北京市朝阳区重点中学2016届高三上学期期中考试英语试卷及答案

C. Phillip Island Visitors Information Centre. D. Australian Eastern coastline.

57. Which of the following group need only pay $58 per person? A. 2-year-old kids. C. Adults.

B. Babies in arms. D. Kids between 3 and 14.

58. Why should tourists bring a towel or a rug? A. Because they will swim during the tour. B. Because they may want to sit on the platform. C. Because it makes them warm. D. Because they will take a spa.

59. The passage is likely to appear in ___________. A. a newspaper B. a magazine

B

Britain’s Solo Sailor

Ellen MacArthur started sailing when she was eight, going out on sailing trips with her aunt. She loved it so much that she saved her money for three years to buy her first small sailing boat. When she was 18, she sailed alone around Britain and won the “Young Sailor of the Year” award.

But Ellen really became famous in 2001. Aged only 24, she was one of only two women who entered the Vendee Globe round the world solo race, which lasted 100 days. In spite of many problems, she came second in the race out of 24 competitors and she was given a very warm welcome when she returned.

Ambition and determination have always been a big part of Ellen’s personality. When she was younger, she lived in a kind of hut(棚屋)for three years while she was trying to get sponsorship to compete in a transatlantic race. Then she took a one-way ticket to France, bought a tiny seven meter Class Mini yacht, slept under it while she was repairing it, and then she raced it 4,000 kilometers across the Atlantic in 1997, alone for 33 days.

C. a website

D. a report

Ellen has had to learn many things, because sailing single-handed means that she has to be her own captain, electrician, sail maker, engineer, doctor, journalist, cameraman and cook. She also has to be very fit, and because of the dangers of sleeping for long periods of time when she’s in the middle of the ocean. She has trained herself to sleep for about 20 minutes at a time.

And she needs courage. Once, in the middle of the ocean, she had to climb the mast(桅杆)of a boat to repair the sails at four o’clock in the morning with 100 kph winds blowing around her. It took her many hours to make the repairs. Ellen says, “I was worn out when I came down. It’s hard to describe how it feels to be up there. It’s like trying to hold onto a big pole, which for me is just too big to get my arms around, with someone kicking you all the time and trying to shake you off.” But in her diary, Ellen also describes moments which make it all worthwhile: “A beautiful sunrise started the day with black clouds slowly lit by the bright yellow sun. I have a very strong feeling of pleasure, being out here on the ocean and having the chance to live this. I just feel lucky to be here.” 60. In the Vendee Globe race, Ellen won_____________ . A. a gold medal

B. the “Young Sailor of the Year” award

C. the “Best Woman Sailor” award D. the second place 61. Ellen lived in a kind of hut for three years ________. A. because she was interested in country life

B. while she was trying to get financial support for a race

C. because she was ambitious for the coming race D. while she was learning how to repair her sails

62. The word “solo” in the title could be best replaced by ________. A. self-starter B. single-handed

C. self-made

D. single-mast

63. How does Ellen feel about the Vendee Globe race? A. It is relaxing.

B. It is dangerous.

D. It is enjoyable.

C. It is surprising.

C

Children’s lives have changed greatly over the last 50 years. But do they have a happier childhood than you or I did?

It’s difficult to look back on one’s own childhood without some element of nostalgia(怀旧的). I have four brothers and sisters, and my memories are all about being with them, playing board games on the living room floor, or spending days in the street with the other neighborhood children, racing up and down on our bikes, or exploring the nearby woods. My parents scarcely appear in these memories, except as providers either of meals or of severe blame after some particularly risky adventure.

These days, in the UK at least, the nature of childhood has changed dramatically. Firstly, families are smaller, and there are far more only children. It is common for both parents to work outside the home and there is the feeling that there just isn’t time to bring up a large family, or that no one could possibly afford to have more than one child. As a result, today’s boys and girls spend much of their time alone. Another major change is that youngsters today tend to spend a huge amount of their free time at home, inside. More than anything this is due to the fact that parents worry far more than they used to about real or imagined dangers, so they wouldn’t dream of letting their children play outside by themselves.

Finally, the kind of toys children have and the way they play is totally different. Computer and video games have replaced the board games and more interesting activities of my childhood. The irony(令人啼笑皆非的事情) is that so many ways of playing games are called “interactive”. The fact that you can play electronic games on your own further increases the sense of loneliness felt by many young people today.

Do these changes mean that children today have a less relaxing childhood than I had? I personally believe that they do, but perhaps every generation feels exactly the same. 64. What is the purpose of the direct question given in the first paragraph?

A. To get people’s attention and lead in the topic. B. To gather people’s opinions on childhood.

C. To show who the passage is written for.

D. To compare the childhood lives of two generations. 65. Which is NOT a reason for the changes?

A. Families are smaller today.

B. Parents worried too much about their children. C. Toys can be played by children alone at home. D. It’s too dangerous to play outside.

66. What has the writer focused on in the fourth paragraph?

A. Young people today shouldn’t play electronic games. B. Some games that young people play today aren’t really good. C. Computer and video games have replaced the board games. D. Board games are much more interesting than computer games. 67. The writer’s attitude towards the childhood changing is ________ . A. approving

D

Educating girls quite possibly gets a higher rate of return than any other deal available in the developing world. Women’s education may be unusual field for economists, but increasing women’s contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social project. And economics, with its emphasis on incentives (激励), provides an explanation for why so many girls lose the chance of an education.

Parents in low-income countries don’t send their daughters to school because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else’s family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school---the prophecy (预言) becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a vicious circle (恶性循环) of abandonment.

An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home

B. unconcerned

C. objective

D. optimistic