Puerto Rico may be part of the USA but its music and dance is a mixture of both Spanish and African rhythms. The country, as a result, is a mixture of very new and very old. It exhibits the open American way of yet retains the more formal Spanish influences. This is reflected in the architecture, not just the contrast between the colonial and the modern in urban areas but also in the countryside, where older buildings sit side by side with concrete schools and buildings.
However, if you do not wander beyond the tourist areas on the coast, you will not experience the real Puerto Rico. Old volcanic mountains, long inactive, occupy a large part of the interior(内陆), with the highest peak, Cerro de Punta, at 1,338m in the Cordillera Central. North of the Cordillera is the karst (岩溶)country where the limestone(石灰石)has been acted upon by water to produce a series of small steep hills and deep holes. The mountains are surrounded by a coastal plain with the Atlantic shore beaches cooled all the year round by trade winds.
The population is 3.8 million, of which about 1.5 million live in San Juan, although about another two million Puerto Ricans live in the USA Average life expectancy is 73.8 years and GDP per capita is US $12,212, the highest in Latin America, although not up to the level of mainland USA. Most Puerto Ricans do not speak English and less than 30% speak it fluently. Second generation Puerto Ricans who were born in New York but who have returned to the island, are called Nuyoricans. The people are very friendly and hospitable but there is crime, liked to drugs and unemployment.
1.What are the disadvantages of Puerto Rico?
A.Too many Puerto Ricans live in the USA
B.Few people in Puerto Rico can speak English
C.Puerto Rico’s GDP is lower than that of the USA
D.Social problem connected with drugs and lack of jobs.
2.We can learn from the passage that Puerto Rico _________.
A.is a state of the United States B.used to be ruled by Spain
C.is an agricultural country D.is gently affected by Africa
3.Nuyorican is a person who _______.
A.has been living in New York
B.is living in New York
C.was born in New York but has returned to Puerto Rico
D.has got the citizenship of America
4.What does the underlined word “retains” mean?
A.loses B.keeps C.enjoys D.returns
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Puerto Rico may be part of the USA but its music and dance is a mixture of both Spanish and African rhythms. The country, as a result, is a mixture of very new and very old. It exhibits the open American way of yet retains the more formal Spanish influences. This is reflected in the architecture, not just the contrast between the colonial and the modern in urban areas but also in the countryside, where older buildings sit side by side with concrete schools and buildings.
However, if you do not wander beyond the tourist areas on the coast, you will not experience the real Puerto Rico. Old volcanic mountains, long inactive, occupy a large part of the interior(内陆), with the highest peak, Cerro de Punta, at 1,338m in the Cordillera Central. North of the Cordillera is the karst (岩溶)country where the limestone(石灰石)has been acted upon by water to produce a series of small steep hills and deep holes. The mountains are surrounded by a coastal plain with the Atlantic shore beaches cooled all the year round by trade winds.
The population is 3.8 million, of which about 1.5 million live in San Juan, although about another two million Puerto Ricans live in the USA Average life expectancy is 73.8 years and GDP per capita is US $12,212, the highest in Latin America, although not up to the level of mainland USA. Most Puerto Ricans do not speak English and less than 30% speak it fluently. Second generation Puerto Ricans who were born in New York but who have returned to the island, are called Nuyoricans. The people are very friendly and hospitable but there is crime, liked to drugs and unemployment.
1.What are the disadvantages of Puerto Rico?
A.Too many Puerto Ricans live in the USA
B.Few people in Puerto Rico can speak English
C.Puerto Rico’s GDP is lower than that of the USA
D.Social problem connected with drugs and lack of jobs.
2.We can learn from the passage that Puerto Rico _________.
A.is a state of the United States B.used to be ruled by Spain
C.is an agricultural country D.is gently affected by Africa
3.Nuyorican is a person who _______.
A.has been living in New York
B.is living in New York
C.was born in New York but has returned to Puerto Rico
D.has got the citizenship of America
4.What does the underlined word “retains” mean?
A.loses B.keeps C.enjoys D.returns
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
We may not be aware of it, but ordinary family homes in the U.S. and the rest of the world are not energy-efficient.
Most of their energy goes to heating and cooling, and a lot of it is wasted, as warm air and cool air escape through fireplace chimneys and thin or poorly fitting windows and doors. A passive house loses almost none."Imagine a thermos(保温瓶),"said housing developer Brendan O’Neill."You have insulation(隔绝) everywhere, and it’s basically completely sealed. And so the idea is to build a house like a thermos. So the windows are sealed. There’s insulation completely surrounding the building. We make it as sealed as possible."
A 147-square-meter passive house, presented by O’Neill Development Corp. as a demonstration unit just outside Washington, was brought to the site in two boxes. "Once it’s set and put together, it takes about four weeks to complete the outside construction, to put down carpets," O’Neill said. "If everything is set in place, you put a house like this together in about four months.”The total cost of building it was $325,000, or about 17 percent more than constructing an ordinary house. But its utility(公用事业) bill is only around $20 monthly, or one-tenth the amount for the average house of the same size.
While passive houses have been around for a long time, the idea has never taken root in the U.S. There was no driving force to push it.
However, David Peabody, an architect who designs passive houses said, "I think climate change is now becoming a larger issue. And I think building standards are catching on to that. So people are becoming more aware of energy."Peabody said the cost of building passive houses could come down."What really makes sense for truly affordable housing," he said, "is to build multi-storey buildings."
1.Why aren’t ordinary family homes energy-efficient?
A. Building them wastes much energy.
B. Their energy mainly goes to heating and cooling.
C. Their sealing performance is poor.
D. They have no insulation around at all.
2.What is the feature of a passive house?
A. There’re no windows or chimneys.
B. There’s little space to place furniture.
C. Its building cost is relatively high.
D. It takes about four weeks to build one.
3.What’s David Peabody’s attitude to the future of the passive house?
A. Cautious. B. Optimistic. C. Skeptical. D. Concerned.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Can animals be artistic? Painting and music are part of efforts to keep animals happy at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
A sloth bear (长毛熊) called Francois is one of the National Zoo’s artists. He began his artistic career two years ago. Francois has a very unusual way to paint. He uses his breathing to paint. His zookeeper, Stacey Tabellario, says that although the technique may look strange, it is actually a very natural behavior for sloth bears. The zookeepers fill one of those tubes full of paint and ask them to breathe through it. And they blow all of the paints onto the canvases (画布), making these really cool paintings.
Animal artists come in all shapes and sizes at the Zoo. They use many kinds of techniques to create their works of art. Apes use paintbrushes. Many use their paws or claws—much like a human painter who would use his or her hands.
Stacey Tabellario says Francois seems to enjoy expressing himself through his art. “When I set up the materials for painting activity, he comes and sits next to them and waits until they are ready for painting. He does that every time. I also see where his eyes go. He does see the paints come out of the tube and land on the canvas.”
But not every animal wants to paint. Music is another part of the arts enrichment program. Physically and mentally stimulating activities are an important part of the daily care of the animals. Trainers have a lot of tools, from tablet computer to small toys.
Kenton Kerns says the program helps the animals and the zookeepers in many ways. Every interaction between keepers and their animals creates some sort of connections. The one-of-a-kind works of art created by the animals are popular with zoo visitors. Many are sold at the zoo’s fund-raising events.
1.From Paragraph 2, we can learn that ________.
A. Francois is a two-year-old artist at the National Zoo
B. Francois can make fantastic paintings with paintbrushes
C. Francois, way to paint is an unnatural behavior for sloth bears
D. Francois paints by blowing the paints in the tubes onto the canvas
2.According to the passage, the apes paint by ________.
A. blowing the tubes full of paints
B. using their hands directly
C. using some tools
D. walking on the canvas
3.From the last paragraph, we can learn the works of art created by the animals ________.
A. can be sold at a high price
B. are mainly popular with the kids
C. create higher prices than the artists
D. can be bought at the zoo’s fund-raising events
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Zoo animals show artistic side.
B. Painting and music are useful in the zoo.
C. Animals enjoy painting.
D. Animals need enrichment too.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
You may not be aware, but digital currency (货币) is a big part of the Internet world. QQ Coins can buy you accessories (配饰) for your QQ images. More importantly, a new digital currency, Bitcoin, is bringing the world’s commerce online.
If you’re traveling, you can spend Bitcoins at restaurants and hotels listed at BitcoinTravel.com. In China, Bitcoins can be used to buy goods at about 134 online shops on Taobao. And at a café named 2nd Place in Beijing, you can even buy fresh coffee with Bitcoins.
So what makes Bitcoin so attractive to investors?
First of all, the Bitcoin system is not controlled by anyone. One central authority cannot make policies to change the value of Bitcoins. The fixed amount of Bitcoins also means they cannot lose value through inflation(通货膨胀), as all forms of paper money have done over time.
In addition, accounts in the Bitcoin system are anonymous and transparent. Users can set up an account easily and track every Bitcoin. All of these features seem to make Bitcoins immune(有免疫力的) from loss, but that is not entirely true.
“The value of Bitcoins can vary wildly as no central government makes the price of them steady. If the value drops suddenly, investors cannot get any compensation(赔偿),” Zhao Qingming, a senior researcher at China Construction Bank, told China Economic Weekly. And Bitcoins, unlike company shares, are not backed by any tangible funds, which also adds to their risk.
While China will not recognize the digital currency anytime soon, Xinhua said, lawmakers and officials at a hearing on Nov. 18 in the US made positive comments about Bitcoin.
Ben Bernanke, outgoing chairman of the Federal Reserve, told the Washington Post that “these types of creations, such as Bitcoin… may hold long-term promise, particularly if its system promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.”
1.Bitcoin is ______.
A. actually exactly like QQ Coins
B. only used online
C. a new currency used both online and in real life
D a country’s new digital currency.
2.We can use Bitcoin to buy the following things except ______.
A. online goods B. goods at 134 online shops on Taobao
C. books in physical shops D. coffee at a café named 2nd Place
3.What is the disadvantage of Bitcoin?
A. the value of it can rise and fall wildly.
B. It cannot lose value through inflation.
C. Every bitcoin in your account can be followed.
D. It can even be used at some specific restaurants and hotels.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
You may not be aware, but digital currency (货币) is a big part of the Internet world. QQ Coins can buy you accessories (配饰) for your QQ images. More importantly, a new digital currency, Bitcoin, is bringing the world’s commerce online.
If you’re traveling, you can spend Bitcoins at restaurants and hotels listed at BitcoinTravel.com. In China, Bitcoins can be used to buy goods at about 134 online shops on Taobao. And at a café named 2nd Place in Beijing, you can even buy fresh coffee with Bitcoins.
So what makes Bitcoin so attractive to investors?
First of all, the Bitcoin system is not controlled by anyone. One central authority cannot make policies to change the value of Bitcoins. The fixed amount of Bitcoins also means they cannot lose value through inflation(通货膨胀), as all forms of paper money have done over time.
In addition, accounts in the Bitcoin system are anonymous and transparent. Users can set up an account easily and track every Bitcoin. All of these features seem to make Bitcoins immune(有免疫力的) from loss, but that is not entirely true.
“The value of Bitcoins can vary wildly as no central government makes the price of them steady. If the value drops suddenly, investors cannot get any compensation(赔偿),” Zhao Qingming, a senior researcher at China Construction Bank, told China Economic Weekly. And Bitcoins, unlike company shares, are not backed by any tangible assets(有形资产), which also adds to their risk.
While China will not recognize the digital currency anytime soon, Xinhua said, lawmakers and officials at a hearing on Nov. 18 in the US made positive comments about Bitcoin.
Ben Bernanke, outgoing chairman of the Federal Reserve, told the Washington Post that “these types of creations, such as Bitcoin… may hold long-term promise, particularly if its system promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.”
1.Bitcoin is ______.
A. actually exactly like QQ Coins B. only used online
C. a new currency used both online and in real life D. a country’s new digital currency.
2.We can use Bitcoin to buy the following things except ______.
A. online goods B. goods at 134 online shops on Taobao
C. books in physical shops D. coffee at a café named 2nd Place
3.What is the disadvantage of Bitcoin?
A. the value of it can rise and fall wildly.
B. It cannot lose value through inflation.
C. Every bitcoin in your account can be followed.
D. It can even be used at some specific restaurants and hotels.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
We may be living in the digital age, but reading books is still a big part of growing up. When they’re in primary school, children read books that really challenge them. But once they reach secondary school, the level of difficulty doesn’t change much. Secondary school students tend to read books which are also read by upper primary students. They are not challenging themselves enough.
To discover these trends, I analyzed data collected by Accelerated Reader (AR) software, which asks pupils to check their understanding of the books they’ve chosen to read. The difficulty — which I call “readability”.
I also created two lists of books: one for the books that most secondary pupils had chosen to read, and another for the books they had voted as their favorites. According to the readability, these students’ favorite books tend to be much more advanced than the other books they chose, but they could still understand them. The rest of the books most often chosen by them are quite simple.
You might think that students who read harder books might make more mistakes and understand them less well. But students’ quality of comprehension does not depend on the difficulty of the book, no matter what year of secondary school they’re in. Having an interest is the most obvious factor here — if you like the book, you try hard to really understand it.
As children become teenagers, they listen less to advice from adults and more to advice from kids of their age. So, rather than trying to lecture young people on the benefits of Jane Austen, we should make the nature of the problem clear to them. Students should challenge each other to read more difficult books. Adults could help by setting up noticeboards or organizing social media networks for young people to share their recommendations. And teachers can lend a hand by setting aside time for reading in school. Young people will realize the problems that come when they don’t challenge themselves to read difficult books.
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A.Children spend little time on after-class reading
B.Secondary school students seldom read tough books
C.Children’s reading interest tends to decrease as they grow up
D.Primary students have difficulty choosing good reading materials
2.The author made use of AR software to ________.
A.understand children’s different reading styles
B.show the average time children spend on reading
C.find out the causes of children’s reading difficulties
D.make clear the difficulty levels of books read by children
3.What can we infer about secondary school students from the readability scores?
A.They find some advanced books interesting
B.They often make mistakes during advanced reading
C.They prefer to read books recommended by their parents
D.They can hardly improve their scores on reading comprehension
4.According to Paragraph 4, what is vital for improving reading comprehension?
A.Basic knowledge
B.Reading skills
C.Motivation
D.Instruction
5.What does the author want to express in the last paragraph?
A.Designing relatively difficult textbooks is necessary
B.Improving students’ reading is a shared responsibility
C.Advanced technology should be used in reading reaching
D.Students should be encouraged to read more literary works
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
It may seem to be a hard task to trace back the history of rap music, though you often see the informal music associated with highly informal dance style. As far as the origin of rap music is concerned, most people agree that it is from Afro-American and Latino Street culture of New York City. Not only in this city but in the surrounding areas there is the influence of African people and their culture.
Rap is a vocal (口头的) style in which the performer speaks rhythmically and in rhyme, generally to a beat. The term of rap music is the same with hip-hop music typically-consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap. If we see it carefully, then we will definitely notice that the music usually is sung at higher pitches (调). Most of the time rap music is associated with chorus. Though rap music was primarily an American music style with African influence over its music and lyrics, recently it has been spread to almost the entire world.
There is hardly any country or nation where rap music cannot be seen in some form or another, and it is one of the most popular music styles among the youngsters. However, when it comes to its history, it is believed that hip-hop or rap music started in the early 1970s,and gained much popularity throughout the world during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The history of rap music and hip-hop music is full of controversies (争议) and bans, as the lyrics sometimes relate to drugs and crime; even most famous pop stars and hip-hop musicians and singers were found to be associated with the controversies in their life. For that reason, no matter how popular this music style was or still is, it has always had a bad reputation in the eyes of mainstream society.
1.The passage is mainly about _____.
A.when rap music started B.how rap music develops
C.what rap music is like D.why rap music is popular
2.The characteristics of rap music are _____.
A.solo, rhymes,beats and pops
B.speaking, rhythms,beats and solo
C.repeating, speaking, pops and chorus
D.speaking, rhymes, beats and chorus
3.Rap music is now one of the music styles mostly run after by _____.
A.the teenagers in Africa
B.all kinds of people in the world
C.the youngsters all over the world
D.the young people in the US
4.Rap music is often not well thought of by the mainstream because _____.
A.it comes from the lower class
B.it has a short history
C.it is associated with crimes and drugs
D.its music is full of controversies
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Man still has a lot to learn about the most powerful and complex part of his body — the brain.
It may be surprising to learn that it isn’t age that makes you lose your memory. The reason could be that you have a "lazy" memory, not an old one. Like your body your memory improves with exercise. Once given plenty of exercise, the brain keeps its power. Before discussing how to improve the memory, let’s look at how the brain works. There are two sides to the brain, the left and the right. The right side deals with the senses (what we see, hear, feel and smell). It's the creative and imaginative side. The left side is concerned with logic. It analyzes information and puts it in order.
Some recent research suggests that we remember everything that happens to us. The problem most of us has is recalling events. Most forgetting takes place immediately after learning. An hour after learning something new, more than 50% has been forgotten. After a month, 80% has been forgotten, and so on.
This shows revision is very important. If you revise new material you have learnt, you remember much more. So it's of vital importance to revise newly learned material often, and have frequent breaks. We best remember what we learn at the beginning of a learning period and at the point where we stop. After the break, revise what was learned before the break and then continue learning the new material. These breaks should happen every 20 or 45 minutes.
Other experiments have shown the brain needs time to "digest" what has been learned. The time necessary for this is 5 to 10 minutes. After the break, the memory will have absorbed what it has just learned, and more will be remembered. During this period it is important to exercise the right side of the brain, because the left side is used during the learning period. Therefore you should relax. Listening to music, breathing in fresh air, and looking at a picture are all ways of using the other side of the brain. So when you are studying alone, make a plan which shows when to have breaks and to revise newly learned material immediately before you begin studying again. If you do in this way, your memory will improve.
1.According to the text, you lose your memory by ________.
A. getting too old B. hardly using your brain
C. working too hard D. using your brain too much
2.To fight forgetting effectively, we're advised to ________.
A. go back to what was learned regularly
B. break down materials into small pieces
C. focus on both ends of a learning period
D. take breaks to give the brain a good rest
3. During the learning process the brain need breaks to ________.
A. use the right side of the brain
B. revise newly learnt materials
C. take in what has been learnt
D. relax the left side of the brain
4.Where is this text most probably taken from?
A. Science fictions. B. Students’ literature.
C. An advertisement. D. A science report.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Man still has a lot to learn about the most powerful and complex part of his body — the brain.
It may be surprising to learn that it isn’t age that makes you lose your memory. The reason could be that you have a "lazy" memory, not an old one. Like your body your memory improves with exercise. Once given plenty of exercise, the brain keeps its power. Before discussing how to improve the memory, let’s look at how the brain works. There are two sides to the brain, the left and the right. The right side deals with the senses (what we see, hear, feel and smell). It's the creative and imaginative side. The left side is concerned with logic. It analyzes information and puts it in order.
Some recent research suggests that we remember everything that happens to us. The problem most of us has is recalling events. Most forgetting takes place immediately after learning. An hour after learning something new, more than 50% has been forgotten. After a month, 80% has been forgotten, and so on.
This shows revision is very important. If you revise new material you have learnt, you remember much more. So it's of vital importance to revise newly learned material often, and have frequent breaks. We best remember what we learn at the beginning of a learning period and at the point where we stop. After the break, revise what was learned before the break and then continue learning the new material. These breaks should happen every 20 or 45 minutes.
Other experiments have shown the brain needs time to "digest" what has been learned. The time necessary for this is 5 to 10 minutes. After the break, the memory will have absorbed what it has just learned, and more will be remembered. During this period it is important to exercise the right side of the brain, because the left side is used during the learning period. Therefore you should relax. Listening to music, breathing in fresh air, and looking at a picture are all ways of using the other side of the brain. So when you are studying alone, make a plan which shows when to have breaks and to revise newly learned material immediately before you begin studying again. If you do in this way, your memory will improve.
1.According to the text, you lose your memory by ________.
A. getting too old B. hardly using your brain
C. working too hard D. using your brain too much
2.To fight forgetting effectively, we're advised to ________.
A. go back to what was learned regularly
B. break down materials into small pieces
C. focus on both ends of a learning period
D. take breaks to give the brain a good rest
3. During the learning process the brain need breaks to ________.
A. use the right side of the brain
B. revise newly learnt materials
C. take in what has been learnt
D. relax the left side of the brain
4.Where is this text most probably taken from?
A. Science fictions. B. Students’ literature.
C. An advertisement. D. A science report.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Twelve years ago, I arrived in Central Florida from Puerto Rico. I had heard of a job opportunity and decided to pursue it. But it never became a reality. I quickly learned that being alone without resources in an unfamiliar city was not a comfortable situation to be in.
Once my limited funds ran out I became homeless and spent a year and a half living on the streets of Orlando. Apart from feeling not being noticed and missing my family, I had to face another challenge—hunger.
For the first time in my life, I, as a foreign man, who had lived my life in the relative comfort of the middle class, understood the desperation someone feels when they don’t get enough to eat. I clearly remembered having run a distance of more than 7 miles on many occasions just to make it to a local feeding program before they closed at 7 pm.
Once the need for food was met, the next challenge would arise—where to find a place to sleep for the night. Fortunately, local programs like the Coalition for the Homeless, Second Harvest Food Bank and the Wayne Densch Center were an important part of my ability to survive my painful experience.
With the assistance of these programs, I was accepted by a college scholarship program through the Coalition and obtained two degrees from Valencia.
My experience has helped me understand that devoting my life to helping others offers lasting rewards. Today, I am employed as Childhood Hunger Programs Manager at Second Harvest Food Bank and oversee the summer feeding, Hi-Five Kids Pack, and Kids Café programs. I am so proud to be able to distribute food resources to those wonderful programs and help hundreds more like me.
1.What can be inferred from Paragraph 1?
A. It was impossible for the author to get a job then.
B. Many local people were out of work in Florida.
C. Florida was not a good place for people living there.
D. The author rejected many chances to get a job in Florida.
2.Why did the author run a distance of over 7 miles on many occasions?
A. Because he didn’t want to be late for work there.
B. Because he desired to get some food to eat.
C. Because he went there to help the poor.
D. Because he helped distribute food resources to the poor.
3.Before being accepted by a college scholarship program, the author_____.
A. had lived with his relatives happily.
B. had won his degree in a university.
C. had been struggling financially.
D. had lost hope of facing the future.
4. From his experience, the author learns that ______.
A. misfortune may be an actual blessing.
B. a friend in need is a friend indeed.
C. where there is a will there is a way.
D. one good turn deserves another.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析