The young man arrived on the Massachusetts beach early carrying a radio, a shovel(鐵鍬), and a strange set of tools: a brick layer’s trowel, a palette knife, spatulas, spoons, and a spray bottle.
He walked down near the water — the tide(潮水) was out — and switched on the radio to listen to soft rock. Then he shoveled wet sand into a pile nearly four feet high and as many feet across. Then he created a square shape.
After that, he set to work with palette knife, spatulas, and spoons. He shaped a splendid tower, topped walls, fashioned beautiful bay windows, and carved (雕刻)out a big front gate.
The man knew his sand. He smoothly finished some surfaces and carved artistic designs on others. As the shapes began to dry, he gently kept them slightly wet with water from the spray bottle, in case they might break in the wind.
All this took hours. People gathered. At last he stood back, obviously satisfied with a castle worthy of the Austrian countryside or Disneyland.
Then he gathered his tools and radio and moved them up to drier sand. He had known for a while what many in the crowd still ignored: the tide was coming in. Not only had he practiced his art with confidence and style, he also had done so against a powerful, irresistible(不可抵抗的) deadline.
As the crowd looked on, water came at the base of the castle. In minutes it was surrounded. Then the rising flood began to eat into the base, walls fell, the tower fell, and finally the gate fell. More minutes passed, and small waves erased bay windows — soon no more than a small part was left.
Many in the crowd looked terribly sad; some voiced fear and discouragement. But the man remained calm. He had, after all, had a wonderful day, making beauty out of nothing, and watching it return to nothing as time and tide moved on.
【小題1】In this passage, why did the young man start early in the day?
| A．He needed the sun to help dry the sand. |
| B．It gave plenty of time for the crowd to gather. |
| C．He knew the tide was out on this particular morning. |
| D．It was easier to begin his work with only a few people around. |
| A．It is time to begin working. |
| B．It is the end of a day’s work. |
| C．It is the busiest time of the day. |
| D．It is time for lookers-on to leave. |
| A．They were disappointed to see the art ruined. |
| B．They tried their best to save the sand castle. |
| C．They were nervous about their own belongings. |
| D．They helped the artist finish the castle. |
| A．payment for his work |
| B．personal satisfaction |
| C．popularity as an artist |
| D．a(chǎn)ttention from the crowd |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has opened up about being a parent，stating that 13 is an appropriate age for a child’s first cell phone.
The 57yearold，fatherofthree，revealed on The Today Show that his children Jennifer and Rory were not allowed phones until their 13th birthday and his youngest daughter Phoebe is still waiting for one.
“We’ve chosen in our family that it’s 13 where you get a phone，” the selfmade billionaire explained.
He said as a result his children often return home from school complaining，“All the other kids have one.I’m the only one without one.It’s so embarrassing.”
Asked if he keeps passwords to his son and daughters’ email and Facebook accounts，Mr Gates said that he doesn’t for Jennifer,16，who he describes as “independent”．He admitted that monitoring online activity is “a very tricky issue for parents now”．
Despite their vast wealth Mr and Mrs Gates，who live in Lake Medina，have said they want to give their children as normal an upbringing as possible.
It was previously reported that their youngsters have to complete household chores and are given a modest amount of pocket money.
And in 2010 Mr Gates said that he intends to give most of his $61 billion fortune away rather than hand it down.“That wouldn’t be good either for my kids or society，” he said.
Also during the Today interview with host Matt Lauer，Mr Gates，who stepped down from Microsoft in 2008 to concentrate on philanthropy，said that helping others gives him the same excitement as creating software.
“What you really feel is what you’ve achieved.If a piece of software gets out there and lots of people love it—it lets them get their work done in better ways—that’s exciting，” he explained.
【小題1】Bill Gates will not let his children own a cell phone________.
| A．until they reach the age of 13 |
| B．if they don’t really need one |
| C．unless they do some housework |
| D．before they become independent |
| A．All his children now have cell phones. |
| B．Phoebe has her own cell phone. |
| C．They are not given any pocket money. |
| D．Jennifer can use the Internet freely. |
| A．Being a parent as a billionaire. |
| B．Handing all his money down to his children. |
| C．Allowing his children to have their phones. |
| D．Giving away all his money to good causes. |
| A．He is a warmhearted father to his children. |
| B．He has created a lot of software since 2008. |
| C．He now devotes himself to helping others |
| D．He cares more about money than anything else. |
| A．How Bill Gates made himself a billionaire. |
| B．How Bill Gates deals with his money. |
| C．How Bill Gates managed his business. |
| D．How Bill Gates brings up his children. |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
When Gretchen Baxter gets home from work as a New York City book editor, she checks her Blackberry at the door. “I think we are attached to these devices in a way that is not always positive,” says Baxter, who’d rather focus at home on her husband and 12-year-old daughter. “It’s there and it beckons(召喚). That’s human nature (but)…we kind of get crazy sometimes and we don’t know where it should stop.”
Americans are connected at unprecedented(前所未有的) levels—93% now use cell phones or wireless devices; one third of those are “smart phones” that allow users to browse the web and check e-mails, among other things. The benefits are obvious: checking messages on the road, staying in touch with friends and family, efficiently using time once spent waiting around. The downside: often, we’re effectively disconnecting from those in the same room.
That’s why, despite all the technology that makes communicating easier than ever, 2010 was the year we stopped talking to one another. From texting at dinner to posting on Facebook from work or checking e-mails while on a date, the connectivity revolution is creating a lot of divided attention, not to mention social anxiety. Many analysts say it’s time to step back and reassess (再評(píng)價(jià)).
“What we’re going to see in the future is new opportunities for people to be plugged in and connected like never before,” says Scott Campbell. “It can be a good thing, but I also see new ways the traditional social construction is getting somewhat torn apart.”
Our days are filled with beeps and pings—many of which pull us away from tasks at hand or face-to-face conversations. We may feel that the distractions(干擾) are too much, but we can’t seem to stop posting, texting or surfing. “We’re going through a period of adjustment and rebalancing, ” says Sherry Turkle and she wants to remind people that technology can be turned off. “Our human purposes are to really have connections with people,” she says. “We have to reclaim it. It’s not going to take place by itself.”
【小題1】According to Paragraph 1, Gretchen Baxter thinks _____.
| A．the new technology always influences people’s life in a positive way |
| B．the new technology always influences people’s life in a negative way |
| C．the family isn’t that important compared to the new technology |
| D．people are too dependent on the new technology to let go |
| A．a(chǎn)dvantage | B．weakness |
| C．strength | D．effect |
| A．The wide use of mobile devices has nothing to do with the traditional social construction. |
| B．Mobile devices play a less important part in American life. |
| C．Mobile devices create a lot of divided attention and social anxiety. |
| D．Many analysts speak highly of the wide popularity of mobile devices. |
| A．Something must be done to get connection with people in reality again. |
| B．Using mobile services can help people get con- nection with each other. |
| C．Mobile services have a strong impact on people’s life. |
| D．The connection with people can happen naturally. |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Four out of ten parents in the UK spend between ￡100 and ￡500 on their children’s birthday parties, according to a survey. Four in ten parents of children under 18, who were questioned in a survey, admitted that they felt pressured into organizing more expensive birthday parties for their children than they would like to.
How much parents spend on their children’s birthday parties is one of the most frequently discussed topics on parenting websites. Here is one comment on Mumsnet summing up the thoughts of many parents: “Where we live everyone hires places, entertainers and so on. I don’t want to compare with my rich neighbors, but I want my son to have what all his classmates have.”
The research was carried out on behalf of the children’s charity, Lumos, set up by the author JK Rowling. Just 13 percent of parents spent ￡50 or less in the past year on their children’s parties.
Many children’s clowns(小丑) or entertainers charge ￡150 or more for an hour, and parents often feel it necessary to book a special place. Even without these, the cost of plates, the cake and party bags can mount up. Party Pieces, a company set up by Carole and Michael Middleton, charge about ￡16 for a birthday cake for a party with 16 guests, ￡22 for table decorations and up to ￡48 for party bags.
Many children of famous people have increasingly expensive parties, often seen in famous magazines. Suri Cruise, the daughter of actor Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes, enjoyed a ￡100,000 birthday party according to a report.
Georgette Mulheir of Lumos, said,“Parents in the UK are under increasing pressure to spend more and more money on birthday parties for their children and their children’s friends.”
【小題1】What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Children’s birthday parties put their parents under financial pressure in the UK. |
| B．Many parents are willing to spend more on their children’s birthday parties. |
| C．Parents pay more and more attention to their children’s birthday parties. |
| D．Children in the UK hope for more and more expensive birthday parties. |
| A．Increase. | B．Change. | C．Exist. | D．Count. |
| A．famous people love their children very much |
| B．children of famous people can get whatever they want |
| C．some children of famous people have really expensive birthday parties |
| D．holding expensive birthday parties is common nowadays |
| A．Business | B．Education | C．Science | D．Family |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Having a great collection of books at home doesn’t really mean that you are a person who has a passion for literature and reading． It can be a family inheritance or it can be just to impress people around you by the fact that you are a person of culture． On the other hand, there are many persons who cannot afford to buy books, because some of them are quite expensive, but who usually go to libraries and spend hours reading something that interests them a lot, or just borrow books to home．
From my point of view, literature is very important in our life． For example, reading is a means of gaining culture and enriching our knowledge in different areas． It can help us have a great imagination and it makes things easier when it comes to make compositions on different themes． It gives you the possibility to speak about science, even if you don’t work in this domain, or you can express your opinion about a political aspect, just because you have read something connected to that．
Secondly, literature offers us the possibility to enter the world of imagination, and to leave the real one for a couple of hours． We come to meet kings and queens many years ago, dream of being in the world of the rich or imagine how life will be in the future． Sometimes, we identify ourselves with the characters in the stories we read and they can give us some clues to solve our problems and how to react in certain circumstances．
In conclusion, I would like to say that literature is the perfect means to enrich our culture, to express ourselves correctly, to have a rich vocabulary, to be able to interfere in conversations in different fields of interest and to really be considered an erudite person．
【小題1】People who are fond of literature are those that ________ ．
| A．have much interest in reading |
| B．keep many books |
| C．go to libraries every day |
| D．buy expensive books in the bookstore |
| A．composing | B．imagining | C．communicating | D．reading |
| A．we can bring kings and queens back to life |
| B．it is very good for us to stay alone for some hours |
| C．what we read can be useful in our daily life |
| D．we can make friends with people in the stories |
| A．learned | B．enthusiastic | C．smart | D．creative |
| A．To share his own reading experience． |
| B．To distinguish the true readers． |
| C．To attract people to literature． |
| D．To stress the importance of imagination． |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
When buying from a dealer, the law says that a car must be:
As described:
This includes the history of the car as well as its specification. For example, if the dealer described the car as previously having “one careful lady owner”, it shouldn’t turn out to have had several previous “boy racer” owners.
Of satisfactory quality:
It must meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as acceptable and be free from any quality problem. Also, bear in mind that a second-hand car will have a slightly different definition of what is considered “satisfactory, because there’s certainly an element of wear and tear.
Fit for the purpose:
It must be reasonable fit for any normal purpose and this includes any purpose that you specify to the seller.
●If any of the above is violated, then in theory, you may have the right to reject the vehicle and get your money back if you’re reasonably quick. Alternatively, the dealer might offer to replace or repair the car; reduce the price of offering a partial refund(退款). Once you’ve informed the dealer that you wish to reject the car, you must stop using the vehicle.
●If the rejection is not accepted, then it’s up to you to prove your case. You’ll need to pay for an independent assessment of the car and sue for damages. If you do choose a repair, insist the dealer provide you with a hire car or pay any reasonable traveling expenses thus produced while your new car is in the garage.
●If the car is new, it’s likely that the claim will be too high to be fought. Using the small claims procedure to you may have to pay for legal representation. All this can be pretty daunting and expensive. You need to weigh up the pros and cons before rejecting a car. Would a repair do just as well? Selecting a dealer who offers a clear exchange policy may help.
【小題1】After the above writing, you will be better at .
| A．choosing a car | B．dealing with car sellers |
| C．making a claim | D．suing for damages |
| A．Suing for damages. | B．Demanding traveling expenses. |
| C．Stopping using it. | D．Proving your case. |
| A．Asking the dealer to provide you with a hire car. |
| B．Asking the dealer to provide you with repair tool sets. |
| C．Asking the dealer to pay all of your traveling expenses. |
| D．Asking the dealer to return all your money. |
| A．Different. | B．Effective. | C．Discouraging. | D．Convenient. |
| A．Buyers should select a dealer that offers to repair the car. |
| B．Rejecting a new car is not necessarily the best choice. |
| C．It’s necessary that a new car should be repaired. |
| D．Buyers should never reject a new car. |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth．
Until now，it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught（though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing）．
But in the new study，researchers describe a method for improving this skill，along with experiments to prove it works．
The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it．This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence，so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence．
First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests．Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game，in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard．During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time．
The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8, 12, 17 and 19 days, respectively．To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills，the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training．
The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，were striking．Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater．Moreover，the longer they trained, the higher their scores were．All performers，from the weakest to the strongest，showed significant improvement．
“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training．” said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper．“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops,” he added, “and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains．
【小題1】By writing the article，the writer intends to ______________．
| A．inform the readers of a new study |
| B．call on people to be trained to increase intelligence |
| C．prove one’s born brainpower can be improved |
| D．tell people the improved intelligence will last forever |
| A．memorizing telephone numbers |
| B．improving working memory |
| C．training in concentration |
| D．recalling a card |
| A．ignoring irrelevant items |
| B．monitoring ongoing performance |
| C．managing two tasks at the same time |
| D．using previous experience |
| A．trained the four groups for the same period of time |
| B．only made comparisons between the four groups |
| C．compared the four groups with control groups |
| D．trained the four groups together |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Have you ever picked a job based on the fact that you were good at it but later found it made you feel very uncomfortable over time? When you select your career, there's a whole lot more to it than assessing your skills and matching them with a particular position. If you ignore your personality, it will hurt you long-term regardless of your skills or the job's pay. There are several areas of your personality that you need to consider to help you find a good job. Here are a few of those main areas;
1) Do you prefer working alone or with other people?
There are isolating（使孤立）jobs that will drive an outgoing person crazy and also interactive jobs that will make a shy person uneasy. Most people are not extremes in either direction but do have a tendency that they prefer. There are also positions that are sometimes a combination of the two, which may be best for someone in the middle who adapts easily to either situation.
2) How do you handle change?
Most jobs these days have some elements of change to them, but some are more than others. If you need stability in your life, you may need a job where the changes don't happen so often. Other people would be bored of the same daily routine.
3) Do you enjoy working with computers？
I do see this as a kind of personality characteristic. There are people who are happy to spend more than 40 hours a week on a computer, while there are others who need a lot of human interaction throughout the day. Again, these are extremes and you'll likely find a lot of positions somewhere in the middle as well.
4) What type of work environment do you enjoy？
This can range from being in a large building with a lot of people you won't know immediately to a smaller setting where you'll get to know almost all the people there fairly quickly.
5) How do you like to get paid?
Some people are motivated by the pay they get, while others feel too stressed to be like that. The variety of payment designs in the sales industry is a typical example for this.
Anyway, these are a great starting point for you. I've seen it over and over again with people that they make more money over time when they do something they love. It may take you a little longer, but making a move to do what you have a passion for can change the course of your life for the better.
【小題1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Isolating jobs usually drive people mad. |
| B．Almost everyone has a tendency in jobs. |
| C．Interactive jobs make people shy easily. |
| D．Extreme people tend to work with others. |
| A．Before you select your job, you should assess your skills and match them with your position |
| B．You should ignore your skills when you select job. |
| C．Nothing is important than assessing skills and match them with the position when you select job. |
| D．There are more important things than assessing skills and match them with the position when you select job. |
| A．Design. | B．Changes. | C．Cooperation. | D．Hobbies. |
| A．Lifestyles and Job Pay | B．Jobs and Environment |
| C．Personalities and Jobs | D．Job Skills and Abilities |
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
It is a wonderful morning，as I write this：hot，but without being too hot. Outside my window，I can see the sunniest sky of the year reflected in a huge natural expand of water. It is the kind of sun that makes you well aware of summer’s temporary nature —a reminder that if I am ever to go around to book this year's holiday，time is running out .
It is now close to four years since I last took a holiday. This is because I have come to the conclusion, over the course of my adult life, that I am not very good at it. You might say this sounds like saying you are not very good at drinking tea or listening to music. What could possibly be difficult about the natural act of putting your working life on hold for a couple of weeks and going somewhere to do nothing?
So what is my problem? On the surface, I'm probably a bit of homebody. And I just find the pressure of being on holidy too severe: it always feels like having a gun held to my head and being forced to have fun. Somehow, packing a carefully itemized list of possessions and meeting a scheduled flight has none of the excitement of suddenly deciding to take a day off and driving somewhere for the fun of it.
Thankfully, I am not alone. This summer, most of my friends have decided not to have a break. And a recent survey highlighted the downside(負(fù)面）of holidays, with the results shoeing that nearly two thirds of people found that the calming effects of a holiday wore off within 24 hours, as stress levels returned to normal. And this year's the Idler magazine published its book of awful holidays .Here you will find a list of the five most ecologically--damaging vacations it's possible to take, along with 50 horrible holidays experiences voted for on the idler website. Over the last decade, The Idler has become well known for promoting the idea of an easy, lazy life. The leisure(休閑）industry might seem an unlikely target of its criticism, but Dan Kienan, the book's editor, says that he was flooded with entries from readers for his list of awful holidays.
【小題1】According to the first paragraph We can know that the writer .
| A． has a strong desire to book a holiday |
| B． wishes that the weather would change |
| C． finds it is too late to enjoy the sunshine |
| D． realizes it’s time to decide whether to go on a holiday |
| A． people may find the man unbelievable |
| B． People think traveling is not so easy an act as drinking tea |
| C．The writer often regrets not taking a holiday． |
| D． The writer doesn't like drinking tea or listening to music |
| A． it usually takes too much time |
| B． he is tired of making preparations too much for holidays |
| C． it is far less enjoyable than breaks planned in advance |
| D． he feels embarrassed when other people are having fun but he isn't |
| A． pretend to enjoy their holiday |
| B． fail to relax while they are on holiday |
| C． feel that the benefits of going on holidays are limited |
| D． have made the some decision as the writer and most of his friends |
| A． damage the reputation of the magazine |
| B．prove his idea to be more popular than expected |
| C． indicate that his dislike of holidays is widely shared |
| D． foucs entirely on bad personal experiences of holidays |
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