For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad ...

For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $ 145 a performance, opera goers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience. It needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or band-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.

1.Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?

A．Opera is famous for is history.

B．Opera is only for rich people.

C．Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

D．Young people are not interested in opera.

2.The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A．breaking up the old rules          B．changing the dresses

C．making the audience at ease    D．advertising themselves

3.Opera companies prefer to perform smaller versions because ________.

A．they can be performed  in public libraries

B．short versions are easy to perform

C．it is hard to find long versions

D．they can make people interested

4.The San Francisco Opera employs young students in order to ________.

A．attract young people                 B．reduce the cost

C．celebrate its 75^th anniversary   D．make Cinderella popular

5.What can you infer from the passage?

A．The tickets for opera are very expensive at present.

B．Opera is performed in a language difficult to understand.

C．Opera is not so popular an art form today.

D．Students enjoy performing operas very much.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain appearance in people's mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. Because young people don't or won't come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera's choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas” shortened versions(剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer's production is Hansel ＆ Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists' Training Program.

1. Which is the main idea of this passage？

A.  Opera is famous for its long history.

B.  Opera is only performed for rich people.

C.  Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

D.  Young people are not interested in opera.

2.The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means ______.

A.  breaking up the old rules      B.   changing the dresses

C.  making the audience at ease    D. advertising themselves

3.Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because ______ .

A.  they can be performed in public libraries

B.  short versions are easy to perform

C.  it is hard to find long versions

D.  they can make more people come to opera

4.The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to ______.

A.  celebrate its 75th anniversary      B.  reduce the cost

C.  attract young people                D.  make Cinderella popular

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain appearance in people's mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. Because young people don't or won't come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera's choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas” shortened versions(剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer's production is Hansel ＆ Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists' Training Program.

1.Which is the main idea of this passage？

A.     Opera is famous for its long history.

B.     Opera is only performed for rich people.

C.     Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

D.     Young people are not interested in opera.

2.The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means ______.

A.     breaking up the old rules      B. changing the dresses

C.     making the audience at ease    D. advertising themselves

3.Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because ______ .

A.     they can be performed in public libraries

B.     short versions are easy to perform

C.     it is hard to find long versions

D.     they can make more people come to opera

4.The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to ______.

A.     celebrate its 75th anniversary                 B.     reduce the cost

C.     attract young people                                   D.     make Cinderella popular

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

China has splendid culture with a long history. Chinese opera is one of the 1.(old) dramatic art forms in the world.During the Tang Dynasty,the Emperor Xuanzong established an opera school 2. the poetic name Liyuan (Pear Garden). Since the Yuan Dynasty, encouraged by court officials and emperors, it3.(become) a traditional art form. During the Qing Dynasty, 4.became fashionable among ordinary people. Performances 5.(watch) in tearooms, restaurants, and even on temporary stages.

It developed from folk songs, dance, talking, antimasque(滑稽戏) and especially distinctive dialectical music. Gradually it combined music, art and literature into one performance on the stage. 6.(accompany) by traditional musical instruments, actors present unique melodies which may sound strange to 7.(foreign) as well as beautifully written dialogues, which are of high literary 8.(valuable). These dialogues also promoted the development of distinct literary styles, such as Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty. For Chinese, especially older folks, 9.(listen) to this kind of opera occasionally is 10.real pleasure.

高三英语短文填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Bad habits, ______ formed(形成), are difficult to give up.

A．and              B．once             C．for               D．but

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Pop music is the name for different forms of popular, commercial(商业) music. It had its beginning in the USA and spread throughout the whole world during the 1950s and 1960s. It is widely liked by the young people. The best known early form of pop music was “rock’ n’ roll”; another was “blues”. A more recent development is “folk-rock”. Pop music has taken the place of native music in many parts of the world; it has caused the number of people for jazz to become much smaller than it was in the 1950s and earlier, and it has now begun to rule musical stage productions. It’s a big industry. Much pop music is without artistic value, but the work of some pop singers, e.g. the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the groups like Floyd and Crosby, Stills and Nash, is on a higher musical level. And there is still a great interest in it today. Pop music concerts and festivals are held all over the world.

1.All of the following forms belong to pop music EXCEPT _______________.

A. blues        B. rock’ n ’roll          C. jazz         D. folk-rock

2.According to the article, the number of people for jazz in the 1950s and earlier was ___________ it is today.

A. much greater than   B. much smaller than    C. as great as D. as small as

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. No pop music is on a high musical level.

B. Much pop music is very artistic.

C. Pop music is highly artistic.

D. Not all pop music is without artistic value.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

-He had a headache and went to drugstore to get something for his pain ____.

-But the form cannot be signed by anyone ____ himself.

A. relax; rather than              B. relief; other than

C. leisure; rather than　　          D. comfort; other than

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Nobody believed his reason for being absent form the class______ he had to meet his uncle at the air port.

　A. why          B. that　　     C. where                D. because

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Diana Jacobs thought her family had a workable plan to pay for college for her 21-year-old twin sons: a combination of savings, income, scholarships, and a modest amount of borrowing. Then her husband lost his job, and the plan fell apart.

"I have two kids in college, and I want to say come home. ' but at the same time I want to provide them with a good education," says Jacobs.

The Jacobs family, did work out a solution: They asked and received more aid from the schools, and each son increased his' borrowing to the maximum amount through the federal loan (贷款) program. They will each graduate with $ 20,000 of debt, but at least they will be able to finish school.

With unemployment rising, financial aid administrators expect to hear from more families like the Jacobses. More students are applying for aid, and more families expect to need student loans. College administrators are concerned that they will not have enough aid money to go around.

At the same time, tuition (学费) continues to rise. A report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education found that college tuition and fees increased 439% from 1982 to 2007, while average family income rose just 147% . Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade.

"If we go on this way for another 25 years, we won't have an affordable system of higher education," says Patrick M. Calan, president of the center. "The middle class families have been financing it through debt. They will send kids to college whatever it takes, even if that means a huge amount of debt."

Financial aid administrators have been having a hard time as many companies decide that student loans are not profitable enough and have stopped making them. The good news, however, is that federal loans account for about three quarters of student borrowing, and the government says that money will flow uninterrupted.

1.According to Paragraph 1. why did the plan of the Jacobs family fail?

2.How did the Jacobses manage to solve their problem?

3.Financial aid administrators believe that________.

4.What can we learn about the middle class families from they text?

5.According to the last paragraph the government will________.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Diana Jacobs thought her family had a workable plan to pay for college for her 21-year-old twin sons: a combination of savings, income, scholarships, and a modest amount of borrowing. Then her husband lost his job, and the plan fell apart.

“I have two kids in college, and I want to say ‘come home,’ but at the same time I want to provide them with a good education,” says Jacobs.

The Jacobs family did work out a solution: They asked and received more aid form the schools, and each son increased his borrowing to the maximum amount through the federal loan (贷款) program. They will each graduate with $20,000 of debt, but at least they will be able to finish school.

With unemployment rising, financial aid administrators expect to hear more families like the Jacobs. More students are applying for aid, and more families expect to need student loans. College administrators are concerned that they will not have enough aid money to go around.

At the same time, tuition（学费）continues to rise. A report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education found that college tuition and fees increased 439% from 1982 to 2007, while average family income rose just 147%. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade,

“If we go on this way for another 25years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education,” says Patrick M. Callan, president of the center. “The middle class families have been financing it through debt. They will send kids to college whatever it takes, even if that means a huge amount of debt.”

Financial aid administrators have been having a hard time as many companies decide that student loans are not profitable enough and have stopped making them. The good news, however, is that federal loans account for about three quarters of student borrowing, and the government says that money will flow uninterrupted.

1.

According to Paragraph 1, why did the plan of Jacobs family fail?

A. The twins wasted too much money.

B. The father was out of work.

C. Their saving ran out.

D. The family fell apart.

2.

How did the Jacobs manage to solve their problem?

A. They asked their kids to come home.

B. They borrowed $20,000 from the school.

C. They encouraged their twin sons to do part-time jobs.

D. They got help from the school and the federal government.

3.

Financial aid administrators believe that _______.

A. more families will face the same problem as the Jacobses

B. the government will receive more letters of complaint

C. college tuition fees will double soon

D. America’s unemployment will fall

4.

What can we learn about the middle class families from the text?

A. They blamed the government for the tuition increase.

B. Their income remained steady in the last decade.

C. They will try their best to send kids to college.

D. Their debts will be paid off within 25 years.

5.

According to the last paragraph, the government will________.

A. provide most students will scholarships

B. dismiss some financial aid administrators

C. stop the companies from making student loans

D. go on providing financial support for college students

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析