The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris(有毒的殘骸) over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails(痕跡) streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant(推進(jìn)器).
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts.
1. The word “descent” in the passage means ________.
A. taking off   B. landing      C. orbiting     D. walking down
2. Which is true of the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon?
A. He was the first Israeli astronaut to fly on the shuttle.
B. He was the first foreign astronaut to fly on the American shuttle.
C. He used to be a passenger plane pilot.
D. He was the only survivor in the Columbia disaster.
3. The Columbia disaster and the Challenger disaster were similar in that ________.
A. there were seven astronauts killed on board
B. both the shuttles exploded when they took off
C. Both the shuttles exploded when they were about to land
D. no human remains were found
4. Which of the following is wrong according to the news?
A. The U.S.A. will give up the space program because of the accident.
B. NASA hasn’t found the cause of the Columbia disaster.
C. Before the Columbia disaster, no shuttles had exploded in the course of landing.
D. Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission.

1----4      BAAA  

本文講述了美國航天飛機(jī)“哥倫比亞”號失事的情況。
1. B。詞義推測題�？梢詤⒁姷谌蔚诙渲械膇n the decent to Earth，其后or landing 即是對 descent解釋。
2. A。細(xì)節(jié)題。從 …which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon 中可以知道，Ilan Ramon. 是以色列第一位乘坐航天飛機(jī)的宇航員。
3. A。推斷題。要求你找出這兩起災(zāi)難的共同點(diǎn)。從文中可以了解到兩起災(zāi)難都有7位宇航員喪生。“挑戰(zhàn)者”號是在升空時失事的，而“哥倫比亞”號是在返回地面的過程中失事的，故可排除B 和 C。而選項(xiàng) D 與原文不符，故選 A。
4. A。判斷題。根據(jù)…America's space program will go on我們可以知道選項(xiàng) A 明顯錯誤。而選項(xiàng)B、C、D均與原文相符。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


B
After the American Revolution won in 1787, the new government in the U.S.A. had to choose a capital city. The thirteen states quarreled about this. So the government decided to build a completely new capital. The land on the River Potomac was given the name District of Columbia (D.C). The new Capital was built on the north bank of the river. It was named after George Washington, the president of the U.S.A.
Washington D. C., a government city, is an important cultural (文化) center as well as a big tourist (游覽) center.
Most capital cities have simply grown from small cities. Washington, however was planned as the capital of a great nation. It was designed by a French artist who first made a study of many capital cities of Europe. In general, his plan followed the plan of the beautiful French city of Versailles (凡爾賽).
61. When the new capital was built , America was made up of ____ states.
A. thirteen                           B. thirty         C. fifty                  D. fifteen
62. Washington D.C. is the name of _______.
A. an American president            B. America’s capital
C. a famous river                  D. a beautiful garden city
63. According to the passage we can conclude that America’s capital_____.
A. lies in the center on the country              B. came from a small city
C. was built by French workers            D. lies on the River Potomac
64. According to the passage we can infer that Washington D.C. is the center of America’s ______.
A. economy (經(jīng)濟(jì)), sports and culture B. culture, traveling and sports
C. politics, culture and traveling          D. politics, culture and economy

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh(法老)treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, ”O(jiān)h boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.”I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his while
Several months ago I was racing to catch  a him As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Grey hound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile ,”O(jiān)h that bus left five minutes ago.”Dreams of head-cutting!
It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.
Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter mainly told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warming .Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, ” Oh, that’s all right I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news ,deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轟炸的)person is sure to have.
小題1:In Paragraph 1,the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to ____.
A．make a comparisonB．introduce a topic
C．describe a sceneD．offer an argument
小題2:In the writer’s opinion, his neighbor was ___.
A．friendlyB．warm-heartedC．not considerateD．not helpful
小題3:From “Dreams of head-cutting!”(Paragraph3),we learn that the writer___.
A．was mad at the sales agent
B．was reminded of the cruel pharaoh
C．wished that the sales agent would have had dreams
D．dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night.
小題4:What is the main idea of the text?
A．Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.
B．Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.
C．Receiving bad news requires great courage.
D．Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The name “cowboy” conjures up many different images from movies, songs and TV. These imagined cowboys range from white-hat-wearing heroes to gun-shooting hooligans(流氓).But, cowboys are actually real people from US history.?
When the US Civil War ended, many soldiers had no place to call home. So, they began to drift to the country's rural West. Ranchers(農(nóng)場主) hired these men to take care of the cattle and work around the ranch. When the ranch owner wanted to sell the cattle, the cowboys would round up the herd from the open prairie(牧場) and drive the cattle miles to the market.?
With the invention of barbed wire(鐵絲網(wǎng)),the cowboy era(1865-1890) began to come to an end. But people in the East had always been curious about their lifestyle. Many country/western songs during this time tried to capture the true cowboy spirit. Newspapers published cowboy tales in serial form and adventure novels followed. The bigger the fiction, the better the sales. These novels often portrayed cowboys as cruel and violent men. Cowboys carried the bad reputation for many years afterwards.
When movies began to be popular in the 1920s,the cowboy image changed again. Now, a cowboy became the great white knight(騎士) that loved his horse more than the beautiful ladies he rescued. As the cowboy of the “Old West” spent more time with his horse than the ladies, this era's image was not entirely false.
Then, in the 50s,Hollywood began producing so-called “spaghetti westerns(意大利西部片)”.They earned the nickname because Italian companies financed the films and TV shows. This started the decade's “Cowboy Craze”.While this didn't last long, it made modern country/western music, fashion and dance extremely popular.?
In recent years, with the help of musicians, radio stations and bars, cowboy nostalgia(懷舊情緒) has returned. Even though his image is still changing—somewhere between ballad singing country boy and bar?room fighter—there's one thing for sure, you can't keep the cowboy down.?
小題1:The purpose of this story is to _______.
A．introduce cowboy movies and novels?
B．introduce various productions associated with cowboys?
C．show the cowboy's everlasting charm　?
D．inform us about the cowboy's spirit?
小題2: Before they became cowboys, they _______.
A．served in the armyB．worked as bar-room fighters?
C．owned ranchesD．were adventurous explorers?
小題3:During “the cowboy era” mentioned in the story, _______.?
A．the cowboy often came to the rescue of ladies in newspaper tales?
B．the distant Wild West appealed to people in the East?
C．cowboys were shown as cruel and violent men on the silver screen?
D．country music started the cowboy craze which swept the whole country
小題4:By saying “you can't keep the cowboy down”,the writer means that _______.
A．cowboys are real people in historyB．cowboys still fascinate people?
C．you can't make cowboys unhappyD．you can't grasp the cowboy spirit?

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another important part of the Lantern Festival, or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself. It is said that the custom of eating Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth century, then became popular during the Tang and Song periods.
The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet or salty. Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts, sesame（芝麻）, osmanthus flowers(桂花), rose petals, sweetened tangerine（橘子）peel, bean paste, or jujube paste（棗子醬）. A single ingredient or any combination can be used as the filling . The salty variety is filled with minced meat（肉末兒）, vegetables or a mixture.
The way to make Yuanxiao also varies between northern and southern China. The usual method followed in southern provinces is to shape the dough of rice flour into balls, make a hole, insert the filling, then close the hole and smooth out the dumpling by rolling it between your hands. In North China, sweet or nutmeat stuffing is the usual ingredient. The fillings are pressed into hardened cores, dipped lightly in water and rolled in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour. A layer of the flour sticks to the filling, which is then again dipped in water and rolled a second time in the rice flour. And so it goes, like rolling a snowball, until the dumpling is the desired size.
The custom of eating Yuanxiao dumplings remains. This tradition encourages both old and new stores to promote their Yuanxiao products. They all try their best to improve the taste and quality of the dumplings to attract more customers.
小題1:Which of the following is NOT true?
A．The custom of eating Yuanxiao dates back to the fourth century.
B．Sugar, rose petals and minced meat are all fillings of Yuanxiao.
C．Sweet Yuanxiao are usually made in southern China.
D．People in northern China usually make Yuanxiao by rolling like a snowball.
小題2:Which country does the Lantern Festival come from?
A．ChinaB．South KoreaC．Jin DynastyD．Tang and Song periods.
小題3:Choose the right order of making Tangyuan in southern provinces.
① make a hole and insert the filling 
② roll the dough between your hands 
③ shape the dough of rice flour into balls  
④ close the hole  
⑤ prepare some rice flour
A．⑤③②①④B．③⑤①②④C．③①④②⑤D．⑤③①④②
小題4:What is the best title of this passage?
A．The Lantern FestivalB．The ingredients of Yuanxiao
C．The difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan.D．China’s traditional food—Yuanxiao.
小題5:Why do we eat Yuanxiao today?
A．Because it’s a tradition.
B．Because it’s a tasty food.
C．Because we love our country.
D．Because this food can make money.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

One afternoon last week, I saw three tearful children from my son’s school being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year-old had stomach pains, retching（干嘔）into a bowl. Talking to other mothers later, I heard about other children with stomachache or difficult sleeping the night before.
What caused so much pain? Sports day. Sports day might be necessary at a highly-competitive independent school, but not at a village primary school. For the children who can fly like the wind, sports day cause no problem. For those who are overweight or just not good at sport, it is nightmare（噩夢）. Even for those who enjoy running but fall halfway down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disease.
Why do we put our children through this annual suffering? Some may say competition is character building; or it’s taking part, not winning, that’s important; or that’s a tradition of school life. I just felt great pity for those children in tears or in pain.
Team games at the end of sports day produced some close races, wild enthusiasm, lots of shouting — and were fun to watch. More importantly, the children who were not so fast or quick at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone’s eyes. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.
I wish that sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other less competitive event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.
小題1:What can we learn about the author’s son from Paragraph 1?
A．He talked with some mothers.
B．He comforted his classmates.
C．He had difficulty in sleeping.
D． He suffered from stomachache.
小題2:Sports day is still an annul event in this school probably because __________.
A．this is an independent school
B．it is a tradition of the school
C．it helps children lose weight
D．children enjoy watching sports
小題3:What does the author think about team games?
A．They should include more stressful races.
B．They are acceptable to different children.
C．They should be abandoned at primary school.
D．They are less fun for those who love running.
小題4:What is the author’s attitude towards sports day?
A．Critical.B．Neutral.C．Positive.D．Ambiguous.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解



Five Olympic mascots were announced exactly 1000 days before the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony. The long--anticipated mascots represent four of China's most popular animals — the fish, the panda, the Tibetan antelope and the swallow .The fifth mascot is the brightly burning Olympic flame.
Each of the mascots has a repeated two-syllable name. This type of name is a traditional way of showing affection for children in China. BeiBei is the fish, JingJing is the panda, HuanHuan is the Olympic flame, YingYing is the Tibetan antelope and NiNi is the swallow. The first characters of their two-syllable names read “Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.” 
The five elements of nature, including the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky are found in the mascot's origins and headpieces. These special headpieces also display the folk and culture of China. Each mascot also symbolizes a different blessing ---prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck.
It is the first time more than three mascots will share the important duty of representing their host country. Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team explained that, “China has such a rich culture that no single mascot could possibly represent it! That is why we chose to produce five mascots instead of one.”
Called the “Five Friendlies,” the figures embody（體現(xiàn)） the Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics, representing not only multi-ethnic(多民族的) cultures of China, but also the traditional Chinese philosophy of harmony between humans and nature.
In order to help Beijing 2008 spread its theme of One World, One Dream to every continent, the Five Friendlies reflect the deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Games — and to invite every man, woman and child to take part in the great celebration of human union in 2008. 
1. What’s the theme of Beijing 2008 Olympics?
A.Welcome to Beijing.
B.Prosperity, Happiness, Passion, Health and Good luck.
C.New Beijing, New Olympics.
D.One World, One Dream.
2. What did Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team, think of the five mascots?
A.He thought highly of the five mascots.
B.No single mascot could represent China.
C.The five mascots represented the culture of China.
D.They would reflect the desire of Chinese people.
3. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.It’s for the first time that five mascots are chosen to represent their host country in the Olympic history.
B.One of the five mascots YingYing stands for the Olympic flame.
C.Beijing announced its five 2008 Olympic mascots just 1000 days before the big event.
D.The five mascots express affection for Chinese children by two-syllable names.
4. Which of the following best reflects the main idea of the passage?
A.The 29th Olympic Games will be held in Beijing in 2008.
B.The theme of 2008 Beijing Olympics — One World, One Dream.
C.The significance of five 2008 Olympic mascots — the Five Friendlies.
D.How the Five Fantastic Mascots came into being.
5. What do the five mascots — the Five Friendlies represent?
A.“Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.” 
B.Chinese multi-ethnic cultures, philosophy of harmony between humans and nature and five elements of nature.
C.Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics.
D.The deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Olympics.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Lacrosse（長曲棍球）is a popular sport in Canada. It is one of the oldest organized sports in America. The Indians in northern New York State and southern Ontario, Canada, invented it. They used it to train for war. They invented this game before Columbus arrived in the New World.
People play lacrosse outdoors. The lacrosse field is seven metres long. At each end of the field there is a net. There are ten players on each team. Each player has a stick called “crosse”. The players hit a ball that is 21 centimetres around and weighs 140 grams. They try to hit the ball into the net as many times as possible. Lacrosse is a very fast game because the players can catch and pass the ball at a high speed with their sticks.
At one time lacrosse was the national summer sport in Canada. It is also popular in Britain and Australia.
小題1:
________ invented the popular sport — Lacrosse.
A．The BritishB．The SpanishC．The Indians D．The Australians
小題2:
Lacrosse was invented because it was used to ________.
A．honour God B．have fun C．lose weight D．train for war
小題3:
The seven-metre-long lacrosse field has _________.
A．only one net B．one net at each end
C．two nets at each end D．four nets at each end
小題4:
Who will be the winner in the lacrosse game? ________.
A．The team who hit the ball into the net more times
B．The team who catch and pass the ball faster
C．The team who have many more stronger players
D．The team who use sticks to hit the ball farther

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The black robin is one of the world’s rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird, and it lives only on the island of Little Mangere, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about fifty black robins; in 1977 there were fewer than ten. These are the only black robins left in the world. The island has many other birds, of different kinds, large and small; these seem to multiply very happily.
Energetic steps are being taken to preserve the black robin. Detailed studies are going on, and a public appeal for money has bee made. The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a “reserve”, for threatened wild life, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Mangere should then be supplied with the robin’s food—it eats only one kind of seed. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated in new Zealand. The public appeal is aimed at the conscience of mankind, so that the wild black robin will not die out and disappear form the earth in our time at least.
Is all this concern a waste of human effort? Is it any business of ours whether the black robin survives or dies out? Are we losing our sense of what is reasonable and what is unreasonable?
In the earth’s long, long past, hundreds, of kinds of creatures have evolved, risen to a degree of success—and died out. In the long, long future, there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early. This is nature’s proven method of operation.
The rule of selection—“the survival of the fittest”—is the one by which human beings have themselves arrived on the scene. We, being one of the most adaptable creatures the earth has yet produced, may last longer than most. You may take it as another rule that when, at last, human beings show signs of dying out, no other creature will extend a paw to put off our departure. On the contrary, we will be hurried out. For nature, tough fair, is a hard-hearted mistress. She has no favorites.
Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins. I leave you to judge whether we should try to do something about it.
57．The black robin is dying out mainly because        .
A．people have been very careless about its survival
B．its only food supply is far from enough on Little Mangere
C．the other birds on the island have destroyed it
D．the appeal for money has come at the wrong time
58．In Paragraph 3, the writer puts forward three questions to        .
A．make a comparison  B．make an argument
C．introduce a topic             D．present his own idea
59．As for selection and survival, the decisive factor seems to be        .
A．the ability to adapt to changed or changing conditions
B．the number of wild life reserves that are available
C．the concern and generosity of the public
D．the size of the home, or the amount of space one has to live in
60．The writer’s attitude towards the protection of the black robins is         .
A．a(chǎn)ctive       B．passive     C．unconcerned     D．optimistic

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