Fascinating VeniceLocated in the northeast of...

Fascinating Venice

Located in the northeast of Italy, Venice is well-known for its cultural treasures, romantic atmosphere and unusual living-on-water experience. The city spreads out over 118 islands, which are linked by more than 400 bridges, in the Venetian Lagoon.

Venice’s historical center consists of six regions. Italy in the south, the busiest main regions, are linked by the Rialto Bridge. The famous stone arch bridge (拱桥) crosses Venice’s main waterway — the Grand Canal. When night falls, many tourists enjoy dinner at the outside tables by the Grand Canal while watching colorfully lit boats going by.

Near the end of the S-shaped Grand Canal lies St. Mark’s Basilica, a must-see. Inside, beautiful mosaics (镶嵌图案) tell stories of Bible figures. Nearby are the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. These were made famous by Lord Byron, “I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs, a palace and prison on each hand.” The story has it that if a couple passes under the bridge, their love will last forever.

In the square outside the Basilica, lovers of literature can sit at Caffe Florian, regarded as the oldest coffee house in Europe. Charles Dickens, Henry James as well as Lord Byron enjoyed the aromatic (芳香的) drink here.

Art lovers should buy a museum pass and visit some of the city’s museums. They can view works by Venetian masters like Giovanni, Titian and Tintoretto.

On five small islands in the Venetian Lagoon, Murano has been home to glass-makers since 1291. Tourists can visit factories, studios and the Glass Museum. Glass artists produce everything from simple souvenir pieces to beautiful works of contemporary art. Only glassworks made using traditional methods on Murano can be called Murano Glass. The nearby island of Burano is famous for lace (蕾丝 )making and colorful houses. Looking at the colorful houses and kaleidoscopic (万花筒似的) streets makes people feel as if they were walking in the fairy tale.

The City of Water promises beauty of all kinds, and it definitely lives up to its promise.

1.Why does the author mention Lord Byron’s words?

A.To introduce the famous British poet.

B.To explain why the two places are famous.

C.To show why St. Mark’s Basilica is a must-see.

D.To compare the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs.

2.Where should you go in Venice if you love art?

A.Caffe Florian. B.The city’s museums.

C.St. Mark’s Basilica. D.The Bridge of Sighs.

3.What is Murano well-known for?

A.Bridges. B.Lace making.

C.Glassworks. D.Colorful houses.

4.How does the author think of Murano Glass?

A.It’s simple. B.It’s too traditional.

C.It’s colorful. D.It’s very special.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

There's no place in the world like Venice, Italy. Situated in the Adratic Sea, the city of Water is made up of 118 tiny islands. However, it1. (be) in danger of sinking now. Because2.city was built on soft soil, it has been sinking under the pressure of its own weight. Scientists say that Venice sinks 3. a rate of nearly two inches every 100 years. Meanwhile, rising sea levels could make Venice go under even faster. Earth's temperature is slowly increasing, 4. is causing sea ice to melt and makes the world's waters rise.

Experts5.(rush) to save Venice now because of its rich culture. “Many famous artists and opera singers have come from Venice. Some of the world's greatest 6.(paint) can be found on the city's museum walls," explains Melissa Conn.

7. (keep) the city afloat, experts want to pump about 40 billion gallons of sea water beneath Venice. While scientists work to get their plan 8. (approve), people in Venice live their normal life. When the tide rolls in the locals have ways of keeping everyone dry. Café owners move tables to 9. (high) ground, and hotels pass out high boots to guests. 10.(fortune), dealing with the rising water does not make the natives discouraged.

高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

According to legend, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy, which connects the Palazzo Ducale to an ancient prison, got its name because the walk across it gave prisoners on their way to jail a final chance to appreciate the beauty of the city.

The view from the bridge today, however, is more likely to be of a giant billboard selling Bulgari or Coca – cola. Beyond the billboards, monuments are being restored. The money comes from advertising profits.

But when the Coke billboards went up this summer on buildings near the Piazza San Marco, which is at the historic heart of Venice, there was a public debate.

“We can’t commercialize everything,” said Alessandra Mottola Molfino, a Venetian. “The lesson that goes out is that a price is for everything.”

“We couldn’t stay quiet,” said Maria Camilla Bianchini d’Alberigo, president of a heritage protection association. “Too much is too much.”

There needed to be rules, she added, rules that prevent the advertising billboards clashing (冲突) with the monuments of the city.

City of officials, however, argue that without these ads, the city could not afford to maintain its heritage. Many have been damaged by centuries of wear and are even a threat to public safety.

“I can’t turn down the image of bottle when there are pieces of the Palazzo Ducale falling to the ground,” said Renata Codello, a Cultrue Ministry official.

The Culture Minister has a budget of about $ 47 million (315 million yuan) for restoration of monuments, but Italy has a rich architectural heritage, and funds are always tight．Of that amount,

$ 1.8 million was given to the entire Vector region,  which includes Venice．

Two years ago, the city signed an agreement with the Dotter Group, a company responsible for the restoration of the Bridge of Sighs and the Palazzo Ducale．It allows it to sell ad space．

But there is a condition in the agreement: The ads should not offend public taste,

In August, Venice banned US actress Julianne Moore's Bulgrari ad from a billboard in the Piazza San Marco．

The photo shows a naked Moore covered with lion cubs, handbags and jewelry, Mayor Giorgio Orsoni called the image too racy (猥亵) and unsuitable for the Piazza San Marco．

"I take account of the fact that Venice is part of the real world… but we cannot accept these Hollywood-style images．There arc intelligent sponsors, and we need to come up with advertising that suits Venice, not Times Square," he said in a speech．

1.The article is mainly about        in Venice

2.In the first paragraph, the beautiful view from the Bridge of Sighs is mentioned to      .

3.From the article we can conclude that Rcnata Codello        the advertising．

4.Why do many Venetians complain about the ads?

5.It can be inferred from the passage that

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

According to legend, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy, which connects the Palazzo Ducale to an ancient prison, got its name because the walk across it gave prisoners on their way to jail a final chance to enjoy the beauty of the city. The view from the bridge today, however, is more likely to be of a giant billboard selling Bulgari or Coca-cola.

But when the Coke billboards went up this summer on buildings near the Piazza San Marco,which is at the historic heart of Venice, there was a public debate.

"We can't commercialize everything, " said Alessandra Mottola　 Molfino,　 a Venetian.

"We couldn't stay quiet, " said Maria Camilla Bianchini d'Alberigo, president of a heritage protection association.

City of officials. however, argue that without these ads, the city could not afford to maintain its heritage. Many have been damaged by centuries of wear and are even a threat to public safety.

"I can't turn down the image of a bottle when there are pieces of the Palazzo Ducale falling to the ground, " said Renata Codello,　 a Culture Ministry official.

The Culture Minister has a budget of about $ 47 million (315 million yuan) for restoration of monuments. but Italy has a rich architectural heritage, and funds are always tight. Of that amount,　 $ 1. 8 million was given to the entire Veneto region, which includes Venice.

Two years ago, the city signed an agreement with the Dottor Group, a company responsible for the restoration of the Bridge of Sighs and the Palazzo Ducale. It allows it to sell ad space.

But there is a condition in the agreement: The ads should not offend public taste.

In August, Venice banned US actress Julianne Moore's Bulgrari ad from a billboard in the Piazza San Marco.

The photo shows a naked Moore covered with lion cubs. handbags and jewelry. Mayor Giorgio Orsoni called the image too racy (猥亵) and unsuitable for the Piazza San Marco.

"l consider the fact that Venice is part of the real world_ but we cannot accept these Hollywood-style images. There are wise sponsors. and we need to come up with advertising that suits Venice. not Times Square, " he said in a speech.

1.The article is mainly about__________in Venice.

A. restoration of cultural heritage

B. widespread commercialization

C. the conflict between ads and cultural heritage

D. the difficulty of restoring monuments

2. In the first paragraph, the beautiful view from the Bridge of Sighs is mentioned to__________.

A. introduce other monuments of the ancient city

B. show many ancient structures need repairing

C. indicate that the view is blocked by huge ads

D. attract readers' interest in the famous city

3. From the article we can conclude that Renata Codello__________　 the advertising.

A. is in favor of　　　　　 B. is worried about　　 C. objects to　　　　　　　 D. doesn't mind

4.Why do many Venetians complain about the ads?

A. They support commercialization.

B. They feel the ads are damaging the city.

C. The ads are usually racy and in an American style.

D. The ads don't present a traditional view of Venice.

5.It can be inferred from the passage that

A. Hollywood stars' ads cannot go up in Venice

B. people can buy Bulgari or Coca-cola on the Bridge of Sighs

C. the Dottor Group may stop its restoration work for lack of funds

D. the mayor of Venice is expecting new advertising

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The city of Venice，in  Italy，is one of a kind．It is built on more than 120 islands，just off arrival．After explaining where my new house was，I told him that I had left the key under the doormat．Since I knew it would be quite late before I could get back，I suggested that be make himself at home and help himself to anything that was kept in the refrigerator（冰箱）．

　Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house．At the moment，he said，he was listening to some of my records after having had a nice meal．He had found the pan and meat in the refrigerator．Now，he was drinking a cup of tea and hoped that I would join him soon．When I asked him if he bad any difficulty finding the house，he answered that the only problem  was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat，but luckily，the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and  he had climbed in through the window．I listened to all this in great surprise．There is no apple tree outside my window，but there is one by the living room window of my next-door  neighbor’s house！

1.When my friend arrived，I could not go to meet him because________．

2.A doormat is a mat______．

3.I listened to my friend’s phone call in great surprise because____．

4.At last my friend______．

5.The writer left the key under the doormat so that______．

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

When travelers think of an Adriatic cruise, scenes of Venice, Italy—its canals, bridges, piazzas, and stunning architecture—come to mind. It's one of the most popular cruise destinations in Europe. And for many, the sail-away from Venice, through its Giudecca Canal, is an awe-inspiring experience.

Venice may be known as La Serenissima, or "the most peaceful," which, however, isn't entirely accurate these days. Venetians have been increasingly concerned about the impact of tourism and the potential for an environmental disaster off its shoreline due to the number of cruise ships that enter and exit its lagoon(泻湖).

That's why earlier last month, Venice announced a new policy to forbid the transit(穿越) of cruise ships to the city via the Giudecca Canal. It's not that the city wants to shun the cruise industry altogether: It simply wants to force traffic further away from the landmarks along the shoreline. City officials say that most ships will now transit the Contorta Sant'Angelo Canal.

Additionally, the city is clamping down on the size of ships that can visit Venice, as well as the total number of ships that call on it on a daily basis. As of January 2014, Venice plans to reduce the visitations of larger ships (those that are 40,000 tons or heavier) by 20 percent. This effectively caps the number of ships that can enter per day to five. In November, ships heavier than 96,000 tons will not be allowed to enter Guidecca Canal at all.

How the city plans to carry out the new five-ships-per-day rule remains to be seen and have yet to be announced. Which ships will be allowed passage? Will it be first-come, first-served? However they proceed, cruise line executives want their passengers to know that Venice will remain a regular port of call—even if the transit to and from the city must evolve.

1.Before last month, toursits left Venice by ship through ______.

A. the Giudecca Canal

B. La Serenissima

C. the Contorta Sant'Angelo Canal

D. the Adriatic Sea

2.The new policy was issued in order to_____________.

A. stress the accuracy of Venice's fame for peace

B. reduce the damage to Venice's environment

C. depend less on the crusie industry

D. limit the number of tourists

3.It can be learned from the passage that _____________.

A. People in Venice are complaining about the toursits' behaviors.

B. Venetians are often bothered by noise and pollution.

C. The city government has announced the concrete ways to carry out the new five-ships-per-day rule.

D. The new policy will not discourage the tourism from developing.

4.What does the underlined phrase "clapming down on" mean?

A. limiting 　 　　 B. abandoning

C. banning　　 　 D. punishing

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

1.Which book mainly deals with money?

A.Modern Classical Physics.

B.How Global Currencies Work.

C.The Mexican Heartland.

D.Hasidism-A New History.

2.Which book is NOT likely to talk about history?

A.Modern Classical Physics.

B.The Mexican Heartland.

C.Hasidism-A New History.

D.In Search of the Phoenicians.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

语法填空。

Strange things were happening in the country of northeast Hebei.The water in the village wells rose and 1. (fall) for three days.A 2. (smell) gas came out of the cracks.The chickens and the pigs were 3. nervous to eat.Mice ran out of the fields.Fish jumped out of bowls and ponds.In the city, some water pipes cracked and burst. 4. one million people of the city, who thought little of these events, were asleep as usual that night.After about half an hour, everything began to shake.

5. seemed as if the world was at 6. end.In the fifteen seconds a large city lay 7. ruins.The number of people who were killed or injured reached more than 400,000.People began to wonder how long the disaster would last.All hope was not lost.150,000 soldiers 8._ (send) by the army to help the rescue workers.Hundreds of thousands of people were helped.The army organized teams to dig out those who were trapped and 9. (bury) the dead.Workers built shelters for survivors 10. homes had been destroyed.Fresh water was taken to the city by train, truck and plane.Slowly, the city began to breathe again.

高三英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Butterflies are some of the most fascinating and beautiful insects in the world. Adult butterflies will live about 2 to 4 weeks. They use their senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste to survive in the world, find food and mates, lay eggs in an appropriate place, migrate, and avoid hungry enemies.

Butterflies have large compound eyes(复眼), which allow them to see in all directions without turning their heads. Like most insects, butterflies are very near­sighted, so they are more attracted to a sea of flowers than individual plants. Butterflies do not “see” colors such as red, green, and yellow, but they can sense sunlight, which indicates the direction the sun is shining, as well as ultraviolet light（紫外线）, which is present on many flowers and guides butterflies to honey sources.

Butterflies have a very well-developed sense of smell, but it is not in their nose, since they don't have one. Sense receptors are located in their antennae（触角）, feet, and many other parts of the body. They can help butterflies find their favorite flower honey food, and mates.

Butterflies' feet have sense organs that can taste the sugar in flower honey, letting the butterflies know if something is good to eat or not. Some females also carefully choose host plants by tasting to find appropriate places to lay their eggs. Adult butterflies feed their babies using a long tube. Butterflies force blood into the tube to straighten it out, allowing them to feed. Butterflies get all their food from this tube.

Butterflies don't have ears. Instead they “hear” sounds through their wings by sensing changes in sound vibrations（振动）.

Butterflies may possess senses we don't even know about yet, because their body structure is very different from ours, and therefore difficult to understand, when observed through our own human senses.

1.What can we learn from the 2nd paragraph?

A. Butterflies have good eyesight.

B. Butterflies can see in all directions and don't need to turn heads.

C. Butterflies are sensitive to bright colors including red and yellow.

D. Butterflies cannot sense the ultraviolet light.

2.How do butterflies hear sounds?

A. Using their feet to sense the vibration of things

B. Using their ears to listen directly

C. Using their wings to sense the sound vibrations

D. Using their antennae to judge the sound

3.Why do female adult butterflies carefully choose the host plants?

A. To find high­qualified honey.

B. To have a good place for living.

C. To make it easier for them to hide from the enemies.

D. To find a proper place for their eggs.

4.What does the last paragraph imply?

A. There’s a long way to understand butterflies well

B. Butterflies give great help to human beings

C. Butterflies are the most beautiful insects in the world

D. Butterflies possess more senses than humans

5.The text mainly focuses on ________.

A. butterflies' living habits　　　　 B. butterflies' beauty

C. butterflies' daily activities　　 D. butterflies' senses

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Butterflies are some of the most fascinating and beautiful insects in the world. Adult butterflies will live about two to four weeks. They use their senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste to survive in the world, find food and mates, lay eggs in a proper place, migrate and avoid hungry enemies.

Butterflies have large compound eyes (复眼), which allow them to see in all directions without turning their heads. Like most insects, butterflies are very near-sighted, so they are more attracted to many flowers. Butterflies do not “see” colors such as red, green and yellow, but they can sense sunlight, which shows the direction in which the sun is shining, as well as ultraviolet light (紫外线), which is present on many flowers and guides butterflies to find honey sources.

Butterflies have a very well-developed sense of smell, but it is not in their nose, since they don’t have one. Sense receptors (感受器) are in their antennae (触角), feet and many other parts of the body. They can help butterflies find their favorite flower honey, food and mates.

Butterflies’ feet have sense organs that can taste the sugar in flower honey, letting the butterflies know if something is good to eat or not. Some females also carefully choose host plants by tasting to find proper places to lay their eggs. Adult butterflies feed their babies using a long tube. Butterflies force blood into the tube to straighten it out, allowing them to feed. Butterflies get all their food from this tube.

Butterflies don’t have ears. Instead they “hear” sounds through their wings by sensing changes in sound vibrations.

Butterflies may possess senses we haven’t known about till today, because their body structure is very different and difficult to understand, when observed through our own human senses.　　　　　　　 (325 words)

1.What can we learn from the second paragraph?

A. Butterflies have good eyesight.

B. Butterflies can see in all directions and don’t need to turn heads.

C. Butterflies are sensitive to bright colors including red and yellow.

D. Butterflies cannot sense the ultraviolet light.

2. How do butterflies hear sounds?

A. Using their feet to sense the vibration of things

B. Using their ears to listen directly

C. Using their wings to sense the sound vibrations

D. Using their antennae to judge the sound

3.Why do female adult butterflies carefully choose the host plants?

A. To find high-qualified honey.

B. To have a good place for living.

C. To make it easier for them to hide from the enemies.

D. To find a proper place for their eggs.

4.What does the last paragraph imply?

A. There’s a long way to understand butterflies well

B. Butterflies give great help to human beings

C. Butterflies are the most beautiful insects in the world

D. Butterflies possess more senses than humans

5.The text mainly focuses on __________.

A. butterflies’ living habits

B. butterflies’ beauty

C. butterflies’ daily activities

D. butterflies’ senses

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析