On Sunday, March 11, most Americans will set their clocks forward an hour, as daylight saving time (sometimes wrongly called daylight savings time) begins and most of the United States can enjoy an extra hour of daylight. The spring and fall clock changes continue a long tradition started by Benjamin Franklin to conserve energy.
Benjamin Franklin lakes the honor (or the blame, depending on your view of the lime changes) for coming up with the idea to reset clocks in the summer months as a way to conserve energy. By moving clocks forward, people could take advantage of the extra evening daylight rather than wasting energy on lighting. At the time, Franklin was ambassador to Paris and so wrote a letter to the Journal of Paris in 1784, rejoicing over his “discovery” that the sun provides light as soon as it rises.
Even so, DST (Daylight Saving Time) didn’t officially begin until more than a century later. Germany established DST in May 1916 as a way to conserve fuel during World War I. The rest of Europe came onboard shortly thereafter. And in 1918, the United States adopted DST.
Though President Woodrow Wilson wanted to keep daylight saving time after WWI ended, the country was mostly rural at the time and farmers objected, partly because it would mean they lost an hour of morning light. And so daylight saving time was abolished until at the start of WWII, on Feb. 9, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt re-established daylight saving time year- round, calling it “War Time.”
After the war, a free-for-all system in which U.S. states and towns were given the choice of whether or not to observe DST led to disorder. And in 1966, to avoid such “Wild West” confusion, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act. That federal law meant that any state observing DST — and they didn’t have to jump on the DST system — had to follow a uniform timing system throughout the state in which daylight saving time would begin on the first Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October.
Then, in 2007, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 went into effect, expanding the length of daylight saving lime to the present timing.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. What is Daylight Saving Time?
B. How did Daylight Saving Time start?
C. Who proposed Daylight Saving Time?
D. Why Daylight Saving Time is adopted?
2.It can be inferred that .
A. DST was adopted in the US mainly to preserve fuel
B. DST lasted for 24 years in the US before being canceled
C. it is still free for the states in the US to adopt the DST or not
D. farmers in the US rejected DST for losing an hour of evening light
3.What is the meaning of the underlined expression “rejoicing over” in paragraph 2?
A. Taking pride in. B. Taking interest in.
C. Feeling regret for. D. Feeling surprised about.
4.Which country adopted DST earliest, according to the passage?
A. France. B. Germany.
C. England. D. The United States.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
On Sunday, March 11, most Americans will set their clocks forward an hour, as daylight saving time (sometimes wrongly called daylight savings time) begins and most of the United States can enjoy an extra hour of daylight. The spring and fall clock changes continue a long tradition started by Benjamin Franklin to conserve energy.
Benjamin Franklin lakes the honor (or the blame, depending on your view of the lime changes) for coming up with the idea to reset clocks in the summer months as a way to conserve energy. By moving clocks forward, people could take advantage of the extra evening daylight rather than wasting energy on lighting. At the time, Franklin was ambassador to Paris and so wrote a letter to the Journal of Paris in 1784, rejoicing over his “discovery” that the sun provides light as soon as it rises.
Even so, DST (Daylight Saving Time) didn’t officially begin until more than a century later. Germany established DST in May 1916 as a way to conserve fuel during World War I. The rest of Europe came onboard shortly thereafter. And in 1918, the United States adopted DST.
Though President Woodrow Wilson wanted to keep daylight saving time after WWI ended, the country was mostly rural at the time and farmers objected, partly because it would mean they lost an hour of morning light. And so daylight saving time was abolished until at the start of WWII, on Feb. 9, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt re-established daylight saving time year- round, calling it “War Time.”
After the war, a free-for-all system in which U.S. states and towns were given the choice of whether or not to observe DST led to disorder. And in 1966, to avoid such “Wild West” confusion, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act. That federal law meant that any state observing DST — and they didn’t have to jump on the DST system — had to follow a uniform timing system throughout the state in which daylight saving time would begin on the first Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October.
Then, in 2007, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 went into effect, expanding the length of daylight saving lime to the present timing.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. What is Daylight Saving Time?
B. How did Daylight Saving Time start?
C. Who proposed Daylight Saving Time?
D. Why Daylight Saving Time is adopted?
2.It can be inferred that .
A. DST was adopted in the US mainly to preserve fuel
B. DST lasted for 24 years in the US before being canceled
C. it is still free for the states in the US to adopt the DST or not
D. farmers in the US rejected DST for losing an hour of evening light
3.What is the meaning of the underlined expression “rejoicing over” in paragraph 2?
A. Taking pride in. B. Taking interest in.
C. Feeling regret for. D. Feeling surprised about.
4.Which country adopted DST earliest, according to the passage?
A. France. B. Germany.
C. England. D. The United States.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most students set their alarm clocks to ensure they can attend on-line classes____.
A.on purpose B.on occasion C.on average D.on schedule
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
I’ve heard that we will set out _________ the morning of March 25th .
A. at B. in C. on D. over
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
On March 28th, the New York Times will begin charging all but the most infrequent users to read articles online.
In a letter to readers, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the publisher of the paper, laid out the details of the paywall, which he said will go into effect immediately in Canada and on March 28th for the rest of the world. He called the move “an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in the Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform.”
Sulzberger said that readers will be able to read 20 articles per month at no charge. Once they click on the 21st piece, however, they’ll be presented with three payment options: $ 15 for four weeks of online and mobile application access, $ 20 for access to the site and the iPad application, or $ 35 for access to everything. People who already receive the printed paper through home delivery will enjoy free and unlimited access to the Times on all platforms.
These details largely agree with earlier reports on how the paywall would work. The Times had made it clear that it did not want to imitate the total paywalls put into effect by papers such as The Times of London and Newsday, which block access to all contents unless the reader pays.
The paper also signaled that it wants to stay relevant in the social media world. According to Sulzberger's announcement, people who come to the Times site from Facebook, Twitter or from blogs will be able to read those articles even if they have gone over their monthly limit.
However, Sulzberger said that a limit will be placed on “some search engines”, meaning that after readers have accessed a certain number of articles from search engines, any further articles they access from there will be added to their monthly count. It was reported that the only search engine that will be affected this way is Google, where there will be a five-article limit. This marks a clear attempt by the Times to close what could be a giant loophole （漏洞）, since so much online traffic is directed through Google. But it also presents a risk for the Times for the same reason.
Sulzberger seems well aware of the risk. “The challenge now is to put a price on our work without walling ourselves off from the global network,” he said, adding that the Times must “continue to engage with the widest possible audience.”
1.The author’s main purpose in the text is to _______.
A. describe research findings B. report a piece of news
C. make advertisements D. suggest a solution
2.Why will the Times charge their online readers?
A. It wants to stay relevant in the social media world.
B. It has too many readers coming from the other sites.
C. It is seeking new financial sources for its development.
D. It is trying a way to offer better service to its readers.
3. Who will be limited to the New York Times articles?
A. Those subscribing to the printed newspapers
B. Readers clicking through from Facebook.
C. Those using Google research engine
D. Readers paying $ 35 a month.
4.What challenge may the paywall bring to the New York Times?
A. It may bring the Times more competition with the other media
B. It may stop the Times connecting to the global network
C. It may block the readers from the other websites
D. It may result in huge drops in papers' online readership
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most Americans would prefer to keep their problems ________ themselves, and solve their problems ________ themselves.
A．to; by B．by; to
C．for; to D．in; on
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most Americans would prefer to keep their problems ______ themselves, and solve their problems ______ themselves.
| A．to; by | B．by; to | C．for; to | D．in; on |
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most Americans would prefer to keep their problems ________ themselves, and solve their problems ______ themselves.
A. to; by B. by; to C. for; to D. in; on
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most Americans would prefer to keep their problems ________ themselves, and solve their problems ______ themselves.
A. to; by B. by; to C. for; to D. in; on
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
For most Americans, their 18th birthday________the end of one part of their life and beginning of another．
A．predicts B．tells C．marks D．signs
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
For most Americans, their 18th birthday________the end of one part of their life and beginning of another.
| A．predicts | B．tells | C．marks | D．Signs |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析