For hundreds of years the madder plant was our only source of yellow dye. The dye was extracted from the roots of the plant and sold all over the world.The great plantations in Southern France were devoted to the cultivation of the madder plant until 1869.In that year German scientists discovered that the dye could be produced artificially. A chemical that was extracted from coal tar was their answer. Alizarin, as it is called, was cheaper to produce, easier to use and more permanent (永久的) in coloring. The dyers of cloth turned to this new product, and the madder growers of France had to look for new crops to cultivate.
1.Our only source in formers times for yellow dye was ________.
A.chemicals
B.coal tar
C.plant
D.German plantations
2.The chemists discovered ________.
A.a better dye
B.coal tar
C.the madder plant
D.yellow dye
科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
What is a yawn(哈欠) and why do people yawn? A yawn is often associated with a person being tired. People yawn for many reasons including stress, boredom, emotion and overwork.
Have you noticed that yawning seems to be contagious (会传染的)? If one person yawns, this appears to cause another person to yawn.Researchers have found that 40-60% of people who see a picture of someone yawning will yawn themselves.
Some people think that yawning is rude and suggests that you are bored or uninterested.Maybe a yawn is a signal to a group that it’s time to go to sleep, or if someone yawns when they're bored, it may be a sign to change the topic of conversation. Animals of all types yawn.If you have a dog or cat, you've probably seen your pet yawn several times.Even some birds yawn such as cockatiel parrots, Adelie penguins and Emperor penguins.
Some of the scientific explanations of why we yawn claim it is caused by physical needs.One likely explana??tion is that the yawning reflex happens when our blood needs more oxygen.The deep breath helps supply the levels of oxygen in our blood. It is also thought that the same chemicals in our brain that affect our moods and emotions cause us to yawn.
Superstitions about yawning have been around for hundreds of years and can date back to the ancient Greeks.A common superstition says that a person must cover his or her mouth when yawning so that the soul does not escape through the mouth. Today most people do not believe these superstitions and know that a yawn is a physical reflex.
A.Did you yawn while reading this article?
B.Yawning is not limited to humans.
C.It will make you lose interest in your work.
D.But this is not always the cause for a yawn.
E.Even reading the word YAWN can make people yawn.
F.However, it doesn't mean that you need rest or relax??ation.
G.Other people believe that yawning is a sign that danger is near.
H.Another common theory is that a yawn helps regulate our body temperature.
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
For hundreds of years, artists have used cartoons to criticize bad rulers or landowners. As early as the 19 th century, people produced and read books of drawings. In many ways, they were similar to modern comics(漫画). They contained stories of naughty children and playful animals. The owl and the elephant were usually wise animals, ready to give advice. The lion and tiger were brave. The fox and wolf were cunning, greedy and dangerous.
A century ago, an American newspaper published the first-color comic strip. It was so popular that sales of the newspaper, Morning Journal, increased quickly. Since then, newspapers throughout the world have included comic strips.
In modern time, comics are popular in China, Japan, the USA and almost everywhere. Not even video games or CD-ROMs have reduced their popularity. Names such as Snoopy, Woodstock and Garfield are well known in dozens of countries. The Peanuts comic strip appears in over 2,000 newspapers and in more than 25 languages.
Perhaps one day, you may like to create your own comic strip and become a millionaire. First, you must think of a good plot. It should be funny, exciting or interesting in some way. It should have plenty of action. Moreover, the language must be realistic and simple. The words should suit the characters in your story.
Furthermore, the characters in your story must be clear to readers. They should be obviously good or bad. In many comic strips—especially those showing crime of adventure—there should also be a hero or heroine. This will attract the reader to keep on reading the story.
1. Which of the following is NOT the name of a cartoon character?
A. Snoopy B. Garfield C. Peanuts D. Woodstock
2. We can know from the first paraphaph that rulers ________.
A. asked the artists to draw cartoons B. probably did not like cartoons about them.
C. often drew cartoons many years ago. D. used cartoons to give people advice.
3. According to the passage, what makes a popular and successful comic strip?
A. Good plot B. suitable language C. clear characters D. All of above
4. The underlined word “plot” is similar in meaning to ______.
A. places B. stories C. events D. characters
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
For hundreds of years humans have dreamed of finding life on distant planets.Now the hope of discovering real evidence of life has greatly increased.
NASA's Mars detector(探测器),Opportunity,succeeded in finding signs that water once existed on the planet.Opportunity landed on Mars in January.Scientists now believe that the planet could once have supported life.
This discovery was chosen by ?Science?,one of the world's leading magazines,as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 last Friday.
“This little,wheeled,one-armed box went around another planet and has done something no human has ever managed,” according to ?Science?.“It has discovered another place in the universe where life could once have existed.
“Although we still can't say that life could have existed in this environment,it is now certain that there was water on Mars,”said Steve Squyres,one of the scientists working on the Mars mission.The evidence comes from pictures and chemical readings taken by Opportunity.It includes marks on rocks like those caused by following water on Earth and salty chemicals like those found in dried-out sea-beds.Scientists said the new evidence proved beyond doubt that water has existed on Mars.But it is still unknown whether the water was like an ocean or just ice.
While Opportunity has not found any signs of life,the presence of water means life is possible.“In everything we know about life on Earth,there is no example without liquid water,” Squyres said.“So water is important for the search for life on Mars.”
Researchers agree that a future mission(任务) should bring back physical samples(样品).But some scientists worry about the risk that this could introduce dangerous foreign creatures to Earth.“The problem here is how to get the samples back,”Squyres replied.“I think it is our responsibility to limit any risk.”
What proved that water existed on Mars?
A.The physical samples with salty chemicals.
B.The marks on rocks and salty chemicals.
C.Scientific achievements of 2004.
D.Creatures from Mars.
Which of the following is true according to the text?
A.It is now certain that there was water on Mars.
B.The water on Mars was like an ocean.
C.Evidence of life on Mars has been found.
D.Search for life on Mars is a great risk to humans.
How did scientists draw the conclusion that there was water on Mars?
A.The world's leading magazine has announced the fact.
B.Scientists have taken many pictures and chemical readings on the Mars.
C.Astronauts have got some rocks from Mars.
D.Scientists have made a study of the pictures and readings sent back by Mars detector.
It can be inferred that,if the creatures from Mars came to earth,_________.
A.they would be kind to humans
B.they would be cruel to humans
C.they would be a great danger to Earth
D.it would be hard to say whether it would be good news or bad news
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Treasure hunts(寻宝)have excited people's imagination for hundreds of years both in real life and in books such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Kit Williams, a modern writer, had the idea of combining the real excitement of a treasure hunt with clues(线索)found in a book when he wrote a children's story, Masquerade, in 1979.The book was about a hare, and a month before it came out Williams buried a gold hare in a park in Bedfordshire. The book contained a large number of clues to help readers find the hare, but Williams put in a lot of "red herrings", or false clues, to mislead them.
Ken Roberts, the man who found the hare, had been looking for it for nearly two years. Although he had been searching in the wrong area most of the time, he found it by logic(逻辑), not by luck. His success came from the fact that he had gained an important clue at the start. He had realized that the words: "One of Six to Eight "under the first picture in the book connected the hare in some way to Katherine of Aragon, the first of Henry VIII's six wives. Even here, however, Williams had succeeded in misleading him. Ken knew that Katherine of Aragon had died at Kimbolton in Cambridge shire in 1536and thought that Williams had buried the hare there. He had been digging there for over a year before a new idea occurred to him. He found out that Kit Williams had spent his childhood near Ampthill, in Bedfordshire, and thought that he must have buried the hare in a place he knew well, but he still could not see the connection with Katherine of Aragon, until one day he came across two stone crosses in Ampthill Park and learnt that they had been built in her honor in 1773.
Even then his search had not come to an end. It was only after he had spent several nights digging around the cross that he decided to write to Kit Williams to find out if he was wasting his time there. Williams encouraged him to continue, and on February 24th 1982, he found the treasure. It was worth £3000 in the beginning, but the excitement it had caused since its burial made it much more valuable.
67. The underlined word "them"(Paragraph 1)refers to ____.
A. red herrings B. treasure hunts
C. Henry VIII's six wives D. readers of Masquerade
68. What is the most important clue in the story to help Ken Roberts find the hare?
A. Two stone crosses in Ampthill.
B. Stevenson's Treasure Island.
C. Katherine of Aragon.
D. Williams’ home town.
69. The stone crosses in Ampthill were built ____.
A. to tell about what happened in 1773
B. to show respect for Henry VIII's first wife
C. to serve as a road sign in Ampthill Park
D. to inform people where the gold hare was
70. Which of the following describes Roberts’ logic in searching for the hare?
a. Henry VIII's six wives
b. Katherine's burial place at Kimbolton
c. Williams’ childhood in Ampthill
d. Katherine of Aragon
e. stone crosses in Ampthill Park
A. a-b-c-e-d B. d-b-c-e-a
C. a-d-b-c-e D. b-a-e-c-d
71. What is the subject discussed in the text?
A. An exciting historical event.
B. A modern treasure hunt.
C. The attraction of Masquerade.
D. The importance of logical thinking.
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科目:高中英语 来源:2014届广东省东莞市高二3月月考英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains.
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.
Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables(绳索) that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.
In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills(钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered.
1.How is bamboo like grass?
A.It is thin and easy to cut. B.It grows everywhere.
C.It grows quickly after its cut short. D.It is short and green.
2.The underlined sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”
A.short B.strong C.thick D.tall
3.From the text we know ______.
A.most people call bamboo plant trees
B.a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days
C.the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows
D.a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago
4.Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?
A.Because it is cheap. B.Because it is colorful.
C.Because it drills fast. D.Because it is used by Asians.
5.Which of the following is NOT true?
A.There are many different kinds of bamboo with different colors.
B.Cables made of bamboo can last for over a thousand years.
C.Bamboo can be used for buildings, bridges and watering projects.
D.Bamboo plants are able to grow well in any part of the world.
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