People talk about energy everywhere. Green en...

People talk about energy everywhere. Green energy, for example. Then, energy independence. It has a nice ring to it. Doesn’t it? If you think so, you’re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession(经济衰退).

"Energy independence" and its rhetorical(修辞的) companion "energy security" are, however, unreliable concepts that are rarely thought through. What is it that we want independence from, exactly?

Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere.

The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(涓涓细流) of biofuel(生物燃料) available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.

Second, Americans have basically decided that they don’t really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to tolerate the environmental influence of domestic(国内的) energy production in order to cut back imports?

Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don’t read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.

There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to keep its economy stable. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we get massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world.

1.What does the author say about energy independence for America?

A. It sounds very attractive.

B. It ensures national security.

C. It will bring oil prices down.

D. It will protect the environment.

2.Why does America rely heavily on oil imports?

A. It wants to expand its storage of raw oil.

B. Its own oil reserves are quickly running out.

C. Its own oil production falls short of demand.

D. It wants to keep its own environment untouched.

3.What does the author say about oil trade?

A. It improves economic efficiency.

B. It makes for economic recession.

C. It brings benefit only to the sellers.

D. It saves the cost of oil exploration.

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

A. To explain the increase of international oil trade.

B. To raise Americans' awareness of the energy crisis.

C. To argue for America’s dependence on oil imports.

D. To stress the importance of energy protection.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

E

People talk about energy everywhere．Green energy, for example．Then, energy independence．It has a nice ring to it．Doesn' t it? If you think so, you' re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession（经济衰退）．

"Energy independence" and its rhetorical （修辞的） companion "energy security" are, however, unreliable concepts that are rarely thought through．What is it that we want independence from, exactly?

Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil．But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere．

The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running．Yes, there is a trickle （ 涓涓细流） ）of biofuel （ 生物燃料 ）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction．

Second, Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil．They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad．Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection．To what extent are Americans really willing to tolerate the environmental influence of domestic（国内的） energy production in order to cut back imports?

Third, there are benefits to trade．It allows for eoonomic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs t1i;m we do, we benefit．And although you don't read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries．

There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to keep its economy stable．When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices．At the same time, we get massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world．

1.What does the author say about energy independence for America?

A．It sounds very attractive．

B．It ensures national security．

C．It will bring oil prices down．

D．It will protect the environment．

2.Why does America rely heavily on oil imports?

A．It wants to expand its storage of raw oil．

B．Its own oil reserves are quickly running out．

C．Its own oil production falls short of demand．

D．It wants to keep its own environment untouched．

3.What does the author say about oil trade?

A．It improves economic efficiency．

B．It makes for economic recession．

C．It brings benefit only to the sellers．

D．It saves the cost of oil exploration．

4.What is the author' s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To explain the increase of international oil trade．

B．To raise Americans' awareness of the energy crisis．

C．To argue for America' s dependence on oil imports．

D．To stress the importance of energy protection．

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Computer people talk a lot about the need for other people to become “computer-literate.” But not all experts (专家) agree that this is a good idea.

One pioneer, in particular, who disagrees is David Tebbutt, the founder of Computertown UK. Although many people see this as a successful attempt to bring people closer to the computer. David does not see it that way. He says that Computertown UK was formed for just the opposite reason, to bring computers to people and make them “people-literate.” David Tebbutt thinks Computertowns are most successful when tied to a computer club but he insists there is an important difference between the two. The clubs are for people who have some computer knowledge already. This frightens away non-experts, who are happier going to Computertowns where there are computers for them to experiment on, with experts to encourage them and answer any questions they have. They are not told what to do, they find out.The computer experts have to learn not to tell people about computers, but have to be able to answer all questions people ask. People don’t have to learn computer terms(术语), but the experts have to explain in plain language. The computers are becoming “people-literate.”

1.Which of the following is David Tebbutt’s ides on the relationship between people and computers?

A．Computer learning should be made easier.

B．There should be more computer clubs for experts.

C．People should work harder to master computer use.

D．Computers should be made cheaper so that people can afford them.

2.We can infer from the text that “computer-lilerate” means_______.

A．being able to afford a computer

B．being able to write computer programs

C．working with the computer and finding out its value

D．understanding the computer and knowing how to use it

3.The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to the idea that Computertowns ___.

A．help to set up more computer clubs

B．bring people to learn to use computers

C．bring more experts to work together

D．help to sell computers to the public

4.David Tebbutt started Computertown UK with the purpose of______.

A．making better use of computer experts

B．improving computer programs

C．increasing omputersales

D．popularising computers

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Computer people talk a lot about the need for other people to become “computer-literate.” But not all experts (专家) agree that this is a good idea.

One pioneer, in particular, who disagrees is David Tebbutt, the founder of Computertown UK. Although many people see this as a successful attempt to bring people closer to the computer. David does not see it that way. He says that Computertown UK was formed for just the opposite reason, to bring computers to people and make them “people-literate.” David Tebbutt thinks Computertowns are most successful when tied to a computer club but he insists there is an important difference between the two. The clubs are for people who have some computer knowledge already. This frightens away non-experts, who are happier going to Computertowns where there are computers for them to experiment on, with experts to encourage them and answer any questions they have. They are not told what to do, they find out.The computer experts have to learn not to tell people about computers, but have to be able to answer all questions people ask. People don’t have to learn computer terms(术语), but the experts have to explain in plain language. The computers are becoming “people-literate.”

1.Which of the following is David Tebbutt’s ides on the relationship between people and computers?

2.We can infer from the text that “computer-lilerate” means_______.

3.The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to the idea that Computertowns ___.

4.David Tebbutt started Computertown UK with the purpose of______.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Some retired people have nothing to do. They often get together and ___for hours talking about their past experiences.

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

People always talk about what they look for in close friendships，what they ________ from friends，what they are willing to give as the ________ of what they have taken and how satisfied they are with the quality of their friendships．

Friendship is a(n) ________ form of human relation．Unlike marriage or the ties between parents and children，it is not defined or________ by law．Unlike other ________roles that we are expected to play in society as citizens，employees and members of organizations，it has its own principle，which is to　 ________ feelings of warmth，trust，love and affection between two people．

Findings in a recent survey　 ________ that topics of trust and betrayal are central to friendship．It is also suggested that human do not look for friends only among those who are most like them；

________ ，we find many who　　 ________ in race ，religion，and ethnic background．

1.A．hope        B．wish        C．expect        D．suffer

2.A．request        B．demand        C．addition        D．reward

3.A．special        B．distant        C．harmonious        D．individual

4.A．created        B．managed        C．consumed        D．solved

5.A．necessary    B．valuable        C．complicated    D．social

6.A．benefit        B．develop        C．support        D．influence

7.A．announce    B．indicate        C．Express        D．ensure

8.A．however        B．consequently    C．moreover        D．therefore

9.A．differ        B．resemble        C．divide        D．believe

高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

_______is often the case with elder people, my grandma talked about my new hairstyle for at least 30 minutes.

A. What         B. Which      C. As           D. It

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Today, among people everywhere, there is an increasing awareness and worry about the steady growth in the world’s population．A recent survey conducted by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities （UNFPA） reported that this growth will continue until the end of the next century．For developing countries alone, the annual average population growth is, at present, 4．6% compared to 2．0% for developed countries．At this rate, the world’s population will reach 10．2 billion by the turn of the 21st century．With the growth in population is the problem of food security… the guarantee of a steady supply of food．The unstoppable growth in population justifies the Malthusian Doctrine that population of a region will continue to grow unless checked, and this is of course alarming since it will inevitably lead to food shortages of considerable proportions．

Our forests are an abundant source of food and fuel, two items essential in sustaining life．Above 30% of the world’s land surface is covered by such forests．In Asia alone, more than two billion people depend heavily on forest products for their subsistence and survival．To maintain a reasonable balance between population growth and food supply, this natural source of life — sustaining food and fuel must be conserved and protected from its worst enemy — man himself．It is appalling （令人震惊的） to note that in many developing countries, which are themselves heavily hit by population-food imbalance, governments approve the cutting down of forests to meet their immediate needs for saleable timber, and also for agricultural land．Often the cutting down and burning of forests is conducted with total abandon owing to the absence of sound forestry techniques and management．At the rate tropical forests are now being cleared each year, the world’s tropical forests will be completely destroyed within the next 100 years．

In order to maintain food security for the world’s population, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations （FAO） has launched a campaign aimed at ensuring food supply, maximizing stability in the flow of this supply and ensuring access to it by all．Forestry, according to the FAO, plays a vital role in making it possible to fulfill all its three objectives．Its most important role is that of conserving soil and water．Trees provide natural protection against soil erosion （侵蚀） by absorbing the excess water brought by heavy rains．

1．The first paragraph tells us that ____．

A．the flow of food supply is the result of population increase．

B．the world population has reached the 10-billion mark．

C．the problem of population growth has caused considerable alarm in a few countries．

D．the problem of food supply goes hand-in-hand with population increase．

2．The Malthusian Doctrine presents ____ as far as world population is concerned．

A．an optimistic view of the future         B．a pessimistic outlook for the future

C．an encouraging picture             D．an indifferent picture

3．In this context, “this natural source of life — sustaining food and fuel” （in Paragraph 2） refers to ____．

A．the flow of food supply               B．forests

C．woodland products                D．man’s worst enemy

4．The three objectives of the FAO can be replaced by ____．

A．stopping population growth          B．increasing food production

C．achieving food security            D．ensuring maximum utilization of forests

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Today, among people everywhere, there is an increasing awareness and worry about the steady growth in the world’s population. A recent survey conducted by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) reported that this growth will continue until the end of the next century. For developing countries alone, the annual average population growth is, at present, 4.6% compared to 2.0% for developed countries. At this rate, the world’s population will reach 10.2 billion by the turn of the 21st century. With the growth in population is the problem of food security… the guarantee of a steady supply of food. The unstoppable growth in population justifies the Malthusian Doctrine that population of a region will continue to grow unless checked, and this is of course alarming since it will inevitably lead to food shortages of considerable proportions.

Our forests are an abundant source of food and fuel, two items essential in sustaining life. Above 30% of the world’s land surface is covered by such forests. In Asia alone, more than two billion people depend heavily on forest products for their subsistence and survival. To maintain a reasonable balance between population growth and food supply, this natural source of life — sustaining food and fuel must be conserved and protected from its worst enemy — man himself. It is appalling (令人震惊的) to note that in many developing countries, which are themselves heavily hit by population-food imbalance, governments approve the cutting down of forests to meet their immediate needs for saleable timber, and also for agricultural land. Often the cutting down and burning of forests is conducted with total abandon owing to the absence of sound forestry techniques and management. At the rate tropical forests are now being cleared each year, the world’s tropical forests will be completely destroyed within the next 100 years.

In order to maintain food security for the world’s population, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a campaign aimed at ensuring food supply, maximizing stability in the flow of this supply and ensuring access to it by all. Forestry, according to the FAO, plays a vital role in making it possible to fulfill all its three objectives. Its most important role is that of conserving soil and water. Trees provide natural protection against soil erosion (侵蚀) by absorbing the excess water brought by heavy rains.

1.The first paragraph tells us that ____.

A. the flow of food supply is the result of population increase.

B. the world population has reached the 10-billion mark.

C. the problem of population growth has caused considerable alarm in a few countries.

D. the problem of food supply goes hand-in-hand with population increase.

2.The Malthusian Doctrine presents ____ as far as world population is concerned.

A. an optimistic view of the future             B. a pessimistic outlook for the future

C. an encouraging picture                   D. an indifferent picture

3.In this context, “this natural source of life — sustaining food and fuel” (in Paragraph 2) refers to ____.

A. the flow of food supply                  B. forests

C. woodland products                        D. man’s worst enemy

4.The three objectives of the FAO can be replaced by ____.

A. stopping population growth               B. increasing food production

C. achieving food security                  D. ensuring maximum utilization of forests

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing  past someone in a narrow passage, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles, and here are some more polite ways of interacting  with people in UK.

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and shop assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted.

1.What is the author’s attitude towards English politeness?

A. He thinks it is unnecessary.                      B. He thinks little of it.

C. He appreciates it very much.                            D. He thinks it goes too far.

2.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. German men never treat a woman to dinner.

B. The author think it’s unnecessary to say “thank you” to the bus driver.

C. In Germany, employers often say “thank you” to employees for their job.

D. Germans think it is unnecessary to thank workers because payment is enough.

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men ______.

A. like to fight with each other

B. treat women in a polite way

C. are as generous as English men

D. are unwilling to spend money for women

4.The author develops the text through the method of ______.

A. making comparisons   B. telling stories                  C. giving reasons    D. giving examples

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析