Scotland is a unique place, loaded with history, where you can find aristocratic（贵族的）palaces and castles, as well as the traditional parades in national costumes.
In order to see and discover the true soul of Scotland today and what formed the character of this splendid region, we have to go towards the northern regions, to the Grampian Mountains（格兰扁山区）, beautiful and plain. The Scots conquered the environment with simple spades and strong arms, for it was difficult to farm.
The history of this ancient struggle, and its people’s ancient love with the hard land, can be felt within the walls of the Angus Folk Museum. You are able to get a feel of the typical rural atmosphere of times past from the everyday artifacts displayed here.
From coastal Aberdeen in towards the Grampian Mountains there runs the Castle Trail, a road that touches on many fortresses（堡垒）, which are witnesses of continual fights against the control of neighboring England in Scottish history.
Perhaps the most exciting moment for Scottish autonomy is the one experienced inside this ancient church of Arbroath, where, in 1320, the Declaration of Independence was celebrated, at the instigation（鼓动）of King Robert the Bruce. He carried out the plan for autonomy drawn up by the great popular hero William Wallace, for whom cinema has designed the wonderful film Brave Heart, the winner of the five Oscars.
This is Glamis Castle, where King Macbeth and Queen Elizabeth used to live. Among the most frequent guests here are the predictable ghosts, if not actually created, by ancient popular beliefs. These have been handed down over the centuries by people tending to live with mystery, with the forces of the supernatural.
Another attraction here is a legendary monster: the Loch Ness Monster. Whether it’s real or imaginary, this monster, which has been nicknamed Nessie, has collected a good 3,000 sightings over the last 50 years.
The true flag of Scotland, tartan, is recognizable from the brightly colored plaid patterns which are used to distinguish the various social groups.
Bagpipes and dancing open the competitions of local sporting events, which are called Highland Gatherings.
小题1:Take a look at the Angus Folk Museum, and we can learn about _______. .| A．the love of ancient Scottish to the hard land | | B．the rural atmosphere in Grampian Mountains | | C．ancient Scottish people’s fighting against the enemy | | D．the history of the Scottish famous palaces and castles |
小题2:What were the fortresses built for?| A．Fighting against the invaders of England. | | B．Developing business with neighbor areas. | | C．Preventing the people from moving around. | | D．Providing a shelter from tough weather for travelers. |
小题3:In the fifth paragraph, the underlined “the one” refers to the moment of _______.| A．the film Brave Heart winning the five Oscars | | B．the plan for Scottish autonomy being carried out | | C．the instigation of King Robert the Bruce | | D．the celebration of the Declaration of Independence |
小题4: According to the passage, which one is TRUE?| A．The film Brave Heart is mainly about King Robert Bruce. | | B．The Scottish film industry is one of the attractions of the land. | | C．Highland gatherings are often marked with bagpipes and dancing | | D．The supernatural forces in Glamis Castle may change a person’s belief. |
小题5:The purpose of the writer is to _______.| A．advise readers to pay a visit to Scotland | | B．teach students about the customs of Scotland | | C．introduce cultural background about Scotland | | D．analyze the geographic formation of Scotland |
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小题1:A
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:C
小题5:C |
试题分析：苏格兰是一个独特的地方，自然条件虽不得天独厚，历史的厚重感却随处可见。这篇文章是介绍一些苏格兰有名的名胜和它们的文化背景
小题1:细节题：从文章第二段的句子：The history of this ancient struggle, and its people’s ancient love with the hard land, can be felt within the walls of the Angus Folk Museum.可知通过看Angus Folk Museum ，我们可以知道古代苏格兰人对坚硬的土地的爱，选A
小题2:细节题：从第四段的句子： a road that touches on many fortresses（堡垒）, which are witnesses of continual fights against the control of neighboring England in Scottish history. 可知堡垒是为了抵御英格兰的侵略者而建的，选A
小题3:猜词题：从第五段的句子：Perhaps the most exciting moment for Scottish autonomy is the one experienced inside this ancient church of Arbroath, where, in 1320, the Declaration of Independence was celebrated,可知the one指的是庆祝《独立宣言》的时候，选D
小题4:细节题：从文章最后一段的句子：Bagpipes and dancing open the competitions of local sporting events, which are called Highland Gatherings.可知高地集会经常会伴有风笛和舞蹈，C是对的。
小题5:主旨题：从全文和文章第一段的句子：Scotland is a unique place, loaded with history, where you can find aristocratic（贵族的）palaces and castles, as well as the traditional parades in national costumes.
可知这篇文章是介绍一些苏格兰的文化背景，选C |
核心考点
试题【Scotland is a unique place, loaded with history, where you can find aristocratic】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
American colleges and universities consider a number of things about a student who wants to be admitted. Experts say the most important thing is the students’ high school record. Besides, student"s interests and activities may also play a part in getting accepted. But in most cases another consideration is how well the student did on college entrance exams. Here we’d like to discuss two of these tests: the SAT and the ACT. Most American schools accept either one.
The SAT measures reasoning skills in mathematics and language. Students have almost four hours to complete the SAT. The newest part is an essay. Students have twenty-five minutes to write an answer to a question.
The SAT costs 41.5$. Besides, the international processing charge is 22$ more. And test-takers in India and Pakistan must also pay a 21.5 $ security charge.
Students may also need to take SAT subject tests in areas like history, science and foreign language. Subject tests cost eighteen dollars each.
The ACT is an achievement test. It is designed to measure what a student has learned in school. Students are tested in mathematics, English, reading and science. A writing test is offered but not required. Without it, the ACT takes about three hours to complete. The essay part adds thirty minutes.
The ACT costs forty-nine dollars to take outside the United States. The writing test costs an additional fourteen dollars.
小题1:What’s most important in students’ admission to American colleges and universities?| A．High school record | | B．Interests and activities | | C．Performances in SAT and ACT | | D．Skills in mathematics and language |
小题2:If a student from Pakistan wants to take the SAT, how much should he pay at least?| A．21.5 dollars | B．63 dollars | C．85 dollars | D．43.5 dollars |
小题3:Which of the statement is true according to the text?| A．It usually takes about three hours to complete the SAT. | | B．There are only two ways for students to enter a college or a university. | | C．The ACT measures mathematics, English, reading and science. | | D．The two tests are specially designed for students outside America. |
小题4:What might be the best title of this passage?| A．College Entrance Exams in America | | B．The Way to America Colleges | | C．The Cost of American Colleges | | D．Important Things in College Entrance |
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Grant Wood’s American Gothic caused a stir （轰动）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（讽刺） 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.
小题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. |
小题2:From the passage we can infer Iowa is in __________.| A．the southern town of Eldon | B．the Midwest of the United States | | C．a European country | D．the city of Chicago |
小题3:Grant Wood chose the two models __________.| 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 |
小题4:The title of the painting is based on __________.| 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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America"s Beauty Is in Its Diversity
America is built on the idea of freedom，and there is no exception for Muslim women.I ____ the freedom of religion and speech.But mostly，I believe it"s OK to be ____，and to stand up for who and what you are.So I believe in wearing the hijab.
The hijab is a religious head covering，like a scarf.I am Muslim，and keeping my head covered is a ____ of maturity and respect toward my ____ and to Allah"s will.____，I also like to wear it to be different.I don"t usually like to do what everyone else is doing.I want to be a(n) ____，not just part of the crowd.But when I first wore it，I was also afraid of the ____ that I"d get at school.
I ____ on my own that sixth grade was the ____ I should start wearing the hijab.I was ____ about what the kids would say or even do to me.I thought they might make fun of me，or ____ be scared of me and ____ my headscarf.Kids at that age usually like to be all the same，and there"s little or no ____ of differences.
On the first day of school，I put all those ____ thoughts behind my back and walked in with my head held high.I was holding my breath a little，but ____ I was also proud to be a Muslim，proud to be wearing the hijab，proud to be different.
I was ____ about everything I thought the kids would say or even do to me.I actually met a lot of people because of wearing my head covering.Most of the kids would come and ask me questions—____—about the hijab and why I wore it.
I did hear some kid was making fun of me，___ there was one girl—she wasn"t even in my class，and we never really talked much—and she spoke ____ me，and I wasn"t even there！I made a lot of new friends that year，friends that I still have until this very day，five years later.
Yes，I"m different，but everyone is different here，in one way or another.This is the ____ of America.
| 小题1: | | A．believe in | B．stick to | C．carry out | D．push for |
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| 小题2: | | A．independent | B．free | C．sensitive | D．different |
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| 小题3: | | A．signal | B．sign | C．reminder | D．cause |
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| 小题4: | | A．religion | B．country | C．parents | D．status |
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| 小题5: | | A．In a word | B．In general | C．To be exact | D．To be honest |
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| 小题6: | | A．princess | B．heroine | C．individual | D．adult |
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| 小题7: | | A．praise | B．punishment | C．reaction | D．reflection |
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| 小题8: | | A．hoped | B．expected | C．realized | D．decided |
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| 小题9: | | A．time | B．chance | C．case | D．occasion |
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| 小题10: | | A．disappointed | B．scared | C．enthusiastic | D．angry |
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| 小题11: | | A．still | B．already | C．even | D．ever |
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| 小题12: | | A．show off | B．pull off | C．pick up | D．put up |
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| 小题13: | | A．rejection | B．ignorance | C．awareness | D．acceptance |
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| 小题14: | | A．negative | B．optimistic | C．serious | D．strange |
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| 小题15: | | A．often | B．inside | C．only | D．outside |
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| 小题16: | | A．concerned | B．particular | C．wrong | D．convinced |
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| 小题17: | | A．respectfully | B．cautiously | C．suspiciously | D．critically |
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| 小题19: | | A．in terms of | B．in front of | C．in charge of | D．in favor of |
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| 小题20: | | A．significance | B．beauty | C．value | D．power |
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Did you know that the first documented use of OMG(oh my god)was in 1917, or that LOL was once a common term meaning little old ladies in 1960? That"s what the world learned when OMG, LOL, and FYI (for your information) were added to the Oxford English Dictionary last week. This dictionary is considered by many to be the reference book that defines the English language.
Words added to the Oxford English Dictionary are truly considered new members of the language. People invent new words all the time, but only a few become popular enough to get defined in dictionaries.
Typed online or in text messages, LOL, FYI, and OMG are initialisms,_which can be said aloud letter by letter, like LOL, which now stands for Laugh Out Loud.Faster to type than the full phrases, initialisms like these have been used online since the 1990s. But these three online terms are now spoken outside the Internet too, making them different from other online lingo( 行话). Dictionary editors decided the words are used so commonly that they had to be defined this year.
Another important addition to the dictionary this year was ♥， as in “I ♥ NY.” This is the first graphic (图形的 ) symbol ever defined in the Oxford English Dictionary.The editors added ♥ as a verb under the definition of “heart”， meaning “to love”．
Some slang words — informal language used more commonly in speech than in writing — were also added, like wassup, a shortened way to say “What"s up”. Even words that have been in use for many years like biker and happy camper were finally added to the dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary now defines more than 600,000 words.That adds up to more than 21,730 pages! Guinness World Records calls it the longest dictionary in the world.The Oxford English Dictionary is known for recording words of all kinds—popular, outdated, and even foreign words used by English speakers throughout the language"s long history.
小题1:The text is mainly about that ________.| A．expressions like LOL and FYI have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary | | B．English words change their meaning as time goes by | | C．English language is becoming more and more difficult to learn | | D．the Oxford English Dictionary breaks the Guinness World Record |
小题2:Which of the following is NOT included in the facts that the Oxford English Dictionary has been updated?| A．Some online terms are added to it. | | B．A graphic symbol is first introduced into it. | | C．Some slang words are collected in it. | | D．Some old words are left out. |
小题3:What does the underlined word “initialisms” refer to?| A．Words having foreign origins. | | B．Words made from the first letters of several words in a phrase. | | C．Uncommon words frequently appearing on the Internet. | | D．Official words used in formal documents with capital letters. |
小题4:Before any new word is added to the Oxford English Dictionary, it must be ________.| A．spread widely across the Internet | | B．used commonly by the dictionary editors | | C．used commonly in either spoken or written language | | D．a short word |
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(2013·高考新课标全国卷Ⅱ，B)In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music，dance and theatre in Edinburgh.The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness，Richard Burton，Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras(交响乐团)．It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.
At the same time，the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947，in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform，and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon，groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University，and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge，Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by littleknown writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the“Fringe”，once less recognized，has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre，music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts.And yet as early as 1959，with only 19 theatre groups performing，some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971，and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself.In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries.More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.
小题1:What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?| A．To bring Europe together again. | | B．To honor heroes of World War Ⅱ. | | C．To introduce young theatre groups. | | D．To attract great artists from Europe. |
小题2:Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?| A．They owned a public house there. | | B．They came to take up a challenge. | | C．They thought they were also famous. | | D．They wanted to take part in the festival. |
小题3:Who joined the“Fringe”after it appeared?| A．Popular writers. | | B．University students. | | C．Artists from around the world. | | D．Performers of music and dance. |
小题4:We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival________.| A．has become a nonofficial event | | B．has gone beyond an art festival | | C．gives shows all year round | | D．keeps growing rapidly |
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