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The end of the year is drawing near, and winter is in full swing. The season brings along with it strong winds and snow — an environment that’s never comfortable to be in.
This unpleasant and even frightening aspect of winter can often be seen in literature. In Shakespeare’s King Lear (1606), the king has given away his kingdom and been rejected by his two ungrateful daughters. He is out in the winter cold，suffering things that are usually reserved for the poorest and most unfortunate human beings.
The winter is bad enough for Lear，but being abandoned by his family is worse. A song from another Shakespeare play, As You Like It(1599), is fitting for this poor old man's situation: "Blow，blow，thou winter wind/Thou art not so unkind /As ma's ingratitude (忘恩负义)". Here, winter is used to bring out the ugliness of inhumanity (无人性). There aren't many things that are worse than winter, according to Shakespeare.
Once winter became less of a threat to human beings, literary works featuring it became more positive. Since Charles Dickens, the representation of the season in literature has often featured happy Christmas celebrations.
The cold of the winter weather provides a contrast to the fun going on indoors.
Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) was the start of this, but Christmas is still a common, cheery element (元素)in stories that feature winter scenes today. Consider the joy felt by Harry Potter and his friends in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) as they sit down for their festive meal：
"Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat，roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce".
It is almost as much a pleasure to read about the meal as it might have been to eat it.
Although winter still isn’t the most cheerful season in novels and poems, it’s safe to say that writers have certainly "warmed up" since Shakespeare’s days.
1.What’s the author’s main purpose in writing this article?
A.To recommend some winter stories in literature.
B.To explain what winter is like in literary works.
C.To describe certain customs that are related to winter.
D.To tell us why winter is described as unpleasant in literature.
2.What can we learn from Shakespeare’s works?
A.Shakespeare didn’t like winter for its bad weather.
B.King Lear was forced to give up being a king in a cold winter.
C.It’s in winter when King Lear drove his two daughters off.
D.Winter is compared with the ugly side of humanity.
3.Why does the author mention Charles Dickens in the passage?
A.Because a lot of his works are related to winter.
B.Because he is the most popular author of winter stories.
C.Because he started a new way of representing winter.
D.Because his works make people feel cheerful in winter.
4.The example of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is used mainly to show .
A.traditional Christmas food makes the winter cheery
B.Christmas is still a symbol of joy in modern stories
C.it’s a pleasure to read Christmas-related books in winter
D.winter has become the happiest season in literary works
英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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It's that time of the year--graduation. The end of school year is nearly in sight, and it's an especially big deal if you're finishing high school or college.
One amazing 16-year-old Florida girl, Grace Bush, graduated from both high school and college this week! She actually got her college diploma before her high school diploma. How did she manage to do that?
"Hard work and great attention, " she told a local TV news station, "have made me succeed in doing high school and college at the same time." She started taking college courses when she was just 13. She would often get up at 5: 30 a m. and go to bed after 11: 00 p. m.
Doing both at the same time is a huge achievement, and it has also helped her family save money. She's one of the 9 children, all home-schooled until the age of 13. Her father is a math professor while her mother is a part-time history teacher in a high school. Grace Bush has earned her college degree in law, with a nearly perfect GPA of 3.8 and she hopes to become a lawyer one day, although her parents expect her to teach at university. By the way. she also played basketball in her college team in her spare time.
1.In what way is Grace amazing?
A. She is a 16-year-old Florida girl
B. She finished high school this week.
C. She worked very hard at her lessons every day.
D. She graduated from both high school and college at 16.
2.Which picture might Graces diploma look like?
3.What is the key to grace's success?
A. Taking college courses at 13.
B. Working hard at her courses.
C. Growing up in a professor’s family.
D. Having a dream of becoming a teacher.
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the last paragraph?
A. The Bushes have 13 children altogether.
B. Graces mother is a full-time history teacher.
C. Grace wants to teach at university in the future.
D. Grace received her education at home before 13.
九年级英语阅读单选中等难度题查看答案及解析
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How to Study for a Test or Final
The end of the term is drawing near, and that means final exams are on the way. 1.
The most important thing you can do is give yourself plenty of time to prepare. Then follow this plan:
Start early.
Gather all the material you’ve received during the term. Read through your class notes twice. Some things will sound familiar and some things will sound unfamiliar. That’s normal.
Establish a study group or find a partner.
Schedule at least one meeting with a study partner or study group. If you can't completely get together, then exchange email addresses.2.
Use old tests.
Collect your old exams from the year (or semester) and make a photocopy of each one. Write out the test answers and copy each one again.
3.
To get the best results, you should make several copies of each old exam and keep taking the tests until you score perfectly on each one.
Build up your class notes.
Organize your notes by date and make note of any missing dates/pages. Get together with a study partner or group to compare notes and fill in any missing material. 4.Everybody zones out once in a while. After you organize your new set of notes, underline any key words, formulas, themes, and concepts.
Make yourself a new practice test with term definitions and others. Print out several tests and practice several times. 5. Then exchange.
Make use of old assignments.
Gather some old assignments and redo the exercises. Review those exercises until you can answer every question easily.
A. Instant messages will work well, too.
B. Have a set of practice tests.
C. How can you give yourself a chance to improve your scores?
D. You might find one that makes something clear for the first time.
E. Ask the members of your study group to make practice tests as well.
F. Don’t be too surprised if you missed key information from the lectures.
G. Have your friend or study partner raise questions and compare them.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
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Hi! Full of happiness and sadness, the year 2017 is coming to an end and we invite you, the foreign friends to share your stories with our readers all over the world. We will choose some of the best and give prizes to the writers.
☆____________
Foreigners with some experiences about China during the past year. You may have visited for just a few days, stayed longer here or just met with Chinese in your own countries.
☆What to write?
Anything about China or Chinese people that happened to you. It can be Chinese food, buildings, culture or anything you think worth writing about.
☆How to join?
Email your writing to readers@chinadaily.com.cn.
☆Rules: At least 200 words and one photo about your story. More words and photos are encouraged(鼓励).
Please write the information, such as who, what, where and when, below your photos.
☆Prize: A bicycle.
☆Deadline(截止日期): December 28th, 2017.
1.Which sentence can be filled in “________” in Paragraph 2?
A. Who can join? B. When to write?
C. How to write? D. Where to join?
2.A foreign friend can NOT write about ________ in the story.
A. Yunnan Rice Noodles B. America's Got Talent
C. the Dragon Boat Festival D. the Palace Museum
3.We can see from the passage that ________.
A. the winners can get bicycles
B. you can send the story in 2018
C. 200 words are at most for the story
D. the foreign friends enjoy reading
4.The purpose(目的) of this passage is ________.
A. to teach readers how to take a photo
B. to choose some best photos about foreign cultures
C. to ask foreigners to write down their feelings about China
D. to invite Chinese people to share their stories with foreigners
5.The passage may come from ________.
A. a map B. a diary C. a dictionary D. a newspaper
八年级英语阅读单选中等难度题查看答案及解析
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阅读理解。
Full of happiness and sadness, the year 2015 is coming to an end and we invite you, the foreign friends to share your stories with our millions of readers all over the world. We will choose some of the best and give prizes to the writers.
________________
Foreigners with some experiences about China during the past year. You may have visited for just a few days, stayed longer here or just met with Chinese in your own countries.
What to write?
Anything about China or Chinese people that happened to you. It can be Chinese food, buildings, tradition or anything you think worth writing about.
How to join?
E-mail your writing to readers@chinadaily.com.cn.
Rules: At least 200 words and one photo about your story. More words and photos are encouraged. Please write the information, such as who, what, where and when, below your photos. Prize: A mobile phone.
Deadline(截止日期): December 26th, 2015.
1.Which can be filled in “________” in Paragraph Two?
A. Who can join? B. When to write?
C. How to write? D. Where to join?
2.A foreign friend can NOT write about ________ in his/her story.
A. the mooncake B. Western food
C. the Dragon Boat Festival D. the Great Wall
3.What is necessary about your story?
A. One mobile phone. B. One prize.
C. Only 100 words. D. One photo.
4.The purpose of this passage is ________.
A. to teach readers how to take a photo
B. to choose some best photos about foreign cultures
C. to ask foreigners to write down their feelings about China
D. to invite Chinese people to share their stories with foreigners
5.This passage comes from ________.
A. a map B. a postcard
C. a dictionary D. a newspaper
九年级英语阅读单选困难题查看答案及解析
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阅读理解。
Full of happiness and sadness, the year 2015 is coming to an end and we invite you, the foreign friends to share your stories with our millions of readers all over the world. We will choose some of the best and give prizes to the writers.
________________
Foreigners with some experiences about China during the past year. You may have visited for just a few days, stayed longer here or just met with Chinese in your own countries.
What to write?
Anything about China or Chinese people that happened to you. It can be Chinese food, buildings, tradition or anything you think worth writing about.
How to join?
E-mail your writing to readers@chinadaily.com.cn.
Rules: At least 200 words and one photo about your story. More words and photos are encouraged. Please write the information, such as who, what, where and when, below your photos. Prize: A mobile phone.
Deadline(截止日期): December 26th, 2015.
1. Which can be filled in “________” in Paragraph Two?
A. Who can join? B. When to write?
C. How to write? D. Where to join?
2.A foreign friend can NOT write about ________ in his/her story.
A. the mooncake B. Western food
C. the Dragon Boat Festival D. the Great Wall
3.What is necessary about your story?
A. One mobile phone. B. One prize.
C. Only 100 words. D. One photo.
4.The purpose of this passage is ________.
A. to teach readers how to take a photo
B. to choose some best photos about foreign cultures
C. to ask foreigners to write down their feelings about China
D. to invite Chinese people to share their stories with foreigners
5.This passage comes from ________.
A. a map B. a postcard
C. a dictionary D. a newspaper
九年级英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
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---How time flies! We’re near the end of the year.
---_____ I’m looking forward to the winter holiday!
A.Take your time B.You said it C.I don’t buy it D.You have my word
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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A full stop is used at the end of an idea or thought, and is an important rule in proper grammar. But text messages are changing the rules, as a new study finds digital messages ending with one aren't sincere. The results suggest skipping punctuation altogether, as it indicates you are answering naturally and heartfelt.
Binghamton University’s Harpur College observed 126 students, who read a series of messages displayed as texts on a screen or handwritten notes on loose-leaf paper(活页纸). In the 16 experimental exchanges, the sender’s message contained a statement followed by an invitation phrased as a question such as, “Dave gave me his extra ticket. Wanna come?” The receiver then gave a one-word response like “Okay”, “Sure”, “Yeah” or “Yup”. Half of the participants’ responses were with a full stop and the other half did not use it. Based on the responses, text messages that ended with a full stop were rated less sincere than those that did not end with one. The students who read the notes on the paper reported that full stop or not, they felt the message was sincere. These results suggest that punctuation can misconstrue or influence the meaning of text messages. The study concludes, “ not so much that the full stop is used to convey a lack of sincerity in text messages, but that punctuation is one of the cues(提示) used by senders, and understood by receivers, to convey practical and social information. ”
“Texting is lacking many of the social cues used in actual face-to-face conversations”, said Celia Klin, associate professor of psychology at Binghamton University’s Harpur College. “When speaking, people easily convey social and emotional information with eye gaze, facial expressions, tone of voice, pauses, and so on. People obviously can't use these mechanisms when they are texting. Thus, it makes sense that texters rely on what they have available to them -- emoticons, deliberate misspellings that mimic speech sounds(拟声) and, according to our data, punctuation. ”
Recently, Klin’s team conducted a follow-up study and found that text response with an exclamation mark（感叹号） is interpreted as more sincere. “That’s not surprising, but it broadens our claim,”saidKlin. “Punctuation is used and understood by texters to convey emotions and other social and practical information. Given that people are wonderfully good at communicating complex information in conversations, it’s not surprising that as texting evolves, people are finding ways to convey the same types of information in their texts. ”
1.According to a new study in the first paragraph, digital messages with punctuation indicate you are ______.
A. impolite B. insincere C. heartfelt D. natural
2.The underlined sentence in the passage means that ______.
A. the full stop conveys a lack of sincerity in text messages
B. to show sincerity, people shouldn’t use punctuation in text messages
C. punctuation can’t influence the meaning of text messages
D. punctuation actually conveys practical and social information in a way
3.Compared with face-to-face conversations, which of the following can text messages rely on to convey their meaning?
A. Eye contact B. Tone of voice C. Emoticons D. Gestures
4. Which of the following agrees with Celia Klin’s opinion?
A. Conversations rely on the same expression way as text messages.
B. Texters may find more ways available to convey the same information.
C. Text response with an exclamation mark sounds more insincere.
D. Punctuation is only used to convey emotions.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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The end of the school year is in sight - Christmas cards， candy canes and of course， end of year reports．
While most parents welcome an assessment of their kids' performance， they do not expect their own input to be evaluated． But a school in the UK is changing that． As well as assessing their students， they are dishing out grades to mums and dads． Parents that are really involved in their kids' education are rewarded with an A， and parents that haven't done their bit get a disappointing D．
The school， Greasley Beauvale Primary in Nottinghamshire， uses standard such as whether mums and dads have attended school events such as plays and parent teacher evenings to decide on the grade． The school's principal， Donna Chambers， said that the scheme had been well received．
"There were some critics． In spite of it， between 15 percent and 20 percent of parents started out in the lower categories but now that has been reduced to just two per cent，" she explained．
Chambers hopes that the scheme will help motivate parental involvement． "The system is important because you have got to get the parents on board from day one． That one hour initial conversation saying they could improve will make a difference to the rest of that child's academic life"， she said．
But while the scheme may be well intentioned， it is likely to be connected with parent shaming． There are lots of reasons why some mums and dads might not be involved in school activities such as work commitments， looking after younger children or caring for elderly relatives．
And of course， being involved in your kid's education doesn't begin and end at school． There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes from helping with homework to keeping uniforms freshly laundered． And what about all the parents who stayed up sewing special costumes at the last minute？ Surely that earns a gold star instead of a grade!
1.What do schools usually do at the end of the school year？ ______
A. Evaluating kids' performances．
B. Making Christmas cards．
C. Dividing candies．
D. Grading parents．
2.What does the school's principal Chambers say about the scheme？ ______
A. It uses a new way to evaluate kids．
B. It has gained much acceptance．
C. It gives parents further education．
D. It improves kids' motivation for learning．
3.What does the author think of parents being involved in kids' education？ ______
A. It adds to parents' burden．
B. It brings shame to parents．
C. It means far more than being graded．
D. It increases parents' commitment to education．
4.What is the passage mainly about？ ______
A. There is too much stress for parents about their children's academic life．
B. Parents as well as their children are on the list of the year school report．
C. Parents should be involved in children's school life．
D. Whether a parent is excellent depends on the grade he gets．
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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The end of the school year is in sight — Christmas cards, candy canes and of course, end of year reports.
While most parents welcome an assessment of their kids' performance, they do not expect their own input to be evaluated. But a school in the UK is changing that. As well as assessing their students, they are dishing out grades to mums and dads. Parents that are really involved in their kid's education are rewarded with an A, and parents that haven't done their bit get a disappointing D.
The school, Greasley Beauvale Primary in Nottinghamshire, uses criteria such as whether mums and dads have attended school events such as plays and parent-teacher conferences to decide on the grade. The school’s principal, Donna Chambers, said that the scheme (方案)had been well received.
“There were some critics, but my response was ‘well, it can’t do any harm’. Between 15 percent and 20 percent of parents started out in the lower categories but now that has been reduced to just two percent,” she explained.
Chambers hopes that the scheme will help motivate parental involvement. “The system is important because you have got to get the parents on board from day one. That one hour initial conversation saying they could improve will pay dividends for the rest of that child’s academic life”, she said.
But while the scheme may be well-intentioned, it is likely to be connected with parent shaming. There are lots of reasons why some mums and dads might not be involved in school activities such as work commitments, looking after younger children or caring for elderly relatives.
And of course, being involved in your kid’s education doesn't begin and end at school. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes from helping with homework to keeping uniforms freshly laundered. And what about all the parents who stayed up sewing special costumes at the last minute? Surely that earns a gold star instead of a grade!
1.What do schools usually do at the end of the school year?
A. Evaluating kids’ performances. B. Making Christmas cards.
C. Dividing candies. D. Grading parents.
2.What does the school’s principal Chambers say about the scheme?
A. It uses criteria to assess kids.
B. It has gained much acceptance.
C. It gives parents further education.
D. It improves kids’ motivation for learning.
3.What does the underlined part “pay dividends”(Para. 5) probably mean?
A. Hold shares. B. Earn profits.
C. Sacrifice health. D. Produce advantages.
4.What does the author think of parents’ being involved in kids’ education?
A. It adds to parents’ burden.
B. It brings shame to parents.
C. It means far more than being graded.
D. It increases parents’ commitment to education.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析