Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人赞叹的) as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.
1.The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.
A. the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building
B. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world
C. ancient Indian emperors were cruel
D. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India
2.The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.
A. a memorial building B. a tourist attraction
C. a prison D. a gift to Mumtaz
3.From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.
A. 1626 B. 1653 C. 1632 D. 1634
4.The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.
A. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal
B. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal
C. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife
D. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
Say (suppose) you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, that is the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife’s death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white.
Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out. More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains (遗体) in the center under the building.
And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days - eight years, to be exact - imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it-until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired (激发……的灵感) its construction.
1.The first two paragraphs were written to show that ________.
A. the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building
B. ancient Indian emperors were cruel
C. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India
D. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world
2.The Taj Mahal was first built as ________.
A. a prison B. a gift to Mumtaz
C. a memorial building D. a tourist attraction
3.We learn from the text that Mumtaz probably died in ________.
A. 1626 B. 1632 C. 1634 D. 1653
4.The underlined word “happiness” in the last sentence refers to ________.
A. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife
B. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power
C. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal
D. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人赞叹的) as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.
1.The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.
A. the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building
B. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world
C. ancient Indian emperors were cruel
D. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India
2.The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.
A. a memorial building B. a tourist attraction
C. a prison D. a gift to Mumtaz
3.From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.
A. 1626 B. 1653 C. 1632 D. 1634
4.The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.
A. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal
B. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal
C. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife
D. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Members of the working class have blue-collar jobs. They are construction workers, truck drivers, mechanican, steel workers, electricians, and the like. What makes this class differ from the lower class is, first, longer periods of employment—and therefore, more fixed incomes—and , second, employment in skilled or semi-skilled occupations, not unskilled ones. Although unemployment hits all levels of the American economy, including those of skilled and semi-skilled workers, it is most common at the bottom of the class structure and increasingly less common at each level upward. They consider themselves to be respectable and hard-working and they look down upon members of the “low” class, whom they often consider to be lazy, dishonest, and too ready to exploit public assistance.
Most people in the working class have at least high school education. Many have some experience of college(especially community college), though few are college graduates. Unionization has helped the working class, but a rapidly changing economy and frequent periods of high unemployment make it difficult for most of its members to be able to increase their savings greatly. Purchasing a house for people in this class is extremely difficult, although a certain percentage may receive houses from their parents. (Home-owning rises with social class.)
A greater number of the members of the working class take relatively little satisfaction in their jobs, because much of their work is ordinary and boring. As a result, many seek their main satisfaction in recreational activities. Many members of this class would like to earn enough money to leave their jobs and start their own businesses, though few make it. Many place their expectations on their children, hoping that they at least will rise in the ladder of success.
1. Which of the following is true about the working class?
A.They are often offered jobs with high incomes. |
B.They are employed as skilled and semi-skilled workers. |
C.They are often considered lazy and dishonest. |
D.They are often exploited by the public. |
2. The word “hit” in paragraph one roughly means__________.
A.have bad effects on | B.break up |
C.beat | D.strike with a blow |
3. Most people in the working class ________.
A.have at least some experience of college |
B.receive houses from their parents |
C.buy houses by themselves |
D.have difficulty increasing their savings greatly |
4. Many members from the working class are not satisfied with their jobs because _____.
A.they are not interested in their jobs. |
B.they could not earn much money |
C.they are not their own bosses |
D.they could not rise in the ladder of success |
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
As anyone who freelances(做自由职业) knows, there are lots of advantages of working at home alone. But there are drawbacks too, like the potential loneliness. No wonder co-working spaces are becoming so popular: they permit self-employed individuals to feel like they are part of all office environment, while making them get some work done too. But renting a co-working space does cost money.
Now a Swedish project is aiming to change that by turning people’s under-used homes into temporary co-working spaces, available to freelancers for free. Hoffice was started by freelancers Christofer Gradin Franzen and Johline Zandra about a year ago in Stockholm when they invited a few people into their home office to work together. It was a great success, and the project has since spread to a number of cities in Europe, North and South America, Australia, India and Japan. Anyone can sign up and offer their home space as a free co-working space, or go find a Hoffice near them.
On a Hoffice day, everyone arrives and starts work at a certain hour. After 45 minutes, everyone gets up to take a break, stretch, do qigong or yoga for 10 to 15 minutes. Afterwards, people can gather around again, and re-state their intentions and goals for the rest of the work day, as a way to motivate each other. Meals can be eaten together at a certain hour, potluck-style(家常饭)or by bringing your own lunch.
This process creates an encouraging and supportive work environment. As some freelancers describe, “By working at Hoffice, we give ourselves and each other the gift to spend our days in a social working environment, where we are extremely productive without ignoring our other human needs. We also make sure to give us and each other what we need to feel calm, happy, inspired and creative during the working day.”
So Hoffice is not just about sharing space; it's also about a free exchange of ideas. And perhaps the best thing is that Hoffices are free to use.
1.Hoffice was started to ________.
A. change people’s attitude to work
B. provide a co-working space for free
C. improve people’s working conditions
D. encourage people to be more social
2.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?
A. How people respond to Hoffice.
B. What Hoffice means to people.
C. What people share at Hoffice.
D. How a Hoffice day works.
3.Some freelancers’ descriptions of Hoffice suggest that they ________.
A. work longer than before
B. can’t be separated from each other
C. benefit a lot from the working style
D. expect more people to join them
4.What do we know about Hoffice according to the text?
A. It has been popular in many countries for many years.
B. It has created many new job opportunities.
C. It focus on not only environment but also human needs.
D. It is suitable for people from all walks of life.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
When Noah Ready-Campbell was a young adult, he worked for his father’s construction company. Back then, he dreamed of a day when robots might take over the dirty, repetitive(重复的)parts of his job, such as earth moving. Years later, Ready-Campbell left his job as an engineer with Google to make that dream come true.
Ready-Campbell formed a company called Built Robotics, which develops technology to produce self-driving heavy equipment. Ready-Campbell says the company’s goal is to make construction safer, faster and less costly. The construction industry struggles to find skilled workers and faces a growing number of unfinished projects. But self-operating machines are changing the nature of building.
Workers at Berich Masonry in Englewood, Colorado, recently spent several weeks learning how to operate a robot called SAM, or the Semi-Automated Mason. SAM is a $400,000 machine from the company Construction Robotics, It can lay 3,000 bricks in eight hours. That’s several times more than a human bricklayer can do in the same period. But humans are still needed to load bricks into the SAM and make sure it works right. Bricklayer Michael Walsh says the SAM lessens the load on his body. But he doesn’t think it will take his job.
Brian Kennedy agrees, too. His organization supports the rights of construction workers in the United States and Canada. Kennedy says the union is not worried that machines will replace human workers any time soon.
The rise of construction robots comes as the building industry faces a severe decrease in labor supply. One recent study showed that 70 percent of construction businesses have a difficult time finding skilled workers. Mike Moy heads a mining operation for the building materials supplier Lehigh Hanson. He says it’s difficult to find people who even know how to operate some of the necessary equipment. “Nobody wants to get their hands dirty any more. They want a nice, clean job in an office,” he noted.
1.What does the first paragraph say about Noah Ready-Campbell?
A. He enjoys doing repetitive work.
B. He is now an employee of Google.
C. He used to work in construction field.
D. He joined Google to realize that dream.
2.Which of the following is one of the aims of Built Robotics?
A. Increasing construction speed.
B. Enlarging construction quantity.
C. Improving construction designs.
D. Changing construction steps.
3.What can be inferred about SAM from the text?
A. It can totally replace human bricklayers.
B. It is complexly built but easy to operate.
C. It is unable to work completely automatically.
D. It is cheap but works much faster than humans.
4.In Mike Moy’s opinion, what prevents many construction businesses from finding skilled workers?
A. Their low pay. B. Their potential risks.
C. Their heavy work loads. D. Their poor working conditions.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
American English began in the 17th century. At the beginning of the 17th century, the English language was brought to North America by colonists (殖民者) from England. They used the language spoken in England, that is, Elizabethan English, the language used by Shakespeare.
In order to exploit (开发) new resources in America, British colonists settled down there and from 1607 to 1732 set up thirteen colonies. In these thirteen areas, English was a common language used by all people. They continued to speak as they had done in England.
As time went by, the English language gradually changed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Foreigners longing for wealth set foot on the coastal area to trade. The Americans adopted many words from foreign languages and invented lots of new words to meet their commercial (贸易的) needs.
Following American Independence, famous people like Thomas Jefferson, the president, began to consider that the country should have a language of its own. Noah Webster compiled (编纂) three elementary books on English. Later, he expressed the idea that as an independent nation, America should have a system of its own in language as well as in government. After the second half of the 19th century, many great writers such as Mark Twain helped the development of American English.
English in America has developed a character of its own, showing the life and the physical and social environment of the American people. Since the rise of the United States to a position of world importance, American English has been developing and changing. There is no doubt that American English will enrich the English language greatly. With the rapid development of modern mass media and the common needs of economic, cultural and political exchanges, American English will be more widely used in the world than British English.
1.What can we infer from paragraph 3?
A. People from the seaside were more willing to learn English.
B. The English language changed as a result of inner culture shock.
C. New words occurred in American English as a result of local invention.
D. International business contributed to the development of American English.
2.What do we know about American English according to the passage?
A. It came into being at the end of the 17th century.
B. It hardly makes contributions to the development of English.
C. Its development has a close relationship with American people’s life.
D. It has been more widely used than British English from the beginning.
3.What’s the best title for the passage?
A. The Difference between American English and British English.
B. The development of American English.
C. The Birth of American English.
D. Language and Business.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
---Are you still working in Shanghai?
---No, I’m working in Hangzhou now. I ______ in Shanghai for three years.
A. worked B. have worked C. had worked D. was working
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Before the 17th century, most of the native English speakers lived in England. After the 17th century, British people began to move to other 1. (country). Gradually, English was spoken there. At present 2. (many) people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before. 3. (luck), native English speakers can understand each other even if they don’t speak the same kind of English.
English 4. (change) and developed when cultures met and communicated with each other over the past centuries. The English 5. (speak) in England between about AD450 and 1150 was very different 6. the modern English we speak today. It was the new settlers that enriched the English language and 7. (especial) its vocabulary. The English language was settled by the 19th century 8. two big changes in English spelling happened. English now is also spoken as a foreign 9.second language in South Asia. China may have the 10. (large) number of English learners.
高二英语短文填空简单题查看答案及解析
In the 19th century, doctors tried to transfuse blood (输血)to patients who had lost blood in accidents or to try to save them. However, in most cases there would be a horrible reaction. When the donated blood mixed with the patient's own blood,it clotted (凝结)almost immediately. That stopped the circulation (循环)and the patient would die. Born on 14th June 1868,Karl Landsteiner,a doctor in Vienna, was very concerned about this. He knew there was something in the blood that caused reactions, but some people did manage to escape. Perhaps different people had different kinds of blood? He got a lot of blood samples (标本)from people, and mixed and matched them. Blood has two parts,the blood cells and the liquid serum(血清).You take blood cells from one person and mix them with the serum of another. If they react, the cells will clot and form a big lump. That means it is not safe to transfuse blood between these people. Landsteiner matched hundreds of samples like this,to find out who was safe for whom and who wasn’t. In fact, there were blood groups now called A, B, AB and O.
So what was going on in the blood? All our red blood cells have sugar molecules(糖分子) that are stuck on their surfaces. The red blood cells of people with group A have one kind of sugar, while those with B have another. People with AB have both of these while people with O have none.
People with the A blood group have a chemical substance called anti-B, while those of B blood group have anti-A in their serum. People with AB group have neither anti-A nor anti-B, while people with O have both. If you were B group and got blood from an A person,the anti- A in your blood would cause all the cells with A-sugar on them to clot immediately, stopping the circulation of blood.
In 1907, Dr. Reuben Outenberg carried out the first safe blood transfusion by matching blood groups. Blood transfusion became quite common from then on. And it helped saved thousands of lives in the First World War.
1.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Accidents in blood transfusion.
B.The discovery of blood groups.
C.Who Karl Landsteiner is.
D.The success of Dr. Reuben Otlenberg.
2.What inspired Landsteiner to carry out his experiment?
A.Some doctors in the 19th century.
B.The cause of some patient deaths.
C.Many medical accidents that he came across.
D.Certain successful cases of blood Iransrusion.
3.In which of the following can ''anti-A'' be found?
A.Only in the A blood group.
B.Only in the B blood group.
C.Only in the AB blood group.
D.In blood groups of B and O.
4.Since when has blood transfusion Income universal?
A.The first successful blood transfusion done by Ottenberg.
B.The time when blood groups were named by Landsteiner.
C.The year when the First World War broke out.
D.The blood transfusion by matching blood groups.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
About five to seven million people who lived in England spoke English at the end of the 16th century. Later in the next century, people from England overcame other parts of the world and because of that, English began to be spoken in many other countries. Today, more people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before.
Look at this example:
British Betty: Would you like to see my flat?
American Amy: Yes. I’d like to come up to your apartment.
So why has English changed over time? All languages change and develop when cultures meet. At first the English spoken in England between about AD 450 and 1150 was very different from the English spoken today. It was based more on German than the English we speak at present. Then between about AD 800 and 1150, English became less like German because those who ruled England spoke first Danish and later French. These new settlers improved the English language and especially its vocabulary. So by the 1600’s Shakespeare was able to make use of a wider vocabulary than ever before.
Finally by the 19th century the language was settled. At that time two big changes in English spelling happened: first Samuel Johnson wrote his dictionary and later Noah Webster wrote The American Dictionary of the English Language. The latter gave a separate identity to American English spelling.
English now is also spoken as a foreign or second language in South Asia. For example, India has a very large number of fluent English speakers because Britain ruled India from 1765 to 1947. During that time English became the language for government and education. Today the number of people learning English in China is increasing rapidly.
1.When did English begin to be spoken in many other countries?
A. In 16th century.
B. In 17th century.
C. In 18th century.
D. In 19th century.
2.Shakespeare could use a wider vocabulary than ever before because English_______.
A. developed when new settlers came to Britain
B. was based on Germany during the 5th century
C. became the language for government and education
D. was spoken wide all over the world
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. British settlers moved to America in the 18th.
B. It’s easy for Chinese people speak fluent English.
C. English once became the official language in India.
D. English was influenced by Danish invaders in AD 450 .
4.What showed the differences of American English spelling?
A. Samuel Johnson’s dictionary B. Shakespeare’s books
C. French ruler’s language D. Noah Webster’s dictionary
5.For what purpose does the author write the passage?
A. To settle English in many countries.
B. To understand English-speaking people.
C. To describe the development of English.
D. To tell people changes of American English.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析