The Japanese have a genius for dreaming up small, useful and fun machines. You must have used or at least heard of Sony’s walkman, Nintendo or Sega’s video games, and Bandai’s Tamagotchi. And how about karaoke, invented by Daisuke Inoue?
Daisuke, who? Not many people have heard of him, and he never made much money from his invention. But anyone who has ever experienced the thrill of singing karaoke in front of a crowd has Mr.Inoue to thank…
Daisuke Inoue is an easygoing man with a quick smile. He was born in the suburbs of Osaka in 1940. At Osaka Technical High School he took up the drums, because he says, “All you have to do is hit them.” Before long he was making money as a drummer in a Hawaiian band that played in the old dance-halls left behind by American soldiers.
By 1970, he and six partners were playing in the clubs of nearby Kobe, accompanying middle-aged businessmen who wanted to sing traditional Japanese country and even army songs. His friends, Inous says, could all read music and so they could pick up the latest tunes (曲調). He, on the other hand, had to rely on memory and play by following the lips of the singer as they moved. “Out of 108 club musicians in Kobe,” he says. “I was the worst! And the clients (顧客) in my club were the worst singers!”
One client, president of a small steel company, was especially fond of Inoue’s slow, follow-along style. It made the president’s bad, out-of–time singing sound much better. One evening he wanted Inoue to play for him on a trip to a hot spring resort (勝地). The boss wanted to sing Frank Nagai’s Leaving Haneda Airport on a 7:50 Flight for his friends. But Inoue was unable to leave his job.
To help out his most loyal client, he decided to provide him with a tape. Inoue wouldn’t be there, but the singer would still have his accompaniment. Karaoke was born. 
1. Daisuke Inoue took up the drums at high school because _______.
A. they were his favorite musical instruments
B. he knew they would help him make money
C. he thought they were easy to learn
D. it was easy for a drummer to find a job
2. What does the underlined word “they” stand for?
A. His partner      B. His friends    C. The latest tunes    D. The singer’s lips
3. From this passage we know Daisuke Inoue was ______.
A. an outstanding musician            B. not quite good at music
C. a good singer and dancer           D. good at inventing things
4. Why did the president like Inoue’s playing so much?
A. Because Inoue followed his singing.
B. Because Inoue played very well.
C. Because he had got used to Inoue’s fast, exciting style.
D. Because Inoue was an easy-going man with a quick smile.

小題1:C
小題2:D
小題3:B
小題4:A
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

When a Swedish ship that sank in 1628 was recovered from the port of Stockholm, historians and scientists were overjoyed with the chance to examine the remains of the past. The ship construction showed how ships were built and operated during the seventeenth century. In this way, artifacts, objects made by human beings, provided a picture of daily life almost 400 years ago.
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Underwater archaeology can provide facts about the past. In ancient ports all over the world are ships sunken in the past 6,000 years. There are also sunken settlements in seas and lakes telling of people way of life and their systems of trade in ancient times. Underwater archaeologists want to study these objects to add to the world’s knowledge of history, but they have to fight two enemies. One enemy is treasure hunters who dive for ancient artifacts that they can sell to collectors. Once sold, these objects are lost to experts. The second enemy is dredging machines(挖掘機）often used to repair ports. These machines destroy wrecks and artifacts or bury them deeper under sand and mud. By teaching the public about the importance of underwater “museums” of the past, archaeologists are hoping to get support for laws to protect underwater treasures.
小題1:What purpose does Paragraph 1 serve in the passage?
A．To provide background information of the topic
B．To attract readers’ attention to the topic
C．To use an example to support the topic
D．To offer basic knowledge of the topic
小題2:The aim of underwater archaeology is to    .
A．exploit water bodies
B．search for underwater life
C．study underwater artifacts
D．examine underwater environment
小題3:Underwater archaeologists are worried because_____.
A．sea hunters have better diving equipment　
B．their knowledge of world history is limited　
C．dredging machines cause damage to the ports　
D．sold artifacts can hardly be regained for research
小題4:What is the main purpose of the passage?
A．To introduce a young branch of learning.　
B．To discuss the scientists’ problems.　
C．To explain people’s way of life in the past.　
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh(法老)treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, ”O(jiān)h boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.”I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his while
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It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.
Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter mainly told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warming .Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, ” Oh, that’s all right I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news ,deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轟炸的)person is sure to have.
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A．make a comparisonB．introduce a topic
C．describe a sceneD．offer an argument
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B．was reminded of the cruel pharaoh
C．wished that the sales agent would have had dreams
D．dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night.
小題4:What is the main idea of the text?
A．Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.
B．Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.
C．Receiving bad news requires great courage.
D．Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

In 2006, a large number of new Internet sites became popular around the world. Some of these are for communication, others for entertainment(娛樂).
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小題1:The passage is mainly about __________.
A．the most popular Internet technology in 2006
B．some new ways for people to communicate or have fun on the Internet
C．one online game called Second Life
D．the high price of playing online
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A．Three young men.B．Google.C．Computer users.D．Yahoo.
小題3:Whom does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A．The people who are interested in blogs.
B．The people who play games on YouTube.
C．The people who play Second Life.
D．The people who are created in Second Life.
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A．Teachers can share ideas, experiences and concerns about their work with other teachers on any website.
B．More than fifteen million American teenagers play fantasy sports.
C．Second Life helps people get married, buy and sell goods, work, play and attend school in real life.
D．Fantasy sports, a game in which each member of a group acts as the owner of a team, is very popular around the world.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解



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Each of the mascots has a repeated two-syllable name. This type of name is a traditional way of showing affection for children in China. BeiBei is the fish, JingJing is the panda, HuanHuan is the Olympic flame, YingYing is the Tibetan antelope and NiNi is the swallow. The first characters of their two-syllable names read “Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.” 
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It is the first time more than three mascots will share the important duty of representing their host country. Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team explained that, “China has such a rich culture that no single mascot could possibly represent it! That is why we chose to produce five mascots instead of one.”
Called the “Five Friendlies,” the figures embody（體現(xiàn)） the Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics, representing not only multi-ethnic(多民族的) cultures of China, but also the traditional Chinese philosophy of harmony between humans and nature.
In order to help Beijing 2008 spread its theme of One World, One Dream to every continent, the Five Friendlies reflect the deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Games — and to invite every man, woman and child to take part in the great celebration of human union in 2008. 
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A.Welcome to Beijing.
B.Prosperity, Happiness, Passion, Health and Good luck.
C.New Beijing, New Olympics.
D.One World, One Dream.
2. What did Han Meilin, chief of the mascot design team, think of the five mascots?
A.He thought highly of the five mascots.
B.No single mascot could represent China.
C.The five mascots represented the culture of China.
D.They would reflect the desire of Chinese people.
3. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.It’s for the first time that five mascots are chosen to represent their host country in the Olympic history.
B.One of the five mascots YingYing stands for the Olympic flame.
C.Beijing announced its five 2008 Olympic mascots just 1000 days before the big event.
D.The five mascots express affection for Chinese children by two-syllable names.
4. Which of the following best reflects the main idea of the passage?
A.The 29th Olympic Games will be held in Beijing in 2008.
B.The theme of 2008 Beijing Olympics — One World, One Dream.
C.The significance of five 2008 Olympic mascots — the Five Friendlies.
D.How the Five Fantastic Mascots came into being.
5. What do the five mascots — the Five Friendlies represent?
A.“Beijing Huanying Ni,” or, in English, “Welcome to Beijing.” 
B.Chinese multi-ethnic cultures, philosophy of harmony between humans and nature and five elements of nature.
C.Chinese people’s hope for peace and friendship in the world and the spirit of the Olympics.
D.The deep desire of the Chinese people to reach out to the world in friendship through the Olympics.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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Where there has been coffee, there has been the coffeehouse. From the 15th century Middle Eastern establishments where men gathered to listen to music, play chess, and hear recitations from works of literature, to Paris' Cafe le Procope where luminaries of the French Enlightenment such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot came to enjoy a hot cup of joe, coffeehouses have traditionally served as centers of social interaction, places where people can come to relax, chat, and exchange ideas.
The modern coffee shop is modeled on the espresso and pastry-centered Italian coffeehouses that arose with the establishment of Italian-American immigrant communities in major US cities such as New York City's Little Italy and Greenwich Village, Boston's North End, and San Francisco's North Beach. New York coffee shops were often frequented by the Beats in the 1950's. It wasn't long before Seattle and other parts of the Pacific Northwest were developing coffee shops as part of a thriving counterculture scene. The Seattle-based Starbucks took this model and brought it into mainstream culture.
Although coffeehouses today continue to serve their traditional purpose as lively social hubs in many communities, they have noticeably adapted to the times. Rediscovering their purpose as centers of information exchange and communication, many coffee shops now provide their customers with internet access and newspapers. It has become extremely common to see someone sitting at a Starbucks listening to music or surfing the web on his or her laptop. Coffee stores today also maintain a fairly identifiable, yet unique aesthetic: wooden furniture and plush couches, paintings and murals drawn on walls, and soft-lighting combine to give coffee shops the cozy feeling of a home away from home.
Today, big business retail coffee shops are expanding quickly all over the world. Starbucks alone has stores in over 40 countries and plans to add more. Despite its popularity, Starbucks has been criticized and labeled by many as a blood-sucking corporate machine, driving smaller coffee shops out of business through unfair practices. This has even spawned an anti-corporate coffee counterculture, with those subscribing to this culture boycotting big business coffee chains. Increasingly popular coffee stores such as The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf are also giving Starbucks some stiff competition. In any case, it seems pretty clear that coffee has weaved itself into the fabric of our consumer-oriented culture.
小題1: Which of the following is the correct order of coffee spreading in history?
①Egypt         ②America   ③the Middle East   ④Netherlands   ⑤Venice
A．①③④②⑤B．③①⑤④②C．①⑤④③②D．③②⑤④①
小題2:We can infer from the passage ________.
A．Starbucks has beaten all the competitors
B．there are no changes in the development of coffee culture
C．the taste of coffee has changed a lot
D．Starbucks has some effect on the development of coffee culture
小題3:The famous coffeehouse “Starbucks” originally come from _______.
A．SeattleB．EthiopiaC．JavaD．France
小題4: Nowadays, if you come to a coffeehouse, you can _______.
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B．enjoy delicious dishes from South America
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The Chinese invented paper in 105 A. D. They mixed the bark of a tree and rags (破布) with water, put a screen into the mixture, and lifted out a thin piece of wet paper. They dried the paper in the sun.
The Chinese kept their secret of how to make paper until a war with Muslims in the ninth century. The art of papermaking soon spread throughout the Muslim world.
The Mayan Indians in Central America and Pacific Islanders also discovered how to make paper, but their knowledge never spread to the rest of the world.
For centuries, all paper was made by hand. Rags were the main material. Then a French scientist discovered that people could make paper from wood, too. Finally, in the eighteenth century. a Frenchman invented a machine to make paper from wood.
小題1:Who discovered how to make paper?
A．The Chinese.B．The Pacific Islanders.
C．The Mayan Indians.D．All of the above.
小題2: When did the Chinese invent paper according to the passage?
A．About 1 ,800 years ago.B．About 1, 900 years ago.
C．About 2, 000 years ago.D．About 2, 100 years ago.
小題3: How was papermaking introduced into the rest of the world from China?
A．Through wars.B．Through the Muslims.
C．Through the Mayan Indians.D．Through the Pacific Islanders.
小題4:Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
A．The Invention of Paper.B．The History of Papermaking.
C．Different Ways of Making Paper.D．The Invention of a Papermaking Machine.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Before human’s history, in the middle of an ocean, miles from the nearest island, an undersea volcano broke out. The hot liquid rock piled higher and higher and spread wider and wider. In this way, an island rose up in the sea.
As time went on, hot sun and cool rains made the rock split and break into pieces. Sea waves dashed against the rock. In this way, soil and sand came into being.
Nothing lived on the naked soil. And then the wind and birds brought plant seeds, spiders and other little creatures there. Only plants could grow at first. Only they, in sunlight, could produce food from the minerals of the soil, water and air. While many animals landed on the island, they could find no food. A spider wove its web in vain, because there were no insects for its web to catch. Insects couldn’t stay until there were plants for them to eat. So plants had to be the pioneer life on this new island.
The underlined part “in vain” can be replaced by ________.
A. tirelessly    B. uselessly    C. fearlessly    D. effortlessly
According to the passage, ________ made the island rise up in the sea.
A. rock from the nearest island     B. sand brought by the wind
C. hot liquid rock from the volcano      D. sea waves dashing against the rock
What is the correct order of things appearing on the island?
A. Spiders, birds and plants.  B. Soil, plants and animals
C. Soil, hot liquid rock and animals.    D. Hot liquid rock, animals and plants.
The passage is mainly about ________.
A. how an island formed       B. how a volcano broke out
C. how plants were brought to the island      D. how plants and animals began to live on the island

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The black robin is one of the world’s rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird, and it lives only on the island of Little Mangere, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about fifty black robins; in 1977 there were fewer than ten. These are the only black robins left in the world. The island has many other birds, of different kinds, large and small; these seem to multiply very happily.
Energetic steps are being taken to preserve the black robin. Detailed studies are going on, and a public appeal for money has bee made. The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a “reserve”, for threatened wild life, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Mangere should then be supplied with the robin’s food—it eats only one kind of seed. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated in new Zealand. The public appeal is aimed at the conscience of mankind, so that the wild black robin will not die out and disappear form the earth in our time at least.
Is all this concern a waste of human effort? Is it any business of ours whether the black robin survives or dies out? Are we losing our sense of what is reasonable and what is unreasonable?
In the earth’s long, long past, hundreds, of kinds of creatures have evolved, risen to a degree of success—and died out. In the long, long future, there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early. This is nature’s proven method of operation.
The rule of selection—“the survival of the fittest”—is the one by which human beings have themselves arrived on the scene. We, being one of the most adaptable creatures the earth has yet produced, may last longer than most. You may take it as another rule that when, at last, human beings show signs of dying out, no other creature will extend a paw to put off our departure. On the contrary, we will be hurried out. For nature, tough fair, is a hard-hearted mistress. She has no favorites.
Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins. I leave you to judge whether we should try to do something about it.
57．The black robin is dying out mainly because        .
A．people have been very careless about its survival
B．its only food supply is far from enough on Little Mangere
C．the other birds on the island have destroyed it
D．the appeal for money has come at the wrong time
58．In Paragraph 3, the writer puts forward three questions to        .
A．make a comparison  B．make an argument
C．introduce a topic             D．present his own idea
59．As for selection and survival, the decisive factor seems to be        .
A．the ability to adapt to changed or changing conditions
B．the number of wild life reserves that are available
C．the concern and generosity of the public
D．the size of the home, or the amount of space one has to live in
60．The writer’s attitude towards the protection of the black robins is         .
A．a(chǎn)ctive       B．passive     C．unconcerned     D．optimistic

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