What would you think if someone suggested knocking down St Paul’s Cathedral to widen the road? Or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It would be ridiculous, right? But when it comes to devastation (毁灭) of the natural world, we aren’t so easily shocked. But we should be…or we’ll be in a lot of trouble.
Nature is shrinking by the day. Ancient forests are destroyed. Wetlands are becoming dry. Woodland is disappearing, and all in the name of progress. This is bad in itself, but it’s devastating for biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and other living things that are all interconnected. The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis (光合作用) by green plants. Insects, worms and bacteria break down waste and make soils rich. And tiny organisms clean the water in rivers and sea. In fact, all life on the earth exists thanks to the benefits of biodiversity. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals. Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things.
The loss of biodiversity could be devastating. “It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans,” said Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson, known as the “father of biodiversity”. He warned, “We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will become irreversible (不可挽回的).”
But what can we do? The present problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague (含糊的). People might care about giant pandas, but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines. The Guardian newspaper is trying to help. It has launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity. This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to reserve the decrease in the sea-life caused by industrial fishing, stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes (wild dogs) in Australia, among many other things.
There is a lot to do. And we’d better act quickly if we don’t want to end up with a planet that can’t sustain life!
1.The writer thinks it ________ to pull down Big Ben to make way for a car park.
A.unreasonable B.necessary C.difficult D.reasonable
2.The underlined sentence “Nature is shrinking by the day.” means that ________.
A.nature is badly polluted by humans
B.species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day
C.rainforests are being cut down every day
D.nature is full of mysteries
3.Edward O. Wilson thinks that ________.
A.it doesn’t matter to reduce biodiversity
B.people have done enough to preserve biodiversity
C.the situation of biodiversity is very serious
D.biodiversity loss has become irreversible
4.When it comes to biodiversity, the present problem is that ________.
A.people might not clearly know what is biodiversity and what should be protected
B.people are not aware that giant pandas are endangered
C.people don’t realize that biodiversity is vital to everyday life
D.people hunt sea creatures for food
5.What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 5 refer to?
A.The UK government. B.The concept of biodiversity.
C.The action to deal with the problem. D.The Guardian newspaper.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
What would you think if someone suggested knocking down St Paul’s Cathedral to widen the road? Or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It would be ridiculous, right? But when it comes to devastation (毁灭) of the natural world, we aren’t so easily shocked. But we should be…or we’ll be in a lot of trouble.
Nature is shrinking by the day. Ancient forests are destroyed. Wetlands are becoming dry. Woodland is disappearing, and all in the name of progress. This is bad in itself, but it’s devastating for biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and other living things that are all interconnected. The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis (光合作用) by green plants. Insects, worms and bacteria break down waste and make soils rich. And tiny organisms clean the water in rivers and sea. In fact, all life on the earth exists thanks to the benefits of biodiversity. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals. Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things.
The loss of biodiversity could be devastating. “It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans,” said Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson, known as the “father of biodiversity”. He warned, “We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will become irreversible (不可挽回的).”
But what can we do? The present problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague (含糊的). People might care about giant pandas, but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines. The Guardian newspaper is trying to help. It has launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity. This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to reserve the decrease in the sea-life caused by industrial fishing, stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes (wild dogs) in Australia, among many other things.
There is a lot to do. And we’d better act quickly if we don’t want to end up with a planet that can’t sustain life!
1.The writer thinks it ________ to pull down Big Ben to make way for a car park.
A.unreasonable B.necessary C.difficult D.reasonable
2.The underlined sentence “Nature is shrinking by the day.” means that ________.
A.nature is badly polluted by humans
B.species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day
C.rainforests are being cut down every day
D.nature is full of mysteries
3.Edward O. Wilson thinks that ________.
A.it doesn’t matter to reduce biodiversity
B.people have done enough to preserve biodiversity
C.the situation of biodiversity is very serious
D.biodiversity loss has become irreversible
4.When it comes to biodiversity, the present problem is that ________.
A.people might not clearly know what is biodiversity and what should be protected
B.people are not aware that giant pandas are endangered
C.people don’t realize that biodiversity is vital to everyday life
D.people hunt sea creatures for food
5.What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 5 refer to?
A.The UK government. B.The concept of biodiversity.
C.The action to deal with the problem. D.The Guardian newspaper.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
根据短文内容,选择最佳答案。
What would you think if someone suggested knocking down St Paul’s cathedral to widen the road,or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It’d be ridiculous,right? But when it comes to devastation(毁灭)of the natural world,we aren’t so easily shocked.But we should be...or we’ll be in a lot of trouble!
Nature is shrinking by the day.Ancient forests are destroyed.Wetlands are becoming dry.Woodland is disappearing,all in the name of progress.This is bad in itself,but it’s devastating for biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants,animals and other living things which are all inter-connected.The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life.The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis(光合作用)by green plants.In fact,all life on earth exists thanks to the benefit of biodiversity.More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species.And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals.Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things.
The loss of biodiversity could be devastating.“It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans,” said Harvard University biologist Edward O Wilson,known as “the father of biodiversity”.He warned,“We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will be unavoidable.”
But what can we do? The problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague.People might care about giant pandas,but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines.The Guardian newspaper is trying to help.It has started the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity.This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to change the decrease in the sea-life caused by industrial fishing,stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes in Australia,among many other things.
There is a lot to do.And we’d better act quickly if we don’t want to end up with a planet that can’t support life!
1.What does the author think of pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park?
A.Unreasonable. B.Necessary.
C.Difficult. D.Urgent.
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.Nature is badly polluted by humans.
B.Species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day.
C.Rainforests are being cut down every day.
D.Nature is full of mysteries to humans.
3.Edward O Wilson believes that .
A.it doesn’t matter to decrease the biodiversity
B.people have done enough to preserve biodiversity
C.the situation of biodiversity is very serious
D.biodiversity loss has been unavoidable
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A.Plenty of marine reserves have been set up in the world.
B.Fishing sharks is illegal around the world.
C.It’s harmful to catch tiny organisms in the river.
D.The Guardian newspaper has done a lot for biodiversity.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Other than flying and communicating with someone from his mind (which, let’s be honest, would probably actually be awful), breathing underwater is one of the favorites. You can hang out with Aquaman and Ursula, and when the end of the world comes and we’re all living under water, you’ll be fine.
With this in mind, a student at the Royal College of Art, London has designed a 3D-printed amphibious garment called AMPHIBIO — essentially a set of gills(鳃) — for this very purpose.
According to Jun Kamei, a biomimicry designer and materials scientist, it is "for a future where humankind lives in the water".
With the world set for a global temperature increase of 3.2°C (5.7°F) by 2100, rising sea levels are a very real threat to large coastal cities, potentially affecting up to 2 billion people — or 26 percent of the current global population.
Kamei’s little device uses a specially designed porous(多孔的) material that fills oxygen again in the water and releases carbon dioxide. It is inspired by water-diving insects that create their own little scuba diving set by creating a protective bubble of air around their body thanks to their water repellent(防水的) skin.
The technology is easily 3D-printable too, which will be great when we need them together. These "gills" could replace heavy and clumsy scuba equipment, making it more similar to free diving but for longer. This could have immediate applications for underwater rescue plans — the 12 boys rescued by divers from a flooded cave in Thailand, for example, where it took weeks to work out how to get the boys and the vital breathing equipment through those narrow tunnels.
So far, the tech has only been tested as a working prototype, not actually on humans, so the dream may have to be on hold for now. And scaling up and testing on humans is Kamei’s next plan. This may sound unbelievable, but Kamei insists he has a much more optimistic vision of the future.
1.What can be inferred about Aquaman and Ursula?
A. They can read minds.
B. They can breathe underwater.
C. They often cause huge disasters.
D. They can’t live underwater.
2.What can we learn about AMPHIBIO?
A. It can produce oxygen in the water.
B. Its user can communicate with others from their mind.
C. It is the unique useful tool against the threat of rising sea levels.
D. The designer drew his inspiration from a certain natural species.
3.Why did the author mentioned the rescue of the boys in Thailand?
A. To present the success of the new device.
B. To compare the new device with the old one.
C. To prove the advantage of the new device.
D. To show the new device is easily 3D-printable.
4.What is the author’s attitude to the future of the new design?
A. Objective. B. indifferent. C. Doubtful. D. Critical.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
— What do you think of their marriage?
— ______, if I were Kate, I would not marry him.
A. Generally speaking B. I have no idea
C. To be honest D. To my surprise
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
语法填空,51-53是虚拟语气,54-55是间接引语,56-58是非谓语动词,59-60是情态动词。
1.What do you think would happen if there ______ (be) no light in the day?
2.The manager demanded that the task ______ (finish) as soon as possible.
3.I wish I ______ (attend) the meeting yesterday.
4."Don't open the door, please."
She told us ______ the door, please.
5."Are there any cheaper ones?"
Lily asked ______ any cheaper ones.
6.-Why hasn't Nancy come to meet us?
-Oh, my God! I forgot ______ (telephone) her!
7.Unless ______ (invite), he will not come to the party.
8.More highways have been built in China, ______ (make) it much easier for people to travel form one place to another.
9.He _______(not refuse) it. It was a pity that he missed such a good offer.
10.It ______ (rain) last night, for the ground is wet.
高二英语句型转换中等难度题查看答案及解析
完形填空(共20小题;每小题1分,满分20分)
If you ever feel as if you are being knocked about by life, think about the amazing bird called the Water Ouzel. I can’t imagine this waterbird knows what it is to have a day. The little creature is often found living next to waterfalls and rivers rushing fast. And however threatening the weather, however the water, in snow and rain, the tough and cheerful Water Ouzel can be chirping and singing. What's more, while the of most songbirds, however melodious in warm weather, fall over long winter months, the hearty Water Ouzel on through all seasons and every kind of . I have to wonder: does this little creature know anything I don't?
It's as if the knows that every violent storm will eventually sunshine; every dark night will finally fade into . And isn't it true? Even our bleakest and stormiest times do not forever. Like the poor man in the cement mixer(混凝土搅拌机), there is almost always an end to the .
As the incredible humanitarian novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe said, “ you get into a tight place and everything you till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will .” I have had that more times than I can remember.
Maybe this is one of those days you feel as if you are the cement mixer. If so, do you need to a little longer?
1.A. dull B. long C. bad D. wonderful
2.A. violent B. distant C. calm D. slow
3.A. deep B. cold C. clear D. dirty
4.A. recorded B. kept C. taught D. heard
5.A. sizes B. colors C. voices D. shapes
6.A. silent B. sleepy C. ill D. deaf
7.A. lives B. sings C. survives D. flies
8.A. time B. river C. music D. storm
9.A. bird B. novelist C. man D. farmer
10.A. take place of B. get away from C. give way to D. catch up with
11.A. dawn B. dusk C. noon D. night
12.A. come B. last C. stay D. go
13.A. concerned B. cared C. complained D. puzzled
14.A. party B. story C. trouble D. day
15.A. when B. because C. although D. whether
16.A. takes in B. goes against C. gets over D. cuts off
17.A. end B. go C. rise D. turn
18.A. experience B. memory C. idea D. sight
19.A. beside B. on C. in D. with
20.A. take up B. hold on C. put off D. bring in
高二英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
If someone asked you to quantify (衡量) the time you spend online, how would you answer? If you’re like one-fifth of Americans, you’d likely say “almost constantly.” New research shows that 21 percent of Americans report that they’re online more or less constantly.
Andrew Perrin, a research assistant at Pew, did a survey about Internet use. During the survey, adults were asked how much they go online. 13 percent said they don’t go online and 13 percent said they go online several times a week or less. Only 10 percent said they go online once a day and much larger quantities said they go online several times a day (42 percent) or “almost constantly” (21 percent).
Interestingly, there wasn’t a gender split (性别分化) when it came to near constant Internet use. Age seems to be the great divider: Only six percent of people over 65 said they were online that much. Those who reported that they were online all the time included 12 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds, 28 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds and 36 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds.
Don’t suppose that teenagers are online more than adults, however. In another survey, Pew found that while they did have a slight edge on adults in general when it came to “almost constant” Internet use, 24 percent said they were online pretty much all the time. They still fell greatly behind the 36 percent of adults between 18 and 29 years of age who were always online.
Given that the United Nations considers unrestricted (无限制的) Internet access (接入) to be a human right, the number of Americans who report being online “almost constantly” could rise along with availability and affordability. But it remains to be seen whether being online all the time is actually something to long for, or how constant connectivity will affect American culture in the long term.
1.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A. The aim of the survey. B. The results of the survey.
C. Why the survey mattered. D. How the survey was carried out.
2.According to the text, most “almost constant” Internet users are _____.
A. women between 30 and 49 years old B. men over 50 years old
C. Teenagers D. adults between 18 and 29 years old
3.The underlined part “have a slight edge on” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _____.
A. have an advantage over B. have power over
C. have a very bad effect on D. have nothing in common with
4.The author showed his concern about _____.
A. the affordability of Internet use
B. the availability of unrestricted Internet access
C. the effect constant Internet use may have on culture
D. the health problems constant Internet use may cause
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
In ancient Japan, if you saved someone’s life, they would make it their duty to spend the rest of their life serving you. Nowadays, if you rescue someone’s story, he or she will feel the same kind of gratitude(感激).
It happens all the time. Someone in a group is telling a story and, just before their big point, BOOM! There’s an interruption. Someone new joins the group, a waiter with a plate of biscuits comes over, or a baby starts crying. Suddenly everyone’s attention turns to the new arrival, the food on the plate, or the “charming” little child. Nobody is aware of the interruption — except the speaker. They forget all about the fact that the speaker hasn’t made his or her point.
Or you’re all sitting around the living room and someone is telling a joke. Suddenly, just before his big punch line(妙语), little Johnny drops a dish or the phone rings. After the crash, everyone talks about little Johnny’s carelessness. After the call, the subject turns to the upcoming marriage or medical operation of the caller. Nobody remembers the great punch line got unfinished — except the joke teller. When it’s you entertaining everyone at a restaurant, have you ever noticed how you can almost set your clock by the waiter coming to take everyone’s order just before your funny punch line?
Most joke and story tellers are too shy to say, after the interruption, “Now, as I was saying…” Instead, they’ll spend the rest of the evening feeling bad they didn’t get to finish. Here’s where you come in. Rescue them with the technique I call “Lend a Helping Tongue.”
Watch the gratitude in the storyteller’s eyes as he stabilizes where his story sunk and he sails off again toward the center of attention. His expression and the appreciation of your consideration by the rest of the group are often reward enough. You are even more fortunate if you can rescue the story of someone who can hire you, promote you, buy from you, or otherwise lift your life. Big winners have excellent memories. When you do them subtle favors like Lend a Helping Tongue, they find a way to pay you back.
1.
Very often, a storyteller cannot make his point because ______.
A. people are more interested in food than his story
B. many guests bring their babies to the party
C. his story is easily forgotten by the listeners
D. he is interrupted by something unexpected
2.
From Paragraph 3, we know that when someone is telling a joke, ______.
A. something bad will surely happen just before their punch line
B. the only person really interested in the joke is the joke teller
C. listeners’ attention is often drawn to something else
D. the waiter knows when to take everyone’s order
3.
How can we “Lend a Helping Tongue” to the story tellers, according to the writer?
A. Comfort them to make them happy.
B. Give them a chance to finish.
C. Go on telling the story for them.
D. Teach them some useful techniques.
4.
What is the text mainly about?
A. People should learn how to take turns in a conversation.
B. Telling jokes will make you the center of attention.
C. We can win someone’s heart by getting him back to his story.
D. It is impolite to cut in on someone’s talk.
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
In ancient Japan, if you saved someone’s life, they would make it their duty to spend the rest of their life serving you. Nowadays, if you rescue someone’s story, he or she will feel the same kind of gratitude(感激).
It happens all the time. Someone in a group is telling a story and, just before their big point, BOOM! There’s an interruption. Someone new joins the group, a waiter with a plate of biscuits comes over, or a baby starts crying. Suddenly everyone’s attention turns to the new arrival, the food on the plate, or the “charming” little child. Nobody is aware of the interruption — except the speaker. They forget all about the fact that the speaker hasn’t made his or her point.
Or you’re all sitting around the living room and someone is telling a joke. Suddenly, just before his big punch line(妙语), little Johnny drops a dish or the phone rings. After the crash, everyone talks about little Johnny’s carelessness. After the call, the subject turns to the upcoming marriage or medical operation of the caller. Nobody remembers the great punch line got unfinished — except the joke teller. When it’s you entertaining everyone at a restaurant, have you ever noticed how you can almost set your clock by the waiter coming to take everyone’s order just before your funny punch line?
Most joke and story tellers are too shy to say, after the interruption, “Now, as I was saying…” Instead, they’ll spend the rest of the evening feeling bad they didn’t get to finish. Here’s where you come in. Rescue them with the technique I call “Lend a Helping Tongue.”
Watch the gratitude in the storyteller’s eyes as he stabilizes where his story sunk and he sails off again toward the center of attention. His expression and the appreciation of your consideration by the rest of the group are often reward enough. You are even more fortunate if you can rescue the story of someone who can hire you, promote you, buy from you, or otherwise lift your life. Big winners have excellent memories. When you do them subtle favors like Lend a Helping Tongue, they find a way to pay you back.
1.Very often, a storyteller cannot make his point because ______.
A. people are more interested in food than his story
B. many guests bring their babies to the party
C. his story is easily forgotten by the listeners
D. he is interrupted by something unexpected
2.From Paragraph 3, we know that when someone is telling a joke, ______.
A. something bad will surely happen just before their punch line
B. the only person really interested in the joke is the joke teller
C. listeners’ attention is often drawn to something else
D. the waiter knows when to take everyone’s order
3.How can we “Lend a Helping Tongue” to the story tellers, according to the writer?
A. Comfort them to make them happy. B. Give them a chance to finish.
C. Go on telling the story for them. D. Teach them some useful techniques.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. People should learn how to take turns in a conversation.
B. Telling jokes will make you the center of attention.
C. We can win someone’s heart by getting him back to his story.
D. It is impolite to cut in on someone’s talk.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
While you may think that being smart and talented would logically make someone successful in running a business, unfortunately, this is often not the case.
This problem starts back in school when the stressful “group projects” are first assigned .The smartest don’t want to risk their grade in the class by dividing the work equally and hoping that an average student does his part well. They just take over and do the whole project themselves.
And thus begins the smart-people work cycle. The smartest people do just about everything better than most everyone else until it comes to running a business. They are not better; they are screwed(束缚). A smart person who can’t stand someone else doing a job badly does everything himself. Then, he is stuck with the one-man band “job-business” and ends up not being able to grow. However, it is quite interesting and strange that some slackers(偷懒的人) are better suited to be a business leader than the “smart” people. They figured out early on to surround themselves with smart people who would do the work that they themselves don’t want to do.
Smart and talented people often have a gift for the unusual, complicated or different. They don’t like to follow the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid), which is required to make a business succeed. Maybe you think the global presence of McDonald’s complex, but in fact, in the company, every single task is broken down into easy-to-follow steps and everything has been standardized. These successful companies have just a few smart enough people to run the majority of the tasks in a way that can’t be screwed up by their average employees. So, being smart or talented isn’t going to help you unless you can use your talent to figure out a way to simplify those tasks that will make a business successful.
Another issue with the smart people starting businesses is that they often have the most to lose. The smarter you are, the more choices you have available to you. You will be able to make a lot of money in various fields and have room in your career to become promoted. This means that when you start a business, you have a lot more to risk than those who are not equally smart. This is often referred to as the “golden handcuffs” dilemma.
So, don’t be surprised when the person “MOST Likely to Succeed” from high school ends up as an employee and it is one average student that finds success in his or her own business.
1.In group work, smart students often take over the whole project because they believe ______.
A. the work is not divided equally
B. they can perform better than others
C. the group projects are too stressful
D. average students are unwilling to take part
2.McDonald’s is used as an example to prove that ______.
A. a business calls for smart people’s talent
B. average employees can perform complex tasks
C. smart people are important for a successful business
D. simplified tasks are required for the success of a business
3.The underlined expression in Paragraph 5 refers to the situation where smart people ______.
A. have fewer choices in a company
B. risk more when starting business
C. are unwilling to put money to a business
D. can have a good income in many different fields
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Potentials for Success
B. Bases for Business
C. The Ordinary Achieve Bigger Success?
D. Talent Means Successful Business?
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析