Each year on February 2nd, there is special festival called Groundhog Day (土撥鼠日 )' forecasting event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. When it comes, people from around the world, including 5,000 in the small town today, watch this tongue-twisting(發音饒舌的) small town for a sign from one groundhog that supposedly predicts when that years' spring will arrive.
If it's a cloudy day outside when the groundhog pops from its cave, then spring will arrive early that year. However, if it is sunny outside, the groundhog will supposedly be scared by its own shadow, hiding underground for six more weeks of cold weather.
Of course, Punxsutawney Phil's prediction is no more able to guarantee the extended forecast than your local weatherman. ABC News reports that an analysis by the National Climate Data Center found that Phil's predictions are more often wrong than right.
Philis is also found to have made some unpleasant predictions. Ever since 1887, he has predicted 99 extended winters and just 16 early springs .Nine of the years' predictions were unavailable, according to ABC.
The holiday began as a German tradition in 18th century and became even more of a cultural phenomenon after the 1993 film Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.
Punxsutawney Phil has become a celebrity in his own right. Each year, the fatter animal with long teeth is watched by millions as he emerges from a cave in the town he is named after. Phil has become so beloved by the town that he actually lives in the local library with his “wife" Phyllis.
Taking inspiration from the hard state of Bill Murray’s character in the classic film, Yahoo contributor Owen Rust says Groundhog Day is a good time to reflect on one’s routines.
【小題1】The underlined word “pops” means “ ”.
| A．escapes | B．appears | C．increases | D．hides |
| A．some of the predictions were unavailable |
| B．Phil wants to do that for fun |
| C．Phil likes to make unpleasant predictions |
| D．he has predicted more late springs |
| A．By an accident. |
| B．From people's life improving. |
| C．By his own attractive force |
| D．From much money raised by the town. |
| A．The National Climate Data Center |
| B．A German tradition |
| C．A tongue-twisting small town |
| D．Groundhog Day weather forecasting |
【小題1】B
【小題2】A
【小題3】C
【小題4】D
解析試題分析：文章介紹了一個特殊的節日“土撥鼠日”，在這一天，人們可以通過土撥鼠的活動預測春天的到來，當然這種預測不一定準確，而且也不令人滿意，但是“土撥鼠日”，還是一個非常受歡迎的節日。
【小題1】猜詞題：從第二段的句子：If it's a cloudy day outside when the groundhog pops from its cave, then spring will arrive early that year. 可知如果是個多云的天氣，土撥鼠從洞里面出來，說明那年春天會出來的很早，所以pop是appear的意思，選B
【小題2】細節題：從第四段的句子：Philis is also found to have made some unpleasant predictions. Ever since 1887, he has predicted 99 extended winters and just 16 early springs .Nine of the years' predictions were unavailable, according to ABC. 可知Phil的預測不能令人滿意，因為一些預測得不到，選A。
【小題3】細節題：從文章倒數第二段的句子：Punxsutawney Phil has become a celebrity in his own right. Each year, the fatter animal with long teeth is watched by millions as he emerges from a cave in the town he is named after.可知Punxsutawney Phil是通過自己的吸引力成為一個慶祝活動的，選 C
【小題4】主旨題：從文章第一段的句子：Each year on February 2nd, there is special festival called Groundhog Day (土撥鼠日 )' forecasting event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.可知這篇文章講的是土撥鼠日可以預測天氣，選D
考點：考查文化類短文
科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
As you can see，water works hard in your body every day.That’s why it’s important to give your body the water it needs to carry out all its different jobs.On a regular day，your body loses 2 to 3 quarts of water—enough to fill a 2liter soda bottle.You probably guess that water is lost when you sweat—especially on a hot day.
But your body also loses water in an almost invisible way—evaporation (蒸發)．Water escapes from your body through your skin and in your breath.How？Your breath contains droplets (小滴) of water that are usually too tiny to see.They become visible for a quick second in the cold when you can “see your breath”．But water evaporates this way all year round.Your skin also contains water，which escapes in tiny droplets that go into the air.The water in your skin evaporates into the air，but fortunately，your body can replace the water it loses so your skin doesn’t dry out.
Eating and drinking is one way to replace the water your body loses.Most foods have a lot of water in them，especially fruits and vegetables.Grapes，watermelons，oranges，and cantaloupes are delicious and full of water.
But you can’t rely_on food alone to get that water back，and that’s why it’s also a good idea to drink water every day.You might have heard someone say that people need to drink 6 to 8 cups (1.4 to 1.9 liters) of water each day.Depending on how much water you’re getting from foods and other liquids,6 to 8 cups might not be necessary.If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables，or you like to eat soup every day，you’ll get some of the water your body needs.
【小題1】You should drink enough water every day because________.
| A．your body needs too much water |
| B．water does all kinds of jobs in your body |
| C．your body loses a lot of water every day |
| D．the more water you drink the better you feel |
| A．breathing | B．evaporating |
| C．sweating | D．eating |
| A．keep the water in your skin clean |
| B．stop your skin from drying out |
| C．stop the water from losing |
| D．keep your skin clean all the time |
| A．Eat up. | B．Receive. |
| C．Depend upon. | D．Digest. |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Every year Chris Brogan posts his three words for a new year. Many others and I have followed his lead for the past three or four years. They helped me a lot. My words for last year were“passion”, “focus”and“delegate”and I stayed true to them. This year, 2013, my goals are more personal and less professional.
FOCUS
Focus is making a repeat appearance on my list this year because I’m too much of a multitasker. The problem is that I have trouble finishing one thing with so many things calling me. When I was working as a writer, all my projects were handled via a schedule, I’m putting a fitness and housekeeping routine into my schedule.
HEALTH
I get so busy taking care of everyone else, and I forget to take care of myself and this has to change. My health suffers and my weight suffers. I have to get my health in check, not only for me but because I promised my 9-year-old son. I’ll make good food and lifestyle choices. I miss being thin, and it’s time to get it back.
CELEBRATE
What good is having it if I’m not taking time to enjoy it? I have a wonderful job, a happy family, and so much to be thankful for. So how come I spend all my time working? Last summer my family took our first vacation in four years, the best thing I’ve done for myself and my family in a long time. This year, I’m making sure to take time to enjoy life and celebrate its many blessings.
Do you have any words for 2013?
【小題1】The underlined word “multitasker” probably refers to a person who .
| A．makes a living by writing |
| B．always fails to finish a task on time |
| C．has several things to do at the same time |
| D．pays more attention to fitness and housekeeping |
| A．He wants to take better care of others. |
| B．He’s gaining weight and feeling bad. |
| C．He did not take any exercise in the past. |
| D．He got the idea from his son. |
| A．The word“CELEBRATE”can remind the writer to enjoy life. |
| B．The writer has a vacation with his family every four years. |
| C．The word“FOCUS”can help the writer focus on his family. |
| D．The writer used to be overweight for lack of exercise. |
| A．Three Words for 2013 |
| B．Health Should Go First |
| C．Keep Organized |
| D．Goals for 2013 |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Grant Wood’s American Gothic caused a stir （轟動）in 1930 when it was exhibited for the first time at the Art Institute of Chicago and awarded a prize of 300 dollars. Newspapers across the country carried the story, and the painting of a farmer and a younger woman posed before a white house brought the artist instant fame.
In 1930, Grant Wood, an American painter with European training, noticed a small white house built in the small southern Iowa town of Eldon. Wood was so fascinated by it that he decided to paint the house along with the kind of people he thought should live in that house. In the painting, the farmer is modeled on his dentist. Dr. Byron McKeeby. His younger sister Nan served as a model for the woman （imagined to be the farmer’s wife or daughter）. Wood wanted to give a description of the traditional roles of men and women as the man is holding a pitchfork symbolizing hard labor. Each element was painted separately; the models sat separately and never stood in front of the house. The Gothic style of the house inspired the painting’s title.
American Gothic remains one of the most famous paintings in the history of American art. The painting has become part of American popular culture. Some believe that Wood used it to satirize（諷刺） the narrow-mindedness that has been said to characterize Midwestern culture. The painting may also be read as a praise of the moral virtue or rural America or even as a mixture of praise and satire. American Gothic is one of the few images to reach the status of cultural symbol, along with Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
【小題1】Which of the following is true about American Gothic?
| A．It won a prize of ￡ 300. |
| B．The two characters in it posed before the White House. |
| C．It was the first painting by Grant Wood. |
| D．It was on show at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1930. |
| A．the southern town of Eldon | B．the Midwest of the United States |
| C．a European country | D．the city of Chicago |
| A．to describe traditional roles of men and women |
| B．to praise the moral virtue of rural America |
| C．to make his dentist and his sister famous |
| D．to carry the story across the country |
| A．the name of a small town | B．the man and the woman |
| C．the Gothic style of the house | D．the pitchfork symbolizing hard labor |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
No one knows for sure when advertising first started.It is possible that it grew out of the discovery that some people did certain kinds of work better than others did them.That led to the concept of specialization，which means that people would specialize，or focus，on doing one specific job.
Let’s take a man we’ll call Mr.Fielder，for example.He did everything connected with farming.He planted seeds，tended the fields，and harvested and sold his crops.At the same time，he did many other jobs on the farm.However，he didn’t make the bricks for his house，cut his trees into boards，make the plows(犁), or any of the other hundreds of things a farm needs.Instead，he got them from people who specialized in doing each of those things.
Suppose there was another man we shall call Mr.Plowright.Using what he knew about farming and working with iron，Mr.Plowright invented a plow that made farming easier.Mr.Plowright did not really like farming himself and wanted to specialize in making really good plows.Perhaps，he thought，other farmers will trade what they grow for one of my plows.
How did Mr.Plowright let people know what he was doing？Why，he advertised，of course.First he opened a shop and then he put up a sign outside the shop to attract customers.That sign may have been no more than a plow carved into a piece of wood and a simple arrow pointing to the shop door.It was probably all the information people needed to find Mr.Plowright and his really good plows.
Many historians believe that the first outdoor signs were used about five thousand years ago.Even before most people could read，they understood such signs.Shopkeepers would carve into stone，clay，or wood symbols for the products they had for sale.
A medium，in advertising talk，is the way you communicate your message.You might say that the first medium used in advertising was signs with symbols.The second medium was audio，or sound，although that term is not used exactly in the way we use it today.Originally，just the human voice and maybe some kind of simple instrument，such as a bell，were used to get people’s attention.
A crier，in the historical sense，is not someone who weeps easily.It is someone，probably a man，with a voice loud enough to be heard over the other noises of a city.In ancient Egypt，shopkeepers might hire such a person to spread the news about their products.Often this earliest form of advertising involved a newly arrived ship loaded with goods.Perhaps the crier described the goods，explained where they came from，and praised their quality.His job was，in other words，not too different from a TV or radio commercial in today’s world.
【小題1】What probably led to the start of advertising?
| A．The discovery of iron. |
| B．The specialization of labor. |
| C．The appearance of new jobs. |
| D．The development of farming techniques. |
| A．praised his plows in public |
| B．placed a sign outside the shop |
| C．hung an arrow pointing to the shop |
| D．showed his products to the customers |
| A．explain the origin of advertising |
| B．predict the future of advertising |
| C．expose problems in advertising |
| D．provide suggestions for advertising |
| A．owned a ship |
| B．had the loudest voice |
| C．ran a shop selling goods to farmers |
| D．functioned like today’s TV or radio commercial |
| A．the history of advertising |
| B．the benefits of advertising |
| C．the early forms of advertising |
| D．the basic design of advertising |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Too Much Happiness was written by Alice Munro，winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature，one of our greatest contemporary writers of fiction and the owner of the Man Booker Price for Fiction．Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker，The Atlantic Monthly，and other publications，and her collections have been translated into thirteen languages．
The main character is Sophia Kovalevsky，a great Russian mathematician，writer and advocator擁護者）of women’s rights in the late nineteenth century. After visiting her lover Maxsim Kovalevsky in Riviera，she travels in Europe，ending up in Sweden，where she teaches at the only university in Europe willing to employ a female mathematician．The book writes about her journey from Riviera to Sweden．
The story tells the typical struggle of an intellectual（知識分子）woman to achieve success and happiness．However，when she is going to die，Sophia says“too much happiness”．I think it’s irony（諷*11的）．As reading the story，she has too many mental problems·First，as a woman mathematician，she was born in a wrong time ．She was married to Vladimir Kovalevsky without love，called“a white marriage”．She explained that“no a young Russian woman who was unmarried could leave the country．”She satisfied her marriage to seek her career．
Furthermore，when she sees a man look like Maxsim in the station，she says to herself，“of course，it would not be Maxsim，what could he be doing in Paris？”She doesn’t want to face the fact because she doesn’t want to lose her hope．She believes they will marry in spring．And in her letter to Julia she says：“it is to be happiness after all，happiness after all．Happiness．”She is cheating herself. In fact，the man does not want to marry her，and the happiness she expected doesn’t take place at all．
Finally, I conclude that the end must be a tragedy（悲劇）．From the very first pages the atmosphere is gloomy黯淡的）and threatening.“One of us will die this year.”“Because we have gone walking in a graveyard（墓地）on the first day of the New Year.”Some pages further，“a black cat across their path”all reflect it will be a bad ending．Not because she had some problems with her lung，but because her life does not bring her happiness，and because of these disharmony things that happen in her life．
【小題1】We can infer from the passage that＿＿·
| A．Sophia was born in a wrong time and was mentally ill |
| B．women were not fairly treated in Europe in Sophia’s time |
| C．Sophia loved travelling around Europe to meet `different people |
| D．unmarried women were forbidden to learn mathematics at that time |
| A．her husband refuses to divorce | B．she can’t teach in university |
| C．she falls in love with Maxsim | D．Maxsim doesn’t want to marry her |
| A．It is used to suggest that the story must be a comedy． |
| B．It’s a phrase repeatedly used by Sophia herself to her friend． |
| C．It’s used in an ironic way to show that Sophia isn’t happy at all． |
| D．It’s to show Sophia is very happy to achieve success in her career． |
| A．It’s hard for an educated woman to achieve success in Europe at that time． |
| B．Russian women were not allowed to go abroad without a white marriage． |
| C．Married women could travel freely across Europe in the late nineteenth century． |
| D．Seeing a black cat across the path would bring people to death in the end． |
| A．Entertainment | B．Travel | C．Career | D．Culture |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
In the U.S. Mother’s Day is a holiday celebrated on second Sunday in May. It is a day when children honor their mothers with cards, gifts and flowers. First observance in Philadelphia in 1907,it is based on suggestions by Julia Ward Howe in 1872 and by Anna Jarvis in 1907.
Although it wasn’t celebrated in the U.S. until 1907,there were days honoring mothers even in the days of ancient Greece. In those days, however, it was Rhea, the Mother of the gods that was given honor. Later,in the 1600’s,in England there was an annual celebration called “Mothering Sunday.” It was celebrated during June, on the fourth Sunday ,the servants, who generally lived with their employers, were encouraged to return home and honor their mothers. It was traditional for them to bring a special cake along to celebrate the occasion.
In the U.S., in 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the 2ed Sunday of May. The next day Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia, Jarvis and others began a letter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians asking to establish a national Mother’s Day. They were successful. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914,made the official announcement recognizing Mother’s Day as a national celebration that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.
Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, as in the U.S.
【小題1】.Mother’s Day in the U.S. was first celebrated .
| A．in 1872 | B．in 1907 | C．in the 1600’s | D．in 1914 |
| A．celebration | B．principle | C．holiday | D．campaign |
| A．All the mothers were given honor in the days of ancient Greece. |
| B．Only the servants’ mothers were given honor on Mothering Sunday in England. |
| C．President Woodrow Wilson announced Mother’s Day as a national celebration. |
| D．Ana Javis’s mother probably died on the 2nd Sunday of May in 1907. |
| A．Mother’s Day of the U.S | B．Mother’s Day of the world |
| C．Ana Jarvis and Mother’s Day | D．Styles of Mother’s Day |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
What is an idiom? An idiom is a group of words which, when used together, has a different meaning from the one which the individual words have. For example, “---How do you know that Sid and Nancy have separated ?” “---I heard it on the grapevine(葡萄藤)”.
Of course, the second speaker does not mean he heard the news about John by putting his ear to a grapevine! He is conveying the idea visually of information spreading around a widespread network, similar to a grapevine. We use idioms to express something that other words do not express as clearly or as cleverly. We often use an image or symbol to describe something as clearly as possible and thus make our point as effectively as possible. For example, "in a nutshell" suggests the idea of having all the information contained within very few words. Idioms tend to be informal and are best used in spoken rather than written English.
One of the best ways to learn an idiom is by looking at the context in which it is used. This can be done by concentrating on the rest of the sentence and try to guess the meaning. Many idioms are not that difficult to understand when considered in their context. For example: We are going to have a surprise party for Tom tomorrow. It's a secret so please don't let the cat out of the bag.
'Let the cat out of the bag' is an idiom. Imagine you don't know what this idiom means; by looking at the words preceding, it should be easy to guess that the speaker does not want you to tell Tom about the surprise party. Therefore, 'let the cat out of the bag' must mean something like' reveal a secret' or 'tell a secret'.
【小題1】Which of the following sentences is NOT similar to “I heard it on the grapevine. ” in figures of speech(在修辭方面)？
| A．The exam was a piece of cake. |
| B．You will be paid under the table. |
| C．You eat with that mouth? |
| D．It rained cats and dogs yesterday. |
| A．blue | B．homesick | C．unhappy | D．ill |
| A．in a paper | B．in an preface(序言) | C．in a notice | D．in online chatting |
| A．Other words can express something as vividly as idioms. |
| B．Written English with spoken English does not use idioms at all. |
| C．There are plant, food, animal idioms used to express something. |
| D．Contexts play not a bit important part in guessing the meaning of idioms. |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Throughout the history of the arts, the nature of creativity has remained constant to artists. No matter what objects they select, artists are to bring forth new forces and forms that cause change-to find poetry where no one has ever seen or experienced it before.
Landscape(風景) is another unchanging element of art. It can be found from ancient times through the 17th-century Dutch painters to the 19th-century romanticists and impressionists. In the 1970s, Alfred Leslie, one of the new American realists, continued this practice. Leslie sought out the same place where Thomas Cole, a romanticist, had produced paintings of the same scene a century and a half before. Unlike Cole who insists on a feeling of loneliness and the idea of finding peace in nature, Leslie paints what he actually sees. In his paintings, there is no particular change in emotion, and he includes ordinary things like the highway in the background. He also takes advantage of the latest developments of color photography(攝影術) to help both the eye and the memory when he improves his painting back in his workroom.
Besides, all art begs the age-old question: What is real? Each generation of artists has shown their understanding of reality in one form or another. The impressionists saw reality in brief emotional effects, the realists in everyday subjects and in forest scenes, and the Cro-Magnon cave people in their naturalistic drawings of the animals in the ancient forests. To sum up, understanding reality is a necessary struggle for artists of all periods.
Over thousands of years the function of the arts has remained relatively constant. Past or present, Eastern or Western, the arts are a basic part of our immediate experience. Many and different are the faces of art, and together they express the basic need and hope of human beings.
【小題1】The underlined word “poetry” most probably means __________.
| A．an object for artistic creation | B．a collection of poems |
| C．an unusual quality | D．a natural scene |
| A．they are close in style to works in ancient times |
| B．they look like works by 19th-century painters |
| C．they draw attention to common things in life |
| D．they depend heavily on color photography |
| A．It will not be found in future works of art. |
| B．It does not have a long-lasting standard. |
| C．It is expressed in a fixed artistic form. |
| D．It is lacking in modern works of art. |
| A．They express people's curiosity about the past. |
| B．They make people interested in everyday experience. |
| C．They are considered important for variety in form. |
| D．They are regarded as a mirror of the human situation. |
| A．History of the arts. |
| B．Basic questions of the arts. |
| C．New developments in the arts. |
| D．Use of modern technology in the arts. |
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