Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do. There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare(仪式上的短曲); there are weddings on mountain tops with guests barefooted; there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests. But many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs.
Before a couple is married, they become engaged. And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away. When everything is ready, then comes the most exciting moment.
The wedding itself usually lasts between 30 and 40 minutes. The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played. The bride carrying a bouquet enters last with her father who will “give her away”. The groom enters the church from a side door. When the wedding party is gathered by the altar, the bride and groom exchange vows(誓言). It is traditional to use the words “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” Following the vows, the couple exchange rings. Wearing the wedding rings on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom.
After the ceremony, there is often a party, called a “reception” which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the new couple.
The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons. The words “Just Married” are painted on the trunk or back window. And then the couple go in their honeymoon.
1.The underlined word “party” in Paragraph 3 probably means______.
A. a group of people
B. a legal agreement
C. a political organization
D. a social event
2. According to the passage, the bride enters the church______.
A. carrying a bunch of flower
B. with the groom
C. with the bridesmaid
D. from a side door.
3.Which of the following statement is NOT true?
A. In the United States, there are different weddings.
B. Americans seldom send invitations to others when get married.
C. At the reception, guests usually give their wishes to the new couple.
D. Americans usually wear rings on the fourth finger of the left hand.
4. What will the author most probably talk about next?
A. The food served in the wedding party.
B. The possible places where the new couple spend their honeymoon.
C. How to congratulate the new couple.
D. The estimated cost of a wedding ceremony.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do. There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare(仪式上的短曲); there are weddings on mountain tops with guests barefooted; there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests. But many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs.
Before a couple is married, they become engaged. And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away. When everything is ready, then comes the most exciting moment.
The wedding itself usually lasts between 30 and 40 minutes. The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played. The bride carrying a bouquet enters last with her father who will “give her away”. The groom enters the church from a side door. When the wedding party is gathered by the altar, the bride and groom exchange vows(誓言). It is traditional to use the words “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” Following the vows, the couple exchange rings. Wearing the wedding rings on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom.
After the ceremony, there is often a party, called a “reception” which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the new couple.
The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons. The words “Just Married” are painted on the trunk or back window. And then the couple go in their honeymoon.
1.The underlined word “party” in Paragraph 3 probably means______.
A. a group of people
B. a legal agreement
C. a political organization
D. a social event
2. According to the passage, the bride enters the church______.
A. carrying a bunch of flower
B. with the groom
C. with the bridesmaid
D. from a side door.
3.Which of the following statement is NOT true?
A. In the United States, there are different weddings.
B. Americans seldom send invitations to others when get married.
C. At the reception, guests usually give their wishes to the new couple.
D. Americans usually wear rings on the fourth finger of the left hand.
4. What will the author most probably talk about next?
A. The food served in the wedding party.
B. The possible places where the new couple spend their honeymoon.
C. How to congratulate the new couple.
D. The estimated cost of a wedding ceremony.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the United States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.
In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be greatly lower taxes in America, which increase the rewards to work. Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives.
Longer hours do of course increase the GDP (国内生产总值). So the United States has produced more per worker than, say, France. The United States also has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.
It is not clear which of the two situations is better. As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, which often get lost in interest. It is too early to explain the different trends(趋势)in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance?
1.From the text we know that the author ________.
A. believes that longer working hours is better
B. prefers shorter working hours to longer ones
C. says nothing certain about which pattern is better
D. thinks neither of the patterns is good
2.Which of the following countries has more of its people at work?
A. Spain. B. France. C. Germany. D. America.
3.In the last paragraph, the underlined word “which” refers to ______.
A. family life B. situations C. other values D. trends
4.What message can we get from the text?
A. The GDP of Europe is higher than that of America.
B. Two possible reasons are given for working longer hours in the US.
C. People all over the world choose to work less when they are richer.
D. Americans are happier than Europeans.
5.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Americans and Europeans B. Staying at Home
C. Work and Productivity D. Work and Happiness
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Young people in the United States do not have a strong understanding of the world and their place in it.
Two U.S.based groups,the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Geographic Society,commissioned an online survey earlier this year.They wanted to know what young people educated in American colleges know about geography,U.S.foreign policy,recent international events,and economics.
The survey was given to over 1,200 Americans between the ages of 18 and 26,all of them presently attending,or having previously graduated from,a 2 or 4year college or university.
The average test score,out of 75 total possible answers,was 55 percent.The study identifies a few important problems.For example,only 30 percent knew that the only part of the U.S.government that can declare war is Congress.Only 60% of those taking the survey could identify Brazil on a world map.
Part of the problem,argue the organizers of the survey,is the Internet.They say it is becoming harder to find highquality information about world events among all the fake news and trivia(琐事)which swamp(淹没)the Web.Fortythree percent of those questioned said they read about the news on Facebook.
Another problem is that most college courses do not require students to learn about international issues.If such information is not required,Richard Haass from the Council on Foreign Relations said,then the United States could have leaders like Gary Johnson.He was a recent presidential candidate who did not know about the Syrian city of Aleppo when a reporter asked him about it.
The survey results were not all bad.The young people also demonstrated a good understanding of climate change and renewable energy.And the majority of them said that international issues were becoming more important to them.
Haass says these findings suggest the need to find ways to get good information to students,both in school and online.To help,the Council on Foreign Relations is creating a new program called CFR Campus,designed to help build knowledge about global issues.
1.What can we learn about the survey?
A.All the participants were recent university graduates.
B.It was given to over 1,200 American people aged from 18 to 26.
C.Its aim is to figure out what the young people know about America.
D.It was an online survey conducted by two US universities.
2.According to the survey,what topic did the young Americans understand best?
A.Environmental matters.
B.Geographic information.
C.Foreign relations.
D.Government organizations.
3.In which column of a newspaper could we find this article?
A.Economics.
B.Entertainment.
C.Education.
D.Politics.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
According to the United States government, people are classified as homeless if they have no place to stay and no expectation of finding a place for the next thirty days. Although technically accurate, that is an impersonal assessment of an enormous and very human problem.
The homeless population represents all of us Americans. It includes men and women, the elderly, children, and infants. Its members are from all ethnic groups. What they have in common is poverty.
Currently in the U.S., thirty-nine million people live in poverty. When money is really tight, paying the rent or buying food often becomes a choice. Government assistance in the form of food stamps does help but, as one homeless man explains, you can’t pay the rent with food stamps.
With no money for rent, the streets and homeless shelters become the alternative.
Although men make up the largest group within the homeless population, homeless women with children are rapidly joining them. In fact, one quarter of the homeless people in the U.S. are teenagers and young children.
People may become homeless for numerous reasons. However, there are certain factors that many of these individuals have in common. They include a lack of adequate education and job skills. A majority of the teenagers and adults have not completed high school.
The abuse of alcohol and drugs is also a common factor. One third of the adult homeless population abuses alcohol, while one quarter of the same group uses drugs.
Some members of this population suffer mental health problems. Within the past several years many institutions for the mentally ill have been closed and their patients sent “home”. Unfortunately, a number of those people have no home to go to and they are unable to adequately look after themselves.
Job loss in today’s economy has also become a real factor in the loss of people’s homes. The breakup of families through abandonment and divorce is also contributing factors, particularly when there are children involved. The parent who is left to care for the kids with inadequate income may be forced to depend on the homeless shelters to put a roof over their heads.
1.The writer thinks that the U.S. government’s definition for the homeless shows _________.
A. an insincere attitude toward the homeless
B. an unbearable attitude toward the homeless
C. an uncivilized attitude toward the homeless
D. an unsympathetic attitude toward the homeless
2.The U.S. government helps the homeless by _________.
A. giving them homeless allowance B. giving them food stamps
C. finding jobs for them D. finding residence (a place to live) for them
3.People become homeless for all the following reasons EXCEPT _________.
A. the lack of adequate education
B. the abuse of alcohol and drugs
C. the closure of institutions for the mentally ill
D. the poor performance of economy
4.The breakup of families is likely to lead to homelessness because a parent with kids may _________.
A. lose his or her job in today’s economy
B. be unable to look after the kids
C. not have enough income
D. find residence at a homeless shelter
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Children in the United States eat too much pizza that some researchers now argue the food should join the ranks of sugary drinks and fast food for the harm they do to health.
In a new study, the researchers found that pizza is a large source of calories, saturated fat(饱和脂肪)and salt in children’s diets.Children should not eat more than two slices of pizza for a meal,and should pair that with salad, rather than with another high-calorie food,the researchers concluded.
“Parents should aim to control pizza consumption(消费), particularly as a snack where it was shown to have a very adverse impact on children, and they should put their pizza dollars toward healthier brands.”Said Lisa Powel, director of the Illinois Prevention Research Center.
Pizza has become a matter of focus in recent years for researchers who look at the meals children eat, rather than the nutrients within them.Studies have found pizza is among the greatest sources of calories for children.
“Since pizza remains a common part of children’s diet, we need to make ‘healthy’ pizza.”Powel said.To make pizza healthier, food producers should reduce its saturated fat and salt, and increase its whole grain content,” she said.
Whether or not pizza is harmful enough to be picked out as an unhealthy food, the study attracts attention to a larger issue with the modern American lifestyle, said Alexis Tindall, who was not involved in the flow research. “Many foods are eaten too frequently and in large sizes,” said Tindall.To solve the problem, people don’t have to give up eating pizza, but instead, they can eat smaller and healthier pizza,”she said.
“Make it at home, instead of ordering it out where you don’t have any control over how it’s made.” Tindall said. “When we make it at home, we can choose healthier ingredients,increase the vegetables, reduce fat, and put in less cheese.Pizza doesn’t have to be just pepperoni(意大利辣香肠)and cheese.”
1.According to the research, children shouldn’t eat .
A.more than two slices of pizza in a day
B.two slices of pizza for a meal
C.pizza along with salad
D.more pizza with French fries
2.Powel suggests healthier pizza should be made .
A.with more ingredients B.with less salt
C.in smaller sizes D.at home
3.The last sentence of the passage implies that pepperoni and cheese .
A.are necessary ingredients of pizza
B.are not the only healthy ingredients of pizza
C.should all be replaced with healthier ingredient.
D.should be reduced by adding healthier ingredients.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A.Pizza—a real junk food!
B.How to prepare better meals for your kids?
C.Discover the harm of eating pizza
D.Bring in healthier pizza for Americans
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Passenger pigeons(旅鸽) once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers. Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks(群) so large that they darkened the sky for hours.
It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point, there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons--a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.
Sadly, the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing. Where the birds were most abundant, people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands. Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.
By the closing decades of the 19th century, the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans’ need for wood, which scattered (驱散) the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again.
In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons, but by then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time, a few birds survived under human care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1, 1914.
1.In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons________.
A. were the largest bird population in the Us
B. lived mainly in the south of America
C. did great harm to the natural environment
D. were the biggest bird in the world
2.The underlined word “ undoing” probably refers to the pigeons’ ________.
A. escape B. liberation
C. ruin D. evolution
3.What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?
A. To seek pleasure. B. To save other birds.
C. To make money. D. To protect crops.
4.What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?
A. It was ignored by the public.
B. It was declared too late.
C. It was unfair.
D. It was strict.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Passenger pigeons (旅鸽)once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers.
Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks (群)so large that they darkened the sky for hours.
It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point ,there were more than 3 billlion passenger pigeons—a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.
Sadly the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing. Where the birds were
most abundant, people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands.
Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.
By the closing decades of the 19th century ,the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by American’s need for wood, which scattered (驱散) the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again.
In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons but by then,
no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United
States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time , a few birds survived under human
care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on
September 1, 1914.
1.In the 18th and early 19teh centuries, passenger pigeons____.
A. were the biggest bird in the world
B. lived mainly in the south of America
C. did great harm to the natural environment
D. were the largest bird population in the US
2.The underlined word “ undoing” probably refers to the pigeons’ ____.
A. escape B. ruin
C. liberation D. evolution
3.What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?
A. To seek pleasure. B. To save other birds.
C. To make money. D. To protect crops.
4.What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?
A. It was ignored by the public. B. It was declared too late.
C. It was unfair. D. It was strict.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In the United States, 30 percent of the people have a “weight problem”. To many people the cause is obvious (明显的): they eat too much. But scientific evidence (证据) does little to support this idea. Going back to America of 1910, we find that people were thinner than today, yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically, walked more, used machines much less, and didn’t watch television.
Several modern studies, moreover, have shown that fatter people don’t eat more on average than thinner people. A 1979 study of 3,545 London office workers showed that fat people eat less than slim (苗条的) people.
Studies also show that slim people are more active than fat people. A study by a research group at Stanford University found the following interesting facts:
The more the man ran, the greater loss of the body fat.
The more they ran, the greater increase in food intake.
Thus, those who ran the most ate the most, yet lost the greatest amount of body fat.
1.Nowadays many Americans have the problem that ______.
A. they are too slim B. they work too hard
C. they are too fat D. they lose too much body fat
2.According to the passage, how many people in 900 Americans have a “weight problem”?
A. 150. B. 300. C. 600. D. 270.
3.Is there any scientific evidence to support the idea that eating too much is the cause of a “weight problem”?
A. Yes, there is plenty of evidence.
B. Of course, there is some evidence to support this.
C. There is hardly any scientific evidence to support this.
D. We are not sure.
4.The Americans in 1910 ________.
A. ate more food and had more physical activities
B. ate less food but had more physical activities
C. ate less food and had less physical activities
D. had more problems
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In the United States, 30 percent of the people have a “weight problem”. To many people, the cause is obvious: they eat too much. But scientific evidence (证据) does little to support this idea. Going back to America of 1910, we find that people were thinner than today, yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically, walked more, used machines much less, and didn’t watch television.
Several modern studies, moreover, have shown that fatter people don’t eat more on average than thinner people. A 1979 study of 3,545 London office workers showed that fat people eat less than slim (苗条的) people.
Studies also show that slim people are more active than fat people. A study by a research group at Stanford University found the following interesting facts:
The more the man ran, the greater loss of the body fat.
The more they ran, the greater increase in food intake.
Thus, those who ran the most ate the most, yet lost the greatest amount of body fat.
1.Nowadays many Americans have the problem that ______.
A.they lose too much body fat B.they work too hard
C.they are too fat D.they are too slim
2.According to the passage, how many people in 900 Americans have a “weight problem”?
A.150. B.300. C.600. D. 270.
3.Is there any scientific evidence to support the idea that eating too much is the cause of a “weight problem”?
A.We are not sure.
B.Of course, there is some evidence to support this.
C.There is hardly any scientific evidence to support this.
D.Yes, there is plenty of evidence.
4.The Americans in 1910 ________.
A.had more problems
B.ate less food but had more physical activities
C.ate less food and had less physical activities
D.ate more food and had more physical activies
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Popular breakfast foods in the United States, as in many other countries around the world, include coffee, milk , juice, eggs, and bread. Some other breakfast items served in the United States are thought by many to be traditionally American. However, they actually come from other cultures.
A very popular breakfast food in America is the pancake--- a thin , flat cake made out of flour and often served with maple syrup. The idea of the pancake is very old. In fact, pancakes were made long ago in ancient China.
Bagels, a round thick bread with a hole in the middle , are also popular for breakfast in America. Polish people in the late 1600s came up with the idea for the first bagels and this new kind of bread soon took off across Eastern Europe.
In the late 1800s, thousands of Jews from Eastern Europe travelled to the United States and brought the recipe for bagels with them. Today, New York bagels are said to be the best in the world. Many people have them with cream for breakfast on the go.
Doughnuts (usually spelled “donut” in the United States) came from France. They were served to American soldiers in France in the World War Ⅰ. After the war, American soldiers asked cooks in the United States to make doughnuts for them. Now , served with coffee, they are a very popular breakfast food across the United States.
1.This reading is mainly about ________
A. famous places to eat breakfast.
B. why people in the United States eat breakfast
C. the most popular types of pancakes in the United States
D. the history of popular breakfast foods in the United States.
2.The oldest breakfast food in the passage is ______
A. the pancake B. the bagel C. the doughnut D. The passage doesn’t say.
3.Which sentence is true for both bagels and donuts?
A. They both came from Europe B. They are both easy to make
C. They are both sweet D. people in New York make them best
4.Who brought bagels to America?
A. Polish people B. Jewish People C. Chinese People D. American soldiers
5.Who served donuts to American soldiers during World War Ⅰ?
A. French people B. Jewish people
C. other American soldiers D. cooks from the United States.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析