Nobody Benefits
NEW YORK—America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history.Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings.
But just a short walk from Manhattan's skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel.
Brown is homeless — one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street.
During the day, Brown collects aluminium cans and sells them for five cents a piece.At night, he sleeps on the street.w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m
"I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that," said the 62-year-old former construction worker.
Brown admits he's had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine.But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement.He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available.
However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York.
With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand.
A US report shows rents in New York city rose more than 27 percent between 1984 and 1999, from US $549 to US $700 a month.
One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up.
The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help.
But few housing companies have been built for the poor.Many small apartments in the city now rent for US $1,500 a month or more.
Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her.She is angry about his drinking and won't allow it in her house.
Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he'd like to see more often.
"All I've got to do is clean up my act," he said.
【小题1】What kind of life does George Brown lead?

A.Homeless and dangerous.
B.Homeless and childish.
C.Homeless and miserable (痛苦的).
D.Homeless and sleepless.
【小题2】From George Brown's life we can find that ______.
A.old Americans lead a hard life
B.old Americans want to live alone
C.American cities are crowded with poor people w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m
D.bad habits play a role in some poor people's Life
【小题3】It can be inferred from this passage that ______.
A.America is short of housing companies
B.the poor can't benefit from the increasing economy
C.poor people in America will become rich
D.housing companies will build more houses for the poor
【小题4】If this passage comes from a paper, on which page would it be?
A.Society.B.Science.C.Economy.D.Business.

 

 

U.S. airlines are seeing a major interruption because of hundreds of flights canceled due to the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, but European flight companies will face the biggest losses.

The airline business has been tough: The decline dramatically slowed traffic; February heavy snow forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights; and now the ashes from the volcano stopped all traffic in and out of northern Europe for days.

"For U.S. flight companies, it'll be a relatively short-term hit," said Michael Boyd, president of Boyd Group International, an aviation (航空学) consulting firm. "We think right now they're down about $80 million in terms of lost income, and they're down domestically about 80,000 passengers that would have been flying domestically but aren't because they can't get here."

Delta announced that volcano-related interruption grounded about 400 flights until Monday at a cost of $20 million in lost revenues. But compare that to the recent snowstorms, when the airline canceled 7,000 flights and lost $65 million in revenue.

The disruption has created uncertainty for customers, but analysts say U.S. airlines won't face as many costs as you might think. They are not flying in extra planes to handle the passengers in trouble because, airline analyst Robert Mann said, companies simply don't have them.

"Airlines run a very lean operation now," Mann said. "So, since there are no spare aircraft or crews, the airlines will attempt to maximize loads on every one of their aircraft that do fly. But it may take days, or in some cases a week or so, to get some of these customers to where they want to go."

1. Which negative consequences mentioned in the passage did the disasters cause?

A. coldness, pollution and airlines’ losses    

B. airport damage, pollution and slow traffic

C. passenger delay, coldness and airport damage   

D. passenger delay, airlines’ losses and slow traffic

2. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. The fewest airplanes will fly the trapped passengers to their destinations.

B. All the customers are sure to be sent to their destinations in time.

C. The U.S. and U.K. airlines suffered the same losses in the natural disasters.

D. The volcano eruption reduced the traffic to and from northern Europe.  

3. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A. the troubles that the airlines will face after the ash cloud disappears

B. the measures that the airlines will take to maximize their profit

C. the present situation of the airlines and their plan to deliver the passengers

D. the reasons why the airlines run a fine operation

4. Why will it take a long time for airlines to send the passengers to their different destinations?

A. Because the passengers enjoy staying in airports to talk with one another.

B. Because the airlines don’t have spare planes or employees to serve.

C. Because the airlines don't have enough financial support after the disaster.

D. Because the passengers are asking for full refund from the airlines.

5. The passage is most probably from_______.

A.a novel           B.a news report        C.a magazine        D.a thesis

 

Our boat floated on between walls of forest. It was too thick for us to get a view of the land we were passing through, though we knew from the map that our river must be passing through chains of hills from time to time. Nowhere did we find a place where we could have landed: although the jungle did not actually spread right down into the river, banks of soft mud prevented us from going ashore. In any case, what would we have gained by landing? The country was full of snakes and other dangerous creatures and the jungle was so thick that one would be able to advance slowly, cutting one's way with knives the whole way. So we stayed in the boat, hoping that when we reached the sea, a friendly fisherman would pick us up and take us to civilization.

As for water, there was a choice. We could drink the muddy river water, or die of thirst. We drank the water. Men who have just escaped from what appeared to be certain death lost all worries about such small things as diseases caused by dirty water. In fact, none of us suffered from any illness as a result.

One day we passed another village, but fortunately nobody saw us. We did not wish to risk being taken prisoners a second time: we might not be so lucky as to escape in a stolen boat again.

1.What they could see on the boat was only___ .

A. high walls         B. chains of hills  C. heavy woods D. vast land

2.They couldn't land because_______ .

A. the mud on the shore was too soft      B. they could not find anyone

C. they could not find the mark on the map D. the forest was too thick to go through

3.From the passage, we can learn that_____ .

A. they were in an uninhabited area       B. they were on a journey home happily

C. the country was a civilized society    D. the country was a tropical jungle coutry

4.The best title for this passage might he______

A. I he Problem of Landing                B. Escape in the Jungle

C. An Entirely New Experience            D. Exploration of a River

【答案】5.C6.A7.D8.B

【解析】略

【题型】阅读理解

【适用】一般

【标题】2011届江西省吉安市高三上学期期末教学质量评价英语试卷

【关键字标签】江西省吉安市,高三英语,期末

【结束】

 

 

18【题文】If you travel to a new exhibition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, you will have chances to see some meat-eating plants. Take bladderworts, a kind of such plant, for example. They appear so small and grow in a quiet pond. "But these are the fastest known killers of the plant kingdom, able to capture a small insect in 1/50 of a second using a trap door!"

Once the trap door closes on the victim, the enzymes (酶)similar to those in the human stomach slowly digest the insert. When dinner is over, the plant opens the trap door and is ready to trap again.

Meat-eating plants grow mostly in wet areas with soil that doesn't offer much food nutrition. In such conditions, these amazing plants have developed insect traps to get their nutritional needs over thousands of years. North America has more such plants than any other continents.

Generally speaking, the traps may have attractive appearance to fool the eye, like pitcher plants, which get their name because they look like beautiful pitchers full of nectar (花蜜).

Hair-like growths along the pitcher walls ensure that nothing can escape, and the digestive enzymes can get to work. A tiny insect can be digested in a few hours, but a fly takes a couple of days.

Some of these pitchers are large enough to hold 7.5 liters. Meat-eating plants only eat people in science fiction movies, but sometimes a bird or other small animals will discover that a pitcher plant isn't a good place to get a drink.

9.From Paragraph 1,we learn that bladderworts can__ .

A. kill an insect in a second         B. digest a fly in a few hours

C. be found floating on a quiet lake  D. capture an insect in 1/50 of a second

10.If the trap door of a meat-eating plant is closed, the plant is

A. fooling insects into taking a sip  B. producing nectar

C. tempting insects to come close     D. enjoying a dinner

11.Meat-eating plants can grow in wet and poor soil because they    .

A. can get nutrition from animals     B. don't need much food nutrition

C. can make the most of such conditions    D. have developed digestive enzymes

12.What can be captured by meat-eating plants for food?

A. A child. B. A dog.   C. A little bird.   D. A little fish.

 【答案】13.D14.D15.A16.C

【解析】略

【题型】阅读理解

【适用】一般

【标题】2011届江西省吉安市高三上学期期末教学质量评价英语试卷

【关键字标签】江西省吉安市,高三英语,期末

【结束】

 

19【题文】You know Australia is a big country, but you may not know how easy it is to get around. The untouched beaches that go for miles and deserts that touch the horizon are just there, waiting to be reached and explored. The following are the different ways you can explore our vast country.

Getting around Australia

Air

Flying is the best way to cover large distances in a short time. You can spend more time on the Australia's can't-miss landscapes and relaxing lifestyle. Moreover, competition among airlines makes great flying fees available for you.

Drive

Australia has a vast network of well-maintained roads and some of the most beautiful touring routes in the world. You have no difficulty finding car rental companies at major airports, central city locations, suburbs and attractions.

Bus

Bus travel in Australia is comfortable , easy and economical. Buses generally have air conditioning, reading lights, adjustable seats and videos. Services are frequent, affordable and efficient.

Rail

Train travel is the cheapest and gives you an insight into Australia's size and variety, all from the comfort of your carriage. Scheduled services are a great way to get quickly between our cities and regional centers.

Ferry (轮渡)

The Spirit of Tasmania runs a passenger and vehicle ferry service between Melbourne and Tasmania nightly. Extra sen ices are running during summer rush hours. Sea-link ferries connect South Australia and Kangaroo Island several times a day. Ferries connect suburbs in our capital cities.

Walk

With easy-on-the-feet pedestrian.(行人)streets, walking is a great way to get around our cities.

Besides all the above, you can also experience some of the longest: tracks and trails in the world in central Australia——impressive journeys of a thousand kilometers or more that can take several weeks to complete.

17.The underlined word "untouched" in Paragraph 1 means__ .

A. secure         B. special          C. natural          D. artificial

18.Which of the following is true about travelling in Australia?

A.   You can easily rent a car to explore its beautiful touring routes.

B.  More travellers make the flying fees among airlines higher than before.

C.  Taking a bus tour is the most comfortable, economical and efficient way.

D.  Train services can offer you more comfort than any other means of transport,

19.Ferry service between Melbourne and Tasmania usually runs_ •

A. several times a day                B. only at night hours

C. between different cities           D. only during rush hours

20.From the passage, we know that_____ .

E.   travelling in central Australia is time-consuming

F.   central Australia has the world's shortest railway line

G.  pedestrian walking is a great way to travel between cities

H.  you have no choice but to walk over 1,000 kilometers in central Australia

【答案】21.C22.A23.B24.A

【解析】略

【题型】阅读理解

【适用】一般

【标题】2011届江西省吉安市高三上学期期末教学质量评价英语试卷

【关键字标签】江西省吉安市,高三英语,期末

【结束】

20【题文】BUKHANNON, West Virginia~~Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two—mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.

Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates on the rescuers' progress.

The miners were trapped at about .6:30 and many families weren't informed of the accident until about 10 a.m.~~more than three hours after it happened. "It's very upsetting, but you've got to be patient, I guess," said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.

The trapped miners were about 260 fee underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine's entrance, said Roger Nicholson, a lawyer from International Coal Group.

At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4, 800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m. Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.

He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years. The miners were equipped with al>out one hour of breathable oxygen each. The company has not released the names of the miners.

The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that. "We don't want to be electrifying anything if it's in an atmospfiere with hurnahle gases," Kips said.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. High levels of carbon monoxide ( 一氧化物) were discovered shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have weakened since then, authorities said.

25.According to the passage, we ran infer that_ .

I.     communication with the trapped miners was cut off

J.    the rescue started as soon as the accident happened

K.  the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time

L.   all the miners who were trapped underground were still alive

26.If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about______per hour.

A. 1,000 feet         B. 1,200 feet       C. 2,400 feet       D. 4,800 feet

27.Where ran the passage he seen?

A. Iii a magazine.    B. In a science hook. C. On an advertisement. D. In a newspaper.

【答案】28.A29.B30.D

【解析】略

【题型】阅读理解

【适用】一般

【标题】2011届江西省吉安市高三上学期期末教学质量评价英语试卷

【关键字标签】江西省吉安市,高三英语,期末

【结束】

21【题文】

You wake up in the morning, the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time. Then the telephone rings, you say hello, and the drama starts. The person on tbe other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to. Are you still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!

Communieating with negative people can wash out your happiness. It may not change what you think, but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time.

Life brings ups and downs, but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer. They only feel glad when they make others feel bad. No wonder they can hardly win others' pity or respect.

When you communicate with positive people, your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted. When the knife of a negative person is put in you, you have the heavy feeling that, all in all, brings you down.

Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people. This could be a co-worker, or a relative. In this case, say what needs to be said as little as possible. Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person, but this is to lower you to that same negative level and they won't feel ashamed of themselves about that.

Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized. The negative words of others at the start of the day can be attached to you throughout the rest of your day, which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness. Life is too short to feel negative. Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible.

31. Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped? (E: entrance P: position where the miners were trapped)

32.The purpose of Paragraph 1 is to____ .

A. make a comparison                  B. introduce a topic

C. offer an instructive story         D. tell a true story

33.How can negative people have effect on us?

A. By influencing our emotion.        B. By telling us the nature of life.

C. By changing our way of thinking.   D. By comparing their attitude to life with ours.

34.Some negative people base their happiness on —.

A. their pity for other people        B. their respect for others '

C. building up a positive attitude    D. making other people unhappy 35.According to the passage, to reduce negative people's influence on us, we are advised.

A.  to change negative people's attitude to life

B.  to show our dissatisfaction to negative people

C.  to make negative people feel as hamed of themselves

D.  to communicate with negative people as little as possible

    . 【答案】36.A37.B38.A39.D40.D

【解析】略

【题型】阅读理解

【适用】一般

【标题】2011届江西省吉安市高三上学期期末教学质量评价英语试卷

【关键字标签】江西省吉安市,高三英语,期末

【结束】

 

22【题文】对话填空(本节共10小题;每小题1分,满分10分)

请认真阅读下面对话,并根据各题所给首字母的提示,在答题卡上标有题目的横线上,写出一 个英语单词的完整、正确的形式,使对话通顺。

M = Mike       W = Wendy

.M: I'd like to 41.d_ something with you. Do you have a minute?       42. ______

W: Sure. I just got off my eleven o'clock class. I don't have another class until this afternoon.

M: Good, listen! I've just 43.r ‘ an e-mail from the computer center. They are                     44. ______

looking for students to help with the work of the school website this summer.

They need two 45.a____ to help with the project. They asked me if I knew                46. ______

any qualified students who might be 47.i  in it. I thought you might like           48. ______

to have a 49.t___ .                                                                                                         50. ______

W: 51.S______ interesting, but my knowledge of computers is         52.______

53.p______ limited.                                                54. ______ —

M: Well, I don't think any 55.s experience or knowledge is necessary.   56. ______

And with your interest in computers and the Internet, I think you would be good

for the job. 57.B___ , they are paying good money. What do you think?                       58.______.

W: It seems like a great 59. c______to get some experience. Thanks for thinking                   60. ______

of me!

 

  Things similar continuously happened in Haiti and Chile.Thousands of people were

buried in the earthquake and lost their fives.What if we could have warned them? People are always trying hard to find a way of preventing building collapsing(坍塌).Better materials and technology help,but are not a solution.Just like humans,a building has its own life circle from  “birth” to “death”.If we know when a building is going to collapse,we can repair it in advance or get out before it falls.

    Now, scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks.The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes,or bridge supports.The secret behind the color-changing material is a type of molecule(分子).A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds(化学键).Imagine you and your friends standing in a circle,holding hands.Each person stands for one atom,your hands represent the bonds,and the entire circle represents a molecule.If one person lets go of his or her hands,the molecule changes color.The research team put the molecule into a soft material.When the researchers stretched(拉长) the material:it turned bright red a few seconds before it broke into two pieces.

When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material,without breaking it,it only turned a little red.

The major problem is,light can get rid of the red color.When the team shone a bright light on the molecule,the broken bond was fixed,and the color disappeared.If bright fight keeps the red color from appearing,the material’s warning system will be useless.Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the color-changing molecule can be used outside the lab.

1. The passage mainly about

A. a way of preventing building from breaking down

B. a series of earthquakes in Haiti and Chile

C. a way of warning before buildings collapse

D. a newly-discovered structure of a molecule

2.According to the passage,we can conclude that

A.there are problems to solve before putting the new material to use

B.scientists have found the life circle of buildings from “birth” to “death”

C.bright fight makes the red color visible to human eyes[来源:Z&xx&k.Com]

D.the new material is unlikely to be used in building bridges

3.The color-changing molecule can

A.make building materials much stronger[来源:Zxxk.Com]

B.help building materials get stretched if necessary

C.prevent the earthquake from killing people

D.remind people to leave buildings before they fall

4.The warning system is based on the fact that

A.red color won’t show up when it meets bright fight

B.a material with a certain type of molecule Can turn red when stretched etched

C.a building has its own life circle of “birth” to “death”

D.the broken bond will fix itself when a molecule meets bright fight

 

Anchors(新闻节目主持人)on China Central Television(CCTV) will need to do some fast talking to replace the popular English acronyms(首字母缩略词)they are now banned from using. Shanghai Daily reports that “anchors at China Central Television have been banned from saying the English acronyms NBA, CBA, GDP, and the like in their programs.”

    The replacement for those handy acronyms? Chinese presenters must use the full Chinese name, standardized by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

    Although CCTV(oops, we mean China Central Television) presenters must already have a score of at least 94 in their government-rated oral mandarin proficiency(普通话水平)exam, saying the full name of organizations like the CBA and WTO---10 and 6 characters’ long respectively---is sure to challenge even the most skillful anchors. CCTV sports anchor Sun Zhengping tells Shanghai Daily, “A full Chinese explanation of the English initials must be followed if my tongue slips. It is a little troublesome but a necessary one because not every member of the audience can understand the initials.”

    Although the government isn’t giving any official explanation for the shift, it is believed to have something to do with a proposal by Huang Youyi, director of the China International Publishing Group, at March’s NPC meeting. In his speech, Huang said, “With more and more publications mixing Chinese with English, measures and regulations should be adopted to avoid English invading Chinese. If we don’t pay attention and don’t take measures to stop the expansion of mixing Chinese with English, Chinese won’t be a pure language in a couple of years.”

    Although China is far from the first country to take measures to protect local languages, acronyms are more about saving time than they are about corrupting(破坏)a language, we would think. Good luck to the CCTV anchors.

1.CCTV anchors have to “do some fast talking” because they can no longer                       ____________________.

A.                   speak as slowly as they like

B.                    mix English into Chinese

C.                    use shortened Chinese expressions

D.                   have much time for their programs

2.According to the writer, “CBA” is supposed to be replaced with “________________”by CCTV anchors.

A.                     中国男子篮球职业联赛

B.                      中国篮球协会全国男女篮球职业联赛

C.                      中国篮球联赛

D.                     男子篮球联赛

3.What’s Huang Youyi’s purpose?

E.                      Using full English names instead of short forms.

F.                      Translating Chinese terms into proper English.

G.                     Avoiding Chinese words being mixed into English.

H.                     Keeping our mother tongue a pure language.

4.What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

I.                        China has fallen behind in the matter of protection of its language.

J.                       The ban is not necessary.

K.                     Chinese shouldn’t be corrupted.

CCTV anchors will have a hard time.

 

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