2021年威海市高区一中高三英语上学期期中考试试题及参考答案

2021年威海市高区一中高三英语上学期期中考试试题及参考答案

第一部分阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项

A

In September, something terrible happened on the west coast ofTasmania,Australia. As many as 380 pilot whales became stranded(搁浅) in shallow water there and later died. This might have beenAustralia’s largest stranding event on record, the BBC reported.

But this large amount of whale stranding is not uncommon. For centuries, it has happened all over the world and has puzzled scientists. Scientists say the cause is often unknown. But they have offered many different explanations.

Some say the whales chase small fish for food and end up in shallow water because they are not paying attention to where they are going.

Others think the stranding has something to do with Earth’s geomagnetic field (地磁场). They say that a geomagnetic compass in whales’ brains controls their position. Unusual changes in Earth’s magnetic field can affect the whales’ compasses and send them in the wrong direction.

Another explanation suggests that stranding is caused by the close relationships that whales have. Pilot whales travel in large groups. One lead whale might mistakenly lead the whole group to shallow water. “And if one gets into trouble, the others will not leave,” said Sheryl Gibney, a leading biologist fromNew Zealand. “Some will come in and try to help, they get trapped on the beach, then more will come.”

The whales are trapped by mistake or out of sympathy(同情). Once they get stranded, they will likely die. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of theUS, less than 10 percent of all stranded whales survive.

1. What do we know about the stranding inAustralia?

A. It happened on theeast coast ofAustralia.

B. It caused the death of over 300 pilot whales.

C. It is commonly seen in September each year.

D. It was the largest stranding event in the world.

2. According to Gibney, the pilot whales are the animals that________.

A. are kind to each other

B. are easy to lose direction

C. are too huge to float in the sea

D.are silly to follow the leading whale

3. What is the story mainly about?

A. How human activity has affected whales.

B. What might cause whale strandings.

C. How whales find their direction while traveling.

D. What scientists are doing to save stranded whales.

B

One day when I was 5, my mother criticized me for not finishing my rice and I got angry. I wanted to play outside and not to be made to finish eating my old rice. In my angry motion to open the screen door (纱门) with my foot, I kicked back about a 12-inch part of the lower left hand corner of the new screen door. But I had no regret, for I was happy to be playing in the backyard with my toys.

Today, I know if my child had done what I did, I would have criticized my child, and told him about how expensive this new screen door was, and I would have delivered a spanking (打屁股) for it. But my parents never said a word. They left the corner of the screen door pushed out, creating an opening, a crack in the defense against unwanted insects.

For years, every time I saw that corner of the screen, it would remind me of my mistake from time to time. For years, I knew that everyone in my family would see that hole and remember who did it. For years, every time I saw a fly buzzing in the kitchen, I would wonder if it came in through the hole that I had created with my angry foot. I would wonder if my family members were thinking the same thing, silently blaming me every time a flying insectentered our home, making life more terrible for us all. My parents taught me a valuable lesson, one that a spanking or stern (严厉的) words perhaps could not deliver. Their silent punishment for what I had done delivered a hundred stern messages to me. Aboveall, it has helped me become a more patient person and not burst out so easily.

4. When the author damaged the door, his parents _______.

A. scolded him for what he had done

B. left the door unrepaired

C. told him how expensive it was

D. gave him a spanking

5. How did the author feel every time he saw the damaged door?

A. He felt ashamed of his uncontrolled anger at that time.