Franz Kafka wrote that “A book must be the ax...

Franz Kafka wrote that "a book must be the ax(斧子) for the frozen sea inside us". I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, when we'd just finished John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. Reading the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little. They understood. When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that they realize it was always going to happen. In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I've taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless: kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods. 1.

For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature with small groups of students from grades six to eight. I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school-one that often attracts the literary-minded children of Manhattan's upper classes-into a less competitive setting. The daughter of immigrants, with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates, who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph. D.'s. 2.

Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read: Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. 3. About The Red Pony, one student said, "it's about being a man, it's about manliness." I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth's soliloquies(独白) read as raps, but both made sense; the interpretations were playful, but serious. Once introduced to Steinbeck's writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that "all these people hate each other, and they're all white." 4.Year after year, former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in thein first year in college as a result of the classes.

A.We taught students to read increasingly complex texts for emotional punch (碰撞).

B.I thought additional "cultural capital" could help such students develop better in high school.

C.His historical view was broadened, his sense of his own country deepened and outlook improved.

D.They understand, better than I, the novel's terrible logic-the giving way of dreams to fate.

E.The students didn't always read from the expected point of view.

F.They learnt that words do not only confuse but also amaze people.

高二英语六选四中等难度题查看答案及解析

Franz Kafka wrote that “A book must be the ax(斧子)for the frozen sea inside us.” I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, and it didn’t seem to require any explanation.

We’d just finished John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. When we read the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little, and so did I. “Are you crying?” one girl asked, as she got out of her chair to take a closer look. “I am,” I told her, “and the funny thing is I’ve read it many times.”

But they understood. When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen. In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I’ve taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless; kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods. They understand, more than I ever will, the novel’s terrible logic—the giving way of dreams to fate (命运).

For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature(文学) with small groups of students from grades six to eight. I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school—one that often attracts the literary-minded (有文学头脑的) children of Manhattan’s upper classes—into a less competitive school. The daughter of immigrants (移民), with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates. I thought additional “cultural capital” could help students like her develop better in high school, where they would unavoidably meet, perhaps for the first time, students who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph.D.’s.

Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read: Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. The students didn’t always read from the expected point of view. About The Red Pony, one student said, “it's about being a man, it’s about manliness (男子气概).” I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies (独白) read as raps, but both made sense; the interpretations were playful, but serious. Once introduced to Steinbeck’s writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that “all these people hate each other, and they’re all white.” His historical view was broadening, his sense of his own country deepening. Year after year, former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes.

Year after year, however, we are increasing the number of practice tests. We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts, not for emotional punch (碰撞) but for text complexity. Yet, we cannot enrich the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts. We are teaching them that words do not amaze but confuse. We may succeed in raising test scores, but we will fail to teach them that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them.

1.The underlined words in Paragraph 1 probably mean that a book helps to________.

A．realize our dreams

B．give support to our life

C．smooth away difficulties

D．awake our emotions

2.Why were the students able to understand the novel Of Mice and Men?

A．Because they spent much time reading it.

B．Because they had read the novel before.

C．Because they came from a public school.

D．Because they had similar life experiences.

3.The girl left the selective high school possibly because ________.

A．she was a literary-minded girl

B．her parents were immigrants

C．she couldn’t fit in with her class

D．her father was then in prison

4.To the author’s surprise, the students read the novels ________.

A．creatively         B．passively          C．repeatedly        D．carelessly

5.The author writes the passage mainly to ________.

A．introduce classic works of literature

B．advocate teaching literature to touch the heart

C．argue for equality among high school students

D．defend the current testing system

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When I tell people I wrote a book with my dad, they usually say, “It must be nice to think of the legacy (留下来的东西) you created with someone who means so much to you.”

This was a beautiful idea, but it was not the way I, or my dad, ever thought about the cooperation. Though we created something we’re proud of, “nice” is not the word either of us uses to describe the process.

“It was more confrontation (对抗) than cooperation,” my dad likes to say. I agree.

When we landed a book deal, we began a writing journey that was more difficult than either of us had anticipated, but also far more rewarding.

For almost three years, we met once or twice a week at my parents’ house and talked daily to plan and outline each chapter. After these meetings, one of us would write a rough draft that the other would build on. I wanted the book to focus on positive vices (不良习惯): such as moderate (适度的) chocolate. However, my dad felt the book should include chapters dealing with things like walking and spending time with family. Ultimately , I saw it his way. He said the book was about more than just good vices. It was about encouraging people to enjoy life in healthy ways.

Writing this book was a reminder that our family members share not only our faults but also our strengths. My dad is smart, funny, critical and caring. He has a strong passion for the truth. I hope I share these great qualities. For this book, he researched each topic with an enthusiasm I’d never seen from him, and he insisted that we constantly question and critically analyze every piece of information – even our own conclusions. He was determined to cooperate with me on a book, not because he couldn’t write one on his own, but because he believed that we could create something better together than we could alone.

I’m not sure if our cooperation led to better writing, but I’m sure it led to a better writing experience. Writing this book was difficult, sometimes more difficult than past projects, but it was never lonely.

1.How would the author describe the writing process according to the first 3 paragraphs?

A.Nice. B.Struggling.

C.Relaxing. D.Disappointing.

2.What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?

A.A healthy lifestyle.

B.The theme of the book.

C.How the author and his father worked together.

D.Why the author wanted to write the book.

3.What can we learn about the author’s father?

A.He is not good at writing.

B.He lacks confidence in himself.

C.He likes to criticize others’ works.

D.He likes to get to the bottom of things.

4.What did the author learn from the cooperation with his father?

A.It’s important to make a plan before work.

B.Their cooperation resulted in a better book than the author expected.

C.It’s worthwhile to work with someone close to you.

D.Communicate more when there is an argument.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

“Where is Papa going with that ax (斧子)?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

“Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.”

“I don’t see why he needs an ax,” continued Fern, who was only eight.

“Well,” said her mother, “one of the pigs is a runt (发育不良的小动物). It’s very small and weak. So your father has decided to do away with it.”

“Do away with it?” shouted Fern. “You mean kill it?”

“Don’t shout, Fern!” she said. “Your father is right. The pig would probably die anyway.”

Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. The grass was wet and the earth smelled springtime. Fern’s shoes were wetting by the time she caught up with her father.

“Please don’t kill it! It’s unfair,” she said.

Mr. Arable stopped.

“Fern,” he said gently, “you will have to learn to control yourself.”

“This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself.” Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father’s hand.

“Fern,” said Mr. Arable, “I know more about raising a group of pigs than you do. A weak pig makes trouble.”

“But it’s unfair,” cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small. If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?”

Mr. Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said, looking down at his daughter with love. “But this is different. It’s a pig.”

“There is no difference,” replied Fern.

1.What puzzled Fern at the beginning?

A．Why her father refused to eat breakfast.     B．If the hoghouse was big enough for many pigs.

C．How pigs were born at night.               D．What his father would do with an ax.

2.Why couldn’t Fern control herself?

A．Because she was afraid of killing a pig.        B．Because the pig was treated unfairly.

C．Because she loved pet pigs very much.       D．Because her father was rude to her.

3.According to the passage, Fern’s father thought that ______.

A．it was natural for pigs to be born small       B．he couldn’t afford to have so many pigs

C．a weak pig needed more attention          D．he was troubled by raising a weak pig

4.It can be inferred from the passage that Fern was _________.

A．kind-hearted       B．brave             C．shy              D．patient

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

. We must be______that this year might be the worst in recent times for our economic development.

A. sensitive    B. aware    C. serious    D. bound

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

I can’t believe that they ______ in the mountains for three days now! They must be so frightened.

A. have been missing　　　　 B. have got lost

C. have lost　　　　 D. have missed

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

单词拼写

1.It astonishes me that the book i______________ for children under 12 is now being used to educate adults.

2.Energetic and relaxed people are less l____________ to catch a cold than those who are nervous or angry.

3.At first, we were suspected, but we finally c___________ them of our honesty.

4.After moving into the beautiful house, she often e___________ her friends at weekends.

5.With New Year’s day a__________, our class decided to throw a party to celebrate this important occasion for a new start.

高二英语单词拼写中等难度题查看答案及解析

A man heard that a certain government wanted a clerk, so wrote and asked for the position. But while he was waiting for an answer, a friend of his introduced him to the head of the department, who gave him the job. Several months later, while the man was working in the department, he got a letter that had been sent to him from the place he used to live in. This letter said,

“Dear sir,

We are sorry to have to tell you that we cannot offer work in this department because we do not think that you would be able to do the work successfully.

Your faithfully.”

The man laughed, but when he looked at the letter more carefully, he saw that he had signed it himself.

1.At the beginning of the story the man wanted ____.

2. The first paragraph mainly tells us ____.

3.He got a letter that had been sent to him, which means ____.

4.What do you think of the man?

5.Choose the right order of the events given in the passage.

a. He got a letter one day   b. He got a job in the department.

c. The letter told him he was unfit for the job.

d. His friend introduced him to the head.

e. He found he signed the letter himself.

f. He wanted to get a job in the government department.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Must-read Books that Are Hitting the Big Screen This Year

The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman

Starring: Jessica Chastain and Johan Heldenbergh

Release Date: July 31, 2017

This true story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Ackerman artfully retells the story of Jan and Zabinski and how they used their zoo to save over three hundred people from the Nazis. After their zoo was bombed, they managed to hide people in animal cages, giving animal names to their guests and human names to their animals. This is one story we truly hope lives up to the hope on film.

The Lost City of Z by David Grann

Starring: Sienna Miller and Robert Pattinson

Release Date: August 14,2017

Looking for adventure? This story is just what you need. The book(and film) tells the tale of British explorer Percy Fawcett and how he ventured into the Amazon jungle in 1925, never to return. It's an enchanting mystery that we can’t wait to see play out on screen.

The Dinner by Herman Koch

Starring: Richard Gere and Rebecca Hall

Release Date: October 5,2017

We always say we'd do absolutely anything for our kids, right? The story begins with two couples politely, eating dinner together, avoiding a conversation about their children who have committed a horrific act. As the story goes on, you'll see just how far these parents will go to protect the ones they love.

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Starring: Emma Watson and Patton Oswalt

Release Date: November 28,2017

A young woman, Mae, is hired to work for a powerful Internet company and Feels like she's hit the job jackpot. The facility is very advanced, lively, and a bit wild. Mae's story begins as one of ambition but soon tums into a heart-racing story of suspense.

1.Why did Jan and Zabinski put people in animal cages?

A.To offer them living places B.To treat them as animals

C.To avoid being bombed D.To hide from the Nazis

2.Who plays the role of a modern white-collar woman?

A.Emma Watson B.Rebecca Hall

C.Sienna Miller D.Jessica Chastain

3.When can you go to see the film if you enjoy adventure stories?

A.In July B.In August

C.In October D.In November

4.Which of the following is related to parents' raising kids?

A.The Zookeeper's Wife B.The Lost City of Z

C.The Dinner D.The Circle

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

You _______ get the book on condition that you give it back to me on time.

A. should        B. must      C.ought to        D. shall

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析