By now you've probably heard about the "you’r...

By now you’ve probably heard about the “you’re not special” speech, when English teacher David McCullough told graduating seniors at Wellesley High School: “Do not get the idea you’re anything special, because you’re not.” Mothers and fathers present at the ceremony — and a whole lot of other parents across the Internet — took issue with McCullough’s ego-puncturing words. But lost in the uproar was something we really should be taking to heart: our young people actually have no idea whether they’re particularly talented or accomplished or not. In our eagerness to elevate their self-esteem, we forgot to teach them how to realistically assess their own abilities, a crucial requirement for getting better at anything from math to music to sports. In fact, it’s not just privileged high-school students: we all tend to view ourselves as above average.

Such inflated self-judgments have been found in study after study, and it’s often exactly when we’re least competent at a given task that we rate our performance most generously. In a 2006 study published in the journal Medical Education, for example, medical students who scored the lowest on an essay test were the most charitable in their self-evaluations, while high-scoring students judged themselves much more stringently. Poor students, the authors note, “lack insight” into their own inadequacy. Why should this be? Another study, led by Cornell University psychologist David Dunning, offers an enlightening explanation. People who are incompetent, he writes with coauthor Justin Kruger, suffer from a “dual burden”: they’re not good at what they do, and their very ineptness prevents them from recognizing how bad they are.

In Dunning and Kruger’s study, subjects scoring at the bottom of the heap on tests of logic, grammar and humor “extremely overestimated” their talents. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they guessed they were in the 62nd. What these individuals lacked (in addition to clear logic, proper grammar and a sense of humor) was “metacognitive skill”: the capacity to monitor how well they’re performing. In the absence of that capacity, the subjects arrived at an overly hopeful view of their own abilities. There’s a paradox here, the authors note: “The skills that engender competence in a particular domain are often the very same skills necessary to evaluate competence in that domain.” In other words, to get better at judging how well we’re doing at an activity, we have to get better at the activity itself.

There are a couple of ways out of this double bind. First, we can learn to make honest comparisons with others. Train yourself to recognize excellence, even when you yourself don’t possess it, and compare what you can do against what truly excellent individuals are able to accomplish. Second, seek out feedback that is frequent, accurate and specific. Find a critic who will tell you not only how poorly you’re doing, but just what it is that you’re doing wrong. As Dunning and Kruger note, success indicates to us that everything went right, but failure is more ambiguous: any number of things could have gone wrong. Use this external feedback to figure out exactly where and when you screwed up.

If we adopt these strategies — and most importantly, teach them to our children — they won’t need parents, or a commencement（毕业典礼） speaker, to tell them that they’re special. They’ll already know that they are, or have a plan to get that way.

1.Which can be the best title of this passage?

A. Special or Not? Teach Kids To Figure It Out

B. Let's Admit That We Are Not That Special

C. Tips On Making Ourselves More Special

D. Tell The Truth: Kids Overestimate their Talents

2.The author thinks the real problem is that ______.

A. we don't know whether our young people are talented or not

B. young people don't know how to assess their abilities realistically

C. no requirement is set up for young people to get better

D. we always tend to consider ourselves to be privileged

3.Which is NOT mentioned about poor students according to the passage?

A. They usually give themselves high scores in self-evaluations.

B. They tend to be unable to know exactly how bad they are.

C. They are intelligently inadequate in tests and exams.

D. They lack the capacity to monitor how well they are performing.

4.We can infer from the passage that those high-scoring students ______.

A. know how to cultivate clear logic and proper grammar

B. don't know how well they perform due to their stringent self-judgement

C. don't view themselves as competent because they know their limits

D. tend to be very competent in their high-scoring fields.

5.The strategies of becoming special suggest that ______.

A. we need internal honesty with ourselves and external honesty from others

B. the best way to get better is to carefully study past success and failure

C. through comparison with others, one will know where and when he fails

D. neither parents nor a commencement speaker can tell whether one is special

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

By now you've probably heard about the "you’re not special" speech, when English teacher David McCullough told graduating seniors at Wellesley High School: “Do not get the idea you're anything special, because you're not." Mothers and fathers present at the ceremony 一 and a whole lot of other parents across the Internet — took issue with McCullough's ego-puncturing （伤自尊的） words. But lost in the uproar （喧嚣）was something we really should be taking to heart: our young people actually have no idea whether they're particularly talented or accomplished or not. In our eagerness to elevate their self-esteem, we forgot to teach them how to realistically assess their own abilities, a crucial requirement for getting better at anything from math to music to sports. In fact, it's not just privileged high-school students: we all tend to view ourselves as above average.

Such inflated self-judgments have been found in study after study, and it's often exactly when we're least competent at a given task that we rate our performance most generously, in a 2006 study published in the journal Medical Education, for example, medical students who scored the lowest on an essay test were the most charitable in their self evaluations, while high-scoring students judged themselves much more strictly. Poor students, the authors note, "lack insight" into their own inadequacy. Why should this be? Another study, led by Cornell University psychologist David Dunning, offers an enlightening explanation. People who are incompetent, he writes with coauthor Justin Kruger, suffer from a “dual burden": they're not good at what they do, and their very clumsiness prevents them from recognizing how bad they are.

In Dunning and Kruger's study, subjects scoring at the bottom on tests of logic, grammar and humor -extremely overestimated'' their talents. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile (百分位数).they guessed they were in the 62nd. What these individuals lacked (in addition 9 clear logic, proper grammar and a sense of humor) was “meta cognitive skill” :the capacity to monitor how well they're performing. In the absence of that capacity, the subjects arrived at an overly hopeful view of their own abilities. There's a paradox here, the authors note: The skills that lead to competence in a particular domain are often the very same skills necessary to evaluate competence in that field? In other words, to get better at judging how well we're doing at an activity, we have to get better at the activity itself

There are a couple of ways out of this double bind. First, we can learn to make honest comparisons with others. Train yourself to recognize excellence, even when you yourself don't possess it, and compare what you can do against what truly excellent individuals are able to accomplish. Second, seek out feedback that is frequent, accurate and specific. Find a critic who will tell you not only how poorly you're doing, but just what it is that you're doing wrong. As Dunning and Kruger note, success indicates to us that everything went right, but failure is more ambiguous: any number of things could have gone wrong. Use this external feedback to figure out exactly where and when you screwed up.

If we adopt these strategies — and most importantly, teach them to our children — they won't need parents, or a commencement (毕业典礼)speaker, to tell them that they're special. They’ll already know that they are, or have a plan to get that way.

1.The author thinks the real problem is that 　　　　 .

A.no requirement is set up for young people to get better

B.we always tend to consider ourselves to be privileged

C.we don't know whether our young people are talented or not

D.young people don't know how to assess their abilities realistically

2.We can infer from the passage that those high-scoring students 　　　　

A.know how to cultivate clear logic and proper grammar

B.tend to be very competent in their high-scoring fields

C.don’t view themselves as competent because they know their limits

D.don't know how well they perform due to their strict self-judgement

3.The strategies of becoming special suggest that 　　　　 .

A.we need internal honesty with ourselves and external honesty from others

B.the best way to get better is to carefully study past success and failure

C.through comparison with others, one will know where and when he fails

D.neither parents nor a commencement speaker can tell whether one is special

4.Which can be the best title of this passage?

A.Tip On Making Ourselves More Special

B.Let’s Admit That We Are Not That Special

C.Special or Not? Teach Kids To Figure It Out

D.Tell The Truth: Kids Overestimate their Talents

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

By now you’ve probably heard about the “you’re not special” speech, when English teacher David McCullough told graduating seniors at Wellesley High School: "Do not get the idea you're anything special, because you're not." Mothers and fathers present at the ceremony — and a whole lot of other parents across the internet — took issue with McCullough's ego-puncturing words. But lost in the anger and protest was something we really should be taking to heart: our young people actually have no idea whether they're particularly talented or accomplished or not. In our eagerness to elevate their self-esteem, we forgot to teach them how to realistically assess their own abilities, a crucial requirement for getting better at anything from math to music to sports. In fact, it's not just privileged high-school students: we all tend to view ourselves as above average.

Such inflated (膨胀的) self-judgments have been found in study after study, and it's often exactly when we're least competent at a given task that we rate our performance most generously. In a 2006 study published in the journal Medical Education, for example, medical students who scored the lowest on an essay test were the most charitable in their self-evaluations, while high-scoring students judged themselves much more strictly. Poor students, the authors note, "lack insight" into their own inadequacy. Why should this be? Another study, led by Cornell University psychologist David Dunning, offers an enlightening explanation. People who are incompetent, he writes with co-author Justin Kruger, suffer from a "dual burden": they're not good at what they do, and their wry ineptness (笨拙) prevents them from recognizing how bad they are.

In Dunning and Kruger's study, subjects scoring at the bottom of the heap on tests of logic, grammar and humor "extremely overestimated" their talents. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they guessed they were in the 62nd. What these individuals lacked (in addition to clear logic, proper grammar and a sense of humor) was "metacognitive skill" (元认知技巧): the capacity to monitor how well they're performing. In the absence of that capacity, the subjects arrived at an overly hopeful view of their own abilities. There's a paradox (悖论) here, the authors note: “The skills that develop competence in a particular domain are often the very same skills necessary to evaluate competence in that domain. "In other words, to get better at judging how well we’re doing at an activity, we have to get better at the activity itself.

There are a couple of ways out of this double bind (两难). First, we can learn to make honest comparisons with others. Train yourself to recognize excellence, even when you yourself don't possess it, and compare what you can do against what truly excellent individuals are able to accomplish. Second, seek out feedback that is frequent, accurate and specific. Find a critic who will tell you not only how poorly you're doing, but just what it is that you're doing wrong. As Dunning and Kruger note, success indicates to us that everything went right, but failure is more ambiguous: any number of things could have gone wrong. Use this external feedback to figure out exactly where and when you screwed up.

If we adopt these strategies — and most importantly, teach them to our children — they won't need parents, or a commencement(毕业典礼) speaker, to tell them that they're special. They'll already know that they are, or have a plan to get that way.

1.The underlined phrase "took issue with" in paragraph 1 most probably means 　　　 .

A.totally approved of B.disagreed with

C.fully understood D.held discussion about

2.The author thinks the problem that shouldn't be overlooked is that 　　　 .

A.we don’t know whether our young people are talented or not

B.young people can't reasonably define themselves

C.no requirement is set up for young people to get better

D.we always tend to consider ourselves to be privileged

3.Which is NOT mentioned about poor students according to the passage?

A.They lack the capacity to monitor how well they are performing.

B.They usually give themselves high scores in self-evaluations.

C.They tend to be unable to know exactly how bad they are.

D.They are intelligently inadequate in tests and exams.

4.We can infer from the passage that those high-scoring students 　　　 .

A.are not confident about their logic and grammar

B.tend to be very competent in their high-scoring fields

C.don't know how well they perform due to their stringent self-judgment

D.is very careful about their self-evaluations because they have their own limits

5.The strategies of becoming special suggest that 　　　 .

A.the best way to recognize excellence is to study past success and failure

B.through comparison with others, one will know where and when he fails

C.we need internal honesty with ourselves and external honesty from others

D.neither parents nor a commencement speaker can tell whether one is special

6.Which can be the best title of this passage?

A.Special or Not? Teach Kids To Figure It Out

B.Let's Admit That We Are Not That Special

C.Tips On Making Ourselves More Special

D.Tell The Truth: Kids Overestimate their Talents

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

If you haven’t seen or heard anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you’ve probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive dnriving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.

While drunk driving remains a critical problem，the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance，according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41，907 people died on the highway last year．of those deaths,the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior．

Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago?Experts have certain theories，and all are probably partially correct．One suggestion is over crowding．In the last decade，the number of the cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent，and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent．However,the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent．That means more cars in the same amount of space；and the problem is even serious in urban areas．Also，people have less time and more things to do．With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day，street levels have never been higher．Stress creates anxiety,which leads to short tempers．These factors，when combined in certain situations，Can induce Road Rage.

You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively，but you might be surprised．For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver,sounded the horn long and hard at another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing?If you recognize yourself in any of these situations，watch out!

Whether you are getting angry at other drivers，or another driver is visibly upset with you，there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict.If you are easily influenced to Road Rage，the key is to discharge your emotion in a healthy way.If You are the target of another driver’s rage，do everything possible to get away from me other drive safely，including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way． www.sdzxlm.com

1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Most people are angry at media reports and want to avoid them

B．Most drivers have bad manners

C.Road Rage has received much media attention in the past few months

D.People showing no interest in the media know little about recent happenings

2.According to the passage，what are the causes of overcrowding?

A．Stress，anxiety and short tempers．

B．People working together in a big city．

C．More cars stopping in the same amount of space

D．Quickly increasing cars and slowly increasing new road miles

3.The underlined“induce”in Paragraph3 Call be replaced by“

A．relax    B．cause    C．reduce  D．destroy

4.Which of the following is“aggressive driving”?

A．Phoning while driving．

B．Driving at a low speed．

C．Shouting loud at another driver．

D．Sounding the horn when driving．

5.What does the writer want to tell US by writing the last paragraph?

A．Flow to control our anger

B．How to deal with Road Rage．

C，How to recognize aggressive drivers．

D．How to avoid eye contact with other drivers．

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

If you haven’t heard or seen anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you’ve probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive driving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.

While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41,907 people died on the highway last year. Of those deaths, the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior.

Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now, and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago? Experts have several theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is extreme overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space; and the problem is severe in urban areas. Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, stress levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain situations, can spell Road Rage.

You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively, but you might be surprised. For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver, sounded the horn long and hard an another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing? If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, watch out!

Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are easily influenced by Road Rage, the key is to release your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.

1.The first sentence in Para. 1 implies that ______.

A. Road Rage has received much media coverage in the last few months

B. the media created the term “Road Rage” only a few months ago C. one may be angered by media reports and wants to avoid them

D. people not interested in the media know little about recent happenings

2. The underlined word “spell” in Para. 3 means ________.

A. relieve               B. cause             C. spread              D. prevent

3.Which of the following characterizes aggressive driving?

A. Talking while driving.

B. Driving at high speed.

C. Shouting at another driver.

D. Sounding the horn when passing

4.The last paragraph is intended to _________.

A. tell people how to deal with Road Rage

B. inform people how aggressive drivers could be

C. show people how to control themselves when angry

D. warn people against eye contact with another driver

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

If you haven’t seen or heard anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you’ve probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive driving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.

While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 4,1907 people died on the highway last year. Of those deaths, the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behaviour.

Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago? Experts have certain theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is sheer overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of the cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space.; and the problem is magnified in urban areas. Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, street levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain situations, can spell Road Rage.

You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively, but you might be surprised. For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver, sounded the horn long and hard at another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing? If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, watch out!

Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are susceptible (easily influenced) to Road Rage, the key to discharge your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.

1.The first sentence in Para 1 implies that__________.

2.The underlined “spell” in Para3 means___________.

3.Which of the following characterizes aggressive driving?

4.The last paragraph is intended to ___________.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

If you haven’t heard or seen anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you’ve probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive driving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all.

While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41,907 people died on the highway last year. Of those deaths, the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior.

Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now, and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago? Experts have several theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is extreme overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space; and the problem is severe in urban areas. Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, stress levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain situations, can spell Road Rage.

You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively , but you might be surprised .For instance , have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver ,sounded the horn long and hard an another car , or sped up to keep another driver from passing ?If you recognize yourself in any of these situations , watch out !.

Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are easily influenced by Road Rage, the key is to release your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.

1. The first sentence in Para. 1 implies that ______.

A. Road Rage has received much media coverage in the last few months

B. the media created the term “Road Rage” only a few months ago

C. one may be angered by media reports and wants to avoid them

D. people not interested in the media know little about recent happenings

2.The underlined word “spell” in Para. 3 means ________.

A. relieve              B. cause             C. spread              D. prevent

3.Which of the following characterizes aggressive driving?

A. Talking while driving.               B. Driving at high speed.

C. Shouting at another driver.           D. Sounding the horn when passing

4.The last paragraph is intended to _________.

A. tell people how to deal with Road Rage

B. inform people how aggressive drivers could be

C. show people how to control themselves when angry

D. warn people against eye contact with another driver

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

You’ve probably heard about sports coaches, fitness coaches, vocal music teachers, career counselors，psychiatrists (精神病医师) and other specialists who teach skills and help us cope with daily life.

But there’s a rapidly growing kind of professional who does a little bit of everything. She or he is called a “life coach”. People who are at crossroads in their lives and corporations that want to give certain employees a career boost are turning to them for help.

The idea that one person’s success story can change other people’s lives for the better goes back at least to the 1930s. Dale Carnegie’s famous self-improvement program “How to Win Friends and Influence People ” came along soon thereafter.

But this new style of life coaches includes more than enthusiastic speakers or writers. They use their own experiences in business, sports, military service, or psychotherapy (心理疗法) to help others make critical life decisions.

They often give their approach a slogan, such as “energy coaching” or “fearless living” or “working yourself happy”.

Dave Lakhani in Boise, Idaho, for instance, works with salespeople to develop what he calls a “road map”. He says an ongoing relationship with a coach is like having a personal fitness trainer for one’s career and life outside work.

Lakhani’s Bold Approach coaching firm also donates some of its time to help people who are anything but successful — including battered women and struggling single mothers.

But others in the so-called “helping professions” are not thrilled about the life-coaching movement. They say that anyone, trained or untrained, can call himself or herself a life coach, and that slick (华而不实的) promoters who mess with people’s lives can do more harm than good.

1.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Working Yourself Happy

B. Life Coaches Help with Tough Decisions

C. How to Cope with Daily Life with Life Coaches

D. The Life-Coaching Movement

2.The underlined phrase “life coach” in Paragraph 2 means “　　　　 ”.

A. the career counselor who teaches skills

B. the psychiatrist who helps us cope with daily life

C. the fitness coach who teaches us lessons

D. the specialist who helps us make important life decisions

3.The last paragraph is mainly about 　　　　 .

A. the introductions of life coach

B. the disagreements of life coach

C. the effects of life coach

D. the experiences of life coach

4.What is the author’s attitude towards life coaches?

A. Cautious.　　 B. Approving.

C. Casual.　　 D. Disapproving.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

You’ve probably heard of Marco Polo, but how much do you actually know about him and his incredible journey? Marco was the original travel writer, whose trade contacts with Asia changed Europe, opening it up to new ideas and cultures.

Marco Polo was born in the Venetian Republic around 1254．At the time, Venice was one of the most powerful trading cities in the world, and was ruled as an independent city state．Marco’s mother died when he was young, so he was brought up by his aunt and uncle．When Marco was born, his brother (Maffeo) and father (Niccolo), who were successful merchants, were away on a trading voyage．They didn’t get back until Marco was about 15.

In 1271, Niccolo and Maffeo set off again for Asia, this time taking Marco with them．On a previous journey they’d met Kublai Khan (the Yuan Dynasty), and they were keen to establish trade links between Kublai’s empire and Venice．The Polos sailed across the Mediterranean to Acre (now in northern Israel)．Then, they traveled by camel to the port of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf．Their plan was to sail to China but they couldn’t find any good boats．So, they continued the journey overland, finally meeting Kublai Khan at his summer palace in Xanadu, about 275 kms north of modern Beijing．Marco was now probably 21 years ol

The journey had taken over three years.

The Polos had learnt a great deal about the world during their travels and so Kublai employed Marco as a government official．This gave Marco the opportunity to travel around much of Kublai’s empire in China．In fact, Kublai found the Polos so useful that he was unwilling to let them return home．However, in 1292, the Polos eventually left, sailing from China and ending up in Hormuz again．The journey was extremely dangerous: of the 600 travelers who set off, only 18 arrived in Hormuz, including all three of the Polo family．

The Polos finally returned to Venice in 1295, twenty-four years after setting off．They had traveled 24,000 kms．By this time Venice was at war with Genoa, its trade rival．Unfortunately for Marco, he was captured by the Genoese and imprisione

However, he used his time as a prisoner to write a book about his family’s travels: II Milione (known as The Travels of Marco Polo in English)．It was the first book to tell Europeans about China and the East．No original copy survives, but there are several versions of it．Marco’s writings influenced many other travelers, most notably Christopher Columbus, who carried a copy of II Milione with him on his voyage in search of Asia.

After his release from prison in 1299, Marco rejoined his father and uncle in Venice．The family were now even wealthier than before thanks to the many treasures they’d brought back from the East．Marco financed many more trading journeys but never left the city again．He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice．

1.What is the correct order of what Marco Polo has done?

a.met Kublai Khan in Xanadu

b.sailed across the Mediterranean

c.sailed for Hormuz

d.left Venice for Asia

e.went to Hormuz by camel

f.employed as a government official in China

A．b-c-d-f-a-c

B．d-c-b-a-f-e

C．b-d-c-f-a-e

D．d-b-e-a-f-c

2.The last paragraph but one mainly tells us something about _____.

A．Marco’s life in Genoa

B．Marco’s book II Milione

C．Marco’s influence on Columbus

D．Marco’s safe return to Venice

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Soon after his mother’s death, Marco was raised by his father.

B．Marco spent about six years on the way to China and back to Venice.

C．Marco died at the age of 70 in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice.

D．Marco was born into a very poor family but died in wealth．

4.The passage is most probably taken from _____．

A．a newspaper

B．a geography book

C．a history book

D．a traveler’s guide

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

You’ve probably heard such reports. The number of college students majoring in the humanities (人文学科) is decreasing quickly. The news has caused a flood of high-minded essays criticizing the development as a symbol of American decline.

The bright side is this: The destruction of the humanities by the humanities is, finally, coming to an end. No more will literature, as part of an academic curriculum, put out the light of literature. No longer will the reading of, say, “King Lear” or D.H. Lawrence’s “Women in Love” result in the annoying stuff of multiple-choice quizzes, exam essays and homework assignments.

The discouraging fact is that for every college professor who made Shakespeare or Lawrence come alive for the lucky few, there were countless others who made the reading of literary masterpieces seem like two hours in the dentist’s chair.

The remarkably insignificant fact that, a half-century ago, 14% of the undergraduate population majored in the humanities (mostly in literature, but also in art, philosophy, history, classics and religion) as opposed to 7% today has given rise to serious reflections on the nature and purpose of an education in the liberal arts.

Such reflections always come to the same conclusion: We are told that the lack of a formal education, mostly in literature, leads to numerous harmful personal conditions, such as the inability to think critically, to write clearly, to be curious about other people and places, to engage with great literature after graduation, to recognize truth, beauty and goodness.

These serious anxieties are grand, admirably virtuous and virtuously admirable.　　 They are also a mere fantasy.

The college teaching of literature is a relatively recent phenomenon. Literature did not even become part of the university curriculum until the end of the 19th century. Before that, what came to be called the humanities consisted of learning Greek and Latin, while the Bible was studied in church as the necessary other half of a full education. No one ever thought of teaching novels, stories, poems or plays in a formal course of study. They were part of the leisure of everyday life.

It was only after World War II that the study of literature as a type of wisdom, relevant to actual, contemporary life, put down widespread institutional roots. Soldiers returning home in 1945 longed to make sense of their lives after what they had witnessed and survived. The abundant economy afforded them the opportunity and the time to do so. Majoring in English hit its peak, yet it was this very popularity of literature in the university that spelled its doom, as the academicization of literary art was accelerated.

Literature changed my life long before I began to study it in college. Books took me far from myself into experiences that had nothing to do with my life, yet spoke to my life. But once in the college classroom, this precious, alternate life inside me got thrown back into that dimension of my existence that bored me. Homer, Chekhov and Yeats were reduced to right and wrong answers, clear-cut themes and clever interpretations. If there is anything to worry about, it should be the disappearance of what used to be an important part of every high-school education: the literature survey course, where books were not academically taught but thoroughly introduced—an experience unaffected by stupid commentary and useless testing.

The literary classics are places of quiet, useless stillness in a world that despises (鄙视) any activity that is not profitable or productive. Literature is too sacred to be taught. It needs only to be read.

Soon, if all goes well and literature at last disappears from the undergraduate curriculum—my fingers are crossed—increasing numbers of people will be able to say that reading the literary masterworks of the past outside the college classroom, simply in the course of living, was, in fact, their college classroom.

1.The author mentions “two hours in the dentist’s chair” in Paragraph 3 to indicate that _______.

A. the average literature class in college is two hours long

B. reading literary works is made unbearable by professors

C. it actually does not take long to read the classics of literature

D. college students don’t spend much time on literary masterworks

2.The sharp drop in the number of majors in the humanities _______.

A. has given rise to quite a shock in the intellectual world

B. promises the remarkable destruction of the humanities

C. shows more people read literature outside the classroom

D. has caused the author to reflect on the nature of literary creation

3.Which of the following opinions may the author hold?

A. The disappearance of literature should be strongly applauded.

B. Literature teaching can improve our critical thinking ability.

C. Reading literature doesn’t require specialized knowledge and skills.

D. Literature should be taught through analyzing different writing styles.

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A. To urge college students to read more literary classics.

B. To introduce the present situation of literature teaching.

C. To voice his opinion on the shrinkage of literature teaching.

D. To show his serious concern for college literature teaching.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析