高二英语阅读材料整理版

1 When it was first released in the US 20 years ago, The Shawshank Redemption(肖申克的救赎 )only opened at No 9 at the box office. Though it was nominated for seven Academy Awards, the movie failed to win any. But that was then. Since 2008, The Shawshank Redemption has been at the top of IMDb ’s Top 250 films as voted on by users. So, how did the movie become such a lasting classic (经典 )? It tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Prison for murdering two people despite his claims that he is innocent (无辜的 ). During his time at the prison, he befriends fellow inmate Ellis Redding. But the ugly realities of prison life are quickly introduced to Dufresne. “Most viewers are going to identify very well with Andy, ” said the Examiner website. “ In today ’s modern world, as things get more and more unfeeling than ever, we face our own battles of isolation (隔离 ) ⋯ and misplaced blame on a daily basis. ” But the goal of The Shawshank Redemption is not to focus on the hopelessness of the world we live in, but to show the viewers that with strength and patience, “hope, and the preservation (维护 ) of that hope, is a good thing, maybe the best of things ” , as Dufresne told Redding. The movie is “ like a friend in the sitting-room, who talked to you and picked you up when you were down ” , wrote The Guardian. For American actor Tim Robbins who played Dufresne, the true magic of The Shawshank Redemption lies in the fact that “ it ’s a film in which you actually see a relationship between two men which isn’ t based on car chases, or scoring some women, but a sort of love which goes deeper than just friendship, ” Robbins, 56, told The Guardian. 1. What can we learn about the movie The Shawshank Redemption from the first two paragraphs? A. The movie won seven Academy Awards. B. The movie was a great hit at the box office when it first came out. C. The movie presents the struggles of many ordinary American people. D. The movie is considered as one of the best ever by movie fans today. 2. According to the article, the success of The Shawshank Redemption mainly lies in ______. A. its focus on the hopelessness of human life B. its display of the power of will and patience C. its breathtaking murder plots D. its honest description of the ugly realities of prison life 2 3. Which of the following topics are covered in the movie The Shawshank Redemption according to the article? a. the true meaning of friendship b. misunderstandings and injustice c. the struggle against loneliness d. chases for cars and women e. coldness and indifference in society A. abde B. abcd C. abce D. bcde A million people on Mars within 100 years. This is the brave vision ( 展望 ) of Elon Musk, the founder of the space technology company SpaceX. “ We need to be laser-focused (全神贯注的 ) on becoming a multi-planet civilization. That’s the next step,”he said in a recent interview with Aeon magazine. Musk expects to see about 80,000 people living on Mars by 2040. It ’s all about protecting the human race from extinction, according to Musk. The Earth has always been a ticking (滴答作响的 ) time bomb. As the sun begins to die, it will grow bigger, becoming what is known as a Red Giant. In 500 million years, the sun will have become large enough to kill off any plant and animal life on Earth, according to US scientist Edward Guinan. In a billion years, the Earth will have become a hot planet with little or no water. The brave dream of getting the human race to Mars is not only Musk ’s; others have made plans, too. A Dutch entrepreneur set up the Mars One foundation in 2011, hoping to be the first project to put humans on Mars. It received over 200,000 applications to become part of the first group of astronauts to go there. According to Mars One, “human settlement (定居 ) on Mars is possible with existing technologies.” Water, food, energy, and oxygen are needed for life anywhere. According to Mars One, water that was still in the Martian soil would be boiled and taken out. By using a process called “electrolysis” , astronauts could split (分离 ) water into hydrogen (氢气 ) and oxygen for breathing. Astronauts on the International Space Station have already done similar things. Food can also be grown in space. Certain plants such as lettuce and onions can be grown using LED light for different color spectrums (光谱 ) and much less heat. NASA has been researching this to prepare for visiting Mars. But how will people get there? The Mars One project plans to use SpaceX’s Dragon capsule as part of its mission. But it is rumored (传闻 ) that Musk already has a design in mind for a giant spaceship. He calls it the Mars Colonial Transporter. 3 1. According to Elon Musk, the trip to Mars is significant because ______. A. Earth is not the only planet that is suitable for human beings B. settlement on Mars could save the human race from extinction C. the environment on Earth will be too harsh for beings in a few hundred years D. a large amount of water has just been discovered on Mars 2. Mars One is a program that focuses on ______. A. finding the source of water on Mars B. setting up the first human settlement on Mars C. developing spaceships to send people to Mars D. growing plants for food in space 3. According to the article, “electrolysis ” is a key technology that ______. A. collects and analyzes the soil of Mars B. uses LED lights to help plants grow C. breaks down water into life-supporting elements D. protects life on Earth from the heat of the sun 4. We can infer from the article that the author is ______ human settlements on Mars. A. doubtful of B. strongly against C. optimistic about D. uninterested in What’s your dream job? For Aya Dixon, 15, it is working for a top design company before finally creating her own line of clothes. Up until recently, however, her only connection to the fashion industry was thumbing (动拇指 ) through glossy (光滑的 ) magazines or watching reality shows on television. That changed on Oct 8 when the Baltimore Design School sophomore got a chance to talk with Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Vogue, and other big names in the fashion industry. Dixon was part of a group of 10 students from Baltimore Design School who attended the White House’s first ever Fashion Education Workshop, led by American first lady Michelle Obama. About 150 students were chosen from mostly East Coast schools to attend the event. “I ’m going to tell them (friends and family) about all the people I met today,” Dixon said on the bus ride back to Baltimore from Washington. “I’m going to show them all of the notes I took. I ’m going to show them the lanyard (绶带 ) with my name on it. I’ m going to show them everything. It was really a great experience. ” During the morning of the day, the students went to several workshops focused on topics such as inspiration, wearable technology, journalism, and clothing 4 construction (制造 ). During lunchtime, Michelle Obama gave a speech on the importance of education and hard work when trying to work in the world of fashion. She said that she knows that people think fashion is all about catwalks and red carpets and “who wore it best ” . “But the truth is that the clothes you see in the magazine covers are really just the finished product in what is a very long, very complicated (复杂的 ), and very difficult process, as I’ve come to learn working with many designers,” she said. Despite the first lady ’s words, it is the designers ’ words that really stuck with the students, Dixon said. “I had a really fun time interviewing Zac Posen. He told me to ‘learn how to sew, get your hands dirty, and build from your heart’,” Dixon said. “Listening to all of the designers speak was very, very inspirational (鼓舞人心的 ).” White House officials said the goal of the event was to “show young people what it takes to succeed in the fashion industry, and how important it is for the next generation to commit to their education. ” 1. We can tell from the article that Aya Dixon ______. A. has successfully created her own line of clothes B. was deeply inspired by talking with top designers C. dreams of working for a fashion magazine D. has a special interest in wearable technology 2. After attending the Fashion Education Workshop, Aya Dixon felt ______. A. anxious B. regretful C. puzzled D. satisfied 3. According to the article, the main purpose of the Fashion Education Workshop was to ______. A. build connections between students and top designers B. display the latest developments in the fashion industry C. promote the importance of hard work and education in the fashion industry D. inspire more teenagers to take an interest in the fashion industry Imagine this: you get up in the morning and put on a custom printed T-shirt. Then you eat some 3-D printed food and relax on your printed sofa. Perhaps you take a ride in a printed electric car to the hospital to get a printed tooth fitted. Yet impossible as some of these things may seem, they ’re closer to reality than you might think. The world of 3-D printing is coming to a store near you soon. The idea of 3-D printing is to produce complicated shapes in a very 5 personalized (个性化的 ) way. If you want to make a totally new object, you need to make a virtual ( 视觉的 ) design in a CAD (computer aided design) file first. Or you can use a 3-D scanner (扫 描仪 ) to make a digital copy of an object. Then, based on the design or copy, the 3-D printer makes paper-thin slices (切片 ) out of liquid, plastic, or metal and puts them together to create the object you want. There are many areas in which 3-D printing could change our lives. One such area is healthcare. Researchers have developed simple 3-D printed organs, which could be used in life-saving operations. A 17-year-old boy in the US has also recently developed a brain-powered, 3-D printed replacement (替代 ) hand. From heart monitors to fake limbs (四肢 ), we could soon be living longer thanks to 3-D printed technology. Another area that 3-D technology looks sure to change is food. Can you imagine being able to print your favorite dishes at home at the touch of a button? Even big companies are behind the trend (趋势 ). Hersheys, one of the largest chocolate makers in the world, recently announced that it would start producing chocolate with the help of 3-D printers.And don ’ t just think of the idea of 3-D printed food as a move to attract attention and customers. NASA, the US space agency, has reportedly spent $125,000 (767,594 yuan) developing a “3-D pizza printer ”. It is not yet clear how long it will take until 3-D printers are available to everyone.But one thing is for sure: the possibilities are endless. 1. The purpose of the first paragraph is to ______. A. describe the benefits that 3D printing has brought to all of our lives B. picture a future life with 3D printing in wide use C. list some major 3D printing breakthroughs D. give the history of 3D printing 2. We can infer from the article that ______. A. people can create any object they want, with any material, thanks to 3D printing B. 3D printed organs and limbs are as effective as real ones C. big food companies are major players in the 3D printing industry D. there could still be a long way to go before everyone can have access to 3D printing 3. What is the author ’s attitude toward the development of 3D printing? A. Doubtful B. Hopeful Critical D. Worried 6 One of the unique things about West Africa is its greetings. It would be rude just to say “Hello, how are you?” and walk on. People usually stop, shake hands warmly, and then embrace. However, now people are having to replace this tradition with the “Ebola handshake” – crossing your right arm over your chest and tapping your shoulder. The disease Ebola is now a serious problem in Africa. People are getting infected by making direct contact with Ebola patients’ bodily fluids (液体 ). This is not the first time that the disease has broken out, but it is the largest outbreak to date. It has happened in heavily populated (人口密集的 ) urban areas in the poorest countries in Africa this time. They haven’ t experienced Ebola before, meaning that health workers are unprepared and without the resources to protect themselves and others. Called a “ top threat ” to global security by US President Barack Obama on Oct 9, Ebola has killed more than 4,500 people in Western Africa and other countries, including Spain and the US, since its outbreak in December 2013. A US company has made an experimental drug called Zmapp. It has sent all of its available supplies to West Africa, and was asked to produce more by the US government. The Canadian government has also started shipping its experimental vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) for possible use, reported AP. But officials from the WHO have said that the outbreak “ is moving faster than our efforts to control it ” , reported CNN. Governments in all countries have been stepping up to prevent the spread of the disease. The US government is being criticized for making too few efforts to contain the disease, according to Reuters. The first patient in the US was sent back home on Sept 26 after showing Ebola symptoms. And two nurses were infected after having close contact with him. The US government is now catching up, releasing new guidelines on Oct 21 to And even robots are going to join in the fight, said CNN. Gini, a germ-zapping (杀菌 ) robot, will help clear germs from Ebola patients to prevent doctors from being infected. As an early symptom of Ebola patients is fever, countries including the US, the UK and China have started to check people ’s temperatures at airports. Though no cases have been reported in China yet, the government has asked medical organizations to prepare for potential cases in the future. So, is there a chance you will be infected? According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the chances are pretty small. However, it suggested that people should avoid contact with anyone who is sick and wash their hands with soap regularly.