Born in London in 1825, Thomas Henry Huxley w...

Born in London in 1825, Thomas Henry Huxley was one of the greatest men of the nineteenth century. In 1846 Thomas Henry Huxley was appointed assistant doctor aboard H. M.S. Rattlesnake. The ship had been asked to survey areas of the Great Barrier Reef and the neighboring seas. This gave Thomas Henry Huxley an opportunity to study animal life and was the start of his biological career. The voyage lasted four years, during which time he gathered much information on plankton (浮游生物).

On his return from the voyage, Thomas Henry Huxley was made a member of the Royal Society in recognition of his scientific work. Although he continued to publish papers about plankton, his interest was turning towards vertebrate (有脊椎的) animals. For some time Thomas Henry Huxley and his workmates had been discussing the possibility that animal species had evolved (进化), one from another. No satisfactory theories had been put forward, but in 1859 Darwin’s Origin of Species appeared. Thomas Henry Huxley at once realized　 its importance and how the theory of natural selection provided “the working hypothesis (假说) we sought”.

For the rest of his life Thomas Henry Huxley struggled to ensure the full recognition of Darwin's work. In 1863 Thomas Henry Huxley published Man’s Place in Nature in which he compared man and great apes (猿). He clearly showed similarities.

Despite his many achievements, he was given no award by the British state until late in his life. From about 1870, Thomas Henry Huxley was too involved in other things to continue actual research. He had always been interested in education. He pioneered the teaching of biology and his method of selecting “type animals” is still followed today. He spent the last ten years of his life writing essays mainly on biology.

1.Why did Huxley go on the voyage?

A.To explore the deep sea. B.To do research on sea animals.

C.To work as a doctor on the ship. D.To gather information for his paper.

2.How did Huxley react to the theory of natural selection?

A.He had doubt about it. B.He thought highly of it.

C.He couldn’t understand it. D.He thought he developed it first.

3.What do we know about Huxley's book Man’s Place in Nature?

A.It discusses the importance of human beings.

B.It focuses on Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

C.It talks about the differences between man and apes.

D.It provides evidence about the evolution of man from apes.

4.What can we learn about Huxley from the last paragraph?

A.He contributed a lot to biology teaching.

B.He continued his research till his death.

C.He became a good novelist late in his life.

D.He never got awards for his achievements.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

O．Henry，born in Greensboro，North Carolina，was the pen name of William Sydney Porter.His father，Algernon Sidney Porter，was a physician.When William was three years old，his mother died，and he was raised by his grandmother and aunt.William was a good reader，but at the age of fifteen he left school，and worked in a drug store and later on a Texas farm.After that，he moved to Houston，where he had a number of jobs，including that of bank clerk.After moving to Austin，Texas，in 1882，he married.

In 1884 he started a humorous weekly The  Rolling Stone.When the weekly failed，he joined The  Houston Post as a reporter and columnist(专栏作家)．In 1897 he was put into prison over some financial(财务的)dealings.While in prison，William started to write short stories to earn money to support his daughter Margaret.His first work，Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking(1899)，appeared in McClure’s Magazine.After serving three years of the five years’ sentence，he changed his name to O．Henry，hoping to forget his bitter past.

O．Henry moved to New York City in 1902 and from December 1903 to January 1906 he wrote a story a week for the New York World，and also published the stories in other magazines.His first collection，Cabbages and Kings，appeared in 1904.Many other works quickly followed，such as The Gift of the Magi and The Furnished Room.O.Henry’s best known work is The Ransom of Red Chief.His stories always have surprising endings.He published 10 collections and over 600 short stories during his lifetime.

O．Henry’s last years were shadowed by drinking，ill health，and financial problems.In 1907，he experienced a failed marriage.In 1910，O.Henry died after an illness.

1.What’s the passage mainly about?

A．A brief introduction to O．Henry.

B．O.Henry’s career and marriage.

C．How O．Henry became a well­known writer.

D．O.Henry’s best known works.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that O．Henry ________.

A．didn’t like to study during his childhood

B．had little parental love as a child

C．was very interested in medicine and farming

D．took up only one job after he moved to Houston

3.Which is the right time order for the following events in O．Henry’s life?

①He moved to New York City.

②He joined The Houston Post.

③Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking came out.

④The Furnished Room came out.

⑤Cabbages and Kings appeared.

A．①②③④⑤  B．②①③⑤④    C．③②①④⑤  D．②③①⑤④

4.Which of the following works of O. Henry’s is the most popular according to the passage?

A．Cabbages and Kings.

B．The Gift of the Magi.

C．The Furnished Room.

D．The Ransom of Red Chief.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

David Beckham was born on 2nd May, 1975, in the suburbs of London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy, his greatest passion was football. He played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skill award. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led to him going for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy at secondary school he played for the schools of Essex and also for his county team.

On 8th July, 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under- 21 team. On 2nd April, 1995, he played his first major football league game against Leeds United. During 1995 and 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won in both seasons , with David scoring many goals.

His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1997/7 season, he scored an amazing goal from beyond the halfway line. Seeing the goalkeeper a little way out of his goal, David sent the ball over the goalkeepers head and into the goal. It was a wonderful goal and Beckham became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free-kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157kph. He also had the ability to make the ball curl from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose. He could made it glide high through the air, or dive down steeply. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal.

1.Which word can take the place of the underlined word “passion” in Paragraph 1?

A. success　　 B. Interest　　 C. Prize　　 D. skill

2.The unusually surprising way that he scored goals______.

A. helped him to gain many prizes for Essex

B. kept him playing for Leeds United

C. offered him the chance to join the national team

D. made him popular in many British homes

3. Which of the following shows the right order of what Beckham experienced?

a. Beckham played his first football league game.

b. Beckham won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award.

c. Beckham played for Manchester United Youth Cup team.

d. Beckham went to Spain to join a football training camp.

e. Beckham played for the schools of Essex.

A. e, d, a, c, b　　 B. b, e, d, a, c

C. e, b, a, d, c　　 D. b, d, e, c, a

4.The passage is mainly talking about______________.

A. how Beckham became a successful football player

B. what abilities Beckham had to score so many goals

C. when Beckham became famous all over Britain

D. why Beckham could win in football league games

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius.“ There is no such thing as genius,” Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.

But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker.. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. Nature , he often said ,is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then , he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.

Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.

Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “ Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.

1.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Edison invented the electric light.

B. Many other people have changed Edison’s life.

C. Edison has changed the life of many other people.

D. Few men in history can change other people’s life.

2.Edison thought 　　　　　　 　　 .

A. he could be happy if he was a genius

B. genius plays the most important part in one’s success

C. hard work could do better than genius

D. genius could do better than hard work

3.Edison was 　　　　　　　　 .

A. very much interested in nature

B. interested in discovering the secrets of nature

C. interested in changing people’s ideas

D. uninterested in making people happier by discovering the secrets of nature

4.In Edison’s opinion, 　　　　　　 .

A. thinking can supply people with enjoyment and pleasure as well as help

B. people’s success lies mostly in genius

C. hard work is the second important thing in making people successful

D. there are few secrets for him to discover later

5.The last sentence in the passage most probably implies　　　　　　 .

A. life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings

B. Edison made 100 inventions in his life

C. Edison was able to live and work for 100 years

D. People of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years’ work

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius.“ There is no such thing as genius,” Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.

But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. Nature, he often said, is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.

Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.

Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “ Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.

1.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Edison invented the electric light.

B．Many other people have changed Edison’s life.

C．Edison has changed the life of many other people.

D．Few men in history can change other people’s life.

2.Edison thought ________ .

A．he could be happy if he was a genius

B．genius plays the most important part in one’s success

C．hard work could do better than genius

D．genius could do better than hard work

3.Edison was ________ .

A．very much interested in nature

B．interested in discovering the secrets of nature

C．interested in changing people’s ideas

D．uninterested in making people happier by discovering the secrets of nature

4.The last sentence in the passage most probably implies ________ .

A．life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings

B．Edison made 100 inventions in his life

C．Edison was able to live and work for 100 years

D．People of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years’ work

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age.There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light.But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius.“ There is no such thing as genius,”Edison said.He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.

But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker..From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature.Nature, he often said,is full of secrets.He tried to understand them;then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.

Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.

Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “ Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.

1.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

2.Edison thought __________.

3.Edison was __________.

4.In Edison’s opinion, _________.

5.The last sentence in the passage most probably implies _________.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Edmund Percival Hillary was one of the greatest explorers of the twentieth century. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1919. He discovered an interest in mountain climbing while he was still in high school and began climbing New Zealand's Southern Alps.

Like his father, Hillary earned his living as a beekeeper. However, he continued to climb mountains. His goal was to climb Mt. Everest, which is the highest mountain in the world. By the early 1950s, several expeditions（探险队）had attempted to reach the summit of Everest, but all had failed. Then, in 1953, Hillary and a Nepalese climber named Tenzing Norgay became the first two people to reach the top of the world.

Hillary's spirit of exploration was not satisfied. He joined an expedition to Antarctica and reached the South Pole in 1958. He also made an expedition up the Ganges River to its source in the Himalayas. Sir Edmund Hillary was a brave adventurer. He went where no man or woman had gone before.

Although Hillary was best known as the young man who climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest in the 1950s, he continued his journeys to far-off places into his senior years. For instance, in his mid-sixties Hillary flew to the North Pole with Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. Moreover, Hillary authored many books. However, his most lasting gift, perhaps, was the Sir Edmund Hillary Himalayan Trust（信托基金）. It raised millions of dollars and contributed to schools, hospitals and many other public improvements in the Sherpa villages of Nepal. In January 2008, Sir Edmund Hillary died at the age of 88.

Despite being a great adventurer and known for the treasure he left Sir Edmund Hillary always modestly referred to himself as a simple beekeeper from New Zealand.

1.Hillary was interested in ________ when he was in high school.

A. mountain-climbing　　 B. bee-keeping

C. money-raising　　 D. story-writing

2.Hillary became well-known because ________.

A. he reached both the South Pole and the North Pole

B. he was the first to reach the top of Mt. Everest

C. he lived in places where no humans had gone

D. he made a lot of money as a beekeeper

3.We can learn from the passage that Hillary is ________.

A. outgoing and fearless

B. talented and honest

C. determined and caring

D. hardworking and careful

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Roger Rolls was the first black governor in the history of New York State, USA. He was born in one of New York’s notorious(臭名昭著) slums. The children born here rarely did decent work after they grew up. However, Roger Rolls was an exception, for he was not only admitted to the university, but also he became a governor. At his inaugural(就职的) press conference, a reporter asked him, “What made you become the governor?” Faced with more than 300 journalists, Rolls did not mention his struggle but only spoke of his primary school schoolmaster---Pierre Paul.

In 1961, Pierre Paul was engaged as the director and principle of Nobita Primary School. When he entered this school, he found the children here didn’t cooperate with the teachers. Pierre thought up many ways to guide them, but none was effective. Later, he found these children were very superstitious(迷信的), so when he gave lectures, he added a program of palm reading as a means of fortune-telling, with which he encouraged the students.

When Rolls Jumped from the hathpace (高台) and walked to the platform with his small hands stretched out, Pierre Paul said, “As soon as I see your slender little fingers, I know you will be the governor of New York State in future.” At that moment, Rolls was shocked because only his grandmother inspired him once, saying that he could become the governor of New York State, so he remembered that remark and believed him.

From that day on, the “New York State Governor” was like a banner that constantly inspired him to study energetically and make progress. Rolls no longer stained his clothes with mud, nor did he speak in foul (污秽的) language. He began to straighten his back when he was walking. In the next more than 40 years, he demanded himself according to the identity of a governor. At the age of 51, he finally became the governor of New York State.

Put up a banner of faith for yourself and you will have the drive to struggle and the vitality of life.

1.In terms of Roger Rolls’ success, what did he mention made him become the governor of New York State?

A. That he was born in a poor family.

B. His strong belief and his hard struggle.

C. His great achievements in his university.

D. Pierre Paul’s and his grandmother’s encouragement.

2.We know from Para. 2 that ___________.

A. Pierre Paul was expert at palm reading

B. Nobita primary School was a key school in 1961

C. Pierre Paul had a unique way of guiding his students

D. at first students in Pierre Paul’s primary school obeyed school rules well

3.What was always in Roger Rolls’ mind then?

A. New York State Governor.

B. His slender little fingers.

C. His birthplace and identity.

D. The captain of a five-ton ship.

4.Which of the following is NOT true of Rolls after he heard Paul’s remark?

A. He didn’t speak in foul language.

B. He kept his back straight while walking.

C. He studied energetically and made progress.

D. He ignored his stained clothes and only worked hard.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Paracutin was born in Mexico in February, 1943. At the end of one week Paracutin was 500 feet high, and it is now over 9, 000 feet high. Today Paracutin is asleep.

What is Paracutin? It was the first volcano(火山) in the world which was seen from its birth right up to the present day. On February 20, 1943, a peasant and his wife set out to work in their corn fields from the Mexican village of Paracutin. They were surprised to find the earth warm under their feet. Suddenly they heard noises deep in the earth and a small hole appeared in their field. In the afternoon there was a sudden loud noise and stones were thrown high in the air. The peasants ran from the field and turned to watch. They saw the birth of a volcano.

Large quantities of stone and lava(岩浆) broke out and a little hill began to form. By evening this hill was 100 feet high and hot ashes(灰烬) were falling on the village. At night the strong light of the hot lava lit up the countryside. The trees near the village were killed and the villagers had to leave their houses. When the village was destroyed, its name was given to the volcano. The news quickly reached Mexico City, far to the east. Many people came to watch the scene. The volcano grew and grew for ten years and hundreds of square miles of forest were destroyed. Then Paracutin went to sleep.

1.Paracutin was once the name of ________.

2.What was destroyed in the growing up of the volcano?

3.In this passage the writer is trying to ________.

4.What can we learn about volcanoes from this passage？

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Roald Dahl is one of the greatest storytellers the world has ever known. He was born in Llandaff in Wales on 13 September 1916. Roald’s dream was to go to exciting foreign places, and he got the chance when he got a job with the Shell Company supplying oil in East Africa. When the Second World War broke out, he became a fighter pilot and he almost died when he crashed his plane in the desert. Afterwards he was sent home and given a new job in the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. There, he started writing speeches and war stories, and his first pieces of writing were published.

Have you heard of any of these stories?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie is a young boy from a poor family and, like most children, he loves chocolate. Charlie buys Wonka chocolate bars hoping to find a golden ticket inside because whoever finds a golden ticket is invited to visit the Wonka chocolate factory. However, there are some wonderfully strange things inside the factory!

The BFG

The BFG is the Big Friendly Giant and he brings sweet dreams to children while they are sleeping. One night he is seen by a girl called Sophie, and he kidnaps(绑架) her and carries her away to his homeland because he is scared she’ll tell the world about his existence. He is actually friendly, but the other giants are not. They want to eat people. Sophie decides to get someone to help: the Queen!

Matilda

Matilda is a genius(天才) and she loves books, but her parents don’t understand her intelligence and are cruel to her. Matilda’s brainpower is discovered by her teacher, Miss Honey, who helps her to develop her intellect. But Miss Honey is also being mistreated by the cruel head teacher, so Matilda tries to find a way to help her…

Boy: Tales of Childhood

This book is told like a story, but it’s not a novel. It’s an autobiography (自传) of Roald Dahl’s childhood and school experiences. In it he describes his experiences with the dead mouse, horrible teachers, summer holidays to Norway and getting the job with Shell.

1.What did Roald do right before working in the British Embassy?

A. He wrote stories and speeches.　　 B. He traveled in foreign countries.

C. He worked for a famous oil company.　　 D. He served as a member of the air force.

2.To know about Roald’s personal experiences, which story should you read?

A. Matilda.　　 B. Boy: Tales of Childhood.

C. The BFG.　　 D. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

3.What do the four stories have in common?

A. They are amusing.　　 B. They are about kids.

C. They are works of fiction.　　 D. They are based on true stories.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析