Once again, rumors are spreading．Judgement Day, this time, is set to happen on December 21st, 2012．The date originated from the Mayan calendar, but actually gained popularity through the hit movie, "2012"．

How will the world end? And how do we know the exact date? There are many theories: A meteoroid from outer space; a solar storm; a shift in the earth's poles; bla bla bla．They all supposedly pointed to the date of December 21st, 2012．Unfortunately, none of it is true．

Zhu Jin, director of Beijing Planetarium, said, "For earth itself, the end will be billions of years away from now．And for us humans, there is a very small chance that we may be affected by some astronomical factors．However, we don't have the ability to foresee such events so far．So when someone tells you the world is going to end on an exact date, it must be fake．"

But the truth hasn't stopped people from believing．In the sci-fi movie "2012", the director imagined the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar．The film earned nearly 770 million US dollars worldwide. Ning Hong, Hebei Province, said．"The movie 2012 did get one thing right．There are arks  eing made in China, But they're not being built secretly inside the mountains．They are constructed here in

the courtyard of a factory．"

In April, Liu Qiyuan quit his furniture business and devoted himself to developing these huge round balls．He doesn't believe the end is near, but he wants to be prepared just in case．

Liu Qiyuan, the "Ark" builder, said, "The concept originated twenty years ago．The Tangshan earthquake had flattened our house, so I wanted to build a shelter that wouldn't fall．Then in 2004, I saw the tsunami in Indonesia that killed so many people．Then I realized it should be something that could withstand the earthquake and float on water．"

Liu is hoping to use his invention as a life boat on the sea．He's planning to test his product on the water next year．

It turns out that rumour, though false, is good for business．Doomsday discounts and products are hot on many online stores．While it's surely attracted attention, many complain that it misleads consumers．

Their purpose is to promote products．If they believe the world is going to end．who would buy things? Money would be useless, too．

41．The purpose of the movie "2012" was                 .

       A．to popularize scientific knowledge for the viewers

       B．to make a profit from the viewers

       C． to tell the viewers an interesting factual story

       D．to warn the viewers of a disastrous event

42．The word "fake" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to        ．

       A．a(chǎn) joke             B．a(chǎn) lie               C．untrue             D．terrifying

43．Liu Qiyuan quit his job and built his "ark" because _________．

       A．he believed that the world was going to end on Dec．21,2012

       B．he was tired of making money from his furniture business

       C．he was almost killed in Indonesia in 2004

       D．he wanted to make preparations for destructive natural disasters

44．Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．Ruinous were created by businessmen to promote their products．

       B．The movie "2012" was very popular and a great many people watched it．

       C．One theory said that the earth was to shift its two poles on Dec．21,2012．

       D．Liu Qiyuan's ark was intended to survive earthquakes and terrible floods．

45．We can infer from the passage that _________．

       A．Tune and time again people spread rumours about the world's end for one reason or another．

       B．The Maya's prediction about the world's end has failed．

       C．In the movie 2012 big arks were built secretly inside the mountains

       D．Liu Qiyuan was bom before 1976 and is at least 36 years old．

練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone．

         The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport．Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family．And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品雜貨），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live．

         I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help．One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up．Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．

         People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole．And it has influenced（影響）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others．No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares．And the results can be everlasting．

16．Why was the bike so important to the couple?

         A．The man’s job was bike racing．       B．It was their only possession．

         C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed．           D．They used it for work and daily life．

17．We can infer from the text that ____________．

         A．the couple worked 60 hours a week．      B．people were busy before Christmas

         C．the stranger brought over the bike            D．life was hard for the young family．

18．How did people get to know the couple’s problem?

         A．From radio broadcasts．                    B．From a newspaper．

         C．From TV news．                         D．From a stranger．

19．What do the couple learn from their experience?

         A．Strangers are usually of little help．         B．One should take care of their bike．

         C．News reports make people famous．      D．An act of kindness can mean a lot．

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：

—What do you think of that TV set as a gift for Mary’s birthday??

—__________,but I don’t particularly care for the design.?

A.It’s the right thing             B.I think it’s a Chinese style

C.Not bad                            D.Let me think it over once again?

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

There was one shop in the town of Mufulira which was widely known for its racial discrimination. It was a drugstore .While Europeans were served at the counter ,a long line of Africans queued at the window and often not only were kept waiting but were treated rudely by the shop assistants .One day I was determined to make a public protest （抗議）against this kind of thing ,and many of the schoolboys in my class followed me to the store.

       I simply went into the shop and asked the manager politely for some medicine. As soon as he saw me standing in the place where only European customers were allowed to stand ,he shouted at me in a bastard （怪聲怪氣的）language which is only used by a boss when speaking to his servants .I stood at the counter and politely requested in proper English that I should be served .The manager became angry and said , “Even if you stand till Christmas ,I will never serve you .”

       I went to the District Commissioner’s office .Fortunately ,he was out ,for he was one of the old school; however ,I saw a young District Officer who was a friend of mine .He was very concerned to hear my story and told me that all I had to do was come to him personally and he would buy my medicine for me .I protested that that was not good enough .I asked him to accompany me back to the store and to make a protest to the manager .This he did ,and I well remember him saying to the manager , “Here is Mr. Kaunda who is a responsible member of the Urban Advisory Council, and you treat him like a common servant .” The manager of the drugstore apologized and said , “If only he had introduced himself and explained who he was ,then ,of course ,I should have given him proper service.”

       I had to explain once again that he had missed my point .Why should I have to introduce myself every time I went into a store…any more than I should have to buy my medicine by going to a European friend ? I want to prove that any man of any color ,whatever his position ,should have the right to go into any shop and buy what he wanted .After all, the money which I paid across the counter was exactly the same money as was paid by a European customer.

The writer was ,at the time of the story ,      .

       A．a(chǎn) European officer   B．a(chǎn)n African servant

       C．a(chǎn) drugstore assistant D．a(chǎn) black school teacher

The manager of the drugstore shouted at the writer in dirty words because      .

       A．he could not speak English in a polite way

       B．he thought the writer couldn’t understand English

       C．that was the language he used when speaking to Africans

       D．that was the only language he could speak when he was angry

In paragraph 3, the underlined sentence “he was one of the old school” means      .

       A．he stuck to those old racial ideas

       B．he graduated from an old white school

       C．he was in charge of an old black school

Why didn’t the writer wait at the window of the drugstore like other Africans?

       A．He believed his white friends would help him out .

       B．He wanted to fight for equal rights of all black people.

       C．He thought he was educated and should be treated differently.

       D．He thought ,being an important person ,he should not be kept waiting.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2015屆廣東省惠州市高一上學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

Once a young man was in deep love with a girl. This man folded 1,000 pieces of paper cranes (紙鶴) as a gift to his girl. Although he was a small branch manager in a company, and his __1__ didn’t seem too bright, they were very __2__ together until one day, his girl told him she was going to Paris and would never come back. She also told him that she couldn’t see any future for both of them, “so let’s go our own __3__ from now on…” The young man was __4__, but he agreed.

When he regained his __5__, he worked hard day and night, just to make something out of himself. Finally with all the _6__ work, this man set up his own __7__.

One rainy day, while this man was __8__, he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella in the rain, walking to somewhere. He __9__ that they were his ex-girlfriend’s (前女友)parents, so he drove slowly beside the couple, wanting them to find him in his expensive car and to know that he had his own company, car, etc.

To the man’s surprise, the couple were walking towards a cemetery (墓地). He got out of his car and followed them. And there he saw his ex-girlfriend —a photograph of her  __10__   as sweetly as ever at him from her tombstone, and those precious paper cranes in a glass bottle! He walked over and asked the couple why this had happened. They explained that __11__ she did not leave for France at all. She fell ill with cancer. In her heart, she had believed that he would __12_ some day. She didn’t want her __13__ to be his barrier(障礙). Therefore, she chose to leave him. She asked her __14__ to put his paper cranes beside her, because if the day comes when fate brings him to her again he can take some of those back with him.

The man just cried __15__. He was heartbroken once again.

1.                A．a(chǎn)ppearance     B．salary          C．future    D．a(chǎn)partment

 

2.                A．worried        B．regret          C．happy    D．sensitive

 

3.                A．futures         B．ways           C．goals D．courses

 

4.                A．excited         B．mad           C．puzzling  D．heartbroken

 

5.                A．confidence      B．position         C．independence D．freedom

 

6.                A．main           B．beautiful        C．hard D．heavy

 

7.                A．office          B．family          C．studio    D．company

 

8.                A．running        B．driving         C．walking   D．wandering

 

9.                A．recognized      B．noticed         C．understood    D．memorized

 

10.               A．glaring         B．talking         C．smiling    D．crying

 

11.               A．fortunately      B．recently        C．difficultly  D．a(chǎn)ctually

 

12.               A．come          B．make          C．succeed   D．suffer

 

13.               A．illness          B．heart          C．cranes    D．sadness

 

14.               A．husband        B．parents         C．friends    D．son

 

15.               A．heatedly        B．hardly          C．excitedly  D．sadly

 

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：2013屆江蘇南京師大附中江寧分校高二下期末調(diào)研英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

New York has taken the title of the world’s top fashion capital from Milan. The annual survey suggest that the top five fashion cities are facing competition from Asia and Australia. New York had been the top fashion city for five years, but Milan took the title in 2009. The survey was made by the Global Language Monitor, a US based organization. It tracks the frequency（頻率） of words and phrases in the media, on the Internet and throughout the blog. With the US economy recovering, New York once again took the top title. Hong Kong took second place. It was followed by London, Paris and Los Angeles. The other top 10 cities were Milan, Sydney, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid.

“Because of the new economic situation, the global fashion centers have also changed a lot, ”said Bekka Payack. the Manhattan-based fashion reporter for the Global Language Monitor. “The new list shows that global fashion centers will change now and then. Compared with the traditional fashion cities, some new ones are performing better and better. ”She said that perhaps this is new trend, and it is the first sign that the traditional top five fashion cities——New York, Paris, London, Milan, and Rome——do not control global fashion any more.

The biggest changes in the list are Hong Kong, Madrid and Melbourne. The Group said that the top newcomers to the list include Amsterdam at number 17, Cape Town at 23, Johannesburg at 25 and Vienna at 27.

The following are the 10 top fashion cities of 2010 and the changes from 2009.

1. New York（up 1）    2. Hong Kong（up 5）

3. London（up 2）    4. Paris（down 1）

5. Los Angeles（up 1）   6. Milan（down 5）

7. Sydney（up 2）    8. Miami（up 5）

9. Barcelona（up 5）     10. Madrid（up 11）

1.New York has regained the title of the world’s top fashion capital mainly because __________.

A．the US economy has been recovering

B．Milan faced competition from other cities

C．few big cities took part in the competition

D．the survey was made by an American organization

2.Compared with the 2009 list, which of the following has the greatest change?

A．Hong Kong

B．Milan

C．Madrid

D．Barcelona

3.We can infer from the text that __________.

A．New York has lost the top title several times

B．a(chǎn)ll the traditional fashion cities are in the 2010 list

C．economic situations influence global fashion centers

D．new fashion cities have performed better than traditional ones

4.The text is probably taken from a __________.

A．science report

B．fashion magazine

C．geography textbook

D．history book

 

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案