Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人贊嘆的) as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (紀(jì)念物) to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.
小題1:The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.
A．the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building
B．India has some of the most famous buildings in the world
C．a(chǎn)ncient Indian emperors were cruel
D．construction workers led a hard life in ancient India
小題2:The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.
A．a(chǎn) memorial buildingB．a(chǎn) tourist attraction
C．a(chǎn) prisonD．a(chǎn) gift to Mumtaz
小題3:From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.
A．1626 B．1653C．1632D．1634
小題4:The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.
A．the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal
B．the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal
C．the married happiness of the emperor and his wife
D．the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power

小題1:A
小題2:A
小題3:C
小題4:C

試題分析：文章介紹泰姬陵在建筑史上的重要性，以及建造泰姬陵背后的感人的故事。
小題1:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第二段的“Yes，that is the Taj  Mahal，one of the most famous buildings in the world．And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive as the building itself．”可以得出，Taj Mahal是一座不同尋常的建筑。選A。
小題2:推理判斷題。根據(jù)第三段的"And as Mumtaz lay dying，she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial to celebrate their love．”可以推斷出這是一座紀(jì)念性的建筑。選A。
小題3:簡單推理計(jì)算題。從第五段的第二、三句話可以計(jì)算出Mumtaz大約死于1632年。選C。
小題4:猜詞題：從第三段的句子：In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (紀(jì)念物) to celebrate their love.可知激發(fā)建造這個(gè)建筑的是皇帝和皇后婚后的幸福。選C
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Americans have always been interested in their Presidents' wives. Many First Ladies have been remembered because of the ways they have influenced their husbands. Other First Ladies have made the history books on their own.
At least two First Ladies, Bess Truman and Lady Bird Johnson, made it their business to send signals during their husbands speeches. When Lady Bird Johnson thought her husband was talking too long, she wrote a note and sent it up to the platform. It read, "It's time to stop ! " And he did.  Once Bess Truman didn't like what  her husband was saying on television, so she phoned him and said, "If you can't talk more politely than that in public, you come right home. "
It was First Lady Helen Taft's idea to plant the famous cherry trees in Washington, D. C. Each spring these blossoming trees attract thousands of visitors to the nation's capital Mrs. Taft also influenced the male members of her family and the White House staff in a strange way: she convinced(說服)them to shave off their beards(胡須) !
Shortly after President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke (中風(fēng)),  Edith Wilson unofficially took over most of the duties of the Presidency until the end of her husband's term  Earlier, during World War I, Mrs.  Wilson had sheep brought onto the White House lawn to eat t e grass. The sheep not only kept the lawn cut. but provided wool for an auction(拍賣) held by the First Lady.  Almost$ 100,000 was raised for the Red Cross.
One of the most famous First Ladies was Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was active in political and. social causes throughout her husband's term in office After his death, she became famous for her humanitarian(人道主義的) work in the United Nations. She made life better for thousands of needy people around the world.
小題1:Why have First Ladies been remembered?
A．They are the wives of the presidents.
B．They are made up of history books.
C．Americans are interested in them.
D．They have an effect on their husbands.
小題2:The examples mentioned in Paragraph 2 show that
A. the two wives did business without their husbands
B. the two wives influenced the presidents' speeches
C. the two wives didn't like their husbands to make speeches
D the presidents' speeches were often interrupted by their wives.
小題3:Who did the most meaningful work among the first ladies?
A．Lady Bird Johnson.
B．Mrs. Wilson.
C．Eleanor Roosevelt.
D．Helen Taft
小題4:Which of the following is considered a strange thing the First Lady did?
A. Raise sheep on the White House lawn to get money for the Red Cross.
B. Take over most of the duties throughout their husbands' Presidency.
C. Plant the cherry trees in Washington, D. C. to attract more visitors
D. Persuade the men staff in the White House to shave off their beards.
小題5:How many First Ladies are mentioned in this passage?
A．3B．4.
C．5D．6.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解



Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(復(fù)興) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
小題1:What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?
A．How the Irish fought against the English.
B．How Ireland gained independence.
C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.
D．How two “Irelands” came into being.
小題2:We learn from the text that in Ireland            .
A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population
B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside
C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker
D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments
小題3:The last paragraph is mainly about          .
A．the Irish character
B．Irish culture
C．Irish musical instruments
D．a(chǎn) famous Irish writer
小題4:What can be the best title for the text?
A．Life in Ireland
B．A Very Difficult History
C．Ireland, Past and Present
D．The Independence of Ireland

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Argentina in the late nineteenth century was an exciting place. Around 1870, it was experiencing an economic(經(jīng)濟(jì)的)boom, and the capital, Buenos Aires, attracted many people. Farmers, as well as a flood of foreigners from Spain and Italy, came to Buenos Aires seeking jobs. These jobs didn′t pay well, and the people felt lonely and disappointed with their new life in the city. As the unhappy newcomers mixed together in the poor parts of the city, the dance known an the tango(探戈舞)came into being
At the beginning the tango was a dance of the lower classes. It was danced in the bars and streets. At that time there many fewer women than men, so if a man didn′t want to be left out, his only choice was to dance with another man so that he could attract the attention of the few available women. Gradually, the dance spread into the upper classes of Argentinean society and became more respectable.
In Europe at this time, strong interest in dance from around the world was beginning
The interest in international dance was especially evident in Paris. Every kind of dance from ballet(芭蕾舞)to belly dancing could be found on the stages of the Paris theaters of the Paris theaters. After tango dances from Argentina arrive in Europe, they began to draw the interest of the public an they performed their exiting dance in cafes, Though not everyone approved of the new dance, saying it was a little too shocking, the dance did find enough supporters to make it popular.
The popularity（流行）Of the tango continued to grow in many other parts of the world. Soldiers who returned to the United States from World War I brought the tango to North America, It reached Japan in 1926, and in 2003 the Argentinean embassy in Seoul hired a local tango dancer to act an a kind of dance ambassador, and promote tango dancing throughout South Korea.
小題1:The origin of the tango is associated with
A Belly dances B. American soldiers
C. Spanish city D. the capital of Argentina
小題2: Which of the following is true about the tango?
A．It was created by foreigners from Spain and Italy.
B．People of the upper classes loved the tango most
C．It was often danced by two male in the beginning
D．A dancer in Seoul became the Argentinean ambassador.
小題3:Before World War I, the tango spread to 
A．AmericaB．Japan
C．FranceD．South Korea
小題4:What can be the best title for the text?
A．How to Dance the TangoB．The History of the Tango
C．How to Promote the TangoD．The Modern Tango Boom

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The air bag is a piece of safety equipment in cars. It was first designed by John W. Hetrick in 1952. Like many inventions, he came up with the idea as a result of an event that had occurred in his life. He says:
“In the spring of 1952, my wife, my seven-year-old daughter, Joan, and I were out for a Sunday drive in our 1948 Chrysler Windsor. About three miles outside Newport we were watching for deer jumping across the road. Suddenly, there was a large rock in our path. I hit the brakes and we went into a ditch(壕溝).
“As I applied the brakes, both my wife and I threw our hands up to keep our daughter from hitting the car. There was soft mud in the ditch, so the car wasn’t damaged, and no one was hurt.”
“During the ride home I couldn’t stop thinking about the accident. I asked myself,‘Why couldn’t some object come out to stop you from striking the inside of the car?’As soon as I got home that night I drew some sketches(草圖). Each evening for the following two weeks, I’d add or reduce something from the sketches.”
Hetrick applied an event he had observed while in the Navy to the design of the air bag. He was repairing a torpedo(魚雷) which had a cloth covering. When the compressed（壓縮的） air that was in the torpedo was let out, the covering was suddenly filled with air and was shot to the ceiling.
With this knowledge, he developed his design until he was able to obtain a patent on the invention on August 5, 1952. The idea was similar to the air bag designs of today. Compressed air is stored in a container and when a traffic accident occurs and the car slows down at a rapid enough rate, the air will be released into the air bag. The idea was ingenious, but Hetrick’s air bag never would have functioned properly. It was really a breakthrough, but it would require years and years of designing and testing by some top car designers before it could be used.
小題1:The car accident Hetrick was involved in ________.
A．damaged his carB．happened in 1948
C．was caused by a deerD．caused no harm to his family
小題2:Hetrick’s experience in the Navy________.
A．turned out to be dangerousB．was helpful to his invention
C．involved designing torpedoesD．inspired him to design an air bag
小題3:The underlined word “ingenious” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.
A．creativeB．ridiculousC．crazyD．complex
小題4:What do we know about the air bag Hetrick designed?
A．It came into use in the 1950s.B．It performed perfectly in car accidents.
C．It prepared the way for air bags nowadays.D．It took Hetrick about two months to develop it.
小題5:The text is mainly about ____.
A．the great inventor HetrickB．The invention of air bags
C．a(chǎn) terrible car accidentD．road safety in the 1950s

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Medalists of the 1948 London Olympic Games look back on their summer of victory.
SAMMY Lee, 91, U.S.
GOLD AND BRONZE, DIVING
I first had my Olympic dream at 12, when they held the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. My father and I were at a grocery store, and I asked, “What are all the flags doing here?” He said, “We are having the Olympic Games. That’s where they honor the greatest athletes in the world.” I said, “Papa, someday I’m going to be an Olympic champ.”
Walking up the 10-meter platform, I thought to myself, “I’ve waited 16 years for this moment. Am I going to win?” So I prayed to God that I was most deserving of winning the Games.
DAVID BOND, 90, BRITAIN
GOLD, SAILING
During the war, I spent six years in Royal Air Force. I think in general, the 1948 Olympics meant very little to most people. We were too busy after the war to be worried about sport very much anyway.
Our team had about six weeks before the Olympics down at Torquay and we went out sailing every day.
Winning gold was quite something. It was nice to stand on the platform with lots of people cheering. We celebrated by going to a big dance.
MICHAEL LAPAGE, 88, BRITAIN
SILVER, ROWING
I started rowing when I was 14. I joined the navy in 1942. In 1945 the war came to an end and I started rowing again.
In 1948 we were still on rations (配給供應(yīng)): 4 oz. of red meat a week. But the United States had all the meat they wanted. They were the favorites to win.
On the day of the final, we led the Americans at the start, but their stronger staying power took them through to win. There were no ribbons on the medals, so we just showed them round the family.
THOMAS GODWIN, 91, BRITAIN
BRONZE, CYCLING
At 14 I left school and got a job delivering groceries on a bicycle, which excited my interest in cycling. When the war broke out, I volunteered but was held back, so I continued riding.
After my team won our bronze medals, we went home just round the corner and had a sit-down and a chat and a laugh. It was a different world. Money was never, never thought about.
小題1: According to the passage, Sammy Lee ___________.
A．was 28 when he attended the 1948 Olympics
B．never thought he could win medals in diving
C．found that he has a talent for sports at age 12
D．prepared for the 1948 Olympics for 16 years
小題2: Michael Lapage blamed his team’s loss of the gold medal on their ___________.
A．weak willB．poor skill
C．poor nutritionD．hurried preparation
小題3: What did David Bond and Thomas Godwin have in common?
A．They both took part in a team event.
B．A lot of money was awarded to them.
C．The 1948 Olympics meant little to them.
D．They both served in the army during World War II.
小題4:What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Long-lived medalistsB．The 1948 Olympics
C．Famous athletesD．Great in 1948

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Most people consider skydiving (高空跳傘) a product of the 20th century, but its history actually goes further back than that. The Chinese attempted to parachute (跳傘) in the 10th century, a thousand years before we did. The Chinese did what we would today call base diving; that is, they jumped off a place that would allow them to float from a height to the ground.
The first person to attempt to parachute was a Frenchman named Jacques Garnerin. He jumped from his hot-air balloon at the end of the 18th century and did tricks on the way down and stupefied the crowds by landing safely on the ground. At the end of the 19th century, Kathie Paulus, a brave German woman, became famous for her skydiving skills.
Once the airplane was invented, skydiving took on a whole new form. The airplane made it possible to dive from greater heights at greater speeds, allowing for more range in the movements in the air. A woman named Tiny Broadwick became the first woman to jump from a plane in 1913 and dive free fall in 1914.
Skydiving was not called skydiving until the middle of the 1950s, when Ronald Young invented the word. It had been called parachuting before this and was mainly used by the military (軍事) to land troops in inland locations, or for pilots to jump out of their planes when necessary. Once World War I was over, parachuting became a sport, which we now call skydiving.
After World War II, this activity became more a hobby than a military action. Soldiers were trained in parachuting and enjoyed the thrill so much that they continued on for fun. From this, teams and competitions were formed. Skydiving schools appeared in the late 1950s and now it is a recognized extreme sport enjoyed by many.
小題1:The underlined word “stupefied” in paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.
A．disappointedB．encouragedC．surprisedD．a(chǎn)ttacked
小題2:Who was the first woman to jump from a plane?
A．Jacques Garnerin.B．Kathie Paulus.C．Tiny Broadwick.D．Ronald Young.
小題3:Which of the following is TRUE?
A．The Chinese attempted different skydiving skills in the 10th century.
B．Skydiving became popular after the airplane was invented.
C．The word skydiving was first used in a military action.
D．There were no skydiving schools until the late 1950s.
小題4:What can we infer from the passage?
A．Skydiving is not a military action any more.
B．Kathie Paulus is famous for her skydiving skills.
C．The first person who parachuted was from Germany.
D．The history of skydiving is longer than that of parachuting.
小題5:What would be the best title for this text?
A．The history of skydivingB．The popularity of skydiving
C．What is skydiving?D．Why is skydiving an extreme sport?

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

British people have the worst quality of life in Europe, according to a report which highlights （強(qiáng)調(diào)) the long hours, bad weather, low life expectancy and high price of many goods.
In a study of ten of the largest European countries, Britain, which was considered a popular country to live in, now comes last followed by Ireland, with France and Spain topping the table.
Though British families enjoy the highest income in Europe, they still have to fight with a high cost of living, with fuel, food and alcohol all costing more than the European average.
With the high price of petrol, the UK is the second most expensive country in Europe. However, diesel (柴油) is more expensive in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.
The report by the website uSwitch analyses 10 European countries against 17 different benchmarks(基準(zhǔn)點(diǎn)), from the price of gas, electricity, fuel, food and drink to the money each country spends on education, health to working conditions and the weather.
The top three countries are France, Spain and Denmark, with Sweden, Ireland and Britain coming eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.
The study comes less than a week after the United Nations moved Britain out of the top 20 list of most desirable countries to live in for the first time.
Although France and Germany were at the beginning hit hard by the global financial crisis, both have officially got out of the trouble, while Britain has yet to prove this has happened. Later this week, despite (盡管) signs of recovery in the housing market and rising sales, unemployment is still expected to have climbed to above 2.5 million for the first time since 1994.
小題1:Which country has the best quality of life in Europe according to the report?
A．Ireland.B．France.C．Sweden.D．Denmark
小題2:Which is TRUE according to the passage?
A．British families are suffering from the high cost of living.
B．The report comes after the website uSwitch analysed 10 Asian countries.
C．The price of petrol is higher in Britain than anywhere else in Europe.
D．The quality of British life is reported to be terrible because of the bad working conditions.
小題3:The underlined word “desirable” probably means          .
A．terribleB．a(chǎn)ttractiveC．expensiveD．different
小題4: What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A．Britain is still struggling to get out of the global financial crisis.
B．Unemployment in Britain is expected to go down soon.
C．Recovery in the housing market leads to unemployment in Britain.
D．Britain has recovered from the crisis together with France and Germany.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Many Americans have been leaving their cars at home and riding to work on bicycles. Andy Clark is the leader of the League of American Bicyclists. His group supports bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation.
Clark says this is good news for the environment. He says riding a bicycle to work does not burn fossil fuel or creates dangerous pollutions. Experts say the effects are the most important on short trips. The Department of Transportation says fifty percent of Americans drive eight kilometers or fewer to work. Shorter car trips set out more pollution into the air for each kilometer drive. This is because the car engine will set out the harmful air when it warms up before it can work well.
James, a members of Congress (國會), is a strong supporter of bicycle use. He says cities, counties, state governments and state highway transportation agencies are planning the roadways of the future. They are creating roads and paths for bicycles in cities and between communities.
Last year, Portland, the Pacific Northwest city in the state of Oregon, had the highest percentage of bicycle users in the United States. Portland has been doing progressive city planning for many years to create special paths for bike riders.
小題1: What happened in America now according to the news?
A．Many Americans lost jobs now.
B．Many Americans prefer short trips.
C．There are more and more bicyclists now in America.
D．The pollution is getting worse and worse in America.
小題2: Where is Portland?
A. One  of the cities in the USA.    B. One of the counties in the USA.
C. One of the states in the USA.    D. A country in the northwest of the USA.
小題3:What does the underlined word “harmful” mean in the second paragraph? The closest meaning is “_______”.
A．pollutedB．dangerousC．cleanD．foolish
小題4:What is the main idea of the passage?
A．Many Americans like bike-riding for fun.
B．Short car trips can reduce pollution.
C．American government suggests people riding bicycles.
D．Many Americans ride bicycles to support environment protection.

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