The exact work of ancient astronomers has led to a modern observation --- our days are longer than they used to be. Not that you’d noticed: The new research in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A shows that it takes the Earth a tiny bit longer these days to complete a single rotation (转动) than it did millions of years ago. It’s the kind of stuff that’s measured in milliseconds per century, but those milliseconds add up. Over the last thousands of years, they’d totaled several hours, which the Los Angeles Times puts this way, “If humanity had been measuring time with an atomic clock that started running back in 700 BC, today that clock would read 7 p.m. when the sun is directly overhead rather than noon. The atomic clock won’t lose a second for 15 billion years.” Maybe more remarkable is that the work is the result of a tireless 40-year research into ancient timekeeping records dating back 2,700 years.
Scientists led by Richard Stephenson of the UK’s Durham University have been studying Babylonian clay tablets, Chinese observations made through the use of water clocks, and Arab astronomical records that tracked solar and lunar eclipses(日/月食). “The most astonishing thing about this study is the fact that we have this information at all,” said a geographer not involved in the study. Researchers are still hoping to find observations from the Incas and the Maya, and to fill in their largest hole between 200 and 600 AD, but they’ve measured the Earth’s deceleration at 1.8 milliseconds per day per century. Given the moon’s gravitational effect on our oceans, the discovery that Earth is decelerating isn’t a surprise, notes the Christian Science Monitor, though astronomers had previously estimated a higher rate.
1.Why are days longer than before according to the text?
A.The earth rotates more and more slowly.
B.Humanity has got incorrect timekeeping records.
C.It takes longer for the earth to turn around the sun.
D.The lost milliseconds for centuries are added to our present days.
2.How did researchers come to the conclusion of the study?
A.By resetting the rotating time of the earth.
B.By referring to ancient timekeeping records.
C.By studying the moon’s gravitational effect on the oceans.
D.By measuring time again with an atomic clock.
3.What can we infer about the study from what the geographer said?
A.Geography theory supports the result of the study.
B.The geographer disagrees to the research conclusion.
C.The scientists’ research is meaningless.
D.It’s right to get geographers involved in the study.
4.What is the meaning of the underlined word “deceleration” in Paragraph 2?
A.Evolution. B.Slow down.
C.Enlargement. D.Development.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
The exact work of ancient astronomers has led to a modern observation --- our days are longer than they used to be. Not that you’d noticed: The new research in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A shows that it takes the Earth a tiny bit longer these days to complete a single rotation (转动) than it did millions of years ago. It’s the kind of stuff that’s measured in milliseconds per century, but those milliseconds add up. Over the last thousands of years, they’d totaled several hours, which the Los Angeles Times puts this way, “If humanity had been measuring time with an atomic clock that started running back in 700 BC, today that clock would read 7 p.m. when the sun is directly overhead rather than noon. The atomic clock won’t lose a second for 15 billion years.” Maybe more remarkable is that the work is the result of a tireless 40-year research into ancient timekeeping records dating back 2,700 years.
Scientists led by Richard Stephenson of the UK’s Durham University have been studying Babylonian clay tablets, Chinese observations made through the use of water clocks, and Arab astronomical records that tracked solar and lunar eclipses(日/月食). “The most astonishing thing about this study is the fact that we have this information at all,” said a geographer not involved in the study. Researchers are still hoping to find observations from the Incas and the Maya, and to fill in their largest hole between 200 and 600 AD, but they’ve measured the Earth’s deceleration at 1.8 milliseconds per day per century. Given the moon’s gravitational effect on our oceans, the discovery that Earth is decelerating isn’t a surprise, notes the Christian Science Monitor, though astronomers had previously estimated a higher rate.
1.Why are days longer than before according to the text?
A. The earth rotates more and more slowly.
B. Humanity has got incorrect timekeeping records.
C. It takes longer for the earth to turn around the sun.
D. The lost milliseconds for centuries are added to our present days.
2.How did researchers come to the conclusion of the study?
A. By resetting the rotating time of the earth.
B. By referring to ancient timekeeping records.
C. By studying the moon’s gravitational effect on the oceans.
D. By measuring time again with an atomic clock.
3.What can we infer about the study from what the geographer said?
A. Geography theory supports the result of the study.
B. The geographer disagrees to the research conclusion.
C. The scientists’ research is meaningless.
D. It’s right to get geographers involved in the study.
4.What is the meaning of the underlined word “deceleration” in Paragraph 2?
A. Evolution. B. Slowdown.
C. Enlargement. D. Development.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The exact work of ancient astronomers has led to a modern observation --- our days are longer than they used to be. Not that you’d noticed: The new research in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A shows that it takes the Earth a tiny bit longer these days to complete a single rotation (转动) than it did millions of years ago. It’s the kind of stuff that’s measured in milliseconds per century, but those milliseconds add up. Over the last thousands of years, they’d totaled several hours, which the Los Angeles Times puts this way, “If humanity had been measuring time with an atomic clock that started running back in 700 BC, today that clock would read 7 p.m. when the sun is directly overhead rather than noon. The atomic clock won’t lose a second for 15 billion years.” Maybe more remarkable is that the work is the result of a tireless 40-year research into ancient timekeeping records dating back 2,700 years.
Scientists led by Richard Stephenson of the UK’s Durham University have been studying Babylonian clay tablets, Chinese observations made through the use of water clocks, and Arab astronomical records that tracked solar and lunar eclipses(日/月食). “The most astonishing thing about this study is the fact that we have this information at all,” said a geographer not involved in the study. Researchers are still hoping to find observations from the Incas and the Maya, and to fill in their largest hole between 200 and 600 AD, but they’ve measured the Earth’s deceleration at 1.8 milliseconds per day per century. Given the moon’s gravitational effect on our oceans, the discovery that Earth is decelerating isn’t a surprise, notes the Christian Science Monitor, though astronomers had previously estimated a higher rate.
1.Why are days longer than before according to the text?
A.The earth rotates more and more slowly.
B.Humanity has got incorrect timekeeping records.
C.It takes longer for the earth to turn around the sun.
D.The lost milliseconds for centuries are added to our present days.
2.How did researchers come to the conclusion of the study?
A.By resetting the rotating time of the earth.
B.By referring to ancient timekeeping records.
C.By studying the moon’s gravitational effect on the oceans.
D.By measuring time again with an atomic clock.
3.What can we infer about the study from what the geographer said?
A.Geography theory supports the result of the study.
B.The geographer disagrees to the research conclusion.
C.The scientists’ research is meaningless.
D.It’s right to get geographers involved in the study.
4.What is the meaning of the underlined word “deceleration” in Paragraph 2?
A.Evolution. B.Slow down.
C.Enlargement. D.Development.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna elephant
Once they obtained DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石)，mammoths and mastodons， the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephants and the African forest elephants have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Minois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purpose. Since 1950 all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinct animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority (优先)for conservation purpose .”
1.One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of ________.
A. the Asian elephant B. the forest elephant
C. the savanna elephant D. the mastodon elephant
2.The underlined word “divergence” in paragraph 4means “________”
A. evolution B. exhibition C. separation D. examination
3.The researcher’s conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s _____
A. DNA B. height C. weight D. population
4.What were Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?
A. The conservation of African elephants.
B. The purpose of studying African elephants
C. The way to divide African elephants into two units
D. The reason for the distinction of African elephants
5.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Naturalist’s Belief about Elephants.
B. Amazing Experiment about Elephants
C. An Unexpected Finding about Elephants
D. A Long scientific Debate about Elephants
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna elephant
Once they obtained DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石)，mammoths and mastodons the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephants and the African forest elephants have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Minois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purpose. Since 1950 all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinct animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority (优先)for conservation purpose .”
1.
One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of ________.
A. the Asian elephant B. the forest elephant
C. the savanna elephant D. the mastodon elephant
2.
The underlined word “divergence” in paragraph 4means “________”
A. evolution B. exhibition C. separation D. examination
3.
The researcher’s conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s ____________
A. DNA B. height C. weight D. population
4.
What were Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?
A. The conversation of African elephants.
B. The purpose of studying African elephants
C. The way to divide African elephants into two units
D. The reason for the distinction of African elephants
5.
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Naturalist’s Belief about Elephants. B. Amazing Experiment about Elephants
C. An Unexpected Finding about Elephants D. A Long scientific Debate about Elephants
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
One day. One lifetime. You can do it! From the museum of modern art to the museum of ancient articles, visit our picks for the world’s best museums.
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa)
This museum has a great collection of art spanning the Middle Ages to the present day, including American, Indian, European, Inuit and Canadian works. It offers a unique, near-complete overview of Canadian art — from early Quebec religious work, through Inuit work from the 1950s, to the contemporaries.
Tokugawa Art Museum (Japan)
The Tokugawa family reigned over Japan from 1600 to 1868. Under them, the country enjoyed the longest period of peace in its history. This time span is also known as the Edo period, during which the arts flowered in Japan. Artists of this period directly influenced Western masters such as Monet, Gauguin and Whistler and have since gone on to become household names. Other exhibits effectively present, through accurately reproduced environments, aspects of Japanese life at the time.
Museum of Fine Arts (Boston)
Highlights of this museum’s collection include a 4th-century Christian marble bust (半身像) of St. Paul at prayer, and a painting that questions life and our very existence, Gauguin’s “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?” It’s a must — go in the US.
The Egyptian Museum (Cairo)
As well as gathering together some of the finest archaeological finds from all Egypt, this museum also provides a rare opportunity to simply pop in and within minutes be standing face-to-face with one of the greatest works of mankind, Tutankhamun’s golden mask. A portrait of unbelievable quality, craftsmanship and beauty, the highly polished gold face — at once a god, a king and a teenager — shines like water: delicate, yet untouchable all at the same time.
1.Which museum will you visit if you want to know more about Monet?
A. Tokugawa Art Museum. B. National Gallery of Canada.
C. Museum of Fine Arts. D. The Egyptian Museum.
2.What kind of works can’t you see in the National Gallery of Canada?
A. American works. B. European works.
C. Japanese works. D. Inuit woks.
3.What is the most famous art work in The Egyptian Museum?
A. Gauguin’s painting.
B. A golden mask of Tutankhamun.
C. The Tokugawa family paintings.
D. A 4th-century Christian marble bust of St. Paul at prayer.
高三英语长对话或独白中等难度题查看答案及解析
Calculations, which are astronomically exact, have been made________with the use of computers.
| A．possible | B．it possible | C．possibly | D．to be possible |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Calculations，which are astronomically exact，have been made ________ with the use of computers.
A．possible B．it possible
C．possibly D．to be possible
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The Palace Museum has a _________ of 96 million pieces of ancient Chinese art works．
A．collection B．mixture
C．combination D．series
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The study of a modern language has a unique ______ to make to the development of cultural awareness.
A.influence B.connection C.contribution D.devotion
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, has an ancient competition with Chongqing, a city to its south-east. Residents of Chongqing accused their Chengdu cousins of being pompous (自大的). The people of Chongqing were hotheads, Chengdu residents shot back. Both cities share a love of spice-laden Sichuan cuisine, which in recent decades has occupied Chinese dinner tables. But they are at war over which has the best Sichuan hotpot—a type of DIY-cooking that involves boiling vegetables and slices of meat with chillies and numbing peppercorns.
A private museum in Chongqing, opened several years ago, makes the case for the Chongqing-style hotpot. It describes how it developed from a method used to make cheap offcuts of meat taste delicious. But Chengdu is playing catch-up. In January the city sold a plot of land on condition that the developer build a hotpot museum on part of it.
The two cities are among many in China with their own styles of hotpot. Hotpot restaurants in China are more profitable than other kinds. Haidilao, a well-known Sichuan-based hotpot chain, raised nearly $1bn when it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (股票交易所) in September.
Not all Chinese warm to hotpot. Some older Sichuanese refuse to be connected with it. They complain that it is causing overuse of chilli in other dishes that cover up the original genuine flavours.
But Chengdu’s plans for a museum suggest that Sichuan hotpot is not only growing in popularity, but is also becoming symbolic. If it can set the West on fire, officials may hope it will become a delicious new source of Chinese soft power. There will be plenty of glory for both Chengdu and Chongqing to take pride in if that happens.
1.Why are Chengdu and Chongqing competing with each other?
A.Because Chengdu people think Chongqing people are pompous.
B.Because Chengdu residents like to shoot back in battles.
C.Because they both think they are better at eating spicy food.
D.Because they both believe they have the best Sichuan hotpot.
2.What is the purpose of building a hotpot museum in Chengdu?
A.To compete with Chongqing. B.To advertise Sichuan cuisine.
C.To show their love for hotpot. D.To keep the hotpot tradition.
3.What can we infer about hotpot from the last paragraph?
A.The two cities have competed only in recent decades.
B.More hotpot museums will be built in the future.
C.Hotpot is already a source of Chinese soft power.
D.People hold a high expectation for hotpot culture.
4.Which can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Growing Popularity of Hotpot in Two Cities
B.Two Cities’ War Over Tastiest Sichuan Hotpot
C.“No Hotpot, No Happiness” True in Food Business
D.Private Museum in Chongqing Opened First
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析