If your boss asks you to work in Moscow this year, he’d better offer you more money to do so — or even double that depending on where you live now.That’s because Moscow has just been found to be the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
Using the cost of living in New York as a base, Mercer determined Moscow is 34.4 percent more expensive including the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
A two-bedroom flat in Moscow now costs $4,000 a month; a CD $24.83, and an international newspaper $6.30, according to Mercer.By comparison, a fast food meal with a hamburger (漢堡包) is a steal at $4.80.
London takes the No.2 place, up from No.5 a year ago, thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar.Mercer estimates (估算) London is 26 percent more expensive than New York these days.Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo, both of which are 22 percent more expensive than New York, while No.5 Hong Kong is 19 percent more costly.
Among North American cities, New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two listed in the top 50 of the world’s most expensive cities.But both have fallen since last year’s study — New York came in 15th, down from 10th place, while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago.San Francisco came in a distant third at No.54, down 20 places from a year earlier.
Toronto, meanwhile, is Canada’s most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide.In Australia, Sydney is the priciest place to live in and No.21 worldwide.
小題1:What do the underlined words “a steal” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.a(chǎn)n act of stealing B.something delicious
C.something very cheap D.a(chǎn)n act of buying
小題2:London has become the second most expensive city because of ______.
A.the high cost of clothing
B.the stronger pound against the dollar
C.its expensive transportation
D.the high prices of fast food meals
小題3:Which city is the third most expensive on the list?
A.Tokyo.B.Hong Kong.C.Moscow.D.Sydney.
小題4:Which city has dropped most on the list in North America?
A.New York.B.Los Angeles.C.San Francisco.D.Toronto.

小題1:C
小題2:B
小題3:A
小題4:D
文章講述的是世界上幾個日常生活費用最高的城市的情況,和他們消費水平名詞的排名及其變化
小題1:猜測詞義題,根據(jù)上文的物價比較可知,漢堡的價格非常便宜,所以選擇C
小題2:事實細節(jié)題,根據(jù)第四段的thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar可知
小題3:事實細節(jié)題,根據(jù)第四段Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo可知,漢城和東京名列第三
小題4:推理判斷題,根據(jù)前面幾個城市的名詞的變化和最后一段的Toronto, meanwhile, is Canada’s most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide可知,多倫多的下降的最多。
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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:完形填空

We all have weaknesses and strengths—no matter who we are .Some get sick easily.
Some are  36  people in communication, struggling with  37 .
Sometimes weaknesses seem to outweigh (勝過)the strengths and sometimes it’s the other way around.  38  ,facing huge limitations, many people tend to  39  it  as just bad luck ---but not everyone. Those who rise over their weaknesses can still manage to  40  extraordinary things.
I  41  a school prize –giving ceremony and the guest speaker was Andrew Becroft,  42 had a severe stutter (結(jié)巴 ) as a child .  43  allowing this to limit  him , he chose to overcome it. Now he is a famous judge . Not only  44  he become  successful, but he did so in a profession  45  he had to speak before others regularly. Had he not worked on his  46  ability, it would have been very limiting to his success in life and work.
Many people face far huger limitations, such as loss  47  legs or arms , being born extremely poor,  48 you do. But whatever the limitation, you’ll  49 find people who have overcome it. Helen Keller, who fell  50 and lost  her sight and hearing at 19 months old, worked hard to be a famous woman with great  51  . Mark Inglis lost both his legs in a mountain climbing accident,  52  has since climbed Mt. Everest.
If one of them had told you what they hoped to achieve, you would have nodded kindly while  53  thinking to yourself that they had no chance . And yet the results speak for  54  .
Though most of us will never have to face such challenges , yet most of us will never achieve to the  55  that these people have either if we never seriously think of what we can do.
小題1:
A.hopelessB.cheerfulC.carelessD.skillful
小題2:
A.sympathyB.securityC.relationshipsD.scholarships
小題3:
A.PersonallyB.ImportantlyC.GenerallyD.Fortunately
小題4:
A.believeB.a(chǎn)cceptC.receiveD.think
小題5:
A.experienceB.a(chǎn)ccessC.challengeD.a(chǎn)chieve
小題6:
A.preparedB.interviewedC.visitD.a(chǎn)ttended
小題7:
A.whichB.whoC.whomD.that
小題8:
A.Because ofB.Instead ofC. Due toD.Apart from
小題9:
A.didB.couldC.wouldD.had
小題10:
A.whatB.whichC.whereD.why
小題11:
A.communicatingB.readingC.a(chǎn)ctingD.speaking
小題12:
A.forB.fromC.ofD.in
小題13:
A.beforeB.thanC.untilD.a(chǎn)s
小題14:
A.a(chǎn)lwaysB.sometimesC.seldomD.never
小題15:
A.a(chǎn)sleepB.illC.behindD.a(chǎn)part
小題16:
A.congratulationsB.impressionsC.a(chǎn)chievementsD.rewards
小題17:
A.soB.butC.a(chǎn)ndD.or
小題18:
A.quietlyB.slowlyC.seriouslyD.carefully
小題19:A. yourself        B, ourselves         C. themselves       D. itself
小題20:
A.stageB.degreeC.placeD.position

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord (房東) can charge for an apartment. Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartment. Their rent cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes. However, the critics say that after a long time, rent control may have negative effects. Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits. Therefore, they invest in other businesses where they can increase their profits. They do not invest in new buildings which would also be rent-controlled. As a result, new apartments are not built. Many people who need apartments cannot find any. According to the critics, the end result of rent control is a shortage of apartments in the city.
Some experts argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way. The federal government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers. The minimum helps people who generally look for unskilled, low-paying jobs. However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers. They will replace workers with machinery. Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that employers want decreases. Thus, critics hold the opinion that an increase in the minimum wage may cause unemployment. Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum wage.
Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity. Because of the law, workers cannot sell their services for less than the minimum. Furthermore, employers cannot force workers to accept jobs at unfair wages.
Economic theory predicts the results of economic decision, such as decisions about farm production, rent control, and the minimum wage. The predictions may be corrected only if “other things are equal”. Economists do not agree on some of the predictions. They also do not agree on the value of different decisions. Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it. Economists do agree, however, that there are no simple answers to economic questions.
小題1:There is the possibility that setting maximum rent may________.
A.cause a shortage of apartments
B.worry those who rent apartments as homes.
C.increase the profits of landlords.
D.encourage landlords to invest in building apartments.
小題2:We can safely say that rent control_________.
A.will always benefit those who rent apartments.
B.is unnecessary.
C.will probably bring inactive effects in the long run.
D.is necessary under all conditions
小題3:There will be the problem of unemployment if ________________.
A.the minimum wage is set too high..
B.the minimum wage is set too early.
C.the workers are unskilled.
D.the maximum wage is set for poor workers.
小題4:The passage tells us about _______________.
A.the relationship between supply and demand.
B.the possible results of government controls.
C.the necessity of government control.
D.the urgency of getting rid of government control.
小題5:Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.The results of economic decisions cannot always be predicted.
B.Minimum wage cannot always protect employees.
C.Economic theory can help predict the results of economic decision if other factors are not changing.
D.Economists usually have the same prediction about an economic decision.

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:完形填空

Water costs money.In some places water is hard  1  .What  2  when a town
has these problems?A small town in California found a happy  3
  Very little rain ever fell there.The town had no water of its own.The water it used was from a river 300 miles away.As more people  5  live in the town,  6   water was needed.Now water 7  to be brought in from 600 miles away.All these cost 8  money.
  The town  9  a plan.It found a way to clean its “dirty” water.Once the cleaned water was reused  10  many ways.Five man-made lakes were built.Here people could swim and fish and go  11  .They could have picnics in their new parks.Farmers had more water  12  their crops.New factories can be built,now that they have the promise of 13  .
  In most places,water is used and thrown 14  .The town that saved  15  water
has saved the town!
小題1:
A.supplying B.gettingC.to getD.to supply
小題2:A.happens    B.happening  C is happened     D.happened
小題3:A.key        B.a(chǎn)nswer     C answering  D.way
小題4:
A.fetchB.takeC.brought inD.guided
小題5:
A.come toB.came toC.coming toD.came for
小題6:
A.manyB.plenty ofC.more D.many more
小題7:
A.has B.hadC.must D.needed
小題8:
A.manyB.a(chǎn) fewC.a(chǎn) great manyD.a(chǎn) lot of
小題9:
A.put B.made C.supplyD.noticed
小題10:
A.forB.byC.a(chǎn)tD.in
小題11:
A.boatingB.to boatC.to boatingD.on boating
小題12:
A.a(chǎn)sB.withC.forD.to
小題13:
A.water enoughB.enough water
C.crops enoughD.enough crops
小題14:
A.offB.ofC.a(chǎn)wayD.out of
小題15:
A.it’sB.itsC.one’sD.his

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Some people argue that the pressures on international sportsmen and sportswomen kill the essence(本質(zhì)) of sport-seeking for personal excellence. Children kick a football around for fun. When they get older and play for local school teams, they become competitive but they still enjoy playing. A single person’s representing his country cannot afford to think about enjoying himself; he has to think only about winning. He is responsible for an entire nation’s hopes, dreams and fame.
A good example is the football World Cup. Football is the world’s most important sport. It is even more important now that the United States is seriously taking it up. Winning the World Cup is perhaps the greatest of international sporting success. Mention “Argentina” to someone and the chances are that he’ll think of football. In a sense, winning the World Cup “put Argentina on the map”.
Sports fans and supporters get quite irrational(失去理性的) about the World Cup. People in England felt that their country was somehow important after they won in 1996. Last year thousands of Scots sold their cars, and even their houses and spent all their money traveling to Argentina where the finals were played.
So am I arguing that international competition kills the idea of sports? Certainly not! Do the Argentineans really believe that because eleven of their men proved that most skillful at football, their nation is in every way better than all others? Not really. But it’s known that you won, and that in one way at least your country is best.
小題1:What is the writer’s main purpose in the passage?
A.To explain the role of sport
B.To compare Scotland with Argentina
C.To show that Argentina is better than all others.
D.To prove that football is the world’s most important sport.
小題2:According to the passage, Argentina is world famous because of its ____.
A. clear position on the map
B. successes in the football World Cup
C. excellence at all important sports
D.large number of sports fans and supporters
小題3:According to the passage, if a sportsman thinks about winning, he will ____.
A.be irrationalB.be successful
C.fail to succeedD.lose enjoyment
小題4:What is the writer’s attitude towards international games?
A.Nations that meet on football are unlikely to meet on a battle field.
B.Nations that win in international games prove best on the sports field at least.
C.Nations that win the football World Cup are considered as best in all ways.
D.Nations that give much attention to international competitions are world-famous in many ways.
小題5: From this passage, we can infer that ____.
A.We should learn from England
B.We should play football only for fun, not for fame
C.We should learn from Argentina
D.We should give chances for other countries to win the World Cup

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

In the professional world, oral communication skills in the workplace, which is the art of using speech to convey information, thoughts and feeling to others, is important for the success of any organizations.
The 21st century has been considered to be an era of communication. The way we convey our thoughts is of great importance in building relationships. In the workplace, there are employees of diverse cultural and educational backgrounds. This makes team working on a difficult task, but with a clear understanding of the task to be achieved, all members work towards the same goal. Misunderstandings, conflicts and differences in opinions are easily managed when there is a clear flow of communication between team members.
With proper communication, a close relationship and trust build among the employees, therefore promoting excellent working conditions. An atmosphere of support and cooperation is promoted by properly conveying expectations of the management team to the employees and vice – versa (相反的情況). Therefore, developing oral communication skills is important to success in life ahead.
How to improve oral communication? In the business world, individuals are expected to be confident about their beliefs and ideas. Therefore, they must include words like “in my opinion”, “as far as I know”. While improving skills on oral communication, people in a workplace must learn the art of listening. In addition, one must also have a positive body language during conversations. A person with a smiling face and positive attitude can raise the spirits of everyone around him. When we’re talking to someone, we must give the other person an opportunity to talk as it improves our listening ability.
Communication is an art and it can be improved by working on it constantly. Since it is not an overnight work, one needs to learn it by observing people who are good at it.
Title
Oral communication skills in the workplace
小題1: _______
The art of using speech to convey information, thoughts and feelings to others.
 
Importance
●The way we convey our thoughts plays a major 小題2:____in building relationships.
●Understanding the task 小題3: __makes employees work towards the same goal.
●A clear flow of communication can easily 小題4: ______ the misunderstandings, conflicts and differences in opinions.
●Good relationships and trust among the employees built with proper communication can 小題5: _______ excellent working conditions.
●Conveying expectations can promote support and cooperation.
小題6: ______ to improving oral communication
●Use words like “in my opinion” to show your 小題7:____ about your beliefs and ideas.
●Learn to be a good 小題8:_______ in the workplace.
●Avoid using a小題9:_______ body language during conversations
●Smile and be positive to delight the people around you.
●Give the other person a chance to talk in a conversation.
Conclusion
Communication can be improved with小題10:______effort and we should learn from those who are good at it.

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

It took courage to stand up at work. Now more and more people like to have a change and stand up when they are on something important. Standing up is popular. Medical researchers have found that people who stand at work tend to be much healthier than those who sit.
In the last few years, many office supply companies have begun to sell the adjustable- height desk. These so- called “ sit/ stand” models are equipped with an electric motor that lets them shift from chair height to person height at the push of a button. Unfortunately, they’re regarded as specially furniture. Sit/ stand desks tend to be expensive, hard to find and not easy to test it in person.
When you worked standing up, your mind was more excited and new ideas kept coming out. This is because when you’re standing, you feel a bit unchained from your desk. If you got stuck on a word or sentence as you wrote, you found yourself shaking your arms, bouncing on your feet or stepping away from the desk for a bit------ things you couldn’t do in a chair. Often, standing up seemed to relax your mind enough for you to get over creative barriers.
There’s one other thing about standing for a long time;  you tended to get hungrier than you do when you sit on a chair. That felt like confirmation of the stand-up advocates’ belief that you burn more calories when you stand than when you sit. For this reason alone, I’m hoping that sit/ stand desks one day hit the mainstream, with mass- market furniture companies making many low- priced versions. We could all do with a bit more standing up.
小題1:We can learn that the adjustable- height desk is_______.
A.easy to findB.easy to test
C.relatively cheapD.smart in operation
小題2:According to para.3, standing up while working ______.
A.tends to make us much healthier
B.get us distracted from the work at hand
C.can make us relaxed and be creative
D.make us move about and unfocused
小題3:The underlined word “ unchained” in para.3 means “_______”
A.freeB.tiredC.uneasyD.Unbalanced

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

People who put a smiley face at the end of a message, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air.
I had some bad news this week. My manager informed me of this news via email. It was like hearing about the death of a loved one via pigeon. Bad news should only ever be delivered face to face or voice to voice.
We seem to celebrate our numerous methods of communication, but really there is no communication at all. I talk to my plants more than I talk to my neighbors, I get text messages that take me three hours to read because they’re written like this: “Hi, I ope you av a gr8 day. Call me La8tr.” I had an email from someone this week that read, “Da ut ov 2day are really annoying me!” Ut? I had to say this 20 times before I understood it. Youth has now become ut. Haven’t we taken enough from them—now we have to take their letters?
I had an email recently from a girl who used to live over the road from me as a child. She wrote, “Hi Shazia, howz u? Im sure u used 2 live across the road from me. We sumtimes played tennis 2 gever at the park and you was in your eliment. I am married now wif 3 daughters.” Then, to my horror, she ended the email with: “Im now teachin in Leeds. Luv Clare.”
Teaching? With English like this. It’s like saying you’re a train driver when you’ve never seen a train. It was like reading modern Morse code.
Getting bad news via email makes it seem so much worse than it actually is. Just a few lines, no emotion, no comfort, not really an explanation. Just a few cold hard words. It’s an excuse. Just write a few words and the problem of delivering it is no longer yours. A close friend recently told me she was very happy to announce she was getting married—and made the announcement by email. I don’t know how she didn’t fall off her chair with excitement while writing it. If you are really happy or really sad to announce something important, wouldn’t you like a human reaction? Some euphoria, elation, tears, a punch in the face?
I receive long text messages every day with information and explanations that I don’t bother reading. They’re boring, and annoy me. In the time it took someone to write me three laborious texts, they could have called, spoken to me, made some tea. People who put a smiley face at the end of a sentence, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air, because that’s the one I’d send back.
The telegram has been responsible for reporting world-shattering events when there were very few other options(選擇權(quán)). Now we have options, and people opt for the least humane one. My mum, in an attempt to get down with the ut of today, asked me to teach her to text. Now she constantly texts me in block capitals, so it looks as if she is still angry and annoyed with me after all these years.
People don’t even write by hand any more. My doctor prints out prescriptions from his computer; even my mechanic prints out a receipt. I get typed Christmas cards and my friends send me emails. I get very excited when hand-written letters come through my door, only because they rarely do.
When I was at school, the girls used to write letters to each other, even though we sat side by side and spoke to one another all day. I think it was a way of expressing private things we were afraid to say when we were 14 and too shy. We used to write things like, “You are my best friend, can’t wait to sit next to you in math.”
I miss the personal method of communication. Once the pen was mightier than the sword, now it seems the keyboard is mightier than the pen.
小題1:We can learn from paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 that the writer wants to say ________.
A.the spelling mistakes in the messages make her very annoyed
B.only writing letters will bring friends and neighbors much closer
C.she talks to plants more because no one shares her joys and sorrows
D.gestures and the pen can express a lot more than the cold keyboard
小題2:According to the writer, which of the following can support her opinion?
A.She has been separated from all his classmates many years.
B.No doctors write prescriptions by hand because of computers.
C.In communication, we should write more letters than send messages.
D.Less shy than school girls, boys rarely write letters to their friends.
小題3:According to the passage, we can conclude that ________.
A.the writer is a person full of emotions and treasures friendship and affections
B.the writer becomes excited when she gets priceless gifts from other people
C.her classmates would write to each other because they couldn’t send messages
D.people put a smiley face at the end of a message just to show they are happy
小題4:What message is conveyed in the passage?
A.The writer wastes much time in reading many rubbish text messages every day.
B.Few people can write letters well in modern society owing to texting messages.
C.Now people are too busy to communicate with each other face to face often.
D.The writer prefers personal communication rather than electronic equipment.
小題5:Why does the writer mention the telegram?
A.Because she thinks the annoyance of reading text messages is originated from it.
B.Because we have more options to keep in touch with each other than ever before.
C.Because advanced technology partly takes the blame for lacking the human touch.
D.Because she thinks humans today become colder with the development of society.
小題6:Which of the following best describe the tone of this passage?
A.Optimistic.B.Critic.C.Sympathetic.D.Pessimistic.

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


After squeezing into a small space with two other friends, I had a strong sense of pride to be the mission commander of this space flight. Our objective was very important. Scientists had been arguing about the possibility of existence of life on Mars for decades. Some of them said that the pictures of Mars, taken during various space explorations, had given them sufficient proof that only intelligent being could have made those amazing structures. Others maintained that what looked like a face in the pictures was nothing more than a flash of lights. The arguments continued without conclusion. To prove this once and for all, a decision was made to launch an expedition into space.
My crew and I were the best among our group of trainees. We practised hard together, training hand in hand, filled with a single aim—flying safely to Mars and back. This feeling was tense and everyone was highly excited, as the day drew nearer. We were anxious to see what Mars was like but the uncertainty held us with fear.
The last moment finally came. The countdown proceeded, and soon we were deep in space, floating about freely and went about preparing the spaceship for the intended landing. Since the trip was scheduled to take about three years, we slept in a special room to prevent ourselves from aging. So I drifted off to sleep peacefully and suddenly I felt someone woke me up. We must have arrived at Mars and my crew was trying to wake me up.
I opened my eyes slowly and saw a familiar face. “Why would my English teacher wake me up?” I thought. Oh, no. Instead of medals and praise that I should receive, all I had was a severe warning against sleeping in class and then I spent the rest of the lesson standing in a corner.
小題1:Why did the author feel proud of himself?       (No more than 10 words)  (2 marks)
                                                                      
小題2:What was the objective of the mission?         (No more than 11 words)  (2 marks)
                                                                      
小題3: How did they feel as the day to explore space drew near?
(No more than 8 words)  (3 marks)
                                                                       
小題4:What did the author finally receive after he was woken up?
(No more than 8 words)  (3 marks)
                                                                 ______

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