What makes a house a home?Not size, of course...

What makes a house a home?

Not size, of course．I've been in some of the grandest houses in America, and it's readily apparent no one lives there．Earlier this year, I had dinner in a mud hut in Ethiopia, where we sat on chairs next to the hostess' bed -- a home that had more warmth than any house I've been in since．

Now John Edwards is exploring what makes a house a home in his just-released Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives．There Edwards writes, " This is a book about homes, the values they rest on, the dreams they are filled with, and the people they have shaped．The houses and circumstances are different, but much of what you find inside will be familiar．"

Whether you're sitting in an airport right now, waiting to fly to your childhood home for Thanksgiving, or in your own home waiting for the relatives to arrive, you know what he's talking about．

We've lived in our townhouse for 21 years．The loose windows that make noise in the wind．The fireplace so shallow it holds only one log．The kitchen window that offers a view of the world passing by．It's where friends sit on the kitchen counter drinking wine while dinner is being fixed．I lived there for only 18, but it will always be my true home．Even the lamp in the west living room window, which I could see far down the road when driving home late at night, still shines．

While all this talk about childhood memories can be warm and comforting, home is whom you're with, not where you are．As Edwards writes, "Home is family．Home is safety．Home is faith．"

Happy homecoming．

1.What would be the best title for the text?

2.The purpose of the second paragraph is to __

3.About the book Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives, we know that __

4.What did the author mainly mean when he mentioned the loose windows and the shallow fireplace ?

5.It can be inferred according to the text that __

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

What is it that makes a house a home ? A home is a place of companionship with people in it who love each other , who are harmonious and closer inside with one another than they are outside with those in the workplace or with classmates at school . A home is a place of companionship that it’s difficult to leave. In a home there is love , sharing and appreciation , and the members help each other .

I have seen families on the street. But if they live , sleep , talk , and eat together , they are a family, even if they are poorly off. You don’t need a roof to make a home. The truly homeless are some of the rich people who build multi-million-dollar houses and are too busy to live in them . The truly homeless are those who have turned their home into a hotel lobby . The parents work. The children do wrong . They don’t talk and eat together every day . They rarely see each other . The truly homeless people are those with babysitters , caretakers , gardeners and maids. Parents are unaware , too busy making money outside the home that they don’t live in . This is another way of looking at the rich and the homeless . Who is to be pitied ?

Control of the computer and the Internet is also important to make a house into a home. If the computer is on all the time , the house turns into an office, even if everyone is at home . Many homes these days are just offices. Human communication has stopped . The computer eats up the time that one should be giving to others within the home . Using the computer moderately gives us time for gentleness , play and communication , not with a screen , but with a human being.

1.The purpose of the first paragraph is to _____________ .

A. tell us that where there is home there is love

B. tell us what people think home is

C. show the author’s concept of home

D. tell people how to have a happy home

2.The underlined word those  in the second paragraph refers to _____________ .

A. people who build multi-million-dollar houses

B. people who have lost their family members

C. people who don’t spend time with the family

D. homeless families living on the street in America

3.Which statement is Not True according to the passage ?

A. A home is a place where you are willing to stay .

B. Even the poorest person can have a happy home .

C. Computers and the Internet are important for a happy family.

D. Sometimes it’s the rich that should be pitied .

4.Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage ?

A. How to make a house a home        B. What makes a house a home

C. Who are homeless , the poor         D. What’s a home for

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

—Do you mind if I take off my jacket?    —_______.

A. Of course not, make yourself at home     B. I’m glad if I can be of any help

C. Oh, thanks. That’s really nice of you     D. It’s really cold here

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

His sister left home in 2009, and＿＿since.

A. had not been heard of       B. has not been heard of

C. had not heard of             D. has not heard of

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

His sister left home in 1998, and__________ since.

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

We are interested in the preservation of the biodiversity on Earth. What I’ve been working on is rats. Just looking at rats, you can understand continental drift and climate change. We’ve actually rediscovered rats that were thought to be extinct. Darwin was the last one to document them on the Galapagos Islands. People have gone there for hundreds of years and not seen one. In 1997, I went there with my mentor(导师) and another graduate student. Everyone thought I was crazy, why look for something that doesn’t exist? They wouldn’t even give us permits. Our plan was to stop on a beach for a day and then hike up to the top of an extinct volcano where very few people had been:We were on a picturesque, isolated beach. We set out the traps just to see what we might find. The next morning, I checked my traps! I immediately ran back to my mentor. When he looked in the mental trap—I will never forget his face--- It looked like he’d seen a ghost.

I certainly understand the argument: “ Who cares about an extinct rat?” but you have no idea what role that rat plays in that functioning ecosystem. People can appreciate beauty, so that’s why people love pandas and want to keep them around. You never hear, “What good is panda?” Ecologically, these rats are much more important to their ecosystem than those pandas--- not that I don’t love pandas but we have to look beyond the big and beautiful.

I teach conservation biology and evolution. In both you have to appeal to people asking “ Why is this important to me?” Some scientists refuse to do that. That’s my entire approach. I’ll ask “How many of you had a family member who was in a tornado, hurricane or flood?” .And almost every hand goes up. Climate change is suddenly very personal, and now they want to hear what you are saying. You are not looking for sympathy for the rats but for a greater understanding of the system.

1.When the author went to the Galapagos Island with his team in 1997,________.

A. they were led to an extinct volcano.

B. they were driven away from the islands

C. they were offered some useful information

D. they couldn’t be understood by other people

2.Seeing the rat in the trap, the author’s mentor felt____.

A. delighted　　 B. astonished

C. satisfied　　 D. frightened.

3.The author mentions pandas in Paragraph 2 to show______.

A. it is no use protecting pandas

B. it’s important to research on rats

C. it’s time we cared about ecosystems

D. it’s worthwhile to bring extinct rats back to life.

4.How does the author make his students focus on his lectures?

A. By letting them know the courses are closely related to them.

B. By informing them of the harm of climate change.

C. By telling them the influence of natural disasters.

D. By making them feel sorry for the rats.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

It was ________the quality of life in the future         I took this training course，not just to make more money.

A. to improve; that  B. improving; when    C. to improve; when   D. improving; that

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

His sister left home in 1998, and ________since.

A. had not been heard of                                        B. has not been heard of

C. had not heard of                                               D. has not heard of

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

His sister left home in 1998, and _______since.

A. had not been heard of       B. has not been heard of

C. had not heard of           D. has not heard of

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

His sister left home in 1998, and________since.

A. had not been heard of                B. has not been heard of

C. had not heard of                                         D. has not heard of

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析