Why does night fall but never break and day break but never fall?
Why are people who ride motorcycles called bikers and people who ride bikes called cyclists?
In what other language do people drive in a parkway and park in a driveway?
In what other language do they call the third hand on the clock the second hand?
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 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3:The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably mean “______”.
A．blowB．roll upC．get hurt D．finish
小題4: Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.
A．cleverB．crazyC．lazyD．dull
小題1:A小題1:C小題1:D小題1:A

小題1:A 細節(jié)題，從文章第三段的句子：Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.可以看出sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things。
小題1:C 從文章倒數(shù)第二段的句子：How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike?可以看出Overlook and oversee.里面有相似的東西。
小題1:D 猜詞題：從文章最后一段的句子：when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.看出wind up有“完成”的意思。
小題1:A 從文章最后一段的句子 English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of human beings看出作者是想表示人類是 聰明的。
練習冊系列答案
相關習題

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful, says Plato. Self-control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses (沖動) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom.
A single angry word has lost many a friend. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad. Keep cool, says George Herbert, for fierceness (狂怒) makes error a fault.
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself. Anger, says Pythagoras, brings with folly(愚蠢) and ends with regret. You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.
Self-control is man’s last greatest victory.
If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also.
小題1: What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?
A．The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself.
B．One’s moral freedom is based on the control of himself.
C．To control oneself is the most difficult in one’s life.
D．If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful.
小題2: What is the correct interpretation of “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad ”in paragraph 2 ?
A．If the gods want to kill you, they make you crazy first.
B．If you always lose your temper, you will soon be finished.
C．If you cannot control yourself, you will become crazy.
D．If you are mad, you will be punished by the gods.
小題3: If a man lacks self-control, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT _______.
A．the very backbone and nerve of character
B．the patience and power to control himself
C．strong feelings
D．self-confidence
小題4: The author’s main purpose in writing this article is to _______.
A．explain that self-control is the key to success
B．teach people how to control everything in order to make a great success
C．distinguish all kinds of self-control and suggest ways for keeping it
D．a(chǎn)dvise people not to lose temper so as to make and keep more friends
小題5: The passage is mainly developed by _____.
A．a(chǎn)nalyzing causesB．making comparisons
C．examining differencesD．listing quotations

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Britain’s seed bank, the only one in the world aiming to collect all of the planet’s wild plant species, has reached its goal of banking 10 percent by 2010.
The Millennium Seed Bank Project, run by Kew Gardens—one of the oldest botanical gardens—will officially deposit the 24,200th species on Thursday, a pink, wild banana from China.
More than 50 countries are now on board with Kew's giant task but vast places of the globe, including India and Brazil, still need to join in and donate seeds, director Paul Smith said.                                                                                                                                                            
The seed bank is one of the largest and most diverse in the world with more than 1.5 billion seeds. Its goal is to help protect the planet’s bio-diversity during a time of climate change.
The wild banana seed is under threat of extinction(滅絕) in southwest China from agricultural development. It is a vital food source for Asian elephants and important for growing bananas for human consumption.
Stored at minus-20 degrees centigrade, so they can last for thousands of years, the seeds await the day that scientists hope never comes—when the species no longer exist in the wild.
It is a race against time, Smith said, because in the last decade alone, 20 plants held in the bank have already been wiped out in the wild. He estimates that between a third and a quarter will become extinct this century.
"It is urgent and it is happening now. An area, the size of England, is cleared of primary vegetation（植被）every year." Smith said.
Because most of the world's food and medicines come from nature, protecting wild plant species is quite important, scientists say. There are already many other seed banks safeguarding food crops, which only account for 0.6 percent of plant diversity.
For Kew's next goal—to collect a quarter of wild varieties by 2020—the botanists need 10 million pounds a year, or a further 100 million pounds on top of the 40 million they have already been granted.
小題1:What’s the final purpose of the Britain’s seed bank?
A．To collect enough money for the project.B．To safeguard food crops.
C．To protect wild plants from extinction.D．To help scientists study wild plants.
小題2:The wild banana seed in China is in danger because of _______.
A．the expanding of farming workB．the climate change in this area
C．the large number of Asian elephantsD．human’s large consumption
小題3: We can learn from the passage that _______.
A．the seeds in the bank can be used now and then all over the world
B．India and Brazil haven’t joined in the Seed Bank Project at present
C．there is only one seed bank in the world at present
D．the wild plants in places like India and China will never die out
小題4: What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 7 refer to?
A．The extinction of plant species.B．The Millennium Seed Bank Project.
C．Britain’s seed bank.D．Kew Gardens’ next goal.
小題5:Which of the following information isn’t mentioned in the passage?
A．The global partnership of collecting wild plant species.
B．The temperature condition of the conservative wild plant species.
C．The government’s financial support for the seed bank project.
D．Scientists’ concern on the extinct wild plant species.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

All sorts of items become litter(垃圾) but two of the most common and most dangerous are cigarette butts（煙頭) and plastic bags. Litter is a big problem for our environment but it is a problem that individuals can easily do something about. Not littering at all or cleaning up litter, such as  cigarette butts and plastic bags, greatly improves the quality of our environment.
Although cigarette butts, are small, they are bad for the environment. Over 1,600 billion cigarette are smoked each year in China and large quantities of the butts are thrown away. Worldwide, about 4. 5 trillion butts are littered every year. Apart from the fact that butts spoil the beauty of the environment, they contain some very toxic chemicals. These find their way into the water supply where they decrease the quality of the water and endanger plants and animals that live there. So, if people have to smoke, they shouldn't throw away the butts but put them in the rubbish bin instead.
Plastic bags are another common form of litter that is a danger to the environment. There areseveral reasons for this. They are made from oil and gas, which are non—renewable resources. If they are not recycled, these resources are lost to us. In China, 2 billion plastic bags are used every day. An enormous number of these become litter. This is a huge problem because they last from 20 to 1,000 years in the environment. They float easily in the air and water and travel long distances. They find their way to rivers, parks, beaches and oceans. Plastic bags kill up to one million seabirds, 100, 000 sea mammals and countless fish each year worldwide. It is up to people not to let plastic bags become litter. It would be better if they used fewer and recycled them.
Cleaning up your cigarette butts and plastic bags would improve the environment. And we would know that we were doing something to look after our planet. However, I believe the best solution would be not to smoke or use plastic bags at all.
小題1: Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
A           B.         C.          D.
( ①=" paragraph" 1; ②=" paragraph" 2; ③=" paragraph" 3; ④a paragraph 4 )
小題2:The word “toxic” in the paragraph 2 most probably mean “________”
A．preciousB．extraC．poisonousD．useless
小題3: From the text. we know the fact that_________
A．Chinese smokers litter up to 4. 5 trillion butts every year
B．people in the world use 2 billion plastic bags in a single day
C．plastic bags cause 1 million deaths of seabirds each year worldwide
D．the butts can last 20 to 1,000 years in the environment of China
小題4: What's probably the best title of the passage?. Clean Up Your
A．Say Goodbye to SmokinB．Protect the Endangered Sea Animals .C．Use Paper Bags NowD．Clean Up Your Butts and Bags

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

It’s 2035. You have a job, a family and you’re about 40 years old. Welcome to your future life.     Getting ready for work, you pause in front of the mirror, “Turn red,” you say. Your shirt changes from sky blue to deep red. Tiny preprogrammed electronic（智能電子元件） is rearranged in your shirt to change its color. Looking into the mirror, you find it hard to believe that you are 40. You look much younger. With amazing advances in medicine, people in your generation may live to be 150 years old. You’re not even middle-aged.
As you go into the kitchen and prepare to pour your breakfast cereal into a bowl, you hear: “To lose weight, you shouldn’t eat that,” from your shoes. They read the tiny electronic code（電 子源碼）on the cereal box to find out the nutrition details. You decide to listen to your shoes. “Kitchen, what can I have for breakfast?” A list of possible food appears on the counter as kitchen checks its food supplies.
“Ready for your trip to space?” you ask your son and daughter. In 2005 only specially trained astronauts went into space—and very few of them. Today anyone can go to space for day trip or longer vacation. Your best friend even works in space. Handing your children three strawberries each, you add, “The doctor said you need these for space travel.” Thanks to medical advice, vaccination shots（防疫針） are a thing of the past. Ordinary foods contain specific vaccines. With the berries in their mouths, the kids head for the front door.
It’s time for you to go to work. Your car checks your fingerprints and unlocks the doors. “My office. Autopilot,” you command. Your car drives itself down the road and moves smoothly into traffic on the highway. You sit back and unroll your e-newspaper. The latest news downloads and fills the viewer. Looking through the pages, you watch the news as video films rather than read it.
小題1: What changes the color of your shirt?
A．The mirror. B．The shirt itself. C．The counter. D．The medicine.
小題2: How do the shoes know that you shouldn’t eat the breakfast cereal?
A．By pouring the breakfast into a bowl.
B．By listening to the doctor’s advice.
C．By testing the food supplies in the kitchen.
D．By checking the nutrition details of the food.
小題3: The strawberries the children eat serve as ______.
A．breakfast B．lunch C．vaccines D．nutrition
小題4: How is the text organized?
A．In order of time B．In order of frequency.
C．In order of preference（偏愛）.D．In order of importance

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

   How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery． All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters． These letters could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down． Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words．
The power of words, then, lies in their associations---the things they bring up before our

20090318

 
minds． Words become filled with meaning for us by experience, and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases． Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions． This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style． Above all, the real poet is a master of words． He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music and which by their position and association can move men to tears． We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar（粗俗的)．

小題1:Which is TRUE about the origin of language?
A．Men, as well as animals, in vented certain sounds to express thoughts．
B．The origin of language is a complicated question．
C．Words did not haven written form, at first．
D．Words were invented to represent meanings．
小題2:The power of words lies in          ．
A．the fact that it can associate the things in the world with the ideas in our minds．
B．the fact that once word is connected with another
C．the fact that it can associate one person with another
D．the fact that it can recall to us the events of our past
小題3:The following statements are true EXCEPT that         ．
A．the more we read and learn, the larger our vocabulary will be
B．the longer we live, the number of words that mean something to us increases
C．words can be used to represent various meanings
D．literary style is usually very charming
小題4:What does this passage primarily concern?
A．The Meaning of Words．
B．The Characteristics of Words．
C．The Origin of Words．
D．The Power of Words．

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

I sometimes wonder if old Finchley has the right personality to be a research scientist. He keeps asking when he’ll be coming back. After all, it was his own fault. Nobody tries out what has just been invented on themselves any more but Finchley. Well, he must have pumped about a thousand c. c. s into himself before I noticed he was clearly becoming smaller.
It was funny watching him, because his clothes remained the same in size. They simply piled up around him so that he looked like a small boy in his father’s clothes. But he kept getting smaller and smaller. As my colleague Dawson and I watched him, he disappeared! All we could see was Finchley’s clothes on the floor. They looked so strange, because the lab coat was on top, shirt and trousers inside and, I suppose, underclothes inside again. It gave me a strange feeling, and I think Dawson was a bit shaken, too.
Dawson was sitting on his chair in front of a microscope he’d been using to examine a family of mites(螨蟲). He looked through the scope kind of absently again, and was nearly scared to lose awareness when he found old Finchley waving back from the other end.
It seems as if Finchley had taken a free ride on a dust mite and landed on the land of the mite family. Of course, we didn’t know till Finchley told us later. But anyhow, as I said, Dawson nearly passed out. He jumped off his chair and pointed at the microscope, to shocked to speak.
小題1:Finchley disappeared because ________.
A．he took something poisonous
B．he was changed into a dust mite
C．his father’s clothes totally covered him up
D．what he and his colleagues invented resulted in his disappearace
小題2: It frightened Dawson to see Finchley _______.
A．got into his scope by accidentB．was waving through his telescope
C．suddenly got lost in his clothesD．gradually disappeared in the lab
小題3: It can be inferred that Finchley, Dawson and the writer have possibly invented _____.
A．some kind of medicineB．a(chǎn) new powerful microscope
C．a(chǎn) machine to make people smallD．a(chǎn) new way to make a culture of mite
小題4: It can probably be concluded that Finchley ________.
A．passed out there and thenB．is not fit to be a scientist
C．is a devoted scientistD．will remain tiny all the time

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

For the person keeping a journal, whatever he experiences and wants to hold he can write down. But to get it down on paper begins another adventure. For he has to focus on what he has experienced, and to be able to say what, in fact, the experience is. What of it is new? What of it is remarkable because of associations in the memory it stirs up? It is a good or bad thing to have happened? And why, specifically? The questions multiply  (增多) themselves quickly. As one tries to find the words that best represent this discovery, the experience becomes even clearer in its shape and meaning.
Beyond the value of the journal as record, there is the value of the discipline it teaches. The journalist begins to pay closer attention to what happened to and around himself. He develops and sharpens his skills of observation. He learns the usefulness of languages as a means of representing what he sees, and gains skill and certainty in the expression of his experiences. To have given up one’s experience to words is to have begun marking out the limits and potential of its meaning. In the journal that meaning is developed and clarified (澄清、闡明) to oneself. When the intention of the development of that meaning is the consideration of another reader, the method of the journal redirects itself and it becomes the essay.
小題1:According to the author, keeping a journal is good for ________.
A．observation and expression
B．certainty and discipline
C．experience and adventure
D．consideration and development
小題2:By keeping a journal, one can ________.
A．develop the usefulness of language
B．develop his memory
C．clarify the consideration to everyone
D．have a thorough understanding of his experience
小題3:Which of the following statements is NOT correct?
A．The journalist can express what has happened.
B．A journal can serve as a record of the past happening.
C．The journalist must be able to observe closely.
D．Writing helps develop the consideration of others.
小題4:The passage is mainly about ________.
A．how to write a journal
B．the expressions of a journal
C．the values of keeping a journal
D．how to solve the problems in a journal

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7:34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch. We should have arrived at Liverpool at 9:19, but due to a typical London fog, the train had to move along so slowly that it was not until 10:30 that it got there. In spite of our late arrival, Joan, my wife’s sister, decided that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London while we went shopping. It was only after her sister had disappeared into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should meet for lunch. Since I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a problem. There seemed to be nothing we could do except taking a taxi to the Tower of London, and try to find her there. Needless to say, we didn’t find her.
It was now one o’clock, and the concert began at 2:30. “Perhaps she will think of waiting outside the concert hall,” suggested my wife hopefully. By this time the fog was so thick that road traffic had to stop, and the only way to get there was by underground railway. Hand in hand we felt our way along the road to where we thought the nearest station should be. An hour later we were still trying to find it. Just as I was about to lose my temper completely when we met a blind man tapping his way confidently through the fog. With his help we found Tower Hill tube station just fifty yards down the road.
By now it was far too late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2:30, so we decided to return to Cambridge. It took seven long hours instead of the usual two to make that journey. Nor were we able to get any food and drink on the train. Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten, opening the door to the sound of the telephone bell. It was Joan; she had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for concert, and had had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant near the hotel where she decided to stay for the night. Now she was ringing to discover whether we had had an equally successful day.
小題1: Why was Joan separated from her sister and her brother-in-law?
A．they could not see each other because of the fog.
B．Joan had not seen Crown Jewels.
C．They planned to do different things until lunch time.
D．The writer didn’t want to go to the concert.
小題2: What did the writer plan to do in the afternoon?
A．Go to the concert.B．See the Crown Jewels.
C．Return to Cambridge.D．Go shopping.
小題3: The reason why they didn’t all meet for lunch was that _______.
A．They lost their way in the fog
B．they forgot to make necessary arrangement
C．they waited at different places and didn’t meet each other
D．the couple couldn’t find the underground station
小題4: It’s quite clear that for Joan the trip to London had been ________.
A．spilt by the fogB．quite tiring
C．rather disappointingD．very enjoyable

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習冊答案