We would like to wish all our readers a wonde...

We would like to wish all our readers a wonderful winter break. Our January magazine is now in the shops and available digitally. We’re looking forward to sharing more adventures and discoveries with you in 2014, including:

At a crossroads in the Atlantic

As the population of Ascension Island rises up to mark the 200th anniversary of British rule, Fred Pearce wonders what the future might have in store for this strange part of land.

Photostory: On the road again

A selection of images from an exhibition opening this month at the Royal Geographical Society go hand in hand with M Aurel Stein’s early 20th century photographs of the Silk Road.

Dossier: Going underground

Mark Rowe discusses the role that carbon storage can play in the global effort to reduce carbon dioxide emission (排放).

Net loss

Kit Gillet reports from the Gulf of Thailand, whose fisheries (渔场) have been almost destroyed by the commercialization of the Thai fishing industry.

And don’t forget…

…a round-up of the latest geographical and climate science news; a hot spot focus on Turkey; advice on taking photographs in Antarctica; an interview with Lucien Castaing-Taylor, professor of visual arts at Harvard; plus lots, lots more…

Buy your copy now, click here and save up to 35% or call +44 (0)1635 588 496. Geographical is also available in WHSmith and many independent news agents.

1.Who took photos of the Silk Road?

A. M Aurel Stein.     B. Fred Pearce.         C. Mark Rowe.     D. Lucien Castaing-Taylor.

2.If you want to read something about global warming, you can read 　　　　　 .

A. At a crossroads in the Atlantic            B. Photostory: On the road again

C. Dossier: Going underground            D. Net loss

3.Which of the following statements is true?

A. Ascension Island has a bright future with more population.

B. Commercialization contributes to the loss of fishery in Thai.

C. The January edition of 2014 is to come out in the winter break.

D. The topics of this magazine focus on geography and interviews.

4.The passage is written to 　　　　　 .

A. share adventures and discoveries

B. give advice on taking photos

C. attract readers to buy the magazine

D. introduce the content of the magazine

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

We would like to wish all our readers a wonderful winter break. Our January magazine is now in the shops and available digitally. We’re looking forward to sharing more adventures and discoveries with you in 2014, including:

At a crossroads in the Atlantic

As the population of Ascension Island rises up to mark the 200th anniversary of British rule, Fred Pearce wonders what the future might have in store for this strange part of land.

Photostory: On the road again

A selection of images from an exhibition opening this month at the Royal Geographical Society go hand in hand with M Aurel Stein’s early 20th century photographs of the Silk Road.

Dossier: Going underground

Mark Rowe discusses the role that carbon storage can play in the global effort to reduce carbon dioxide emission (排放).

Net loss

Kit Gillet reports from the Gulf of Thailand, whose fisheries (渔场) have been almost destroyed by the commercialization of the Thai fishing industry.

And don’t forget…

…a round-up of the latest geographical and climate science news; a hot spot focus on Turkey; advice on taking photographs in Antarctica; an interview with Lucien Castaing-Taylor, professor of visual arts at Harvard; plus lots, lots more…

Buy your copy now, click here and save up to 35% or call +44 (0)1635 588 496. Geographical is also available in WHSmith and many independent news agents.

1. Who took photos of the Silk Road?

A. M Aurel Stein.     B. Fred Pearce.

C. Mark Rowe.     　　 D. Lucien Castaing-Taylor.

2. If you want to read something about global warming, you can read 　　　　　 .

A. At a crossroads in the Atlantic

B. Photostory: On the road again

C. Dossier: Going underground

D. Net loss

3. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Ascension Island has a bright future with more population.

B. Commercialization contributes to the loss of fishery in Thai.

C. The January edition of 2014 is to come out in the winter break.

D. The topics of this magazine focus on geography and interviews.

4. The passage is written to 　　　　　 .

A. share adventures and discoveries

B. give advice on taking photos

C. attract readers to buy the magazine

D. introduce the content of the magazine

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

We would like to wish all our readers a wonderful winter break. Our January magazine is now in the shops and available digitally. We’re looking forward to sharing more adventures and discoveries with you in 2014, including:

At a crossroads in the Atlantic

As the population of Ascension Island rises up to mark the 200th anniversary of British rule, Fred Pearce wonders what the future might have in store for this strange part of land.

Photostory: On the road again

A selection of images from an exhibition opening this month at the Royal Geographical Society go hand in hand with M Aurel Stein’s early 20th century photographs of the Silk Road.

Dossier: Going underground

Mark Rowe discusses the role that carbon storage can play in the global effort to reduce carbon dioxide emission (排放).

Net loss

Kit Gillet reports from the Gulf of Thailand, whose fisheries (渔场) have been almost destroyed by the commercialization of the Thai fishing industry.

And don’t forget…

…a round-up of the latest geographical and climate science news; a hot spot focus on Turkey; advice on taking photographs in Antarctica; an interview with Lucien Castaing-Taylor, professor of visual arts at Harvard; plus lots, lots more…

Buy your copy now, click here and save up to 35% or call +44 (0)1635 588 496. Geographical is also available in WHSmith and many independent news agents.

1.Who took photos of the Silk Road?

A. M Aurel Stein.      B. Fred Pearce.                  C. Mark Rowe.           D. Lucien Castaing-Taylor.

2.If you want to read something about global warming, you can read ________.

A. At a crossroads in the Atlantic

B. Photostory: On the road again

C. Dossier: Going underground

D. Net loss

3. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Ascension Island has a bright future with more population.

B. Commercialization contributes to the loss of fishery in Thai.

C. The January edition of 2014 is to come out in the winter break.

D. The topics of this magazine focus on geography and interviews.

4.The passage is written to ________.

A. share adventures and discoveries

B. give advice on taking photos

C. attract readers to buy the magazine

D. introduce the content of the magazine

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Can training Your Working Memory Make You Smarter?

We would all like to increase our cognitive(认知的)ability beyond the limits set by Mother Nature. So it’s no wonder that brain-training programmes—which typically focus on training our working memory—are a multibillion-dollar industry. But can this kind of training really make us smarter?

Cognitive training sees the brain as a kind of muscle that can be made stronger with the right kind of practice. It consists of tasks or games carried out on computers or smart phones. Despite much research, there has so far been no agreement about its effectiveness. Some think that cognitive training increases a broad range of cognitive abilities, while others less optimistic.

Yet we do know that some cognitive skills, such as working memory and intelligence, tend to go together and are predictors of real-life skills such as work performance. Thus, training one cognitive skill might lead to an improvement in many other cognitive and non-cognitive skills. That is exactly the underlying hypothesis(假设)on which working-memory training is based.

To test this hypothesis, we examined all the studies about working-memory training we could find with normally developing children: 26 experiments and 1,601 total participants. Children represent an ideal test group: during childhood, skills are still at the beginning of their development. Thus, cognitive training is more likely to succeed with children than adults.

The results were very clear. Working-memory training did not show any effect on children’s fluid intelligence, a person’s ability to solve new problems and adapt to new situations. It didn’t influence their academic achievement or other cognitive abilities, either. The only reliable effect was that children got better at what they trained to do. No more, no less. So performing working-memory tasks does seem to make you better at doing them. Nonetheless, the fact that participants got better at such tasks does not necessarily mean that their working-memory ability increased. They may just have learnt how to perform that particular type of task.

The results do indicate that the use of working-memory training programs as an educational tool is fruitless. More generally, together with other research, the results contribute to disproving cognitive training companies promises of a better brain.

The results have even more important implications theoretically. They question the hypothesis that training general cognitive mechanisms can affect other cognitive or real-life skills. Beyond working-memory training, other recent studies have shown the improving cognitive skills outside music-including academic skills.

However, these negative results must not discourage us from training our cognitive and non-cognitive skills. We just have to be aware of the actual limitations of such practice in areas outside what we are actually training. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it-the most efficient way to develop a skill is, after all, to train that skill.

1.To find out the effect of working memory training, the author ________.

A. made some scientific studies

B. reviewed the previous research

C. compared different test groups

D. got some children involved in the experiment

2.Children joining in the experiments were able to __________.

A. do better in the field where they are trained

B. obtain greater academic achievements

C. adjust to new situations quickly

D. succeed when they deal with real life problems

3.What is the author’s attitude toward the cognitive training?

A. Pessimistic　　 B. Disapproving

C. Objective　　 D. Optimistic

4.Cognitive training is likely to _______ according to the passage.

A. discover the secrets of human minds

B. make one’s brain stronger by way of practice

C. earn a good name for the training company

D. bring much profit to the training companies

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Many of us would like to spend all of our time helping dogs in need, but it can be hard to carve out that kind of time. Well, one man, Eugene Bostick, decided that when he retired, he would devote the rest of his life to helping homeless dogs feel loved.

Eugene Bostick was fortunate enough to be able to retire at the ripe age of 65 after working his entire life on his farm. His farm was located at the end of a dead-end street, and he noticed that people would, unfortunately, abandon their dogs on the farm and race off.

Eugene refused to see these pets suffer, and he quickly picked up these abandoned dogs, giving them food and taking them to the vet to make sure they were spayed and neutered.

Eugene’s farm has all kinds of animals, such as horses and goats, so these dogs have plenty of other animals to play with.

Over the last 20 years, Eugene has shown his kindness by taking on these abandoned pets, but he also saw the chance to offer them a bit of adventure. After spotting a neighbor transporting rocks behind his tractor using barrels, he realized he could do the same for his dogs. Eugene got to work to make his own train, and made sure to add some pleasant pillows so his furry friends could travel in comfort. The dogs quickly got on the train, and together, they spent hours traveling around town and through the forests nearby.

After they were spotted around town, one neighbor took a picture of Eugene that went viral, and a GoFundMe page was started that gained plenty of donations. Eugene was amazed by everyone’s generosity, and was happy to see others help these abandoned animals feel loved. Eugene will continue to care for his dogs, and we should all follow his lead!

1.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Eugene wished to retire ahead of time to care for homeless dogs.

B.People would race to the farm to pick up homeless dogs.

C.Eugene and the vet took in many abandoned dogs together.

D.Eugene’s idea for the barrel train was inspired from his neighbor.

2.What’s people’s attitude to Eugene’s act?

A.Supportive. B.Unconcerned.

C.Doubtful. D.Astonished.

3.Which words can be used to describe Eugene?

A.Serious and hardworking. B.Caring and adventurous.

C.Rich and generous. D.Playful and Childish.

4.What can be the best title for this passage?

A.A retired man’s life B.Lucky dogs

C.Train for homeless dogs D.How to help homeless dogs

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When we’re in need, we always turn to our parents for help. But would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become extensions (延伸) of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?

In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day to day lives as they always had because they had no need to know more about technology. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation to educate themselves about social networking sites.

These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them; there’s also a certain amount of control over privacy that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated (侵犯）when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.

It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don’t want to “reject” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.

A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn’t take it personally if their child ignores their request: “When a teen ignores a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of their life where they want to be independent.”

Perhaps talking with parents and giving explanations would help soften the blow if you do choose not to add them to your friends list.

1.The passage is mainly about ______.

A.privacy online B.parents’ friend requests

C.the generation gap D.social networks

2.From Paragraph 2, we learn that ______.

A.parents have realized the importance of social networks

B.parents feel secure about their privacy online

C.social networks successfully fill the generation gap

D.social networks offer a platform for parents to communicate

3.Teenagers may refuse a parent’s friend request because ______.

A.their parents make negative comments on them

B.they hide something from their parents

C.they are unwilling to be watched by parents

D.their parents tend to fall behind in technology

4.The passage is written mainly for ______.

A.parents B.teachers

C.researchers D.teenagers

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

To Friend or Not To Friend

We all love our parents and turn to them when we’re in need, but would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become extensions of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?

In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day to day lives as they always had because they had no need to know more about technology. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation to education themselves about social networking sites.

These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them; there’s also a certain amount of control over privacy that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.

It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don’t want to “reject” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.

A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn’t take it personally if their child ignores their request, “When a teen ignores a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of their life where they want to be independent.”

Perhaps talking with parents and giving explanations would help soften the blow if you do choose not to add them to your friends list.

1.From Paragraph 2, we learn that _______.

A. parents feel secure about their privacy online

B. social networks successfully fill the generation gap

C. parents have realized the importance of social networks

D. social networks offer a platform for parents to communicate

2.Teenagers may refuse a parent’s friend request because _______.

A. they hide something from their parents

B. they are unwilling to be watched by parents

C. their parents tend to fall behind in technology

D. their parents make negative comments on them

3.The passage is mainly about _______.

A. privacy online　　　　　　　　 B. social networks

C. the generation gap　　　　　　 D. parents’ friend requests

4.The passage is written mainly for _______.

A. parents　　　　 B. teenagers　　　　 C. teachers　　　　 D. researchers

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

To Friend or Not To Friend

We all love our parents and turn to them when we’re in need, but would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become extensions of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?

In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day to day lives as they always had because they had no need to know more about technology. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation to education themselves about social networking sites.

These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them; there’s also a certain amount of control over privacy that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.

It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don’t want to “reject” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.

A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn’t take it personally if their child ignores their request, “When a teen ignores a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of their life where they want to be independent.”

Perhaps talking with parents and giving explanations would help soften the blow if you do choose not to add them to your friends list.

1.From Paragraph 2, we learn that _______.

A. parents feel secure about their privacy online

B. social networks successfully fill the generation gap

C. parents have realized the importance of social networks

D. social networks offer a platform for parents to communicate

2.Teenagers may refuse a parent’s friend request because _______.

A. they hide something from their parents

B. they are unwilling to be watched by parents

C. their parents tend to fall behind in technology

D. their parents make negative comments on them

3.The passage is mainly about _______.

A. privacy online

B. social networks

C. the generation gap

D. parents’ friend requests

4.The passage is written mainly for _______.

A. parents　　　　 B. teenagers

C. teachers　　　　 D. researchers

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

To Friend or Not to Friend

We all love our parents and turn to them when we're in need, but would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become extensions of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?

In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day to day lives as they always had because they had no need to know more about technology. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation to educate themselves about social networking sites.

These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them; there's also a certain amount of control over privacy that we don't get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.

It's a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don't want to “reject” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.

A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn't take it personally if their child ignores their request: “When a teen ignores a parent's friend request, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of their life where they want to be independent.”

Perhaps talking with parents and giving explanations would help soften the blow if you do choose not to add them to your friends list.

1.From Paragraph 2, we learn that ________.

A．parents feel secure about their privacy online

B．social networks successfully fill the generation gap

C．parents have realized the importance of social networks

D．social networks offer a platform for parents to communicate

2.Teenagers may refuse a parent's friend request because ________.

A．they hide something from their parents

B．they are unwilling to be watched by parents

C．their parents tend to fall behind in technology

D．their parents make negative comments on them

3.The passage is mainly about ________.

A．privacy online

B．social networks

C．the generation gap

D．parents' friend requests

4.The passage is written mainly for ________.

A．parents　     B．teenagers　　

C．teachers　     D．researchers

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Friends are very important in our everyday life.Everyone needs friends.We all like to feel close to someone.It is nice to have a friend to talk,laugh,and do things with. 　 ,sometimes we need to be alone.We don’t always want people 　 .But we would feel lonely if we never had a friend.

No two people are 　　 .Friends sometimes don’t get on well.That doesn’t mean that they no longer like each other.Most of the time they will 　　 and become friends again.

Sometimes friends move away.Then we feel very 　　 .We miss them very much,but we can call them and write to them.And we can 　　 new friends.It is encouraging to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them.

There’s more good news for people who have friends.They live longer than people who don’t.Why? Friends can make us feel happy.Being happy helps you 　　 well.If someone cares about you,you take 　　 care of yourself.

1.A.Hardly　　 B.Nearly　　 C.Suddenly　　　　 D.Certainly

2.A.alone　　 B.away　　　 C.all over　　　　 D.around

3.A.friendly B.kind　　　 C.just the same D.quite different

4.A.make up　 B.run away C.get around　　 D.set off

5.A.angry　　 B.sad　　　　 C.happy　　　　　　 D.alone

6.A.search　　 B.contact　 C.make　　　　　　 D.know

7.A.stay　　　 B.match　　 C.think　　　　　　 D.organize

8.A.less　　　 B.better　　 C.little　　　　　 D.lot

高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析