上海市静安区上海市市西中学2025-2026学年第二学期期中考试高二英语试卷

市西中学2025学年第二学期期中考试 高二英语 2026.4 笔试满分115分 考试时间105分钟 I.Grammar and vocabulary (20') Section A(10') Directions:After reading the passage below.fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct.For the blanks with a given word,fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word;for the other blanks,use one word that best fits each blank. The Truth of Fast Fashion Waste What happens to your unwanted fast-fashion clothes after you drop them into a charity donation bin?Most people assume they really1(donate),probably to local families in need nearby. Much more likely is2 the bin is only the departure point on a long journey to the other side of the world,3 those wearable pieces will be sorted,cleaned,priced,and resold in second-hand markets.Consider that a win. If it is worn-out,out-of-style clothing that has been thrown,it will probably end up as a low-grade fuel,4(fuel)the production of bricks or small local factories. Or it5go all the way just to pile up in South Asia or Africa,ruining the land, polluting groundwater,entering the food chain,being swallowed by livestock and perhaps finding its way back into your home and even into your body.It is "recycling",but not6 people traditionally think of it. The broad facts of the myth of clothing recycling are no secret.But Anna Field,a journalist, does something remarkable in her new book. She follows the trail of discarded clothes,travelling to some of the world's most overlooked places to record the effects of over-consumption:towns in Ghana7(cover)under mountains of Western unwanted garments,a fabric-breaking yard in Bangladesh where women tear apart the harmful chemical-laden shells of European brand clothes,a slum in India where migrant workers collect reusable fibres8the rich world's abandoned textiles. "Clothing Waste Wars"also contains shocking but long-forgotten stories,such as9 of the MV Karagatan,a ship carrying thousands of tons of unsold and discarded clothes from UK high-street brands,which set sail for Nigeria in 1993. The ship and its polluting goods 10(refuse)entry at every West African port, forcing the crew to look for alternative dumping sites.After 22 months of being turned away from 1/10 every possible harbour,it returned to Europe with an empty hold.The captain admitted years later to dumping the entire shipment of clothes into the Atlantic Ocean Section B(10) Directions:Complete the following passage by using the words in the box.Each word can only be used once.Note that there is one word more than you need. A.cultural B.weariness C.concentrated D.aroused E.enthusiasm F.increasingly G.contributed H.blessed I.precisely J.participation K.distinctive To Break the Homogenization Trap,Guochao Cultural and Creative Products Must Return to Culture Featuring clements of traditional Chinese culture and creative designs,guochao cultural and creative (wenchuang)products have been consumption hot spots nationwide in recent years. However,a recent news report about the closure of a once-popular guochao wenchuang chain brand has 11 wide discussions and doubts about whether such products still hold appeal for young consumers. with the unmatched advantage of a top-tier museum IP authorization,the brand once topped the sales list of online wenchuang platforms,but has 13 seen declining revenue and a shrinking number of offline stores in the past two years.Its dramatic drop has not just exposed the brand's failure,but also serves as a sharp reminder to the domestic wenchuang industry: Consumers are losing their14 for homogenized guochao products amid the abundant choices available. Rooted in the country's 15 and long-standing traditional culture,China's rich wenchuang resources actually present a precious starting point for the sector's growth.According to a report released by the China Cultural Relics Academy,as of 2024,China's high-quality wenchuang IPs were largely1o in three major categories:museum cultural relics,intangible cultural heritage,and classic Chinese literature,covering over 70%of the wenchuang products on the market. However,in order to quickly seize market share,many brands have rushed to launch identical products with superficial cultural elements.It is17 this copycat design logic that has made most wenchuang products look indistinguishable,when it comes to not only their 18 connotation expression or product categories,but even the consumption scenarios they create. "Refrigerator magnets,key chains,and hand account stickers,they all sell pretty much the same things.Looking at my collections,I can't even tell which scenic spot or museum I bought them from,"Li Sijia,a 24-year-old guochao lover,told the China Youth Daily. Li's experience actually reveals how the serious homogenization of wenchuang products has caused visual and aesthetic19 in consumers.Today,young buyers have shifted from mere "souvenir collection"to a "culture-first"mindset,valuing immersive 20 over simple decorative items.They no longer buy just to "post on social media"but to "connect with the culture behind the product."This change in demand signals a crucial lesson for the wenchuang industry's future development:Digging deep into unique local cultural narratives to crcate truly irreplaceable products. II.Reading Comprehension(45') Section A(15') 2/10 Directions:For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A.B.C and D.Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context. Even as more Americans save less and borrow more from their retirement funds,Gen Z shines as the only gencration to have resisted that trend over the past three years,according to Dayforce's second annual State of Retircment Savings rcport. The total savings rate for full-timc cmployccs-including those who save for retirement and those who don't-declined to 8.9%in 2025 from 9.2%thc year beforc,marking the first annual decrease in threc ycars,the benefits platform company said.Total savings rate is the combined percentagc of an cmployee's gross income contributed to retirement plans,(21) both the employce's own contributions and any matching contributions by the cmployer. (22) Gen Z's savings rate has risen every year since 2022,most recently jumping to 6.2%in 2025 from 5.9%in 2024.Their participation in retirement plans also rose to 69.5%last year from 63.4%in 2022,(23) the overall national participation slipping to 77.5%from 78.6%in2024. The findings are "sobering,"but Gcn Z "shows that improving retirement savings for millions more workers is (24) ,said Jason Rahlan,global head of sustainability and impact at Dayforce."Gen Z is challenging the (25) about young people and their finances,"added Holly O'Neill from Bank of America."Even though they're facing economic barriers and high everyday costs,they are working hard to become financially (26) and take control of their money.” The report also revealed growing financial pressurc on American workers.More than a quarter of retirement savers(27) their annual contributions last year,while total contributions dropped by 5%to $5,554.More Americans are also (28) retirement savings to cover daily spending:loans from retirement accounts rose for the third consecutive year,hitting a four-year high in 2025. Middle-income Americans,who (29) $50,000 to $150,000 a year,saw the largest declines in savings rates last year.A significant gender(30) remains:mea's annual total contributions were nearly $2,000 higher than women's in 2025.By ethnicity,Asians(31) the list with total annual contributions of $7,936,followed by White people,Black Americans and Latinos. Such declining savings rates are hardly (32) given the ongoing financial headwinds and rising living costs,Dayforce noted.(33) Gen Z has benefited from improvements in retirement plan designs,such as auto-enrollment and automatic savings rate escalation,which becamc (34) for new plans under the SECURE 2.0 Act in 2025. Dcspite the current setbacks,most Amcricans remain (35) about their financial future.Nearly 75%fell short of their saving resolutions in 2025,but most expect a "resolution 3/10 rebound"in 2026,according to a Vanguard survey. 21.A.covering B.engaging C.obtaining D.improving 22.A.In contrast B.For instance C.In addition D.Therefore 23.A.unless B.as if C.because D.while 24.A.possible B.optional C.profitable D.predictable 25.A.identity B.prejudice C.principle D.definition 26.A.flexible B.beneficial C.independent D.stable 27.A.cut B.lifted C.settled D.postponed 28.A.coming into B.turning to C.objecting to D.referring to 29.A.advocate B.generate C.earn D.donate 30.A.gap B.hazard C.boundary D.split 31.A.made B.headed C.denied D.entered 32.A.convincing B.reasonable C.shocking D.inevitable 33.A.Thus B.Meanwhile C.Instead D.However 34.A.compulsory B.available C.beneficial D.flexible 35.A.realistic B.optimistic C.cautious D.confused Section B(22) Directions:Read the following three passages.Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A,B,C and D.Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read. (A) On a solo trip to Mexico City a few years ago,I found the perfect souvenir at La Lagunilla,a famous flea market filled with all kinds of unique handcrafted items.It was a modern ceramic art bust (of a chic woman with long,flowing brown hair that looked so realistic and elegant.I fell in love with it at first sight and couldn't wait to display the beautiful piece in my home.Back at home,I carefully unwrapped the bust,only to discover it had been badly damaged during transit.Its beautiful hair had broken off completely,leaving its head in two pieces-and me heartbroken and disappointed. As I searched online for hours,trying different keywords to find the best way to repair the damaged bust,I accidentally came across kintsugi,or "golden joinery,"the traditional Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with lacqucr mixed with gold powder.Instead of hiding the imperfections of the broken objects,kintsugi clearly shows them and even makes them stand out. The fracture becomcs the focal point,with the idea that flaws can not only add interest but also unique beauty to an object. That idea touched me decply and made me eager to learn more.I became very interested in 4/10 kintsugi,and last year,that damaged bust from Mexico led me all the way to Tokyo,Japan.There,I joined a small,quiet workshop and learned to mend broken bowls under the patient guidance of a local master.I slowly mastered the basic skills and learned how to create something meaningful from what I might have otherwise thrown away.The old saying"one man's trash is another man's treasure" felt especially true to me that day. It turns out I'm not alone in wanting to satisfy my curiosity through such deep leaming experiences while traveling-and now there's even a name for them:skillcations.These special trips allow travelers to learn new skills while exploring new places,making their joumneys more meaningful and memorable. 36.What happened to the author's ceramic bust after the trip to Mexico City? A.It was lost during the trip B.It was damaged on transport. C.It was stolen at the flea market. D.It was broken by the author carelessly 37.What do we know about kintsugi from the passage? A.It is a modern art form from Mexico. B.It uses gold to hide the flaws of objects. C.It shows the imperfections of broken objects. D.It is mainly used to repair wooden things. 38.What does the underlined word"skillcations"probably mean? A.Trips to learn something new. B.Solo trips to foreign countries. C.Trips to buy special souvenirs D.Trips to repair broken objects. 39.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A.A Broken Souvenir from Mexico City B.The Art of Kintsugi in Tokyo C.A Jourey of Learning and Healing D.How to Plan a Meaningful Solo Trip (B) 5/10 As we traveled around the U.S.reporting on the development of towns and cities,we always made the local library an early stop.The traditional impression of libraries as places for quiet reading, research,and borrowing books is outdated.There are threc arcas where librarics work as cnergctic centers of America's towns:technology,cducation,and community. Technology Many pcople rely on libraries for their computcr and Internet use.According to a recent Pew Research Center report,more than a quarter of Americans who had visited a public library in the past year had used a computer,the Internct,or a WiFi connection there. More ambitiously,librarics have also begun offering"makerspaces"-shared workspaces that provide technological tools and are designed to facilitate teamwork.I recently toured the makerspace at Washington,D.C.'s flagship Martin Luther King Jr.Library.A group of hobbyists,business people, and a mom with her homeschooled pretcens were learning about tools like 3-D printers,laser cutters, and wire benders.Migucl Figucroa,who directs the Center for the Futur of Libraries,says makerspaces are part of libraries'expanded mission to be places where people can not only consume knowledge,but create new knowledge. Education In my conversations with librarians around the country,the most urgent topic was the education of Amcrica's youngest children.Patrick Losinski,the CEO of the Columbus,Ohio,metropolitan library system,told me that when a 5-year-old walks into kindergarten,takes a book,and holds it upside down,"you know there is no reading readiness there."I heard of many projects like Books for Babies,which is run by Friends of the Library in tiny Winters,California:Volunteers offer new babies a box with a T-shirt,a cap,two books,and an application to join the library. In Charleston.West Virginia,despite recent funding losses that severely cut library staff, tbraranx still provide materials to teachers all across the 900-squarc-mile county.In Columbus, Miksipn,the library gives high-school students access to Civic War-era documents-slave sale rccords.conirt cases,and secrets of the community-making real the history of their state. Community The lbrary in West Hartford,Connecticut,offers conversational-English classes for immigrants. The hbrary tn Seattle provides citizenship classes.The library in Duluth,Minnesota,has a 6/10 seed-lending program for local gardeners.In libraries,I have practiced yoga,drunk in coffee shops, and watched youngsters with laptops arrange their virtual start-up offices at long reading-room tables. 40.What is the passage mainly about? A.How libraries arc designed. B.How libraries have developed. C.How libraries become popular spots. D.How libraries function in new ways. 41.According to the passage,what can people do in libraries now? A.Mcet like-minded pcople. B.Make 3-D printers C.Receive formal education. D.Enjoy free coffees. 42.What can be leamned about the library in Columbus,Mississippi? A.It secks to cultivate children's reading readiness. B.It has suffered inadequate funding and staff recently. C.It helps students connect with their local history. D.It holds many events for the community regularly. (C) Every decision we make is arrived at through hugely complex neurological processing.Although it feels as though you have a choice,the action that you 'decide'to take is entirely directed by automatic neural activity.Multiple neuroscientific studies show that even those important decisions that feel worked out are just as automatic as knee-jerk reactions ()(although more complex). Decision-making starts with the amygdala )The amygdala registers the information streaming in through our senses and responds to it in less than a second,sending signals throughout the brain.These produee aturge to run,fight,freeze or grab. Before we act on the amygdala's signals,however,the information is usually processed by other brain areas,including some that produce conscious thoughts and emotions.Areas concerned with recognition work out what's going on,those concerned with memory compare it with previous experiences,and those concerned with reasoning,judging and planning get to work on constructing various action plans.If any of this process goes wrong,we are likely to hesitate,or do something silly. The various stages of decision-making are marked by different types of brain activity.Fast (gamma)waves(25 to 100 Hz)produce a keen awareness of the multiple factors that need to be considered to arrive at a decision.If you are trying to choosc a sandwich,for instance,gamma waves generated in various cells within the 'taste'area of the brain bring to mind and compare the taste of ingredients.Although it may seem useful to be aware of the full range of choice,too much information makes decision-making more difficult,so irrelevant factors get dismissed quickly and unconsciously. After this comparison stage,the brain switches to slow-wave astivity (12 to 30 H).This extinguishes most of the gamma activity,leaving just a single 'hotspot'of gamma waves which marks the chosen option. 7/10 Although there is no 'you'outside your brain to direct what it's doing,you can help it to make good decisions by placing yourself in a situation which is likely to make the process run more smoothly.Doing something that is physically or mentally stimulating befere making a decision will help your brain produce the initial gamma waves that generate awareness of the competing options. Getting over-excited,on the other hand,will prevent the switch to the slow brainwaves,making it much harder to single out a choice. 43.Why does the writer mention"knee-jerk reactions"in the first paragraph? A.To introduce the findings of the latest neuroscientific studies. B.To illustrate that decisions are not consciously thought out. C.To call attention to a kind of neural reaction that is not very complex. D.To show the difference between decision-making and other brain activities. 44.What does the amygdala do according to the passage? A.It works out conscious thoughts and emotions. B.It constructs the best action plan for a given situation. C.It recognizes and compares information streaming in. D.It processes sensory information and generates responses. 45.What can be concluded from paragraphs 4 and 5? A.Slow-wave activity usually lasts longer than fast-wave activity. B.The brain prioritizes information before settling on a final choice. C.Decision-making is difficult when slow-wave activity occurs first. D.The brain needs as much information as possible to make a decision. 46.How does engaging in stimulating activities help the decision-making process? A.By preparing the brain to single out the most reasonable choice B.By helping the brain switch to slow-wave activity more quickly C.By getting the brain to focus on those most relevant alternatives. D.By making the brain excited enough to work out an action plan. Section C(8') Directions:Read the following passage.Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once.Note that there are two more sentences than you need. A.It really does change people's perception of what animals are. B.Why has this little guy provoked such a big reaction? C.Punch's story has been covered by major news networks around the world. D.Many zoos have since improved their facilities for young macaques. E.An influencer even flew to Japan to check up on him. F.Punch's story is a classic underdog tale. Punch,a young Japanese macaguc轿猴)，has hit a nerve 8/10 HIS TROUBLES began the moment he was born.His mother rejected him.He struggled to fit in with his peers:they bullied him and dragged him around by his hair.His only source of comfort was a plushy orangutan toy. This is the story of Punch,a scvcn-month-old Japancse macaquc at Ichikawa City Zoo,who has bccome a global scnsation.Posts about him have appcarcd 630m timcs on Reddit,YouTube and X, finds Sprout Social,an analytics firm.Some want to adopt Punch:others to take revenge on his tornicntors. 47 IKEA has sold out of his toy in sevcral countrics.As one fan put it:"Punch is the most loved creaturc on the Earth right now." 48 Onc reason is that humans simply cannot help finding him cutc,says Morten Kringelbach,a ncuroscientist at Oxford University.Look at somcthing adorable and "within a seventh of a sccond,you get activity in the orbitofrontal cortcx",a part of the brain which processes pleasure.This has an evolutionary benefit,motivating humans to protect their young.And Punch,Professor Kringelbach points out,"looks so like a baby,walking around with that soft toy". Another rcason is cultural: 49 Life has placed obstacles in his path,this narrative gocs,and he is much smaller than his foes.But Punch is resilient and determined to make it in macaque society.When others knock him down,he gets back up.Viewers urge him to #HangInTherePunch. Is this anthropomorphism (gone mad?No,argues Michael Bond,the author of "Animate",a forthcoming book.Punch is a reminder of other species'emotional intelligence:watch a vidco of him and you can see that his suffering and sense of rejection are"very similar"to what a human might feel..“ 50,"Mr Bond says,and may encourage more people to care about animal welfare.For a tiny monkey,he certainly packs a Punch. III.Summary Writing (10) 51.Directions:Read the following passage.Summarize the main idea and the main point(s)of the passage in no more than 60 words.Use your own words as far as possible. Controlling fire is one of humanity's most important technologies.It was fire-or,rather, cooking-that permitted the evolution of big-brained hominids(人科动物).The extra nutrients thus liberated,along with the smaller gut required to digest cooked food would have allowed more resources to be used to enlarge the central nervous system. Understanding how fire was brought under control is thus of great interest to palacoanthropologists(估人类学家).And a new piece of the jigsaw has been unearthed from an old clay pit at East Farm,Barnham,in eastern England. It is the oldest evidence to date of the creation artificially of new fires,rather than the careful nurturing of existing ones derived from natural causes,such as lightning strikes. As they write in Nature,Nick Ashton of the British Museum and his colleagues have found evidence of what are,in effect,,Palaeolithic(I旧石器时代的)tinderboxes-boxes used for making a flame. 9/10 That fires burned at the sitc is not in doubt.Part of the clay is baked in a way that shows it had bccn subjected to intense heat,and many of the flint (tools found ncarby also exhibit signs of being heated. Dr Ashton and his colleagucs have shown that this heuting was not a conscquence of a passing wildfire,but rather the result of human action.using a scrics of tests that compared the magnctic and chemical properties of the heated clay with thosc of ncighbouring.unheated samples.The abundance of certain hydrocarbons within it is also characteristic of clay hcated by human fires rather than natural wildfircs. The most intriguing finds of all,thougb,are two pieces of pyrite,a mineral that,if struck with a flint,produces sparks.Given the absence of natural pyrite in the area's rocks,Dr Ashton and his colleagucs fecl confident that the two samplcs thcy discovered were imported deliberately, presumably for the purpose of lighting fircs. IV.Translation (3'+344+5'=15') Directions:Translate the following sentences into English.using the words given in the brackets. 52.让救援人员感到宽慰的是，被困在废墟中的孩子最终被成功救出。（relicf) 53.直到她仔细端详那件量身定做的礼.服时，她才真正理解了什么是匠心。(pccr) 54.正是通过反复的试错，这位发明家才成功设计出能够抵御极端天气的帐篷。(resist) 55.太极拳根植于中国传统哲学，不仅能增强我们的身体素质，还能帮助我们疏导负面情绪， 在忙碌的生活中获得内心的平静。(rooted,channel) V.Guided Writing(25') 56.Directions:Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions and the table below. 为落实“学生每日锻炼2小时”的方案，我校组织高二年级学生开展晨跑活动：男生每 天早晨跑1000米，女生跑800米。学校就此对学生的参与情况及其影响开展了一项调查。 你的写作须包含以下内容： 1.简要描述表格中的信息： 2.对比分析四种持有不同及跑态度的组别对学生身心健康和学习效率的影响： 3.就积极锻炼、实现全面发展谈谈你的看法与建议。 Table:Morning Run Performance and Its Influence 蹬Group Percentage Physical and mental Study efficieucy hcalth 2 Actively beyond the requirement 25% Good,energetic High Seriously finish the required 60% Normal,healthy Steady distance Carelessly walk instead of running 10% Poor,tired Low Passively fail to finish 5% Weak,inactive Very low 10/10