Venice is an attractive city in Italy. Tourists throughout the world love traveling to Venice. But sometimes you’ll have such strange experiences. One moment you walk across the Rialto Bridge, and there’s nothing special. Unfortunately, when you come back to the bridge an hour later, it’s underwater and everyone’s wearing rain boots.
That’s just the way it has always been, which may be considered seriously by Italian government. Before the sea comes to Venice, the government has decided to build the MOSE gates. Actually(实际上), there were many kinds of gates that were built to stop the floods, but all the gates were just built on the ground. Besides, the flooding was becoming worse. Industrial(工业的)factories built nearby on the mainland also made the condition get worse, causing the city to sink about 0.75 feet in the 20th century.
So the Italian government asked some of Italy’s biggest construction and engineering companies to build the MOST project, which was planned to be built under the sea water to stop floods. Now the government are using 3 000 people and expect to spend nearly five billion euros(欧元) on it. The MOSE gates are being built at the inlets(海湾).Each MOST gate is 197 feet long ,28.5 to 37 feel tall, and weight up to 22 tons. It’s nearly the size of a 20-story building. Before the gates are in use, under the sea full of water. When the flood comes, the water in the gates will be poured out, and then the gates will be filled with air. So the gates can go up with the sea water. Once they’re in the right place, they will stop the sea water pouring into Venice. These gates will be able to deal with floods up to 10feet,and as long as the sea level(平面)rises no more than two feet in the next 100 years, the MOSE will work as expected.
The MOSE project is now two-thirds done. The head engineer, Giovanni Cecconi, said, “This is a war. During the war, it’s not important that you win. It’s important that you’re alive. We’ve alive.” Anyway, this project is saving Venice from falling.
根据短文内容选择最佳答案。The underlined word “construction” in the passage means “_______”in Chinese.
A.建筑 B. 农业 C. 交通Before building the MOSE gates, the Italian government _______ to stop the floods.
A. never built gates on the ground
B. built many kinds of gates on the ground
C. built some gates which were under the groundWhen the flood comes, _______ can describe the working steps of the MOSE gates.
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The Italian government ate using 3000 people and expect to spend nearly five billion dollars on the MOSE.
B. The MOSE project is half done now.
C. Each MOSE gate is 197 feet long, 28.5 to 37 feet tall, and weighs up to 22 tons.The best title for this passage should be _______.
A. The Journey to Venice
B. The MOSE Project in Venice
C. Several Kinds of Floods in Venice
【湖南省张家界市2015年中考英语试题】阅读技能（共20小题，满分45分）
阅读下面的材料，从A、B、C三个选项中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳选项。
B
Are you a good helper in the kitchen? Flynn McGarry, from the US, does more than that.The 15-year-old boy began cooking at the age of ten.And now he has his own restaurant.
McGarry practiced his cookery skills after school. He taught himself from books and the internet.The boy really loves cooking.In his room,there are no video games but cooking tools.He turned his room into an experimental kitchen called Club Eureka.
Today,many famous people pay around $ 160 per person to eat in McGarry’s Club Eureka.The New York Times magazine described his food as “creative”.
As for the future, McGarry wants to open a Michelin-Starred restaurant. He hopes to make it one of the world’s 50 Best and “maybe top 5”.When did McGarry begin to learn cooking?
A. When he was five.
B. When he was ten.
C. When he was fifteen.Who taught McGarry cookery skills?
A. His parents.
B. His teachers.
C. He himself.Why did McGarry learn cooking?
A. Because he loves cooking.
B. Because he wanted to make money.
C. Because his parents asked him to learn cooking.Which of the following is NOT true about Club Eureka?
A. McGarry is the owner.
B. McGarry is the cook.
C. The food is free.What does McGarry want to do in the future?
A. To have an experimental kitchen.
B. To have a world’s top restaurant.
C. To cook for famous people.
【湖南省张家界市2015年中考英语试题】阅读技能（共20小题，满分45分）
阅读下面的材料，从A、B、C三个选项中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳选项。
A
A thirsty crow (乌鸦)comes across(偶然遇到) a bottle of water, but the water level is out of its reach. The bird then drops some stones into it and gets the water.
“It’s just a story,” you may think. But new research has found that crows’ brains may sometimes be better than those of 6-year-old children.
In a recent experiment, American scientist Corina Logan and her team caught six crows to test them. The crows and children had to choose between two sets of tubes(试管). They had to drop stones in and get water.
With the red set, when they dropped a stone into a wide tube, the water level raised in a connected narrow tube. The blue set of tubes, however, had no connection between them.
Children aged 7 to 10 were able to learn the rule. Children aged 4-6, however, failed.Five of the six crows failed the test. But Kitty, a 6-month-old crow, passed it. She put most of the stones into the red tubes.
So, could a bird be more clever than a kindergartner? Don’t be too quick to say no.The first paragraph is ______ about crows.
A. a piece of news B. a story C. a truth_____ failed the test?
A. Kitty
B. Children aged 7 to 10
C. Children aged 4 to 6From the text, we know crows’ brains may ______ be better than those of 6-year-old children.
A. sometimes B. always C. neverHow many crows did the team do the experiment on?
A. 5 B. 6 C. 7What does the underlined word kindergartner mean?
A. 幼儿园小朋友 B. 幼儿园教师 C. 幼儿园
【黑龙江省龙东地区2015年中考英语试题】Reading comprehension (本题共40分, A, D每小题1分, B, C, E每小题2分)
Some time ago, an old businessman had a large store in Boston. He wanted a boy to work for him, and he put an advertisement in the newspaper. The next morning, many boys came to the old man's office, asking for the job.
There was a post(柱子)by his desk, and there was a nail(钉子）in it. He took a walking stick and said, "Everyone has three chances. If anyone can hit the nail on the head with this stick more than once, I will give him the job."The boys thought it was easy. They all tried, but nobody could make it. So the old man said, "I'm sorry I can't take any of you."And they left.
He kept the advertisement in the paper, and the next morning many more boys came, and among them he saw a thin boy who had been there the day before. The boy hit the nail successfully for three times. The old man felt surprised and asked how he did that. "Yes," said the boy, "I failed yesterday, but I thought that if I kept on trying a while, I could do it. So I went home and practiced hitting a nail with a stick till I could do it, and I got up very early this morning, and tried again."
The old man said, "You are the boy for me." And he gave him the job. Whatever the boy had to do, he tried to do his best. It was not very long before he became the best clerk in the store.
Answer the questions according to the passage.What could they use to hit the nail?
How many chances could everyone have to hit the nail?
Who got the job on the first day?
Did the boys know the advertisement on TV or in the newspaper?
Why could the boy hit the nail successfully?
【河北省2015年中考英语试题】阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，计30分）
阅读A、B、C三篇材料，然后从各小题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。
A
One day after school, I went to the teacher's office to see my teacher, but nobody was there. As I was about to leave, I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. I picked it up and saw the words "FINAL-TERM EXAMINATION" at the top. I put the paper into my school bag secretly and ran out of the room.
After I came back home, I took out the paper quickly. It was the exam paper of my worst subject, History. I felt excited. My heart beat fast. I took out my History book and started working on the answer. I had never answered any questions so seriously.
On the day of the History exam, I went into the exam hall confidently. When the paper was sent to me, I dreamt of getting the highest mark in the whole grade and could not help smiling. "My History teacher always encouraged me to work hard and get better grades, but I let him down time and time again. This time I will give him a big surprise," I thought.
When the teacher said we could start, I turned the paper over. To my surprise, all the questions were different. Later I felt nervous. In the end, I almost left the paper undone. After the exam. I ran to the toilet, took out the paper and carefully read it from the top. Oh! It was last year's exam paper. I read all the questions but I hadn't read the date.
This is a lesson in which I know I have to put my feet on the ground. I regretted doing such a silly thing. After that, I told my teacher the truth and I promised to be honest. From then on, I worked harder than ever before.The writer went to the teacher's office to _________.
| A．take an exam | B．see his teacher |
| C．get his school bag | D．ask some questions |
The writer always _________ in his History exams.
| A．got high marks | B．did silly things |
| C．let his teacher down | D．left the paper undone |
The writer felt _________ when he first saw all the questions were different.
| A．surprised | B．excited | C．nervous | D．crazy |
When did the writer know it was last year's exam paper?
| A．Before he read all the questions. |
| B．As soon as he returned home. |
| C．Until he went into the teacher's office. |
| D．After he read the paper in the toilet. |
What might the writer write in his diary?
| A．I'm glad that I did very well in the exam. I gave my teacher... |
| B．After the exam, my teacher asked me to go to his office. My heart... |
| C．When I turned over the paper, I couldn't help smiling. My teacher... |
| D．I'm truly sorry for what I did. Everyone should be honest. I'll ... |
【海南省2015年中考英语试题】阅读理解（共 15 小题，每小题 2 分，满分 30 分）
阅读下列两篇语言材料，根据语言材料的内容，从每小题所给的 A、B、C 三个选项中 选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳选项。
C
阅读下面短文，按要求完成各小题。
Do you often help the people who are in need?
One day, two boys were walking along the road to school when they saw an old woman carrying a large basket of pears. The old woman looked very tired. They went up and said, “Are you going to town? If you are, we’ll help you carry your basket.”
“Thank you,” said the woman. “That’s very kind of you.” Then she told them that she was going to the market to sell the pears. So the boys decided to lift the basket together. They walked slowly with the heavy basket, but they were happy.
The other day, I saw a little girl pick up a piece of banana peel(水果皮). She threw it into the dustbin(垃圾箱). “I hope nobody would throw that on the street,” she said. “Someone may slip (滑倒) and fall.”
Perhaps some people may say that these are not great things. That’s right. But almost all great things are made up of such small things. We shouldn’t wait for the time to do great things. We should begin with these things that are full of love.What was the old woman carrying?（根据短文内容回答问题）
Where were the two boys going? （根据短文内容回答问题）
Should we wait for the time to do great things?（根据短文内容回答问题）
从短文中找出与下面句子画线部分意思相同或相近的单词。
But almost all great things are made up of such small things.In the passage, the underlined word “it” refers to .