阅读理解 Christmas came in extravagant(奢侈的) fashion to the Muslim desert emirate
题型：江苏期末题难度：来源：
Christmas came in extravagant(奢侈的) fashion to the Muslim desert emirate(酋长国) of Abu
Dhabi as a shining hotel uncovered a bejeweled(饰以珠宝的) Christmas tree valued at more than
11 million dollars on Wednesday.
It is "the most expensive Christmas tree ever" with "a value of over 11 million dollars", said Hans
Olbertz, general of Emirates Palace Hotel, at its inauguratuion(落成典礼).
The 13-metre (40-foot) evergreen, located in the gold hall of the hotel, is decorated with silver
and gold bows, ball-shaped decorations and small white lights. But the necklaces, earrings and other
jewellery hung around the tree"s branches are what give it a record value. "It holds a total of 181
diamonds, pearls, sapphires and other precious stones," said Khalifa Khouri, owner of Style Gallery,
which provided the jewellery.
"The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars," Olbertz said. "The jewellery has a value of over 11 million
dollars-I think $1,141,150."
"This will probably b
e an entry into the Guinness book of world records," Olbertz said, adding that
Emirates Palace planned to contact the organization about the tree which is to stay until the end of the
year.
Asked whether the tree might be against religious sensibilities in the United Arab Emirates, where
the vast majority of the local population are Muslim, Olbertz said he did not think it would. "It is a
liberal(自由的) country," he said.
The hotel has had a Christmas tree up in previous years, but this year "we have to do something
different", and the hotel"s marketing team hatched the plan, said Olbertz.
B. Because the tree itself has a value of more than 11 million dollars
C. Because the tree has unique religious sensibility in the United Arab Emirates.
D. Because the je
wellery hung around the tree"s branches gives it a record value.B. The tree is decorated with jewellery whose value is over 11 million dollars.
C. The tree has been an entry into the Guinness book of world records.
D. The tree is sure to be against religious sensibilities in the United Arab Emirates.
B. turned out
C. looked out
D. broke out
B. The precious jewellery hung around a tree
C. The most expensive Christmas tree ever
D. the United Arab Emirates, a liberal country
答案
举一反三
count
s more bicycles than people and cycling is so popular that its numerous bike paths can becomecrowded. Two-wheeler traffic jams are es
pecially regular on the main Noerrebrogade road used byaround 36,000 cyclists a day. "You have to elbow your way in to go forward and some cyclists aren"t
always thoughtful," complains 22-year-old university student Lea Bresell.
The creation of bike highways "comes right on time", says Danish Cyclist Federation Spokesman
Frits Bredal. "Copenhagen"s roads are overloaded with people who want to ride their bicycles in all
kinds of weather," he says. "If in the 1960s Danes viewed the car as the symbol of freedom, the bicycles
have supposed that role today," Bredal says. "It"s a mode of transportation used by all social classes,
even politicians ride bikes," he says.
It is on crowded Noerrebrogade-the busiest bicycle street in Europe, according to the cyclist
association-that city planners have decided to build the first of Copenhagen"s environmentally friendly
roads. The jammed bike paths will be widened up to four metres on either side of the road, which itself
will be reserved for bikes only. The idea is to make Noerrebrogade "Europe"s great cycling street", says
Andreas Roehl, Copenhagen government"s bicycle program manager who is also known as "Mr. Bike".
But Roehl is not content with making life easier for Copenhagen"s inner-city cyclists: He wants to get
suburbanites(郊区居民) out of their cars and onto two wheels as well. His goal is to hike the percentage
of suburban commuters cycling to and from the city from the 37 percent it is today to 50 percent by 2015.
B. Because it"s a part of the city"s development program.
C. Because the inner-city commuters urge that it should be built.
D. Because too many bicycles cause the paths to be crowded.
B. Because the bicycle is viewed as the symbol of freedom nowadays.
C. Because it"s hard for people to find parking space in crowded streets.
D. Because politicians ride bikes and commuters enjoy following them.
B. improvement
C. reform
D. law
B. Noerrebrogade is to be made "Europe"s great cycling street".
C. All commuters will be pushed to leave their cars at home.
D. More suburbanites will be got out of their cars and onto two wheels.
I"ve been keeping a journal since I was 16 and I"m now 65. I have more than 80 notebooks in a big
box. I don"t want my children embarrassed by them when I die. But I can"t bring myself, yet, to burn the
case. My journals are still part of me. Might my grandchildren, with a bit more distance, be interested? Or
is there some way I could turn them into something creative? I"m thinking about art instead of a book.
*shirleyujest
5 March 2012, 11:22 p.m.Please don"t burn them! What a wonderful source of memories for you-or if you feel you"d rather not
keep them, possibly what a wonderful resource for others! Why not contact something like the Mass
Observation Project at the University of Sussex? Then they will remain as a record of everyday life
throughout your lifetime, and if your grandchildren are interested they"ll know where to find them.
*bloggsie45 6 March 2012, 8:30 a.m.
Please don"t burn them! If possibl
e, transcribe(转录) them, or have them transcribed, into a computer medium before your words are lost because the paper has decayed. I recently had an
opportunity to read a similar diary of the WW? record of an ordinary soldier. It was attractive in the way
it differed from the official record. I suppose to some degree it all depends on what you have recorded,
but many social historians and similar people would find such a complete personal record of a life led
during the second half of the 20th century to be very valuable.
Please don"t stop writing now just because you are 65!
B. The best responses to his problem.
C. His more than 80 diary books.
D. The changes from 18 to 65.
B. His grandchildren will continue to write following his habit.
C. They can be pu
blished by famous publishing houses.D. They can be filmed or changed into a TV play.
B. They will educate the young to remember the hard life.
C. They will help his grandchildren earn more money.
D. They will make others learn more about the war.
B. tell him social historians may be interested in his notebooks
C. encourage him to write journals like determined soldiers
D. show the owner his notebooks will benefit some people
Time management is important in our daily life. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to
accomplish all you need to do. Here are some tips that might be of some help to you.
●Set up a plan. Go for a week at a time, and decide the most important ones. Include things you
want to accomplish. Focus mostly on the things that are important to you.
●Control your stress. No matter what kind of pressure mounts on you, try to keep cool. Stressing
out can lead to an early breakdown, which is definitely counter-productive when you have a list of things
to do. It"s easier to take a 10-minute break and cool off than to work all week with stress.
●Shut your door. When working under a schedule, perform your important tasks with your door
shut to get them done. This will ensure a better quality time to get what needs to be done, done.
●Focus on one thing at a time. Forget trying to multi-task! You will lose concentration, and it will
take you longer to accomplish what you set out to do.
●Just say "no." If you are constantly interrupted, and you really don"t have the time to help out, just
say "no." You"re only one person, and you can"t save the world by yourself!
●Stop wasting time on the phone. While talking on the phone, keep your conversations short, and
to the point and you"ll waste much less time.
●Be realistic. You can only do what you can do. Don"t set out to accomplish the impossible. Do
your best, but keep realistic expectations of yourself.
●Relax. The most important thing is remember to take time to relax, and regroup. You need a break
every now and then to keep working efficiently. Even if it"s a 10-minute walk, get away from your list and
get refreshed.
As families today get busier and busier, it"s important to your own mental health to keep things on track. Don"t delay; get your life in order now.
| Theme: How to Make the Most of Your Time | |
| There is some 1 on how to make full use of time | First of all, make a plan for the things you are 2 to do. However much pressure you bear, you should try to keep cool; otherwise you will 3 down sooner or later. You"d better be 4 to your tasks with your door closed in order that you can get them done 5 . Try one thing at a time so that you can 6 on it. You can refuse to help others without enough time in order that you can 7 being interrupted. Make a brief talk on the phone so as not to 8 valuable time. You should not 9 too much of yourself; it"s better to do what you can do . It"s important for you to make yourself 10 in daily life. |
| It is difficult for parents of nearly every family to teach their children to be responsible(有责任的)for housework, but with one of the f  ollowing suggestions, you really can get your children to help at home.If you give your children the impression that they can never do anything quite right, then they will regard themselves as unfit or unable persons. Unless children believe they can succeed, they will never become totally independent. My daughter Mary"s fifth-grade teacher made every child in her class feel special. When students received less than a perfect test score, she would point out what they had mastered (掌握) and declared firmly they could learn what they had missed. You can use the same way when you evaluate(评价)your child"s work at home. Don"t always scold and you should give lots of praise instead. Talk about what he has done right, not about what he hasn"t done. If your child completes a difficult task, promise him a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad. Learning is a process(过程)of trying and failing and tryin  g and succeeding. If you teach your children not to fear a mistake of failure, they will learn faster and achieve success at last. | |
| 1. The whole passage deals with ________. | |
| A. social education B. school education C. family education D. pre-school education | |
| 2. The author thinks that ________. | |
| A. there is no way to get children to help at home B. the more encouragement and praise you give, the more responsible and  helpful children will becomeC. it is very difficult to make children responsible for housework D. children can be forced to help with housework | |
| 3. The passage gives us a good suggestion about how to evaluate your child’s work at home. That is to ________. | |
| A. praise his success B. promise him a trip C. give h  im a punishment D. promise him a ball game | |
| 4. The author advises readers to ________. | |
| A. learn from himself, for he has a good way of teaching B. take pride in Mary"s fifth-grade teacher C. do as what Mary"s teacher did in educating children D. follow Mary"s example because she never fails in the test | |
| 5. Having read the last paragraph, we can conclude that | |
| A. pride goes before a fall B. practice makes perfect C. no pains, no gains D. failure is the mother of success | |
| Recently I paid a visit to Harvard University, where there are top class scientists and professors and the best academic(学术的)system in the world. I was pretty shocked when I first stepped onto the campus(校园). Well, it"s not even really a campus. It"s more like a district in a small town. Harvard"s main buildings are from the 18th century. They look very old and simple. You might even say they"re a little old. They don"t fit the modern idea of university at all. The buildings are surrounded by grass and trees, so I felt as if I had walked into a medieval castle(中世纪的城堡). But when I looked across the street, busy shops and in-fashion students made me feel like I was in the 21st century again. It creates a strong contrast(对比)and brings a special atmosphere to the school. Our tour guide Gary took us around and told us: "You see this grass field in the center of the school? Here is where they host their graduation ceremony（毕业典礼）. They just set up tents and benches and have a very simple ceremony." Unbelievable! Who would think the most talented students just graduate on the lawn? I saw some students put a blanket on the grass and lie down to read a book. When I listened to the soft sound of pages turning, along with singing of the birds, I felt very calm. There was no competitive feeling at all. Harvard has the world"s first computer in its science center and there are hundreds of high-end computers too. Its religion and the literature departments are also among the best. It is the perfect mix of tradition and new technology. It makes Harvard a very attractive place to study in. I hope one day I’ll attend my dream school - Harvard. | |
| 1. The article is mainly about . | |
| A. the author"s campus life in Harvard B. the author"s impression of Harvard C. Harvard"s old buildings D. the academic system at Harvard | |
| 2. The author was most impressed by , according to the article. | |
| A. Harvard"s mix of tradition and new technology B. the classes held on beautiful lawns at Harvard C. Harvard students not taking their graduation ceremony seriously D. the feeling of not living in modern society on the campus | |
| 3. What can we conclude from the article? | |
| A. Harvard campus is actually a district of a big city. B. There are no competitions at Harvard University. C. Graduation ceremonies a  re not complex(复杂的)at Harvard.D. All Harvard buildings date back to the 18th century. | |
| 4. According to the article, in which fields is Harvard top in the world? | |
| A. Literature, arts, and law. B. Religion, law and arts. C. Literature, arts and computer science. D. Religion, computer science and literature. | |
| 5. Which word can be used to describe the Harvard campus? | |
| A. modern B. competitive C. peaceful D. old | |