In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired(雇傭) a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours. It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
【小題1】Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they _____.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbours |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don’t want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to be good friends with their neighbours |
| A．live outside New York City | B．live in New York City |
| C．live in apartments | D．have many neighbours |
| A．a(chǎn)n important name |
| B．a(chǎn) popular name in the United States |
| C．his neighbour’s name |
| D．a(chǎn) name often used by the rich |
| A．correct | B．interesting | C．impossible | D．Good |
【小題1】B
【小題2】A
【小題3】B
【小題4】C
解析試題分析：本文敘述了一個(gè)習(xí)語(yǔ)“Keeping up with the Joneses”的意思及來(lái)歷。在美國(guó)人們希望人們認(rèn)為他是富有的，富人做什么，他們就做什么。這個(gè)習(xí)語(yǔ)是有美國(guó)人Arthur Momand.在1913年首次使用的。他當(dāng)時(shí)就學(xué)富人一樣去生活，結(jié)果從繁華的富人區(qū)搬到了紐約市區(qū)一個(gè)公寓里。一個(gè)人一定會(huì)厭倦了試圖趕上別人,因?yàn)闊o(wú)論他做了什么，似乎總是領(lǐng)先，因此趕上富人是不可能的。
【小題1】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第一段的And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is即使他沒有變得非常富有,他希望人們認(rèn)為他是富有的。故選B。
【小題2】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第二段的He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City他結(jié)婚了,和妻子搬到紐約以外有錢人住的區(qū)域。從中可知有錢人住在紐約市區(qū)外。故選A。
【小題3】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段的 He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. 故選B。
【小題4】推理判斷題。最后一段的But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.但是一個(gè)人一定會(huì)厭倦了試圖趕上別人,因?yàn)闊o(wú)論他做了什么,瓊斯先生（富人）似乎總是領(lǐng)先。從中可知趕上富人是不可能的。故選C。
考點(diǎn)：人生百味類短文閱讀。
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解
We’ve reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.
Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.
It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.
【小題1】What is the “strange” point mentioned in the first sentence?
| A．Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world. |
| B．WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety. |
| C．The good life is a greater risk than the bad life. |
| D．Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts. |
| A．They have been made fully aware of its dangers. |
| B．A lot of effective diet pills are available. |
| C．Body image has nothing to do with good food. |
| D．There are too many overweight people in the world. |
| A．the cause of heart disease |
| B．the effectiveness of a campaign |
| C．the fashion of body shaping |
| D．the history of a body-conscious country |
| A．Overweight or Underweight? | B．WHO in a Dilemma |
| C．No Longer Dying of Hunger | D．Actions or Excuses? |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解
Taste is such a subjective matter that we don’t usually conduct preference tests for food. The most you can say about anyone’s preference is that it’s one person’s opinion. But because the two big cola companies—Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola are marketed so aggressively, we’ve wondered how big a role taste preference actually plays in brand loyalty. We set up a taste test that challenged people who identified themselves as either Coca-Cola or Pepsi fans: Find your brand in a blind tasting.
We invited staff volunteers who had a strong liking for either Coca-Cola Classic (傳統(tǒng)型) or Pepsi, Diet (低糖的) Coke, or Diet Pepsi. These were people who thought they’d have no trouble telling their brand from the other brand.
We eventually located 19 regular cola drinkers and 27 diet cola drinkers. Then we fed them four unidentified samples of cola one at a time, regular colas for the one group, diet versions for the other. We asked them to tell us whether each sample was Coke or Pepsi; then we analyzed the records statistically to compare the participants’ choices with what mere guess-work could have accomplished.
Getting all four samples right was a tough test, but not too tough, we thought, for people who believed they could recognize their brand. In the end, only 7 out of 19 regular cola drinkers correctly identified their brand of choice in all four trials. The diet-cola drinkers did a little worse----only 7 of 27 identified all four samples correctly.
While both groups did better than chance would predict, nearly half the participants in each group made the wrong choice two or more times. Two people got all four samples wrong. Overall, half the participants did about as well on the last round of tasting as on the first, so tiredness, or taste burnout, was not a factor. Our preference test results suggest that only a few Pepsi participants and Coke fans may really be able to tell their favorite brand by taste and price.
【小題1】According to the passage the preference test was conducted in order to ________.
| A．show that a person’s opinion about taste is mere guess-work |
| B．compare the ability of the participants in choosing their drinks |
| C．find out the role taste preference plays in a person’s drinking |
| D．reveal which cola is more to the liking of the drinkers |
| A．the competition between the two colas is very strong |
| B．blind tasting is necessary for identifying fans |
| C．the purpose of taste tests is to promote the sale of colas |
| D．the improvement of quality is the chief concern of the two cola companies |
| A．being seriously burnt in the skin |
| B．being badly damaged by fire |
| C．being unable to function because of excessive use |
| D．being unable to burn for lack of fuel |
| A．emphasize that taste and price are closely related to each other |
| B．recommend that blind tasting be introduced in the quality control of colas |
| C．show that taste preference is highly subjective |
| D．a(chǎn)rgue that taste testing is an important marketing strategy |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解
A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C．Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．In a natural reflex (反應(yīng)), I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office.
In an instant, I realized what I had done．I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．This incident re-awakened my belief in humility (謙恭), even though I’d lost it for a moment．
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S．a(chǎn)t the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother．Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer．
In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice (偏見)．I remember a time, at age 17 — I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it’s like, and I should have known better．
But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．
【小題1】We can learn from the first two paragraphs that____________________．
| A．the author regretted his act of prejudice |
| B．the blind woman needed the money badly |
| C．the author was as poor as the blind woman |
| D．the author was a native American |
| A．rather hurt | B．very excited | C．deeply moved | D．greatly inspired |
| A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled |
| B．try to experience different kinds of life |
| C．treat others equally with love and respect |
| D．think about one’s past as often as possible |
| A．Learn from Your Past | B．How My Dream Comes True |
| C．A Belief That Will Never Change | D．A Priceless Lesson in the Street |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解
It’s parents’ worst nightmare. Their child doesn’t come home one evening and is missing for several days.
When a 14-year-old boy from Atlanta, Georgia disappeared earlier this year, his mother turned to her Smartphone for clues using an app（應(yīng)用程序） called Family Tracker that helped track his location.
“You can see where your loved ones are without having to call or bother them. ”said Roberto Franceschetti of LogSat, the creators of the Family Tracker, which has more than 100,000 users and is available worldwide.
Parents can track the location of their child on a map, send messages, and even sound an alarm on the phone in a long distance.
“We have an option for the sender to make a very unpleasant, noisy sound. It’s a loud alarm and we repeat that sound every two minutes until the person picks it up, ”he said.
Parents don’t need to own a Smartphone to track their children. The service is also accessible through the web, as long as the phone that is being tracked is running the app.
Family Tracker has an additional service that keeps records of all data from the app for a two-week period, which the company calls GPS breadcrumbs.
“With a subscription（預(yù)定）, we keep all the locations where people have been on our servers. You can see where your kid has been for the past two weeks. You can find out where someone was at a certain time or when that person was at a specific place, ”Franceschetti explained.
“When somebody gets abducted（劫持）, usually whoever does this throws the phone away or takes the battery out. We were hoping that our app would at least provide information on where the person was abducted or where they had been in the past. ”
But will these types of apps let out personal secrets?
“The advantages are huge compared to the disadvantages. Let’s not forget that the person always has to give initial permission—no one can be tracked unless they allow someone to do it. ”said Franceschetti.
【小題1】According to the passage, all of the following about “Family Tracker” are true EXCEPT that __________.
| A．it can help parents know where their children are |
| B．a(chǎn)ll parents don’t need to own a Smartphone to track children |
| C．parents can use all the services of the app for free |
| D．it has little to do with letting out personal secrets |
| A．The app will enjoy a great popularity in the future. |
| B．The loss of children won’t be a nightmare for parents any more. |
| C．The app will repeat the loud alarm continuously whenever parents track children. |
| D．The app can keep records of information for more than half a month. |
| A．a(chǎn), b, c, e | B．a(chǎn), c, e, f | C．a(chǎn), c, d, e | D．a(chǎn), d, e, f |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解
A few days ago we ––– that’s me and the husband ––– took a cab to the station. Chat with the driver fell to the wrong of cyclists, and the misunderstanding of the road rules. So far as the rules of the road go, there seems to be one basic principle: when you are driving a car you hate bikes, when you are riding a bike you hate cars (and I guess walkers hate everyone).
There is an obvious difference of viewpoint built in here. It wasn’t until I started to drive a car (almost 20 years after I had first ridden a bike) that I actually realized that you could not see a cyclist at night without lights. In fact I now want to shout at late night cyclists without lights (like motorists once did at me): “ You’ll get killed, sunshine, I can’t see you.”
The problem is that cyclists do ride headlong into danger. It's not just not having lights. It’s biking on pavements (and so threatening to injure a load of innocent walkers in the process) and biking down one-way streets the wrong way.
I admit that I do bike the wrong way down a one-way street sometimes. My feeble(軟弱無(wú)力) defense is that I try always to do it as if I know I was doing wrong. That is slowly, with an apologetic look on the face, and ready to get off at any minute. I can’t bear the guys(一伙人) (usually, but not always it is guys) who do it as if they owned the place, and at high speed.
So cyclists are not entirely innocent. But they are among the disadvantaged groups, because the bottom line is that a car or a lorry can kill a cyclist and not the other way around.
【小題1】 When did the writer realize the danger for late night cyclists without lights?
| A．Not until she became a driver herself. |
| B．Not until she had driven a car for 20 years. |
| C．After she was shouted at by a motorist. |
| D．After she was once knocked down by a group of guys. |
| A．a(chǎn)ngry | B．guilty |
| C．innocent | D．proud |
| A．drivers | B．passers-by |
| C．cyclists | D．motorists |
| A．She often took a cab with her husband. |
| B．She has been a motorist for over 20 years. |
| C．She used to ride a bike without lights at night. |
| D．She often biked the wrong way down a one-way street. |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解
It’s 8;30, time for John to start work. So he turns on his radio. Then he eats breakfast. As he eats , he reads his e-mail and reviews his to do list. Then he sits on the sofa and thinks about an article he needs to write --- wait a minute! Radio ? Breakfast ? Sofa ?What kind of workplace is this ? Well,actually it is John’s house, and he is a telecommuter—he works at home,communicating with the workplace through the internet.
Like John,millions of people ---and their employers--- are finding that telecommuting is a great way to work . Telecommuters can follow their own schedules. They work in the comfort of their homes, where they can also look after young children or elderly parents,they save time and money by not traveling to work. Their employers save,too,because they need less office space and furniture. Studies show that telecommuters change jobs less often.This saves employers even more money.Telecommuting helps society,too,by reducing pollution and traffic problems.
Jobs that are suited to telecommuting include writing,design work, computer programming and accounting(會(huì)計(jì)). If a job involves working with information, a telecommuter can probably do it.
【小題1】From the passage we know that John does his job ______.
| A．By telephone | B．Through the Internet |
| C．In his office | D．Away from home |
| A．work for several employers |
| B．Enjoy a lot of traveling |
| C．Get along well with other workers |
| D．Work on your own schedule |
| A．their employers can save money |
| B．their employers will give them a higher pay |
| C．they can get more work experience |
| D．they will have a longer paid holiday. |
| A．a(chǎn)cceptable | B．bad for |
| C．difficult for | D．fit for |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解
I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.
I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows (誓約) mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today.
So here's what I wanted to tell you today: get a life. A real life, not a desire of the next promotion (提升), the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love，and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure(休閑) but work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted.
It is so easy to waste our lives，our days，our hours，and our minutes. It is so easy to exist instead of living. I learned to live many years ago. Something really，really bad happened to me，something that changed my life. If I had my choice，it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what，today，seems to be the hardest lesson of all.
I learned to love the journey，not the destination. I learned to look at all the good in the world and tried to give some of it back because I believed in it，completely and totally. And I tried to do that，in part，by telling others what I had learned.
By telling them this：read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a deadly illness，because if you do，you will live with joy and passion(激情) as it ought to be lived.
【小題1】How did the author form her view of life?
| A．Through social experience. |
| B．By learning from her friends. |
| C．Through an unfortunate experience. |
| D． From her children and husband. |
| A．make a living rather than live a real life |
| B．work rather than enjoy life |
| C．waste a lot in life |
| D．forget the most important lesson in life |
| A．Do it well to serve others. |
| B．Earn enough money to make life better. |
| C．Try your best to get higher position and pay. |
| D．Don’t let it affect your real life. |
| A．the author is a success in personal life |
| B．the author doesn’t try her best to work well |
| C．the author spends all her time caring for her children |
| D．the author likes traveling very much |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解
How I Turned to Be Optimistic
I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see-—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to "the hard times."
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.
【小題1】How did the author get to know America?
| A． From her relatives. | B． From her mother. |
| C． From books and pictures. | D． From radio programs. |
| A．confused | B．excited |
| C．worried | D．a(chǎn)mazed |
| A．often lost her way | B．did not think about her future |
| C．studied in three different schools | D．got on well with her stepfather |
| A．her future will be free from troubles |
| B．it is difficult to learn to become patient |
| C．there are more good things than bad things |
| D．good things will happen if one keeps trying |
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