We don’ t always get a second chance to achieve our dreams. But some people are lucky, like Matthew McConaughey. Once almost unknown, the actor has recently found himself back on the list of the best actors in Hollywood. His new movie Interstellar is just another sign that his career reinvention has been an incredible success. “The film relies on McConaughey’ s performance to hold together the emotional story of a father and his daughter against the background of space travel and the end of the world,”Forbes commented.

But only years ago, the Texas native was often the butt of jokes（笑柄）about being too handsome. In 1993, after meeting with director Richard Linklater, McConaughey starred in Dazed and Confused. And a Hollywood career was born, mostly in romantic comedies. For a long time, the whole world believed McConaughey was just a handsome guy with comic talent.

But McConaughey stopped starring in that type of movie, and began to use his looks differently. Slowly he built up his reputation as a serious actor. In 2013, McConaughey was offered to play an AIDS activist in Dallas Buyers Club. The role saw the normally muscular actor losing 50 pounds in order to appear sick. His performance won him an Oscar for Best Actor.

The actor gave thanks to someone he has always looked up to as a hero during his Oscar acceptance speech. When he was 15, the actor said, he decided that his hero would be himself in 10 years. But 10 years later, he pushed the deadline ahead another decade. Then 10 years later, another decade.“My hero’ s always 10 years away,” he said. “I’ m never going to attain that. That keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.”O(jiān)r perhaps constantly chasing the chance to be his own hero has given him a second chance to follow his dreams.

1.Why was McConaughey often the butt of jokes in his early career?

A. He was limited to handsome roles.

B. He was unknown to the audience.

C. He played in romantic comedies.

D. He was handsome and emotional.

2.What role won Mc Conaughey an Oscar for Best Actor?

A. A caring father. B. An AIDS activist.

C. A serious buyer. D. A strong hero.

3.What can we learn about McConaughey？

A. He was born in Hollywood.

B. He has become a hero of his own.

C. He wasn’ t famous until recently.

D. He isn’ t content with his achievements.

4.Which of the following can be the best title?

A. McConaughey, a Romantic Comedian

B. McConaughey, a Man Making a Hit

C. McConaughey, a Man Daring to change

D. McConaughey, Handsome and Talented

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年廣東汕頭南澳中學(xué)高一下期中英語試卷（解析版） 題型：單項(xiàng)填空

He sat at the desk, __________ a novel.

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—I’m sorry I have no cash in hand.

— . I’ll pay for everything.

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年山東省高三沖刺模擬（三）英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver．Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida，Nevada and California．They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road．The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars，which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August．Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020．

In September，California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state．"Today we're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality—the driverless car．"The technology for these cars includes cameras，radar and motion sensors．The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the U．S．government agency DARPA．Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races．

Cars have become much more fuel-efficient，and new electronic features are making Hondas safer，said Angie Nucci of Honda America．"A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes．" Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars．These systems help drivers，but don't replace them．Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．

"By taking out drivers，you also remove most risks of an accident," Kendall said．He said consumers，however，may be unwilling to lose control．"It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable，but it will have to prove itself first．"

Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable．He said this will happen as the technology is improved．

1.What can we learn from Paragraph l?

A．Driverless vehicles are now legal in the whole USA．

B．Volvo will be the first to sell driverless cars．

C．Driverless cars are pointing us a faraway future．

D．Google's self-driving cars have covered a long distance．

2.We learn that Governor of California Jerry Brown_________．

A．helped design self-driving cars

B．supports self-driving cars on roads

C．considers self-driving cars science fiction

D．improved the self-driving car systems

3.What is the role of the systems mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．They can help people drive more safely．

B．They can take the place of drivers now．

C．They can make cars run without fuel．

D．They can help cars run much faster．

4.According to Richard Mason，what is the biggest challenge for driverless cars?

A．They are not allowed to run on the road．

B．Their technical problems remain to be solved．

C．They are now too expensive for consumers．

D．They are more dangerous for people on the street．

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年遼寧錦州市高三質(zhì)量檢測（二）英語試卷（解析版） 題型：完形填空

Beginning to learn gymnastics even before she could barely walk, Svetlana had always dreamed to enter the Olympics scene some day.

However, her ended in the car on the winding road when a lorry appeared out of nowhere. The last thing she was a blinding flash of light. In hospital, when told she would never again, she couldn’ t believe it. Three months later, she was out of hospital on a wheelchair. Then a friend came to her house to visit her with an old child’ s storybook. A bookmark in it made her to page 117. The name of the was‘The Day Clara Walked’ . She was determined to return to stage whatever it might cost.

, after a year’ s hard exercise, Svetlana recovered and was able to display her gymnastics. While she was sitting on the green bench the Athens Stadium, memories : first, the pain and the tears, the book under her pillow, the words of relatives full of advice and comfort, and the pity in those eyes that had once held for her talent. Then followed the trips to the gym where everyone looked on , their disbelief transforming slowly to wonder, she could balance the hoop（健身圈）as well as her teammates. She registered for 2004 Olympic Games, and finally she received from the Olympic Committee.

Her was interrupted by the attendant who said,“It’ s time” , two words that she had been to hear for so long. Smoothing her dress, she walked into the stadium, each firm and steady. Everything was , and the applause rang loud in her ears, her heart violently against her chest.

Later that night, Svetlana pulled the gold medal out of her pocket and placed it on the old on the shelf, which opened to page 117, to the chapter‘The Day Clara Walked’ , tears her vision.

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11.A. doubtfully B. thankfully C. nervously D. cheerfully

12.A. until B. as C. while D. once

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14.A. plan B. attempt C. thought D. sight

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16.A. breath B. wake C. step D. look

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年湖南省長沙市高考模擬英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Parents might tell older children to “Act your age”. But some researchers say that is what persons from thirteen to nineteen years old are doing. While teenagers can look all grown up, studies have shown that their brains are still developing. How much this explains their behavior, though, is a subject of debate.

Jay Giedd of America’s National Institutes of Health is a leader in this area of research. Doctor Giedd has been studying a group of young people since 1991. They visit him every two years for imaging tests of their brains. He says considerable development continues in young people from the teenage years into the twenties.

A part of the brain called the dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex appears especially undeveloped in teenagers. Researchers believe that this area controls judgment and consideration of risk. So, its underdevelopment may explain why young people seem more willing to take risks like driving too fast.

Laurence Steinberg is a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. He says stronger laws and stronger parental control are needed to protect teens from themselves. That includes raising the age for driving. He says research shows that teenage brains are not fully equipped to control behavior.

Other researchers, however, say there is not enough evidence to make a strong case for such findings. Psychologist Robert Epstein is a visiting scholar at the University of California in San Diego. Mr. Epstein notes that teen behavior differs from culture to culture. He says behavior depends for the most part on socialization. He believes that teenagers will demonstrate(表明) better, safer behavior if they spend more time with adults, and are treated more like them.

But is that always true? Mike Males works at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco. He suggests that all of this talk lately about brainless teens could be an attempt to take away attention from the reality. Writing in the New York Times, he says it is middle-aged adults whose behavior has worsened. In his words, if grown-ups really have superior brains, why don’t we act as if we do?

1.If your parents ask you to act your age, they really mean to advise that you __________.

A. behave yourself

B. take care of yourself

C. make yourself at home

D. do everything on your own

2.Why do young people seem more willing to take adventures?

A. Because they can all look grown up in that way.

B. Because their dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex appears undeveloped.

C. Because some researchers have been studying and encouraging them.

D. Because stronger laws and stronger parental control protect them

3.Which of the following is TRUE about teenagers?

A. Their brains have almost stopped developing.

B. Their cultures have influenced their behavior more or less.

C. The behavior of brainless teens has drawn a lot more attention.

D. Staying more often with adults makes things even worse.

4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Mike Males _______.

A. agrees with what Robert Epstein says

B. keeps silent about the subject of debate

C. is a leader in this area of research

D. has the opinion of his own

5.The passage is written mainly to tell people that __________.

A. development continues in young people from the teens into the twenties

B. teenagers’ behavior differs from culture to culture

C. there is still a debate between researchers about people’s behaviors

D. the talk about brainless teens could take away attention from governments

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When you look for a job, it’s not your book knowledge but your experience_______ matters.

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

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年湖北天門市高三4月調(diào)研考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Without any previous notice, a documentary dominated headlines and social websites over the weekend. Under the Dome, a 103-minute documentary self-funded by former CCTV news anchor Chai Jing was released on video-sharing websites in China on Feb 28. It has rapidly pushed the public awareness about air pollution and encouraged people to join in efforts to make a difference.

Chai, 39, said she started the work out of her “personal clashes” with smog after she gave birth to a daughter. “I sealed tight all the windows. I started every day by checking the air pollution index,” Chai said. Millions of other people are also doing the same. While they stop there, Chai goes deeper. “I don’t want to live in this way. 1 need to find out where the smog comes from and what on earth is going on.”

Over a year, she investigated polluted sites to find the sources of smog, visited the US and the UK to learn about their anti-pollution experiences, and interviewed officials, scientists and the general public. Chai’s research reveals that the burning of coal and oil contributes to 60 percent of PM2.5 pollutants. She thus questions the country’s energy consumption habits in the film.

She then goes on to disclose loopholes (漏洞) in car emissions regulations. The film also explains that businesses are pressured not to abide by(遵守) the laws because violating(違反) them carries little or no cost, while making changes bumps up costs. The film also points at China’s petroleum and steel industries as the biggest sources of air pollution.

Cheng Chen, a 22-year-old student from Beijing Foreign Studies University, found the documentary “very inspiring”. “I used to think it’s not my duty to deal with air pollution—I don’t own a factory or a car,” said Cheng. “But Chai told me we share the same fate since we breathe the same air and there is a lot I can do.”

However, some people are annoyed by the film’s description of their polluted hometowns, especially when it shows a banner from Xingtai in Hebei saying “Congratulations to our city for no longer being ranked the last place among the country’s 74 cities in terms of air quality”.

Such a feeling of “being insulted”, in Cheng’s eyes, could also be a good thing. “What’s important is that Chai’s work has raised public attention toward the structure of the energy industry,” she said. Meanwhile, experts remind moved viewers of the film’s limitations.

1.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A. The documentary was made by Chai jing , who works in CCTV now.

B. The documentary dominated headlines and social websites soon after it was broadcast on TV.

C. Chai started making the documentary after she gave birth to a daughter.

D. Chai thinks that it is the burning of coal and oil that leads to air pollution in china.

2. Why Chai jing decided to make the film at first ?

A. She wanted to do something for her daughter

B. She wanted to disclose loopholes in car emissions regulations.

C. She wanted to make money

D. She wanted to raise public attention toward the structure of the energy industry

3.what’s the author’s attitude towards the film?

A. positive B. objective

C. negative D. indifferent

4.What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence?

A. Some people deserve to be insulted.

B. The feeling of “being insulted” can help draw attention to air pollution.

C. Insulting people is good for protecting environment.

D. No longer being ranked the last place is not a bad thing.

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014-2015學(xué)年浙江省寧波市高三上學(xué)期期末英語試卷（解析版） 題型：單項(xiàng)填空

There is no doubt that ___a goal, one needs not only knowledge but also good personalities.

A. realized B. to realize

C. realizing D. being realized

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