Where do you find out about the world’s longest walk? The world's tallest man? The world's oldest woman? You know the answer, of course. It is the Guinness Book of World Records. How would people find such unusual facts without this book?
Guinness Book did not exist until 1951. Here is what happened. The managing director of Guinness Brewery was a curious man. He wanted answers to some questions about records. For example, he wanted to know what was the fastest flying game bird in Europe. But he was frustrated. There was no book to answer questions like this.
The director, Sir Hugh Beaver, contacted the McWhirter twins. They were brothers who owned a research agency. He asked them to put together a new reference book. It would include all kinds of unusual records. The brothers quickly accepted. The first edition of their book was published in 1955. Soon the Guinness Book of World Records was a best seller. It has sold more copies than any book except the Bible. A new edition is published every year.
Where do all the book's records come from? They are a combination of things like natural wonders, sports records, and stunts(特技) (How many people would push an egg with their noses if they weren’t trying to get to the book?). But the editors try to keep things honest. All records must be verified by an investigator. Only then are they printed.
The Guinness Book is a big business. It is published in dozens of languages. There are TV shows and museums. It is proof of how interested people are in strange pieces of information.
【小題1】The passage is mostly about _____.

A．the McWhirter twins
B．the director Sir Hugh Beaver
C．unusual records in the Guinness Book
D．a(chǎn) history of the Guinness Book
【小題2】The Guinness Book _____.
A．is a best seller
B．is published only in English
C．does not always check its records
D．has a full-length movie based on it
【小題3】It is clear from the passage that the McWhirter twins _____.
A．wanted to publish the book so that they set up a research agency
B．owned so good a research agency that they liked to help others
C．recognizes that Sir Hugh's idea for a book was a good one
D．wanted to know the answers to some questions about records
【小題4】In this passage, the underlined word "verified" means _____.
A．questionedB．proved the truthC．written upD．blocked


【小題1】D
【小題2】A
【小題3】C
【小題4】B 

解析試題分析：文章大意：本文講述了暢銷全球的《吉尼斯世界紀(jì)錄大全》的相關(guān)情況，包括它的發(fā)起人、紀(jì)錄來源和紀(jì)錄入選標(biāo)準(zhǔn)等。
【小題1】D主旨大意題�？v觀全文可以看出，文章向我們介紹了大家所熟知的《吉尼斯世界 紀(jì)錄》的歷史。故D正確。
【小題2】A細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由文章中 “ Soon the Guinness Book of World Records was a best seller.” 可直接得出答案。故A正確。
【小題3】C推理判斷題。第三段中 “ The director， Sir Hugh Beaver， contacted the Mc Whirter twins. They were brothers who owned a research agency. He asked them to put together a new reference book.” 告訴我們： Mc Whirter 采納了他們的觀點(diǎn)。由此可 以看出： the Mc Whirter twins 認(rèn)可他出本書的觀點(diǎn)很好。故C正確。
【小題4】B詞義猜測(cè)題。由上文的 “ But the editors try to keep things honest.” 可以看出，該詞的意思是：證實(shí)。故B正確。
考點(diǎn)：考查科普類短文閱讀

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Have you seen a yellow-and-black salamander (火蜥蜴)? How about a scarlet frog? Scientists haven’t spotted either species in more than 20 years. What happened to them? Are the creatures still out there, or are they extinct?
Those are questions that scientists hope to answer. They recently set out around the world in search of those and other long-missing amphibians. An amphibian is an animal that spends part of its life in water and part on land. Frog, toads(蟾蜍), and salamanders are amphibians.
The experts are looking for about 100 species. They are searching at least 14 countries on five continents. They will look for the salamander in North America. They hope to find the scarlet frog in South America. They’re also looking for species in Africa, Asia and Australia.
Scientists are hopeful that they’ll find the amphibians—and soon! If the creatures are out there, they may need help. Many amphibians are endangered. The animals face many dangers including pollution and diseases. People cut down the forests where they live.
“If researchers can find the missing creatures, they might be able to figure out how to save them,” explains expert Robin Moore. He began searching for the amphibians earlier this month.
“This search will tell us a lot about how amphibians are doing,” Moore told WR News. “I don’t know what we will find, but that makes the search even more exciting.”
Lost in the Wild
Scientists’ hunt for missing amphibians is under way. Read about some of the species they hope to find.
Turkestanian salamander
This salamander is a mystery to scientists. Experts found a few of them more than 100 years ago, but none have been seen ever since.
Gastric brooding frog
Experts first discovered this frog in 1914 in eastern Australia. It may be extinct because of disease and habitat loss.
Rio Pescado stubfoot toad
Last sighting: 1995, in South America
Scientists hope to find this spotted toad in rivers and rainforests in Ecuador. The animal faces threats including pollution and disease.
【小題1】 Which of the following animals hasn’t been seen for over a century?

A．Rio Pescado stubfoot toad.
B．Gastric brooding frog.
C．Turkestanian salamander.
D．Scarlet frog.
【小題2】It can be learned from the passage that _____.
A．the scarlet frog used to live in Africa
B．researchers have no way to save amphibians
C．the scientists will search 14 countries at most
D．Robin Moore has begun his search for amphibians
【小題3】 Why do the scientists want to find the missing amphibians?
A．Because they want to rescue the missing amphibians.
B．Because they want to set up a scientific program.
C．Because they want to do a scientific research on the missing amphibians.
D．Because they want to publish a report about the missing amphibians on WR News.
【小題4】 What does Moore think of the search for endangered amphibians?
A．It’s hopeful. B．It’s interesting.
C．It’s tiring. D．It’s dangerous.

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Humans might be the most highly-evolved species on the planet, but most animals possess skills we can only dream of having. Imagine how much electricity we could save if we could see in the dark the way cats do. Imagine leaping from tree to tree like a monkey. Giraffes, which are otherwise calm and good-natured, sleep only 4.6 hours a day.
We realized a long, long time ago that nature provides the best blueprint for invention. We’ve borrowed canals from beavers and reflectors from cat’s eyes. Although the words “bionics”(仿生學(xué)) became popular only after the 1960s, history shows that nature has always provided ideas on solving everyday problems. Our archives(檔案) don’t go back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci and his bird-like flying machines, but we can take you to the late 19th century, where we applied those same principles for building our first practical airplanes.
To prepare for their flight at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers studied the movements of pigeons to figure out how they stayed high up when they were heavier than air. Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the airplane by studying various aspects of nature. One of Orville Wright’s pupils caught and stuffed seagulls to examine their wingspan. Meanwhile, two French inventors examined spinning sycamore(梧桐) seeds in an effort to apply those same motions, reversed, to a helicopter .
Some examples are more obvious than others. The outside of the airplane designed by the Wright brothers looks like a minimalistic(簡(jiǎn)單抽象藝術(shù)) structure. On the other hand, Barney Connett’s fish submarine actually looks like a fish.
Some bio-inspired concepts have yet to be invented. In the 1960s, the US Army commissioned several university professors to conduct research on the motor skills animals in hope of applying those same abilities to tanks. Tanks that run like horses or jump like grasshoppers(螞蚱)-sounds shocking, doesn’t it? But imagine how life would change if we could achieve that.
【小題1】“Cats”, “monkeys” and “giraffes” mentioned in paragraph 1 are examples to show______.

A．they are highly-evolved species as humans  
B．a(chǎn)nimals have skills that humans do not possess 
C．humans can learn animals’ skills  
D．they are skillful in different ways 
【小題2】What happened after the Wright brothers’ success?
A．People carried out a systematic study on pigeons. 
B．People studied more animals and plants to develop the airplane. 
C．People could fly their airplane for fun. 
D．People kept their airplane at a French gallery. 
【小題3】Which of the following is true about the research carried out by the US Army?
A．It has cost a large sum of money. 
B．It has changed our life. 
C．It has improved the abilities of tanks 
D．It has not succeeded yet. 
【小題4】What does the writer want to tell in the passage?
A．many inventions get ideas from nature. 
B．Some animals possess unique skills. 
C．People should protect nature. 
D．Bionics is far from perfect 

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Today just as technology changed the face of industry, farms have undergone an “agricultural revolution”. On the farm of today, machines provide almost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grain farmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farms depend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into the barn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when the milking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long.
【小題1】According to the passage, computers can NOT help farmers decide _______.

A．what livestock to raise
B．whether to plant a certain kind of crop
C．how much money they can earn from their products
D．when to sell their products
【小題2】Which of the following statements is true?
A．Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers.
B．Both computers and robots have been in use on today’s farms.
C．Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present.
D．Students at agricultural colleges must take computer classes because they can do nothing without the help of computers on today’s farms.
【小題3】According to the engineers, _______will be done by robots in the near future.
A．a(chǎn)ll farm work B．milking cows
C．most of the farm work D．some farm work
【小題4】What is the best title for the whole passage?
A．Computer, Farmers’ Best Friend
B．The Agricultural Revolution
C．Farmers in The Future
D．Computers and Robots

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Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving(鋪砌) a road can lead to less usable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater. Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers. It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.
Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages(短缺). Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts(干旱) than areas with more rainfall, but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs.
Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too. In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live, but there's a lot we can do to lower the number.
You can take steps to save water in your home. To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher only when it is full. Help your parents fix any leaks (泄露、漏洞)in your home. You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away.
【小題1】Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater?

A．Using river water. B．Throwing batteries away.
C．paving parking lots. D．Throwing rubbish into lakes.
【小題2】The meaning of the underlined word mans          .
A．water on the ground B．water from a well(井)
C．water from the deep earth D．water from lakes or rivers
【小題3】What can be inferred from the text?
A．All water shortages are because of human behavior.
B．It takes a lot of efforts to meet our water needs.
C．There is much we can do to reduce family size.
D．The average family in America makes proper use of water.
【小題4】The last paragraph is intended to            .
A．show us how to fix leaks at home
B．tell us how to run a dishwasher
C．prove what drinking glass is best for us
D．suggest what we do to save water at home
【小題5】The text is mainly about _____________.
A．why paving roads reduces our water.
B．how much we depend on water to live.
C．why droughts occur more in dry climates.
D．how human activity affects our water supply.

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones like “I can succeed”. But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing (引證) older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your friend who is slow to learn that he has the potential of an Einstein, you’re just underlining his faults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays against funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students’ self-esteem (自尊). The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, “I am lovable.”
Those with low self-esteem didn’t feel better after the forced self-affirmation (自我肯定). In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think of positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治療) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation (靜思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic viewpoint. Call it the power of negative thinking. 
【小題1】The first paragraph is written _________.

A．to raise an argument about positive thinking
B．to introduce the power of positive thinking
C．to encourage people to have positive thoughts
D．to introduce the $11 billion self-help industry
【小題2】According to the study of the Canadian researchers, _________.
A．positive thinking is not as powerful as negative thinking
B．encouraging positive thinking may actually discourage people
C．happy people can think positively while unhappy people can’t
D．getting people to think positively can strengthen their confidence
【小題3】What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．You are pointing out the mistakes he has made.
B．You are reminding him that he is not intelligent.
C．You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough.
D．You are showing he has great potential in spite of faults.
【小題4】We can learn from the last paragraph that _________.
A．negative feelings must be got rid of
B．there’s no point in thinking positively
C．it doesn’t make sense to think negatively
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Our body clock，or natural body rhythm，influences our energy and alertness．Paying attention to it can help us choose the suitable time of day when we best perform specific tasks．
The reality，however，is that most of us organize their time around work demands，school deadlines，commuting or social events．Doing whatever your body feels like doing is a luxury in today's fast-paced modem society．
But that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying．Obeying our body clock has significant health benefits．Disrupting our natural body rhythm，on the other hand，has been linked to problems such as depression，obesity，or headache，says Steve Key，a biology professor．
When the body clock can synchronize（使……同步）the rhythms of its natural processes，it “gives us an advantage in daily life”，says Key．
According to him，when it comes to cognitive（認(rèn)知的）work，most adults perform best in the late morning．As our body temperature starts to rise just before awakening in the morning and continues to increase until midday，our memory，alertness and concentration gradually improve．
However，he adds，our ability to concentrate typically starts to decrease soon thereafter．Most of us are more easily distracted（分心）between noon and 4 pm．
Alertness also tends to fall after eating a meal and sleepiness tends to peak around 2 pm，making that a good time for a nap．
Surprisingly, tiredness may increase our creative powers．For most adults，problems that require open ended thinking are often best dealt with in the evening when they are tired， according to a study in the journal Thinking & Reasoning．
When choosing a time of day to exercise，paying attention to your body clock can improve results．Physical performance is usually best from about 3 to 6 pm，says Michael Smolensky，a professor of biomedical engineering．
Of course, not everyone's body clock is the same，making it even harder to synchronize natural rhythms with daily plans．
【小題1】If we know our natural body rhythm well, we can         ．

A．find out the suitable time to do specific tasks
B．organize our time around work demands
C．do whatever our body feels like doing
D．be sure to be healthy
【小題2】Which of the following is NOT true?
A．Our alertness is influenced by our natural body rhythm
B．Doing whatever your body feels like is very difficult in our modem society．
C．Obeying our body clock is good for our health．
D．Disrupting our natural body rhythm can lead to obesity．
【小題3】According to Steve Key，which of the following is NOT true?
A．When our body clock synchronizes the rhythms of its natural processes，we can do better．
B．When it comes to cognitive（認(rèn)知的）work，most people perform best in the late morning．
C．As body temperature rises before awakening in the morning，our concentration gradually improves．
D．We concentrate better in the late morning than between noon and 4 pm．
【小題4】Inspiration（靈感）to solve a difficult problem will most probably come to us     ．
A．when we get up in the morning
B．when we are tired in the evening
C．when we are full of energy in the late morning
D．when we are asleep at night
【小題5】Which of the following can be the suitable title for the passage?
A．What is natural body rhythm?
B．Natural body rhythm is good for us．
C．Something about natural body rhythm．
D．The latest research about natural body rhythm．

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

  Mass transportation revised the social and economic fabric of the American city in three fundamental ways. It catalyzed physical expansion, it sorted out people and land uses, and it accelerated the inherent instability of urban life. By opening vast areas of unoccupied land for residential expansion, the omnibuses, horse railways, commuter trains, and electric trolleys pulled settled regions outward two to four times more distant form city centers than they were in the premodern era. In 1850, for example, the borders of Boston lay scarcely two miles from the old business district; by the turn of the century the radius extended ten miles. Now those who could afford it could live far removed from the old city center and still commute there for work, shopping, and entertainment. The new accessibility of land around the periphery of almost every major city sparked an explosion of real estate development and fueled what we now know as urban sprawl. Between 1890 and 1920, for example, some 250,000 new residential lots were recorded within the borders of Chicago, most of them located in outlying areas. Over the same period, another 550,000 were plotted outside the city limits but within the metropolitan area. Anxious to take advantage of the possibilities of commuting, real estate developers added 800,000 potential building sites to the Chicago region in just thirty years – lots that could have housed five to six million people.
Of course, many were never occupied; there was always a huge surplus of subdivided, but vacant, land around Chicago and other cities. These excesses underscore a feature of residential expansion related to the growth of mass transportation: urban sprawl was essentially unplanned. It was carried out by thousands of small investors who paid little heed to coordinated land use or to future land users. Those who purchased and prepared land for residential purposes, particularly land near or outside city borders where transit lines and middle-class inhabitants were anticipated, did so to create demand as much as to respond to it. Chicago is a prime example of this process. Real estate subdivision there proceeded much faster than population growth.
【小題1】With which of the following subjects is the passage mainly concerned?
[A] Types of mass transportation.
[B] Instability of urban life.
[C] How supply and demand determine land use.
[D] The effect of mass transportation on urban expansion.
【小題2】Why does the author mention both Boston and Chicago?
[A] To demonstrate positive and negative effects of growth.
[B] To exemplify cities with and without mass transportation.
[C] To show mass transportation changed many cities.
[D] To contrast their rate of growth.
【小題3】According to the passage, what was one disadvantage of residential expansion?
[A] It was expensive.
[B] It happened too slowly.
[C] It was unplanned.
[D] It created a demand for public transportation.
【小題4】The author mentions Chicago in the second paragraph as an example of a city,
[A] that is large.
[B] that is used as a model for land development.
[C] where the development of land exceeded population growth.
[D] with an excellent mass transportation system.
Vocabulary
1.revise          改變
2.fabric          結(jié)構(gòu)
3.catalyze          催化，加速
4.sort out          把……分門別類，揀選
5.omnibus          公共汽車/馬車
6.trolley          （美）有軌電車，（英）無軌電車
7.periphery       周圍，邊緣
8.sprawl          建筑物無計(jì)劃延伸，蔓延，四面八方散開
9.lot          小片土地
10.underscore       強(qiáng)調(diào)，在下面劃?rùn)M線
11.transit lines       運(yùn)輸線路
12.subdivision       （出售的）小塊土地，再劃分小區(qū)

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Inside their one-store, metal-roofed house on Vancouver Island’s west coast，Janet Schwartz and her domesticated(馴養(yǎng)的) deer, Bimbo, are returning to their normal lives. The law-represented by men and women dressed in black uniforms and carrying guns — is no longer threatening to forcibly separate Schwartz and Bimbo，freeing the l0-year-old deer to the fates (命運(yùn)) of the surrounding rainforest and its hungry wolves and black bears．
“We love each other，”said Schwartz who turned 70 on Saturday. “she’ll come up to me and she’ll kiss me right on the lips，like a man kisses a woman’’
For four days last week，Schwartz’ life turned as rocky as the rough logging road that connected her life to the outside world. Conservation officers had arrived with orders to loose Bimbo. Schwartz was told she wasn’t allowed to touch Bimbo any more. It seemed somebody had complained，said Environment Minister Terry Lake earlier in the week, noting it’s illegal to keep wild animals as pets.
During those tense days，sleepless nights were made even more restless by nightmares，said Schwartz. There were news stories and Facebook pages which supported Schwartz and by Friday，the government had changed its mind. Schwartz could keep her pet with the help of a veterinarian and conservation officers.
“It makes me feel good，”said Schwartz of the announcement．“She is my life．a(chǎn)nd I’ve had her since the day she’s been born.”
The relationship began when a friend found the orphaned fawn (幼鹿) along a nearby logging road，more than a kilometer away from her current home，said Schwartz. The friend brought the fawn over because she knew Schwartz had raised a deer before.
Schwartz named the fawn(小鹿) Bimbo，based on a Gene Autry song that was playing inside her home at the time，and began feeding the animal goat’s milk. Days turned into months and years, and now Bimbo is a part of the family.
【小題1】According to Paragraph 1 , Janet Schwartz’s life is returning to normal because           

A．no one disturbs her life againB．she can continue to keep the deer
C．she has married againD．Bimbo has returned to the forest
【小題2】Why didn’t Schwartz want to loose the deer?
A．It was the only companion in her house
B．She wanted to study the lifestyle of the deer．
C．The deer had become part of her life．
D．She had a veterinarian to help her．
【小題3】Conservation officers ordered Janet to loose Bimbo because            
A．the deer was not properly taken care of
B．the deer brought harm to the neighborhood
C．it was against the law to keep the deer as a pet
D．the deer made too much noise
【小題4】What made the government change its mind?
A．Schwartz’s love for the deer.
B．The threat to the deer in the wild.
C．The change of the law.
D．The influence from the press and the Web.

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