Evidently, our very first president, George Washington, thought being thankful was a big deal. In 1789 he declared the last Thursday in November to be a national Thanksgiving holiday. The intention was to strengthen the unity of the American people by encouraging them to gather together to honor their own families and give thanks for their country. Thanksgiving celebrations were popular even before the Indians and the Pilgrims famous feast. As time marched on, the people of the New England states continued to celebrate the holiday but the people in the lower states went about their own business ignoring it. Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, an active participant in her own community, was shocked. She believed Thanksgiving should be a priority（優(yōu)先）in America for all Americans. She made a decision to be actively involved.

20090401
 
While caring for her six children, she wrote letters for years to prominent people, magazine articles and editorials challenging others to take up the cause of reinstating（恢復(fù)） the National Holiday of Thanksgiving. Numerous women across the country joined Sarah in the challenge and began writing letters too. Some changes actually occurred. One by one, individual states were once again celebrating Thanksgiving. That wasn’t good enough for Sarah, she wanted all people in every state to once again sit around their tables on the same day and give thanks. She decided to go to the President himself. She wrote to President Zachery Taylor. He said no. Four years later, she wrote to President Franklin Pierce. He said no. Four years later, she wrote to President James Buchanan. He also said no. Finally, four years later, she got the attention of President Abraham Lincoln. He said, “Yes! “In 1863 he declared the fourth Thursday in November as a Thanksgiving National Holiday! That Sarah, she didn’t take no for an answer. She kept at it for thirty-eight years! What a life changer! Wow, thank you, Sarah.

1．Thanksgiving was celebrated because ________.

A．it was very popular with all Americans

B．the people in the lower states overlooked the holiday

C．it was thought of great importance to unite the American people

D．it was celebrated before Christmas Day

2．The underlined word “prominent” probably means ________.

A．friendly           B．outstanding             C．promising               D．ordinary

3．We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．the Indians and the Pilgrims famous feast was also unpopular in the lower states

B．Sarah kept calm when she learned Thanksgiving celebrations was no longer popular

C．through Sarah’s hard work, more and more states returned to the celebration of Thanksgiving

D．a(chǎn) large number of men and women went in for the cause of reinstating Thanksgiving

4．Sarah’s character can be described as ________.

A．stubborn           B．determined            C．brave            D．enthusiastic

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科目：高中英語 來源：黑龍江省哈爾濱市第六中學(xué)2010屆高三一模英語試題 題型：完型填空

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個選項（A、B、C、D）中，選出空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
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At the end of the term I had planned to find  40  living place, since the daughter was to  41  home. To my delight, they  42 that I share a room with their son. I seemed to have been adopted into their  43  ----their people became my people. I   44  accepted the offer.
As I emptied the daughter’s bedroom, I thought it might be  45  to have a little sister to look after. But when I later met my new sister, I  46 that she was more independent than I first  47 .
We finally fell in love,  48  , and have looked after each other for many years. There have been times that life turned out more  49  than either of us could have known. But we have always been able to go  50 largely because we knew that we are deeply  51 .
It isn’t about marriage… It’s about  52  . It’s about mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers and special friends who are as  53  as family. It’s about anybody who can say, “I’ll be  54  ----you can count on me. I’ll try to look after you and sometimes I will need you to look after me.
Is there somebody you can depend on?  And are others counting on you? We travel the path of life best when there is  55  to look after, and when someone is looking after us.
36. A. honest                     B. surprised                C. friendly          D. pleased
37. A. price                       B. rent                      C. money            D. pay
38. A. had                        B. included                C. made              D. contained
39. A. idea                        B. plan                      C. service           D. offer
40. A. same                      B. different               C. another          D. extra
41. A. return                     B. go                        C. get                       D. leave
42. A. ordered                  B. agreed                  C. arranged         D. suggested
43. A. house                     B. family                  C. group            D. friend
44. A. happily                   B. sorrowfully           C. evidently        D. efficiently
45. A. bad                        B. exciting                 C. nice               D. strange
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47. A. saw                 B. told                      C. imagined               D. believed
48. A. separated                B. parted                C. left                       D. married
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科目：高中英語 來源：2010—2011學(xué)年廣東省梅州市豐順中學(xué)高二學(xué)業(yè)水平考試（英語） 題型：閱讀理解

Much meaning can be conveyed, clearly, with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.
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However, the normal eye contact for two people engaged in conversation is that the speaker will only look at the listener from time to time; in order to make sure that the listener does pay attention to hat the former is speaking, to tell him that he is attentive. 
If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking, as if he tries to dominate you, you will feel disconcerted. A poor liar usually expose s himself by looking too long at the victim, since he believes the false ides that to look straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication.
In fact, continuous eye contact is confined to lovers only, who will enjoy looking at each other tenderly for a long time, to show affection that words cannot express.
Evidently, eye contact should be done according to the relationship between two people and specific situation.
【小題1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It is always very rude and aggressive to look at others for a long time.
B．One’s feelings can be shown through their eyes.
C．If a stranger looks at you for some time, he must be attracted at you..
D．If you are stared at by a stranger, you must look very awkward.
【小題2】How can we tell if someone possibly lying?
A．If he looks at you directly in the eye for too long.
B．If he looks at you occasionally.
C．If he looks honest.
D．If he looks attentive.
【小題3】What is suggested if you ate talking to others?
A. You’d better look at the listener all the time.
B. You are advised to try to dominate the listeners.
C. You are supposed to look at the listeners from time to time.
D. You should not make eye contact with listeners.
【小題4】If two persons exchange eye contact gently for long, what is probably their relationship?
A．Father and son.B．Strangers.C．Lovers.D．Teacher and student.
【小題5】Where can we read this passage?
A．In a textbook. .B．In a science journal.C．In a magazine.D．In a psychology report.

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When the wind is from the west
All the waves that cannot rest
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Where the bright tree of the sun
Is rooted in the ocean’s breast.
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It is easy to imagine the Atlantic trying to draw breath—perhaps not so noticeably out in mid-ocean, but where it meets land, its waters bathing up and down a sandy beach. It mimics(模仿) nearly perfectly the steady breathing of a living creature. It is filled with symbiotic existences, too: unimaginable quantities of creatures, little and large alike, mix within its depths in a kind of oceanic harmony, giving to the waters a feeling of heartbeat, a kind of sub-ocean vitality. And it has a psychology. It has personalities: sometimes peaceful and pleasant, on rare occasions rough and wild; always it is strong and striking.
【小題1】Unlike real inland seas, the Atlantic Ocean is______.

A．a(chǎn)lways energetic
B．lacking in liveliness
C．shaped like a square
D．favored by ancient poets
【小題2】What is the purpose of using the poem “Storm at Sea” in the passage?
A．To describe the movement of the waves.
B．To show the strength of the storm.
C．To represent the power of the ocean.
D．To prove the vastness of the sea.
【小題3】What does the underlined word “symbiotic” mean?
A．Living together.
B．Growing fast.
C．Moving harmoniously.
D．Breathing peacefully.
【小題4】In the last paragraph, the Atlantic is compared to______.
A．a(chǎn) beautiful and poetic place
B．a(chǎn) flesh and blood person
C．a(chǎn) wonderful world
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科目：高中英語 來源：2011年新課標(biāo)高三上學(xué)期單元測試（1）英語卷 題型：閱讀理解

Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook from scratch? Have you been doing internet shopping rather than going to the stores? What can't you be bothered to do?

       A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of adults are so lazy they'd catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs．

       Just over 2000 people were quizzed by independent researchers at Nuffield Health, Britain's largest health charity．The results were astonishing．

       About one in six people surveyed said if their remote control was broken, they would continue watching the same channel rather than get up．

       More than one third of those questioned said they would not run to catch a bus．Worryingly, of the 654 respondents with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them．

       This led the report to conclude that it's no wonder that one in six children in the UK are classified as obese （very fat） before they start school．

       Dr Sarah Dauncey, medical director of Nuffield Health, said: "People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, friends and evidently their pets too．

       "If we don't start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the most rudimentary of tasks．"

       And Scotland's largest city, Glasgow, was shamed as the most inactive city in the UK, with 75% surveyed admitting they do not get enough exercise, followed closely by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%．

       The results cause serious challenges for the National Health Service, where obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on a steady increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year．

1.What causes children in the UK to be obese?

       A．Eating ready meal                               B．Watching TV

       C．Doing Internet shopping                       D．Being lazy

2.What can be inferred from the passage?

       A．British people are too lazy to do anything．

       B．Internet shopping will do harm to your health．

       C．Many people would not run to catch a bus in Britain．

       D．People should be more active and take regular exercise to keep fit．

3.Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?

       A．One sixth of British people use remote control when watching TV．

       B．People will benefit not only themselves but their families by getting fit．

       C．Fatness can cause diseases such as heart disease and cancer．

       D．More people get obesity-related illnesses now than 40 years ago．

4.What does the underlined word rudimentary most probably mean?

       A．basic                   B．serious                C．vital                    D．hard

5.All the following are among the most lazy cities in the UK except         ．

       A．Glasgow             B．Birmingham        C．Nuffield              D．Southampton

 

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