The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose(夸大的) words. “Outstanding”is new “good,” “amazing” is the new “OK,” and “huge” is the new “big”.
I was in a restaurant in Washington D．C．last weekend and every question I asked was answered with exaggeration．
Me：How is the salmon?
Sever：Fantastic!
Me：Does it come with rice?
Sever：Absolutely!
Would a “good” and a “Yes” have been enough? Of course!
My father is an average-sized man．He hasn’t gained weight or height for the past 30 years. Therefore, his size remains the same．However，in the same amount of time，his T-shirt size has gone from small to medium to large to extra large．
The reason for the exaggerated word is clear：we are bored with our lives．We want the next—next thing now．Immediately!
And we also want others to think that we still care，that we can still be delighted，that we know that everything is just great．Even when deep inside we know it can’t be．Everything can’t be great．
I’m not a scientist，so many methods of proof leave little to be desired，or a lot to be desired，or an immensity(无限)．
Listen to the voices around you．Listen to your own voices．There is nothing on the radio that is good or bad，weather is either beautiful or horrible．
Listen，the next time when someone asks you something and you agree，because when you could simply say “yes”, instead you will say “absolutely’’or “without doubt”or “Oh，yeah，unquestionably---absolutely without doubt. ”
Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK? Simply OK with what they have and who they are?If everything is outstanding，if everything is the most amazing thing ever，is anything ever amazing at all?
60. By telling his experience in the restaurant，the author intends to __________.
A. show his interest in exaggerated words
B. prove that exaggerated words are widely used
C. blame the restaurant for using exaggerated words
D. tell us the food in the restaurant is extremely good
61. What do we know about the author’s father?
A. He has gained height and is now a tall man．
B. He likes following the fashion in clothing．
C. His weight is getting greater and greater．
D. The size of his T-shirt is described in exaggerated words．
62. So many people like using exaggerated words because __________.
A. they are not satisfied with being normal
B. they don’t want to be looked down upon by others
C. they want to be different from others
D. they are brave in telling their true feelings
63. According to the passage，if you approve of something，you’d better say “ _______”.
A. fantastic B. perfect C. OK D. absolutely
备战中考寒假系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.
“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”
Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.
Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent—child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue int0 adulthood.
No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”
But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.
“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”
The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.
A. interest B. distance C. difference D. separation
Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?
A. Parents help their children develop interests in more activities.
B. Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities.
C. Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs.
D. Parents share more interests with their children.
The change in today’s parent-child relationship is _________.
A. more confusion among parents B. new equality between parents and children
C.1ess respect for parents from children
D. more strictness and authority on the part of parents
By saying “today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side.” the author means that today’s parents _________.
A. follow the trend of the change B. can set a limit to the change
C. fail to take the change seriously D. have little difficulty adjusting to the change
The purpose of the passage is to _________.
A. describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with
B. discuss the development of the parent—child relationship
C. suggest the ways to handle the parent—child relationship
D. compare today’s parent—child relationship with that in the past
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科目：高中英语 来源：江苏省徐州市2010届高三下学期第三次调研考试（英语） 题型：阅读理解
Nothing says love like a dozen long – stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day. More than a million roses will be sold during this festival for lovers, the biggest day of the year for the nation’s rose industry. It’s going to remain the most popular flower because love never goes out of style.
Yes, a rose is a rose is a rose. But selling them is no longer a beautiful experience for traditional flower shops. Supermarkets now offer convenience to the busy and discount rose shops help those hopelessly in love save money. Roses only is a good example of a discount rose retailer that was transformed from a traditional shop to answer the challenge in the’ 90s.
Inside this store on Sixth Avenue near 40 th Street, contemporary white furniture and wall – to – wall mirrors give it an expensive look. Customers move about freely among the counters, looking eagerly at the roses in more than 50 colors from shelf to shelf. Some customers say it’s the high quality of the roses that attracts them there. “I spent $ 20 but the flowers looked like I paid 60 or 70 dollars,” says one customer.
Studies show more people are buying roses in ones, two and threes these days. In fact, more than half of all roses are sold in bunches of fewer than a dozen. But Roses Only's low prices encourage people to spend. Even on Valentine's Day, when the price of a dozen roses and delivery can soar as high as $150, 12 of Roses Only's most expensive flowers sell for just $35. The company's key to success is to hold prices down by controlling every link in the rose chain. It grows its own roses in the sunshine of the Andes Mountains. In addition, the company also sells other items such as ballons and stuffed animals.
While discount rose retailers are witnessing their business bloom, U.S. rose growers aren’t able to compete with the fierce foreign competition. More than 57% of roses sold in the USA are grown in other countries. The biggest foreign producers are Colombia and Ecuador, which accounted for almost 90% of the total imported last year. The trend has hurt domestic rose growers such as Johnson Flowers of California, considered to be this country's leading producer.
Now, instead of fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. "We have a few big fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. “We may also widen our business to include the service area and be a representative for overseas flower producers.”
As a result of severe competition, those in the rose business long for the good old days, whereas ordinary people benefit from the low price.
60．What is the central theme of this text?
A．The US rose business is going from bad to worse in spite of the efforts made.
B．The rose will remain the most popular flower as love never goes out of date.
C．The rose business is trying to meet the challenges in the market to succeed.
D．The rose industry plays an important role in American economy.
61．How does Roses Only obtain success in the discount rose retailing field?
A．By setting up more chain stores across the country.
B．By selling roses in supermarkets.
C．By selling high quality roses at a low price.
D．By selling roses by the dozen.
|
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年湖北省荆门市高三元月调考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
When next year’s crop of high-school graduates arrive at Oxford University in the fall, they will be joined by a new face: Andrew Hamilton, the 55-year-old provost (教务长) of Yale, who will become Oxford’s vice-chancellor –– a position equal to university president in America.
Hamilton isn’t the only educator crossing the Atlantic. Schools in France, Egypt, Singapore, etc. have also recently made top-level hires from abroad. Yet the talent flow isn’t universal. High-level personnel (人员) tend to head in only one direction: Outward from America.
The chief reason is that American schools don’t tend to seriously consider looking abroad. For example, when the board of the University of Colorado searched for a new president, it wanted a leader familiar with the state government, a major source of the university’s budget. “We didn’t do any global consideration,” says Patricia Hayes, the board’s chair. The board finally picked Bruce Benson, a 69-year-old Colorado businessman and political activist who is likely to do well in the main task of modern university presidents: fund-raising. Fund-raising is a particularly American thing, since U.S. schools rely heavily on donations. The fund-raising ability is largely a product of experience and necessity.
Many European universities, meanwhile, are still mostly dependent on government funding. But government support has failed to keep pace with rising student numbers. The decline in government support has made fund-raising an increasingly necessary ability among administrators (管理人员), and has made hiring committees hungry for Americans.
In the past few years, well-known schools around the world have joined the trend. In 2011, when Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard, another former Yale provost, as its vice-chancellor, the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen (监督) “ a major strengthening of Yale’s financial position” .
Of course, fund-raising isn’t the only skill outsiders offer. The globalization of education means more universities will be seeking heads with international experience of some kind to promote international programs and attract a global student body. Foreigners can offer a fresh perspective (视角) on established practices.
1.What is the current trend in higher education discussed in the text?
A．Institutions worldwide are hiring administrators from the U.S.
B．More international students are being admitted to American universities.
C．University presidents are paying more attention to fund-raising.
D．A lot of activists are being hired as administrators.
2.What do we learn about European universities from the text?
A．The tuition they charge has been rising considerably.
B．They are strengthening their position by globalization.
C．Their operation is under strict government control.
D．Most of their money comes from the government.
3.In what way do top-level administrators from abroad contribute to university development?
A．They can improve the university’s image.
B．They will bring with them more international personnel.
C．They will view a lot of things from a new angle.
D．They can set up new academic subjects.
4.Which of the following would make the best title of the text?
A．High Education Globalization
B．Global Headhunting in Higher Education
C．Global Higher Education Cooperation
D．Universal Higher Education Development
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年福建省福州外国语学校高三上学期期中考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
More than half of rich Americans have not shown their full wealth to their children, a new survey showed last Tuesday.
The survey, published by the Bank of America, studied the rich with＄3 million or more in possessions. It found that “surprisingly few of those surveyed have well-developed plans to preserve and pass on their possessions to their children”.
The majority of the 457 people surveyed are self-made, first-generation rich. Fifty-two percent of parents have not chosen not to tell their children just how wealthy they are，and 15 percent have given away nothing about the family wealth. One in three parents said they had never thought to do it.
They are worried that their children would become lazy, spend money freely，make bad decisions and even become a target for attractive women who use their looks to get money from rich men.
Only 34 percent strongly agreed that their children would be able to handle any inheritance（遗产）they plan to leave them.
“There is an expectation about the wealthy parents that they have a responsibility to pass down their fortune to the next generation,” said Sallie Krawcheck，president of the Global Wealth and Investment Management of the Bank of America. “Our research, however, uncovered changing views of what one generation owes the next.”
The trend is led by the world’s richest man Bill Gates, who promised in 2008 that he would leave his $58 billion fortune to the charity started by him and his wife, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation（基金会），and not to his children.
“ We want to give it back to society in the way that it will have the most positive effect,” he said.
Of his plans for his children , Gates said: “I will give the kids some money but not a meaningful percentage… they will need to work but they will feel reasonably taken care of.”
1.We can learn from the passage that .
|
A．rich parents may not know how to manage their inheritance |
|
B．rich parents don’t equal rich kids, at least in the US |
|
C．American children don’t get to inherit their parents’ wealth |
|
D．poor children don’t expect themselves to be as rich as their parents |
2.According to the survey, most rich Americans ．
|
A．think they owe their children nothing |
|
B．think it best to give their money back to society |
|
C．doubt their children’s ability to handle wealth |
|
D．are confident of their children’s ability to handle wealth |
3.The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refers to ．
|
A．responsible children |
|
B．Bill Gates and his wife |
|
C．first-generation rich |
|
D．rich parents |
4.From the last paragraph，we can see that Bill Gates wants to show .
|
A．the trend of leaving no inheritance to children |
|
B．the positive effect of charity on society |
|
C．the way of giving back to society |
|
D．the importance of independence for children |
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科目：高中英语 来源：浙江省宁波市20092010学年八校联考高二下学期期末考试试题（英语） 题型：阅读理解
第三部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题，第二节5小题；每小题2分,共50分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该项标号涂黑。
Concern with money, and then more money, in order to buy the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, has brought great changes to the lives of most Frenchmen. More people are working harder than ever before in France. In the cities the traditional leisurely midday meal is disappearing. Offices, shops, and factories are discovering the great efficiency of a short lunch hour in company lunch rooms. In almost all lines of work emphasis now falls on ever increasing output. Thus the "typical" Frenchman produces more, earns more, and buys more consumer goods than his counterpart of only a generation ago. He gains in creature comfort and ease of life. What he loses to some extent is his sense of personal uniqueness, or individuality.
Some say that France has been Americanized. This is because the United States is a world symbol of the technological society and its consumer products. The so-called Americanization of France has its critics(批评家). They fear that “assembly line(装配线)life” will lead to the disappearance of the pleasures of the more graceful and leisurely (but less productive) old French style. What will happen, they ask, to taste, elegance(优雅), and the cultivation of the good things in life to joy in the smell of a freshly picked apple, a walk by the river, or just happy hours of conversation in a local café?
Since the late 1950s life in France has indeed taken on qualities of rush, tension, and the pursuit of material gain. Some of the strongest critics of the new way of life are the young, especially university students. They are concerned with the future, and they fear that France is threatened by the achievements of this competitive, goods-oriented culture. At times, they have reacted against the trend with considerable violence.
In spite of the critics, however, countless Frenchmen are committed to keeping France in the forefront of the modern economic world. They find that the present life brings more rewards, conveniences, and pleasures than that of the past. They believe that a modern, industrial France is preferable to the old.
1.Which of the following is not given as a feature(特色) of the old French way of life?
A. Leisure. B. Taste. C. Elegance D. Efficiency.
2. The passage suggests that _________.
A. the smell of freshly picked apples is no more popular with the French
B. it’s now unlikely to see a Frenchman enjoying a walk by the river
C. in pursuing material gains the French are suffering losses elsewhere
D. student critics are great in number than the people enjoying the new lifestyle
3. Which of the following is NOT true about Frenchmen?
A. Many of them prefer the modern life style.
B. They actually enjoy working at the assembly line.
C. They are more concerned with money than before.
D. They are more competitive than the old generation.
4.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
A. Great changes have occurred in the French way of Life.
B. The new life style in France is facing serious criticism.
C. France has been pushed in the forefront of the world economy.
D. Frenchmen used to be lazy and only enjoy life conveniences.
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