Over the centuries the French have lost a number of famous battles with the British. However, they’ve always felt superior in the kitchen. France has for centuries had a reputation for cooking excellence, and Britain for some of the worst cooking in the world. But according to a recent survey, that reputation may no longer reflect reality.
In the survey, 71% of the Britons said they cook at home every day, while only 59% of the French said they cook daily. British home cooks spend more time cooking each week and also produce a greater variety of dishes than French home cooks.
The reaction in London was predictably enthusiastic. British food has greatly improved since the 1990s. Once upon a time, the menu for many family meals would have been roast beef, potatoes and over-cooked vegetables, but not now. Home cooks are experimenting with the huge range of ingredients now available in British supermarkets and are preparing all kinds of new dishes, using the cookbooks that sell millions of copies every year. As a result, there’s much more diversity in British food now, compared to French food, which tends to be very traditional.
Some French people say that the survey did not show the whole picture. They agree that during the week French women don’t cook as much as they used to because most of them work and don’t have much time. They tend to buy ready-made or frozen dishes, but many of them make up for it on the weekend. There’s also a difference between Paris and the countryside. It’s true that people in Paris don’t cook much, but elsewhere, cooking is still at the heart of daily life.
For many French people, opinions about British food have not changed. When Bernard Blier, the food editor at a magazine, was asked about British food, he replied: “I don’t go out of my way to try it. It is not very refined. You can say that I’m not a fan at all.”
1.According to the passage, nowadays British people ______.
A.cook less at home than the French every day.
B.no longer eat roast beef and over-cooked vegetables.
C.are more willing to try cooking all kinds of new foods.
D.buy more cookbooks than French people do.
2.What can we infer from the fourth paragraph?
A.French women cook less often now.
B.The French prefer ready-made dishes.
C.French women seldom cook on the weekend.
D.Cooking is at the heart of people’s life in Paris.
3.What is Bernard’s attitude towards British food?
A.He would love to try it. B.He shows no interest in it.
C.He considers it worse than before. D.He considers it better than before.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The history of British food. B.The history of French food.
C.The change in British food. D.The change in French food.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
Over the centuries the French have lost a number of famous battles with the British. However, they’ve always felt superior in the kitchen. France has for centuries had a reputation for cooking excellence, and Britain for some of the worst cooking in the world. But according to a recent survey, that reputation may no longer reflect reality.
In the survey, 71% of the Britons said they cook at home every day, while only 59% of the French said they cook daily. British home cooks spend more time cooking each week and also produce a greater variety of dishes than French home cooks.
The reaction in London was predictably enthusiastic. British food has greatly improved since the 1990s. Once upon a time, the menu for many family meals would have been roast beef, potatoes and over-cooked vegetables, but not now. Home cooks are experimenting with the huge range of ingredients now available in British supermarkets and are preparing all kinds of new dishes, using the cookbooks that sell millions of copies every year. As a result, there’s much more diversity in British food now, compared to French food, which tends to be very traditional.
Some French people say that the survey did not show the whole picture. They agree that during the week French women don’t cook as much as they used to because most of them work and don’t have much time. They tend to buy ready-made or frozen dishes, but many of them make up for it on the weekend. There’s also a difference between Paris and the countryside. It’s true that people in Paris don’t cook much, but elsewhere, cooking is still at the heart of daily life.
For many French people, opinions about British food have not changed. When Bernard Blier, the food editor at a magazine, was asked about British food, he replied: “I don’t go out of my way to try it. It is not very refined. You can say that I’m not a fan at all.”
1.According to the passage, nowadays British people ______.
A.cook less at home than the French every day.
B.no longer eat roast beef and over-cooked vegetables.
C.are more willing to try cooking all kinds of new foods.
D.buy more cookbooks than French people do.
2.What can we infer from the fourth paragraph?
A.French women cook less often now.
B.The French prefer ready-made dishes.
C.French women seldom cook on the weekend.
D.Cooking is at the heart of people’s life in Paris.
3.What is Bernard’s attitude towards British food?
A.He would love to try it. B.He shows no interest in it.
C.He considers it worse than before. D.He considers it better than before.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The history of British food. B.The history of French food.
C.The change in British food. D.The change in French food.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Famous Scientists
Scientific discoveries over the centuries have helped shape the way we live today. Without pioneering scientists working towards cures for diseases, new inventions, and better ways to do things, life today would be different. Here are some of the most famous scientists, who have made important contributions to our everyday lives.
Hippocrates
Nationality: Greek
Known for: Father of Medicine
He was credited with writing the Hippocratic Oath that today’s medical professionals still follow in their practice. He had the theory of the vapors, which stated that many diseases were the result of a bad diet.
Aristotle
Nationality: Greek
Known for: Theory of Three Psyches, Scientific Method
He wrote about many scientific topics, including biology, physics and zoology. His ideas helped shape western scientific thoughts into the Renaissance until they were replaced with Newtonian physics.
Archimedes
Nationality: Greek
Known for: Archimedes Principle, Archimedes Screw
He was an astronomer, a scientist, and a physicist with several inventions to his name. He created a formula (公式) to calculate the area of the underside of a parabola (抛物线). He also designed many ancient machines.
Galen
Nationality: Roman
Known for: Father of Medicine
Galen was best known as Galen of Pergamon. He was a famous philosopher and surgeon among the Romans. His works contributed greatly to the knowledge of pharmacology (药物学), logic and philosophy.
1.Which Greek scientist contributed much to medicine?
A.Galen. B.Aristotle.
C.Archimedes. D.Hippocrates.
2.What was Aristotle’s achievement?
A.He influenced western scientific thoughts.
B.He designed lots of ancient machines.
C.He invented many chemicals.
D.He produced the theory of the vapors.
3.What did these scientists have in common?
A.Having good luck in the field of science.
B.Making important contributions to science.
C.Writing many poems about science.
D.Experiencing many difficulties.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Over the centuries, people have created many rituals (仪式) to accompany the consumption of their favourite drinks, tea and coffee. Just think of the Japanese tea ceremony, British afternoon tea or the morning coffee ritual in countless societies. Why are these drinks so popular? 1. In the modern world, the new caffeine delivery systems are canned energy drinks. And the more modern our world gets, the more we seem to need caffeine.
Most people don’t think twice about their caffeine intake. 2. So the widespread use of caffeine is now a cause for concern among scientists and public health authorities. One result of this concern is that you are not allowed to sell energy drinks in France or Denmark. And in other European countries, manufacturers have to label cans with warnings. The United States has no such rule, but many canned energy drinks sold in the USA carry warnings anyway. 3. Studies have shown it helps relieve pain, reduces asthma (哮喘）symptoms and increases reaction speed. Despite this, a study in Ireland recommended that children and pregnant women, among other groups, shouldn’t drink energy drinks.
4. “For most of human existence, the pattern of sleeping and waking has followed sunrise and sunset.” explains Charles Czeisler, a neuroscientist（神经学家） at Harvard Medical School. “Then, the way we work changed from a schedule built around the sun to an indoor job timed by a clock, and consequently humans had to adapt. Electric light, and caffeinated food and drink allowed people to follow a work schedule set by the clock, not by daylight or the natural sleep cycle. 5. Without enough sleep the human body will not function at its best, physically, mentally, or emotionally.”
A. The answer is their secret ingredient --- caffeine.
B. But we need coffee to get us out of bed and back to work.
C. The main reason that people want caffeine is to stay awake.
D. But research suggests that caffeine may have benefits for human health.
E. Nevertheless, there is a heavy price to pay for all this extra wakefulness.
F. However, it raises blood pressure and thus increases the risk of heart disease.
G. Most babies in the developed world are born with traces of caffeine in their bodies.
高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
The moon and its possible influence over human behaviors have been objects of tales for centuries. Although the full moon can't turn people into werewolves (狼人), some people do blame it for causing a bad night's sleep or discomfort.
To find out if lunar phases (月相) affected humans, an international group of researchers studied children to see if their sleeping patterns changed or if there were any differences in their daily activities. The research studied a total of 5, 812 children from five continents. Data collection took place over 28 months, which is the same as the number of lunar cycles. These were then divided into three lunar phases: full moon, half-moon and new moon.
The findings of the study indicated that in general, sleep duration around full moon reported an average decrease of five minutes compared to new moon. “Our study provides evidence that the moon doesn't seem to influence people's behaviors,” said Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput from the Eastern Ontario Research Institute. The only significant finding was one percent sleep decrease in full moon. However, sleeping for five minutes less time during a full moon is not a danger to health. “Our behaviors are largely influenced by many other factors like genes, education and income,” he added.
“Folk tales and even certain examples suggest that behaviors of humans and animals are affected by lunar phases,” Dr. Chaput explained. “Whether there is science behind it or not, the moon secret will continue to attract human civilizations in the years to come.”
1.Where does the moon's bad influence on human behaviors usually come from?
A.Tales. B.Textbooks. C.News reports. D.Scientific papers.
2.Why did the research last 28 months ?
A.To attract more attention. B.To cover the lunar cycles.
C.To look into more children. D.To collect as much data as possible.
3.What can be concluded from the findings ?
A.We should go to bed five minutes earlier during a full moon.
B.The moon is a major cause to affect our sleep and behaviors.
C.We shouldn't worry about the moon's influence over health.
D.The moon plays a significant role in children's sleeping patterns.
4.How does Dr. Chaput feel about the topic of the moon influence?
A.It's boring. B.It's worrying C.It's frightening . D.It's interesting.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
No one knows yet the accurate number of lives which have been lost in this terrible fire .But reports suggest that it is more than one hundred .
A wall of flames fifty feet high and at least one hundred and fifty miles wide is now racing towards the forests and rich farmlands of southern Victoria . Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne will be in danger unless the wind changes . People are rushing excitedly into the streets . The police have warned them not to see the fire but many people are doing so .
The cause of the fire is unknown . No rain has fallen in this part of Australia for three months , and the hot , north-west wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour .
The firefighters are travelling to the fire by road , rail and air . But it is not easy to get there . Flames and fallen trees have cut off or blocked roads and railway lines . The thick smoke often prevents them from finding the air strips (飞机跑道).
It is said that the fire has brought the greater danger to the country since the Second World War .
1.By the time the article was written , the fire ________ .
A．had just broken out B．had been put out
C．was spreading violently D．was coming to an end
2.The writer wrote this article mainly to tell people ________ .
A．the fire was terrible and dangerous
B．it was impossible to put out the fire
C．more than one hundred people died of the fire
D．to join in the fight against the fire
3.In the 4th paragraph , the writer suggested that ________ .
A．the fire would soon be controlled by the firefighters
B．it would be very difficult to put out the fire
C．the government was paying great attention to the fire
D．the fire had caused great losses and the airport was in ganger
4.The underlined word “ accurate” in the first sentence has the same meaning as ________ .
A．recent B．whole C．rough D．exact
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
_____ makes that teacher famous is _____ over 92% of his students have been admitted to the state universities.
A. What; because B. That; because C. That; what D. What; that
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
In the middle of the 20th century people were worried about whales.The number of whales killed worldwide came up to 66,000 per year.However,people weren't worried about the whale as an endangered animal.Instead,they were worried about the whale industry,which would disappear if there were no whales.In 1946,the International Whaling Commission was established.It limited the whale hunting for every country and controlled the whale industry.But the commission recognized that the limitation wasn't enough.They set a worldwide law against hunting whales with only two exceptions: the hunt for scientific research and "aboriginal whaling".Aboriginal whaling allows some countries to hunt a limited number of whales because it is a part of their culture.Some countries like Japan and Norway don't care about the law;they make excuses to hunt whales and sell the products.They only care about the money.
Many fishermen complain that dolphins,also a kind of whale,steal their fish.Therefore,they kill thousands of them.In fact,this is not the truth.In reality there are so many fishermen who steal the fish from each other.Some whale hunters say that they catch the animals for scientists.They have to research what whales are eating.For that, they kill them and look into their stomach.The truth is that they only want to sell the meat.Today scientists want to observe live whales for their research.
Many whale families are not protected and thousands of them are killed.Nobody knows if all whale families would survive,even if humans end all whale hunting today.The pollution of the oceans increases fast and the poison gets into the bodies of the animals.Many of them get sick and die.The human being has killed 90%-95% of many whale families.Others are already extinct.
Today some international organizations try to protect whales.They make reports to explain how important and endangered whales are.Now people are becoming more interested in whales and a complete new industry has developed,whale watching,which you may want to learn about.
1.The text is mainly about .
A. whale industry B. whale research
C. whale product D. whale protection
2.In the middle of the 20th century,what people really worried was that .
A. more whales would be killed worldwide per year
B. the whale would become an endangered animal
C. the whale industry would disappear
D. the law against hunting whales would come into effect
3.Why does Aboriginal whaling allow some countries to hunt a limited number of whales?
A. Because there are many whales in their countries.
B. Because hunting whales is a part of their culture.
C. Because they only care about money.
D. Because they live on hunting whales.
4.Why do many fishermen complain about dolphins?
A. Because dolphins steal their fish.
B. Because they want to make an excuse for killing dolphins.
C. Because there are so few dolphins for them to hunt.
D. Because people have misunderstood their purpose of hunting dolphins.
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
The use of cars is becoming more and more popular in the twentieth century. A large number of the world's population are now able to buy and use cars.
Having a car gives much mobility, enabling the driver to move around freely. The owner of a car is no longer forced to depend on public transport and doesn't, therefore, have to work in a place near his home. Instead, he can choose from a greater variety of jobs and he could change his job frequently.
Travelling to work by car is also more comfortable than having to use public transport; the driver can use the heating in winter and the air conditioning in summer to meet his own need and preference. There is no discomfort caused by waiting for buses, trains or underground trains etc. With the building of good fast motorways long distances can be covered rapidly and pleasantly. Also, for the first time in the century, many people are able to enjoy their free time to the full by making trips to the countryside or seaside at weekends. This feeling of independence and the freedom to go wherever you please is perhaps the greatest advantage of the car.
1.What does the writer think of the public transport?
A. It enables a variety of jobs B. It is not comfortable at all
C. It gives less mobility D. It is becoming more popular than before
2.Traveling by bus may be ______.
A. less comfortable than by underground train
B. more comfortable than by other transport
C. less comfortable than by car
D. less comfortable than by other public transport
3.What does the underlined word mean?
A. with difficulty B. from time to time
C. against his own will D. never
4.What does the writer think of having a car of your own?
A. It has lots of independence. B. It offers lots of advantages.
C. It gives the feeling of freedom. D. It offers free trips.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
The use of cars is becoming more and more popular in the twentieth century. A large number of the world's population are now able to buy and use cars.
Having a car gives much mobility（活动余地）, enabling the driver to move around freely. The owner of a car is no longer forced to depend on public transport（公共交通）and doesn't, therefore, have to work in a place near his home. Instead, he can choose from a greater variety of jobs and he could change his job frequently.
Travelling to work by car is also more comfortable than having to use public transport; the driver can use the heating in winter and the air conditioning in summer to meet his own need and preference. There is no discomfort caused by waiting for
buses, trains or underground trains etc. With the building of good fast motorways long distances can be covered rapidly and pleasantly. Also, for the first time in the century, many people are able to enjoy their free time to the full by making trips to the countryside or seaside at weekends. This feeling of independence and the freedom to go wherever you please is perhaps the greatest advantage（优势）of the car.
1. What does the writer think of the public transport?
A. It gives less mobility B. It is not comfortable at all
C. It enables a variety of jobs D. It is becoming more popular than before
2. Traveling by bus may be ______.
A. less comfortable than by underground train
B. more comfortable than by other transport
C. less comfortable than by other public transport
D. less comfortable than by car
3. What does the underlined word mean?
A. from time to time B. with difficulty
C. against his own will D. never
4. What does the writer think of having a car of your own?
A. It offers lots of advantages. B. It has lots of independence.
C. It gives the feeling of freedom. D. It offers free trips.
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Claude Monet is surely one of the most famous French artists of all. Monet was particularly interested in the effect of light and would paint the same scene in different lighting conditions or times of the day. For example, he painted around 20 versions of the Rouen Cathedral from dawn to dusk. His most famous paintings include his Water lilies series.
The paintings of Paul Cézanne had a lot of influence in the development of 20th century art, including Cubism (立体派) and Fauvism (野兽派). Cézanne is one of the most famous French artists and is known as a “post-impressionist”, which was similar in some ways to impressionism but also broke away from some of its limitations. Famous French paintings include his Bathers and Mont St Victoire series.
Henri Matisse was one of the most important famous French artists of the 20th century. He was considered one of the leaders of the Fauvist movement. He had a long and varied (多样化的) artistic career, painting in different styles ranging from Impressionism to Abstract. In 1941, Matisse was diagnosed with cancer and was forced into a wheelchair. But this didn’t stop him completing the amazing Chapel of the Rosary in Vence.
Degas is probably one of the most fascinating of all the famous French artists. He is known as one of the founders of Impressionism, but his paintings were also influenced by classicism, romanticism, and realism. His style is definitely very unique. He was a prolific (多产的) artist, producing over one thousand works. He is best known for his paintings of ballet dancers.
1.We can know that Claude Monet painted about 20 versions of the Rouen Cathedral .
A. within one day B. using the same colors
C. at different places D. in different lighting conditions
2.Which style does Bathers most probably belong to?
A. Impressionism. B. Post-impressionism.
C. Romanticism. D. Abstract.
3.During Henri Matisse’s long artistic career, he .
A. painted paintings of different styles
B. did his most famous paintings after 1941
C. painted in the style of Fauvism most frequently
D. spent most of his time painting in a wheelchair
4.We can infer from the last paragraph that .
A. Degas’ works all belong to Impressionism
B. Degas’ works were influenced by many styles
C. it’s not easy to tell Degas’ paintings from other artists’
D. Degas’ paintings influenced classicism, romanticism and realism
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析