Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17,1706...

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17,1706 in Boston，America. In his life he built a successful printing and publishing business in Philadelphia；he conducted scientific studies of electricity and made several important discoveries；he was a diplomat (外交官) and statesman；he helped establish Pennsylvania’s first university and America’s first city hospital；he also organized the country’s first subscription library (收费图书馆)．

Franklin was also unequaled in America as an inventor until Thomas Edison. Ben had poor eyesight  and needed glasses to read. He got tired of always taking them off and putting them back on，so he decided to figure out a way to make his glasses let him see both near and far. He had two pairs of glasses cut in half and put half of them together. Today，we call them bifocals (双光眼镜)．Another invention of his，an iron stove，allowed people to warm their homes.

He loved to learn about new things. He also thought it was important to make life better with the things that he invented. Electricity was one of the things he experimented with when he retired from his business. Ben discovered that lightning (闪电) and electricity were the same thing. The lightning rod was an important invention that we still use today to protect buildings and ships from lightning damage.

Franklin preferred to have his inventions used freely for the comfort and convenience of everyone. Thomas Jefferson，the third president of America，called Benjamin Franklin “the greatest man of the age and country in which he lived”．To Benjamin Franklin there was no greater purpose in life than to “live usefully”．

1.Benjamin Franklin was NOT a________.

A．diplomat                              B．scientist

C．businessman                           D．president

2.The underlined word “unequaled” in Paragraph 2 means________.

A．better than any other                    B．worse than any other

C．the same as others                      D．confident as others

3.Which of the following is NOT Benjamin’s invention?

A．Bifocals.                              B．The iron stove.

C．Printing.                              D．The lightning rod.

4.What was Benjamin Franklin’s purpose in life?

A．To live comfortably every day.

B．To be useful to others.

C．To be a famous person in the world.

D．To earn a lot by inventing things.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on January 8, 1942. At the age of 17, he entered University College, Oxford. He wanted to study mathematics, but took up the study of physics when math was unavailable. He received a Ph.D. in physics despite being diagnosed (诊断) with Ameliotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化症) while at Oxford in 1963. In 1985 he became ill with pneumonia (肺炎), and since then has required 24-hour nursing. Dr. Hawking’s determination, along with the help of his family and associates, has allowed him to continue to work. In 1970 he began studying black holes. His research led him to predict that black holes send out radiation in the X-ray to gamma-ray(伽马射线) range of the spectrum (光谱). In the 1980s he returned to an earlier interest, the origins of the universe. He has co-authored many publications, such as 300 Years of Gravity and The Large Scale Structure of Space time. Dr. Hawking has also written books such as A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and other Essays, The Universe in a Nutshell and others. He continues to give lectures, despite having been unable to speak since 1985, with the aid of a speech synthesizer (合成器) and a portable computer. He currently holds Isaac Newton’s chair as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University in England.

1.Hawking went to University College, Oxford, in order to _____.

A. get a Ph.D. in physics

B. study mathematics

C. study the universe and black holes

D. seek help from the Lucasian Professor

2.Before Hawking started researching black holes, _____.

3.Which of the following books was NOT written by Dr. Hawking alone?

4.When did Hawking enter University College, Oxford?

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. His parents’ house was in north London, but during the Second World War Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London. At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father’s old college. Stephen wanted to do Mathematics, although his father would have preferred medicine. Mathematics was not available at College, so he did Physics instead. After three years and not very much work he was awarded a first class honours degree in Natural Science.

Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no one working in that area in Oxford at the time. His supervisor was Dennis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph. D, he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973 Stephen came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas, who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow, and then in 1663 by Isaac Newton.

Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees, was awarded the CBE in 1982,and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

1.Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to Hawking?

a. He gained his Ph. D.

b. He went to Cambridge.

c. He was given a first class honour degree.

d. He began to hold the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

e. He went to St Albans School.

A. e-c-b-a-d　　 B. a-e-c-d-b　　 C. a-e-c-b-d　　 D. c-b-d-e-a

2.According to the passage, Stephen W. Hawking had never spent much time studying 　　　　　　　 .

A. Cosmology　　 B. Mathematics　　 C. Physics　　 D. Medicine

3.Before Stephen Hawking went to Cambridge,　　　　　　　　　 .

A. there was no one studying Cosmology in England

B. there was no one studying Cosmology in Oxford

C. there were only a few scientists studying Cosmology in Oxford

D. Cosmology is widely studied in Britain

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. His parents’ house was in north London, but during the Second World War Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London. At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father’s old college. Stephen wanted to do Mathematics, although his father would have preferred medicine. Mathematics was not available at College, so he did Physics instead. After three years and not very much work he was awarded a first class honours degree in Natural Science.

Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no one working in that area in Oxford at the time. His supervisor was Dennis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph. D, he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973 Stephen came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas, who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow, and then in 1663 by Isaac Newton.

Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees, was awarded the CBE in 1982,and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

1.At his teenage, Stephen W. Hawking went to the same college as 　　　　　　　　 .

A. Galileo　　 B. his father

C. Isaac Barrow　　 D. Isaac Newton

2.Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to Hawking?

a. He gained his Ph. D.

b. He went to Cambridge.

c. He was given a first class honour degree.

d. He began to hold the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

e. He went to St Albans School.

A. e-c-b-a-d　　 B. a-e-c-d-b

C. a-e-c-b-d　　 D. c-b-d-e-a

3.According to the passage, Stephen W. Hawking had never spent much time studying 　　　　　 .

A. Cosmology　　 B. Mathematics

C. Physics　　 D. Medicine

4.Before Stephen Hawking went to Cambridge,　　　　　　　　 .

A. there was no one studying Cosmology in England

B. there was no one studying Cosmology in Oxford

C. there were only a few scientists studying Cosmology in Oxford

D. Cosmology is widely studied in Britain

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871 in Dayton, Ohio, USA and died on January 30, 1948. Together with his brother, Wilbur, he was the first airplane builder. The brothers created the first controlled, powered and heavier-than-air human flight.

His parents were Milton Wright and Susan Catherine Koerner and besides the two famous brothers they had five children. One day after a trip his father brought as a gift a small helicopter. The kids loved it and as they played daily with it after a while it broke. The brothers managed to create a new one. Wright even let go his plans of attending Yale. He spent his time helping his ill mother and reading in his father’s library.

In 1884 the family decided to move to Dayton and they remained there until the 1870’s. A printing press was built by the two and Wilbur was an editor. In 1892 they started being fascinated by the aeronautical （航空的） events of that time. Then they started to create an airplane and Wilbur was considered the head of the team. They were the inventors of “three axis-control”, which permitted the pilot to steer the aircraft’s balance.

In 1900 they had their first attempts to make a functional glider（滑翔机）— of course it didn’t have a pilot. After three years they thought of introducing an engine to the glider. At first, their patent(专利) application was refused in 1903, but after one year it was accepted.

Orville’s first flight lasted 12 seconds and had 36.5 meters. He was responsible with the public shows near Washington in the United States. On September 9, 1908 his flight was 62 minutes and 15 seconds long and the success was huge.

1.What might make Wright brothers interested in the plane?

A. The pleasant trip.                        B. Catherine’s education.

C. The political events.                    D. Their father’s gift.

2.Wright didn’t go to Yale probably because ________.

A. he had to create a plane

B. he didn’t have enough money

C. he would like to learn by himself

D. his mother asked him to stay at home

3.The underlined word “steer” (in Paragraph 3) probably means ________.

A. keep                B. drive                C. learn                D. enjoy

4.This passage tells us about ________.

A. the plane’s history　　　　　　 　 B. Milton and his children

C. Orville Wright’s life　　　　　　 D. the development of science

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Alexandra Scott was born to Liz and Jay Scott in Manchester，Connecticut on January 18， 1996，the second of four children. Shortly before her first birthday，Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma，a type of childhood cancer.

On her first birthday， the doctors informed Alex’s parents that if she beat her cancer it was doubtful that she would ever walk again. Just two weeks later，Alex slightly moved her leg at her parents’ request to kick. This was the first indication that she would turn out to be a courageous and confident child with big dreams and big accomplishments.

By her second birthday，Alex was able to stand up with leg braces (支架）.She worked hard to gain strength and to learn how to walk. She appeared to be overcoming the difficul­ties， until the shocking discovery within the next year that her tumors (肿瘤)had started growing again. In the year 2000，the day after her fourth birthday，Alex received a stem cell transplant (干细胞移植）and informed her mother，“When I get out of the hospital I want to have a lemonade stand. ” She said she wanted to give the money to doctors to allow them to “help other kids，like they helped me.，，True to her word， she held her first lemonade stand later that year with the help of her older brother and raised an amazing $ 2，000 for “her hos­pital,

People from all over the world，moved by her story，held their own lemonade stands and donated the earnings to Alex and her cause. In August of 2004，Alex passed away at the age of 8，knowing that，with the help of others，she had raised more than $ 1 million to help find a cure for the disease that took her life. Alex’s family—including brothers Patrick，Eddie，and Joey—and supporters around the world are committed to continuing her inspiring cause through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (基金会）.

1.It can be learned from the text that Alex .

A. couldn’t walk until she was four

B. was the only daughter of the Scotts

C. held her first lemonade stand in 2001

D. was born with cancer

2.Why was Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation founded?

A. To promote her lemonade.

B. To set up a children’s hospital.

C. To attract public attention to her disease.

D. To collect money to help children with cancer.

3.What did the public do to support Alex and her cause?

A. They helped her sell lemonade.

B. They provided free stands for her.

C. They donated money to her foundation.

D. They donated stem cells for her operation.

4.Which of the following can best describe Alex?

A. Stubborn.　　 B. Determined.　　 C. Innocent.　　 D. Energetic.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Alexandra Scott was born to Liz and Jay Scott in Manchester, Connecticut on January 18, 1996, the second of four children. Shortly before her first birthday, Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer.

On her first birthday, the doctors informed Alex’s parents that if she beat her cancer it was doubtful that she would ever walk again. Just two weeks later, Alex slightly moved her leg at her parents’ request to kick. This was the first indication that she would turn out to be a courageous and confident child with big dreams and big accomplishments.

By her second birthday, Alex was able to stand up with leg braces（支架）. She worked hard to gain strength and to learn how to walk. She appeared to be overcoming the difficul-ties, until the shocking discovery within the next year that her tumors （肿瘤）had started growing again. In the year 2000, the day after her fourth birthday, Alex received a stem cell transplant（干细胞移植）and informed her mother, “When I get out of the hospital I want to have a lemonade stand. ” She said she wanted to give the money to doctors to allow them to help other kids, like they helped me. True to her word, she held her first lemonade stand later that year with the help of her older brother and raised an amazing $ 2,000 for her hospital.

People from all over the world, moved by her story, held their own lemonade stands and donated the earnings to Alex and her cause. In August of 2004, Alex passed away at the age of 8, knowing that, with the help of others, she had raised more than $ 1 million to help find a cure for the disease that took her life. Alex’s family—including brothers Patrick, Eddie, and Joey—and supporters around the world are committed to continuing her inspiring cause through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

1.It can be learned from the text that Alex .

A. couldn’t walk until she was four

C. held her first lemonade stand in 2001

B. was the only daughter of the Scotts

D. was born with cancer

2.Why was Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation founded?

A. To promote her lemonade.

C. To attract public attention to her disease.

B. To set up a children’s hospital.

D. To collect money to help children with cancer.

3.What did the public do to support Alex and her cause?

A. They helped her sell lemonade.

C. They donated money to her foundation.

B. They provided free stands for her.

D. They donated stem cells for her operation.

4.Which of the following can best describe Alex?

A.Stubborn. B. Determined. C. Innocent. D. Energetic.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Stephen Hawking, who is the most famous physicist, was born in Britain on January 8th, 1942. As a child, he was enthusiastic about 1. (design) complicated toys but 2. (fortune), in his twenties, he suffered 3. a disease that was impossible to be cured,4. was a great challenge for him. However, not only was he positive about the misfortunes, and eventually he 5. (defeat) all the obstacles but also he was 6. (absorb) in his research in the universe. In 1988, his best-seller A Brief History of Time 7. (publish), in which he put forward the idea 8. time itself has a beginning, and that it will have 9. end. In 10. (conclude), he has made outstanding contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity.

高二英语短文填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Stephen Hawking, who is one of the famous physicists, was born in Britain on January 8th, 1942. As a child, he was enthusiastic about 1. (design) complicated toys but 2. (fortune), in his twenties, he suffered 3. a disease that was impossible to be cured,4. was a great challenge for him. However, he was not only positive about the misfortunes, and eventually he 5. (defeat) all the obstacles but also he was absorbed 6. his research in the universe. In 1988, his best-seller A Brief History of Time 7. (publish), in which he put forward the idea 8. time itself has a beginning, and that it will have 9. end. In 10. (conclude), he has made outstanding contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity.

高二英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Arthur Miller was born on October 17th, 1915 and died on February 10th, 2005.Over the course of seven decades(十年) of literature career(文学生涯), Arthur Miller created some of the most memorable stage plays(舞台剧) in American Literature. He is the author of DeathofaSalesmanandTheCrucible. Born and raised in Manhattan, Miller went through the best and the worst of American society.

Arthur Miller's childhood：His father was a productive shop­keeper and clothing manufacturer(制造商) until the Great Depression(大萧条时期) dried up nearly all business opportunities.Yet, despite being faced with poverty, Miller made the best of his childhood. He was a very active young man, in love with such sports as football and baseball. When he wasn't playing outside, he enjoyed reading adventure stories. He was also kept busy by his many boyhood jobs. He often worked alongside his father. During other times in his life, he delivered bakery goods and worked as a clerk in a car parts warehouse.

College life: In 1934, Miller left the east coast to attend the University of Michigan. He was accepted into their school of journalism. His experiences during the Depression made him skeptical (怀疑的) about religion. Politically, he began leaning towards the "Left”.And since the theater was the cutting edge way for socio­economic liberals (自由主义者) to express their views, he decided to enter the Hopwood Drama competition. His first play, NoVillain, received an award from the university.It was an impressive beginning for the young playwright; he had never studied plays or playwriting, and he had written his play in just five days!

Miller's later years: In 1987, his autobiography was published. Many of his later plays dealt with personal experience. In particular, his final play, FinishingthePicture mirrors the last days of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe.In 2005, Arthur Miller passed away at the age of 89.

1.What can we know about Arthur Miller from Paragraph 2?

A．He was born into a poor family.

B．His father wasn't good at business.

C．He couldn't adjust himself to poverty.

D．He had to do lots of jobs to make a living.

2.Arthur Miller began to write plays ________.

A．when he was in college

B．when he was a small boy

C．because his father encouraged him to do so

D．because it was one of his school assignments(作业)

3.We can infer from Paragraph 3 that ________.

A．the University of Michigan is on the east coast of the USA

B．Miller's university education made him doubt religion

C．Miller learned playwriting all by himself

D．socio­economic liberals were probably not politically "left”

4.Which of the following plays tells the story of Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe?

A．Death of a Salesman.

B．The Crucible.

C．No Villain.

D．Finishing the Picture.

5.The passage is intended to________.

A．introduce Arthur Miller's plays

B．tell us about Arthur Miller's childhood

C．explain how Arthur Miller started to write plays

D．give us a brief introduction to Arthur Miller's life

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析