Most penguins died after a huge iceberg grounded near their habitat in Antarctica，forcing them to make a long way to find food, scientists say in a newly published study. The B09B iceberg, measuring about 100 square kilometers, grounded in Commonwealth Bay in East Antarctica in December 2010, the researchers from Australia and New Zealand wrote in the “Antarctic Science” journal.
The Adelie penguin population at the bay’s Cape Denison was measured to be about 160,000 in February 2011 but by December 2013 it had decreased to about 10,000, they said. The iceberg’s grounding meant the penguins had to walk more than 60 kilometers to find food, preventing their breeding attempts, said the researchers from the University of New South Wales’ ( UNSW) Climate Change Research Centre and New Zealand’s West Penguin Trust.
“The Cape Denison population could disappear completely within 20 years unless B09B relocates or the fast ice within the bay breaks out,”they wrote in the research published in. Fast ice is sea ice which forms and stays along the coast. During their survey in December 2013 , the researchers said “hundreds of abandoned eggs were noted, and the freeze-dried dead bodies of previous season’s little penguins lay everywhere on the ground.”
“It’s strangely silent,”UNSW’s Chris Turney , who led the 2013 exploration , told the“Sydney Morning Herald Friday”.“The ones that we saw at Cape Denison were terribly low-spirited , almost unaware of your existence . The ones that are surviving are clearly struggling. They can hardly survive themselves , let alone give birth to the next generation. We saw lots of dead birds on the ground.”
In contrast, penguins living on the eastern edge of the bay just 8 kilometers from the fast ice edge were full of vigour, the scientists said. The researchers said the study had important influence on the wider East Antarctic if the current situation of increasing sea ice continued. Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing, in contrast to the Arctic where global warming is causing ice to melt and icebergs to decrease. Scientists believe the growth in Antarctic sea ice is likely to be driven by changes in wind and local conditions before long.
1. What’s the main reason why the Adelie penguin population decreased?
A. Many Adelie penguins died from the cold weather in Antanctic.
B. They didn’t have enough time to give birth to and raise babies.
C. The iceberg’s grounding killed a number of Adelie penguins.
D. Adelie penguins lost their habitats so they couldn’t breed.
2.Which statement is correct according to the passage ?
A. The life of penguins in Cape Denison was very hard.
B. Penguins in Cape Denison were afraid of humans .
C. The sea ice in Antarctica is decreasing faster than before.
D. Human activities caused much damage to Cape Denison.
3. What does the underlined word “vigour”in the last paragraph mean ?
A. Trouble. B. Food. C. Energy. D. Joy.
4. What’s the main idea of the passage ?
A. Global warming caused penguins’ death.
B. Iceberg harmed penguins’ life.
C. Penguins need more habitats.
D. Antarctic extreme weather caused penguins’ death.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Most penguins died after a huge iceberg grounded near their habitat in Antarctica，forcing them to make a long way to find food, scientists say in a newly published study. The B09B iceberg, measuring about 100 square kilometers, grounded in Commonwealth Bay in East Antarctica in December 2010, the researchers from Australia and New Zealand wrote in the “Antarctic Science” journal.
The Adelie penguin population at the bay’s Cape Denison was measured to be about 160,000 in February 2011 but by December 2013 it had decreased to about 10,000, they said. The iceberg’s grounding meant the penguins had to walk more than 60 kilometers to find food, preventing their breeding attempts, said the researchers from the University of New South Wales’ ( UNSW) Climate Change Research Centre and New Zealand’s West Penguin Trust.
“The Cape Denison population could disappear completely within 20 years unless B09B relocates or the fast ice within the bay breaks out,”they wrote in the research published in. Fast ice is sea ice which forms and stays along the coast. During their survey in December 2013 , the researchers said “hundreds of abandoned eggs were noted, and the freeze-dried dead bodies of previous season’s little penguins lay everywhere on the ground.”
“It’s strangely silent,”UNSW’s Chris Turney , who led the 2013 exploration , told the“Sydney Morning Herald Friday”.“The ones that we saw at Cape Denison were terribly low-spirited , almost unaware of your existence . The ones that are surviving are clearly struggling. They can hardly survive themselves , let alone give birth to the next generation. We saw lots of dead birds on the ground.”
In contrast, penguins living on the eastern edge of the bay just 8 kilometers from the fast ice edge were full of vigour, the scientists said. The researchers said the study had important influence on the wider East Antarctic if the current situation of increasing sea ice continued. Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing, in contrast to the Arctic where global warming is causing ice to melt and icebergs to decrease. Scientists believe the growth in Antarctic sea ice is likely to be driven by changes in wind and local conditions before long.
1. What’s the main reason why the Adelie penguin population decreased?
A. Many Adelie penguins died from the cold weather in Antanctic.
B. They didn’t have enough time to give birth to and raise babies.
C. The iceberg’s grounding killed a number of Adelie penguins.
D. Adelie penguins lost their habitats so they couldn’t breed.
2.Which statement is correct according to the passage ?
A. The life of penguins in Cape Denison was very hard.
B. Penguins in Cape Denison were afraid of humans .
C. The sea ice in Antarctica is decreasing faster than before.
D. Human activities caused much damage to Cape Denison.
3. What does the underlined word “vigour”in the last paragraph mean ?
A. Trouble. B. Food. C. Energy. D. Joy.
4. What’s the main idea of the passage ?
A. Global warming caused penguins’ death.
B. Iceberg harmed penguins’ life.
C. Penguins need more habitats.
D. Antarctic extreme weather caused penguins’ death.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Penguins live together，but each pair has a little piece of ground of their own.When a penguin wants to walk through its neighbor’s ground，it must ask permission.If it does not do that，it will have to fight.Most of the time，penguins live on the water.They eat shell fish and look after their children carefully.
All penguins are good parents—the male penguins are perhaps the best parents in the world. They walk in the sea in the middle of the dark Antarctic water. They choose their wives in the dark.They can only hear them—not see them.Then the female penguins lay their eggs and go away for about two months.The males take care of the eggs.If the eggs get cold，there will be no chicks.There is no food.The snow falls heavily and the wind blows strongly—sometimes at 150 kilometers an hour.The penguins do not move.When the females return from the sea，they will not remember their husbands.It does not matter.Only one thing matters—the eggs.Male penguins never fight—unless a penguin leaves a chick for a minute.They then fight because they all want it.They are strange and wonderful birds.
1.It seems interesting and unusual that the male penguins choose their wives ______.
| A．when the female penguins return from the sea |
| B．just by hearing in the darkness |
| C．each time they see the lovely females |
| D．after they have had their own grounds |
2.Male penguins fight when ______.
| A．they choose their wives |
| B．they see a chick left alone |
| C．they want to get something to eat |
| D．they walk through their neighbors’ ground |
3.From the passage we know that ______.
| A．penguins live a hard life |
| B．penguins live in pairs |
| C．penguins will fight if one walks through others’ ground without permission |
| D．each penguin has a little piece of ground of its own |
4.The penguins choose their wives in the dark. We can infer that ______.
| A．penguins like nights very much |
| B．there is no daytime in that place at all |
| C．the weather is cloudy and rainy all the year around |
| D．the sun can’t shine there for nearly half a year every year |
5.Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Female penguins take care of the eggs. |
| B．Female penguins often have their new husbands. |
| C．Male penguins use their ears to choose wives. |
| D．Male penguins don’t move when they take care of eggs，even though the wind often blows strongly. |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Why do human beings still risk their lives under ground and doing one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the world？It’s an increasingly urgent question，given the recent highprofile(引人注目的) mining accidents in Sago，W.Va.and Huntington，Utah.A small group of engineers and robotics experts look forward to a day in the nottoodistant future when robots and other technology do most of the dangerous mining work.
Robotic technology，in particular，holds much promise，McAteer says，especially when it comes to mapping mines and rescuing trapped miners—the special operations of the mining industry.
One of the first mining robots was developed five years ago at CarnegieMellon University’s Robotics Institute.It was called Groundhog and it looked like a golf cart.It used lasers(激光器) to “see” in dark tunnels and map abandoned mines—some of the most dangerous work in the business.
The latest design is called Cave Crawler.It’s a bit smaller than Groundhog，and even more advanced.It can take photos and video and has sensors mounted(增加) that can detect the presence of dangerous gases.Incredibly，the robot has a real sense of logic.If it comes across an obstacle it gets confused.It has to think through the process and where to go next，and sometimes it throws_a_fit just like a real person.
The biggest obstacle，though，is cost.The original research project was federally funded，but that money has dried up，and it’s not clear where future funding will come from. Partly for that reason，and partly because of advances in safety，mining is not nearly as dangerous as it was in the past.Since 1990，fatalities(致命性) have declined by 67 percent and injuries by 51 percent，according to the National Mining Association.
Some experts predict that robots in mines will serve much of the same function that they do in the automotive industry.The robots do the most repetitive and dangerous jobs，but don’t eliminate(消除) the need for human workers.
1.The underlined phrase “throws a fit” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”．
A．gets angry B．gets sick
C．becomes hungry D．becomes cheerful
2.We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
A．robots in mines will serve much in the automotive industry
B．there will be no need for human workers in mines
C．the mine robots will have a very bright future
D．robots in mines have a long way to go
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A．Mining robots do most of the mining work at present.
B．Groundhog can discover the presence of dangerous gases.
C．Experts are trying to make robots save miners in danger.
D．Robots cannot do dangerous work in dark areas.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A．Mining Accidents in America
B．Could Robots Replace Humans in Mines?
C．Cave Crawler，the Latest Robot
D．The Development of Robots
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
They say after a parents dies, the surviving children can taken on some of their parent’s characteristics. I ____
becoming anything like my dad for years ______I wanted to be me, not him; but there I sat at his memorial service several months ago, telling myself, “ You’ve _______a lot more of your dad in you than you think.”
There is this phrase my dad ______, and I know I’m going to sound ______to complain about it, but it used to ______me. “ I am so proud of you,” he told us kids, whether we’d won a race or helped others. That should be a (n) _____thing, but here’s what always _____ my mind: “ You are taking credit for what isn’t really yours. You can be proud, but the _____ is mine.
Your parent is doing his best to give you ______, but you do not _____it. “ I’m so proud of you.” It came out of my dad’s mouth _____, on those calls where I might have _______ something that happened at work or when he and Mom came to visit and we ______the talents of our two boys. I knew the feeling of parental ______well, especially when my boys achieved in ways that were _____my comprehension and ability, but I looked for other ways to _____ it. “ That’s an extremely good story you’ve written!” I would say about the composition. I thought that by making my praise _____, it would feel like I was claiming their achievement less as mine and more as one they could own themselves.
So just the other day when my older son sent me an email about his scholarship, I searched for _____things to say, but finally _____he doesn’t need my cleverness. They just want what my dad gave me. “ I’m so proud of you,” I wrote. Just like the old man to me.
1.A. insisted B. resisted C. considered D. meant
2.A. if B. until C. though D. because
3.A. remembered B. explained C. missed D. got
4.A. used B. created C. changed D. translated
5.A. interesting B. funny C. silly D. rude
6.A. worry B. harm C. bother D. reward
7.A. basic B. good C. difficult D. important
8.A. opened up B. went through C. tested out D. broke down
9.A. adjustment B. enjoyment C. achievement D. assignment
10.A. praise B. comment C. support D. information
11.A. win B. offer C. accept D. hear
12.A. in no time B. ahead of time C. all the time D. for a time
13.A. complained B. written C. forgotten D. mentioned
14.A. showed off B. depended on C. found out D. drew out
15.A. control B. choice C. responsibility D. pride
16.A. beyond B. near C. below D. about
17.A. feel B. express C. take D. analyze
18.A. scientific B. reliable C. specific D. logical
19.A. personal B. powerful C. clever D. secure
20.A. believing B. realizing C. proving D. suggesting
高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Nearly 19 percent of teachers of color (有色人种教师) left their jobs after the 2014-2015 school year. Some left for personal reasons like taking care of their families. But 50 percent said they left because they were dissatisfied with their employment situation, such as poor working conditions, student discipline problems and large class sizes. Thus, taking immediate measures to improve it is our top priority.
For years, researchers have proved the benefits of increasing the share of minority teachers in schools, especially as our public school system has turned to one that is made up mostly of minority students. Teachers of color, who are more likely than their white counterparts to choose to work in racially diverse (多种多样的) schools, offer particular benefits to their students. Graduation rates increase among minority students when they are taught by racially similar educators, research shows. They can also serve as positive role models, and their presence reduces the chance of racial discrimination at school.
The Shanker Institute report suggests that the rate of minority teacher hiring is not the whole problem. The problem is what happens after these teachers enter the classroom. These teachers often work in high-poverty rural schools. They are more likely to have less-desirable working conditions.
Diversity is a key component to equality and opportunity. Where there’s a diverse teaching workforce, all kids thrive. So solutions must be found at once to turn this trend around. Firstly, schools should develop mentorship programs that support minority teachers once they are in the classroom. Secondly, more money should be spent in improving working conditions in these schools. Of course, school headmasters should also be evaluated on their ability to retain teachers of color.
1.Among teachers of color leaving their jobs, half of them quit because .
A. they had to take care of their children
B. they had to move to other places
C. they eventually found better-paid jobs
D. their employment situation was unsatisfactory
2.Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. The solutions to increasing graduation rates among minority students.
B. The benefits of increasing the share of minority teachers in schools.
C. The reasons for teachers of color leaving their jobs in many schools.
D. The ways to decrease the possibility of racial discrimination at school.
3.How did the author feel when writing the passage?
A. He felt angry about the government.
B. He was satisfied with the present situation.
C. He felt it urgent to solve the problem.
D. He didn’t care about diverse teaching workforce.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
To many web-building spiders, most of whom are nearly blind, the web is their essential window on the world: their means of communicating, capturing prey, meeting mates and protecting themselves. A web-building spider without its web is like a men cast away on an island of solid rock，totally out of touch and destined to starve to death. So important is the web to an orb-web spider's survival that the animal will continue to construct new webs daily even if it is being starved. For 16 days the starving spider builds completely normal webs. Then, as the animal gets scrawnier, it constructs a wider-meshed （网孔、网眼）web using fewer strands（线）. Such webs would only trap larger prey, which is more economical from the perspective of a starving spider. The spider stores energy by recycling web protein. It simply eats its own web each evening and reuses it to produce new silk. In studies with radioactivity, labeled materials, it was found that 95 percent of web protein reappears in the next day web. Most of the energy needed for web-building is used in walking over the strands as they are laid down. Scientists are impressed by the adaptability of the spider's highly preprogrammed brain, which is larger for its size than the brain of any other invertebrate（无脊推动物）. If web-building is interrupted, or if some of the existing strands are destroyed, the spider simply goes back to see where the web is left off and then finishes building a normal web. One spider will finish building the incomplete web of another.
1.Which of the following best expresses the main ideas of the passage?
A. Secrets of Spiders' Adaptability
B. Importance of Webs to Spiders
C. Secrets of the Spiders' Life
D. Spiders' Highly Preprogrammed Brain
2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Most spiders will stop conducting webs when hungry.
B. One Web-building spider usually conducts one web.
C. Web-building spiders will probably die without their webs.
D. Web-building spiders have good eyesight.
3.The underlined word “scrawnier” in the second paragraph probably means ______.
A. weaker but good-looking
B. fatter and stronger
C. nice and healthier
D. thinner and bony
4.A spider's ability to finish an incomplete web proves that ______.
A. it has a highly preprogrammed brain
B. it reuses its web protein to reproduce new silk
C. the web is everything for a spider
D. it is able to rebuild a destroyed web
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
______ that after the ash covered the people who failed to flee the city， their bodies nearly completely______ and disappeared，_________ empty spaces in the ash.
A． It turned out ；broke down； leaving
B． As turned out； broke up； which left
C． It turned out； broke off； leaving
D． What was turned out was ；broke down； left
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
______ that after the ash covered the people who failed to flee the city, their bodies nearly completely______ and disappeared, _________ empty spaces in the ash.
A．It turned out; broke down; leaving
B．As turned out; broke up; which left
C．It turned out; broke off; leaving
D．What was turned out was; broke down; left
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
After winning a big game, athletes are often asked how they attained that success. Most say their achievement is the result of grueling hard work and intense practice. Usually athletes say how hard it is to win the big games. At the opposite end of the spectrum, however, is the fact that losing the big game, or, in my case, all the games, can be even tougher.
From the spectators' point of view, last year's basketball season for my high school team was nothing short of an embarrassment. And while 0 and 20 is certainly nothing to be proud of, that season had a bigger impact on me than any other, and probably more than any season since.
As a team captain, I knew it probably wouldn't be the easiest year, but did I ever think we would lose every game? Of course not. Since six of our top players had graduated, it was clear that we were a young team who would struggle. The struggle began earlier than expected, though, as our team's starting center was suspended for the season, and two key members decided to quit after two weeks. At some point, quitting probably passed through every player's mind, but, in the end, we all stuck it out, vowing to work even harder.
Then there came a time when even our own coach had given up on us. Personally, I felt like it was no longer worth giving my all. I thought, if even the coach doesn't believe in us, why should I? But just as my hope began to fade, a teammate called a meeting. He said, "Nobody thinks we're going to win, and heck, we may not, but, as teammates and friends, we owe it to each other to give it our all every game."
Sure, it was a little cliché(陈旧的), but it was that moment that taught me how to be a leader. It hit me then that I may have been a captain, but I, like others in my position, certainly didn't deserve the role. As a leader you can never quit on the team who looks up to you. It is one thing to be named captain and feel great and go through the motions, but it is quite another to be a real captain and make sure everyone works to their potential all the time.
I am sure it is great to go through high school without losing and bringing home awards. But in all honesty, I relish the fact that my team lost every game last year. It may not help me to become a better basketball player, but it already has made me a better leader, and person.
77.What was the biggest problem with the author's team last season?
A. Several key members were unable to play the games.
B. Their coach no longer wanted to instruct them.
C. There were no actual leaders on the team.
D. Most of players lost hope and wanted to quit.
78.In the text, the author seems to suggest that a good leader should _______.
A. be confident about himself
B. make sure everyone goes all out
C. work hard to win the games
D. feel great about his team
79.By saying "we owe it to each other to give it our all every game." (Paragraph 4) the teammate means that all of them should ________.
A. be responsible for the losses
B. try their best on the court
C. feel thankful for what they've done
D. get together to win every game
80.What is the main idea the author aims to express in the text?
A. Success is the result of hard work.
B. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
C. One can learn something from the failure.
D. A real leader should never give up.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
For most pregnant women, exercise is the last thing on their minds. After all, keeping slim while you’re expecting isn’t exactly the top priority— rather, it’s making sure your baby gets enough nutrients to grow. But in a small new study, researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand report that a mother’s regular aerobic exercise may be good for a growing fetus’ health — and may even help a baby get a healthier start in life.
The finding is a bit surprising, because exercise is known to lower the risk of insulin resistance（胰岛素抵抗），a condition eventually leading to diabetes（糖尿病）. Although insulin resistance is a detriment in healthy adults, it turns out to be helpful for proper fetal（胎儿）development. In pregnant women, this condition means nutrients get shunted to the growing baby.
The question is: could a mother’s exercise put her developing baby’s food supply at risk? Past studies looking at the effect of exercise on birth weight have been inconclusive, and none have really investigated the influence of exercise on the mother’s sensitivity to insulin. So the University of Auckland’s Dr. Paul Hoffman and his team decided to study 84 first-time mothers, who were of normal weight on average, and track any effects aerobic exercise(有氧运动) might have on their insulin sensitivity and, ultimately, on their babies’ birth weight. Researchers asked some women to exercise on a stationary bicycle for at least 40 minutes per session, up to five times each week, starting in the 20th week of pregnancy; the other women were not specifically asked to exercise. When the two groups and their babies were compared, the team found that women who bicycled regularly gave birth to babies who were on average 150g lighter than those born to the non-exercising mothers. In both groups, however, the babies were of healthy weight, and there was no difference in the mothers’ weights.
Generally speaking, babies on the lower end of the normal weight range are considered healthier and less prone to developing diabetes and obesity than heavier ones, so this was an encouraging result. Even more reassuring was that regular exercise did not seem to affect the flow of nutrients to the growing babies in the womb.
1.According to the new study, a pregnant woman’s regular exercise may _______.
A. bring benefits to a baby’s growth
B. lower the risk of insulin resistance
C. put her baby’s food supply at risk
D. help her keep slim and healthy
2.What does the underlined word “detriment” mean in the second paragraph?
A. Something that brings good.
B. Something that brings damage.
C. Something that brings obstacles.
D. Something that brings development.
3.What is the purpose of the experiment carried out by Dr. Paul Hoffman?
A. To investigate the influence of exercise on pregnant women.
B. To find out what aerobic exercise can benefit a baby’s growth.
C. To make sure of the effects exercise may have on babies’ birth weight
D. To compare the differences between mothers who exercise and who don’t
4.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Lighter babies are generally believed to be healthier than heavier ones.
B. Non－exercising mothers will definitely give birth to heavier babies.
C. No studies have looked at the effect of exercise on birth weight before.
D. Some women studied were asked to exercise regularly while some don’t.
5.Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
A. All mothers should take aerobic exercise.
B. Moms who exercise give birth to lighter babies。
C. Exercise reduces the risk of insulin resistance.
D. Heavier babies are more likely to develop diabetes.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析