In spite of the uncertainty of the economy, the movie industry has been stricken by a box-office outburst. Suddenly it seems as if everyone is going to the movies, with ticket sales this year up 17.5 percent, to $1.7 billion.
And it is not just because ticket prices are higher. Attendance has also jumped, by nearly 16 percent. If that pace continues through the year, it would amount to the biggest box-office increase in at least two decades.
Americans, for the moment, just want to hide in a very dark place. People want to forget their troubles, and they want to be with other people. Helping feed the outburst is the mix of movies, which have been more audience-friendly in recent months as the studios have tried to adjust after the discouraging sales of more serious films.
As she stood in line at the 18-screen Bridge theater complex here on Thursday to buy weekend tickets for “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” Angel Hernandez was not thinking much about escaping reality. Instead, Ms. Hernandez, a Los Angeles parking lot attendant and mother of four young girls, was focused on one very specific reality: her wallet.
“Spending hundreds of dollars to take them to Disneyland is ridiculous right now,” she said. “For $60 and some candy money I can still be a good mom and give them a little fun.”
A lot of parents may have been thinking the same thing Friday, as “Jonas Brothers” sold out more than 800 theaters, and was expected to sell a powerful $25 million or more in tickets.
The film industry appears to have had a hand in its recent good luck. Over the last year or two, studios have released movies that are happier, scarier or just less depressing than what came before. After poor results for a rush of serious dramas built around the Middle East, Hollywood got back to comedies.
1.Which of the following is not a reason for the improvement of the movie industry?
A. A growing number of people are going to the cinema.
B. People are richer with the development of economy.
C. More comedies are made than serious films.
D. People have to pay more to watch a movie.
2.Ms. Hernandez purchased the movie tickets because ________.
A. she tried to escape reality
B. she was a crazy movie fan
C. she was fond of Disneyland
D. she wanted to please her kids
3.According to the text, which of the following number is not used to describe the shooting up of the movie industry?
A. 17.5% B. $1.7 billion
C. $60 D. $25 million
4.The passage is developed mainly by ________.
A. presenting the effect and analyzing the causes
B. following the order of time
C. describing problems and drawing a conclusion
D. making comparison of ideas
科目：高中英语 来源：2013-2014学年陕西省高三第七次适应性训练英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
Last week I talked with some of my students about what they wanted to do after they graduated, and what kind of job prospects they thought they had.
Given that I teach students who are training to be doctors, I was surprised to find that most thought that they would not be able to get the jobs they wanted without “outside help”. “What kind of help is that?” I asked, expecting them to tell me that they would need a relative or family friend to help them out.
“Surgery(外科手术)”, one replied.
I was pretty alarmed by that response. It seems that the graduates of today are increasingly willing to go under the knife to get ahead of others when it comes to getting a job.
One girl told me that she was considering surgery to increase her height. “They break your legs, put in special extending screws, and slowly expand the gap between the two ends of the bone as it re-grows, you can get at least 5 cm taller!”
At that point, I was shocked. I am short, I can’t deny that, but I don’t think I would put myself through months of agony(痛苦) just to be a few centimeters taller. I don’t even bother to wear shoes with thick soles, as I’m not trying to hide the fact that I am just not tall!
It seems to me that there is a trend toward wanting “perfection”, and that is an ideal that just does not exist in reality.
No one is born perfect, yet magazines, TV shows and movies present images of thin, tall, beautiful people as being the norm. Advertisements for slimming aids, beauty treatments and cosmetic surgery clinics fill the pages of newspapers, further creating an idea that “perfection” is a requirement, and that it must be purchased, no matter what the cost.
In my opinion, skills, rather than appearance, should determine how successful a person is in his chosen career.
1.We can know from the passage that the author works as ________.
A. a doctor B. a model
C. a teacher D. a reporter
2.Many graduates today turn to cosmetic s surgery to ________.
A. marry a better man\woman
B. become a model
C. get an advantage over others in job-hunt
D. attract more admirers
3.According to the passage, the author believes that ________.
A. everyone should purchase perfection, whatever the cost
B. it’s right for graduates to ask for others to help them out in hunting for jobs
C. it is one’s appearance instead of skills that really matters in one’s career
D. media are to blame for misleading young people in their seeking for surgery
4.The best title for the passage should be “________”.
A. Young Graduates Have Higher Expectation
B. Young Graduates Look to Surgery for Better Jobs
C. Young Graduates’ Opinion About Cosmetic Surgery
D. Young Graduates Face a Different Situation in Job-hunt
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014-2015学年重庆市高三上学期第二次月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：单项填空
---- Remember the first time you ____ her?
----Sure, she was singing on the stage.
A. had met B. met
C. would meet D. were meeting
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014-2015学年重庆市高三9月月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
A
A month after Hurricane Katrina，I returned home in New Orleans．There lay my house，reduced to waist-high rains，smelly and dirty． Before the trip，I’d had my car fixed．When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill．she noticed my Louisiana license plate．“You from New Orleans? ”she asked．I said l was，
“No charge．”She said，and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet．The next day I went for a haircut，and the same thing happened．
As my wife was studying in Florid，we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage(抵押贷款)on our ruined house．We looked at many places，but none was satisfactory．We’d begun to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while，when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California．He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for State，an online
magazine and wanted to give us (“no conditions attached”)a new house across the lake from New Orleans．It sounded too good to be true，but I replied，thanking him for his exceptional generosity，that we had no plans to go back．Then a poet of the University of Florida offered to let his house to me while he went to England on his one-year-paid leave．The rent was rather reasonable．Imentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy，and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months．
Throughout this painful experience，the kindness of strangers backs my faith in humanity．It’s almost worth losing you worldly possessions to be reminded that people really want to be kind when given a channel．
1.Which one shows the right time order?
①James Kennedy sent us a check．
②A poet offered his house to us．
③Our home was reduced to ruins．
④The garage employee charged us nothing．
⑤We came back to New Orleans．
A．④③⑤①② B．③④⑤②①
C．④③⑤②① D．③④⑤①②
2.What do you know about James Kennedy?
A．He was a friend of the writer．
B．He offered the writer a house in California．
C．He worked for an online magazine．
D．He was concerned about the writer’s sufferings．
3.It can be inferred from the passage that ．
A．The mortgage on the ruined house didn’t need to be paid off
B．The house rents in New Orleans were reasonable after the hurricane
C．The writer rebuilt his faith in humanity by losing his worldly possessions
D．The writer made it through the painful period with people's kindness
4.How is the passage developed?
A．By showing contrasting facts．
B．By making classification
C．By giving examples．
D．By analyzing causes and effects．
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014-2015学年重庆市高三9月月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：单项填空
Most people agree matters is not one’s looks，but one’s inner thoughts．
A．that B．where
C．what D．how
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014-2015学年重庆市高三12月月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：单项填空
--- The news that the scientists in China are trying the ways to reduce the fog and haze was? ---- Top notch! Never have I seen _____ before。
A. a better one B. a worse one
C. the best one D. the worst one
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014-2015学年重庆巴蜀中学高三下学期第二次模拟考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
How do you celebrate New Year’s Day? If I had to take a guess, you probably celebrate New Year’s Day surrounded by family and friends, enjoying drinks of your choice (probably wine and champagne) and watching the ball drop. If you’re particularly lucky, perhaps you share a kiss with that special someone when the clock hits 00:00am. Have you ever imagined how New Year’s Day would look in another country? Listed below are five of the top ten “Unique New Year Traditions from Around the World.”
1. Breaking Dishes on Neighbor’s Door——Denmark
A strange and weird Danish New Year tradition, depending on how you look at it, is throwing dishes at neighbor’s door. Strangely, this makes them happy instead of annoying them. The family with the tallest tower of broken plates, glasses, cups and other crockery is considered to be the luckiest person because it symbolizes their large amount of loyal friends.
2. Talking to Spirits——Mexico
Talking to spirits is a part of Mexican belief. Mexicans strongly believe that they can communicate with the souls of their dead loved ones. New Year’s Eve is considered the best time to communicate with dead spirits to convey a message or ask for guidance. And this is not done at home on an individual basis but is a legal Mexican practice. Taos Inn, in New Mexico for example, offers 15 minutes session of spiritualism and meditation(默念) for $15. Not a bad price for some helpful guidance!
3. Wearing Polka Dots ——Philippines
Imagine streets full of people wearing polka dots and dining room tables full of round shaped food and fruits on one single day of the year. This all actually happens in the Philippines on New Year’s Eve every year. Philippines believe that this will bring them prosperity by associating the round dots to coins and wealth.
4. Burning Scarecrow(稻草人) Dummy——Ecuador
Ecuador has a unique custom of crafting scarecrows and then burning them at midnight. They adorn them and fill the scarecrows with newspapers and pieces of wood. As midnight approaches, everyone gathers outside their home and each family burns their own scarecrow. The tradition says that this destroys all the bad things that took place in the past 12 months. The scarecrow also scares away bad luck, which in turn, fills their new year with luck and happiness.
5. Mistletoe(槲寄生) Leaves Are Placed Under Pillow to Find Husband——Ireland
The single women of Ireland wait desperately for New Year’s Eve because it is the night that can bring them the love of their lives. They place mistletoe leaves under their pillow hoping to catch their future husband. It is also believed in the Irish culture that this act will help them get rid of bad luck.
The world is a large and very different place. Yes, people of all nations may celebrate New Year’s much differently around the world, with different traditions, but there are a lot of general themes to be seen. We all want to start a new, fresh year with renewed enthusiasm and hope no matter what happened during the past year. We all want to be happier, find love, renew friendships increase our wealth and also hope for a little extra luck in the coming New Year.
1.When New Year’s Day is coming, people always celebrate it in many ways EXCEPT __________.
A. sharing the time with their lovers
B. getting together with their families
C. enjoying drinks with their friends
D. setting the ball drop
2.What can you learn when you are paying a visiting to Mexico during New Year’s Day?
A. You’d better talk to your ancestors just at home secretly, or you’ll break the law.
B. It’s New Year’s Day that Mexicans consider the best time to talk to spirits.
C. It’s commonly believed that the dead have spirits and souls living around.
D. You can ask for help free when you want to talk to the dead
3.The single women of Ireland always ________ hoping to catch their future husband on New Year’s Eve.
A. wear polka dots
B. burn scarecrow dummy
C. break dishes on neighbor’s door
D. place mistletoe leaves under their pillow
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014-2015学年重庆巴蜀中学高三上学期第一次模拟考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：单项填空
It really matters _______ he treated the latest failure, for the examination is around the corner.
A. if B. that
C. why D. how
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科目：高中英语 来源：2015-2016学年浙江温州十校联合体高一上期中英语试卷（解析版） 题型：单项填空
Three years has passed ever since _____.
A. he has joined the army B. he joined the army
C. he has been in the army D. he has been a soldier
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