The faces of the four U. S. presidents on Mount Rushmore will likely last for centuries. But at a newly opened exhibit in Japan, you can catch them only for about eight months. This year, the annual sand sculpture event at the Sand Museum in Tottori, Japan, is focused on another country. This is the 10th anniversary of the event. Artists came from 19 countries to shape sand into different sculptures that represent events in U. S. history and American landmarks.
Tottori is a remote city in western Japan. In the past, not many tourists traveled to it. To attract more visitors, Tottori officials decided to use a natural resource: sand. They decided to create a sand museum that would house a series of sand sculptures based on different geographic areas of the world. The sand from each year’s exhibition is used again the next year. The project has been a success. About 500,000 people visit the museum during the eight months. Some return year after year to see the new sculptures.
The city is now a popular spot for sand sculpture artists too. Sculptors from around the world come to Tottori each spring, spending a few weeks working on their masterpieces. They use special tools to smooth the sandy surfaces, cut angles and details. They use only sand and water to create the huge sculptures, some of which tower over their creators.
Originally, the artists built their creations outside. But the works lasted less than two months outdoors. So the museum built a permanent structure 10 house the artworks, which extended their life to eight months. Now many more tourists get to see the sculptures. Still, the fact that this art is not permanent is part of the appeal. The temporary sculptures reflect the Japanese value of appreciating the fleeting(稍纵即逝)nature of the world.
Tottori is not the only Japanese town that shows temporary art like this. Sapporo, in northern Japan, hosts a similar exhibit in the winter, using snow instead of sand. Thai will be just about the time that the U. S. sand sculpture exhibition is taken apart, and the sand is saved for next year’s show.
1.Why is sand sculpture event held every year in Tottori?
A. To show the wonderful artworks of the city.
B. To show the diverse culture of the city.
C. To represent the character of the city.
D. To attract more visitors to the city.
2.What do the exhibits in Tottori and Sapporo show?
A. The changing seasons offer artists chances to create arts.
B. Temporary art is the most welcomed art form in Japan.
C. Natural works of art are popular all over the world.
D. The sand is more popular to artists than the snow.
3.What can we know about the sand exhibit from the text?
A. New sand will be used in the next year’s show.
B. It has been held in more than 19 countries so far.
C. Mare artists show interest in creating arts in sand.
D. The fact that the exhibition lasts a short time makes it more attractive
4.What is the best title of this text?
A. The Popularity of Sand
B. Sand Museum in Japan
C. A Special Sand Exhibition
D. Artists’ Contribution to the World
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
The faces of the four U. S. presidents on Mount Rushmore will likely last for centuries. But at a newly opened exhibit in Japan, you can catch them only for about eight months. This year, the annual sand sculpture event at the Sand Museum in Tottori, Japan, is focused on another country. This is the 10th anniversary of the event. Artists came from 19 countries to shape sand into different sculptures that represent events in U. S. history and American landmarks.
Tottori is a remote city in western Japan. In the past, not many tourists traveled to it. To attract more visitors, Tottori officials decided to use a natural resource: sand. They decided to create a sand museum that would house a series of sand sculptures based on different geographic areas of the world. The sand from each year’s exhibition is used again the next year. The project has been a success. About 500,000 people visit the museum during the eight months. Some return year after year to see the new sculptures.
The city is now a popular spot for sand sculpture artists too. Sculptors from around the world come to Tottori each spring, spending a few weeks working on their masterpieces. They use special tools to smooth the sandy surfaces, cut angles and details. They use only sand and water to create the huge sculptures, some of which tower over their creators.
Originally, the artists built their creations outside. But the works lasted less than two months outdoors. So the museum built a permanent structure 10 house the artworks, which extended their life to eight months. Now many more tourists get to see the sculptures. Still, the fact that this art is not permanent is part of the appeal. The temporary sculptures reflect the Japanese value of appreciating the fleeting(稍纵即逝)nature of the world.
Tottori is not the only Japanese town that shows temporary art like this. Sapporo, in northern Japan, hosts a similar exhibit in the winter, using snow instead of sand. Thai will be just about the time that the U. S. sand sculpture exhibition is taken apart, and the sand is saved for next year’s show.
1.Why is sand sculpture event held every year in Tottori?
A. To show the wonderful artworks of the city.
B. To show the diverse culture of the city.
C. To represent the character of the city.
D. To attract more visitors to the city.
2.What do the exhibits in Tottori and Sapporo show?
A. The changing seasons offer artists chances to create arts.
B. Temporary art is the most welcomed art form in Japan.
C. Natural works of art are popular all over the world.
D. The sand is more popular to artists than the snow.
3.What can we know about the sand exhibit from the text?
A. New sand will be used in the next year’s show.
B. It has been held in more than 19 countries so far.
C. Mare artists show interest in creating arts in sand.
D. The fact that the exhibition lasts a short time makes it more attractive
4.What is the best title of this text?
A. The Popularity of Sand
B. Sand Museum in Japan
C. A Special Sand Exhibition
D. Artists’ Contribution to the World
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In 1952, my daddy traveled with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. He worked on a very large dredge vessel (挖泥船), and he went where it went. This meant he spent a lot of time away from our North Carolina home.
As Christmas approached, he called from Galveston, Texas. Daddy explained to my mother why he would not be celebrating the holiday with us. Money was tight and he didn’t have a way to get back to his family.
Disappointed as she was, Mother knew he was right. She also knew we would be upset, so she told my two sisters, brother and me right away. The news hit me very hard. Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without Daddy.
I knew he had tried his best. Still, I went to bed on Christmas Eve with a heavy heart.
When we woke up on Christmas morning, we were all happy with our gifts, so we went outside to play. As we were playing, I looked up and thought I saw my daddy in the distance. I ran inside to tell Mother. She did not believe me and told me not to make up stories. She just repeated he would have been home if he could, but it just wasn’t possible.
But I was sure it was Daddy! I turned to go back outside when I heard familiar footsteps. I ran down the stairs. Daddy was home!
As I rushed into his outstretched arms, Daddy explained that he had tried everything to get home for Christmas, but without success. At the last minute, a group of the workers had decided to drive. But the nearest guy lived miles away. So Daddy started walking on Christmas Eve until he arrived home. He had walked all night to get home to his family.
Though the presents that year were wonderful, the best gift was not found under the tree.
1.At first, why did the writer’s Daddy think he couldn’t come back home?
A. He lacked money. B. He lost the way.
C. He had a tight schedule. D. He didn’t find a car.
2.Why did the writer go to bed with a heavy heart?
A. He had a quarrel with his sisters.
B. He worried about not receiving a gift.
C. He missed his Daddy on this special day.
D. He envied other families who can stay together.
3.Which of the following is true?
A. The writer made up a story to make his mother happy.
B. Daddy borrowed a car and drove home on Christmas morning.
C. Daddy took a ride in a co-worker’s car and then walked home.
D. Daddy wallked all the way from Galveston, Texas.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Christmas Spirits B. Daddy’s Special Love
C. An Unforgettable Experience D. The Best “Christmas Gift”
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
James Stallman Rockefeller, the oldest-known U. S. Olympic medal winner and the former head of the bank that became Citigroup, died Tuesday. He was 102. Records of the U. S. Olympic Committee show that Rockefeller was the oldest American medal winner. He was the captain of Yale University’s eight-man rowing team with coxswain that won gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics - beating the Canadian team by less than 16 seconds. The oars from the winning race and the gold medal were prominently displayed in Rockefeller’s house. “I think he was really proud of that - probably more than the bank career,” said his grandson.
Rockefeller suffered a stroke on Thursday, said his grandson, who lived with him at his Greenwich home for two years, attributed his long life to a regimented(严密组织的) lifestyle: breakfast at eight a. m. , lunch at 1 p. m. , cocktails at 6 p. m. and dinner promptly at 7 p. m. . He liked plain food, without sauces or cheese, and plenty of fresh vegetables, including those grown in the garden of his estate. Rockefeller was in good health until shortly before he died. He drove his car up until last year and would review documents from the various charities and businesses he helped lead.
Rockefeller, born on June 8, 1902, was a grandson of William Rockefeller, who founded Standard Oil with his brother, John D. Rockefeller. He graduated from Yale in 1924 and served in the Airborne Command during World War II. He started at the bank, and then called the National City Bank, in 1930, following his uncle and grandfather, who were leaders of the bank. He became president in 1952, chairman in 1959 and retired in 1967. In 1955, under Rockefeller’s leadership, the bank merged with the First National Bank of New York to form Citigroup. Rockefeller also was a director of numerous companies, including Pan American Airways, Northern Pacific Railroad, NCR and Monsanto, and served on the boards of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the American Museum of Natural History.
Rockefeller and his wife. Nancy Carnegie Rockefeller, had four children. His wife died in 1994.
1.
Rockefeller lost his wife when he was_______________.
A.at the age of 91 | B.in his eighties | C.in his early nineties | D.in his 1994 |
2.
We can learn from the passage that _______________.
A.the American rowing team beat the Canadian team in less than 16 seconds in 1924. |
B.Rockefeller was the first American medal winner. |
C.James Stallman Rockefeller founded the National City Bank and was the first president. |
D.His grandson thought Rockefeller had long life because of a regimented lifestyle. |
3.
What we can infer from the passage is that ______.
A.James Stallman Rockefeller is a great Olympic medal winner. |
B.James Stallman Rockefeller was in good health until he died. |
C.James Stallman Rockefeller was very active in American society. |
D.James Stallman Rockefeller was the only grandson of William Rockefeller. |
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Maybe all Americans realize that _______ will be the next president will face masses of problems.
A.who B.whoever C.whomever D.no matter who
高二英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析
Carmen Arace Middle School is situated in the town of Bloomfield,but four years ago it faced many of the same challenges as inner—city schools nearby:low scores in standardized tests and dropping enrollment(入学率)of students.Then the hard-driving headmaster, Delore Bolton,persuaded her school to shake up the place by buying a laptop computer for each student and teacher to use in school and at home.For good measure,the board provided wireless Internet access at school.Total cost :$5 million.
Now an hour before classes start,every seat in the library is taken by students eager to get online.The teacher talks about rocks as students view them at a colorful website,after school students on buses pull laptops from backpacks to get started on homework.Since the computers arrived,scores in state tests are up 35%and the enrollment increases by 20%.
Indeed,school systems in rural areas are eager to follow Carmen Arace Middle School’s example.Angus King,the state governor, has proposed using$50 million from an unexpected budget to supply computers for students.
However, the school is seeking federal grant money to expand the laptop program.In the meantime,most of the problems have been worked out.Some students use computers to visit unauthorized websites,but teachers have the ability to track where students have been and restrict them.“That is the worst when they disable you” says a boy.The habit is rubbing off on parents.“I taught my mom to use e-mail.”says the honorable girl.“And now she is taking computer classes.I’m so proud of her!’’
1.By introducing the laptop program, Delore Bolton has .
A. shaken the belief of both teachers and students
B. witnessed a remarkable improvement in students’ test scores and enrollment
C. spent more time visiting unauthorized websites with the laptop program
D. changed class-room teaching in public schools
2.Students are limited when they get online because .
A. they view lessons at a colorful website
B. they will waste an awful lot of money
C. they visit unauthorized website sometimes
D. they are disabled students
3.From the passage we learn that .
A. the laptop program also has a positive influence on parents
B. the laptop program in urban schools is forbidden by parents
C. students only visit the school website in Carmen Arace Middle School
D. students generally like the idea of having their online activities tracked
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Middle schools are faced with challenges today.
B. A school with high enrollment can do well.
C. Computers are of importance in modern education.
D. Laptops can help improve students’ school performance.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The president promised to keep all the board members _____ of how the negotiations were going on.
A.inform B.informing
C.be informed D.informed
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
No sooner _____ on the TV than I heard the news that Mr. Obama had been elected President of the USA one more.
A. I turned B. did I turn
C. I had turned D. had I turned
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
On February 11, 2007, Drew Gilpin Faust was ________ as the first female president of Harvard University in 371 years.
A. appointed B. appealed C. attached D. transferred
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The Maldives faces the threat of extinction from rising sea levels, but the government said on Thursday it was looking to the future with plans to build homes and a golf course that float.
An increase in sea levels of just 18 to 59 centimeters would make the Maldives -- a nation of tiny coral islands in the Indian Ocean -- virtually uninhabitable by 2100, the UN’s climate change panel has warned.
President Mohamed Nasheed has vowed a fight for survival, and last month he signed a deal with a Dutch company to study proposals for a floating structure that could support a convention centre, homes and an 18-hole golf course. “It is still early stages and we are awaiting a report on the possibility,” a government official said.
The company, Dutch Docklands, is currently building floating developments in the Netherlands and Dubai. There was no immediate comment from the firm but its website said it undertook projects that make “land from water by providing large-scale floating constructions to create similar conditions as on land”.
The Maldives began work on an artificial island known as the Hulhumale near the crowded capital island of Male in 1997 and more than 30,000 people have been settled there to ease congestion. The city, which has a population of 100,000, is already protected from rising sea levels by a 30-million-dollar sea wall, and the government is considering increasingly imaginative ways to combat climate change.
Nasheed, who staged the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting in October to highlight his people’s dilemma , has even spoken of buying land elsewhere in the world to enable Maldivians to relocate if their homes are flooded. He has also pledged the Hulhumale to turn his nation into a model for the rest of the world by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2020. His plan involves ending fossil fuel use and powering all vehicles and buildings from “green” sources.
1.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. The Maldives plans to build floating homes for the rising sea level.
B. The Maldives’s president signed a deal with a Dutch company.
C. The Maldives staged the first underwater cabinet meeting.
D. The Maldives is considering ways to fight against the global warming.
2.Which statement is true about the Hulhumale?
A. The Hulhumale is a natural island near the capital of Male.
B. The Hulhumale is an artificial island to be built near the capital.
C. The Hulhumale was built in 1997 and has settled over 30,000 people.
D. The Hulhumale is protected by a 30-million-dollar sea wall.
3.According to the passage, the underlined word congestion means _______.
A. being endangered B. being crowded
C. being flooded D. being disappearing
4.Which of the following is NOT Nasheed’s idea?_______
A. To purchase land elsewhere in the world to help Maldivians to relocate if their homes are flooded.
B. To make his nation a model for the rest of the world by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2020
C. To stop using fossil fuel and power all vehicles and buildings from “green” sources.
D. To build more artificial islands for people to settle there.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
This is the only Ezra Pound poem that many people will read in their lives. Why? One obvious reason is that it’s just two lines long. The poem, which can be understood as “A man sees a bunch of faces in the subway and thinks they look like flowers on a tree branch,” is an exercise in shortness. Pound wrote it after having a spiritual experience in a Paris metro (subway) station.
In 1916, the US poet originally thought he could best describe his vision in a painting. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a painter. So he wrote a thirty-line poem, which he didn’t like. He dropped the long version in the waste bin. Six months later, he wrote a shorter poem, but didn’t like that one either. Finally, a full year after the experience, he had been reading short Japanese poems called haikus, and he figured he would try this style. The result, which was published in 1913, is one of the most famous and influential works in modern poetry.
This poem is one of the monuments (纪念物) of the 20th-century artistic movement known as “Imagism”. Basically, Pound and his friends thought that images (意象) weren’t just decoration: they were the highest form of speech. By finding the right image, the poet can express the true, spiritual reality of a thing, which is more important than using a bunch of adjectives to describe its physical appearance. Thus, “In a Station of the Metro” is a poem that consists of one image expressed with absolute (绝对的) exactness and nothing else.
To the imagists, the best way to describe an experience is not to use more and more words; the best way is to find exactly the right words. Have you ever told a beloved one that “words can’t express” how much you love them? Well, Pound would say that you’re just being lazy. In his view, words can express anything, even if it takes an entire year to find the right ones.
1.In the short poem, Ezra Pound .
A. tells us one of his painful experiences
B. compares the passengers’ faces to flowers
C. describes a man walking among the crowd
D. shows a wet, black tree branch in a metro station
2.According to the text, “In a Station of the Metro” was .
A. based on one of Pound’s paintings
B. first discovered in a waste bin
C. influenced by haikus
D. completed in 1916
3.Pound and his friends .
A. stressed the importance of using adjectives
B. were good at describing abstract images
C. decorated their poems with pictures
D. used images to express their ideas
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析