People think what I do is so wonderful because I interview stars.And I have to admit that when I first started working at Sassy in 1987 I was excited about that part of my job for the first couple of months,anyway.Then I noticed how stars would fool me around for months.I could never get enough time with a star to find out anything interesting,and some acted just simply rudely.I started hating the way I was treated,and I was really disappointed to see that these people I had worshipped (崇拜) before were pretty ordinary.So I decided I would just tell the truth instead of keeping up their myths (神秘).If the star was a bad guy,I would say so.If I thought anyone was stupid,I did not hold back that information.
I thought readers would appreciate that kind of honesty.Surprisingly,many of them hated me for it.I have gotten so many attacks on my character.In their eyes,being famous is everything,even more desirable that being truly creative and talented.
Why do we need stars?In fact,the media created stars to satisfy our basic need for gossip (闲聊).Over time,talking about people we have never met and we are never likely to meet has become what we are crazy about.Thus,some people are more interested in the personal lives of the stars than in the lives of their own family and their own friends.That is why it is so ridiculous when a star wants to discuss only his or her work in an interview—as we care.We want the dirt on their personal lives.
There is another reason we worship stars.As a whole,our society is not as religious as it once was.It seems that people need something to fulfill them the way religion once did.Star worship exists as an unfulfilling desire for true heroes.
We make them stars,but then their reputation makes us feel unimportant,and we truly feel better about ourselves when they die.I am part of this whole process.No wonder I feel soiled at the end of workday.
【小题1】What are the stars like according to the author?
A.They always treat others rudely. |
B.They always talk about something dull. |
C.They are actually ordinary people. |
D.They are usually honest and polite. |
A.we need true mental heroes to support us |
B.we can learn something useful from famous stars |
C.we concern about the stars,family and friends |
D.we like talking about the star's dressing styles |
A.excited | B.angry |
C.worried | D.calm |
A.To show the disadvantages of working with stars. |
B.To remind us not to worship famous stars blindly. |
C.To laugh at the failures of stars he has interviewed. |
D.To talk about the reasons why we worship stars. |
科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
“In only six days I lost seven pounds of weight.”
“Two full inches in the first three days!”
These are the kinds of statements used in magazine,newspaper,radio and television ads,promising new shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device. The promoters of products say they can shape the legs,slim the face,smooth wrinkles,or in some other way to add to beauty or desirability.
Often such products are nothing more than moneymaking things for their promoters. The results they produce are questionable,and some are dangerous to health.
To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public,it is necessary to understand something of the laws covering their regulation. If the product is a drug,FDA(Food and Drug Administration)can require proof under the Food,Drug,and Cosmetic Act that is safe and effective before it is put on the market. But if the product is a device,FDA has no authority to require the proof of safety or effectiveness. If a product already on the market is a danger to health,FDA can request the producer or distributor to remove it from the market voluntarily,or it can take legal action,including seizure (查封) of the product.
One notable case a few years ago involved an electrical device called the Relaxacisor,which had been sold for reducing the waistline. The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the body through contact pads. FDA took legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the device on the grounds that it was dangerous to health and life.
Obviously,most of the devices on the market have never been the subject of court proceedings (法律诉讼),and new devices appear continually. Before buying,it is up to the consumer to judge the safety or effectiveness of such items.
【小题1】It can be inferred that the ads mentioned in the text are________.
A.objective | B.costly | C.unreliable | D.illegal |
A.if it is a drug |
B.if it is a device |
C.if its consumers make complaints |
D.if its distributors challenge FDA's authority |
A.a product which was designed to produce electricity |
B.a product whose distributor was involved in a legal case |
C.a successful advertisement of a beauty product |
D.an example of a quality beauty product |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
“Some day, there’ll be no Americans left in the NBA,” said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game, “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao.”
To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market. Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US. That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao’s fans: He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds(篮板) and got no points. Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. “This was one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory. The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success. In all his games, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star. “Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, “That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese.”
The 22-year-old Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA: Wang Zhizhi broke down the Dallas Mavericks in November 2003. But Yao’s combination of modesty and skills make him a favorite back home.
【小题1】What’s the direct reason for Xing Tao to join the school basketball team?
A. He watched an NBA game
B. He liked basketball.
C. He hoped to play for the NBA.
D. He had dream that he would become a basketball star.
【小题2】How many points did Yao Ming win in his first game in the NBA?
A.zero | B.two | C.29 | D.10 |
A.failure | B.surprise | C.disappointment | D.sadness. |
A.He is modest and performs excellently. |
B.He is too kind to others. |
C.More and more Chinese people like to watch his games. |
D.He is very modest but proud. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behavior are formed. It is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
Social scientists are of course extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behavior. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from each other, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The controversy is often conveniently referred to as “nature and nurture”.
Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological factors. That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme,this theory states that our behavior is predetermined to such a great degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts(本能).
Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claim that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviorist, B. F. Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The behaviorists' view of the human being is quite mechanistic. They state that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli (刺激) as the basis of their behavior.
Socially and politically, the consequences of these two theories are far-reaching. In the US,for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligence tests. This leads some “nature” proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically lower in status than whites. Behaviorists, on the contrary, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often robbed of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do.
Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes and that the controversy will continue for a long time is certain.
【小题1】This passage is mainly concerned with ________.
A.relation between personality and behavior |
B.relation between behavior and environment |
C.different accounts of patterns of human behavior |
D.different theories of the formation of human behavior |
A.creators | B.advisors |
C.advocates | D.judges |
A.the considerable influence of the two theories |
B.differences between the blacks and whites |
C.racial discrimination in the United States |
D.different responds to intelligence tests |
A.To call our attention to the changes of human behavior. |
B.To urge scientists to do more research in social science. |
C.To give us a detailed explanation of human behavior. |
D.To present an argument in the field of social science. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
India has many festivals, with some celebrations that last for weeks. However, none of them come even close to Holi, India’s most colorful and fun festival. Celebrated on the day following the full moon, this year’s festival happens to be on March 19th.
As with most Indian festivals, this one also has many different folk stories. Most of them center around the success of good over evil. The most popular one is about a king, who hates his son Prahlada for loving the creator of the Universe—Lord Vishnu. When every attempt to stop him fails, his sister, Holika believed to be immune(免疫的) to fire, joins in the effort by inviting the young boy to sit with her inside a huge fire. Helped by the power of Lord Vishnu, Prahlada escapes safely, while the evil Holika is burned to death. To remember this event, huge outdoor fires are lit in the night before Holi in order to clean the air of evil spirits and to celebrate the death of the evil.
So what’s so great about this day? While there are some fun parades(游行) and folk songs and dance performances, the most fun of all is walking to the streets and splashing(泼洒) people with water guns and dry colors and even covering them with entire buckets of colored water. On this day, everybody is fair game, no matter how old or how young.
At about midday, the splashing comes to an end and people living close to oceans or rivers usually take a bath in the water to clean themselves before going home to a delicious home-made big dinner and a well-deserved short sleep, following this full day of fun and activities.
【小题1】Why does the king dislike his son Prahlada?
A.Because Prahlada doesn’t love him. |
B.Because Prahlada is rude to Holika. |
C.Because Prahlada loves Lord Vishnu. |
D.Because Prahlada concentrates on his own success. |
A.with the help of Lord Vishnu |
B.because of his good luck |
C.by beating his aunt Holika |
D.using his amazing talent |
A.fights against others fairly |
B.enjoys splashing people |
C.plays a trick on others |
D.is the aim of splashing water |
A.they have got dirty with dry colors and colored water |
B.going home with colored water means bad luck |
C.they believe clean water will bring good luck |
D.taking a bath shows their true love for Lord Vishnu |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you had a hundred dollars less. Also imagine what it would be like spending the rest of your life with you eyes closed. Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your finger-tips.
With existing medical knowledge and skills, two-thirds of the world’s 42 million blind should not have to suffer. Unfortunately, rich countries posses most of this knowledge, while developing countries do not.
ORBIS is an international non-profit organization which operates the world’s only flying teaching eye hospital. ORBIS intends to help fight blindness worldwide. Inside a DC-8 aircraft, there is a fully-equipped teaching hospital with television studio and classroom. Doctors are taught the latest techniques of bringing sight back to people there. Project ORBIS also aims at promoting peaceful cooperation(合作) among countries.
ORBIS tries to help developing countries by providing training during three-week medical programs. ORBIS has taught sight-saving techniques to over 35,000 doctors and nurses, who continue to cure tens of thousands of blind people every year. ORBIS has conducted 17 plane programs is China so far. For the seven to ten million blind in China ORBIS is planning to do more for them. At the moment an ORBIS is working on a long-term plan to develop a training center and to provide eye care service to Shanxi Province. ORBIS needs your help to continue their work and free people from blindness.
For just US$38,you can help one person see; for $380 you can bring sight to 10 people; $1,300 helps teach a doctor new skills; and for $13,000 you can provide a training programme for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again. Your money can open their eyes to the world. Please help ORBIS improve the quality of life for so many people less fortunate than ourselves.
【小题1】The first paragraph is intended to ______.
A.introduce a new way of reading |
B.advise the public to lead a simple life |
C.direct the public’s attention to the blind |
D.Encourage the public to use imagination |
A.They are adequate | B.They have not been updated. |
C.They are not equally distributed | D.They have benefited most of the blind |
A.teaching medical students | B.training doctors and nurses |
C.running flying hospitals globally | D.setting up non-profit organization |
A.Appeal for donations | B.Make an advertisement |
C.Promote training programs | D.Show sympathy for the blind |
A.ORRIS in China | B.Fighting Blindness |
C.ORRIS Flying Hospital | D.Sight-seeing Techniques |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
In England, people often talk about the weather because they can experience (经历) several seasons in one day. In the morning the weather is warm just like in spring. An hour later black clouds come and then it rains hard. The weather gets a little cold. In the late afternoon the sky will be sunny, the sun will begin to shine, and it will be summer at this time of a day.
In England, people can also have summer in winter, or have winter in summer. So in winter they can swim sometimes, and in summer sometimes they should take warm clothes.
umbrella (伞)or a raincoat with them in the sunny morning, but you should not laugh at them.If you don't take an umbrella or a raincoat, you will regret (后悔) later in the day.
【小题1】Why do people in England often talk about the weather?
A.Because they may have several seasons in one day |
B.Because they often have very good weather |
C.Because the weather is warm just like in spring |
D.Because the sky is sunny all day |
A.sunshine and snow | B.black clouds |
C.summer and winter | D.spring and autumn |
A.their friends ask them to do so | B.it often rains in England |
C.they are going to sell them | D.they are their favourite things |
A.Bad Seasons | B.Summer or Winter |
C.The Weather in England | D.Strange English People |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Most people know precious gemstones (宝石) by their appearances. An emerald flashes deep green, a ruby seems to hold a red fire inside, and a diamond shines like a star. It’s more difficult to tell where the gem was mined, since a diamond from Australia or Arkansas may appear the same to one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, recently, a team of scientists has found a way to identify a gemstone’s origin.
Beneath the surface of a gemstone, on the tiny level of atoms and molecules, lie clues to its origin. At this year’s meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, Catherine McManus reported on a technique that uses lasers to clarify these clues and identify a stone’s homeland. McManus directs scientific research at Materialytics, in Killeen, Texas. The company is developing the technique. “With enough data, we could identify which country, which mining place, even the individual mine a gemstone comes from,” McManus told Science News.
Some gemstones, including many diamonds, come from war-torn countries. Sales of those “blood minerals” may encourage violent civil wars where innocent people are injured or killed. In an effort to reduce the trade in blood minerals, the U.S. government passed law in July 2010 that requires companies that sell gemstones to determine the origins of their stones.
To figure out where gemstones come from, McManus and her team focus a powerful laser on a small sample of the gemstone. The technique is called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Just as heat can turn ice into water or water into steam, energy from the laser changes the state of matter of the stone. The laser changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma, a gas state of matter in which tiny particles called electrons separate from atoms.
The plasma, which is superhot, produces a light pattern. (The science of analyzing this kind of light pattern is called spectroscopy.) Different elements produce different patterns, but McManus and her team say that gemstones from the same area produce similar patterns. Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones, including more than 200 from diamonds. They can compare the light pattern from an unknown gemstone to patterns they do know and look for a match. The light pattern acts like a signature, telling the researchers the origin of the gemstone.
In a small test, the laser technique correctly identified the origins of 95 out of every 100 diamonds. For gemstones like emeralds and rubies, the technique proved successful for 98 out of every 100 stones. The scientists need to collect and analyze more samples, including those from war-torn countries, before the tool is ready for commercial use.
Scientists like Barbara Dutrow, a mineralogist from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, find the technique exciting. “This is a basic new tool that could provide a better fingerprint of a material from a particular locality,” she told Science News.
【小题1】We learn from Paragraph 1 that __________________.
A.an emerald and a ruby are names of diamonds. |
B.it’s not difficult to tell where the gem was mined. |
C.appearances help to identify the origin of gemstones. |
D.diamonds from different places may appear the same. |
A.To look for more gemstones. |
B.To encourage violent civil wars. |
C.To reduce the trade in blood minerals. |
D.To develop the economy. |
A.Heat can turn ice into water or water into steam. |
B.Gemstones from the same area produce similar light patterns. |
C.Laser can changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma. |
D.Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones. |
A.It is ready for commercial use. |
B.People can use the new tool to find more gemstones. |
C.It can significantly reduce the gemstones trade in blood minerals. |
D.It will bring about a revolutionary change in identifying the origin of minerals. |
A.tell us how to identify the origin of diamonds. |
B.introduce a laser technique in identifying a stone’s origin |
C.prove identifying the origin of gemstones are difficult |
D.attract our attention to reducing trade in blood minerals |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
We all like watching online videos of dogs and cats doing funny things. But if you had to decide, which of the two animals would you say you might like better? Your answer may say something about your personality.
According to a 2010 study led by Sam Gosling, a scientist at the University of Texas, US, dog people are about 15 percent more outgoing and 13 percent more pleasant to be friends with than cat people.
This is not hard to understand, since cats and dogs behave differently themselves. “Cats will occasionally engage in social activities, but usually after only a few minutes, they will abandon the game. Dogs, on the other hand, will often engage in play, like fetching a thrown ball, for hours at a time,” said Modern Dog Magazine.
Although cat people are less social, Gosling’s study showed that they are 11 percent more open-minded than dog people. They usually like art, adventures and unusual ideas. They also have more imagination and curiosity. But dog people are more likely to stick to old beliefs and traditional interests.
However, their love of a free lifestyle also means that cat people dislike making plans. They just follow whatever ideas pop into their heads without planning ahead. But dog people are different. They usually have strong self-control and like to carry out their plans.
Despite these big differences between dog people and cat people, there are some things that they have in common, “Both types of people consider themselves close to nature, dislike animal-print clothing, and are generally optimists,” noted Mother Nature Network.
But can personality change? Can a cat person become a dog person, or the other way around? In a study done by Stanley Coren, a scientist based in Canada, he asked cat owners: “If you had enough living space and there were no objections form other people in your life, and someone gave you a puppy as a gift, would you keep it?”
About 68 percent of them said they would not accept a dog as a pet. But when dog owners were asked the same question about a kitten, almost 70 percent said they would allow a cat into their lives.
【小题1】According to the article, dog people _____________ cat people.
A.perform better in school than | B.are more open-minded than |
C.have closer friends than | D.are more traditional than |
A.take little interest in | B.take part in | C.benefit from | D.suffer from |
A.Both of them like planning ahead |
B.Both of them love travelling and adventures |
C.Both of them are imaginative and curious |
D.Both of them care about nature. |
A.Cat people are more likely to become dog people. |
B.Dog people are more likely to accept cats into their homes than cat people are to accept dogs. |
C.Neither dog nor cat people like to accept a new pet. |
D.It is difficult to find out whether dog people or cat people will make a change. |
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