The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.
Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.
He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels(元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”
“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and’dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”
The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch(传统火鸡午餐).
The results were published(发表) in the Journal of Phonetics.
【小题1】The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because .
| A．she has been Queen for many years |
| B．she has a less upper-class accent now |
| C．her speeches have been recorded for 50 years |
| D．her speeches are familiar to many people |
| A．“Dutay”. | B． “Hame”. | C．“Citee”. | D．“Lorst”. |
| A．Christmas customs | B．speech sounds |
| C．TV broadcasting | D．personal messages |
| A．The changes in a person’s accent. |
| B．The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV. |
| C．The relationship between accents and social classes. |
| D．The recent development of the English language. |
【小题1】C
【小题2】C
【小题3】B
【小题4】A
解析试题分析：文章大意：这是一篇杂志上的文章，Jonathan教授想知道同一个人的口音在半个世纪的前后会不会发生变化，研究人员发现Queen’s English的读音员发生了这样的变化，文章中也分析了发生变化的原因。
【小题1】C 细节理解题。第二段Jonathan教授的话中可以得出，the past half century。故C正确。
【小题2】C推理题。此题文中不能找到全部的依据，可以排除B、D, 如果你看到过如下的文章，或是对英女王英语发音有所了解，做起来准确率就会更高。故C正确。
【小题3】B推理题。文章是关于语音的文章，应当是发表在与之有关的杂志上。 故B正确。
【小题4】A 主旨大意题。文章是针对一个人的口音在半世纪前后的变化及分析写的，所以A最恰当。故A正确。
考点：考查说明文阅读
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Relax. He is the same little boy you loved yesterday. I smiled trying to hold back the tears. “No, he isn’t. Yesterday I dreamed he would be an astronaut. Today I am hoping he will learn to talk.”
It was like some sort of cosmic joke. I could still recall the day that determined my fate. It was October in Ottawa and the summer breezes had given way to the autumn rainfall of leaves. The snow would begin soon. The crispness (清爽) of coming frost was in the air. My casually mentioning Wyatt’s behavior to Dr. Martin aroused his worries. He started asking me questions about Wyatt’s activities speech pattern and emotions. I still see clearly in my mind the cleanness of the room and all its belongings when the doctor turned to me and said, “He almost sounds autistic (自闭) .”
I couldn’t face that picture in my mind. I had to run to get away from this all too painful place that was reminding me of what was to be my child’s life-being strange.
I could not remember how many times I told myself, “This is normal. He is a little boy who is not talking yet,” when my asking questions met with his blank-eyed response in a restaurant; how many times I would tell myself, “He loves to play on his own for hours at a time and he never gets into trouble,” when Wyatt was playing games that no one else could imagine, let alone join in while other boys in the park were playing together or in small groups played around a sand pail(桶) or toy truck. My life was changing direction. So was Wyatt’s.
I started to hide Wyatt from my friends and neighbor especially from a good friend. It was too painful to let others know about my boy acting strange.
It was a Thursday afternoon and I found one half of a great pair of kitchen scissors was missing. They were unbelievably sharp and could be taken apart so they could be washed or the blades (刀片) sharpened. I knew Wyatt had taken the missing blade.
“Wyatt,” I began as patiently as I could, “Do you see this?” I held up the blade. “Do you know what this is?”
Wyatt put a bunch of Fruit Loops in his mouth. No response.
“Wyatt!” I forced eye contact with him. “Where are the other scissors? See these.” I showed him the half pair.
He smiled big. Ate Fruit Loops. Turned the TV on and off. Still no response.
I didn’t know what to do. It was really hard. “Wyatt,” I tried once more, “Mommy wants these scissors. Can you go get them for Mommy? It will make Mommy so happy if you bring me the scissors.”
“Watch Spongebob.” Wyatt asked as he slid down from his kitchen stool and ran off, leaving me shaking my head and wondering in exactly which way this situation was going to end badly.
Five minutes later, I turned my head to see Wyatt coming downstairs, his favorite doll in one hand, the missing half pair of kitchen scissors in the other. I immediately ran over and took it from him.
“Wyatt!” I hugged him. “Thank you for bringing me the scissors! Good job! You did it! These scissors need to stay in the kitchen. These are Mommy’s scissors!”
Wyatt laughed, looked at me straight in the eye and said, “Mommy so happy!”
I came close to tears. A realization dawned on me that he was the best gift I had ever gotten even though he was not as normal as other children. And why did I hide him from others as if he were some dark and terrible secret. No! He was my pride. It was a long, hard battle to get him to this point, expressing his wants and needs without turning to violence in embarrassment. With love and patience I have found the beautiful, happy boy who would teach me more about life.
And that is the solution.
【小题1】From the first part of the story we can get to know that the son’s problem was _______ to the mother.
| A．a heavy blow | B．a white lie |
| C．an unforgettable lesson | D．a ridiculous experience |
| A．the questions the doctor asked puzzled her. |
| B．the cleanness of the doctor’s room stuck her |
| C．His son’s illness was beyond her wildest expectation. |
| D．The sudden change of weather left her a deep impression. |
| A．He never gets into trouble |
| B．He responds with blank eyes. |
| C．He plays with others for hours. |
| D．He likes watching TV programmes. |
| A．his mother forced him to do that |
| B．he could get his favorite doll in reward |
| C．he intended to delight his mother |
| D．he realized that the sharp blade would cause danger |
| A．Never hiding Wyatt from normal kids. |
| B．Turning to violence in disappointment occasionally. |
| C．Making Wyatt a kind and joyful boy with great care. |
| D．Helping Wyatt learn to talk and become an astronaut. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Zoology（动物学）is the part of science that deals with the study of the animals’ growth, home and behavior. It has nothing to do with people, so many students are left wondering why they have to learn it.
Our nature includes not just humans but plants and animals as well. Everything in our environment is connected in a complex cycle. If you have a better understanding of how animals would behave and work with us, then you would value nature better.
Some animals are actually misunderstood by people like sharks and snakes. These creatures are thought of as human killers, and this is mainly because we don’t understand why they behave that way. In zoology you would be able to learn natural behavior as well as their homes so you would completely understand why they would behave in a defensive(防御的) manner when they seem to be threatened. Studying zoology would help people achieve clearness over the common myths we have on different wild animals.
Studying zoology would help people know the real facts about animals. One of the negative facts is the decreasing numbers of some species of animals. It makes people realize that there is a need for nature to be always balanced. We need animals to keep the balance in our environment and for humans to survive as well. It would help us learn the needs that animals lack and we can respond by thinking of solutions we can give to the endangered species of animals.
Modern progress is needed for a country to grow in terms of its economy; however, it should not force us to destroy our rainforests and oceans. People should realize that our modern lives should include the lives of the animals that live with us. They should not be contained in zoos but in their natural homes as well. We will learn that every living creature on the earth has the right to own a home and we need to fight for them to have permanent(永久的) homes.
【小题1】According to the text, nature should be .
| A．left alone | B．treated seriously |
| C．taken for granted | D．taken lightly |
| A．making our world beautiful | B．protecting species of plants |
| C．providing food for humans | D．keeping nature in balance |
| A．caretakers | B．killers | C．competitors | D．trainers |
| A．The Ways of Protecting Animals |
| B．The Importance of Studying Zoology |
| C．The Introduction to Zoology |
| D．The Advantages of Learning Zoology |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
I’m sure your parents love you and would love you even if you didn’t live up to their expectations, They are probably setting the bar as high as possible, so that you will aim high , That’s right, but you need some confidence that they’ll be there to catch you—and love you just the same—if you try and fail to achieve all their goals, Because what they’re doing now could lead to some unexpected results .and not good ones.
Giving you a lecture for achieving an A is a big mistake, Your parents might think they’re giving you the motivation for succeeding , but all this pressure is making you feel like you can never be good enough ,The risk is that you’ll stop trying anything unless you are sure you’ll be the best at it .And that can actually cause your grades to fall downwards, creating the opposite effect than you parents indeed.
Show your parents this letter that you wrote to me ,Tell them that you love them so much ,and you worry they won’t love you if you don’t achieve what they want, and how you suspect you may not be up to the challenge , Explain that you have other qualities that you wish they would value you for—such as your kindness, your sense of humor, your willingness to try and try again, and so on.
Have an honest talk with your parents about how all this pressure to be perfect is affecting you , If he talk doesn’t go the way you hope , you might want to schedule a meeting between you , your parents and a counselor（顾问）at school , The counselor can certainly help your parents understand how this kind of unhealthy pressure can lead to negative results, and give them advice about how to better encourage you to be all that you can be , at school and outside of it.
【小题1】Who does the author intend to write to?
| A．A boy/girl whose school work is not good enough |
| B．A boy/girl who has difficulty in getting along with parents |
| C．A boy/girl whose parents expect too much of him/her |
| D．A boy/girl who needs love from his/her parents |
| A．Because they hope their children will aim high |
| B．Because they love their children very much |
| C．Because their children are lack of confidence |
| D．Because their children seldom achieve their goals |
| A．He may be more confident about himself |
| B．He may feel that he can never be good enough |
| C．He may feel natural to cheat in the exam |
| D．He may hate his parents and try to make more mistakes |
| A．To apologize to his/her parents for disappointing them |
| B．To let his/her parents know unhealthy pressure can lead to negative results |
| C．To invite his/her teachers to help him/her to get rid of unhealthy pressure |
| D．To try his/her best to achieve what his/her parents expect |
| A．Counselors | B．Results | C．Parents | D．Classmates |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Brrriiinnng. The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning. You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think. A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing. Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters. In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?
The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking. Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused. If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed. Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving. By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.
The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either. The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons (神经细胞), making inspirations less likely to occur. And while we all should read a lot about what’s going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done.
So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead. We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation. We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic. And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer.
【小题1】According to the author, we are more creative when we are _______.
| A．focused |
| B．relaxed |
| C．awake |
| D．busy |
| A．They are solution providers. |
| B．They are a source of inspiration. |
| C．They are normally full of bad news. |
| D．They are more educational than websites. |
| A．wander into the wild |
| B．listen to a beautiful tune |
| C．switch to the traffic channel |
| D．stop concentrating on anything |
| A．offer practical suggestions |
| B．summarize past experiences |
| C．advocate diverse ways of life |
| D．establish a routine for the future |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Sure, it’s good to get along with your teacher because it makes the time you spend in the classroom more pleasant.
And yes, it’s good to get along with your teacher because, in general, it’s smart to learn how to understand the different types of people you’ll meet throughout your life.
“But really, there’s one super-important reason why you should get along with your teacher. When you do, learning bursts right open,” says Evelyn Vuko, a longtime teacher who writes an education column(专栏) called “Teacher Says” for the Washington Post newspaper.
In fact, kids who get along with their teachers not only learn more, but they’re more comfortable asking questions and getting extra help. This makes it easier to understand new material and do your best on tests. When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher, he or she can be someone to turn to with problems, such as problems with learning or school life, such as bullying.
As a kid in a primary or middle school, you’re at a wonderful stage in your life. You’re like a sponge (海绵), able to absorb lots of new and exciting information. On top of that, you’re able to think about all this information in new ways. Your teacher knows that, in most cases, is very excited to be the person who’s giving you all that material and helping you make it. Remember, teachers are people, too, and they feel great if you’re open to what they’re teaching you. That’s why they wanted to be teachers in the first place—to teach!
Some kids may be able to learn in any situation, whether they like the teacher or not. But most kids are sensitive to the way they get along with the teacher, and if things aren’t going well, they won’t learn as well and won’t enjoy being in class.
【小题1】In the passage, the author mainly talks about _______.
A. how to get along well with others
B. the importance of a good relation with teachers
C. how much the students are expected of to get along with teachers
D. how to make the time in the classroom more pleasant
【小2】“Learning bursts right open” in the third paragraph really means _______.
A. learning becomes easier for you at once
B. you find an opening to learning
C. there’ll be more problems with learning
D. there’ll be no problems at all with learning
【小题2】According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．If you get on well with your teachers, you must have a good result in exams. |
| B．The more questions you ask, the higher marks you will get. |
| C．If you have a good relationship with your teacher, you can turn to him when in trouble. |
| D．Many kids can do well without a good relationship with teachers. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The best way of learning a language is using it. The best way of learning English is talking in English as much as possible. Sometimes you'll get your words mixed up (混合) and people will not understand you. Sometimes people will say things too quickly and you can't understand them. But if you keep your sense of humor, you can always have a good laugh at the mistakes you make. Don't be unhappy if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes. It's better for people to laugh at your mistakes than to be angry with you, because they don't understand what you are saying. The most important thing for learning English is: "Don't be afraid of making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes."
【小题1】The writer thinks that the most important thing for you to learn a language is________.
| A．reading | B．practising | C．talking about it | D．listening |
| A．be angry with them | B．be angry with yourself |
| C．not care | D．believe you are right |
| A．It is normal (正常的) that we make some mistakes in learning English |
| B．Everyone must make mistakes |
| C．We can avoid making mistakes in learning a language |
| D．Laughing can help one learn English well |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Have you ever seen any students whose trousers hang so low that you can see their underwear? What do you think of that? Fashionable? Some of today’s teenagers are big fans of such a look. But recently this trend has been at the center of an argument in Italian middle schools. The headmaster of a school in central Italy has asked students to stop wearing low-rise jeans that expose underwear and parts of the body. His request came after a class trip, when he saw one boy's baggy trousers slide to his feet. He pointed out that this way of dressing is not suitable for school. But in Italy, a nation that takes fashion very seriously, the suggestion caused a debate among parents, teachers and students. The issue is whether the headmaster's request will limit students' freedom— or whether dress in Italian schools is too casual. A parents' group praised the move in favor of good taste, while others advised schools to stop worrying about fashion and fix up old school buildings. “We do not want to kick fashion out,” the headmaster explained, “but extremes of fashion like this are not right in school.” Many other schools have now requested that their students also stop wearing such trousers. Most students have simply ignored the request. Ludovica Gaudio, 14, wore extremely low trousers exposing orange underwear in class. It was cold, so she wore a matching orange scarf. Another 14-year-old said she would probably respect the request, simply for practical reasons. “I don't really feel comfortable in those sort of jeans，” said Sarah Lattanzi, “in winter, when dressed like that, it's quite cold and I am afraid my stomach will ache.”
【小题1】What led to the argument in Italian middle schools？______
| A．Students' craze for fashions. | B．Clothes that are too exposing. |
| C．Students' ignoring dress codes.（规则） | D．Students' underwear. |
| A．Fashion should be taken seriously. |
| B．Fashion should not be followed in school. |
| C．Students should have their freedom in choosing what they wear. |
| D．Students should be encouraged to have good taste in clothes. |
| A．dress in Italian schools is too casual |
| B．fashion should not be followed in school |
| C．schools should pay attention to things more important than students' clothes |
| D．low-rise jeans can do harm to youngster's health |
| A．show Chinese students that wearing very fashionable clothes in school is under attack in other countries, too. |
| B．show that dress code is necessary even in a country like Italy |
| C．let us see that Italian students react differently to schools' requests. |
| D．tell us that a debate started in Italian middle schools over the way students dress in School |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
But what is teacher quality? How can one measure it reliably?
An analysis is issued on a sample of data from a Texas school district. Experts argue convincingly that teacher effectiveness should be measured by students’ gains on standardized tests: Mr. Smith is probably a better teacher than Ms. Brown if his students consistently improve their test scores more than hers do.
Though this approach is appealing, there are tricky issues. For example, what if Ms. Brown teaches in a school where students score so high there is little room for improvement?
The authors try to correct for this problem, as well as other sorts of measurement issues, to generate a measurement of teacher effectiveness. The paper is primarily concerned with how this measure is related to other observable characteristics.
The first finding is that there is a large variation in teacher effectiveness: some teachers consistently have a larger impact on their students’ achievement than others.
Second, easily observable characteristics like having a master’s degree or a passing score on the teacher certification exam are not correlated关联 with teacher effectiveness.
Then what does matter? The most important single influence is experience: first-year teachers are much less effective than others. The second year is significantly better, and by the fourth year, most teachers hit their stride.
It is not entirely clear whether this experience effect is learning by doing (the more you teach, the more effective you become) or survival of the fittest (those who are not good at teaching tend to drop out early.)
From my reading of the paper, both effects appear important and there is no simple answer. The data do suggest, however, that teacher effectiveness is pretty clear by the end of the second year, so the information to make an informed decision is available at that time.
The authors also investigate the contentious 有争议的issue of racial matching of students and teachers. Here they find strong evidence that minority teachers tend to be more effective with minority students. Again, it is unclear whether this is because of a role model effect (students respond better to a teacher of their own race) or an empathy effect 移情效应(teachers empathize better with students of their own race) or something else entirely.
The authors also look at teacher mobility. There is some evidence that teachers who quit teaching or switch schools tend to be below average in effectiveness. This is consistent with the survival-of-the-fittest model.
【小题1】The schoolmaster could decide wisely whether to further employ the teacher by the end of the ______.
| A．the first year | B．the second year | C．the third year | D．the fourth year |
| A．reach their normal level | B．become confident |
| C．walk with long steps | D．get bored |
| A．teachers will perform better with time passing |
| B．ineffective teachers should leave earlier rather than later |
| C．teacher’s effectiveness is apparent after a couple of years |
| D．a master’s degree will improve teacher’s effectiveness |
| A．Students fell secure, so they respond better. |
| B．Teachers sympathize with students of their own race. |
| C．There are entirely some other identified reasons. |
| D．The reasons are far from clear and definite. |
| A．The Quality of Teaching |
| B．Impact of Teacher Quality on Student Learning |
| C．Different Sorts of Measurement Issues |
| D．Survival-of-the-fittest Model vs. Learning-by-doing Model |
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