English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many as two million words.
However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.     We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探討它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,  public bathrooms have no baths in them.     And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible ; but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.
【小題1】According to the passage ______.

A．sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things
B．there should be egg in an eggplant
C．pineapples are the apples on the pine tree
D．boxing rings should be round
【小題2】Which of the following is the correct plural?
A．Beeth.B．Geese.C．Meese.D．Tooth.
【小題3】Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?
A．A wise man and a wise guy.
B．Overlook and oversee.
C．Quite a lot and quite a few.
D．Hot as hell and cold as hell
【小題4】Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.
A．clever B．crazyC．lazyD．dull


【小題1】A
【小題2】B
【小題3】C
【小題4】A

解析

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Nearly all the tourists who come to southeast France make a tour to Monaco(摩納哥), too. Lying near the French-Italian border, Monaco is not part of France, but a separate principality(公國(guó)), though it is surrounded by its greatest neighbour.
Monaco became a principality in the 16th century after being owned by a family member of a certain Italian king. The French and Italians, however, soon came to “protect” it one after another, until 1861, when it became its own master again.
Facing the blue Mediterranean(地中海), Monaco is mainly made up of two cities, Monaco, where the palace of the prince(王子)stands, and Monte Carlo(蒙特卡洛), which is a wonderful place for tourists. Every year, around half a million people from all parts of the world come to Monaco, nearly 25 times as much as its population.
Believe it or not, Monaco has no soldiers or policemen of its own. Law and order is kept by French police, and French stands for it in its foreign affairs, even the money used in Monaco is franc, too.
【小題1】Monaco is　　　.

A．a(chǎn)nother name for Monte Carlo
B．mostly visited by French tourists
C．surrounded by France
D．more related to Italy than to France
【小題2】 Monaco has a population of　　　.
A．over 20, 000　　　　　 B．20, 000 or so
C．more than 25, 000 D．no more than 20, 000
【小題3】 Which of the following is TRUE?
A．The national income of Monaco depends mainly on France.
B．Monaco is famous for having no soldiers or policemen of its own.
C．Monaco does not have a seat in the UN because it is too small a country.
D．Monte Carlo City seems more important for the existence of this principality.
【小題4】 The Head of Monaco is　　　.
A．the King
B．the President of France
C．a(chǎn) member of the royal family
D．the Emperor

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

  It looked like a typical business meeting. Six men, neatly dressed in white shirts and ties filed into the boardroom of a small Jakarta company and sat down at a long table. But instead of consulting files or hearing reports, they closed their eyes and began to meditate, consulting the spirits of ancient Javanese kings. Mysticism touches almost every aspect of life in Indonesia and business is no exception. One of the meditators said his weekly meditation sessions are aimed mainly at bringing the peace of mind that makes for good decision-making. But the insight gained from mystic communication with spirits of wise kings has also helped boost the profits of his five companies.
Mysticism and profits have come together since the 13th century introduction of Islam to Indonesia by Indian Moslem merchants. Those devout traders, called ‘Wali Ullah’ or ‘those close to God, ’ energetically spread both trade and religion by adapting their appeals to the native mysticism of Java. Legends attribute magic power of foreknowledge to the Wali Ullah. These powers were believed to be gained through meditation and fasting.
Businessman Hadisiko said his group fasts and meditates all night every Thursday to become closer to God and to contact the spirits of the great men of the past. ‘If we want to employ someone at the managerial level, we meditate together and often the message comes that this man can’t hole onto money or he is untrustworthy. Or maybe the spirits will tell us he should be hired.’  Hadiziko hastened to add that his companies also hold modern personnel management systems and that formal qualifications are essential for a candidate even to be considered. Perspective investments also are considered through mystic meditation. ‘With the mind relaxed and open, it is easier to be objective in judging the risk of a new venture. Meditation and contact with the wisdom of the old leaders sharpens your own insight and intuition. Then you have to apply that intuition to the information you have and work hard to be successful. ’ Mystic meditation helped reverse a business slide his companies experienced in the mid-1980. Operating with normal business procedures, he lost more than $ 3 millions in that year alone. Meditation brought back his peace of mind. Putting the right persons in the right jobs and gaining confidence in his business decisions were the keys to a turning around that has brought expansion and profitability. The mysticism in Handspike’s boardroom is part of a growing movement in Indonesia called Kebatinan – the ‘search for the inner self.’
One of his managers, Yusuf Soemado, who studied business administration at Harvard University, compared the idea of mystic management to western system of positive thinking. ‘Willpower and subconscious mind are recognized as important factors in business. Such approaches as psycho-cybernetics, Carnegie’s think and growth rates, or the power of positive thinking are western attempts to tap the same higher intelligence that we contact through meditation,’ he said.
【小題1】What is the most important factor in their doing business?
[A] Mysticism.
Religion.
[C] Meditation.
[D] Investment.
【小題2】Whom do they consult?
[A] The spirits of ancient Javanese kings.
Wali Ullah.
[C] Old Kings.
[D] Carnegie.
【小題3】Why did Hadisike hasten to add ‘his companies also hold modern personnel management systems…’?
[A] He thought Mysticism was not so good as expected.
To show they too focused on qualifications.
[C] To show they hired qualified persons.
[D] To show the possibility of combination of the scientific management with religion.
【小題4】According to the passage, the function of the meditation is
[A] to gain profit from the god.
to gain peace of mind to make decision.
[C] to gain foreknowledge.
[D] to gain objective conclusion.
【小題5】What does ‘operating with normal business procedures’ refer to?
[A] Adopting the western way of doing business.
Ordinary way of doing business without meditation and fasting.
[C] Contact with God.
[D] Putting right persons in the right jobs.
Vocabulary
file into          魚貫而入，排隊(duì)進(jìn)去
Jakarta          雅加達(dá)
meditate          沉思，冥想，反省
Java          爪哇
Javanese          爪哇的
mysticism          神秘主義
boost          促進(jìn)，增加，提高
devout          虔誠(chéng)的，熱誠(chéng)的
appeal (to)       向……呼吁，求助于，魅力
legend          傳說，神話
fasting          禁食，齋戒
hold onto          抓緊，保住
personnel management system    人事管理制度
perspective investment    遠(yuǎn)景投資
venture          （商業(yè)）投機(jī)，風(fēng)險(xiǎn)
sharpen          使……敏銳/尖銳，磨尖
business slide       買賣/企業(yè)滑坡，下滑
turn around       （生意）好轉(zhuǎn)，轉(zhuǎn)變
subconscious       下意識(shí)的，潛意識(shí)的
cybernetics       控制論
Carnegie          卡耐基
tap          開拓，選擇

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Beer and fried chicken — Thanks to a South Korean drama currently on air, Man From the Stars, this new mix-and-match junk food trend has become popular among young audiences, despite its unhealthy nature. Indeed, South Korean TV dramas, or K-drama for short, have been a major force in the South Korean pop-culture wave that has captured the hearts of young Chinese audiences. According to iQiyi, a video website that features Man From the Stars, by Feb 15, the number of views for the TV drama hit 370 million in China.
“It is interesting to explore what elements of those dramas appeal to audiences. It’s obviously more than just pretty faces,” says Yan Feng, a professor of Chinese literature at Fudan University. Reflected by audiences, culture critics and insiders of the industry, youth fantasy, creative storylines, cultural proximity, and well-organized production all add up to K-drama’s success, along with, of course, those handsome and cute faces dressed in the latest fashion trends.
“Everyone fancies a perfect partner, handsome or beautiful,” says Zhou Ying, a professor at Chongqing Technology and Business University. “The South Korean TV industry is feeding this need.” After Lee Min-ho appeared on CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala, he became the most famous South Korean in China. Only weeks later, Kim Soo-hyun, lead actor in Man From the Stars, swept the country. Apart from pretty faces, fashion is another highlight of the series. Each time actors from the series wear a new set of outfits, similar clothes experience a sales boom online, according to Xiao Yi, a Taobao store owner.
As is known, with love triangles, incurable diseases, and Cinderella tales, storylines in South Korean dramas may seem a bit commonplace. While The Man From the Stars challenges this by putting aliens and time travel into these existing stories, Peng Sanyuan, a screenwriter, says a focus on detail is a key factor in the success of these dramas. “In order to accurately target audiences and find emotional reflections with them, more and more female writers are working in the industry,” says Peng about her experience of exchanging ideas with South Korean colleagues. According the experts, South Korean writers somehow make sense of these plots, no matter how unlikely it seems.
【小題1】Why has beer and fried chicken become so popular among Chinese young people at present?

A．Because the food tastes very great.
B．Because they want to change the trend.
C．Because the food is good for their health.
D．Because they are deeply affected by the Korean TV drama.
【小題2】What’s the meaning of the underlined word “proximity” in paragraph 2?
A．similarity B．difference C．conflict D．curiosity
【小題3】According to the whole passage, how many elements can lead to the appeal of Korean dramas?
A．Two B．Four C．Six D．Seven
【小題4】After reading the third paragraph, which of the following is right?
A．Lee Min-ho is the lead actor in Man From the Stars.
B．Kim Soo-hyun appeared on CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala
C．The similar clothes worn by the Korean actors become very hot online.
D．Everyone has a perfect partner, who is handsome or beautiful.
【小題5】What makes Man From the Stars different from other K-dramas according to the last paragraph?
A．Female writers B．Creative stories C．Pretty faces D．Fashionable clothes

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Do you ever wonder why the English have one word for some animals and a different one for their meat? Why do they use pig and pork, cow and beef, and sheep and mutton? To find it out, we have to go back to 1066, when the Norman French invaded England and put a French king on the English throne (王位), which not only changed the government but also changed the language. French became the language of the upper classes of society. And it remained that way for 300 years. Only these high society people could afford to eat meat. As a result, French words like porc (pork) and beouf (beef) came into the English language. However, poor English farmers raised the animals. So the English language retained the words pig and cow from the Native Anglo-Saxon.
The Norman French added about 10,000 French words to the English language. Seventy-five percent of them are still in use today.
In French grammar, nouns have either a male or female gender (性別), so adjectives (形容詞) take different forms for each. English has only one adjective that does this, and it came from French. The word “blond” describes someone with light-colored hair. “Blond” is used for men, and “blonde” describes women. And they are also nouns.
Some French words that entered the English language have taken on completely different meanings. The French phrase “a la mode” means “in style”. In English, the phrase means “with the ice cream”. Someone must have decided something eaten with ice cream was in style!
Now, as you learn English, you’re on your way to learning French!
【小題1】French was once popular among the upper classes of the UK because_____.

A．too many French moved to Britain
B．French brought animals with them
C．the king and his officials spoke French
D．the king allowed French to be spoken
【小題2】Which word can replace the word “retained” in Paragraph 1?
A．ChoseB．KeptC．IntroducedD．Give up
【小題3】Why does an English speaker find French easy to learn?
A．Because English and French share similar pronunciations.
B．Because English grammar and French grammar are similar.
C．Because a large number of English words have French origins.
D．Because English has great influences on the French language.
【小題4】French grammar is very different from English grammar because ______.
A．no words have the same pronunciation
B．a(chǎn)ll words have the same pronunciation
C．English nouns have a male or female gender
D．French nouns have different adjective forms
【小題5】What conclusion can we draw from the text?
A．Language is closely related to history and culture.
B．French and English words have nothing in common.
C．Language is controlled by the upper classes of society.
D．English combines French and the Native Anglo-Saxon.

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Three­quarters of a million tourists flock to the white beaches every year, but this booming industry has come at a price. Poisonous smoke rising from open fires, rubbish made up of plastic bottles, packets...it's_a_far_cry_from the white sands, clear waters and palm trees that we associate with the Maldives(馬爾代夫), the paradise island holiday destination set in the Indian Ocean.
Of its 200 inhabited islands, which are spread across an area of 35,000 square miles, 99 are good resorts(度假勝地). So many tourists come every year, more than double the local population. Of these tourists, over 100,000 travel from the UK. The capital, Malé， is four times more densely populated than London. Given these facts, it's hardly surprising that the Maldives has a waste disposal problem.
Years ago, when the tourists left, the government had to deal with a stream of rubbish. Their solution was to turn one of the islands into a dumping ground. Four miles west of Malé is the country's dumping ground, Thilafushi. What you are seeing here is a view of the Maldives on which no honeymooners will ever clap eyes. Each visitor produces 3.5 kg of waste per day. The country dumps more than 330 tons of rubbish on the island every day.
Now, since many waste boats, fed up with waiting seven hours or more, directly offload their goods into the sea, the government of the Maldives has banned the dumping of waste on the island. So, the waste boats ship the rubbish to India instead.
【小題1】What is the main cause of the waste disposal problem?

A．The big local population.
B．Too many waste boats.
C．The large number of tourists.
D．Open fires on the islands.
【小題2】The underlined part can probably be replaced by “________”．
A．it's quite similar to B．it's a long distance from
C．it's a loud shout fromD．it's totally different from
【小題3】What can we learn from the text?
A．It is much more crowded in Malé than in London.
B．Another island will be used as a dumping ground.
C．No honeymooners are willing to visit the Maldives.
D．Waste on islands will be offloaded directly into the sea.
【小題4】What's the author's purpose in writing the text?
A．To attract more tourists to the Maldives.
B．To state the waste disposal problem in the Maldives.
C．To call on us to protect the environment.
D．To explain the causes of pollution in the Maldives.

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Many people take it for granted that black is a color of bad things while white should always mean something good. This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity. However, that is not always the case. Did you know that the same one color may mean differently in different places of the world?
In the English-speaking world, black is the color of mourning. People wear black clothes at the funeral. Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed (流血). Yellow is the word for fear. If you are afraid, you are yellow. Yet none of these sayings is true outside the English-speaking world. In China and Korea white is the color of mourning. In Russia, China and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence. In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear.
Even within the English-speaking area it is not difficult to find color contradictions (矛盾). A redcap in the United States is a porter in a railway station. In Britain, however, a redcap is a military policeman. Both names are logical because both men wear red caps. Similarly, the British term for an American white collar worker is sometimes called a black-coated worker.
One does not have to cross an area to find color differences. Would you rather be red-blooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest. The expression "blueblood" comes from Spain, where some noble families proudly said that they had "blue blood". But then why "blue" blood? Because they were fairskinned, and it is only natural that their blood vessels (血管) stood out appearing blue.
【小題1】Yellow is concerned with anger in _______.             

A．RussiaB．BritainC．GermanyD．China
【小題2】The two meanings of the term "redcap" form a difference in _______.     
A．pronunciationB．climateC．logical relationshipD．custom
【小題3】Both Britain and America would probably agree that _______.         
A．black is the color of mourning
B．a(chǎn) black-coated worker is employed in an office
C．red stands for beauty and excellence
D．a(chǎn) redcap is a porter in a station
【小題4】The best title for this passage is _______.        
A．The Origin of Blue Blood
B．The Development of the Symbolic Use of Colors
C．Colors that Carry Bad Meanings
D．The Meaning Concerned With Certain Colors
【小題5】When some Spanish called themselves "blueblood", they actually meant _______.  
A．they had heart trouble and their faces looked blue
B．they came from a noble family
C．they had blue blood in their vessels
D．they were fairskinned

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

J.K. Rowling set children’s imaginations on fire. Can the creator of Harry Potter do the same for a grown-up audience? The British author will find out on September 27, when more than 2 million hardcover(精裝書) copies of her first novel for adults hit bookstores in the UK and the US, along with the digital edition. Set in a little English town, The Casual Vacancy is about an election held after an unexpected death.
Michael Pietsch, Rowling’s US publisher, says the novel reminded him of Dickens “because of the humanity, the humor, the social concerns, the intensely real characters”. No magic though, apparently: “This book isn’t Harry Potter”, says Pietsch. “It is a completely different concern”. As with Harry Potter, there are no advance copies for the media, no early reviews. To date, the seven-book series has sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, and it became one of the most successful movie franchises in July 21, 2007.
Back then, fans could buy books at midnight parties hosted by bookstores. But recent years have seen a great challenge for brick-and-mortar(實(shí)體的) bookstores. People are still buying books, indeed more books than in 2007, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers. But they are reading them in a new format(樣式)—the e-book. The Harry Potter series just became available digitally for the first time in April. It will be different for The Casual Vacancy, with the publisher simultaneously releasing an e-book. For Rowling fans who once queued up for Harry Potter, this means that instant satisfaction is now only a click away.
Moving from children’s books to adult literature is a big transition. Will Rowling’s new book be successful? Arthur Levine, the US co-editor of the Harry Potter books, seems confident: “If you read or re-read the Harry Potter books, you can see that Rowling has all the strengths she needs for great success as a fiction writer –you have great characters, an involving plot, a sense of humor and great empathy”.
【小題1】In Paragraph 2, what Michael Pietsch says means that_____.

A．Dickens’ works are too impressive to forget.
B．J.K. Rowling has all the strengths of Dickens.
C．The new book is similar to Dickens’ works in some way.
D．The new book is quite different from the works of Dickens.
【小題2】The underlined word “simultaneously” has the closest meaning with“______”.
A．willingly B．meanwhile C．especially D．eventually
【小題3】What’s the main purpose of Paragraph 3?
A．To explain why the new book will have a digital edition.
B．To show the Harry Potter series are popular with readers.
C．To compare J.K. Rowling’s old books and her new book.
D．To clarify the great challenges for brick-and-mortar bookstores.
【小題4】What do the Harry Potter series and The Casual Vacancy have in common?
A．They are both intended for children.
B．They both show the author’s great talent.
C．Their characters both have magical power.
D．Both of them won’t be read on the Internet.

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

American parents usually think that their child should not have more pocket money than the children with whom he regularly connects no matter they are wealthier or not than he.
Whatever the pocket money is, its entire use is not controlled by the parents, because a child learns to use money correctly only through dealing with it himself. If a seven-year-old child gets a quarter as a week pocket money and is made to put it all in his piggy bank to save it up, he gets no idea what the real use for the money is. He gets the shiny coins and they soon disappear. The idea of a bank account(在銀行開戶) is too early for so small a child, although he can be made understand and enjoy saving his coins-not all of them, only a part of what he receives-to buy something he especially wants. By the time he is eight, he is old enough to take part in the opening of his own savings account, parents may take him to the bank, open a saving account for him, and encourage him to put a certain quantity(數(shù)量) of money he receives as gifts into the bank and watch his bank saving grow as entry by entry(存入)is made. He will be saving, earning, and spending suitable quantities all along in order to learn how to manage money and to keep him in a favorable position with his friends. The boy is a sorry child who can't join his fellows in a sweet shop once in a while because he has to save every cent he gets or earns for some big unknown projects his parents have chosen for him.
【小題1】What does the underlined word "piggy bank" refer to?

A．Something in the shape of a pig for saving coins.
B．A kind of bank run by the children.
C．A bank whose building looks like a pig.
D．A bank for children's saving.
【小題2】Which of the following statement is NOT true?
A．Whatever the pocket money is, its entire use is not controlled by American parents.
B．If an eight-year-old child receive 10 dollars as his birthday gift, he probably have most of it saved in the bank.
C．American parents never interfere(干涉) with their children's use of their pocket money.
D．American parents don't usually give their children much pocket money.
【小題3】Why does the author think the boy is a sorry one if he saves every cent he gets or earns?
A．Because he can not manage his money and it keeps him in an unfavorable position.
B．Because he can not learn the use of money through spending it himself.
C．Because he can not have any other choice but to save, earn or spend money.
D．Because he can not join the fellow in a sweet shop once in while.

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