Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy（遺產(chǎn)） was far greater that just “great-literature”.
February 7 marks the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A White Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas” － not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today.
In the early 19th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day－unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth－“home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickens” poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.
He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy(官僚作風) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “l(fā)ife mirroring the times of Dickens”.
小題1:The article is mainly about           .
A．a(chǎn) brief introduction to Charles Dickens’
B．Charles Dickens’ impact on the world
C．the characters in Charles Dickens’ stories
D．Charles Dickens’ achievements in literature
小題2:Why is Dickens’ called “the man who invented Christmas”?
A．Because he created both religious and culture festival.
B．Because his novels have something to do with Christmas.
C．Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations.
D．Because he was the first man to have proposed celebrating Christmas.
小題3:We can learn from the passage that           .
A．Charles Dickens’ novels reflect the true life at his age
B．Dickensian is widely used to describe the Christmas
C．Every person can take three days off for Christmas
D．The theme of Charles Dickens’ stories is about poverty
小題4:According to the passage the phrase “red tape” refers to           .
A．regulations that are required to finish a task
B．a(chǎn) situation where poor members of society are hurt
C．conflict between people in power and weaker people
D．a(chǎn)greements made by the underclass of society

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:A
小題4:C

小題1:主旨大意題。本文主要講的是狄更斯對整個世界的影響，故選B。
小題2:細節(jié)題。由第五段“he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing (熾熱的) warmth – “home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.”以及第六段“Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”可知答案為C。
小題3:細節(jié)題。由Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.可知選A。
小題4:推斷詞義題。由倒數(shù)第二段“He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy (官僚作風) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.”可知red tape的意思是官方辦事時的繁文縟節(jié)，所以C項為最佳選項。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Lie in bed, by an open window, and listen…
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I tell her my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and reduce our electric bill. On this first night of our cost-cutting plan, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re going to suffer, but the three kids complain anyway.
They have grown up in 72-degree comfort, protected from the world outside.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother complains down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to turn for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
The neighbor’s dog howls. Probably a passing squirrel. It’s been years since I took the time to really listen to the night.
I think about grandma, who lived to 92 and still helped with my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of grandma’s bed and turn my face toward the open window. I turn the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma saw me turn over and over. “If you just watch for the breeze(清風),” she said, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to move. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus. Neighbors, porch(門廊)-sitting late, speak in unclear words that calm me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old son cries, “I think it was an owl(貓頭鷹)family.”
“Probably,” I tell him, “just keep listening…”
Without the working air conditioner, the house is peaceful, and the natural night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze comes in.
小題1:On the first night of the writer’s cost-cutting plan, her children ______.
A．live a comfortable life as usual
B．begin to be unhappy
C．a(chǎn)re protected from the world outside
D．a(chǎn)re about to die from the heat
小題2:The author talks about her grandmother and her childhood to show that ______.
A．people used to live a hard life
B．people at that time were hardworking
C．it’s OK for people to live a simple life
D．she has learned a great deal from her grandma
小題3:In the writer’s eyes, her children are ______.
A．free from parents’ protection
B．full of dissatisfaction with life
C．dependable because of parents’ love
D．lacking in real test of hardships in life
小題4:Which of the following titles best suits the passage?
A．Waiting for the Breeze.
B．An Interesting Experience.
C．Life at Present and Life in the Past.
D．Different Times, Different Children

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


A woman whose sports car was stolen with her dog in it put up notices all over the area that made it clear getting back her pet was more important than her car．
“Whoever did this can keep my car. Please let Benjerman come home,” the notice said．
It is not known whether the thief showed any pity, but almost 30 hours after the 1 pm theft Friday, Kimberly Atkins of Dover and Benjerman, a 12-year-old black retriever (獵犬), were reunited after police located them in Barrington.
“He’s hungry, he’s dirty, but he’s very happy to be home,” Atkins said．
The car was found at about 5 pm Saturday off Route 125 in a swampy (沼澤地) area frequented by off-the-road cars and dirt bikes. However, the police couldn’t control Benjerman, and they had to call Atkins to come and get him.
Atkins said the thief cared for Benjerman a little by providing him with some dry cat food. She believed Benjerman ended up drinking some muddy water in the area. She said they have been together for nearly 11 years after she took him back from a society shelter in Dallas, Texas.
Before Benjelman was found, Atkins and several friends put up notices all over the city and in Somersworth. They also contacted animal shelters，throughout southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
The notice stated there was a reward, and also that the dog needed medication. Any caller could remain anonymous (匿名的).
Atkins had parked the car outside a hardware store with the keys inside and gone in to rent a carpet cleaner. “It was l0 minutes and I came out and my car was gone along with Benjerman in broad daylight,” Atkins said. The car thief threw Atkins’ wallet and other personal items out of the car before escaping from the scene.
小題1:What would be the best title for the passage?
A．A car with a dog was stolen
B．Lucky dog was returned to his owner
C．Stealing cars: a most important social problem
D．Woman wants dog back more than stolen car
小題2:Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened?
a. Notices were put up saying there was a reward．
b. Atkins saw Benjerman again．
c. Police found Atkins’ car．
d. Atkins took Benjerman back from a society shelter．
e. Atkins hired a carpet cleaner in a hardware store．
A．d, e, a, b, cB．d, e, a, c, bC．e, a, d, b, c D．e, a, c, d, b
小題3:We can infer from the passage _________.
A．the dog was treated extremely badly by the thief
B．car stolen accidents happen frequently nowadays
C．the dog was found because of the reward
D．the thief stole the car easily
小題4:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Benjerman was sent back immediately after Atkins put up the notices.
B．Atkins and her friends made a great effort to look for Benierman.
C．The thief gave the dog back but kept the sports car.
D．The dog was back at 1 pm on a Friday.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those surrounding Christmas trees. One would certainly think otherwise; selecting and putting up our trees have always been filled with risk.
For example, one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain, a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it into the house. Once we did, my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter to build a stand for it.
Another December, perhaps the very next one, we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before. We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable. We easily placed it in a stand, decorated it from top to bottom, and then self-satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light.
Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden; we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off. There was nothing to do but undecorated it, take it down, and begin tree shopping again.
Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task. When we brought it home, once again it seemed larger than it was in the great outdoors. To complicate matters, we had bought a new stand, one whose nuts(螺帽)and bolts(閂子)worked more mysteriously than those of our old stands. I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand. Unfortunately, no one noticed the mud on our helpers’ shoes, so only after removing several reddish brown sports from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments(裝飾)were stored. Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these. I don’t care to hear them, as my family’s experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion: “Let’s forget the tree next Christmas. Let’s simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall.”
小題1:The darkest moments in the writer’s family were with the fact that        .
A．the family bought big Christmas trees
B．they had problems decorating their Christmas trees
C．they had problems picking suitable Christmas trees
D．they had problems finding carpenters for putting up Christmas trees
小題2:We can learn from the passage that the writer would like to        .
A．forget about Christmas stories
B．get the neighbors to put up their trees
C．buy a better tree to celebrate Christmas
D．make other decorations rather than Christmas trees
小題3:When the writer said “my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain”, he means      .
A．she bought the tree at a cheap price B．she didn’t really want to buy it
C．she had to bargain hard with the salesmanD．she couldn’t afford a more expensive one
小題4:Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A．How to Select a Christmas TreeB．No More Christmas Tree for Us
C．Dark Moments of LifeD．Christmas Without Trees

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Minh Pham was born in Vietnam. He left there when he was 21 years old. Minh has been in America for almost two years. There is still much he does not understand about America.?
　　Once, Minh was in a supermarket. He saw an old man and an old woman. They wanted a box of cereal（麥片）.The box was on a high shelf. The man and the woman couldn’t reach it. Minh saw a stepladder. He got on the ladder and got the box. He handed it to the elderly couple. They thanked him.?
　　“Where are your children?” asked Minh. “Why don’t they help you buy food?” “Our children have their own lives,” said the man and the woman. “We like to be independent.” Minh doesn’t think this is right. In his country, children help their parents. Minh gave the elderly couple his phone number. He told them to call him if they needed help. One night they asked Minh to dinner, but they never asked him for help.?
　　One day, Minh was walking with a Vietnamese friend. The two men were going to a movie. Minh wanted to go to a restaurant first. Minh took his friend’s hand. He pulled him towards the restaurant. People on the street stared at Minh. In Vietnam, friends often hold hands. Minh found that the people in America are not used to men holding hands.?
　　Minh Pham is going through a process（過程） known as resocialization. Socialization（社會化） is the process in which a person learns to live in a society. Everyone goes through this process. Minh went through it when he lived in Vietnam. But the Vietnamese way of life is rather different from the American way of life. When Minh came to America, he had to learn a new way of life. He had to learn how to live in a new society. Minh has learned a lot about American life in two years. He still has a lot to learn. The process of resocialization can take many years.?
小題1:The main idea of the passage is that socialization is the way in which a person ______.?
A．learns to live in a society
B．travels from one country to another
C．learns to act independently
D．learns about their country
小題2:The passage states that Minh didn’t understand why the elderly man and woman were not ______.
A．helped by their childrenB．shopping for their children?
C．holding handsD．using a stepladder?
小題3:According to the passage, socialization happens to ______.
A．only the Vietnamese in AmericaB．only Americans?
C．only older peopleD．everyone?
小題4:The underlined word “resocialization” means ______.?
A．keeping one’s own way of life?
B．keeping up with others?
C．a(chǎn) process of learning how to live in a new society?
D．understanding a new culture?

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Henry Loomis served as director of the Voice of America for seven years starting in 1958.Mr Loomis played an important role in creating the Special English service .
Henry Loomis was born in 1919 Tuxedo Park , New York. His father was Alfred Lee Loomis , a rich New York City businessman .In 1940, Henry Loomis dropped out of Harvard University to join the United States Navy .He was able to put to good use his knowledge of radar technology that he had learned about because of his father’s work .After graduating at the top in his naval(海軍的) training class, Henry Loomis became a teacher at the Navy's radar training school in Hawaii. By the end of World War Two, Henry Loomis had received many honors for his service, including a Bronze Star and an Air Medal. He left the Navy in 1946 to begin graduate（研究生）studies.
Henry Loomis later moved to Washington, D.C. to begin another part of his career in public service. He held positions in the Department of Defense and other agencies: In 1958, he became director of the Voice of America.
During his travels around the world, Mr. Loomis saw that English was becoming an
important international language. He believed that it was important to make English easier to
understand by listeners of VOA broadcasts whose native language was not English. So Mr. Loomis asked VOA program manager Barry Zorthian to develop a way to broadcast to listeners
with a limited knowledge of English:
The result of this effort was Special English: The first Voice of America broadcast in Special English took place on October 19th, 1959. Those against his ideas at the time said the Special English method of broadcasting at a slower rate with a limited vocabulary would never work, it was not practical. American embassies（大使館） demanded that the program be called off. But Mr. Loomis supported the program.
Soon, VOA began to receive hundreds of letters from listeners praising the program. Special English programs became some of the most popular on VOA. We are pleased to say that our programs still are.
小題1:We can know from the passage that Henry Loomis______．
A．was born in a poor family
B．did well in his naval training class
C．stayed in the Navy for nearly 8 years
D．joined the army immediately after graduating from university
小題2:What is the second paragraph mainly about?
A．Henry Loomis's childhood.
B．Henry Loomis's whole business.
C．Henry Loomis's background.
D．Henry Loomis's army life.
小題3:What led to Henry Loomis's idea of Special English programs?
A. His experience in the Navy.
B. His experience in the Department of Defense.(國防部)
C. His early dream of promoting the influence of VOA.
D. His finding VOA programs are too difficult for non-native listeners.
小題4:Those who were against his ideas of Special English programs said______
A．Special English programs were not practical
B．it would cost too much to make Special English programs
C．it was unnecessary to broadcast Special English programs
D．Special English programs wouldn't help listeners in improving their English

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Princess Diaries star Anne Hathaway has announced she is engaged(訂婚).The actress, 29，confirmed the news after she was photographed wearing a ring while with her boyfriend Adam Shulman in Brooklyn yesterday. Shulman, an actor and jewellery designer, worked with Kwiat Heritage Jewels to create the ring. The pair quietly began dating in November 2008，but weren't pictured together until the following year.
“We hit it off immediately the first time we met each other but it took us a pretty long time to get together," she has said of Shulman. “He thought that I had a boyfriend and I thought that he had a girlfriend, so I thought that I'd better keep my distance because I didn't want to be that girl. She described their union as more mature than her previous experiences, adding, “Being mature doesn't always make for a good story, but it makes for a good life.”
Speaking about the relationship in the September issue(期刊)of U.K.s Marie Claire, she said, “Adam totally ruined my plan. I was really actually looking forward to a little time alone tod then I fell in love like a fool. Her romance with Shulman followed a disastrous relationship with an Italian real estate(地產(chǎn))developer Raffaello Follieri. She split up with him in 2008 when he was arrested on fraud(欺詐)charges and he was later sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
The actress, whose film credits also include Brokeback Mountain and One Day, will next star in the new The Dark Knight Rises. She plays Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman.
小題1:How many films Anne Hathaway acted in are mentioned in the passage?
A．Two.B．Three.C．Four.D．Five.
小題2:Which of the following is the correct order to describe Anne's life according to the passage?
a. She confirmed the news that she was engaged.
b. She split up with Raffaello Follieri.
c. She was photographed wearing a ring.
d. She and Adam Shulman were pictured together.
A．b-d-c-aB．d-b-a-cC．b-a-d-cD．d-c-b-a
小題3:The underlined part “hit it off” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.
A．gave upB．took downC．got on wellD．turned away
小題4:It can be inferred from the passage that  _______.
A．Marie Claire is a travel guide
B．Anne split up with Raffaello because of Shulman
C．Follieri totally ruined Anne's life
D．the relationship with Raffaello hurt Anne

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


When an official at the U. S. Open Pocket Pool(臺球)Championship saw a 9-year-old girl playing at one of the tournament tables, he told her that spectators(觀眾)were not allowed to play. But much to his surprise, the girl was actually a competitor. That was nine years ago, and today, with five U. S. Open Women’s titles behind her and a recently won world championship, no one is likely to mistake Jean Balukas for a spectator again.
It doesn’t seem too surprising that Jean became caught up in pool——her father owns a pool hall within walking distance of the family’s home in Brooklyn. When she was just tall enough to see over the table, she fell in love with the game soon. Five years later Jean was ready to enter her first U. S. Open. She still remembers the letter the officials sent her reminding her that she wouldn’t be allowed to stand on a box to play.

As Jean improved, she found it increasingly difficult to play games at her father’s pool hall. “If I’d beat one of the guys, his friends would laugh at them about losing to me,” she says. Now Jean comes to the hall only weeks before a tournament when she plays Johnny Goon, her father’s pool manager.
That Johnny can beat her shows the gap that now exists in pool — as in other sports — between the top men and women competitors. “I’m supposedly the top woman player, but I’d have a hard time beating the number 50 man,” says Jean. “If I was a boy and played pool, I’d be a nobody.”
Jean thinks that women pool players still have a long way to go because pool has been a man’s game for so long. “When they think of pool players, people have this picture in their head of gambling(賭博) and smoke,” she says.
Jean won four of the seven games in these two years. She was as surprised as anyone else at her performance, even though she was a New York City tennis champion and center for her high-school basketball team. Jean does not take full credit for her achievements, saying, “I think what I have in sports is a gift from God, and that’s why I can get out there and do so well.”
小題1:We can learn from the first passage that Jean Balukas_____.
A．had become well-known at the age of 9
B．had achieved great fame at the age of 18
C．was often asked to play with men players
D．was refused to play in the U. S. Open for her young age
小題2:The letter Jean received before her first U. S. Open_____.
A．told her to arrive in time for the game
B．showed people’s doubt about her ability
C．told her about the basic rules of the game
D．invited her to compete in the U. S. Open
小題3:Jean Balukas believed that women pool players_____.
A．fall far behind men players
B．a(chǎn)ren’t suitable for a man’s game
C．a(chǎn)re impossible to beat any man player
D．have a bad reputation(名聲) for gambling and smoking
小題4:By saying the underlined words in the last paragraph Jean meant that _____.
A．women players had a long way to go
B．she wouldn’t stop before her great achievement
C．she had much confidence in the game
D．she achieved her success because of her born gift

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Once Dr.Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his  students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．
Dr.Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．
"Are you getting food you like?"
The patient said nothing．
"Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"
The answer was no．
The doctor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and his voice was very soft．
"If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"
"Yes, yes," the patient said．
The change in the patient’s appearance couldn’t have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn’t getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"
"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn’t carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"
"I would probably insist," the student said．
"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won’t be easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let’s get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he’ll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"
Three weeks later, Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．
小題1:The patient had no desire to eat because         .
A．he was not hungryB．he was seriously ill
C．he was given special mealsD．he was not satisfied with the food
小題2:According to the passage, we can conclude that       .
A．the patient’s native language was Spanish
B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger
C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient
D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient
小題3:Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?
A．Cold.B．Considerate.C．Curious.D．Careless.
小題4:What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff  wanted to tell his students in this case?
A．Doctors should be good at foreign languages.
B．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems.
C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills.
D．Doctors should have a good relationship with their patients.

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