Jack London, one of America’s major writers o...

Jack London, one of America’s major writers of adventure tales, was born in California in 1876. During his life, London worked at many jobs. His broad life experiences would become the background for his writing.

London loved to read. As a teenager, he spent many hours educating himself at the Oakland, California, public library. He attended college at the University of California at Berkeley, but he stayed for only six months. He thought Berkeley was “not lively enough” and wanted to do something more exciting.

London wrote stories about working people and the hard times they had making a living. He knew their problems first hand. He worked as a sailor, farmer, factory employee, railroad worker, and gold prospector, to name just a few of his many jobs.

London grew up near the waterfront in Oakland. He loved the water. When he was fifteen years old, he bought a small sailboat called a sloop. Later he sailed to Japan on a schooner, which is a much larger sailing boat. Like many people of the time, London caught the Klondike Gold Rush Fever. In 1897, he headed for Alaska. He didn’t find gold, but he discovered something even more valuable. He discovered that people enjoyed listening to the stories he made up with his vivid imagination. London entertained the miners with story after story. Later, using his experiences during the Gold Rush, he created many more colorful stories.

London resolved to live a full, exciting life. He once said, “I would rather be a superb meteor(流星), every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.” Each day, he pushed himself. Once London determined that he was going to be a writer, nothing could stop him. His goal was to write at least one thousand words every day. He refused to stop even when he was sick. In eighteen years, the writer published fifty-one books and hundreds of articles. He was the best-selling and highest-paid author of his day. Many people also considered him to be the best writer. White Fang and The Call of the Wild are his most famous stories and are about surviving in the Alaskan wilderness. Readers can enjoy Jack London’s energy and his talent for telling wonderful stories each time they open one of his novels.

1.Why was Jack London able to write on many topics?

A. He pushed himself to reach goals.

B. He had a variety of experiences and jobs.

C. He was drawn to the Klondike Gold Rush.

D. He was the best-selling and highest-paid author.

2.What prevented Jack London from finishing college?

A. That he was hired to sail to Japan.

B. That he traveled to Alaska in 1897.

C. That he spent much of his time writing.

D. That he was not interested in college life enough.

3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph indicates that Jack London______.

A. is expert at universe.

B. aims high and strive to succeed.

C. is excited about life if the wildness.

D. face a choice between life and death.

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

A. To support the statement that London was the “best writer?.

B. To describe life during the klondike Gold Rush.

C. To provide information on Jack ‘s life.

D. To identify books written by Jack London.

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Jack London is a famous American writer. His most widely known book is the Call of the Wild, the story of the adventure of a large dog in the frozen north.

Jack London was born on January 12, 1876, in San Francisco, California. His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make money. He worked hard at many different jobs.

Later, Jack returned to school, but he didn’t stay. He wrote, “Life and pocket book were both too short.” In 1897, he went to Alaska to find gold. Instead, he found ideas there for his book stories. He returned home and started to write. His writings were successful, and he became rich and famous in his twenties.

Jack London was not a happy man, however. In poor health, he took his own life in 1916. He was then only 40 years old.

1. Jack London went to Alaska to __________________.

A. find ideas for his books   B. find gold    C. write his books and stories    D. find jobs

2. Jack London left school because __________________.

A. he had to work to help his family           B. he had completed his education

C. he wanted to become a writer              D. he wanted to find gold.

3. From what did Jack London get ideas for his books and stories?

A. His life in Alaska.                       B. His childhood friend.

C. A large dog in the north.                  D. His pocket book.

4. What do we know about Jack London?

A. He became famous but remained poor all his life.

B. Though he was poor, he was always happy.

C. He was not famous until he died in 1916.

D. He killed himself because of poor health.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Robert Frost was one of America’s best known and most honored serious writers. But his fame came late in his life.

He was born in San Francisco, California in 1874. He lived in California during his early  childhood. He was named after the chief Southern general in America’s Civil War. The general’s name was Robert Edward Lee. The poet was named Robert Lee Frost, because his father wanted to honor the general.

Someone once asked another American writer, Ernest Hemingway, how to become a writer. The best thing, he said, was to have an unhappy childhood. If this is true, Robert Frost’s childhood was unhappy enough to make him a very good writer. Robert Frost’s father was a reporter who wanted to be a politician. He often drank too much wine and became angry. Robert was the victim (受害者) of his anger.

Robert Frost finished high school in 1891. After high school, Robert’s grandfather offered to pay his costs at Dartmouth College. But Robert left the school after a few months. He did not like it. He spent the next few years working at different jobs. At one time, he worked in a factory. Later, he repaired shoes. He was a teacher. He was a reporter. Always, he wrote poetry.

Robert Frost attended Harvard University for two years. After that, he returned to the many jobs  he held before. For a while, Frost tried to take care of a farm in the state of New Hampshire. He was not a successful farmer. And he continued to write poetry. He said that until 1930, he earned only about ten dollars a year from writing.

In 1912, he decided to try to make a new start. He took his family to Britain. The cost of living was low. In Britain, Frost found a publisher for his first book of poems. The book was called A Boy’s Will. When it appeared in 1913. Frost received high praise from British readers. Praise was something he had not received in his own country.

Ezra Pound, another American poet living in Britain, read the poems and liked them very much. He wrote a magazine article about Frost. He also helped get Frost’s second book of poems published in America. That book was called North of Boston.

1.The followings are writers EXCEPT ________.

A. Robert Edward Lee                 B. Robert Lee Frost

C. Ernest Hemingway                  D. Ezra Pound

2.The passage wrote about Hemingway in order to show that

A. he had great influence on Frost’s poetry and life

B. Frost’ s poetry style was the same as Hemingway’s

C. Frost was unhappy because he was the victim of his father

D. Frost spent his childhood unhappily

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Once Frost’s first book was published he gained great praise in his country.

B. After leaving Harvard University, he began to learn to write poetry.

C. Frost was found lo have a gift in poetry while he studied in high school.

D. Robert Frost’s father was angry and drank a lot because he didn’t realize his dream.

4.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. Robert Frost’s unhappy childhood. B. Robert Frost’s first and second book.

C. Robert Frost’s family and jobs.  D. Robert Frost’s life and poetry.

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“Love of life”,______ is one of Jack London’s masterpieces, has been translated into many languages.

A．it                B．what             C．that              D．which

高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The United States of America is mainly an English-speaking country. The majority of the population speak English as their native language. Besides，education，social activities，etc. are conducted in English. Across but for the most part，Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.

However，not everyone in the USA is a native speaker of English. Most immigrants (移民)are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the USA where English is not the most commonly used languages. Chinese，Italian，German，Greek，Spanish and French are all spoken in various communities in the USA. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English.It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country. For speakers of other languages，learning English is important，but teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non-English speakers were expected to “pick up ” the language by meeting with others in public. Recently，this has changed.

Today，most large public schools and community colleges have ESL(English as a Second Language )programs; American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will use it. Therefore，ESL programs offer different English lessons to different students. Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public. Other programs teach the kind of English people who will need for their jobs. American ESL instructional methods do not lay emphasis on grammar or translation，but on the importance of communication. The goal is to get the English learners to learn by using the language.

1.In the past the non-English immigrants___________.

A. didn’t know how to learn English B. found that English was not important

C. learned English through books D. paid special attention to teaching English

2.__________ is the most widely used language except English in the US.

A. ESL B. French

C. Spanish D. Chinese

3.The phrase “pick up” in the second paragraph means “__________”.

A. try to master B. repeat again and again

C. go to school sometimes D. learn without studying or taking lessons

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The United States of America is mainly an English-speaking country. The majority of the population speak English as their native language. Besides, education, social activities, etc. are conducted in English. Across but for the most part, Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.

However, not everyone in the USA is a native speaker of English. Most immigrants(移民) are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the USA where English is not the most commonly used languages. Chinese, Italian, German, Greek, Spanish and French are all spoken in various communities in the USA. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English. It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country. For speakers of other languages, learning English is important, but teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non-English speakers were expected to pick up the language by meeting with others in public. Recently, this has changed.

Today, most large public schools and community colleges have ESL(English as a Second Language) programs; American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will use it. Therefore, ESL programs offer different English lessons to different students. Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public. Other programs teach the kind of English people who will need for their jobs. American ESL instructional methods do not lay emphasis on grammar or translation, but on the importance of communication. The goal is to get the English learners to learn by using the language.

1.　　　　　　　　　　　　　 is the most widely used language in most parts of the USA.

A. Chinese　　 B. English

C. Spanish　　 D. French

2.In old days, the non-English immigrants 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 .

A. paid little attention to learning English

B. didn’t have much chance to learn English

C. also spoke English as their native language

D. never thought learning English was important

3.The underlined phrase “pick up” in Para.2 means 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 .

A. to lift up　　 B. to recover

C. to collect　　 D. to learn

4.What do American ESL programs think is the most important in learning English?

A. Learning difficult grammar.

B. Doing much translation.

C. Finding a good job.

D. Using the language.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

London will host a major exhibition(展览) of 15th-century Chinese artwork, including paintings, sculptures (雕塑)and porcelain, which are all from Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The exhibition will be open from Sept 18 to Jan 5. On display will be 108 cultural relics from 10 museums in China, as well as collections from the British Museum and museums in Japan, the United States and Europe. The exhibition will be in five parts to give an overview of the society.

"This was a time when the political and social system of the dynasty became stable(稳定), and the country also experienced huge changes. China was in frequent contact with the rest of the world at that time, and its artists and scholars also influenced other cultures," said Yao Yu, the director of this activity. During this time, Beijing became the capital of China, and Zheng He (1371-1433) set sail and reached the shores of eastern Africa.

Jessica from the British Museum, said "reading" an artwork may differ in different cultures. "When a Chinese audience sees a painting you see figures and stories. But we see beautiful views. " However, she added that the British public had a basic knowledge of the dynasty and many British people probably knew more about the later period of the Ming Dynasty after the Portuguese and Spanish came to China to trade. Their houses and dining tables have Chinese blue and white vases but they don’t know much about the earlier period, which in China was a more culturally important period.

"We’d like to take away people from the idea that China became international after the Europeans arrived. China in the early Ming Dynasty was very international. "

1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Artworks from China.　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Museums in London.

C. An important exhibition.　　　　　　　　 　 D. Ming Dynasty in China.

2.What does the underlined word mean in Paragraph 4?

A. Read aloud.

B. Learn something by heart.

C. Look at and appreciate something.

D. Write down something.

3.Which of the following is NOT true about the Ming Dynasty?

A. It was a time when the political system of the dynasty was stable.

B. Beijing became the capital of China during that time.

C. Zheng He sailed to the shores of eastern Africa.

D. Ming Dynasty started from 1368 and came to an end in 1433.

4.What can we know from Jessica?

A. British people have a good knowledge of the Ming Dynasty.

B. British citizens know more about the later period of the Ming Dynasty than the earlier ones.

C. British and Spanish came to trade in Ming Dynasty.

D. The later period of the Ming Dynasty is a more culturally important period in China.

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O。Henry wasa pen name used by an America writer of short stories.His real namewas WilliamSydney

1.People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because

A. they had surprise endings              B. they were easy to understand

C. they showed his love for the poor D. they were about New York City

2. O. Henry went to prison because ________.

A. people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper

B. he broke the law by not using his own name

C. he wanted to write stories about prisoners

D. people thought he had taken money that was not his

3.What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?

A. He was well-educated.            B. He was not serious about his work.

C. He was devoted to the poor.          D. He was very good at learning.

4. Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?

A. His life inside the prison.           B. The newspaper articles he wrote.

C. The city and people of New York.      D. His exciting early life as a boy.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most loved children's books of all time, and many adults enjoy it as well. It tells the story of a young girl named Alice, who follows a rabbit entering a magical world called Wonderland: she has many experiences which seem to change the rules of reasoning or common sense. The popularity of the book comes from its imagination, interesting story, and art work.

The writer of the book is Lewis Carroll. In fact, Lewis Carroll was not the writer's real name. His real name was Charles Dodgson. One day, he took a boat ride down the Thames River to have a picnic with three little girls who were friends of the family. To keep them entertained on the ride, he told them a story in which Alice, the middle child, was the main character. They enjoyed the story very much.

Charles later wrote the story down under the name Alice's Adventures under Ground and gave it to Alice as a Christmas present. Later, he gave a copy to his friend George MacDonald. George read it to his children and they loved it. George suggested to Charles that he make a book from his story. Charles then wrote more parts to the story until it was around 35,000 words. It was first printed in 1866, with art work by John Tenniel, under the name Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book was an immediate success.

One of its first fans was Queen Victoria. She immediately requested a collection of all of Lewis Carroll's works. She was surprised to find that they included many works on math. In fact, Charles Dodgson was a highly respected mathematician. This can be seen in many puzzles and plays on reasoning that appear in his books and poems.

Since the story was first printed, it has kept selling up to the present day. It has been translated into over fifty languages and has had several movies based on it. The story is even mentioned in the popular 1999 film The Matrix by the character Morpheus.

1.The passage is mainly about _____.

A. Charles' family life

B. a girl's adventurous experience

C. a magical world called wonderland

D. the birth of a book and its lasting influences

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The writer published his works under his real name.

B. The character Alice was based on from George's child.

C. John contributed partly to the popularity of the book.

D. Charles offered a copy to George as a present.

3.We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. Queen Victoria asked for a few of Charles' writings

B. Charles was good at reasoning and writing

C. Charles had his works translated into fifty languages

D. The Matrix was based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

4.Which of the following is the right order of the passage?

a. Charles gave his story to Alice as a Christmas present.

b. Charles had a picnic with three little girls on the Thames.

c. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first printed in l866.

d. More parts were added to the story by Charles.

e. The book won a large number of fans.

A. c-b-a-d-e    B. c-a-b-e-d    C. b-a-d-c-e     D. b-a-c-e-d

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of the great American novels, ________ first published in the United States in 1885.

A.was B.were C.has been D.had been

高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析