If you are looking to putting a tree in your home for Christmas, there is always one debate that seems to arise in most households: whether you want a real tree or fake tree. Year after year, as we find ourselves cleaning old pine needles (松针) for months on end, we decide that we will never get another real tree. So that begs the question: Which kind of tree is better?
There is certainly a lot to be said for real trees. There is something fun about gathering the family together, going to a Christmas tree farm, and selecting or even cutting down your own tree. Real Christmas trees have that lovely holiday pine needle smell and they look great in your home.
Of course, on the other hand, they also leave a complete mess behind and needles that seem to keep appearing for weeks or even months after the tree comes down. You must also find a way to deal with your real Christmas tree after you’re done, which may mean cutting it into pieces so it will fit in the trash. Many dustmen will refuse to take away a tree that is left beside your regular trash, especially if it is a big tree or an old, yellow one with falling needles, making it hard to pick up. They don’t want a face full of sharp needles any more than you do!
With a fake Christmas tree, there is no mess, but there is also no Christmas smell and no exciting trip to the Christmas tree farm. Of course, these trees look the same in appearance as a real tree when decorated. Many of them come already with lights, so using that old, messy string of lights will be a thing of the past. For some people, a can of pine air freshener is enough to recreate the pleasant smell of a real tree.
As to which tree is the better choice, it is really a matter of personal preference. Both real and fake trees certainly have their benefits, and knowing which is better for you this Christmas really depends on what your family wants.
1.Which of the following shows the benefits of real Christmas trees?
a.providing more fun
b.easy to clean up
c.giving off a natural smell
d.easy to decorate
A. a, c B. a, d C. b, c D. b, d
2.The third paragraph is mainly about ________.
A. why many dustmen refuse to take away a real tree
B. how long a real tree can live
C. how to cut a real tree into pieces
D. what weaknesses a real tree has
3.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 shows that fake Christmas trees _______.
A. look more beautiful B. are more fashionable
C. can be used longer D. are more convenient
4.What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?
A. Objective. B. Disapproving.
C. Skeptical. D. Optimistic.
About 30 years ago, I left Cuba for the United States with my son. After getting settled finally in Brunswick, New Jersey, I enrolled(注册) my son in kindergarten. Several weeks later, my son’s teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher’s office, an exchange of greetings was followed by his questions: “Is your son mentally retarded(弱智的)? Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability?”
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? No, no, it can’t be. What a helpless, lonely moment! I told him that Scola was a quiet, sweet little boy, instead. I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher’s directions, he told me, and thus, Scola was disrupting the class. Didn’t he know my son did not speak English yet?
He was angry: “Why hasn’t your son been taught to speak English? Don’t you speak English at home?”
No, I didn’t speak English at home, I replied. I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months, and I didn’t want him to forget his native language. Well, wrong answer! What kind of person would not speak English to her son at home and at all times? “Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and send them back to their country, never wanting to be a part of this society?”
Needless to say, I tried to tell him I was not one of “those people.” Then he told me the meeting was over, and I left.
As I had expected, my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over. He went on to graduate from college and got a job, earning close to six figures. He travels widely and leads a well-adjusted, contented life. And he has benefited from being bilingual(双语的).
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others; it teaches people about other cultures and other places — something very basic and obviously lacking in the “educator” I met in New Jersey.
1.The teacher asked the author to his office ______.
A. to discuss Scola’s in-class performance
B. to get Scola enrolled in kindergarten
C. to find a language partner for Scola
D. to work out a study plan for Scola
2.What does the underlined word “disrupting” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Breaking B. Following
C. Attending D. Disturbing
3.The author’s attitude towards being bilingual may best be described as ______.
A. critical B. casual C. positive D. passive
4.This text is likely to be selected from a book of _______.
A. medicine B. education C. geography D. History
Baths and bathing have long been considered of medical importance to man. In Greece there are the ruins of a water system for baths built over 3,000 years ago. The Romans had warm public baths. In some baths, as many 3,000 persons could bathe at the same time.
Treating disease by taking bathing has been popular for centuries. Modern medical bathing first became popular in Europe and by the late 1700’s has also become popular in the United States.
For many years frequent bathing was believed to be bad for one’s health. Ordinary bathing just to keep clean was avoided, and perfume was often used to cover up body smells!
By the 1700’s doctors began to say that soap and water were good for health. They believed that it was good for people to be clean. Slowly, people began to bathe more frequently. During the Victorian Age of the late 19th century, taking a bath on Saturday night became common.
In the United States ordinary bathing was slow to become popular. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans were known as “The Great Unwashed!” In one American city, for example, a person was only allowed to take a bath every thirty days! That was a law!
Frequency of bathing today is partly a matter of habit. People know that bathing for cleanliness is important to health. Doctors know that dirty bodies increase the chance of diseases. As a result, in the United States, people generally bathe often. Some people bathe once a day at least. They consider a daily bath essential to good health.
1.In the 18th century doctors believed that being clean was _______.
A. unimportant B. good for health
C. harmful D. popular
2.During the Victorian Age _______.
A. the Americans ever took a bath every thirty days
B. frequent bathing was avoided
C. people used perfume to cover up body smells after bathing
D. the British people generally took a bath once a week.
3.The passage is mainly about _______.
A. bathing in the USA
B. the good points and bad points of bathing
C. the history of bathing
D. the modern medical bathing
It was a Saturday morning, a day I believed would end in victory. For weeks, I had been preparing for the match at the county fairgrounds, sponsored(赞助) by our local riding club. My horse, Tonka, and I could run faster than any kid in the county, and I hoped to bring home a blue ribbon.
My mother usually drove me to the riding events, but on this day, my father planned to drop us off at the fairgrounds with the horse trailer(马车) .
Although we never discussed it, my father’s struggle with alcoholism had become the silent center of our family life. My mother was paralyzed (瘫痪的) with fear and indecision. Her salary as a part-time nurse couldn’t possibly support four children. No one talked about alcoholism in those days, and it was my family secret.
We climbed on the trailer and my father pulled out of our driveway and headed toward the fairgrounds, picking up speed once we hit the main road. It wasn’t until we felt a big bump that I realized the trailer was out of control. The dream of my riding winner disappeared. Tonka lay on the floor, completely still. No words were possible. I knew he was dead.
Suddenly a man appeared. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Yes.”I answered, although I knew that nothing was all right. “Sit here on the grass,” he said. He bent down to look into the trailer. Tonka remained still. He touched Tonka and then turned to face me. “He is going to be OK. He has just been knocked unconscious.” He rubbed Tonka’s cheeks and gently pulled his ears. Tonka rose to his feet.
Our father was talking to a police officer. He was upset and in pain and took little notice of me. I looked back; the man was gone.
I never forgot him. He gave me strength and a sense of hope in a dark and frightening moment.
1.The writer went to the fairgrounds because he wanted to ________.
A. take part in a horse racing
B. buy Mum a blue ribbon
C. join the local riding club
D. train his horse there
2.We can learn from the third paragraph that ________.
A. the family kept silent at home
B. the family lived a secret life
C. Father was addicted to alcohol
D. Mum was physically disabled
3.What does “he” in the fourth paragraph refer to?
A. Father B. The stranger
C. The horse D. The winner
4.What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
A. Once formed, bad habits are difficult to break.
B. Unexpected kindness is a light that shines in the darkness.
C. However mean your life is, meet it and live it.
D. Family is a place of encouragement, a safe harbor in the storms.
假设你是红星中学高二（1）班的学生李华，下面四幅图描述了上学期高二年级开设选修课的过程。请根据图片的先后顺序，为校刊“英语园地”写一篇短文。词数不少于35。开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Last term , our school offered optional courses for the students in Senior 2.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
（2015•温州市高三第二次适应性测试） My favorite sport is playing basketball. In the middle school, I joined in the basketball team. All the teammate practised hard after school. Once our team had match against another school’s. At the very beginning, we were so nervous which we couldn’t cooperate very good, because this was the first time for us to compete with the school honor. In the half match they fell behind. Our team leader calls us together and said that we must get uniting in order to beat them. Then we tried our best and won the game at last. Play basketball makes me realize the importance of union and teamwork.
