Everyone wants to win, and everybody knows it...

Everyone wants to win, and everybody knows it. Take the case of Olympic athletes, who train hard each day for years to reach the top of their sport and hopefully win a gold medal. Since every competitor’s goal is to win, we assume that the silver medalists would be less happy than gold-medal winners, but still happier than those in third place. Common sense says that our levels of happiness should have something to do with our levels of achievement – except that often this isn’t the case.

Researchers found that bronze medalists actually appeared on the whole to be happier than silver medalists. How could that be? The answer, in a word, is gratitude. Silver medallists, who compared themselves to the gold medalists, experienced disappointment at having been close to winning the gold, but falling short. The bronze medalists, on the other hand, were thankful to have won a medal at all, comparing themselves to all those who didn’t even reach the Olympic platform.

If happiness, then, is the aim of life, perhaps our achievement-centered culture is getting it all backwards. We focus on what we want rather than on what we have. We forget to be grateful, and as a result we forget to be happy.

We’re from a culture that teaches us to envy others – another person achievements – and that is always looking forward to what comes next. Yet in a better society, might we not look at what all of our earlier nexts have already earned us?

I encourage any person who struggles with frustration （挫折）in their life to take out a notebook and a pen each evening before bed, and to write down all the things that they have gratitude for. It’s not a cure for dissatisfaction, to be sure, but many people quickly discover that, when they actually stop to think about it, they have things pretty good and happiness comes.

Those bronze medalists, after all, can’t be wrong.

1.What does “this” underlined in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A. Happiness relies on achievements.　　 B. Happiness comes from gratitude.

C. Silver winners are the happiest.　　 D. Gold medalists are the happiest.

2.What is the reason why silver medalists often experience upset according to the text?

A. Their self-satisfaction.　　 B. Their dissatisfaction.

C. Their Gratitude.　　 D. Their character.

3.What is to blame for our dissatisfaction in life according to the text?

A. Our achievement-centered culture.　　 B. Our struggles with life frustration.

C. The lack of real winnings in our life.　　 D. The habit of expressing gratefulness.

4.What of the following can be the best title of the text?

A. The Key of Happiness　　 B. Medals and Happiness

C. Gratitude and Happiness　　 D. Happiness from Achievements

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

“Everybody in this city wants a car, and I’m no exception. A car brings with it the freedom to travel”, said a friend of mine while reading a car magazine. I might not agree with him, but no doubt he was speaking for a rapidly growing number of middle-class Chinese. While it is true that all the waiting, walking, being part of a crowd, and sweating, are somewhat unpleasant, there are many problems which can arise when our lives rely too much on this invention.

First of all, in terms of polluting the environment, driving a car is the worst act an average person can commit. Beijing now finds itself at the top of the list of the most polluted capital cities in the world with Mexico City in the second place. Research also shows that by 2010 around 90% of total pollutants in Shanghai have come from cars. These pollutions are extremely dangerous to our health. They can damage the lungs, cause cancer, and damage the brain.

Apart from environmental problems, relying too much on cars also creates social problems such as traffic jams, road accidents, and noise pollution. The jeeps that proudly drive through the Hutongs in Beijing as if they are in a race often annoy me, and to make it worse, these drivers seldom respect cyclists.

Of course, we cannot forget the convenience that cars bring us when we need to travel far, but I often find it faster to cycle from one place to another within the city of Beijing, especially with the growing traffic jams.

Since people travel further and more frequently than before, cars will certainly be important in the future. At the same time, however, let us work hard to make sure that this invention brings us a more convenient lifestyle rather than trouble and disease. Let us make good use of cars.

1.What is this passage mainly about?

A. Environmental problems.

B. Traffic jams in Beijing.

C. Problems brought about by cars.

D. Benefits of using cars.

2. The underlined word commit in Paragraph 2 has the close meaning as ____ .

A. do something right or legal

B. do something wrong or illegal

C. do something good and meaningful

D. do something bad and meaningless

3.What do we know about the author?

A. The author doesn’t want a car.

B. The author agrees that a car offers freedom to travel.

C. The author suggests that we should rely on bicycles.

D. The author thinks that the invention of cars leads to many problems.

4.In Paragraph 3, what does the author mean by saying “The jeeps… often annoy me”?

A. The author is troubled by the way jeeps are driven in the Hutongs of Beijing.

B. The author thinks that Hutongs are too narrow for jeeps to drive through.

C. The author thinks that the jeeps are too noisy.

D. The author is worried that more accidents are caused by jeeps than any other cars.

5.What is the author’s idea in Paragraphs 4 and 5 ?

A. Cars are only convenient for people traveling far.

B. We should all give up cars and ride bicycles.

C. Cars have brought us more convenience than troubles.

D. We should choose between the car and the bicycle according to the situation.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

It’s such a good place ______ everyone wants to go and visit _______ it is well-known all over the world.

A. that; that         B. as; as           C. as; that            D. that; as

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

As a candidate, you must try to make a good ________ on everyone if you want to win the election.

A. decision       B. situation         C. impression       D. position

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

As a candidate（候选人）, you must try to make a good ________ on everyone if you want to win the election.

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

An old lady in a plane had a blanket (毯子)over her head and she did not want to take it off. The air hostess spoke to her, but the old lady said, "I have never been in a plane before, and I am frightened. I am going to keep this blanket over my head until we are back on the ground again!"

Then the captain came. He said, "Madam, I am the captain of this plane. The weather is fine, there are no clouds in the sky, and everything is going very well."But she continued to hide.

So the captain turned and started to go back. Then the old lady looked out from under the blanket with one eye and said, "I am sorry, young man, but I don't like planes and I am never going to fly again.

But I'll say one thing," She continued kindly, "You and your wife keep your plane very clean!"

1.An old lady had ______.

A. glasses　　 B. a blanket over her head

C. a coat 　 D. a basket

2.She didn't want to ______.

A. take it off　 B. turn it off

C. get on　 　　　 D. talk about it

3.______ spoke to her.

A. The air hostess　　 B. The man next to her

C. her husband　　　 　 D. one of her friends

4.the old lady had never been　 ______.before.

A .abroad　 　　　 B. home

C. in a plane　　 D. in hospital

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When you are curious about something, and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The steps below can guide you during the research.

Step 1

On a note card or piece of paper，write down the subject that you are interested in. Just get the main idea down. For example, you might write: Discover more about dinosaurs.

Step 2

Next, stop and think for a moment about what you already know about your subject. List what you already know like the sentences below：

（1）Dinosaurs lived long before human beings appeared.

（2）Dinosaurs lived on the earth for more than 150 million years.

（3）Some dinosaurs fed on plants, some on meat.

Step 3

What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions. On your paper，start writing down questions about the dinosaurs as you think of them：

（1）What’s the best weather for dinosaurs to live in？

（2）How many kinds of dinosaurs are there？

（3）Have dinosaurs really disappeared？

Step 4

Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research. As you learn more about your subject, you’ll probably discover some new questions. For example，you might discover that dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago. Why？What happened？Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely.

The next time you find something interesting to research，take time to

organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember—learning more always bring more questions.

1.When you do some research，you should take the following steps： _____.

①list what you want to know

②choose a research subject

③list what you already know

④discover new problems

2.What does the underlined sentence “Armed with your list of questions” mean?

3.According to the passage, which of the following is true？

4.The best title for this passage is _____.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

An old lady in a plane had a blanket（毯子）over her head and she did not want to take it off. The air hostess spoke to her, but the old lady said, “I have never been in a plane before, and I am frightened. I am going to keep this blanket over my head until we are back on the ground again!”

Then the captain came. He said, “Madam, I am the captain of this plane. The weather is fine, there are no clouds in the sky, and everything is going very well. ”But she continued to hide.

So the captain turned and started to go back. Then the old lady looked out from under the blanket with one eye and said, “I am sorry, young man, but I don’t like planes and I am never going to fly again. But I’ll say one thing, ”She continued kindly, “You and your wife keep your plane very clean!”

1.An old lady had _________.

A. glasses                            B. a blanket over her head

C. a coat                            D. a basket

2.She didn’t want to ________.

A. turn it off                        B. take it off

C. talk about it                    D. get it on

3._________ spoke to her.

A. Her husband                        B. One of her friends

C. The air hostess                    D. The man next to her

4.The old lady had never been _________ before.

A. abroad            B. in hospital            C. in a plane            D. home

5.The woman didn’t like planes and she was never going ________.

A. to fly again                        B. to travel

C. to go abroad                        D. to go home

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.

The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began eaming  $  125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days.He got married and moved with his wife to a verywealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.

Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it  " Keeping up with the Joneses"  because "Jones"  is a very common name in the United States. " Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does,  Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they______.

A. want to be as rich as their neighbors

B. want others to know or to think that they are rich

C. don't want others to know they are rich

D. want to be happy

2. It can be inferred (推断) from the story that rich people like to_______.

A. live outside New York City            B. live in New York city

C. live in apartments                   D. have many neighbors

3. According to the writer, it is ________ to keep up with the Joneses.

A. correct    B .interesting    C.  impossible     D.  good

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.

The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They had to move back to an apartment in New York City. Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

A. want to be as rich as their neighbors

B. want others to know or to think that they are rich.

C. don't want others to know they are rich

D. want to be happy

2.It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.

A. live outside New York City　　 B. live in New York City

C. live in apartments　　 D. live with many neighbors

3.What's the author's attitude to keeping up with the Joneses?

A. Negative.　　 B. Positive.

C. Supportive.　　 D. Objective.

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析