The farm is on a boat called the Science Barge. Rainwater and river water are used to grow lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. The farm shows the possibilities for designing rooftop systems.

Green roofs are designed to save energy and capture rainwater. Rooftops covered with plants help keep buildings cool. They can extend the life of a roof. And they can reduce water running off into streets and storming water systems.

Experts say green roofs usually do not get much above 27℃. So temperatures might not be a problem for growing. But rooftop gardeners have to be careful not to put too much weight on the roof. This is true whether plants are grown in soil or water.

Earlier in 2008, researchers in Texas reported that green roofs can reduce a building's air conditioning costs by about one­fifth compared to black­top roofs.　 But they also reported that not all green roofs perform equally well. They found that designs differ in their ability to keep buildings cool and to capture rainwater. The researchers put experimental roofs on top of metal insulated (隔热的) boxes, to recreate green roof conditions. The study compared products from six companies to help businesses understand how to improve their designs. Each rooftop had sixteen different kinds of plants native to Texas. The researchers say the presence of native plants likely helped all the green roofs capture water better compared to sedums. Sedums are plants that need little water and often are used on green roofs. The native plants could take in more water and release more of it to the atmosphere.

1.The author gave Paragraph 1 to ________.

A. tell us what is green roof design

B. tell us Germany is the country that leads or guides the green roof design

C. introduce some famous hotels in the world

D. lead to the topic of the passage

2.The advantages of green roofs are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT ________.

A. changing the local weather

B. prolonging the roof's life

C. keeping the house cool

D. reducing the house's air conditioning costs

3.According to the passage, which conclusion is WRONG?

A. Sometimes green roofs may break down the house.

B. Not all the green roofs can reduce the building's air conditioning costs equally.

C. Different designs of green roofs have different effects on buildings.

D. Sedums are a kind of plants native to Texas.

4.The experiment is mentioned in the last paragraph ________.

A. to find out how many different plants in Texas

B. to show us how to design green roofs

C. to introduce a kind of roof made of metal

D. to provide proofs to improve the design of green roofs

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Two years ago, the Funk family of suburban Chicago adopted a Chinese baby girl who had been abandoned on a sidewalk near a Yangzhou textile factory.

Last year and halfway across the United States, the Ramirez family of suburban Miami adopted a girl who had been abandoned a week later on the same spot.

Both families named their daughters Mia. It turns out, a first name and Chinese heritage aren’t the only things the three-year-olds have in common. The girls’ mothers—Holly Funk and Diana Ramirez—met on a website for parents who had gone through international adoptions. After a flurry of e-mails comparing photographs and biographical details, DNA testing proved the families’ suspicions: The girls are probably fraternal (手足般的) twins.

“I was in shock,” said Ramirez, who lives with her husband Carlos in Pembroke Pines, Florida. “Well, now this is for real.”

The Internet and Web groups revolving around international orphanages are increasingly being used to link adopted children with biological kin(亲属). The site that the Funks and Ramirezes used has a membership of 137 people, with 15 sets of twins and seven sets of siblings whose relationships have been confirmed.

At a reunion on Friday at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, Mia Diamond Funk Mia Hanying Ramirez shyly surveyed each other, then reached for each other’s hand.

DNA tests established an 85 percent probability that the girls are at least half sisters. Scientists did not have a biological parent to test and reach a greater certainty, but given their ages and physical similarities, experts say it is likely they are fraternal twins.

Douglas and Holly Funk hope to take Mia to Miami in October. Both sets of parents say they are committed to staying in touch and often let the twins talk to each other on the phone.

1.. Both the adopted girls shared a first name ________.

A. because they both came from China

B. because of their physical similarities

C. because their US parents suspected they were twins

D. for no good reason

2. Why did the girls’ mothers meet on the Internet?

A. To compare photographs of the two girls.

B. To communicate with other people who had adopted children abroad.

C. To test their suspicion.

D. To exchange experiences on adopting children.

3.Experts are still not 100 percent sure that the two girls are fraternal twins because ________.

A. DNA tests are still not accurate enough

B. the two girls were born by different parents

C. the DNA of a biological parent is still missing

D. one girl is born a week later than the other

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

A. Adopted Twins Reunited on Internet

B. Adopted Twins Live happily in the US.

C. Suspicion Turned into Reality

D. The Story of Adopted Twins and Their Parents

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When we say that residents in the Chicago suburb of North Riverside, Illinois, “wrote the book” on how to be good neighbors, we are not exaggerating. The residents of North Riverside really did write a book on neighborliness that has helped make their town a remarkable place.

Neighbors All: Creating Community One Block at a Time is a 65 - page manual filled with friendly suggestions and inspiring stories, all designed to build “family bonds” among neighbors. Every household gets a copy, delivered by a volunteer “block captain” tasked with welcoming new arrivals, helping seniors, making sure kids play nice, and more. It’s a big job, but the 90 captains across the town of 6,700 don’t do it alone. They are organized by their own captain, Caro Saple, and the neighborhood Services Committee, which appoints leaders of all ages, including a team of school - age “angels”.

If all this seems somewhat bureaucratic（宫僚制度的）, in practice Neighbors All has very much lived up to its title. One captain got to chatting with an elder couple who revealed that they couldn’t afford to replace their broken stove. Before long, the Neighborhood Services Committee had collected enough money to buy them a new one.

Another resident, a woman from Poland, told her captain that she was having trouble sorting out the paperwork to get her citizenship. The captain told the committee, which told the mayor, who got the help of their local congressperson, and soon the woman’s paperwork was all in order.

“ I have been in North Riverside over 34 years and am very proud of the small-town caring the community demonstrates every day,” said Vera Jandacek Wilt. “Waters rising in the river, ready to flood nearby homes? Residents and officials are filling sandbags to hold back the floods. Lonely seniors have not stepped out of the house? A block captain shows up to invite them to a block party. This community truly looks out for one another.”

Does all this mean that North Riverside is perfect? No -- neighbors still quarrel. Kids still fight. But the community spirit that is part of North Riverside’s DNA appears all over town.

1.In paragraph 1, the phrase “wrote the book” is closest in meaning to _______.

A.showed expertise B.learned a lesson

C.put down in writing D.revealed secrets

2.Which of the following is true of the book Neighbors All?

A.It includes inspiring stories written by Caro Saple.

B.It gives advice and instructions on how to be nice.

C.It is a historical record of the North Riverside.

D.It is for the Neighborhood Services Committee.

3.What among the following are the responsibilities of a block captain?

(1) Spreading copies of the book Neighbors All;

(2) Appointing school - age kids as volunteer “angels”;

(3) visiting and accompanying lonely seniors.

A.(1) and (2) B.(2) and (3)

C.(1) and (3) D.All of above

4.According to the passage, Vera Jandacek Wilt felt really proud of _______.

A.the neighborliness in North Riverside

B.the block parties for senior residents

C.living in a perfectly safe community

D.becoming a captain for those in need

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Jack Benny was one of the most famous names in show business.He was born in Chicago，Illinois，on February 14th,1894.His parents，Meyer and Emma Kubelsky，were religious Jews.They had moved to the United States from Eastern Europe.Benny was a quiet boy.For much of the time，his parents were busy working in his father’s store.As a child，Benny learned to play the violin.After finishing his school，he joined the Navy.He continued using his violin to perform for sailors.In one show he was chosen more for his funny jokes than for his skill with the violin.That experience made him believe that his future job was a comedian.

Benny developed a show personality that had all the qualities people dislike.He was known for being so stingy—he refused to spend any money unless forced to do so.On his shows Benny often spoke of his appearance，especially his baby blue eyes.As he grew older，he always claimed to be 39 years old.Benny rarely made jokes that hurt other people.Instead，he would let the other actors on the show tell jokes about him.

In real life，he was very giving and he was a person people liked having as their employer.Benny entered the new media of television in 1950.Five years later，he dropped his radio programme to spend more time developing his television show.At first his appearances on television were rare.By 1960 the Benny Show was a weekly television programme.It continued until 1965.Benny appeared in about twenty films during his life.A few became popular.But most were not.In 1963 Benny returned to Broadway for the first time since 1931.

Benny received many awards during his lifetime.Perhaps the one honour that pleased him most was that his hometown of Waukeegan named a school for him.This was a special honour for a man who had never finished high school.

Benny continued to perform.He died of cancer in 1974.At his funeral his friend Bob Hope said，“Jack Benny was stingy to the end.He gave us only eighty years.”

1.Benny was determined to be a comedian after he ______.

A．left high school

B．joined the Navy

C．performed in a show for the sailors

D．left the Navy for Broadway

2.The underlined word “stingy” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “________”．

A．clever　     B．mean

C．outgoing　     D．hard­working

3. According to the text，on Benny’s shows，he ________.

A．developed a good personality

B．played the violin skillfully

C．often referred to his appearance

D．said funny things that hurt others

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Benny?

A．He did a good job in show business.

B．His first appearance on TV was very successful.

C．Most of his films became well­known to Americans.

D．He treated all his awards as nothing.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

More than 2000 years ago, the brave and hardworking people of Eurasia explored and opened up several routes of trade and 1.(culture) exchanges that linked the major civilizations of Asia, Europe and Africa, collectively2.(call) the Silk Road by later generations. For thousands of years, the Silk Road spirit—“peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness(包容性), mutual(相互的) learning and mutual benefit”—3.(pass) from generation to generation. In the 21st century, a new period marked by4.theme of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit. It is more important5.us to carry on the Silk Road Spirit in face of the weak6.(recover) of the global economy, and complex international situations.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping7.(visit) Central Asia in September 2013, he raised the idea of 8.(build) the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road,9.have attracted close attention from all over the world. The Belt and Road Initiative is a systematic project, whose goal is10.(meet) the interests of all, and efforts should be made to combine the development strategies of the countries along the Belt and Road.

高三英语短文填空困难题查看答案及解析

The secret of success is what you say not what you think. Several years ago, I started representing a new service in the 　　 　　 . I started out like a wildfire and within 　　 a few days I had reached stardom(明星的地位) within the company. About a year into it. I started to work with a young lady who always said the most　　 　　 and defeating things I’d ever heard in my life. 　 　　 　　 , I found myself repeating the very same defeatism(失败情绪), which 　　 　　 my sales dropping and my shining stardom fading away, and I couldn’t understand 　　 　　 .

At first, I 　　 　　 myself to say negative things about 　　 　　 , and then after some 　　 　　 ,

the tables turned and I began to　　 　　 those things about myself. Before long, I had 　 51

myself into being a failure. Did it happen 　　 　　 ? No, it snuck(偷偷跑来) its way into my life; little by little. I’m sure you’re 　　 　　 what I did to get out of that hole that I dug for myself. I started to talk myself back into being 　　 　　 ; I printed lists of 　　 　　 things to say about myself, most of which was the exact　　 　　 of what I felt about myself at the time.

In order to achieve anything in life, you have to 　　 　　 believe that you can achieve it; in order to believe that you can achieve you have to think it’s possible; in order to think it’s possible you have to tell yourself it is. Yes, it will take time for you to get to a place where you finally believe you can accomplish what you set out to achieve, but the first person you have to　　 　　 is yourself. I dare you to write positive things down about yourself and start saying them to yourself every morning, at lunch and just before you go to bed for the next 30 days and see for yourself the　　 　　 that it can make. You have nothing to 　　 　　 except the negative and that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

1.A. career    B. school     C. marketplace    D. hospital

2.A. just    B. even    C. alone    D. yet

3.A. positive    B. active    C. reliable    D. negative

4.A. Simply    B. Eventually    C. Actually    D. Hopefully

5.A. resulted from　　 B. resulted in    C. prevented    D. protected

6.A. why     B. how    C. which    D. when

7.A. advised    B. allowed    C. forbade    D. forced

8.A. anyone    B. everyone    C. someone    D. others

9.A. dislike    B. pride    C. disappointments    D. pleasure

10.A. think    B. speak    C. say    D. find

11.A. told    B. looked    C. 1eft    D. talked

12.A. unfortunatelyB. overnight    C. carefully    D. slowly

13.A. wonderingB. noticing    C. remembering    D. reflecting

14.A. successful    B. honest    C. hardworking    D. special

15.A. passive　     B. rude    C. positive    D. silly

16.A. thought    B. aware    C. same    D. opposite

17.A. only    B. first    C. very    D. 1ast

18.A. catch    B. arrange    C. remind    D. convince

19.A. advance    B. step    C. difference    D. change

20.A. lose　     B. prepare    C. take    D. keep

高三英语完型填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Several years ago, a public school teacher was hired to visit children who were patients in a city hospital. Her job was to tutor them with their schoolwork.

One day, this teacher received a routine call requesting that she visit a particular child. She was told by the teacher on the other end of the line. “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in Class now. I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework.”

It wasn’t until the visiting teacher got outside the boy’s room that she realized it was located in the hospital’s burn unit. No one had prepared her for that. When she walked into the room, she found the young boy, horribly burned, was obviously in great pain. The teacher felt awkward and didn’t know what to say, but she had gone too far to walk out. Finally, she was able to stammer out, “I…I’m… the special visiting hospital teacher, and your teacher sent me to help you with your nouns and adverbs.” Afterward, she thought it was not one of her more successful tutoring sessions.

The next morning when she returned, a nurse stopped her, “What did you do to that boy?” Before she could finish her apologies, the nurse interrupted her by saying, “You don’t understand. We’ve been worried about him, but ever since you were here yesterday his whole attitude has changed. He’s responding to treatment…”

In fact, the boy had completely given up hope and felt he was going to die until he saw that special teacher. Everything had changed with an insight gained by a simple realization. With happy tears in his eyes, the little boy said, “They wouldn’t send a special teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, now, would they?”

1.Why did the teacher feel awkward after entering the room?

A.She walked into the wrong room.

B.She was too eager to be successful.

C.She had no idea how the boy was suffering.

D.She was not well prepared for her lesson.

2.What does the underlined word “stammer” in paragraph 3 mean?

A.To speak with a fear.

B.To speak with a pause.

C.To speak with a concern.

D.To speak with a gesture.

3.What can we infer from the teacher’s action of apologizing?

A.She got scared by the hospital nurse.

B.She was a person of modest personality.

C.She thought she made the boy uncomfortable.

D.She realized she got the usage of a noun wrong.

4.What helped the boy regain hope?

A.He felt the learning pressure from the special teacher.

B.He believed that the teacher was expert at teaching grammar.

C.He was aware that everyone was trying their best to care for him.

D.He realized that he was not in so bad a situation as he had assumed.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Scientists from the University of Illinois, US, divided several students 1.four groups. The students2.(ask) to do certain tasks involving3.(create) thinking, to different volumes of back-ground noise.

They found that the students did best when 4.(work) under moderate noise-70 decibels(分贝), 5.is about the same level as6.(find) in a cafe. Students did worse in low noise-50 decibels, the volume of a quiet room-and did the7.(poor) when in a high-noise environment-85 decibels, the noise level of a factory.

8.a high level of noise distracts people, moderate noise can9.(actual) increase creativity. “It helps you think outside the box, ”Raci Mehta, a lead researcher in the study, told The New York Times.

However, working in a very quiet place can10.(strong) our focus, and it is good for doing detailed things like proofreading(校对) a paper.

高三英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The island of Port Cros is in the south of France. I first visited it about ten years ago with my wife. I had read that it was a magical place and it seemed fascinating (迷人的), but I couldn’t believe that it was true. In fact, it was much more magical than the tourist brochures (指南) had said.

The island is mountainous and covered in trees. The water around the island is transparent like glass. When I first visited it, there was mist rising from the trees. The little harbor looked mysterious and remote: tall palm trees, a few shops and restaurants, no cars, motorcycles or bikes.

It is not by chance that the island has kept its natural beauty. Once, it was privately owned and the owners always wanted to keep it in its natural state. In 1963, Port Cros became a national park. The park directors made some rules to protect the island. They didn’t allow any new building projects. There is only one hotel and no camping is allowed. Visitors can’t use mountain bikes or smoke on the island. Sailing boats that visit the island mustn’t damage the bottom of the sea or pollute the water around it.

When we arrived, we started walking to the beach of Port-Man, which was the furthest beach from the port. It took us two hours and when we arrived, the beach was deserted. It seemed that we were the only people on the island. Time seemed to stop. It was so beautiful that we stayed there all day. I visited there again last summer. Nothing had changed. The island still looked magical and mysterious, still with few tourists. It must be wonderful to stay the night on the island, I thought. After all the visitors have gone, the island must be so quiet—a real paradise (天堂)!

1.The author got to know Port Cros at first due to _____.

A. some tourist brochures

B. his wife’s introduction

C. his first visit there

D. some TV programs

2.How has the natural beauty of the island been kept according to the text?

A. Foreign visitors are not allowed to visit it.

B. Nothing has been built in the park there.

C. Only bikes can be used on the island.

D. Sailing boats mustn’t pollute the water.

3.When the author first visited Port Cros, _____.

A. it was very sunny

B. there were few visitors there

C. it took them a whole day to walk to Port-Man

D. the island was deserted and he stayed there for a whole night

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a meeting in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night’s dinner. In their rush, with tickets, one of these salesmen happened to kick over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their boarding.

All but one stopped, took a deep breath and experienced a twinge（刺痛）of sorrow for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his friends to go on without him, waved goodbye, and told one of them to call his wife when they arrived and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to where the apple stand had been overturned. He was glad he did.

The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her face. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them into the baskets, and helped set the display up once more. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become damaged; then he set them aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take the $20 for the damage we did.” He continued, “I’m sorry for what we did and hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly.”

She nodded with her tears. As the salesman started to walk away, the blind girl called out to him, “Mr. ...”. He stopped, and turned back. She continued, “Thank you very much”.

1.These salesmen were hurrying because they ________.

2.Which of the following is the correct order of what the salesman did?

a. He made an apology to the blind girl.

b. He told his friends to go on without him.

c. He experienced a twinge of sorrow.

d. He returned to the fallen apple stand.

e. He paid the girl $20 for the damage.

3.Which of the following can describe the salesman?

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析