Flower PowerWhen her grandmother’s health beg...

Flower Power

When her grandmother’s health began to worsen last autumn, Mary would make the drive from Washington, DC to Winchester, VA every few days.

She hated highway driving, finding it ugly and boring. She preferred to take winding country roads to her grandmother’s hospital. When she drove through the rocky town of Harpers Ferry, the beauty of the rough waters was always appealing to her.

Toward the end of her journey, Mary had to get on highway 81. It was here that she discovered a surprising bit of beauty during one of her trips. Along the shoulder of the highway, there was a long stretch of wild flowers. They were thin and delicate and purple, and moved back and forth in the wind as if whispering poems to each other.

The first time she saw the flowers, Mary was seized by an uncontrollable urge to pull over on the highway and pull a bunch from the soil. She carried them into her grandmother’s room when she arrived at the hospital and placed them in a vase by her bed.

For a moment her grandmother seemed more lucid（清醒的）than usual. She thanked Mary for the flowers, commented on their beauty and asked where she had gotten them. Mary was overjoyed by the ability of the flowers to wake something up inside her sick grandmother.

Afterwards, Mary began carrying scissors in the car during her trips to visit her grandmother. She would quickly glide onto the shoulder, jump out of the car, and clip a bunch of flowers. Each time Mary placed the flowers in the vase, her grandmother’s eyes would light up and they would have a splendid conversation.

One morning in late October, Mary got a call that her grandmother had taken a turn for the worse. Mary was in such a hurry to get to her grandmother that she sped past her flower spot. She decided to turn around, head several miles back, and cut a bunch.

Mary arrived at the hospital to find her grandmother very weak and unresponsive. She placed the flowers in the vase and sat down to hold her grandmother’s hand. She felt a squeeze on her fingers. It was the last conversation they had.

1.Mary preferred to take country roads to the hospital because she could ________.

A. get on highway 81 more easily　　 B. enjoy the natural view along the roads

C. pick wild flowers for her grandmother　　 D. spend less time driving to the destination

2.When Mary placed the flowers by her grandmother’s bed, her grandmother _________.

A. came alive at the sight of the flowers　　 B. commented on Mary’s beauty

C. was overjoyed by the flowers　　 D. was curious about the type of the flowers

3.From the passage, we know that ________.

A. Mary discovered the wild flowers along the country roads

B. Mary’s grandmother had passed away before she arrived at the hospital

C. Mary’s last conversation with her grandmother was a silent one

D. Mary headed several miles back because she sped past the hospital

4.What does the passage convey to us?

A. Beauty in nature can be powerful.　　 B. Love has no beginning or ending.

C. Life is as beautiful as summer flowers.　　 D. Flowers have the magic to cure diseases.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When my grandfather died, my 83-year-old grandmother, once so full of life, slowly began to fade. No longer able to manage a home of her own, she moved in with my mother, where she was visited often by other members of her large, loving family. Although she still had her good days, it was often hard to arouse her interest.

But one chilly December afternoon three years ago, my daughter Meagan, then eight, and I were visiting her, when she noticed that Meagan was carrying her favorite doll.

“I, too, had a special doll when I was a little girl,” she told a wide-eyed Meagan. “I got it one Christmas when I was about your age. I lived in an old farmhouse in Maine, with Mom, Dad and my four sisters, and the very first gift I opened that Christmas was the most beautiful doll you’d ever want to see.”

“She had an elegant, hand-painted face, and her long brown hair was pulled back with a big pink bow. Her eyes were blue, and they opened and closed. I remember she had a body of kidskin, and her arms and legs bent at the joints.”

GG’s voice dropped low, taking on an almost respectful tone. “My doll was dressed in a pretty pink gown, decorated with fine lace. … Getting such a fine doll was like a miracle for a little farm girl like me — my parents must have had to sacrifice so much to afford it. But how happy I was that morning!”

GG’s eyes filled and her voice shook with emotion as she recalled that Christmas of long ago. “I played with my doll all morning long. And then it happened. My mother called us to the dining room for Christmas dinner and I laid my new doll down gently on the hall table. But as I went to join the family at the table, I heard a loud crash.”

“I hardly had to turn around — I knew it was my precious doll. And it was. Her lace skirt had hung down from the table just enough for my baby sister to reach up and pull on it. When I ran in, there lay my beautiful doll on the floor, her face smashed into a dozen pieces. She was gone forever.”

A few years later, GG’s baby sister was also gone, she told Meagan, a victim of pneumonia(肺炎). Now the tears in her eyes spilled over — tears, I knew, not only for a lost doll and a lost sister, but for a lost time.

Silent for the rest of the visit, Meagan was no sooner in the car going home than she exclaimed, “Mom, I have a great idea! Let’s get GG a new doll for Christmas. Then she won’t cry when she thinks about it.”

My heart filled with pride as I listened to my sympathetic little daughter. But where would we find a doll to match GG’s fond memories?

Where there’s a will, as they say, there’s a way. When I told my best friends, Liz and Chris, about my problem, Liz put me in touch with a local doll-make. From a doll supply house I ordered a long brown hair and a kidskin body to copy the outfit GG had so lovingly described. Liz volunteered to put the doll together, and Chris helped me make the doll’s outfit. Meagan wrote the story of the lost doll by giving examples.

Finally our creation was finished. To our eyes it was perfect. But there was no way it could be exactly like the doll GG had loved so much and lost. Would she think it looked anything like it?

On Christmas Eve, Meagan and I carried our happily packed gift to GG, where she sat surrounded by children, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. “It’s for you,” Meagan said, “but first you have to read the story that goes with it.”

GG no sooner got through the first page than her voice cracked and she was unable to go on, but Meagan took over where she left off. Then it was time to open her present.

I’ll never forget the look on GG’s face as she lifted the doll and held it to her chest. Once again her tears fell, but this time they were tears of joy. Holding the doll in her frail arms, she repeated over and over again, “She’s exactly like my old doll, exactly like her.”

And perhaps she wasn’t saying that just to be kind. Perhaps however impossible it seemed, we had managed to produce a close copy of the doll she remembered. But as I watched my eight-year-old daughter and her great-grandmother examining the doll together, I thought of a likelier explanation. What GG really recognized, perhaps, was the love that inspired the gift. And love, wherever it comes from, always looks the same.

1.GG moved in with her daughter because____.

A．she wanted to live with a large family

B．she was not able to live on her own due to her weakness

C．her husband passed away

D．she thought it was the children’s obligation to take care of her

2.Why did GG become very emotional on a December afternoon?

A．Because she saw her great granddaughter’s doll.

B．Because she recalled her dead parents.

C．Because she was surrounded by her offspring.

D．Because she felt lonely during the Christmas season.

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 5?

A．GG’s doll was important and was a symbol of many things.

B．GG showed great respect for his husband’s love.

C．GG missed the great old days she spent with her family.

D．GG was grateful for her long life.

4.What happened to GG’s baby sister?

A．She envied her sister all her life.

B．She felt guilty for breaking GG’s doll and decided to go.

C．She left home at a young age.

D．She died of some disease at a young age.

5.Why did Meagan’s mum feel proud of her daughter?

A．Because she was clever.                  B．Because she was loving.

C．Because she was sensitive.                D．Because she was imaginative.

6.The main idea of the passage is that ____.

A．treating the elderly well is moral

B．it is impossible to copy the exact doll for the elderly

C．love, the permanent rhythm of life, will always remain in the elderly’s heart

D．physical comfort from children rather than psychological care is important

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

16. It is reported that they ____ arms and began to fight against the invaders (侵略者).

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Every evening Sylvie left her grandmother’s house at 5:30 to bring their cow home. The old animal spent her days out in the open country eating sweet grass. When the cow heard Sylvie’s voice calling her, she would hide among the bushes, unwilling to go home.

This evening it had taken Sylvie longer than usual to find her cow. The child hurried the cow through the dark forest, following a narrow path that led to her grandmother’s home.

“Hello, little girl,” a young man called out cheerfully. “I’ve been hunting for birds, but I’ve lost my way.” The young man explained he was a scientist, who searched for birds. “Do you put them in a cage?” Sylvie asked. “No,” he answered, “I shoot them and deal with them with special chemicals to preserve them.”

“I saw a white heron（苍鹭）not far from here two days ago. It’s very rare bird. Have you seen it, too?” he asked Sylvie. Sylvie’s heart began to beat fast. She knew that strange white bird! The young man was staring at Sylvie. “I would give 10 dollars to the person who showed me where the white heron is.”

Sylvie had a plan that she would get the 10 dollars for her grandmother and make the young man happy. Her plan was to climb to the top of a tall pine tree to see where the white heron had hidden its nest.

The pine tree seemed to grow taller, the higher that Sylvie climbed. Suddenly a bird with broad white wings flew past Sylvie and landed on a pine branch below her. The white heron sat on its nest in a nearby tree. Sylvie gave a long sigh. She knew the wild bird’s secret now. Slowly she began her dangerous trip down the ancient pine tree.

About an hour later Sylvie returned. Both her grandmother and the young man stood up as she came into the kitchen. The splendid moment to speak about her secret had come. But Sylvie was silent. She could not tell the heron’s secret and give its life away.

1.Where would Sylvie usually meet the cow every evening?

A. In the open country.

B. Among the forest.

C. On a narrow path.

D. In the bushes

2.What was the young scientist’s job according to his introduction?

A. Collecting birds

B. Raising birds

C. Observing birds

D. Protecting birds

3.What had Sylvie planned to do about the white bird?

A. make good friends with it.

B. prevent it from being caught.

C. find its nest but keep it secret.

D. find it for money and the man

4.What saved the white bird’s life at last?

A. Grandmother’s sympathy.

B. The white bird’s beauty.

C. Sylvie’s kindness.

D. The young man’s generosity.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Web reports about Jackson’s health began to _______ after some website said the star had been taken to hospital and given treatment.

A. circulate　　　     B. translate　　　 C. distinguish　　 D. Accelerate

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

75. Taiji boxing is good _____ health, so the old man began to practise it ten years ago and now he is good _____ it.

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

At 88, my grandmother Vera has dementia and barely recognizes me. But I’m determined to help her age with dignity and grace in her home for as long as she can.

Since 2015, I’ve been a manager at Honor, a technology company that uses a website and an app to pair professional caregivers (we call them Care Pros) with loved ones who need a hand. I want to make sure we are offering all our clients (客户), including my grandmother, a service that is affordable, with people who are reliable, diverse and skilled. On Sundays. Amy, my grandmother’s most-loved Honor professional caregiver, comes over to get her dressed for church. She loves the time she spends with Amy. That’s the best gift I can give her and the best gift I can give myself. Care giving can exhaust a family emotionally and physically. At Honor, we’re trying to create something that makes it easier for women to be moms, daughters, and sisters all at once. That’s why this company was built.

What sets Honor apart from other care giving services is that we’re equally focused on treating the Care Pros well. We pay higher-than-average rates and they can get health benefits and sick leave. Most of our Care Pros are women, and a lot of them arc single mothers. The technology behind our app allows Care Pros to set parameters (参数) based on when, where, and how much they want to work so they can control their schedules. The company also allows continuity of care. Each Care Pro notes in the caregivers’ app how the client is feeling or what should happen on the following shift. That way, the client’s family can stay up to date on their loved one’s health.

When I was working with my team at Honor, I wanted to create opportunities for people who looked like me. I’m proud to say that there are single moms and other women without traditional educational training who lead teams here. The makeup of this company proves that people with diverse backgrounds can be part of a successful tech company. This has to be a model for the future.

I’m confident it will happen.

1.The author mentions Amy to _______.

A. share a precious memory

B. advocate caring for the elderly

C. show the importance of caregivers

D. inform the readers of a touching story

2.Which of the following about Honor is true?

A. It allows flexible working schedules.

B. It gives higher salary and more paid leave.

C. It mainly employs single mothers and males.

D. It matches caregivers with clients at random.

3.What does the underlined part “stay up to date” probably mean?

A. Go to bed later than usual.

B. Get the latest information.

C. Attend to somebody at fixed time.

D. Accompany somebody day and night.

4.The last paragraph intends to tell us that _______.

A. women are able to hold up half the sky

B. success has nothing to do with education

C. Honor will probably have a better future

D. people with diverse backgrounds will be a model

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Last night, when I went to see my grandmother, she was sitting alone at the nurse station with her word search book. My grandmother was sitting at the desk with her book but no pencil just staring at the letters as if she was trying to find the word. I came to her and said hello.

Usually, she at least knows I am connected to her somehow but this time, she looked at me with doubt. I introduced myself and told her that I was her granddaughter. “I don’t know who you are,” she said.” Do you want to go outside?” I asked. “okay,” she said.

We got her things and I wrapped it all in a blanket we would use as a tablecloth. I asked her if she could hold it while I pushed her wheelchair and held her cup of tea.

She held her hands out and I placed the cloth bundle (捆) on her lap. I put the cloth on the table and she helped smooth it down-then I put the rest of the items on the cloth..

Now she was just staring at me as if confused, as if trying to figure me out. “Do you know who I am?” I asked. She said, “I don’ t really know.”“ I am your granddaughter,” I said. “I am not sure what that is. I don’t know, I don’t know you,” she said.

I think of my friend whose mother has not known him for years, has no recollection (记忆), and doesn’t speak any more. It is a painful sight for all those living who remember. I am grateful that my grandmother is still so present. I have a sinking feeling that our days are numbered.

For now, she is still here, still says thank you, and still loves me from a deep and secret place. Tomorrow, I will see her and she may or may not know me-and that will be okay. I still know her.

1.What was the author’s grandma doing when she visited her?

A.She was writing stories. B.She was training herself.

C.She was preparing to eat out D.She was waiting for the author.

2.What can we infer from the dialogue between the author and her grandma?

A.Her grandma didn’t trust her. B.Her grandma refused her help.

C.Her grandma didn’t recognize her. D.Her grandma could look after herself.

3.The author mentioned her friend because her grandma ________.

A.had only a few days to live B.was in a better condition

C.was treated the way he did D.had a similar experience to his mother

4.What’s the author’s probable attitude in the text?

A.Treasuring the present. B.Expecting the future.

C.Feeling hopeless. D.Loving life.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Selina has recently ___________ Chinese painting to please her grandmother who was born in China．

A． taken on      B． taken off     C． taken up      D． taken over．

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Alice was very sorry to hear that her grandmother had _____ two days before.

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析