Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, that is the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive（印象深刻的）as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial（紀(jì)念物） to celebrate their love.
When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife’s death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white.
Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out. More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains in the center under the building.
And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Hehan lived the rest of his days－eight years, to be exact － imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it－until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired（激發(fā)……的靈感） its construction.
59．The first two paragraphs were written to show that _____.
A.the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building
B. ancient Indian emperors were cruel
C. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India
D. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world
60．The Taj Mahal was first built as _____.
A. a prison          B. a gift to Mumtaz     
C. a memorial building        D. a tourist attraction
61．We learn from the text that Mumtaz probably died in _____.
A. 1626          B. 1632           C. 1634           D. 1653
62．The underlined word “happiness” in the last sentence refers to _____.
A. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife
B. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power
C. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal
D. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal

59---62   ACBA  

59.A 點(diǎn)評：主旨題。根據(jù)第1，2段，我們可以判斷出主要講述對象是 TajMahal。
60.C 點(diǎn)評：細(xì)節(jié)題。第一段“...build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor”。
61.B 點(diǎn)評：細(xì)節(jié)推斷題。從第五段“More than 20000 workers labored nearly 22 years to...”“In1653，Jehanplaned Mumtaz’s...”可算出修成時(shí)1653年減去修建花的22年得出的年份和1632年最貼近。
62.A 點(diǎn)評：整體理解題。仔細(xì)閱讀全文后，可知“happiness”意為婚姻幸福，故應(yīng)選A。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


C
Why are so many coin banks shaped like pigs? Why not dogs or cats or elephants?
Coin banks weren't always made to look like pigs. In fact, the name "piggy bank" may have come from a kind of clay and not from the animal at all.
The history of the piggy bank goes back to the Middle ages. At that time in Western Europe, metals were expensive, so a cheap orange clay known as pygg was used for everyday items such as dishes and jars. In fact something made from pygg clay was often just called a pygg. The first piggy bank may well have been a pygg in which a person put a few extra pennies to buy a treat on market day.
People have always had a hobby of saving pennies, and using a pygg as a coin bank became common practice. Potters (陶工) began making jars specially for saving coins, and eventually these jars took a pig-like shape. Modeling a bank to look like a pig may have been influenced by the name of the clay. The earliest Roman coin bank ever found was decorated with a pig. Because it was considered as a valuable farm animal in many countries, the pig was an appropriate symbol of wealth and prosperity.
These early clay banks were fragile and easily broken. As time passed, mining became less expensive. Iron, copper, and silver gradually replaced pygg clay in the production of household items. Although pygg clay lost its popularity, the habit of saving pennies did not. Today piggy 'banks are made of every material imaginable.
The familiar saying "A penny saved is a penny earned" is as old as the clearly piggy banks. Marry a child received his or her first coin bank accompanied by this wise advice. The modern-day piggy bank may have changed in sine, shape, and spelling, but it saves our pennies just as well as the first pygg did countries ago.
64. In the Middle ages, people used pygg to make dishes because ________.
A. it was precious                             B. it stood for wealth
C. it had a beautiful color                           D. it was cheaper than other materials
65. What do we know about the pygg bank?
A. Its name might come from an animal.                   B. The first pygg bank looked like a pig.
C. It was designed for children at the beginning.         D. The early piggy banks were easily damaged.
66. Why did pygg day lose its popularity?
A. Other cheap and solid materials appeared.    B. It was inconvenient to carry it to the market.
C. It couldn't be made into other shapes.          D. People had run out of this kind of material.
67. In the last paragraph, the author intends to tell us ________.
A. piggy banks nowadays are not practical          B. piggy banks still play a part in our daily lives
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


The Channel Islands are a group of British?owned islands lying in the English Channel(海峽) , 10 to 30 miles off the French coast , and 70 to 90 miles from the English coast. There are ten islands with a total land area of 75 square miles and a total population of 123,000. The three largest islands, Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney, have long been known for the fine breeds(品種) of cattle that are raised on them and named after them.
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Although people on the islands speak both languages and they are considered English, their customs are more French than English.
1.Which of the following maps gives the right position of the Channel Islands?

Br="Britain            " Fr="France           " Ch="Channel" Islands 
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A. considered best in England
B. named after their birthplaces
C. brought to the islands by the Germans
D. raised on well?known farms by the French 
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A. earliest known history               B. 1066
C. 1930s                                D. the end of World War Ⅱ 
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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Last year the weather had been so kind,and the harvest promised to be so good,that Jalpur had been wondering whether he could sell all that he had and live with his son farther up the coast.He had been thinking about doing this for some years.It was his dearest wish to spend his last days with his son and his wife.But he would go only if he could give;he would not go if it meant taking food out of the mouths of his grandchildren.He would rather die hungry than do this.
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小題1:Which of the following could Jalpur NOT see from his Fields?
A．Mothers washing clothes.
B．Fathers taking their corn to market.
C．Fishing boats traveling on the sea.
D．Children playing on the sands.
小題2:Why didn't Jalpur live well?
A．He didn't work hard.
B．He had too many children to feed.
C．He only depended on good weather and harvest for survival.
D．The villagers kept taking his corn.
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A．move away from his son
B．take a vacation up the coast
C．make a great deal of money in order to live an easy life
D．spend his last days with his son and his wife
小題4:What did Jalpur do when he saw the huge wave?
A．He set his corn on fire so the people of Shundagarh would leave the beach.
B．He screamed loudly to get the villagers' attention.
C．He ran down the hill to tell the people.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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How did this sign language work?  The deaf were taught to make certain movements with their hands, faces and bodies. These movements stood for things and ideas. A man might move his finger across his lips. This meant, “You are not telling the truth.” He might tap his chin (下巴, 下顎)with three fingers. This meant “my uncle”.
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B．teaching the deaf to speak with their mouths
C．learning how to spell words with one’s hands
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B．the deaf must have special teachers to teach them
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D．it is not very difficult for the deaf to learn sign language
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D．It helped them speak with their mouths
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Narcissus was a beautiful looking boy. He had long, flowing, blond hair, beautiful, bright, blue eyes and even, white teeth. Many young ladies fell in love with him including the nymph（女神）: Echo.
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Aphrodite took pity on him and made a flower grow in his place on the bank of the lake. Narcissus flowers (水仙花) can be found to this day growing wherever you can find water and trees.  
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A．Narcissus was good-looking.
B．Echo was a lively spirit
C．Narcissus loved her, too.
D．Echo took pity on Narcissus
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B．She thought Narcissus didn’t respect and made Echo sad.
C．Narcissus fell in love with the vision, not Echo.
D．Echo was trapped in love and didn’t protect trees in the forest any longer.
小題3:What does the underlined word “anguished” in the fourth paragraph mean?
A．become increasingly thin and weak
B．become very hungry
C．become very fat
D．become out of mind
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A．To tell people a sad love story
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

People aren’t walking any more---if they can figure out a way to avoid it.
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Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper…… is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And wlaking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all.
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C．Driving cars too much
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B．walking in nature helps enrich one’s mind
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A． A queue of cars
B．A ray of traffic light
C．A flash of lightning
D．A stream of people
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A．To tell people to reflect more non life.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.
　　It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and said , "I have failed again." On the train back to Washington, he said sadly, "That speech was a flat failure, and the people are disappointed."
　　Some newspapers at first criticized（批評）the speech. But little by little as people read the speech they began to understand better. They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.
　　Today, every American school child learns Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.
小題1:.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was_________.
A．very critical
B．unpopular
C．very popular
D．very courteous （禮貌）
小題2:.
. Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was_________.
A．a(chǎn) famous speaker
B．a(chǎn) very handsome man
C．President of the country
D．a(chǎn) popular statesman
小題3:.
It can be inferred from the text that_________.
A．Lincoln prepared his speech very carefully before he went to Gettysburg
B．Lincoln was very busy at the time and didn't have much time to prepare his speech
C．Lincoln's speech was full of rich words
D．Lincoln's speech was very long
小題4:.
It was a fact that Lincoln's speech was _________.
A．a(chǎn)n immediate success
B．warmly applauded
C．a(chǎn) total failure
D．not well-received at first
小題5:.
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Lincoln's Gettysburg Address has deep meaning.
B．Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is simple in style.
C．Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is memorized by every American school child.
D．Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is the greatest speech ever delivered in the United States.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Terry Herbert, 55, of Staffordshire, the UK, has used a metal detector (探測器)for the past 18 years to look for treasure. He’d never found anything especially valuable. But on July 5, he made a very important discovery, which also changed the way the British look at history. In a field near his home, Herbert found a huge number of ancient artifacts. The finding was announced on September 24.
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The artifacts are thought to date from between AD 675 and AD 725, a time that is sometimes called the Dark Ages. The time was marked by frequent fighting. The gold in the collection weighs 5 kilograms. It suggests that England at the time was richer than historians thought.
Why were the gold and silver treasures buried? Archaeologists believe it could have been to hide them from enemies, a common practice at the time.
The findings could become one of Britain’s top archaeological finds. So far, experts have looked at 1,345 pieces and there are still more to come. It may take a year to look at the whole finding.
Herbert found the treasure while he was searching in a friend’s field over five days in July. He said his discovery was more fun than winning the lottery. “This is what treasure hunters dream of, finding stuff like this. The great amount there is just unbelievable,” he said.
1、Terry Herbert used a metal detector to search for treasure because     .
A、he had researched the area and was sure there was treasure there.
B、he was very interested in British history.
C、he wanted to be an archeologist
D、he enjoyed searching for treasure
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A、the treasure he found belongs to an ancient English king.
B、the treasure has changed people’s understanding of early English history.
C、the treasure is proving a big help to the British economy.
D、it is the find that many British treasure hunters have been hoping for years.
3、On the basis of the article, which of the following is TRUE?
A、It might take three years for scientists to look through all of the treasure.
B、Ancient English people buried treasure in the fields for future use.
C、At the time England was a more violent and religious land than historians thought.
D、Herbert prefers the fun of treasure hunting over the money he will earn for his discovery.
4、Which of the following headlines best sums up the article?
A、British treasure hunter makes big find.        B、Scientists find out about the dark ages.
C、How to find treasures using a metal detector.  D、Archeologists win big lottery prize.

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