第三套湖北高二上学期期末试卷

第三套高二上学期期中英语试卷第二部分阅读理解（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和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在题卡上将该项涂黑。

AThere are more to enjoy in the city this summer than beaches. Some of Toronto’s biggest attractions have new and exciting features for summer 2012, both indoors and outdoors. Here’s a look at what’s new this summer.Art Gallery of OntarioIf you’re looking to get some culture, there’s plenty to see and do at the Art Gallery of Ontario, including art exhibits and collections from the world. Right now there’s Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris, which runs until August 26.Canada’s wonderlandJust outside the city limits is Canada’s Wonderland, the biggest theme park in Canada. This year sees a lot of new additions t o the park, most notably Leviathan, one of the world’s longest and tallest roller coasters. There is also an interactive dinosaur park, stage shows for the kids and Splash Works water park.Casa LomaThe city’s only historic castle is a great place to take the kids for a day of exploration through the castle grounds, gardens and stables. The venue has many events going on throughout the year, and this summer’s activities include archery courses and Teddy Bear Picnic for kids ages two and up.Black Creek Pioneer VillageThe village features people dressed up for the 19th century, living the old fashioned way. There are gardens, farms filled with domestic animals and more than 30 historical buildings to explore. During the week visitors can tour the grounds, meet with historians, practice Victorian traditions, taste samples in the brewery and more. The site has activities on holidays, like a Revolutionary War Re-enactment and BBQ on Father’s Day and a Canada Day Celebration.Toronto ZooThe Toronto Zoo has more than 5,000 animals on display, including some new faces this year.A polar bear cub named Hudson made his debut in March, and starting in May there is a pair of rare White Lions in the African Savannah section. Be sure to stay for informative talks and presentations from the animals handlers, presented daily.21.What is the main idea of the passage?A. New attractions appear this summer.B. Tourists are especially fond of Toronto.C. Tourism has been advancing rapidly.D. Beaches are out of people’s attenti on.22.What is the feature of Art Gallery of Ontario?A. It is about the cultural difference.B. It has too many relics on show.C. You can enjoy world-famous painting.D. You can have a close look at Picasso.23.If your child enjoys theme parks, you will go to ______.A. Black Creek Pioneer VillageB. Canada’s WonderlandC. Art Gallery of OntarioD. Casa Loma24.As a person seeking a rural life you prefer ________.A. Black Creek Pioneer VillageB. Canada’s WonderlandC. Art Gallery of OntarioD. Toronto ZooBFor the past few months, Steven Pitts has woken up each morning to a landscape (风光) of pines, rivers and changing leaves on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.), one of the famous trails (路径) for hikers in the US. The 19-year-old is a recent graduate of East Mecklenburg High School. He hiked the A.T. as a part of his gap year plan.Pitts discovered the thrill of exploring from reading adventure novels. At 15, he began to plan a gap year to relieve his eager for adventure. As part of this, he decided to hike the A.T.“I grew up being a huge fan of high fantasy novels,” Pitts said. “Whenever I went camping, I felt like I was living out some of my favorite stories.” For him, hiking the trail “seemed like the perfect way to have my own personal big adventure”.To celebrate the f inish of his hike, Pitts’ family climbed to the summit (顶峰) of Spring Mountain in Georgia to greet him.“The entire trek (长途跋涉) was demanding,” Pitts said. “But not in the ways I expected. It demanded that I bear long days over rough terrain (地形) and often in poor weather. But it also demanded me not to take the hike too seriously and ... enjoy the sights and experiences that the trail had to offer.“Sometimes, the hardest thing for me to do was to enjoy myself, but once I did, the trail became a breeze.”Traveling above the tree line in New England was a highlight on the trail, Pitts said. The views along the White Mountains and the Presidential Mountain Range were breathtaking.“You could see for hundreds of miles in the distance, which was really luck y because the White Mountains, particularly Mount Washington, are known for having horrible weather,” Pitts said. “When I got up there, there was not a cloud in the sky.”But Pitts also faced many difficulties along the way. It was the support of his parents, he said, that kept him going.“Whenever I was really down, they would remind me this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he explained.“In this day and age, I don’t feel like everyone should study a four-year college degree after graduation,” said his mom Ann Pitts. “What a better time to explore when you’re young?”25.Why did Pitts decide to hike the Appalachian Trail?A. To fulfill his parents’ expectations.B. To satisfy his desire for adventure.C. To explore his choices before college.D. To gather writing material for his fantasy novel.26. What was the greatest difficulty for Pitts while hiking the Appalachian Trail according to the text?A. He had to endure long days over rough terrain.B. He had to put up with the terrible weather there.C. He had to deal with unexpected dangers sometimes.D. He had to try not to see the journey just as a task.27. What is Pitts’ parents’ attitude towards his gap year plan?A. Doubtful.B. Opposed.C. Supportive.D. Uncaring.CWhen you think of a typical American, who do you picture? A pretty blond white American like Taylor Swift? Or a handsome black American like basketball star Kobe Bryant? In fact, there was a time when the average American looked like neither of these people.Back in the year 1500, the average American was a brown-skinned hunter-gatherer who probably rode a horse and wore clothing made from animal skins. Today, the ancestors of these people – who usually identify themselves based on their individual tribes such as Iriquois, Apache and Navajo –are broadly referred to as “Native Americans”, “American Indians” or simply “Indians”.There’s a chance that you’ve never even heard of American Indians. That’s because there aren’t very many left. When the European settlement of Nort h America began, there was fierce conflict between settlers from overseas and these native people. After the British government and military were driven in the Revolutionary War, conflicts with natives continued as the states were created that would later make up the US. In these conflicts, millions of natives were killed.In 1830, former US President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. This act required all Indians to moved to west of the Mississippi River to allow for the expansion of the US. Am erican Indians were treated as a military “enemy” until 1924, when the few Indians still aliveat that point were granted (准予) US citizenship. That was the first time that the US government formally recognized the rights of Indians.While the story of the American Indians has been a sad one, their legacy (遗产) is still felt every day in the US. Many US geographical names come from Indian languages, such as Ohio, Topeka, Kansas, and the Potomac River. At the same time, there are many successful academics and other important US leaders who are descended (是……的后裔) from Indians. And nowadays, more and more history classes in US public schools are educating students about how Indians suffered during the settlement of the US.Although what happened cannot be undone, we can learn at least one thing from the sad history of the Indians: If we want a better future, we must look carefully and honestly at the past.28.What is the article mainly about?A. The history of the settlement of the US.B. What a typical American is like.C. The sad story of American Indians.D. American Indians’ economic impact on the US.29. It can be inferred from the article that in the middle of the 19th century, American Indians_______.A. were driven from the US by the British governmentB. were regarded as a military “enemy” of the USC. were finally granted US citizenshipD. were required to live along the Mississippi River30. What can we learn about American Indians from the article?A. There are few influential American Indians in US history.B. Some of their languages are still used today.C. The majority of them lived in the states of Ohio and Kansas.D. American youths are becoming more informed of the suffering of the Indians.31. What is the author’s attitude toward the history of American Indians?A. It’s miserable to be reminded of it.B. It’s important to learn from it.C. He doesn’t have much interest in it.D. Every school should teach classes about it.DIn 1969, as US astronaut (宇航员) Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon, he famously declared, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” And as many countries come together to celebrate World Space Week from Oct 4-10, it seems that there are still many leaps to take.During ancient times, our only steps were back and forth across the surface of our own planet. We climbed to the top of mountains, or sailed in boats across oceans. But we didn’t, and couldn’t, leave the surface of our planet.It’s not surprising that back then, the so-called heavens fascinated us so much. How could they not? How could people not be obsessed with the great object in the sky that arrived each day with light and then left, taking the light with it? Or the mysterious moon, stars and planets that lit up the night sky? Compared with us, these things seemed so free and exciting.Different cultures created stories about the heavens. The Chinese referred to a “King of the Sky” who created the heavens and decorated them with stars; the ancient Greeks had “the Sky Gods” who controlled the weather.Few of us believe those stories anymore – science has taught us better. And yet the heavens, or what we now call “space” and “outer space”, are still a source of mystery and fascination for us. Yes, there are space stations, satellites and trips to other planets. None of this modern science, however, has made space any less fascinating to us.As the American scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson said, “The universe is under no obligation (义务) to make sense to you.” The more we know, the more our curiosity grows.Even today, the most popular novels and movies are set on other planets, solar systems or galaxies (星系). Space is still mysterious, as it was for the ancient Chinese, Greeks and Romans. And perhaps it always will be.32. The author used Neil Armstrong’s story to ______.A. draw attention to great achievements in space explorationB. describe how the celebration of World Space Week beganC. explain why human beings are curious about outer spaceD. predict future space programs that might change history33. The underline word “obsessed” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.A. happyB.boredC. satisfiedD. interested34. Compared with modern people, ancient Greeks ______.A. didn’t leave many records of space objectsB. believed the King of the Sky controlled the weatherC. shared a similar curiosity about the universeD. showed little respect for the power of nature35. What’s the article mainly about?A. Important events in space exploration history.B. Human’s unchangeable interest in space.C. Ancient stories inspired by the heavens.D. What we have learned about the universe.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。