【英语】江西省信丰六中2014-2015学年高二下学期中考试

信丰六中2014-2015学年高二第二学期期中考试第二部分阅读理解（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，从每题所给的四个选项（A,B,C,D）中，选出最佳选项。

AWhy was Bastille important to the citizens of Paris? The building of the Bastille had been started in 1370 under Charles V. By the seventeenth century, it had stopped to be important for defense. Cardinal Richelieu turned it into a prison. It was not an ordinary prison to punish common crimes. Its huge doors closed only on enemies of the King. The Bastille's workings were secret. Prisoners were taken to it in closed vehicles. Soldiers on guard duty had to stand with their faces to the wall. No talking was allowed. Worst of all, a prisoner never knew if he would be there a day, a week, a year, or forever. Only the King's letter could set him free.Over the years, the number of arrests by King's letter had become fewer. By the time of its fall, most of the prisoners were writers who had written against the corruptions(贪污腐败) of the government. Voltaire, the famous French writer, spent a year there in 1717-1718, and another 12 days in 1726.For those who believed in free speech and free thinking, the Bastille stood for everything evil. The day it was captured, only seven prisoners were found inside. Still, the Bastille was hated by the people. It was a symbol of the King's complete power.21. The Bastille had been a prison ______.A. since the time of Charles VB. since 1370C. since the time of Cardinal RichelieuD. before the seventeenth century22. According to the passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?A. Voltaire was twice put in the Bastille.B. The Bastille was only for those who were opposed to the King.C. Things done in the Bastille were hardly known to people outside.D. Anyone who did something wrong could find himself suddenly in the Bastille.23. At the time of its fall, the Bastille housed ______.A. only a few prisonersB. a lot of writers who had been against the governmentC. a large number of prisonersD. some dozens of people who believed in free speech and free thinking24. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?A. All prisoners in the Bastille had to stay there for life.B. Over the years the number of prisoners in the Bastille was getting more and more.C. The King could put people in, or let them go out, as he wanted.D. At the time it was captured, there were so few prisoners in it that it meant little to the people.B(Reuters) --- A stampede（蜂拥）killed at least 36 people during New Year's Eve celebrations in Shanghai, authorities said, but the police denied reports that it was caused by people rushing to pick up fake money thrown from a building overlooking the city's famous waterfront.It was the worst disaster in the modern city since 58 died in an apartment building fire in 2010.The cause of the crush has still to be confirmed, though state media and some witnesses have said it was at least partly aroused when people rushed to pick up coupons that looked like bank notes.A man named Wu said the fake money had been thrown down from a bar above the street as part of the celebrations."This incident happened after the stampede," police said in a brief statement, without saying what the real cause was.Another witness said there had been a problem away from the area where the fake bills were thrown, with people trying to get on to a raised platform overlooking the river.Xinhua news agency said that people had been trampled on after falling down on the steps up to the platform.Authorities had shown some concern about crowd control in the days leading up to New Year's Eve. They recently canceled an annual 3D laser（激光器）show on the Bund, which last year attracted as many as 300,000 people.On New Year's Eve, Beijing also canceled a countdown event in the central business district, Chinese media said, due to police fears about overcrowding.The Shanghai government said on its official microblog that an inquiry had begun, and that all other New Year events had been canceled.In 2004, 37 people died in a stampede in northern Beijing, on a bridge at a scenic spot, during the Lunar New Year holiday.25. According to the passage, why did people go to the Bund?A. To meet their old friends and relatives.B. To watch an annual 3D laser show.C. To celebrate the New Year’s Eve.D. To pick up bank notes.26. What can be inferred according to the passage?A. People like 3D laser show better than any other events.B. Some possible measures had been taken by authorities.C. The local government had shown their worry about overcrowding.D. The celebrations in Beijing were influenced by this stampede.27. What’s the p assage about?A. A stampede on New Year’s Eve in Shanghai.B. A laser show on the Bund.C. An apartment fire in Shanghai.D.A countdown event in Beijing.CIn New York, Ma witnessed the Alibaba Group opening on the New York stock exchange with the largest initial public offering (IPO，新股发行) in American history. “Alibaba, the world’s largest Internet commerce（贸易）company makes China equal to the US in the rapidly increasing global competition for technological innovation (创新) and economic transf ormation ” commented（评论）the South China Morning Post.It has also made Ma China’s richest man with a fortune of around $25 billion (153 billion yuan), reported Reuters.It’s reported that Ma’s rags-to-riches journey is just as spectacular as his Internet empire. Ma failed the national college entrance exams twice before he was finally in Hangzhou Normal University on his third attempt and failed in finding a suitable job several times. Also, Mr. Ma is a big believer in perseverance, which was proved in his English study experience.However, it was his vision and goals that launched his career.During a short trip to the US as an interpreter in 1995, Ma first experienced the Internet. He believed in the Internet’s business potential when few other Chines e people did. He started Alibaba in his Hangzhou apartment, with 17 friends and $60,000 of funds. At the time, when e-commerce was unheard of in China, “I called myself a blind man riding on the back of blind tigers,”he once said, according to The Guardian. His unusual ideas earned him the nickname “Crazy Jack Ma”.Indeed, Ma is different. Although he is very thin and about 160cm tall, “Ma is yet animated and forceful, said The Guardian. “He is funny, creative, and a compelling (引人注目的) speaker.Ma told Time magazine that he was “old for the Internet”. He started to slow down and looked around. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ma “plans to open a tai chi club with the actor Jet Li, build an entrepreneur (企业家) university in Hangzhou and continue to work on several environmental projects.”28. What made him into e-commerce industry?A. His belief in perseverance.B. His English learning experience.C. His foresight and ambitions.D. His 17 friends and $60,000 funds.29. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?A. Ma knew little about e-commerce.B. Ma had no confidence in his business future.C. Ma is a blind man riding on a blind tiger.D. Ma had not enough money at that time.30. What’s the personality of Ma Yun according to the passage?A. Funny and competitive.B. Attractive and believableC. Rich and different.D. Determined and creative.31. What’s the best title of the passage?A. The Development of Alibaba GroupB Ma Yun’s Crazy Success.C. Ma Yun’s Personal LifeD. E-commerce in ChinaDIn the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The flattened wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation（结构）like five dots. During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain ― usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but is never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmers had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks, and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circles to communicate with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles — the same downward lash of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash. Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circlesoften appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.32. In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that ______.A. some of his wheat had fallen onto the groundB. some of his wheat had been damagedC. his grain was growing up in circlesD. his grain was moved into several circles33. The underlined word "hoax" in Paragraph 3 is probably ______.A. a research on the force of windsB. an attempt made to fool peopleC. an experiment for the protection of cropsD. a special way to plant crops34. Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man?A. The farmers couldn’t step out of the field.B. The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints.C. The farmers couldn’t make the circles round.D. The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up.35. One explanation given by scientists for the crop circles is that they are made by _____.A. air movementB. airplane crashesC. unknown flying objectsD. new farming techniques第二节(共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分)根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。