My dearest daughter, as I looked across at yo...

My dearest daughter, as I looked across at you sitting on the sofa watching The X Factor, I noticed that you are no longer a child, and that having just celebrated your 14th birthday, you are now a young woman starting a journey into becoming an adult woman. As I looked at you, I remembered myself at 14, and the vastly different places we are beginning this journey from.

Your identity as a mixed-race young woman, with an English father and a Pakistani mother, has already influenced how you place yourself in this world. As yet, you are unaware of the personal struggles that I took at the age of 25 to marry. How it felt when my mother refused to come to my wedding. The sharp criticisms of the Asian community that such marriages do not work out and always end in divorce. The confidence I had to grow, as we chose to live in a multicultural community, as I refused to be shamed into living in the leafier white suburbs.

Then, at the age of 30, I became your mum with all the joys and struggles this brought, as I refused the Asian traditions for a new baby's arrival. From your birth, your life could not have been more different from mine. I was brought up on a council estate, within a tight-knit extended Muslim family, through which poverty, racism and neglect were woven. I was never given the freedoms or the opportunity to experience new things. Now, as I hear you play your piano. I am grateful that you have these opportunities.

So many doors were closed to me as a young person, and as I fought for small steps of freedom, I soon learned that it was better to do what I wanted without the knowledge of my parents, and so deceit and deception(欺骗) became woven into my life too. The pressures to obey, to be a "good Muslim" girl and keep the family honour, were choking. Behind closed doors at home, the neglect and abuse took place. It was hidden, I felt the shame, lived with the fear and suffered alongside my sister and two younger brothers. Oh, the power we thought our parents had over us! I was convinced that one day my father would indeed beat us so hard that leaving us for dead, he would, as his threats said he would, bury us in the large back garden, and tell the school he had taken us back to Pakistan for good. My sister and I longed for a different blue sky to live under.

As a daughter of immigrant parents, I carried their hopes of a better education for their children--my own veins(血管) pulsing with the hard- work ethic(道德) and need to be grateful for the opportunity of a free education. And it was education that provided me with the strength to find my own blue sky. I fought to leave home to go to university at the age of 18, and never returned to live with my parents again.

Now as you explore your mixed-race heritage, which I hope we have supported you to do with visits to Pakistan and ensuring you go to multi-cultural schools, I want you to take the very best of all that is Asian with you as you become a woman.

I want you to know that although your journey has been vastly different. I am excited as I watch you standing on the threshold of becoming a woman for all the adventures and possibilities the future holds for you.

May you fly your blue sky with grace, confidence and hope as you find your place in this beautiful and crazy world.

Loving you now and always.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Mommy

1.Mommy's mother refused to attend her wedding party because _________.

A. she struggled to break away from the family before it

B. her marriage was against the tradition of the community

C. she would leave the family to settle in the white suburbs

D. she refused the Asian tradition for a new baby’s arrival

2.What can be inferred from mommy's Muslim family life?

A. She was forced to drop out of school.

B. She behaved like a good Muslim girl.

C. She fought against her Muslim identity.

D. She suffered much abuse in the family.

3.From the fourth paragraph, we can see that Mommy was very _________.

A. determined　　 B. realistic

C. ambitious　　 D. tolerant

4.Mommy sends her daughter to multicultural schools to _________.

A. prepare the daughter for different adventures in future

B. ensure the daughter more opportunities to visit Pakistan

C. increase the daughter’s exposure to different cultures

D. encourage the daughter to grow up to be a better woman

5.We can learn from the passage that Mommy _________.

A. is regretful for giving her daughter the mixed-race identity

B. encourages her daughter to explore her origin and pursue her dream

C. won’t forgive her parents for the sufferings she had during childhood

D. criticizes the social traditions and prejudice in her community

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Dearest Clare,

As I write this, I am sitting at my desk in the back bedroom looking out at your studio across the backyard full of blue evening snow, everything is smooth and crusty with ice, and it is very still. It's one of those winter evenings when the coldness of every single thing seems to slow down time, like the narrow center of an hourglass which time itself flows through, but slowly, slowly. I had a sudden urge, tonight, here in the house by myself to write you a letter. I suddenly wanted to leave something, for after. I think that time is short, now. I feel as though all my reserves, of energy, of pleasure, of duration, are thin, small. I don't feel capable of continuing very much longer. I know you know.

If you are reading this, I am probably dead. But you know: you know that if I could have stayed, if I could have gone on, that I would have seized every second: whatever it was, this death, you know that it came and took me, like a child carried away by goblins (妖精).

Clare, I want to tell you, again, I love you. But I hate to think of you waiting. I know that you have been waiting for me all your life, always uncertain of how long this patch of waiting would be. Ten minutes, ten days.A month. What an uncertain husband I have been, Clare, like a sailor. Please, Clare. When I am dead, stop waiting and be free. Of me—put me deep inside you and then go out in the world and live. Love the world and yourself in it, move through it as though the world is your natural element.

After my mom died she ate my father up completely. She would have hated it. Every minute of his life since then has been marked by her absence, every action has lacked dimension because she is not there to measure against. And when I was young I didn't understand, but now, I know, how absence can be present.

If I had to live on without you I know I could not do it. But I hope, I have this vision of you walking, with your shining hair in the sun. I have not seen this with my eyes, but only with my imagination, that makes pictures, that always wanted to paint you, shining; but I hope that this vision will be true, anyway.

Clare, there is one last thing, and I have hesitated to tell you, because I'm afraid that telling might cause it to not happen and also because I have just been going on about not waiting and this might cause you to wait longer than you have ever waited before. But I will tell you in case you need something, after.

Last summer, I was sitting in Kendrick’s waiting room when I suddenly found myself in a dark hallway in a house I don’t know. At the end of the hall I could see a rim of light around a door, and so I went very slowly and very quietly to the door and looked in. The room was white, and lit with morning sun. At the window, with her back to me, sat a woman, wearing a coral-colored cardigan sweater, with long white hair all down her back. She had a cup of tea beside her, on a table. I must have made some little noise, or she sensed me behind her...she turned and saw me, and I saw her, and it was you, Clare, this was you as an old woman, in the future. It was sweet, Clare, it was sweet beyond telling. I won’t tell you any more, so you can imagine it. We will see each other again, Clare. Until then, live, fully, present in the world, which is so beautiful.

It’s dark, now, and I am very tired. I love you, always. Time is nothing.

Henry

1.Why did Henry mention the snow and ice in the first Paragraph?

A. To indicate the death is approaching.

B. To illustrate that he has an easy mind.

C. To express how urgent he was to write the letter.

D. To show the weather conditions when he wrote the letter.

2.From Paragraph 4 we can know that ________.

A. his mother died soon after Henry was born

B. the living shouldn’t miss the dead too much

C. his mother had a narrow affection for his father

D. his father lived in the shadow of his mother’s absence

3.By describing what he found in Kendrick’s waiting room, Henry intended to tell Clare that ________.

A. he hoped she would wait for him forever

B. his health was worsening step by step

C. she should stop waiting and be free to live

D. she would be more beautiful when she was old

4.Which of the following can best describe Henry?

A. Considerate.　　　 B. Generous.　　 D. Explicit.　　　 D. Rigid.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

“How’s the basketball coming on?”

I put down my drink and looked across at the next table. I was curious about that because both the man and the woman were at least 65.

“Oh, I’m not playing much basketball these days,” the woman replied. “But I’m getting much better at golf.”

What’s this, I thought. I opened my packet of crisps, thoughtfully. “I’m still pretty hopeless at chess, I’m afraid,” the man said. “It beat me on level one this morning.”

The penny dropped. These two were the proud owners of computer games.

It’s very likely that one of the results of the development of the silicon chip(硅片) will be that a lot of people will have more exciting ways to spend their leisure time. It already has. Space invader machines are now a familiar sight everywhere. A lot of people play them, and some, particularly school children, get remarkably high scores. How, one wonders, do they find the time (and money) to become so good?

If you have your own computers, the possibilities are endless. You can play any active sports without stepping out of your living room.

You can become an expert at chess or backgammon without ever playing with another human being. Indeed, human beings aren’t needed at all.

So, what of the future? Will we see school children stealing or even robbing to feed space invader machines? Will football grounds lie empty as families sit at home playing video football, or watching the national video football championship? Perhaps, it won’t go that far. But we won’t have to wait long for the Video Olympics. I’m sure of that.

Back in the pub, I stood up, took out 20 pence, and went over to the space invader machine. I may not be much good at beating computers at backgammon, but any space invaders who arrive on Earth anywhere near me had better watch out.

1.The reason why the writer felt curious about the talk between the couple was that ____.

A. he thought they were too old to play basketball

B. they looked young for their age

C. the old seldom went to the bar

D. he didn’t believe they played basketball so well

2.The underlined sentence “The penny dropped.” in the fifth paragraph probably means ____.

A. his wallet was stolen

B. he dropped a penny into the space invader machine

C. he asked for another drink for a penny

D. he’s come to see what they meant

3.The text is mainly written to tell us that ____.

A. computers will make people have a better time in their leisure time

B. the writer was worried about the side effect of computers

C. the old couple were excellent at playing golf

D. school children shouldn’t play space invader machines so much

4.We can infer form the passage that ____.

A. we can do everything without leaving our home in the future

B. the writer was good at playing the space invader game

C. school children will certainly steal or rob to feed the space invader machines

D. the woman is better at playing chess than the man

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

E

“How’s the basketball coming on?”

I put down my drink and looked across at the next table. I was curious about that because both the man and the woman were at least 65.

“Oh, I’m not playing much basketball these days,” the woman replied. “But I’m getting much better at golf.”

What’s this, I thought. I opened my packet of crisps, thoughtfully. “I’m still pretty hopeless at chess, I’m afraid,” the man said. “It beat me on level one this morning.”

The penny dropped. These two were the proud owners of computer games.

It’s very likely that one of the results of the development of the silicon chip(硅片) will be that a lot of people will have more exciting ways to spend their leisure time. It already has. Space invader machines are now a familiar sight everywhere. A lot of people play them, and some, particularly school children, get remarkably high scores. How, one wonders, do they find the time (and money) to become so good?

If you have your own computers, the possibilities are endless. You can play any active sports without stepping out of your living room.

You can become an expert at chess or backgammon without ever playing with another human being. Indeed, human beings aren’t needed at all.

So, what of the future? Will we see school children stealing or even robbing to feed space invader machines? Will football grounds lie empty as families sit at home playing video football, or watching the national video football championship? Perhaps, it won’t go that far. But we won’t have to wait long for the Video Olympics. I’m sure of that.

Back in the pub, I stood up, took out 20 pence, and went over to the space invader machine. I may not be much good at beating computers at backgammon, but any space invaders who arrive on Earth anywhere near me had better watch out.

72. The reason why the writer felt curious about the talk between the couple was that ____.

A. he thought they were too old to play basketball

B. they looked young for their age

C. the old seldom went to the bar

D. he didn’t believe they played basketball so well

73. The underlined sentence “The penny dropped.” in the fifth paragraph probably means ____.

A. his wallet was stolen

B. he dropped a penny into the space invader machine

C. he asked for another drink for a penny

D. he’s come to see what they meant

74. The text is mainly written to tell us that ____.

A. computers will make people have a better time in their leisure time

B. the writer was worried about the side effect of computers

C. the old couple were excellent at playing golf

D. school children shouldn’t play space invader machines so much

75. We can infer form the passage that ____.

A. we can do everything without leaving our home in the future

B. the writer was good at playing the space invader game

C. school children will certainly steal or rob to feed the space invader machines

D. the woman is better at playing chess than the man

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

– My daughter nearly set the kitchen on fire when cooking some dishes.

- you can’t stress ________ the importance of using the fire.

A. too         B. much                C. yet                    D. enough

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

“You’re leaving again?” asked my daughter as she saw me packing my carry-on.

More than her words, it was her face that pierced (刺穿) my heart ---I could see how crestfallen she was.　

“It’s only for two nights, “I explained.

But that didn’t matter to her. It was just one more trip after barely being home for five days. I decided in that moment to travel less whenever possible and I managed to avoid flying altogether for most of the summer. As a result, it was a summer full of discoveries. I realized that my kids really were proud of me. In their time away from me they had learned lessons I couldn’t have imagined.

Recently I began traveling a lot again. But this time it was different, mainly due to the fact that I had seen firsthand that my children value strong female role models. They realize that hard work pays off. Being away from them even for a day at a time in many ways had done them a lot of good.

In particular, being a working mom is teaching my daughter how important it is to be independent and that you can follow your dreams. In many ways, her idea of a professional woman is much more realistic than what I imagined when I was her age. I think that even at nine years old she already knows that for all the success you might achieve, there is a price to pay, whether it’s long hours, spending time away from those you love, or simply not having the energy to have fun at times. I know the wishes I would devote all of my time to her, but honestly, even if I didn’t work I would rather she learned not to depend on me for everything, She needs to realize that she can fly on her own --- and that isn’t possible if I am hovering over her every single second of the day .

I have also realized that having a career sets a good example for my son. He is not afraid of a strong woman, and has a great respect for them. When he’s older, this will help him build healthier relationship.

Therefore, for all the working moms out there who work long hours, remember to value the positive lessons you might be teaching your kids.

1.The underlined word “crestfallen” in Paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “_________” .

A. upset　　　　 B. excited　　　　 C. lucky　　　　 D. guilty

2.How did the author feel about traveling a lot after the summer ?

A .She felt even worse than ever.

B. She felt quite proud of herself.

C. She felt very sorry for her kids.

D. She felt much better than before.

3.The author hopes that her daughter will _______________________.

A. become more and more independent　　

B. be realistic about all her problems

C. become a very successful lady　

D. become an honest person　

4.What is the author’s main purpose in writing the text ?

A. To tell stories about her two kids

B. To show how to teach kids about careers

C. To encourage women to work as hard as possible　

D. To prove kids can benefit a lot from working moms

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

"Ok," I said to my daughter as she bent over her afternoon bowl of rice. "What's going on with you and your friend J?" J. is the leader of a group of third-graders at her camp—a position Lucy herself occupied the previous summer. Now she's the one on the outs, and every day at snack time, she tells me all about it, while I offer up the unhelpful advice all summer long.

"She's fond of giving orders," Lucy complained. "She's fat," Lucy mumbled（含糊地说）into her bowl "We are going upstairs," I said, my voice cold, "We are going to discuss this." And up we went.

I'd spent the nine years since her birth getting ready for this day, the day we'd have to have the conversation about this horrible word. I knew exactly what to say to the girl on the receiving end of the teasing（嘲笑）, but in all of my imaginings, it never once occurred to me that my daughter would be the one who used the F word-------Fat.

My daughter sat on her bed, and I sat beside her. “How would you feel if someone made fun of you for something that wasn't your fault?” I began. “She could stop eating so much,” Lucy mumbled, mouthing the simple advice a thousand doctors and well-meaning friends and relatives have given overweight women for years．

"It's not always that easy,” I said. “Everyone's different in terms of how they treat food” Lucy looked at me, waiting for me to go on. I opened my mouth，then closed it. Should I tell her that, in teasing a woman's weight, she's joined the long, proud tradition of critics who go after any woman with whom they disagree by starting with "you're ugly" and ending with “no man would want you and there must be something wrong with any man who does"？Should I tell her I didn't cry when someone posted my picture and commented, “I'm sorry, but aren't authors who write books marketed to young women supposed to be pretty?”

Does she need to know, now, that life isn't fair? I feel her eyes on me，waiting for an answer I don't have. Words are my tools. Stories are my job. It's possible she'll remember what I say forever, and I have no idea what to say.

So I tell her the only thing I can come up with that is absolutely true．I say to my daughter ,“I love you，and there is nothing you could ever do to make me not love you，But I'm disappointed in you right now. There are plenty of reasons for not liking someone. What she looks like isn't one of them.”

Lucy nods，tears on her cheeks．“I won't say that again ,”she tells me，and I pull her close, pressing my nose against her hair. We are both quiet, and I don't know if I have said the right thing. So as we sit there together, shoulder to shoulder, I pray for her to be smart．I pray for her to be strong. I pray for her to find friends，work she loves, a partner who loves her, and for the world not to deprive（剥夺）her of the things that make her who she is，for her life to be easy, and for her to have the strength to handle it when it's not. And still, always，I pray that she will never struggle as I've struggled, that weight will never be her cross to bear. She may not be able to use the word in our home, but I can use it in my head．I pray that she will never get fat．

1.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 indicates that Lucy＿＿＿，

A. often makes fun of her friend J.

B. has turned against her friend J．

C. gets along well with her friend J.

D. has begun to compete with her friend J.

2.Why does the author want to discuss with Lucy?

A. Because she wants to offer some other helpful advice.

B. Because she has prepared the conversation for nine years.

C. Because she is really shocked at Lucy's rudeness．

D. Because she decides to tell Lucy a similar story of her own．

3.What does the author want to tell her daughter?

A. It is not easy to take the doctors' advice to eat less．

B. People shouldn't complain because life is unfair.

C. She herself was once一laughed at for her appearance.

D. People shouldn't be blamed for their appearance.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that

A. the author earns a living by writing stories

B. the author is a fat but good-looking woman

C. the author will stop loving her daughter for what she said

D. the author's daughter agreed with her from the very beginning

5.We can learn from the last paragraph that　　　 ．

A. Lucy deeply moved by her mother's prayer

B. a mother's prayer will shape her daughter's attitude towards life

C. the author allows her daughter to use the F word in her head

D. the author hopes her daughter will never have weight trouble

6.The author's attitude towards her daughter can be best described as　　　 ．

A. loving but strict　　　　 　　　 B. indifferent but patient

C. satisfied and friendly　　 　　 D. unsatisfied and angry

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

“OK,”I said to my daughter as she bent over her afternoon bowl of rice. “What’s going on with you and your friend J.?” J. is the leader of a group of third-graders at her camp-- a position Lucy herself occupied the previous summer. Now she’s the one on the outs. and every day at snack time, she tells me all about it, while I offer the unhelpful advice all summer long.

“She’s fond of giving orders, ”Lucy complained. “She’s turning everyone against me. She’s mean.　 And she’s fat.” “Excuse me,” I said, struggling for calm. “What did you just said?” “She’s fat.” Lucy mumbled(含糊地说).“We’re going upstairs,” I said, my voice cold. “We’re going to discuss this.” And up we went. I’d spent the nine years since her birth getting ready for this day, the day we’d have the conversation about this horrible word. I knew exactly what to say to the girl on the receiving end of the teasing, but in all of my imaginings, it never once occurred to me that my daughter would be the one who used the F word-Fat.

My daughter sat on her bed, and I sat beside her. “How would you feel if someone made fun of you for something that wasn’t your fault?” I began. “She could stop eating so much,” Lucy mumbled, mouthing the simple advice a thousand doctors have given overweight women for years.

“It’s not always that easy,” I said . “Everyone’s different in terms of how they treat food.” Lucy looked at me, waiting for me to go on. I opened my mouth, then closed it. Should I tell her that, in teasing a woman’s weight, she’s joined the long tradition of critics? Should I tell her I didn’t cry when someone posted my picture and commented , “I’m sorry, but aren’t authors who write books marketed to young women supposed to be pretty?”

Does she need to know, now, that life isn’t fair ? I feel her eyes on me, waiting for an answer I don’t have. Words are my tools. Stories are my job. It’s possible she’ll remember what I say forever, and I have no idea what to say.

So I tell her the only thing I can come up with that is absolutely true. I say to my daughter, “I love you, and there is nothing you could ever do to make me not love you. But I’m disappointed in you right now. There are plenty of reasons for not liking someone. What she looks like isn’t one of them. ”

Lucy nods, tears on her cheeks. “I won’t say that again,” she tells me, and I pull her close, pressing my nose against her hair. As we sit there together,　 I pray for her to be smart and strong. I pray for her to find friends, work she loves, a partner who loves her. And still, always, I pray that she will never struggle as I’ve struggled, that weight will never be her cross to bear. She may not be able to use the word in our home, but I can use in my head. I pray that she will never get fat.

1.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 indicates that Lucy ______.

A. has turned against her friend J.

B.gets along well with her friend J.

C. has begun to compete with her friend J.

D. often makes fun of her friend J.

2.Why does the author want to discuss with Lucy?

A. Because she decides to tell Lucy a similar story of her own.

B. Because she is really shocked at Lucy’s rudeness.

C. Because she has prepared the conversation for nine years.

D. Because she wants to offer some other helpful advice.

3.What does the author want to tell her daughter?

A. People shouldn’t complain because life is unfair.

B. She herself was once laughed at for her appearance.

C. People shouldn’t be blamed for their appearance.

D. It is not easy to take the doctors’ advice to eat less.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that_________.

A. the author earns a living by writing stories.

B. the author is a fat but good-looking woman.

C. the author will stop loving her daughter for what she said.

D. the author’s daughter agreed with her from the very beginning.

5.We can learn from the last paragraph that_________.

A. Lucy was deeply moved by her mother’s prayer.

B. a mother’s prayer will shape her daughter’s attitude towards life

C. the author allows her daughter to use the F word in her head

D. the author hopes her daughter will never have weight trouble

6.The author’s attitude towards her daughter can be best described as _________.

A. unsatisfied and angry　　　　　　　　　 B. loving but strict

C. indifferent but patient　　　　　　　　 D. satisfied and friendly

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

_____, the car stopped all at once.

A．Seeing a boy lying on the ground

B．On seeing a boy sitting on the road

C．The driver saw a boy standing on the road

D．The minute the driver saw a boy seated on the road

高二英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析

Last week my daughter was sick, so she had to stay at home. While staying at home, she looks at my hands and asks, “Your hands have this _______, right?” It’s true that my hands are shaking, not too much, not too _______, and if I really want, I can control that. When I was a kid, my mother _______ to find out why I had this. We went to quite a few _______, but none of them really _______ it. They then thought it was something psychological, not _______. As I grow up, I learned how to _______ it. But it’s still not very _______ to be asked about it. I _______ most people think that I had too much caffeine or drunk too much.

“Right”, I said, “I have this ________ I was a kid and I never knew why I really had this.” And there she goes ________ my entire sad world in just one tiny sentence: “Well, maybe it’s because you have some kind of superpower.” It took me a few good seconds to ________ after I heard this. And then a few ________ to think about it. Yes, maybe it’s because I have some kind of superpower, like too much ________ trying to find an outlet(出口), it’s ________ that kids find the best ________ in everything, even in the strangest things, while adults ________ to see every deviation(偏离) from the ________ as a “disease”.

So, next time you see my hands shaking, don’t you ever ________ to think I had too much caffeine or drunk too much. It’s not because of that. It’s because I have a superpower that is so ________ that my body can hardly hold it.

1.A. moving　　 B. striking　　 C. beating　　 D. shaking

2.A. weak　　 B. evident　　 C. slight　　 D. big

3.A. managed　　 B. wished　　 C. tried　　 D. refused

4.A. doctors　　 B. scientists　　 C. teachers　　 D. lawyers

5.A. treated　　 B. operated　　 C. examined　　 D. cured

6.A. mental　　 B. physical　　 C. spiritual　　 D. natural

7.A. live with　　 B. go with　　 C. face with　　 D. agree with

8.A. upset　　 B. comfortable　　 C. curious　　 D. awkward

9.A. guess　　 B. calculate　　 C. realize　　 D. announce

10.A. as　　 B. after　　 C. until　　 D. since

11.A. attacking　　 B. sticking　　 C. blowing　　 D. hiding

12.A. restart　　 B. replace　　 C. recover　　 D. pick

13.A. minutes　　 B. months　　 C. years　　 D. time

14.A. energy　　 B. wind　　 C. information　　 D. wealth

15.A. rare　　 B. terrible　　 C. embarrassing　　 D. wonderful

16.A. thing　　 B. fact　　 C. point　　 D. part

17.A. attend　　 B. tend　　 C. expect　　 D. intend

18.A. truth　　 B. path　　 C. life　　 D. highway

19.A. dare　　 B. need　　 C. have　　 D. can

20.A. powerful　　 B. meaningful　　 C. extreme　　 D. awful

高二英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析