NEW YORK— Picking a Christmas tree takes most people a few minutes, or a couple of hours if they head for the woods. Dave Murbach needs 11 months.
Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.
Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree that makes more attractive Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.
“I'm always looking for a tree,” the center's chief gardener says. “I look for it even when I go to the beach in the summer. It' s like a homework assignment hanging over your head.”
And if he gets it wrong, there's nothing hiding it.
“Every day it's up, 400,000 people go by, and 2.5 million people watch the lighting celebration on television,”he says.
This year’s tree, a 74-foot Nomy spruce (云杉) from Richfield, Ohio, flown to New York on the world's largest cargo plane, was lighted on December 2.
The arrival of the tree leads in the Christmas season in New York — a tradition dating back to 1931, when the workers building Rockefeller Center put up a small tree with ornaments (装饰品).
The search for the next year's tree starts soon after the old tree is chopped up for wood chips and horse-jumping logs.
Murbach has three standards: The tree must be at least 65 feet high, at least 35 feet across and leaves dense (密集的) enough not to see through.
That's not as simple as it sounds. Though forests are full of evergreens, few get enough sunlight or space to fill out. And branches in snow regions often break under the weight, making trees unbalanced.
Back at the office, he sorts through hundreds of letters from people offering their trees, many addressed simply to “Mr. Christmas Tree Man.”
Though there was occasional anxiety attack and sleepless night, Murbach knows the effect the tree has on people: “It's for bringing people together, attempting to bring together people you love. That's what I hope it sets off.” But Murbach says he's always too worn out to celebrate Christmas.
1. Which is the correct order of the events in the passage?
a. Murbach’s thoughts turn to a perfectly shaped tree.
b. 2.5 million people watch the Christmas tree.
c. The tree is flown to New York.
d. It was lighted on December 2.
e. The tree is chopped up.
f. Murbach searches for the tree.
A. a, b, c, d, e, f B. c, d, b, f, e, a
C. c, d, e, b, a, f D. a, f, c, d, b, e
2. Murbach spends a lot of time that are exhibited in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.
A. taking care of Christmas trees
B. deciding on the perfect evergreens
C. sorting the letters from people
D. deciding the TV programs
3. Why does Murbach take his job seriously?
A. Because he wants everyone to be happy with his choice.
B. Because he hopes to make everybody unable to breathe.
C. Because he enjoys showing off.
D. Because he wishes to attract people's attention to himself.
4. According to Murbach' s standard of trees, the best tree must_______ .
A. be evergreen
B. have lots of space between their branches
C. be tall enough not to see through
D. be equally balanced
5. What kind of person do you think Murbach is?
A. A person always ignoring his family.
B. A person full of love.
C. A person devoted to his work.
D. A person with great anxiety.
1.D
2.B
3.A
4.D
5.C
【解析】
试题分析：本文叙述了Murbach对于工作的认真的态度，他为了曼哈顿的洛克菲勒中心展览的常青树，他花费了11个月的时间来寻找。他想要每一个人都对他的选择满意。
1.细节理解题。根据第二段Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.可知应选a,故排除BC；根据第三段Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree他去寻找树，应该排除A，故选D。
2.细节理解题。根据Dave Murbach needs 11 months. Murbach花费了很长的时间挑选常青树，故选B。
3.细节理解题。根据Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.他希望每个人都满意他的选择，故选A。
4.细节理解题。根据And branches in snow regions often break under the weight, making trees unbalanced.
最好的树就是均衡发展，故选D。
5.细节理解题。根据短文的内容可知Murbach 对工作很忠诚的，故选C。
考点：故事类短文阅读。
科目：高中英语 来源：河北省武邑中学2010届高三下学期第一次模拟考试 题型：阅读理解
第二部分：阅读理解（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Many people wonder why the United States has been a hotspot for Chinese students for years, despite its extremely strict visa policy. On the other hand, China’s rise as an economic powerhouse is resulting in a rapid expansion of its higher education system, making it the faster-growing destination for American foreign exchange students.
Recently, according to a study by the Institute of International Education, a research organization based in New York, the number of American students seeking higher education in China has never been greater, increasing by 90 percent from 2002 to 2004. Alan Goodman, president of the institute, believes that the phenomenon lies in the pace of change in China, which is spending billions of dollars to expend and transform its higher educational facilities into world-class institutions.
“China is a job market,” said Professor Chou, professor of East Asian Studies at Princeton University. “Twenty years ago, only those interested in Chinese literature would study Chinese language. Now all professors have opened up.”
China now ranks 9th as a host destination for American students, advancing from the No.12 spot it held a year earlier. The study revealed that Britain continues to be the leading destination, attracting 16.8 percent of all American students who study abroad. On the other hand, in the 2004-2005 academic year, China sent more than 62,000 students to the United States, nearly 60 percent more than a decade earlier. According to the study, the Chinese now make up 11 percent of foreign students in the United States, the second-largest group behind students from India.
41.From the first paragraph, we know that for many years Chinese students want to go to the US but _____.
A. Chinese government refuses to give a visa B. it is extremely difficult to get a visa
C. it results in a rapid expansion D. China becomes a fast-growing country
42.According to the text, “the phenomenon” in the second paragraph refers to _____.
A. more American students’ seeking higher education in China
B. the pace of change in China during the past few years
C. founding a research organization based in New York
D. expending and transforming its higher educational facilities
43.What is the main idea of this text?
A. American Students are looking for destination.
B. American students are interested in Chinese culture.
C. Britain continues to be the leading destination.
D. China grows as study hotspot for U.S. students.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2011－2012学年度江苏省泰州中学高二上学期期中考试英语卷 题型：阅读理解
At Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the lights are controlled by sensors that measure sunlight. They dim immediately when it’s sunny and brighten when a passing cloud blocks the sun.
A wall of windows at a University of Pennsylvania engineering building has built-in blinds (百叶窗) controlled by a computer program that follows the sun’s path. Buildings are getting smarter and the next generation of building materials is expected to do even more.
Windows could catch the sun’s energy to heat water. Sensors that measure the carbon dioxide breathed out by people in a room could determine whether the air conditioning needs to be turned up.
Many new materials and technology have been designed in the last 15 years. They are now being used in a wave o
f buildings designed to save as much energy as possible. They include old ideas, like “green roofs”, where a belt of plants on a roof helps the building keep heat in winter and stay cool in summer, and new ideas, like special coating for windows that lets light in, but keeps heat out.
As technologies such as sensors become cheaper, their uses spread.
The elevators (电梯) at Seven World Trade Center, which is under construction in New York, use a system that groups people traveling to nearby floors into the same elevator, thus saving elevator stops. People who work in the building will enter it by swiping (刷) ID cards that will tell the elevators their floor, readouts will then tell them which elevator to use. The building also has windows with a coating that blocks heat while letting in light.
M
ore new building materials and technology are in development. A Philadelphia building firm is now working on “smart wrap” that uses tiny solar collectors to catch the sun’s energy and transmitters (传输器) as wide as a human hair to move it. They are expected to change the face of the construction industry in the next ten years or so.
【小题1】________ will be developed and used in the construction industry.
| A．“Green roofs” that cool or heat buildings |
| B．“Smart wrap” that catches the sun’s energy |
C．Sunlight-measurin g sensors that control lights |
| D．Window coating that lets light in, but keeps heat out |
A．se nd people to floors with fewer stops | B．teach people how to use their ID cards |
| C．make people stay very cool in summer | D．help people go traveling in the building |
| A．a human hair | B．smart wrap | C．the sun’s energy | D．a transmitter |
| A．Buildings Are Becoming Smarter | B．Buildings Are Getting More Sunlight |
| C．Buildings Are Lacking in Much Energy | D．Buildings Are Using Cheaper Materials |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2011-2012学年度江苏省泰州市田家炳实验中学高二上学期英语调研卷 题型：阅读理解
Good Genes Mean Long Life
Scientists have discovered that living to the age of 100 may have nothing to do with the lifestyle you lead and everything to do with the type of genes you have.
For the lucky carriers of “Methuselah” genes, worries over smoking, eating unhealthily and not getting enough exercise may not be as necessary as to those of us without the special gene pattern (组合).
The “Methuselah” genes could give extra protection against the diseases of old age such as cancer and heart disease. They could also protect people against the effects of the unhealthy lifestyles that we believe will lead us to an early death, scientists say. However, the genes are very rare.
The genes include ADIPOQ, which is found in about 10 percent of young people but in nearly 30 percent of people living past 100. They also include the CETP and the ApoC3 genes, which are found in 10 percent of young people, but in about 20 percent of people over 100 years old.
Some of those genes were discovered by a research group at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, led by Professor Nir Barzilai. The team studied the genes of over 500 people over 100 years old, and their children.
The studies show that tiny mutations (变异) in the make-up of some genes can greatly increase a person’s lifespan (寿命). Barzilai told a Royal Society conference that the discovery of such genes gave scientists clear targets for developing drugs that could prevent age-related diseases, allow people to live longer and stay healthy.
David Gems, a researcher at University College London, believes that drugs to slow ageing will become widespread.
“If we know which genes control longevity (长寿) then we can … target them with drugs. That makes it possible to slow down ageing,” he told The Times.
“Much of the pain and suffering in the world are caused by ageing. If we can find a way to reduce that, then we are obliged (义不容辞的) to take it.”
【小题1】According to the article, which of the following is the most important if a person is to live to the age of 100?
| A．Eating healthy food every day. | B．Having the right types of genes. |
| C．Having a healthy lifestyle. | D．Taking drugs that prevent ageing. |
| A．10% | B．20% | C．30% | D．50% |
| A．The team studied the genes of over 100 people over 100 years of age. |
| B．The researchers found that mutations in certain genes lead to longer life. |
| C．The researchers found ways to develop drugs that could cure age-related diseases. |
| D．The study suggested that most people have genes that could lengthen their lives. |
| A．drugs to slow ageing will be very expensive |
| B．modern science will be able to find more longevity genes |
| C．it is the duty of medical scientists to fight the problems of ageing |
| D．scientists can make new genes that will allow longer life |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010年广东省执信中学高三上学期期中考试英语卷 题型：阅读理解
My father’s reaction to the bank building at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York city was immediate and definite: “You won’t catch me putting my money in there!” he declared, “Not in that glass box!”
Of course, my father is a gentleman of the old school, a member of the generation to whom a good deal of modern architecture is upsetting, but I am convinced that his negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the nature of money. In his generation money was thought of as a real commodity (实物) that could be carried, or stolen.
Consequently, to attract the custom of a sensible man, a bank had to have heavy walls, barred windows, and bronze doors, to affirm the fact, however untrue, that money would be safe inside. If a building’s design made it appear impenetrable（难以渗透的), the institution was necessarily reliable, and the meaning of the heavy wall as an architecture symbol reflected people’s prevailing attitude toward money.
But the attitude toward money has, of course, changed. Excepting pocket money, cash of any kind is now rarely used; money as a tangible commodity has largely been replaced by credit. A deficit (赤字) economy, accompanied by huge expansion, has led us to think of money as product of the creative imagination. The banker no longer offers us a safe: he offers us a service in which the most valuable element is the creativity for the invention of large numbers. It is in no way surprising, in view of this change in attitude, that we are witnessing the disappearance of the heavy-walled bank.
Just as the older bank emphasized its strength, this bank by its architecture boasts of imaginative powers. From this point of view it is hard to say where architecture ends and human assertion (人们的说法) begins.
36. 【小题1】The main idea of this passage is that________.
| A．money is not as valuable as it was in the past |
| B．changes have taken place in both the appearance and the concept of banks |
| C．the architectural style of the older bank is superior to that of the modern bank |
| D．prejudice makes the older generation think that the modern bank is unreliable |
| A．The former thinks more of money than the latter. |
| B．The younger generation values money more than the older generation. |
| C．Both generations rely on the imaginative power of bankers to make money. |
| D．To the former money is a real commodity but to the latter be a means to produce more money. |
| A．that can be replaceable | B．that is usable |
| C．that can be touched | D．that can be reproduced |
| A．ambitious and friendly | B．reliable and powerful |
| C．sensible and impenetrable | D．imaginative and creative |
| A．cautious | B．regretful | C．positive | D．hostile |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年吉林省吉林一中高一上学期期中考试英语试卷A（带解析） 题型：阅读理解
As the world watched the twin towers of the World Trade Center come under attack, a common phrase was repeated:” It looks like a movie.”
But this time there was no superman to save the people or the famous building. The attack destroyed one of the world's highest skyscrapers and left 5,000 people dead or missing.
Movie fans have become used to such events after years of Hollywood films showing disasters, terrorism and danger. The Empire State Building, the White House, New York City and even the American president himself have all been threatened(威胁) by terrorist attacks in these exciting films. The film” True Lies”, released in 1994, is considered to be a good example of this kind of movie. The special effects, including explosions and missiles, make the action look like a real thing.
“Independence Day” in 1996 took this type of movie one step further by blowing up the White House. This science fiction(科幻) movie is about a war between human beings and aliens from another planet. In the movie, the World Trade Center towers are destroyed.
Violence has become a major part of Hollywood movies. And this is what people enjoy. Soon after the attacks, many famous film companies stopped the planned releases of some of their new movies, especially if their films showed terrorist attacks or plane crashes. “Swordfish” was top of the American box office in June. But the movie's story was frighteningly similar to the Sept. 11 disaster. The film would have been stopped in American and British cinemas after the attack. But it's unlikely that Hollywood will stay quiet for long. It is already waiting for the feeling in America to calm down.
【小题1】What is the main subject of the newspaper article?
| A．The relationship between the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films. |
| B．The effect of the Sept. 11 attack and Hollywood films. |
| C．The response Hollywood made to the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．The result of Hollywood films showing violence and disasters. |
| A．Hollywood made a lot of money out of the film “Swordfish” in June. |
| B．Hollywood stopped making films showing terrorism and disasters after the Sept. 11 attack. |
| C．“Swordfish” was not allowed to be shown after the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．The World Trade Center was destroyed because no superman came to save I t. |
| A．Hollywood is a film making center making films of violence and disasters. |
| B．too many Hollywood films showing terrorism and disasters resulted in the Sept. 11 attack. |
| C．people who were used to the Hollywood films were not shocked at the Sept. 11 attack. |
| D．in fact, the Sept. 11 attack had nothing to do with Hollywood films. |
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