Do you suppose Darwin, one of the greatest scientists of all time, really did foolish experiments? Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish?

Sometimes, people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution to a problem. Sometimes, they really do know an answer or a solution, but without thinking they are important.
Charles Darwin didn’t settle for(滿足于)just thinking he knew something. And, he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.
Suppose you drop sheets of paper that are of exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place, they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight little ball and let it drop along with the other sheets. What happens? You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldn’t be worth anything.
But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our present-day understandings of physics, ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.
Scientists sometimes stop to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea, which we might think is foolish, can shake the foundations of science.
小題1: The passage tells us that Charles Darwin　　　　.
A．was a great English scientist
B．a(chǎn)lways liked doing the experiments that others thought difficult
C．thought even the simplest thing was important
D．didn’t get well with others
小題2: The underlined phrase “set aside” most probably means　　　　.
A．throw awayB．store up
C．put to useD．realize
小題3: The author of the passage tries to　　　　.
A．convince us that Charles Darwin, Galileo and Newton are the greatest scientists in the world
B．draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things
C．prove that two sheets of paper, with the same size and shape, will fall at the same speed
D．draw our attention to everyday happenings around us
小題4:Which of the following is TRUE?
A．Darwin really did foolish experiments.
B．According to some people Darwin did foolish experiments.
C．It is believed by all the people that things could be important though they seemed to be simple.
D．Galileo and Newton worked out ancient Greek physics.

小題1:C
小題2:A
小題3:D
小題4:B

【文章大意】作者以達(dá)爾文為例, 告訴我們要留意身邊的小事, 要善于探索。
小題1:選C。推理判斷題。短文并沒有說Charles Darwin是哪個國家的科學(xué)家, 可排除A; 由第一、二段可知別人認(rèn)為Darwin的許多實(shí)驗(yàn)不值得做, 可把B排除; 文中沒有論述Darwin與別人相處的事情, 可排除D。由“he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be. ”可推出答案C。
小題2:選A。詞義猜測題。由上文可知作者認(rèn)為做這個簡單實(shí)驗(yàn)是重要的, 它解釋了目前人們對于物理方面的理解。這些理解推翻了一些希臘古典物理學(xué)的觀點(diǎn)。由此可推知set aside與throw away同義。
小題3:選D。主旨大意題。短文的最后一段點(diǎn)明最簡單的事情都可能動搖科學(xué)的根基, 意在告訴讀者要留意身邊的每一件事, 哪怕它非常簡單。
小題4:選B。細(xì)節(jié)理解題。短文第一段第二句“Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish? ”明確告訴我們, 有些人認(rèn)為Darwin做了愚蠢的實(shí)驗(yàn)。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：完形填空

For a long time I saw happiness as a huge banner (旗幟) across the finish line of a long race.I felt that only when I____certain things could I finally be happy in my life.Most of the time I felt like a tortoise believing that being slow and____would win the race.At other times I would___like a rabbit trying different side roads at a dangerous ____hoping to reach that banner a little faster.____，I began to see that no matter  how long I raced towards it，the banner was never any____.I finally decided to____and take a break.It was then that I saw my____sitting beside me.
It had been with me as I____hard to support my family，as I played with my children and heard their____and even when I was ____with my wife at my side looking after me.It had been with me as I raced towards that stupid banner.I just didn’t have the____to see it.
There is an old Chinese proverb that says，“Tension is who you think you should be.___is who you are.”Perhaps we all should stop our race towards the____life we think we should have and ____the life we have now.Happiness will never be found under some banner far away.It will be found____your own heart，soul and mind.It will be found when you____that others love you just as you do.
Don’t be a tortoise or a rabbit when it comes to your happiness.Be a playful puppy and carry your stick of____with you everywhere you go.____yourself out of the race and realize that when it comes to love and happiness，you are____there.
小題1:
A．forgot　B．missed
C．overcameD．a(chǎn)ccomplished
小題2:
A．safe 　B．steady
C．calm 　D．quiet
小題3:
A．a(chǎn)ct　B．run
C．jump 　D．walk
小題4:
A．place　B．height
C．speedD．time
小題5:
A．GenerallyB．Gradually
C．Fortunately 　D．Firstly
小題6:
A．clearer　B．lower
C．closer 　D．smaller
小題7:
A．settle in　B．start off
C．stop by　D．sit down
小題8:
A．happiness　B．goal
C．success　D．friendship
小題9:
A．studied　　B．fought
C．exercised　　D．worked
小題10:
A．laughterB．complaints
C．storiesD．breathing
小題11:
A．lonely　B．tired
C．sick　　D．hungry
小題12:
A．courage　B．chance
C．wisdomD．strength
小題13:
A．Stress　B．Relaxation
C．Failure　　D．Pain
小題14:
A．realB．perfect
C．common　D．ordinary
小題15:
A．enjoy 　B．change
C．improve 　D．create
小題16:
A．fromB．on
C．over 　D．in
小題17:
A．realize　　B．believe
C．hope 　D．a(chǎn)dmit
小題18:
A．sorrow　B．responsibility
C．fortune 　D．joy
小題19:
A．Carry 　B．Make
C．PushD．Take
小題20:
A．never 　B．still
C．a(chǎn)lready 　D．ever

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The public commonly associates steroid use with big-time athletics. But the drugs may be even more of a menace to teenagers. The synthetic hormones can stunt a young person’s growth by prematurely closing the ends of the long bones in the skeleton. That means a 1.7 metre, 15-year-old high school student who uses steroids “might get bigger but won’t get any taller”, according to a US doctor.
Nearly seven percent of boys in the US try steroids before the end of high school, according to a 1988 study by professors Charles Yesalis and William Buckley, of Penn State University. The estimate comes from a poll of 3,400 seniors in 46 public and private schools across the US.
“Abusers of Steroids did it to improve their appearance and to excel at sports,” Professor Yesalis said. “Parents, teachers and coaches make boys believe that to be an ideal male you need to have these. Then they say: ‘you can’t play games to have fun; you play games to win.’”
“Such attitudes put many high school athletes at high risk of becoming abusers of steroids,” said Mike Gimbel, director of Baltimore County Office of substance Abuse. “For these athletes, the pressure to perform is incredible,” he said. “It was inevitable that it would seep down to high school level.”
小題1:The word “big-time” in Paragraph 1 most nearly means “________”.
A．long timeB．good timeC．top rankD．modern
小題2:Why are steroids even more of a threat to teenagers?
A．Because they make teenagers grow too tall.
B．Because they make teenagers get too big.
C．Because they prevent teenagers from getting taller and taller.
D．Because they give teenagers too much pressure.
小題3:Which of the following statements is implied but not mentioned?
A．School athletes have too much pressure.
B．Steroids can help people have lots of muscles.
C．The pressure chiefly comes from parents, teachers and coaches.
D．Girls are not interested in steroids.
小題4:Which of the following is a good title for this passage?
A．Drugs and Sports
B．The Pressure to School Boys are Too Much
C．School Boys are Interested in Drugs
D．School Athletes Risk Damage from Drugs

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　Fear can be fun. Many young people queue up to ride very fast and scary roller coasters, screaming but enjoying themselves. Other people like to read “goose bumps (雞皮疙瘩)” books or watch horror movies at night, scared to death but feeling excited. Why do people like being scared?
　　Fear is an ancient way of surviving. Being scared makes animals, including humans escape from danger and save themselves. It is because of fear that we have lived through millions of years of evolution. Those who lacked a strong fear response were more likely to be killed, leaving the more fearful and careful to pass their genes onto the next generation.
　　How do scientists explain why shaking over such scary things is fun? “Some kids will go to a scary movie and love it and laugh over it, others will feel anxious and hide their faces and some won’t even set foot in the cinema,” said Ned Kalin, a US scientist. “Which kind of person you are depends partly on experiences you’ve had and partly on your genes.”
　　What happens in the brain when something frightens you? Nerves that begin at the eyes and ears lead to a part of the brain called the amygdale. When you suddenly see a snake, for example, the amygdale makes you freeze, sweat, have a quickened heartbeat, or run very fast. However, seeing the snake also uses another part of the brain, the cortex. It analyzes the situation, and if it finds that the snake is only made of rubber it tells your heart and the rest of your body to calm down. Think of the amygdale as the engine and the cortex as the brake.
　　Back to the first question: Why do some people like to make themselves scared? “One reason is that we can play games with fear, find ways to reduce the scariness by looking away or thinking of something else,” Kalin said. “To believe we have control over a situation gives us a feeling of power.” “Scary movies or novels are good practice to prepare young people for the real thing. Thrills such as roller coaster rides also go to the brain’s pleasure centre.”
　　And there might be some evolutionary advantage to being able to adjust this system that is there to protect people.
　　72. How many questions are answered in the passage?
　　A. 2. 　　　B. 3. 　　　C. 4.　　　 D. 5.
　　73. Some people like to be scared because______.
　　A. they are afraid that the fear genes will be passed onto their children
　　B. it’s a good practice to get prepared for the real frightening situation
　　C. it can help them show their own personalities
　　D. they will feel powerful after getting rid of fear
　　74. Which of the following is true about the people who are not easily scared?
　　A. Their cortex is better at analyzing the situations.
　　B. They are more likely to suffer from potential danger.
　　C. They are born unaffected by anything horrible.
　　D. They lack a strong response towards threat.
　　75. What is the best title of the passage?
　　A. Ready to scream? 　　　　B. How to be scared?
　　C. Willing to shake?　　　　D. Why to be scared?

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth (收費(fèi)站). “I’m paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”
It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.
Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she’d taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “l(fā)ike a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn’t know where it came from or what it really meant.
Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.
“Here’s the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”
The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!
小題1:Why did Natalie Smith pay for the six cars behind her?
A．She knew the car drivers well.
B．She wanted to show kindness.
C．She hoped to please others.
D．She had seven tickets.
小題2:Judy Foreman copied down the phrase because she       .
A．thought it was beautifully written
B．wanted to know what it really meant
C．decided to write it on a warehouse wall
D．wanted her husband to put it up in the classroom
小題3:Who came up with the phrase according to the passage?
A．Judy Foreman.
B．Natalie Smith.
C．Alice Johnson.
D．Anne Herbert.
小題4:Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlined sentence above?
A．Kindness and violence can change the world.
B．Kindness and violence can affect one’s behavior.
C．Kindness and violence can reproduce themselves.
D．Kindness and violence can shape one’s character.
小題5:What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A．People should practice random kindness to those in need.
B．People who receive kindness are likely to offer it to others.
C．People should practice random kindness to strangers they meet.
D．People who receive kindness are likely to pay it back to the giver.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：完形填空

My brother and I were in Orlando Florida to witness our first Space Shuttle Launch. The Discovery was         to soar at 10:14 AM on a blue sky September day. I’d seen it         so many times on television,         now I was only minutes away from seeing it launch. And it’s the final demonstration of the         of success: Success Takes Off Like a Rocket.
Witnessing the Take Off:
Standing close to the Space Shuttle         home one unforgettable point—the Shuttle is the height of a 15-story building—it         4.5 million pounds—and NASA is trying to lift it 200 miles off the ground. On TV the accomplishments look so much        , so much easier.
Crowds of people are standing around with you to watch the Shuttle go. The countdown begins through the small         of hundreds of portable radios all tuned to the NASA station. It’s enough to get your heart beating        .
When time is up, the side booster rockets are lit up and the eight explosive bolts        . The first things you see are large white         clouds exploding away. Through the steam, you see the fire power. Then the Space Shuttle begins to inch off the pad and climb its way        . Thousands upon millions of pounds of         can hardly lift the shuttle at all. But with ever increasing ease, the shuttle picks up and roars into the sky, headed into space attaining a        of over 17,000 mph.
It is within the first two minutes to launch the Space Shuttle that the great success lesson is      . Fact: 85% of the shuttle’s fuel is consumed within the first 2 minutes just to get the 15-story super structure to its orbital        .
And that’s exactly how success        : The first steps you take towards launching a successful career are the         and will require an enormous consumption of energy—a great big push. However,         you persist through the launch period, which can seem almost         for quite some time, everything gets easier and easier and your results get bigger and bigger.
小題1:
A．a(chǎn)dvisedB．hopedC．scheduledD．reminded
小題2:
A．rise upB．come upC．step upD．go up
小題3:
A．butB．a(chǎn)ndC．a(chǎn)sD．therefore
小題4:
A．universeB．worldC．natureD．a(chǎn)ir
小題5:
A．getsB．drivesC．runsD．jumps
小題6:
A．costsB．weighsC．measuresD．sells
小題7:
A．smallerB．greaterC．biggerD．smoother
小題8:
A．rocketsB．workersC．speakersD．a(chǎn)ctors
小題9:
A．off your mouthB．out of your stomachC．off your mindD．out of your chest
小題10:
A．blowB．followC．glowD．flow
小題11:
A．gasB．smokeC．mistD．steam
小題12:
A．downwardB．upwardC．forwardD．outward
小題13:
A．pullB．liftC．pushD．pressure
小題14:
A．distanceB．degreeC．heightD．speed
小題15:
A．ordinaryB．a(chǎn)bsoluteC．a(chǎn)pparentD．present
小題16:
A．a(chǎn)ttitudeB．a(chǎn)ltitudeC．routeD．rail
小題17:
A．puts offB．pays offC．takes offD．drops off
小題18:
A．hardestB．easiestC．simplestD．biggest
小題19:
A．whileB．ifC．unlessD．until
小題20:
A．uselessB．carelessC．wirelessD．priceless

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Sharing Beauty
It was in October. I was aimlessly wandering down the street, heading into a most gloriously beautiful sunset. I had an urge to speak to someone on the street to share that beauty, but it seemed everyone was in a hurry.
I took the next-best action. Quickly I ducked into a department store and asked the lady behind the counter if she could come outside for just a minute. She looked at me as though I were from some other planet. She hesitated, and then seemingly against her better judgment, she moved toward the door.
When she got outside I said to her, “Just look at that sunset! Nobody out here was looking at it and I just had to share it with someone.”
For a few seconds we just looked. Then I said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.” I thanked her for coming out to see it; she went back inside and I left. It felt good to share the beauty.
Four years later my situation changed greatly. I came to the end of a twenty-year marriage. I was alone and on my own for the first time in my life. I lived in a trailer park which, at the time, I considered a real come-down, and I had to do my wash in the community laundry room.
One day, while my clothes were going around, I picked up a magazine and read an article about a woman who had been in similar circumstances. She had come to the end of a marriage, moved to a strange community, and the only job she could find was one she disliked: clothing sales in a department store.
Then something that happened to her changed everything. She said a woman came into her department store and asked her to step outside to look at a sunset. The stranger had said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world,” and she had realized the truth in that statement. From that moment on, she turned her life around.
小題1:The author asked the woman to go outside to ______.
A．a(chǎn)dmire the sunsetB．cheer her upC．offer some helpD．have a chat
小題2:Four years later, the author ______.
A．found her dream job
B．put an end to her marriage
C．worked in a laundry room
D．lived in the same community
小題3:After reading the article in the magazine, the author was probably______.
A．disappointedB．puzzledC．inspiredD．overjoyed

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Janelle was running late for work, so she just had time for a quick look at herself in the mirror as she was going out. What she saw there made her stop dead in her tracks.
Being a busy college student just one year removed from her teenage years, she wasn’t exactly obsessive-compulsive(有強(qiáng)迫觀念和行為的) about the neatness of her clothes. But her boss at the restaurant where she works saw things a little differently. He had recently lectured the entire staff on the importance of appearance, and had specifically mentioned the need for servers to wear clean, unwrinkled blouses. As an assistant manager, Janelle felt it was important to set an example for the other employees. But if she stopped to iron the blouse normally, she would be late —and work without delay was an area of even greater concern to her boss.
So she grabbed her iron and plugged it in and set it for low heat. Carefully holding her blouse away from her body, she continued to iron it while she was wearing it. It seemed like a logical answer to an urgent problem.
And it seemed to be working until Janelle tried to iron the collar and accidentally ironed her neck by mistake. Then it suddenly seemed like a really stupid idea and a really painful one as well. It took more time to treat her burn than it would have taken to iron her shirt properly. And she spent a miserable shift dealing with the pain of the burn.
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? For me it was cutting my own hair. For a former roommate it was trying to pull his own wisdom teeth. For another college acquaintance, it was trying to change the oil in his car while the motor was still running.
“There’s a right way and a wrong way of doing things,” Dad used to tell me whenever I’d spoil the look of our yard by trying out a faster, easier and more creative way of pulling weeds or edging the lawn. “If a thing is worth doing,” he said, “it’s worth doing it right.” There’s a reason why certain things are done in certain ways. Those old, boring, predictable ways work.
小題1:Jenelle found in the mirror that __________.
A．there were stains on her blouse
B．her blouse was wrinkled
C．she wore heavy makeup
D．she put on a wrong blouse
小題2:It’s learned from Paragraph 2 that______________.
A．Jenelle had no sense of responsibility at work
B．Jenelle failed to set an example for employees in daily work
C．Jenelle didn’t care about the neatness of her clothes at all
D．Jenelle’s boss put doing something on time above appearance
小題3:What can we infer from the fifth paragraph?
A．We all have done loads of things like Janelle.
B．We are careful enough in daily life.
C．We all have done something creative.
D．We all have tried to iron clothes while we are wearing them.
小題4:What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph ?
A．Be creative.B．A bad beginning makes a bad ending.
C．Stick to old ways.D．Do things right.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity.I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day's events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary.I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper.After all, isn't accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?
When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well－equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera.During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across.I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels.On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand.The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows.I automatically took out my pen...
At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley.All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.
Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling.I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful.I take pictures, but not very often—only of objects I find really beautiful.I'm no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old.I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.
I don't want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes.Maybe I won't have as many exact representations of people and places; maybe I'll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me.I don't live to make memories—I just live, and the memories form themselves.
小題1:Before the age of thirteen, the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of________.
A．observing her school routine
B．expressing her satisfaction
C．impressing her classmates
D．preserving her history
小題2:What caused a change in the author's understanding of keeping a diary?
A．A dull night on the journey.
B．The beauty of the great valley.
C．A striking quotation from a book.
D．Her concerns for future generations.
小題3:What does the author put in her diary now?
A．Notes and beautiful pictures.
B．Special thoughts and feelings.
C．Detailed accounts of daily activities.
D．Descriptions of unforgettable events.
小題4:The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is________.
A．to experience it
B．to live the present in the future
C．to make memories
D．to give accurate representations of it

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