Throughout modern history, there has perhaps ...

Throughout modern history, there has perhaps never been a scientist as iconic (标志性的) as Stephen Hawking.

On March 14, the British physicist passed away at his home in Cambridge, England. Since then, many people have expressed their condolences on social media. Whether be was educating the world with his knowledge of the universe, or making fun of himself in TV shows like The Simpsons, it's hard to imagine what the world will be like now Hawking is no longer in it.

Hawking was an icon for many reasons, but he will be best remembered for his work in the field of science. Building on German scientist Albert Einstein's work. Hawking explained his belief that space started with the Big Bang, and will end with black holes. This proposal kicked off a series of investigations, including into the origin of the universe itself. "This complex set of law can give us the answers to questions like how did the universe begin," Hawking wrote in his 2010 work The Grand Design. "Where is it going and will it have an end? If so, how will it end?"

His work in science abide, he also managed to overcome many difficulties in his personal life. While studying for a postgraduate degree in cosmology at Cambridge University, he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21. His illness left him paralyzed and he was told he only had a short time to live. However, he went on to become one of the greatest minds the world has ever known. "I felt it was very unfair — why should this happen to me," he wrote in his 2013 memoir. "At the time, I thought my life was over and that I would never realize the potential I felt I had. But now, 50 years later, I can he quietly satisfied with my life."

Hawking leaves behind a great legacy. His signature book A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes published in 1988, became one of the world's best-selling science publications. He inky no longer be with us, but Hawking will continue to inspire the world for generations to come. As he once said himself, "Look up at the stars and not down at your feet."

1.What can we know about Stephen Hawking from the passage? ______

A.He left us humans a priceless legacy, A Brief History of Time.

B.He was born with a disease which left him paralyzed.

C.He was well-known as an icon only for his achievement in science.

D.He always complained life was unfair to him after he became paralyzed.

2.The underlined words "kicked off" in Paragraph 3 can be best replaced by ______ .

A.answer for B.set off

C.put forward D.lead to

3.What is conveyed in the sentence "Look up at the stars and not down at your feet."? ______

A.Just do what you love and believe in, and success will come naturally.

B.However tough life may seem,be curious and there is always hope ahead.

C.Be determined and confident rather than keep feeling frustrated all day

D.You cannot improve your past,but you can improve your future.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Never before ____ in greater need of modern public transport than it is today.

A. has this city been　　 B. this city has been

C. was this city　　 D. this city was

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Swim-with-dolphins

Humans have always been fascinated by dolphins and there has been a long history of association between the two. 1.. The “swim-with-dolphins” tourist industry is becoming more popular every year. The chance to see dolphins in the wild is often a lifetime dream for many people and tour operators are always on the lookout to give their tourist swimmers the best experience they can. After all, it can cost a large amount of money to have this kind of holiday experience. 2.

Research has shown that while dolphins can move away if they do not want to interact with human swimmers , they do not like it at all if the swimmers slip into the water directly on top of them or if humans are in their path of travel. However, if swimmers enter the water to one side of them, the dolphins do not avoid the swimmers to the same extent. 3.

In all cases, the dolphins seem to have become more sensitive to the presence of the swimmers. For dolphins, swimming with humans is not necessarily a high priority(优先权). 4. It is a new and unusual experience for them .

5. The advice is that dolphins should be given adequate periods of time throughout the day when they are not exposed to tourism. Humans’ lifelong dreams of swimming with dolphins in the wild have severely affected them, leaving not enough time for them to rest and take care of their own babies.

If we are to enjoy these remarkable animals and not just use them for our entertainment, then we must carefully monitor the “swim-with-dolphins” industry worldwide.

A. They cannot fulfill their lifelong dreams .

B. This possibly seems like less threatening behavior to them.

C. In the long term there could be harmful effects on the dolphin’s well-being.

D. It is frequently asked whether “swim-with-dolphins” tourism should be stopped.

E. So tour operators try to place eager swimmers as near as possible to the dolphins.

F. Over time this has turned into a worldwide tourist activity--swimming with dolphins.

G. In fact , only some baby dolphins will be relatively willing to participate in the interaction.

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

At no time in history has there been such a mass movement of people from the countryside to the city as is happening now. By the year 2030, it’s estimated that more than two thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities, twice as many as today. This means that the problems faced by cities today—overcrowding, poor housing, unemployment, poverty and lack of food and water—will be twice as bad unless we find solutions soon.

Another serious issue is how to provide good transportation for their citizens. Many of the world’s major cities are already struggling with out-of-date transport infrastructures(基本设施).How can they deal with the additional demands?

London is a good example. Its enlargement was made possible by the invention of the steam engine, which powered the world’s first underground railway. But its transport system are now hopelessly out-of-date and need urgent modernization. London’s future success depends very much on developing better public transport.

Over a million people travel into central London every day from outside the city. They together with the people who live in London, want a public transport system that is efficient, safe and environmentally friendly. What they often get, however, falls far short of that ideal. Passengers complain about cost and pollution, while businesses worry about the problems their staff have in getting to work on time. Yes, the proportion of London households that own a car grew from just over ten percent in the early 1950s to over sixty percent today.

As the city has become increasingly crowded and polluted, there has been a growing realization that action must be taken soon.

1.It is believed that____.

A. overpopulation causes the problem in cities

B. two thirds of the world’s population are living in cities today

C. it isn’t difficult to solve the problem faced by cities today

D. with fewer people we would be free from problems

2.The underlined word “they” in the fourth paragraph refers to _______.

A. the citizens in the city of London

B.those who come to London from other places

C. passengers who make complaints about the cost

D. businesses who are anxious about their staff getting to work late

3.The underlined words “environmentally friendly” is closest in meaning to ________.

A. pleasant and nonpolluting　　 B. cheap and punctual

C. quick and straight　　　　　　 D. fair and convenient

4. The following paragraph of this text would most probably deal with___

A. train and air travel

B. traffic jams in London

C. possible solution to London’s transportation problems

D. car ownership that continues to grow.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Throughout seafaring history, ships and sailors have been lost to storms, accidents and war. Until recently, most of these ships were weak wooden sailing vessel (船只), their skeletons(骨架) quickly eaten away by sea creatures. Now, large vessels made of steel float on the seas. Thousands of these huge ships have been lost in times of war and in times of peace.

The bones of great metal ships, unlike the wooden vessels of old, survive the destruction of the sea long enough to become home and harbor for underwater life of all kinds. Shipwrecks(残骸) often provide the only hard surface and structure at the sandy bottom of the sea, something many sea creatures need.

The ship has been underwater for only five days. Its surface is still clean. Six weeks later, the wreck is covered with a slimy layer of algae(海藻), but it is still recognizable as a ship. Soon, animals that need to attach themselves to a hard surface, like the feather duster worms, make the wreck their home.

In warm waters, coral polyps(珊瑚虫) settle on the wreck and begin the process of building a rock-like crust on the ship. Small fish are attracted on all of these creatures. Larger fish come to feed on these small fish that hide in the wreckage. Eventually, the largest animals are attracted to the rich life on the shipwreck.

Shipwrecks give us valuable information about how sea plants and animals develop. We know exactly how long this wreck has been under water and how long sea life has been growing on it. Yet even the strongest steel shipwreck will finally be destroyed by the flows of water. But long after this wreck has been broken apart, it will still act as a reef (礁石). Layer upon layer of sea life has formed a structure that is now more natural than artificial, and will remain an island of life under the sea.

1.Which of the following is NOT TRUE about shipwrecks?

A．Most ships in ancient times sank easily and become shipwrecks.

B．Shipwrecks, for scientists, are worth researching to get valuable information.

C．The skeletons of old wooden shipwrecks will exist for quite a long time.

D．Some sea animals tend to seek food on the shipwrecks.

2.The writer’s purpose in writing the article is to tell us_____.

A．the differences between the ancient vessels and the modern ones

B．how the ships become shipwrecks at sea

C．how coral polyps live on the wreck in warm waters

D．the value of studying shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea

3.Which of the following is closer to the underlined “crust”?

A．a hard outer covering                    B．the skin of a rock

C．a hole in a ship                         D．a small house

4.What will happen to shipwrecks in the end?

A．They will be pulled out of the sea for research.

B．They are likely to disappear and form reefs.

C．They will become an island under the sea.

D．They will be like works of art.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Throughout the history of the arts, the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists. No matter what objects they select, artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change—to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.

Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art. It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists. In the 1970s Alfred Leslie, one of the new American realists, continued this practice. Leslie sought out the same place where Thomas Cole, a romanticist, had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before. Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature, Leslie paints what he actually sees. In his paintings, there is no particular change in emotion, and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background. He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.

Besides, all art begs the age-old question: What is real? Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another. The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects, the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes, and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient forests. To sum up, understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.

Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant. Past or present, Eastern or Western, the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience. Many and different are the faces of art, and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.

1.

Leslie's paintings are extraordinary because_______ .

A. they are close in style to works in ancient times

B. they look like works by 19th-century painters

C. they draw attention to common things in life

D. they depend heavily on color photography

2.

What is the author's opinion of artistic reality?

A. It will not be found in future works of art.

B. It does not have a long-lasting standard.

C. It is expressed in a fixed artistic form.

D. It is lacking in modern works of art.

3.

What does the author suggest about the arts in the last paragraph?

A. They express people's curiosity about the past.

B. They make people interested in everyday experience.

C. They are considered important for variety in form.

D. They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Throughout the history of the arts, the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists. No matter what objects they select, artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change-to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.

Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art. It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists. In the 1970s, Alfred Leslie, one of the new American realists, continued this practice. Leslie sought out the same place where Thomas Cole, a romanticist, had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before. Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature, Leslie paints what he actually sees. In his paintings, there is no particular change in emotion, and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background. He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.

Besides, all art begs the age-old question: What is real? Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another. The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects, the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes, and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient forests. To sum up, understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.

Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant. Past or present, Eastern or Western, the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience. Many and different are the faces of art, and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.

1.The underlined word “poetry” most probably means __________.

A. an object for artistic creation                                    B. a collection of poems

C. an unusual quality                                                        D. a natural scene

2. Leslie's paintings are extraordinary because ________.

A. they are close in style to works in ancient times

B. they look like works by 19th-century painters

C. they draw attention to common things in life

D. they depend heavily on color photography

3.What is the author's opinion of artistic reality?

A. It will not be found in future works of art.

B. It does not have a long-lasting standard.

C. It is expressed in a fixed artistic form.

D. It is lacking in modern works of art.

4.What does the author suggest about the arts in the last paragraph?

A. They express people's curiosity about the past.

B. They make people interested in everyday experience.

C. They are considered important for variety in form.

D. They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation.

5.Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?

A. History of the arts.

B. Basic questions of the arts.

C. New developments in the arts.

D. Use of modern technology in the arts.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Throughout the history of the arts, the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists. No matter what objects they select, artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change-to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.

Landscape(风景) is another unchanging element of art. It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists. In the 1970s Alfred Leslie, one of the new American realists, continued this practice. Leslie sought out the same place where Thomas Cole, a romanticist, had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before. Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature, Leslie paints what he actually sees. In his paintings, there is no particular change in emotion, and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background. He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(摄影术) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.

Besides, all art begs the age-old question: What is real? Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another. The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects, the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes, and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient forests. To sum up, understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.

Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant. Past or present, Eastern or Western, the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience. Many and different are the faces of art, and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.

1.The underlined word “poetry” most probably means __________.

A. an object for artistic creation                                    B. a collection of poems

C. an unusual quality                                                        D. a natural scene

2.Leslie's paintings are extraordinary because.

A. they are close in style to works in ancient times

B. they look like works by 19th-century painters

C. they draw attention to common things in life

D. they depend heavily on color photography

3. What is the author's opinion of artistic reality?

A. It will not be found in future works of art.

B. It does not have a long-lasting standard.

C. It is expressed in a fixed artistic form.

D. It is lacking in modern works of art.

4. What does the author suggest about the arts in the last paragraph?

A. They express people's curiosity about the past.

B. They make people interested in everyday experience.

C. They are considered important for variety in form.

D. They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation.

5. Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?

A. History of the arts.

B. Basic questions of the arts.

C. New developments in the arts.

D. Use of modern technology in the arts.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The disease malaria(疟疾) has caused trouble to mankind throughout history. In the 1860s as the drug called chloroquine began to lose its effectiveness, malaria began to appear again in Southeast Asia. Every country in the world then poured huge amounts of human resources into discovering another anti-malaria drug In 1964, China put forward the plan to seek a breakthrough from among traditional Chinese medicinal drugs. There was no great discovery until 1981. When Chinese scientist Tu Youyou gave a speech titled" Chemical Research into Artemisinin(青蒿素)”. at an international conference of the WHO. The speech was regarded as a lifeline for malaria sufferers.

Tu Youyou graduated from the Medical College of Peking University. In 1969, just as the research into treating malaria had reached dead end, the 39 year-old Tu, in order to overcome this terrible problem, took on the job as head of a research team into this problem. The first thing Tu did was interview experienced doctors of Chinese medicine. Then she and her colleagues conducted various kinds of experiments on hundreds of kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs, including artemisinin. However, the results were disappointing: even those involving artemisinin, which had been universally well regarded, were less than satisfactory.

But later, when Tu found a relevant passage written by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), it occurred to her that high temperatures destroy artemisinin's effectiveness: it needs a low temperature to work properly. The discovery pointed to a brand-new direction for Tu and her research team. Finally, in 1972, an extract(# R40) of it was found to be one hundred percent effective against the disease!

In 2000 the WHO announced artemisinin was a leading anti-malarial drug, and promoted it worldwide. So far, it has been playing a great role in the battle against malaria. Beginning at the age of 39, Tu devoted her fife-te-her reseach. In 2015, at the age of 85 and as the first Chinese scientist, she received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. How did Tu manage to accomplish such a great achievement? You probably have the answer to that already.

1.What can be learnt about “chloroquine”from paragraph1?

A.It contributed to Tu’s great discovery.

B.It was discovered by experts in Southeast Asia.

C.It was a breakthrough out of Chinese medicine.

D.It used to be effective against the disease of malaria.

2.What did Tu Youyou do after reading a passage by Ge Hong?

A.She interviewed doctors to collect their experience.

B.She attempted to heat the extract at a low temperature.

C.She made necessary adjustments in each stage of her research.

D.She expanded access to the anti-malarial drug around the world.

3.Which of the following can best summarize the main reason for Tu's success?

A.You reap what you sow.

B.Actions speak louder than words.

C.Don't claim to know what you don’t know.

D.Live and learn through your mistakes or experience.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

完形填空

Throughout history man has had to accept the fact that all living things must die. But people now live longer than they_________. Yet, all living things still show the__________of aging, which will eventually___________death.

Aging is not a disease, but as a person passes maturity (成熟期), the cells of the body and the__________they form do not function as well as they____________in childhood and teenage years. The body provides less__________against disease and is more_________to have an accident.

A number of related causes may___________to aging. Some cells of the body have a fairly long life, but they are not____________when they die. As a person ages, ________　 of brain cells and muscle cells decreases. ________ body cells die and are replaced by new cells. In an aging person the________ cells may not be as workable or as capable　　 ________　 growth as those of a young person.

Another ________ in aging may be changes within the cells________ . Some of the protein(蛋白质) chemicals in cells are known ________ with age and become less elastic (有弹性). This is why the skin of old people wrinkles（起皱纹）and ________ . This is also the reason why old people ________ in height. There may be other more important chemical changes in the cells. Some complex cell chemicals, such as DNA and RNA, store and　 ________ information that the cells need. Aging may affect this ________　 and change the information carrying molecules(分子) so that they do not transmit the information as well.

1.A. would　　　　　　　　 　 B. be used to　　　 　　　 C. used to　　 　　　　 D. used

2.A. function　　　　　　 　 B. effect　　　　 　　　　 C. affect 　　　　　　 D. sign

3.A. lead in　　　　　　 　 B. give in　　 　　　　　　 C. run into　 　　　　 D. result in

4.A. hands　　　　　　　 　 B. feet　　 　　　　　　　　 C. heart　　 　　　　 D. organs

5.A. do　　　　　　　　　 　　 B. has done　　　 　　　　　 C. did　　 　　　　　　 D. had done

6.A. energy　　　　　　 　　 B. protection　　　　 　　 　 C. prevention　 　　 D. power

7.A. likely　　　　　　　 B. probable　　　　　　 　 　 C. possible 　　　　　 D. alike

8.A. attend　　　　　　 B. lead　　　　 　　　　　　 C. add　　　　　 　　　　 D. devote

9.A. replaced　　　　　　 B. rebuilt　　　　 　　　　 　 C. recovered 　　　 D. rearranged

10.A. a number　　　　　 　 B. the amount　　 　　　　　 C. the number　　 　 D. a great deal

11.A. The others　　　　 B. Others　　　　　　 　　 　　 C. Another　　 　　　　 D. Other

12.A. old　　　　　　　　 　 B. left　　　　 　　　　 　　 C. new　　　　 　　　　　 D. other

13.A. to　　　　　　　　　 B. for　　 　　　　　　　　　　 C. of　 　　　　　　　 D. in

14.A. factor　　　　　　 　 B. effect　　　　　　　 　 　 C. reason　 　　　　　 D. element

15.A. for themselves　 　 B. of themselves　　 　　 C. themselves 　　　 D. on their own

16.A. change　　　　　　 B. to have changed　 　　 C. to change　　 　 D. to be changed

17.A. becomes loose　　　 B. is become loosely　　 　 C. became loosely D. is becoming loose

18.A. increase　　　　　 　　 B. shrink　　 　　　　　 　　 C. lengthen　　　　 　　 D. decrease

19.A. pass away　　　　 　　 B. pass by　　　　 　　 　 C. pass off 　　　　　 D. pass on

20.A. improvement　　　 　　 B. possess　　 　　　　　　 C. approach　 　　　　 D. process

高二英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析