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Josh Katz works at the New York Times. His common job is to use information to tell interesting stories. In December 2013, Katz built a quiz on the Times website. It asked people about the words they used to describe things and events. It also asked how they pronounced common words. The quiz then used people’s answers to decide where in the United States they were from.
The quiz got more than 350, 000 results. Katz turned the results into a book. In Speaking American, he studies regional differences in how Americans talk.
“A lot of people’s language shows who they are and where they are from, in a very personal way”, Katz said.
Katz says people are often surprised to learn that the way they talk can show where they grew up. Most Americans don’t realize they use regionalisms --- or words and phrases specific to a particular part of the country. But just about everyone does. Almost every major U.S. city has a few unique terms. For example, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the night before Halloween is known as Mischief Night. Anyone who calls it that is likely to be connected to the city.
Katz himself was surprised by how many common words are regional. “There are a lot of words I use that I just thought were standard words,” he says. “Then I found out some of these words were actually a product of my upbringing.”
For example, he says, “I thought everyone said ‘sneakers’ (运动鞋) and not ‘tennis shoes’.” But it turns out “sneakers” is connected mostly to the Northeast. That’s where Katz is from.
Some scholars think that language in the U.S. is growing more homogeneous (同类的). But Katz disagrees. “These regional differences are here to stay.” he says.
Not only are people still using common regionalisms, but there are new ones appearing all the time, according to Katz. There’s no way to predict how language will change in the future. But Katz sees more changes coming. “The only sure thing about language is that it’s going to keep moving.” he says.
1.What’ s the purpose of the quiz?
A.To test people on common knowledge.
B.To find out what words are mostly used.
C.To help people learn about their hometown better.
D.To see whether people’s language shows their backgrounds.
2.How do most Americans look at their using regionalisms?
A.They are proud of it.
B.They do it unintentionally.
C.They find it quite interesting.
D.They have no idea why everybody does it.
3.Why does Katz mention “ sneakers” in the 6th paragraph?
A.Because it’s different from “tennis shoes”.
B.Because it’s an example of a standard word.
C.Because his hometown is possibly the birthplace of it.
D.Because many common words come from a specific area.
4.What is Katz’s opinion on regional differences?
A.They will finally disappear in the future.
B.They have a bad influence on people’s life.
C.They will remain a part of people’s everyday life.
D.They prevent language from being homogeneous.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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As a teenager working at part-time jobs in New York City in 1939，Stan Lee never expected to become a legendary talent behind some of the world’s most memorable super-heroes．
“I never looked that far ahead，”says Lee．“In fact，I never thought I’d get into the comic book business．I applied for a job at a publishing company and I thought they published regular magazines，which they did also．But the one place they had an opening was in the comic book department，so that’s where I went．”By the time the company became known as Marvel Comics，in the 1960s，he was art director and about to revolutionize comics．
Unlike the perfect comic book superheroes of other companies，Lee made Marvel’s new characters faulty，more human．“And I tried to show that even though they had super power，everything wasn’t perfect in their lives．They still had to worry about earning a living．About their relationship with other people，about their families and their health and so forth，”Lee says．The characters that Lee and the Marvel artists created are so popular，more than two billion comic books based on their adventures have been published，in 75 countries and 25 languages．
Looking back over his 70 years in comics，Lee sees other changes，too．“When we did the comics years ago，we tried to make them so they were suitable for every age．We had a lot of action，but we didn’t really have what we’d call violence，”he says．“I tried to write them，so they were intelligent enough for an older reader，but a young kid could also understand them and enjoy them．”
Interest in stories about Marvel’s superheroes is growing，especially in Hollywood．Next year，Captain America and The Mighty Thor will bring their adventures to the big screen．following in the super-footsteps of The X-Men and Spiderman．
Lee is no longer surprised at the popularity of the characters he helped create．“Now I expect it．In fact，if people talk about some of the great characters in the world today and they don’t mention Marvel’s characters，I get very upset”
1.What do we know about Stan Lee?
A. He is not satisfied with his characters． B. He will appear on the big screen．
C. He is noted for the gift for comic artwork． D. He wrote over two billion comic books．
2.What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
A. Stan Lee happened to enter comics industry and made it．
B. Stan Lee applied for a job at a publishing company but failed．
C. Stan Lee got into the comic book department with large goals．
D. Stan Lee ran Marvel Comics and reformed comics in the 1960s．
3.The characters made by Marvel Comics_________．
A. were perfect comics heroes
B. 1ed readers to live a perfect life
C. satisfied the taste of readers of all ages
D. exposed the violence and darkness of the world
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Comic Superheroes of Marvel Comics
B. Comic Films Created by Marvel Comics
C. Superheroes Comics Company in Big Screen
D. Father of Greatest Comic Super Heroes—Stan Lee
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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If you had asked me then if I would accept a job as a restaurant critic for The New York Times. or any establishment publication, I would have replied, without a second thought, “Of course not!” And not just because I did not want to think of myself as an ambitious sort Working in restaurants was honest labor, anyone could see that. Writing about them for the mainstream press was not; it felt like joining the enemy.
But renewing was fun. so much fun that when mainstream publishers started paying me for my opinions, I didn't do the decent thing. Before I knew it, I had stopped cooking Professionally.
Then I stopped cooking altogether. “She's joined the leisure class.” my friend said.
I disarmed (消解怒气)) my critics by inviting them along; nobody I knew could afford to eat out and nobody refused. We went with equal amounts of guilt and pleasure, with a feeling that we were trespassing (侵入))on the playgrounds of the rich.
We didn't belong in starchy restaurants. We knew it, and when we climbed out of my rent - a - wreck, splendid in years from the Salvation Army, everybody else knew it, too. We always got the worst table. And then, because I didn't own a credit card, I had to pay in cash. The year turned into two and three, and more. I got a credit card. I got good clothes. I was writing for increasingly prestigious (声誉高的)publications. Meanwhile, a voice inside me kept whispering, “How could you?”
The voice is still there, yakking (喋喋不休)away. When I receive weekly letters from people who think it is indecent to write about $100 meals while half the world is hungry, the voice yaks right along, “They're absolutely right, you elitist pig is hisses”. And when it asks. “When are you going to grow up and get a real job?” it sounds a lot like my mother.
And just about then is when I tell the voice to shut up. Because when my mother starts idling me that all I'm doing with my life is telling rich people where to eat, I realize how much the world has changed.
Yes, there are still restaurants where rich people go to remind themselves that they are different from you and me. But there are fewer and fewer of them. As American food has come of age. American restaurants have changed. Going out to eat used to be like going to the opera; today, it is more like going to the movies.
And so everyone has become a critic. I couldn't be happier. The more people pay attention to what and how they eat, the more accustomed they become to their own senses and the world around them.
When I remember that conversation with M. F. K. Fisher, I wish I had not been quite so gentle. When I rerun the loop in my mind, I turn to her and say this: “No, you are wrong. A. J. Liebling had it right. All it really takes to be a restaurant critic is a good appetite.”
1.How did the author feel about the job as a restaurant critic at the very beginning?
A.She didn't think much of it
B.She was the ambitious one for it.
C.It was not suitable for a cook like her.
D.It was not easy to work for the mainstream press.
2.What does the third paragraph talk about?
A.A strong desire to be invited to eat out like the rich.
B.A mixed feeling of guilt and pleasure about eating out.
C.A mixed feeling of guilt and pleasure going into private property.
D.A special treat to be able to go into private property for fun.
3.What does the underlined sentence “The year turned into two, and three, and more.” In paragraph 4 mean?
A.She stayed in the career as a cook for years.
B.She kept on writing as a restaurant critic for years.
C.It was years before she quit the career as a cook.
D.It was years before her application for a credit card got approved.
4.The underlined word ''indecent'' in paragraph 5 most probably means .
A.worthwhile B.critical C.unacceptable D.imperfect
5.What changes have taken place to American restaurants?
A.They have places for both the rich and the poor.
B.They have varieties of means for entertainment.
C.They have become too expensive to be available.
D.They have become affordable to common people,
6.Which of the following statements will the author most probably agree with?
A.The writer is getting tired of the job.
B.good appetite makes a good critic.
C.There is no need for restaurant critics at all.
D.Eating out is no longer a privilege the rich have.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
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Why is the man going to New York?
A. To have a holiday B. To attend a meeting C. To see his grandparents
高三英语短对话简单题查看答案及解析
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On the small island，which is at the entrance to New York Harbor, ．
A．the Statue of Liberty stands
B．stands the Statlle of Liberty
C．does the Statue of Liberty stand
D．does stand the Statue of Liberty
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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On the small island, which is at the entrance to New York Harbor, ________.
A．the Statue of Liberty stands
B．stands the Statue of Liberty
C．does the Statue of Liberty stand
D．does stand the Statue of Liberty
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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Attention please.Flight Nineteen from New York to Washington is now arriving at_______.
A.the two gate B.a second gate C.the Gate Two D.Gate two
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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The old gentleman is considering _________he move to New York with his daughter and son-in-law or live alone at home.
A．when B．how C．what D．whether
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
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It’s common to hear the honking of horns in New York. Whoever tries every day to get more than a few minutes of sleep in the city will tell you that he could do nothing about it! Honking of horns is just one of their most widely enjoyed pastimes.
But Aaron, a Japanese website developer has had enough of it. Once, the 31-year-old man approached the open window to wait for the driver to finish honking, delivered a polite "excuse me" and then yelled " Ho-o-o-o-onk!", which suggests fierce anger in Japan. Then he threw three eggs from the window of his apartment on to a passing car honking loudly below when his patience was worn out. Instead of apologizing to him, the driver threatened to kill him angrily. So, nobly, Aaron turned to non-violence. He started writing anti-honking haiku verses, a form of Japanese poetry, and submitted them to local newspapers:
Oh .forget Enron;
The problem around here is;
All the damn honking
(Enron: a major American company that recently caused a scandal by going bankrupt because of corrupt(腐败) mismanagement)
"Then this kind of chain reaction started happening," Aaron says. "All these other haiku started appearing that I haven't written." Aaron’ s community is now covered in anti - honking poetry, written by all walks of life, ranging from scary environmental activist types to violent revolutionaries:
Patience slowly fades;
Residents store up their eggs;
That day is coming soon.
It’s no surprise that Aaron has started a website — www. honku. org — and now people from across the country send him news of their own anti - honking activities. It seems that poetry can change the world after all. Then, just recently, anti-anti- honking haiku started to appear, taped up by locals who thought Aaron should stop worrying about honking and start worrying about starving children, say, or war in the Middle East instead. Aaron has an answer for that. "Stop me if this is too tenuous(不靠谱的) ," he says," but they talk about the violence in the Middle East like it' s a force of nature, like it' s beyond our control. But actually it's kind of like the honking - the violence is man -made. If we can figure out how to stop honking on the streets, I think we could learn some things that we could use on a large scale. "
1.The first paragraph of the passage is intended to tell us that_______.
A. New Yorkers have formed a habit of honking while driving
B. most New Yorkers enjoy sleeping late in the morning
C. honking noise has influenced people's life in New York
D. New Yorkers enjoy listening to the honking of horns
2.What is Aaron’s final response to the frequent honking of horns?
A. Pretended to ignore it.
B. Screamed at the driver.
C. Acted in a peaceful way.
D. Complained to the government.
3.According to the passage, most New Yorkers think Aaron's response is ___.
A. pointless
B. abnormal
C. sensitive
D. acceptable
4.Faced with the criticism of his anti-honking campaign, Aaron notes that___.
A. fierce violence in the Middle East is more of an issue worthy of concern
B. finding the solution to anti - honking is as meaningful as that to starvation
C. big issues are beyond our control while small ones are under our control
D. if not handled properly, honking may cause serious problems like starvation
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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New York Times---（ DINITIA SMITH ）Tomorrow is the 433d anniversary of Shakespeare's birth．A recent survey shows that more people are watching him, reading him and studying him than ever before．
Consider the recent yearly conference of the Shakespeare Association of America in Washington, where more than 600 people who study or admire Shakespeare from 18 countries took in topics like ''Whither Attribution Studies,'' ''Unpopular Shakespeare'' and ''Sex Me Here,'' a talk on breast-feeding and Lady Macbeth．
''The national media is saying that fewer students' taking Shakespeare,'' Barbara Mowat, the editor of The Shakespeare Quarterly, observed in a speech at the conference．''But Shakespeare is thriving.'' The association's membership has increased by a third since 1990．
The Shakespeare business is so good these days that W．W．Norton is introducing a huge new collections of the plays into the already crowded field just in time for tomorrow's birthday anniversary．Priced at $44.95, ''The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition'' runs for 3,420 pages, offering introductions, illustrations and notes and three versions（版本） of ''King Lear.''
Today, movies and videos have made the plays even more accessible．Last year, ''William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet'' was No．1 at the box office when it opened, and it grossed nearly $50 million．In New York in January, crowds lined up in the freezing cold to see Kenneth Branagh's four-hour ''Hamlet.'' The students select a scene and then have a violent discussion about it.'' Influenced by films, professors are increasingly teaching students by having them perform the plays．
1.Why people from 18 countries came to Washington this year?
A．To celebrate Shakespeare’s 433d birth day only.
B．To watch some plays by Shakespeare as planned．
C．To celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday and study his works.
D．To discuss how to teach students using Shakespeare’s plays.
2.What does the underlined word “ field” in the fourth paragraph refer to?
A．Washington D.C. B．Shakespeare Association.
C．The birthday anniversary． D．The Shakespeare business.
3.Which of the many plays by Shakespeare was most popular the year before?
A．King Lear. B．Hamlet.
C．Macbeth. D．Romeo and Juliet.
4.What does the author want to prove by using so many examples about Shakespeare?
A．More and more people are becoming interested in Shakespeare.
B．Shakespeare business is being run well in America nowadays.
C．Plays by Shakespeare can be used at school for more studies.
D．Shakespeare belongs not only to Britain but also to the USA．
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析