nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname also can be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity.
A few years ago, some marketing and advertising experts were asked to name the best nickname for an American city. The winner was the nation's largest city, New York. The top nickname was The Big Apple.
You might wonder how New York got this nickname. In the early nineteen seventies, the city had many problems. The number of visitors was falling. So a campaign was launched to give the city a new image. The head of the New York Conventions and Visitors Bureau decided to call the city, The Big Apple.
There are several explanations for where this name came from. Language expert Barry Popik studied the question and wrote about it on his Web site. He says John Fitz Gerald, a writer for a New York newspaper, used the name The Big Apple to mean New York in the nineteen twenties. Mister Fitz Gerald wrote about horse races. He heard the name used by men who worked at a racetrack in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mister Fitz Gerald wrote: "The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York."
In horse racing, the expression meant "the big time," the place where large amounts of money could be won. The Big Apple became the name of a night club in the Harlem area of New York City in nineteen thirty-four. It also was the name of a popular dance and a hit song in the nineteen thirties.
But it is not the only nickname for America's largest city. Barry Popik's web site lists almost one hundred nicknames that describe New York. The best known are The Capital of the World. Empire City. Gotham. The City So Nice They Named it Twice. And, The City That Never Sleeps. You can hear about the city in the song, "New York, New York," by Frank Sinatra.
小題1:Why do many American cities have nicknames?(回答詞數(shù)不超過15個(gè))
小題2:What did John Fitz Gerald write about for the New York newspaper?(回答詞數(shù)不超過5個(gè))
小題3:Besides “The Big Apple”, how many best known nicknames that describe New York are listed according to Barry Popik's web site?(回答詞數(shù)不超過2個(gè))

小題1:Because these can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity.
小題2: He wrote about horse races.
小題3:Five.

小題1:根據(jù)文章第一段中的“A nickname also can be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity. ”可知。
小題2:根據(jù)“In horse racing, the expression meant "the big time," the place where large amounts of money could be won.”可知。
小題3:根據(jù)The best known are The Capital of the World. Empire City. Gotham. The City So Nice They Named it Twice. And, The City That Never Sleep可知。
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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:完形填空

完形填空(共20小題;每小題1.5分,滿分30分)
Most people who work in London get a break of about an hour for lunch.  36  they mostly live too far from home to go back there  37  lunch, they have to  38  other arrangements for their midday meal.
Many large companies have a canteen (自助食堂) for their employees. In  39  canteens the food served is simple but  40 , and there is some  41  of choice. But the number of dishes  42 usually small. The employees themselves fetch their dishes  43  a counter at which they are  44. There they can find a tray on  45  to carry their knives, forks, spoons, plates, cups, saucers,  46, of course, their food. A meal in a canteen is inexpensive and may  47  of soup, fish and chips or meat and two vegetables,  48  fruit or pudding of some  49  as dessert. Some companies that do not run a canteen  50  their staff with luncheon-vouchers (午餐券), which many restaurants will accept in 51  of money.
As there are so many people  52  work in London, there are numerous cafes and restaurants in every area that is not purely residential. A meal  53  cost anything from a modest sum to quite a few pounds,  54  on the restaurant and the food chosen.  55 , one can generally get a meal, or at least a snack, in a pub. In recent years there has also been a big increase in the number of ‘take-away’ food shops of all kinds.
36. A. Unless              B. As                           C. If                          D. Although
37. A. for                          B. at                                   C.of                          D. in
38. A. take                B. bring             C. make                    D. use
39. A. such                B. few                  C. so                      D. little
40. A. full                B. limited              C. extra              D. enough
41. A. exchange                         B. variety                             C. change                           D. difference
42. A. are                      B. is                                       C. being                               D. be
43. A. to                                        B. with                                 C. at                                               D. from
44. A. sold                                    B. served                             C. made                               D. kept
45. A. which                                 B. it                                       C. except                             D. instead
46. A. or                 B. but               C. and               D. except
47. A. consist                          B. compose                         C. compare                         D. insist
48. A. along                                  B. with                                 C. about                               D. at
49. A. sort                                    B. pattern                                     C. category                         D.content
50. A. prepare                             B. repair                              C. afford                              D. provide
51. A. space                                B. case                                 C. face                                  D. place
52. A. at                                        B. above                 C. over                                 D. by
53. A. must                                  B. may                                  C.should                             D. could
54. A. taking                                B. turning                            C. depending                      D. bringing
55. A. Besides                            B.However                          C. Never                              D. More

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Last year more than one million Filipinos worked abroad as servants,nurses,sailors and in other difficult but low-paid jobs.Southeast Asians leave their poorer countries for their richer neighbours.
Many of these wage-earners return in the end.In the meantime,they send home huge amounts of money—in the Philippines’ case,over 10% of its GDP.Between January and November,the amount was up 18% on the same period of 2005.Poverty and unemployment are still high in the Philippines and other labour-exporting(勞務(wù)輸出) countries.They would be far worse but for this outflow of bodies and inflow of dollars.As for those Asian countries that import(輸入) labour,as in Europe,falling birth rates mean they are going to need more foreign workers.
On January 13th leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) signed an agreement to help migrant(流動(dòng)的) workers—with the realization that the flow of labour between their countries is a growing problem that they cannot blame on outsiders.A 2005 study showed that 8.4 million Southeast Asians worked outside their home countries,but this did not include the huge numbers of Indonesians doing so without papers.So the true total is probably rather higher.
Of the ten ASEAN countries,the Philippines,Indonesia,Myanmar,Cambodia,Vietnam and Laos export labour,Singapore and Brunei import it,and Thailand and Malaysia do both.Sziraczki of the UN’s International Labour Organization points out that,in the next ten years,the total labour force of the worker-exporting countries should grow by about a third.It makes sense to work on the problem before it gets out of control.
People in the receiving countries seem to be worried about competition for their jobs.Most Thais said their government should admit(準(zhǔn)入) no more foreign workers,and a few thought otherwise.Even in Singapore,just over half of people are against admitting more foreign workers.Malaysians think that the increase in foreign workers has worsened crime rates(犯罪率).
小題1:It can be inferred from the case of the Philippines that______.
A.the country is Asia’s main source of migrant workers
B.labour exports lead to a 10% growth of its GDP
C.the outflow of labour helps solve its social problems
D.the country both exports and imports labour force
小題2:The flow of labour is a growing problem because______.
A.there is a greater flow of labour than reported
B.more Indonesians work abroad without papers
C.some countries suffer from low birth rates
D.the ASEAN is against admitting foreign workers
小題3:For the labour-importing countries,the flow of labour may lead to______.
A.higher birth rates
B.lower crime rates
C.greater money inflows
D.stronger job competition
小題4:The writer of the text seems to______.
A.support the flow of labour between countries
B.report fairly on the question of labour flow
C.express his worries over the ASEAN’s decision
D.regard the outflow of labour as a serious problem

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Three years ago, five parrots were set free in a wild place of Arizona, thousands of miles from the Channel Islands in Jersey where they had been looked after by zookeepers. No evolutionary strategies informed them how to behave in this new landscape of mountainous pine forest unoccupied by their kind for 50 years. To the researchers’ surprise, they failed to make contact with a group of wild parrots imported from Mexico and set free at the same time. Within 24 hours the reintroducing ended in failure, and the poor birds were back in cages, on their way to the safety of the Arizona reintroduction programme.
Ever since then, the programme has enjoyed great success, mainly because the birds now being set free are Mexican birds illegally caught in the wild, confiscated (沒收) on arrival north of the border, and raised by their parents in the safety of the programme. The experience shows how little we know about the behaviour and psychology (心理) of parrots, as Peter Bennett, a bird researcher, points out: “Reintroducing species of high intelligence like parrots is a lot more difficult. People like parrots, always treating them as nothing more than pets or valuable ‘collectables’.”
Now that many species of parrot are in immediate danger of dying out, biologists are working together to study the natural history and the behaviour of this family of birds. Last year was an important turning point: conservationists founded the World Parrot Trust, based at Hayle in Cornwall, to support research into both wild and caged birds.
Research on parrots is vital for two reasons. First, as the Arizona programme showed, when reintroducing parrots to the wild, we need to be aware of what the birds must know if they are to survive in their natural home. We also need to learn more about the needs of parrots kept as pets, particularly as the Trust’s campaign does not attempt to discourage the practice, but rather urges people who buy parrots as pets to choose birds raised by humans.
小題1:What do we know about the area where the five parrots were reintroduced?
A.Its landscape is new to parrots of their kind.
B.It used to be home to parrots of their kind.
C.It is close to where they had been kept.
D.Pine trees were planted to attract birds.
小題2:The reintroducing experience three years ago shows that man-raised parrots
A.can find their way back home in Jersey
B.a(chǎn)re unable to recognize their parents
C.a(chǎn)re unable to adapt to the wild
D.can produce a new species
小題3:Why are researches on parrots important according to the passage?
A.The Trust shows great concern for the programme.
B.We need to know more about how to preserve parrots.
C.Many people are interested in collecting parrots.
D.Parrots’ intelligence may some day benefit people.
小題4:According to the passage, people are advised ______.
A.to treat wild and caged parrots equally
B.to set up comfortable homes for parrots
C.not to keep wild parrots as pets
D.not to let more parrots go to the wild

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all around you and that it proves down upon you.Air pressure is a wonderful force.When you swim underwater, you can feel water push down your body.The air all around you does the same.However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this.The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere.This layer surrounds the Earth, extending to about five kilometers above the Earth's surface.
The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home.But make sure that you are supervised, because you will need to use matches.
What you need
·A hard-boiled egg without the shell
·A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg
·A piece of paper
·A match
Method
1)Check that the paper will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle.
2)Tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle.
3)Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle.
4)Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle.
Result
Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle.Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment.But be careful when you handle matches.
Why it happened
As the paper burns, it needs oxygen and uses up the oxygen (air)in the bottle.The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle, so no more air can get inside.This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle.The air pressure must equalize, so more air from outside must enter the bottle.The outside air presses against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle! That proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on it.
小題1:Why is there the need to take care when you are doing the experiment?
A.The bottle could break.
B.You need to light the paper with a match.
C.The egg needs to be shelled.
D.The egg has to be perfectly placed on the neck of the bottle.
小題2:In the experiment, the burning inside the bottle can__.
A.equalize the air pressure inside and outside
B.make a seal in the neck of the bottle
C.finish up the oxygen inside the bottle
D.produce more oxygen inside the bottle
小題3:How did the egg put into the bottle?
A.The oxygen inside the bottle sucked the egg in.
B.It became salt without the shell.
C.The neck of the bottle was wide enough.
D.The outside air pressure forced it into the bottle.
小題4:The experiment is carried out to prove ____.
A.water pushes on your body when you swim underwater
B.the earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere
C.the pressure of air around us has a powerful force
D.the air pressure is not equalized around us

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:完形填空

Money, or the lack of it, changes everything, and that includes how people will be working out in 2010.
In these belt-tightening times  1 , cost-conscious workouts(鍛煉)at home and at the gym topped the list of fitness trends for this year in a survey, followed  2  by shorter, more time-efficient regimens, such as  3  boot camp(強(qiáng)力集中訓(xùn)練) and circuit training.
"People are looking  4  for ways to accomplish as much as possible with as little  5  time and money as necessary," said Cedric X. Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise (ACE), which conducted the online poll of fitness professionals.
"Last year money was on the list but this  6  year the majority of the respondents put  7  it as one of the top," he added.
Bryant said some 600 ACE-certified fitness  8  professionals responded to the annual poll  9 , which the non-profit organization has been conducting for a decade.
Other money-saving measures  10 , such as the shift from personal training sessions to small group training  11  classes and in-home workouts  12  using smaller, more portable equipment, also made the list.
"Personal trainers are seeing they've got to respond to market needs  13  . Working with two to four clients at a  14  time they can charge less  15  but still get their hourly fee," Bryant said.
Boot-camp workouts and circuit training, both of which burn  16  calories while building strength and endurance(持久性), will be among the most popular trends in 2010, as time-constrained(受壓制的) consumers  17  seek shorter, more intense activities.
One bright spot is the rise of exergaming-type systems, like Nintendo's Wii Sports, Wii Fit and the PC-based Dancetown. Bryant says the fitness-based video games are turning up  18  in health clubs and senior centers.
Functional training workouts, which are geared to improving the quality of life and the ability to perform everyday tasks, will remain strong  19 , and the use of computerized tracking and online training and scheduling tools will increase  20  in the coming year.
(   ) 1. A. times           B. years            C. centuries        D. societies
(   ) 2. A. caught          B. followed         C. covered      D. conducted
(   ) 3. A. such like       B. in other words   C. such as      D. that is to say
(   ) 4. A. taking          B. developing   C. opening      D. looking
(   ) 5. A. little          B. much             C. many             D. few
(   ) 6. A. that            B. next             C. this             D. previous
(   ) 7. A. manage      B. put         C. try          D. organize
(   ) 8. A. medicine        B. train           C. economy      D. fitness
(   ) 9. A. poll            B. conference   C. observation D. reception
(   ) 10. A. measures       B. procedures   C. policies         D. systems
(   ) 11. A. speaking       B. training         C. exercising       D. processing
(   ) 12. A. work         B. workouts         C. rest             D. race
(   ) 13. A. changes        B. prices       C. needs            D. habits
(   ) 14. A. some           B. no           C. any          D. a
(   ) 15. A. less           B. fewer            C. more             D. much
(   ) 16. A. produce        B. burn             C. cut          D. add
(   ) 17. A. professionals B. students         C. consumers        D. trainers
(   ) 18. A. turning up         B. turning down     C. turning around   D. turning out
(   ) 19. A. weak           B. useful       C. strong       D. possible
(   ) 20. A. decrease       B. appear       C. increase         D. want

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie.For example, a two-hour movie costs $ 6 million to make.A TV commercial can cost more than $ 6 000 a second.And that does not include cost of paying for air time(電視節(jié)目開始的時(shí)間).Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money--and making money is what television is all about  the commercial is by far the more important.
Research, market testing, talent, time and money-----all come together to make us want to buy a product.No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works.The sales of Charm went up once the ads began.TV commercials actually buy their way into our head.We, in turn, buy the product.
And the ads work because so much time an attention are given them.Here are some rules of commercial ad making.If you want to get the low middle-class buyer, make sure the announcer has a tough, manly voice.Put some people in the ad who work with their hands.If you want to sell to upper-class audience, make sure that the house, the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies (識別) with.If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself
We laugh at commercials.We don't think we pay that much attention them.But facts show we are kidding ourselves.The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff.It's big, big business.And it's telling us what to think, what we need, and what to buy.To put  it simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.
小題1:TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because _______.
A.they bring in great profits (利潤)B.they require a lot of money to make
C.they are not difficult to produceD.they attract more viewers than other programs
小題2:The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is ________.
A.to persuade people to buy the productB.to show how valuable the product is
C.to test the market value of the productD.to make them as interesting as TV movies
小題3:From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that_________.
A.the lower-middle-class buyer likes to work with his hand
B.the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product
C.a(chǎn)d designers attract different people with different skills
D.a(chǎn)n upper-class buyer is more interested in houses and furniture than a lower-middle-class buyer
小題4:It is believed by the writer that_________.
A.few people like to watch TV commercials
B.TV commercials are a good guide to buyers
C.TV commercials often make people laugh
D.people do not think highly of TV commercials

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

In the USA Forbes magazine has published its annual list of the richest people in the world. Bill Gates of Microsoft is the richest man again for the eleventh successive year with a fortune of forty?four billion dollars.
  There are a record 691 dollar billionaires according to Forbes magazine. Between them they have a fortune of two point two trillion dollars. The highest concentration of the ultra?rich is in New York followed by Moscow and San Fransisco and then London and Los Angeles. But in total the very wealthy live in forty?seven different countries with Iceland Kazakstan? Ukraine and Poland entering the list for the first time this year.
  Laksmi Mittal,an Indian born steel tycoon (巨頭)enjoyed the biggest increase in personal fortune. His net worth has quadrupled (變成四倍)to thirteen billion dollars making him the world’s third richest man. Ingvar Kamprad founder of the Swedish furniture chain Ikea also saw a big increase in wealth taking him to the sixth place. Developing countries make more of a showing than in past years — there are for example three Russians and four Indians in the top sixty richest people, though surprisingly perhaps none from China excluding Hong Kong. Asian wealth is probably under?represented as its usually spread among families whereas Forbes looks at individuals. Relatively few women feature in the list — among them is JK Rowling,author of the Harry Potter novels ranked 620th with a fortune of 519 million dollars. New entrants to the list include the founders of the Internet search group Google Sergie Brin and Larry Page each worth more than seven billion dollars after their company’s recent stock market debut. The richest Italian is the prime minister Silvio Berlusconi ranked number 25 in the global wealth league.
小題1: Which of the following persons has the largest fortune according to this year’s  Forbes magazine?
A.Laksmi Mittal.B.Ingvar Kamprad.
C.JK Rowling.D.Silvio Berlusconi.
小題2:There are about _____ persons with a fortune between 100 million dollars and 519 million dollars in the world.
A.300B.180 C.70D.150
小題3:Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.No Chinese has entered the top sixty richest people in the world.
B.Russia is a developing country.
C.This is the first time that Sergie Brin and Larry Page has been included in the list.
D.There are more billionaires(億萬富翁) in New York than any other city in the world.
小題4:We can infer from the passage that ______.
A.There are more billionaires in London than in Moscow.
B.Ukraine is a very rich country in the world.
C.JK Rowling’s novels have sold very well.
D.The IT industry is a profit?making industry.

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


For years we have been told that encouraging a child’s self-respect is important to his or her success in life. But child experts are now learning that too much praise can lead to the opposite effect. Praise-sholic kids  who expect it at every turn may become teens who seek to same kind of approval from friends when asked if they want to go in the backseat of the car.
The implication(含義) of saying “You are the prettiest girl in class,” or talking about the goals she succeed but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores she highest, achieves the most. And this carries over to the classroom.
Social psychologist Carrol Dweck, PhD, tested the effects of overpraise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University. She found that kids praised for “trying hard” did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”.
“Praising attributes(品質(zhì)) or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges, ” says Dweck, now at Stanford University, “They figure they’s better quit while they’re ahead.”
小題1:The underlined words “Praise-sholic kids” refers to kids who are ______.
A.tired of being praisedB.worthy of being praised
C.very proud of being praisedD.extremely fond of being praised
小題2:The author quoted(引用) Dr. Dweck’s words in the last paragraph in order to make the article
_____. 
A.better-knownB.better-organizedC.more percussiveD.more interesting
小題3:We can infer from the passage that _____.
A.praise for efforts should be more encouraged
B.praise for results works better than praise for efforts
C.praising a child’s achievements benefits his or her success in life
D.praising a child’s abilities encourage him or her to take on challenges

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