In 1863, the great novelist Jules Verne wrote...

In 1863, the great novelist Jules Verne wrote a novel called Paris in the Twentieth Century. In the book he used the full power of his great ability to forecast the coming century. Unfortunately, the manuscript (手稿) was lost until his great-grandson happened to discover it lying in a safe where it had been carefully locked away for almost 130 years. Realizing what a treasure he had found, he arranged to have it published in 1994, and it became a bestseller at once.

Back in 1863, kings still ruled the ancient world in Europe, with so many poor people working in the fields. And steam power was just beginning to change the world. But Verne predicted that Paris in 1960 would have glass skyscrapers, air conditioning, TV, high-speed trains, gas-powered vehicles, and even something similar to the Internet. Verne descibed life in modem Paris almost without any mistakes.

Just two years later Verne made another amazing prediction. He wrote From the Earth to the Moon, in which he predicted the details of the task that sent several astronauts to the moon 100 years later in 1969. He correctly predicted the size of the space capsule, the number of astronauts who would carry out the task, the weightlessness that the astronauts would experience, and the final landing in the ocean.

How was Jules Verne able to predict 100 years into the future successfully? Although he was not a scientist himself, Verne often turned to scientists, asking them questions about their opinions of the future. He collected a vast amount of information about the great scientific discoveries of his time. Verne realized that science would make it possible for many amazing things to appear in the future. The secret of his successful prediction was his belief in the power of science to change society.

1.Paris in the Twentieth Century is a novel that 　　　　 .

A. was published long after it was finished

B. didn’t sell well when published at first

C. took Jules Verne five years to finish

D. people thought badly of at first

2.The third paragraph is mainly about 　　　　 .

A. the requirements of being an astronaut

B. how From the Earth to the Moon was created

C. what From the Earth to the Moon is about

D. the differences between the earth and the moon

3.According to the text, Jules Verne 　　　　 .

A. could predict what would happen to someone

B. was a great scientist and novelist

C. had Paris in the Twentieth Century published in 1994

D. showed strong interest in writing and science

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. The early life of Jules Verne

B. Jules Verne: A writer ahead of his time

C. Jules Verne’s opinions about science

D. Jules Verne’s inventions came true

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

French novelist Jules Verne (1828—1905) is often called the father of science fiction. Although he was not a great traveler himself, his characters travelled to the moon (in From the Earth to the Moon), under the sea (in Twenty thousand leagues under the sea), into a volcano (in A journey to the centre of the earth), around the world (in Around the World in Eighty Days) and to many other places.

　Jules Verne was born in the French city of Nantes in 1828. When he was a boy he ran away from home to work on a ship. However, his father soon found him and brought him home. After that he decided that any future travel he did would be in books. In 1847 his father sent Jules to Paris to study to be a lawyer. Even though he was busy writing, Verne passed his exams in 1849 with high marks.

　When Jules told his father he did not want to be a lawyer, his father was very angry. He stopped sending his son any money, so Jules had to earn a living by his writing. Over the next few years he wrote many stories and plays, which brought him only a little money. Then, in 1856, he met Honorine de Viane, a rich, young widow with two children. The couple married the next year.

After his marriage, Verne worked as a businessman in Paris. However, he was not very successful at his job and spent most of his time writing books and doing research for the next one. In 1863 he published his novel Five Weeks in a balloon and the following year he published A Journey to the centre of the earth which made him famous. His books became so popular and earned him so much money that he was able to leave his job and work full time on his writing.

In his Lifetime, Jules Verne wrote more than 50 books and he became a rich man. Many of this imaginative novels have been turned into films.

1.When Jules Verne was brought home by his father, he decided that ________.

A．he would devote himself to writing

B．he would go on more travels in the future

C．he would stop writing about future travels

D．he would do what his father required

2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．He was not good at his schoolwork.

B．He went to Paris because he wanted to be a lawyer.

C．His early stories and plays didn’t bring in much money.

D．He got married in 1856.

3.Jules Verne became rich mainly because of his ________.

A．family            B．marriage          C．business          D．writing

4.Which book can be considered as a turning point in Jules Verne’s life?

A. From the Earth to the Moon.

B. Five Weeks in a Balloon.

C. A Journey to the Center of the Earth.

D. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

5.Which can we infer from the passage?

A．Jules Verne’s stories and plays were liked by film makers.

B．Jules Verne was not clever enough to learn law.

C．Jules Verne’s wife helped him a lot in his writing career.

D．Jules Verne’s stories and plays made him famous in the 1850s.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic Adventure novel by Jules Verne. The story starts in London in 1872. One day in the Reform Club, Phileas Fogg, a wealthy gentleman, accepts a wager(赌注) for £20,000, which he will receive if he travels around the world in 80 days.

Phileas Fogg sets off immediately, with his servant Passepartout. They reach Suez(苏伊士) quickly. While landing in Egypt, he is watched by a British detective named Fix, who is in search of a bank robber. Because Fix mistakes Fogg for the criminal, he follows secretly, as they are getting on a ship to Bombay.

After more than 20-days of travelling, they arrive in San Francisco, and then get on the train to New York. During that trip, the train is attacked by Indians, who take Passepartout away. With some soldiers’ help, Fogg succeeds in freeing his companion. To make up for the lost time, Fogg and his companion hasten on to New York, and catch the steamer for the crossing of the Atlantics. They arrive in Ireland in time to reach London before the deadline. However, once on British soil again, Fix arrests Fogg. Although the misunderstanding is quickly cleared up—the actual bank robber had been caught several days earlier. Fogg has missed the train and returns to London five minutes late, sure that he has lost the wager.

However, the next day Fogg learns from the priest that he is mistaken in the date, which he thinks Sunday but which actually is Saturday, due to the fact that they gained a full day on their journey around the globe, by crossing the International Date Line. Fogg immediately sets off for the Reform Club, where he arrives just in time to win the wager.

1.The reason that Fix wants to arrest Phileas Fogg is that________.

2.During his time in America, Phileas Fogg spends a lot of “unexpected” time ________.

3.Does Phileas Fogg win the wager at last? Why?

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The science fiction type of entertainment is considered by mot to be fathered by Jules Verne (A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) and H. G. Wells (The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds). Sei-Fi, as it is commonly shortened, is a fictional story in which science and technology have a significant influence on the characters and plot. Many such works are guesswork about what the future holds and how scientific findings and technological advances will shape humankind.

Writing in the late 1800s, Jules Verne was remarkably successful in his 10 guesses about future technologies of air conditioning, automobiles, the Internet, television, and underwater, air, and space travel. Unbelievably, of all places from which to choose, Jules Verne guessed Tampa, Florida, USA as the launching site of the first project to the Moon, which was only 200 kilometers away from the actual 1969 location at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

One of the best-known science fiction books is Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Published in 1949, it was not meant as a prediction, but as a warning: Orwell was describing what he saw as the outcome of the ideas, trends, and emerging technologies of his time. Many invented terms from this novel have become common in everyday use, such as “big brother” and “doublethink”. Even the author’s name has been made into an adjective—Orwellian—and has become a warning descriptor for situations where privacy is lost and the individual has no power and is completely controlled by the government. Nineteen Eighty-Four was translated into sixty-five languages within five years of its publication, setting a record that still stands.

What helps bring science fiction into being is usually a new discovery or innovation. The author creates an analysis of the potential influence and consequences and then wraps it in a pleasant story. For example, the beginning of space exploration was followed a few years later by the Star Trek television program and movie series. The science fiction author’s self-determined role is search the world of future possibilities upon the road which we are traveling.

1.From the first paragraph, we know that science fiction might be ________.

A.a forecast of how a new discovery could influence mankind

B.a brief review of the present drawbacks of technology

C.a thoughtful look at the past and a prediction of the future

D.an analysis of how a new technology could be used to harm human.

2.Which of the following best describes Nineteen Eighty-Four?

A.A prediction of future technologies.

B.A warning of unfair and cruel ruling.

C.The motive of scientific development.

D.An imaginary perfect world of freedom.

3.From the passage we can learn that ________.

A.H.G. Wells predicted the Internet in the late 1800s

B.Nineteen Eighty-Four adopted some popular terms

C.Star Trek movie series were based on space exploration

D.Cape Canaveral was mentioned in Jules Verne’s fiction

4.According to the author, what is the role of science fiction in society?

A.A reference of technology.

B.A moral compass.

C.A record of science development.

D.A form of thinking about possibilities.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Nineteenth-century writers in the United States, whether they wrote novels, short stories, poems or plays, were powerfully drawn to the railroad in its golden years. In fact, writers responded to the railroads as soon as the first were built in the 1830’s. By the 1850’s, the railroad was a major presence in the life of the nation. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David saw the railroad both as a boon(要求) to democracy(民主国家) and as an object of suspicion. The railroad could be and was a despoiler(掠夺者) of nature, furthermore, in its manifestation of speed and noise. It might be a despoiler of human nature as well. By the 1850’s and 1860’s, there was a great distrust among writer and intellectuals of the rapid industrialization of which the railroad was a leading force. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.

For the most part, the literature in which the railroad plays and important role belong to popular culture rather than to the realm of serious art. One thinks of melodramas, boys’ books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank. In the railroads’ prime years, between 1890 and 1920, there were a few individuals in the United States, most of them with solid railroading experience behind them, who made a profession of writing about railroading—works offering the ambience of stations, yards, and locomotive cabs. These writers, who can genuinely be said to have created a genre, the “railroad novel”, are now mostly forgotten, their names having faded from memory. But anyone who takes the time to consult their fertile writings will still find a treasure trove of information about the place of the railroad in the life of the United States.

1.The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to______.

　A. railroad 　　B. manifestation　　 C. speed 　　D. nature

2.In the first paragraph, the author implies that writers’ reactions to the development of railroads were______.

　A. highly enthusiastic 　 B. both positive and negative　  C. unchanging　 　D. Disinterested

3. According to the passage, the railroad played a significant role in literature in all of the following kinds of books except_______.　

A. thrillers 　 B. boys’ books　　C. romances　　D. important novels

4. The phrase “first rank” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to______.

A. largest category(类别) 　B. highest quality　  C. earliest writers 　D. most difficult language

5. Which of the following topics is the main idea of passage?

A. The role of the railroad in the economy of the USA　

B. Major nineteenth century writers

C. The conflict between expanding industry and preserving nature

D. The railroad as a subject for literature

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

________I know，Mike has no interest in the novel you wrote.

A．As long as                             B．As far as

C．As much as                            D．As well as

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Mo Yan’s novels have been in great __________ since he won the Nobel Prizein Literature.

A. quality　　　　　　　　 B. sale　　　　　　 C. progress　　　　　　 D. demand

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The Great Wall of China, a wonder of the word, 1.(call) “The Ten Thousand Li Great Will” in China. It’s over 6,000 kilometers long, 6-7meters high2. 4 to 5 meters wide. At most places the Great Wall has a wide walkway3.snakes along the top. It is said that it’s the only man-made structure that can be seen from space. The Great Wall has a history of more than two thousand years. 4. was during the Qin Dynasty that the parts were joined up into one long wall. In ancient days it was difficult 5. (build) such a wall. Our forefathers carried, lifted and 6.(lay) big bricks and stones7.simple tools. Each brick and stone fits well, even 8.they didn’t have our modern machines!

Nowadays the Great Wall has become a place of interest. Every year people 9.all over the world come to visit it. Many of them have got to know the famous Chinese saying: “He who does not reach the Great Wall is not10.true man.”

高二英语短文填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

In all his life, Dickens wrote a large number of excellent novels, some of which ______ still popular.

A. are　　 B. is

C. were　　 D. was

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer’s office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.

He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity（不人道） of the bourgeoisie（资产阶级）.

Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.

Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism（人文主义）. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.

61. Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

A. he wanted to teach himself

B. he wanted to work and made a lot of money

C. he was too poor to afford any more formal education

D. he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist

62. According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.

A. just     B. poor    C. comfortable        D. unsatisfying

63. Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

A. Oliver Twist             B. The Pickwick Papers

C. A Tale of Two Cities       D. Great Expectations

64. According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

A. He didn’t go to school at all.

B. He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.

C. He began to write fictions when he was 21years old.

D. He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

65. It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A. Dickens had a miserable childhood

B. Dickens tried many different jobs before he became a professional writer

C. Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular

D. Dickens criticized capitalist（资本主义的）society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析