My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(幾率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:

In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them.
小題1:It can be learned from the article that ________.
A．the Mega Millions jackpot is the last lottery to win in the world
B．a(chǎn) judge in that country can’t talk about lottery because it is illegal
C．the writer doesn’t buy lottery, for he never hopes to become rich
D．In spite of little possibility, a lot of people spend money on lottery
小題2:The function of the graph is to ________.
A．show chances that those things take place are fewer
B．support the writer’s arguments on the lottery tickets
C．indicate no one can win the Mega Millions jackpot
D．say shark attack death will seldom happen this year
小題3:Which of the following do you think the writer would probably agree with?
A．If one has mathematical odds, he can win the prize more easily.
B．Only those who have irrationality buy hundreds of lottery tickets.
C．The Mega Millions jackpot is very popular in the writer’s country.
D．Winning lottery is a shortcut to achieve the dream of being rich.
小題4:The underlined phrase “at play” in the 7th paragraph most probably means ________.
A．effectiveB．ridiculousC．contradictoryD．a(chǎn)stonishing
小題5:What do you think is the best title?
A．The Popular Mega Millions JackpotB．Lottery is Merely a Trick
C．Mega Million is Like a Shark AttackD．Be rich, Buy Lottery Soon

小題1:D
小題2:B
小題3:C
小題4:A
小題5:C
文章講述的是彩票的流行和彩票中獎(jiǎng)幾率雖然很低，但是很多人還是愿意買(mǎi)。
小題1:推理判斷題，根據(jù)第三段可知，雖然中獎(jiǎng)的幾率非常低，但是還有很多人去買(mǎi)。
小題2:該表格是為了說(shuō)明作者的觀(guān)點(diǎn)而放置的。
小題3:推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章內(nèi)容可知，這種彩票在作者的國(guó)家非常的流行，包括他父親在內(nèi)的很多人都去買(mǎi)。
小題4:猜測(cè)詞義題，根據(jù)兩種解釋的內(nèi)容可知，是很有效的，因?yàn)樗母赣H就很愿意去買(mǎi)。
小題5:主旨大意題。文章講述的Mega Million 中獎(jiǎng)的幾率低，類(lèi)似于被鯊魚(yú)襲擊的幾率。
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：完形填空

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：完形填空

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A．creativeB．readyC．changedD．familiar
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A．purposeB．troubleC．secretD．theme
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A．matterB．meanC．belongD．refer
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：完形填空

A high school history teacher once told me, "If you make one close friend in school, you will be the most fortunate. A true friend is someone who stays with you for life."_36__ teaches that he was right. Good friendship is just not easily_37__.
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：完形填空

Eye See You
    Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. -- Jonathan Swift
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A．softlyB．clearlyC．loudlyD．peacefully
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Peanuts to This

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice：flip (擲) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!
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A．Controversial.B．Ridiculous.
C．Boring.D．Puzzling.
小題2:Why was the author confused about the task?
A．He was unfamiliar with American history.
B．He followed the advice and flipped a coin.
C．He forgot his teacher’s instruction.
D．He was new at the school.
小題3:The underlined word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _______.
A．a(chǎn)nnoyedB．a(chǎn)shamed
C．readyD．eager
小題4:In the end, the author turned things around _______.
A．by redoing his task
B．through his own efforts
C．with the help of his grandfather
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


There once lived a rich businessman who had a lazy son. The businessman wanted his son to realize the value of labour and said: “Today, I want you to go out and earn something, failing which you won’t have your meals tonight.”
He went crying straight to his mother. Her heart melted at her son’s eyes. She gave him a gold coin. When the father asked his son what he had earned, the son presented him the gold coin. The father asked him to throw it into a well.
The next day, he asked his son to earn something. This time he went crying to his sister who gave him a coin. When he showed it to his father he again asked him to throw it in a well. Then the father asked him to earn more money.
This time since there was no one to help him, the son was forced to go to the market. One shopkeeper told him he would pay him two coins if he carried his trunk to his house. He did so and sweated plenty. As he returned home he was asked to do the same. The son almost cried out. He could not imagine throwing his hard-earned money like this. He cried, “My entire body is aching. You are asking me to throw the money into the well.”
At this moment, the businessman told him one feels the pain only when the fruits of hard labour are wasted. On the earlier two occasions he was helped and therefore had no pain in throwing the coins into the well. The son had now realized the value of hard work. He promised never to be lazy and to safely keep the father’s wealth. The father handed over the keys of his shop to the son and promised to guide him through the rest of the life.
小題1:Which of the following is TRUE?
A．At first the son was hard-working and responsible.
B．The father taught his son a lesson in a good way.
C．The father didn’t like his son at all.
D．The businessman was a little lazy.
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A．the importance of helping others
B．the importance of money
C．the value of hard labour
D．the value of money
小題3:It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A．the mother was very generous
B．the sister was very warm-hearted
C．the father was very strict
D．the shopkeeper was very cruel
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A．look for a good job
B．use up his father’s wealth
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：完形填空


A man and his girlfriend got married. Everyone could tell that the love they had for each other was true.
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The next morning, at the breakfast table, they decided that they would go over their   41 .
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The wife, touched by his honesty and the depth of his love for her and his   46  of her, turned her head and wept.
In life, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed and annoyed. We don't really have to go   47  for them. We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise. Why waste time seeking the bad, disappointing or annoying when we can look around us, and see the wonderful things before us?
小題1:
A．enrichB．strengthen C．lengthen D．deepen
小題2:
A．a(chǎn)nnoying B．surprisingC．satisfying D．inspiring
小題3:
A．fix B．doC．find D．set
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A．smiled B．refused C．a(chǎn)greed D．hesitated
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A．spareB．separate C．empty D．special
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A．dishes B．magazines C．livesD．lists
小題7:
A．put awayB．handed in C．took outD．wrote down
小題8:
A．disappointedlyB．unluckily C．bitterlyD．quietly
小題9:
A．a(chǎn)ppearanceB．wayC．situationD．position
小題10:
A．changeB．a(chǎn)cceptC．decideD．drop
小題11:
A．a(chǎn)dvice B．warningC．a(chǎn)cceptance D．pride
小題12:
A．leaving B．waiting C．a(chǎn)sking D．looking

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


“Confidence” is probably one of the most noticeable traits (品質(zhì)) in the Americans. They show confidence in the way they talk, the way they smile, the way they dress and the way they walk. Living and competing with all these confident American students, I find it extremely important to be confident as an international student and instructor. As a student, being confident means you should never hesitate to raise your hand whenever a question or a point comes to your mind. Don't mind if it sounds simple or silly. Otherwise you will never get a chance to speak in class at all. What's worse, the professors may think you are not prepared for the discussion or you do not have your own opinion on the issue—this is the last comment any graduate would like to receive.
Being confident for me as a foreign instructor means calmly asking the student to repeat what he or she has said if I did not get it. Pretending to understand what you actually did not may just bring yourself embarrassment or even disgrace. But the time I most need to be confident is when my students come to my office and bargain about the grades I have given for their speeches. (The course I'm teaching here is Public speaking). Modesty is a trait highly valued in China, but it won't be of much help here if you want to survive and succeed in a good American graduate program.
小題1:To compete with American students it's very important to     .
A．be quite confident
B．be polite and friendly
C．have more discussions with them
D．understand what they think about
小題2:A professor will have the worst opinion of a student who     .
A．gives a silly or simple answer
B．tries to seize any chance to speak in class
C．shows no interest in the course
D．is considered to have no opinion of his own
小題3:The author is most likely to feel embarrassed if       .
A．he asks a student to repeat what he has said
B．the students bargain with him
C．he pretends to know what he doesn't
D．he has to give a speech
小題4:We learn from the second paragraph that       .
A．we should also remain modest in America
B．modesty doesn't help you much in America
C．Americans also like modest people
D．modesty can help you through an American graduate program
小題5:What can we infer from the passage?
A．American students are ready to accept the grades from the teacher.
B．The writer teaches in Europe for a living.
C．Students are encouraged to present simple questions.
D．One’s ignorance will give away in time.

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