2013届上海市高三二模英语试题汇编——简答

2013届（2012学年）上海市高三英语二模——简答题

（黄浦）

Relations between the United States and Spain were not very good in 1898. On February 15, a battleship called the USS Maine blew up and sank in the harbor at Havana, Cuba. More than 260 Americans were killed. Many Americans thought that Spanish saboteurs(破坏者) had set an underwater mine that caused the explosion.

Witnesses and survivors had different versions of what happened. Some said that they heard two explosions. It was discovered that the magazine—which is a storage place for arms, ammunition (军火), and explosives—had exploded. Questions were raised about what caused the first explosion. Did the first explosion come from outside the ship, causing the magazine to explode? Or, did something on the ship blow up the magazine?

Other witnesses said that there was only one explosion. If they are right, then what on the ship caused the magazine to explode? A theory supporting the two-explosion version was that rebels from Cuba had caused the explosion. The rebels were aware of the bad feelings between the United States and Spain. They would have been willing to cause trouble between the nations to bring an end to Spanish rule in Cuba.

The United States government issued an ultimatum (最后通牒) to the Spanish government to end its occupation of Cuba. When Spanish officials refused, Congress and President William McKinley declared war on Spain. The war did not last long, because the United Sates forced an early surrender.

More than 100 years after the explosion of Maine, the cause of the explosion is still unknown. Many questions remain. If an attack from outside the ship caused the magazine to explode, why didn‟t witnesses see a splash in the water? Why were there no dead fish in the water if there was an external explosion?

With the mystery still unsolved, the question of what really happened to the USS Maine may never be answered.

(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN EIGHT WORDS.)

81. On February 15, 1898，more than 260 Americans lost their lives because of __________ .

82. According to the passage, the “magazine” was used to _________.

83. According to the two-explosion version, what‟s the probable purpose of the Cuban rebels to

cause the explosion?

84. What‟s the main topic of the passage?

81. the explosion and sinking of the USS Maine

82. store arms, ammunition, and explosives

83. To cause trouble and end the Spanish rule/occupation.

84. The Mystery of the USS Maine. / The (possible) causes of the USS Maine‟s Explosion

（闵行）

For anyone who is determined to be a fashion designer, it is not enough to have succeeded in college. The real test is whether they can survive, and become established during their early 20s, making a name for themselves in the real world where business skills can be as important as creativity.

Fashion is a hard business. There is a continuous amount of stress because work is at a constant and extremely fast speed to prepare for the next season‟s collections. It is extremely competitive and there is the constant need to make attractive advertisements of the latest fashion in newspapers and magazines. It also requires continual freshness because the appetite for new ideas is hard to satisfy. “We try to warn people before they come to us about how tough it is.” says Lydia Kemeny, the Head of Fashion at St. Martin‟s School of Art in London. “And we point out that drive and determination are absolutely necessary.”

This may seem far removed from the popular opinions of fashionable young people spending their time designing pretty dresses. That may well be what they do in their first year of study but a good college won‟t be slow in introducing students to commercial realities. “We don‟t walk our foot on the blossoming flower of creativity but in the second year we start introducing the restrictions of price, producing ability, marketing and so on.”

Almost all fashion design is done to a brief. It is not a form of self-expression as such, although there is certainly room for imagination and creativity. Most young designers are going to end up as employees of a producer or a fashion house and they still need to be able to work within the employers‟ characteristic style. Even those who are most modern in their own taste of clothes may need to produce designs which are right for the mainstream of market. They also have to be able to work at both the expensive and the cheap end of the market and the challenge to produce good design inexpensively may well be demanding.

(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN 12 WORDS.)

81. What are equally important if a fashion designer wants to be successful?

82. Why does a fashion designer have to be creative?

83. Besides learning to design beautiful dresses, students are also taught _______________.

84. According to the last paragraph, ____________________ are the two things fashion designers have to consider when working as employees.

81. Business skills and creativity.

82. Because consumers‟ needs keep changing / the appetite for new ideas is hard to satisfy.

83. commercial realities / the restrictions of price, producing ability, marketing